Fall Wreath

So, our door was lacking a little something... personality... of any kind.  Out entry is pretty "blah," and pretty low on the priority list, but I did manage to give it a little autumn deco this weekend!
 

Here's a little tutorial so that you can make your own festive wreath, based on what I did...
I picked up a few things at Michael's...

I saw the stick wreath on sale for $3, and the rest was on super clearance.  I bought a mini-chalkboard, a spool of autumn ribbon, and two bunches of wired, silk flowers.  All I needed was some space, an hour, and a hot glue gun! 

First things first - detach all flowers from their stalks, and remove excess leaves and greenery...

Next, locate ugliest bit of wreath - mine was where many of the sticks were showing off their dead ends...

This is where the "flower bunch" should go.

Push the wired stalks of the flowers through the wreath in any arrangement that you like.  I tried to keep flowers of the same color from touching one another so the colors would look more energetic.

 
I had anticipated being done after one bunch, but i decided to try making a smaller second bunch on the lower right of my wreath...

...And I really liked how it turned out!  Now, twist the wire bits of flowers together and fold them into the wreath...

Next, I glued my ribbon to the back of my chalkboard...

I was careful to use a LOT of hot glue on this baby doesn't come crashing down on any trick-or-treaters.  Trim off the bits of ribbon that stick out past the sides of the chalkboard.

make sure to give yourself LOTS of ribbon to work with for tying the chalkboard into the wreath...

Bring your ribbon over the top of your wreath (making sure the chalkboard is at the height you want it), and thread both pieces through the back of your wreath and tie it off.  Secure with insane amounts of hot glue...

Good thing no one has to see the back, right?!  I know my hot glue skills are intense, but try not to be intimidated.  As Lady Gaga says, "I was born this way."

Trim off the excess ribbon, and hang it on your door with shouts of glee!

Now I wish our door wasn't so "oaky" looinking... Perhaps another paint project is in my future?? Shhhhh!  Don't tell Eric!

Here's my project run-down:
$3 - wreath of sticks
$1.50 - orange ribbon
$2.50 - mini-chalkboard
$2 - bunches of autumn-colored flowers
TOTAL: $9 and less than 1 hour.  Win!

I originally searched google, blogs, and pinterest for another wreath with a chalkboard hanging in the middle to use as inspiration, and I couldn't find anything, so I had to make it up as I went along.   Could I have done completely something original??!!  I'm pretty stoked with how it looks, either way.  =)

Hope you're having a wonderful Monday, and enjoying the lovely fall weather =)

**PS - Don't forget to visit Skinnie's blog for her birthday week of giveaways!  Yours truly will be sponsoring the giveaway tomorrow!!**

Linking to: Home Stories A to Z, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Centsational Girl, Thrifty 101, Somewhat Simple, House of Hepworths, Decor to Adore,  Coastal Charm, It's Fall, Y'all!, Tell Me Tuesday, and

Fall is in the air...

Not really - it was 105 here today (ugh!).  But I wish it was in the air, and maybe if I do enough fall crafting, it'll bring on the cooler weather ;)  I can't wait to wear my flannel pj pants around the house.  What a fashionista I am, eh??  During a trip to Michael's (dangerous!) I saw these sweet glass votives on sale for $2 apiece, which meant at least 3 were coming home with me...

 
I also stumbled upon these, which smelled dee-lightful...

So, here I go with my well-titled tutorial: How to Make A Super Easy And Very Cheap Fall Centerpiece That Looks Good and Also Smells Pretty Good Too.

Step one: Fill glass votives with pinecones...

Step 2: Grab you some fall-themed ribbon, preferably from the dollar bin at the craft store...

Step 3: Cut reasonable length of ribbon (second hardest part of the project - not like it took me three tires or anything....) and tie a bow around your glass votive at the skinnier bit.  Try to make the bow look neat (now THIS is the hardest part.  Am I the ONLY terrible bow-tier out there?)...

Step 4: Repeat steps 1 - 3 until you have the desired number of festive fragrant fall votives (how much do I wish "votives" began with an "f?"  What a sweet alliteration it would have been!)...

Yay for easy!  Yay for cheap!  Yay for fall!  Here's what I spent...

$6.43 - glass votives
$1.09 - fall themed sparkly ribbon
$4.00 - pack of smelly (in a good way) pinecones
TOTAL = $11.52 and five minutes of my time.  I did it while I was ironing.
** Special bouns points to anyone who noticed my white ironing board legs showing off their "x" shape in the background of almost every picture in this post.  Bravo, friend.  You are observant!**

I love the way they make the table smell like autumn, even if it still feels like July 4th around here.  *Sigh*  Have you been working on anything fall themed lately?  Do share!

Also, if you love reading great blogs, and you liked my Chevron Lazy Susan project, get excited!  My wonderful friend "Skinnie" from Skinny Piggie, is hosting...

















... starting on Monday!  She's hosting a giveaway every day, and on Tuesday, you can enter to win a Lazy Susan just like mine in the colors of your choice. =) Even if you don't love giveaways (do people like this exist?!), you should pop over to celebrate along with us.  I've known "Skinnie" for years, and she's a wonderful friend, dedicated military spouse, and a fab blogger to boot.  Plan on heading over to show her some love!

And with that, have a very happy Thursday, friends!

Linking to: Creative Bloggers Party Hop, House of Hepworths, Thrifty 101, Centsational Girl, Just a Girl, Home Stories A to Z, Somewhat Simple, My Uncommon Slice Of Suburbia, Coastal Charm, Decor to Adore, Tip Me Tuesday, and