DIY Ornament Wreath

I mentioned that my mom and I made our own ornament wreaths over Thanksgiving. It was really easy, but there’s a possibility that we didn’t really save any money from one we could’ve bought at the store. It was nice however to be able to pick any color combination we wanted. This is the perfect time of year to start gathering supplies because you can find wreaths and ornaments for cheap since it’s after Christmas.

I followed the instructions from this blog. I won’t go over the whole process since it already exists perfectly there, but here are my notes.

To make this wreath I used:

• an 18 inch evergreen wreath purchased on clearance for $2-$4
• a can of metallic spray paint to hide the greenery originally $8ish but got for 40% off at Michale’s
• 4 sizes of shatterproof ornaments all bought on clearance last year and this year.
  – 70 large (my mom got some extra large and we decided those didn’t look that good so go for the regular big size)
  – 35 medium
  – 35 slightly smaller
  – a still to be determined amount of tiny
• high-heat glue gun and lots of glue
• pretty ribbon to hang the wreath with

A few other notes:

• I didn’t realize when I started, but I’m pretty sure the blog linked above is using glass ornaments. I’m torn because hers looks really fancy and mine, when you get up close, is a little cheap looking. Shatterproof ornaments all have seams around the middle (except glitter covered ones), and you can’t really hide them. On the other hand I wasn’t really concerned throwing it in the trunk of my car to transport it back from Kansas because it couldn’t really be broken. A friend also pointed out that I could potentially throw mine in the bath tub wash it if needed. Just something to keep in mind.
• The other thought I had after finishing was this wreath is HUGE. My mom reminded me in a couple years I may have a house with a bigger front door and this will look just fine, but currently it’s completely taking over my narrow 1930s apartment door. So depending on your preference you may want a smaller wreath (it will also take fewer ornaments).

 

Christmas Wrap-up

I just pulled the last of my Christmas time photos off my camera and wanted to share.

Nate and I at our work Christmas party

We had a little ice in OKC the weekend before Christmas. Thankfully the roads were fine.

I made all my girlfriends and co-workers little Oklahoma cinnamon applesauce ornaments. The ornaments are super easy (and with dollar store cinnamon and applesauce cost me under $5 to make a ton), and make your house smell fantastic.

I also gifted them with Oklahoma cookie cutters filled with fudge.

Wrapping took me so many hours. I’d purchased some cute polka-dot boxes ($1 for 3 at Target) and a white paint pen, so even though I finished the task exhausted I was pretty happy with the results.

I was especially proud of this wrapping job. We got Nate’s nephew a Hot Wheels race track. I stumbled across the idea to put a road and car on the outside of the package, and I hear his 3 year old nephew loved it.

My parents dog Zuzu posing with the Christmas tree and gifts.

Christmas Decorations

Besides decorating in the fall I also go all out decorating for Christmas. Due to some frustrating apartment things I was really worried that I would spend my Christmas vacation packing and moving rather than enjoying the holiday, time off, family, and friends. Luckily everything worked out so that I can put off moving for a few months which also meant I could decorate for Christmas!

My mom and I have been planning to make ornament wreaths for over a year and I got mine mostly finished over the Thanksgiving weekend. I still want to get a few more ornaments when they go on clearance next week to finish it up.

My elf doesn’t have a name and he just stays on his shelf, but I love to put him out every year. When I was a kid one of my grandmothers had a whole clan of knee hugging elves. When I told my mom about the elf on the shelf that my co-worker was doing for her daughter several years ago, and how it looked so much like my grandma’s elves she gifted me one for Christmas. Hope you’re enjoying some festive decorations around your homes too!

Decorating for the Fall

Autumn is one season I really enjoy decorating for. I love that I can purchase (for not a lot of money) fresh seasonal produce to decorate with, and that my decorations stay in season for October through Thanksgiving. The past few years I’ve used pumpkins, squash, and pomegranates. I usually pick up various squash from Buy For Less for around .50/lb, mini pumpkins from Aldi for .59 each, and pomegranates from Aldi for 3/$1.

This year I found the cute little white pumpkins at Walmart in a 3 pack for under $3. I’ve been enjoying these pumpkins on my mantle since the middle of October and they have just a few more days before they get sent to the compost. I added the pomegranates a few weeks ago and if they don’t go bad I’ll keep them up through February since they’re a perfect Valentine’s decoration.Happy Thanksgiving!

Where I’ve Been World Map

I’ve had this project in the works for nearly two years, yikes! The family of one of my best friends growing up kept a map on the wall with pins of all the places they’d been. I always thought it was really neat, but as a 15-year-old I hadn’t been enough places to warrant a map. Now I’ve been a few places, and as I was putting pins in the places I’ve been I honestly couldn’t wait to add more!

This is a pretty cheap project. (Prices are estimates because I bought everything a year or more ago.)
World Map $6
Foam Core to fit your map and cut to size $5 (40% off coupon at Hobby Lobby and trimmed $1 at their framing counter)
Spray Mount $7 (at Michael’s or Hobby Lobby use a 40% off coupon)
Map Pins $1.50 (use a coupon again)

All of that comes out to under $20, and the spray mount which is the most expensive item will still have plenty left for another few projects.

I’ve actually made a few of these because the first one was ruined when my apartment roof leaked, I made Nate one (and really owe him another because I tried to make it without any help), and I made this one for myself. So a few tips:

-Have a friend help you! It’s not possible to wrangle a big poster over sticky spray mount without messing up and getting bubbles in your poster.
-Follow the spray mount instructions. Do it when the weather is right, and shake it the full amount of time recommend.
-Use something to squeegee the poster down and eliminate bubbles. Hands don’t work very well, but the edge of a binder or book works great.

I’m pretty thrilled with how it turned out!

Chevron Pillow

Before I get started here’s my “before” bed picture with my FreeCycle bed I picked up (actually I think my roommate picked it up for me) right out of college.I’ve been trying to knock some projects out this year and here’s one of them I finally finished last month. My inspiration was this pillow I found on Amazon. I’d purchased a body pillow from Target, but I didn’t really love any of the covers they had to offer. I found some awesome grey chevron (canvas) fabric at Hobby Lobby, so I got it instead.

I really intended for this to be a simple no brainer project, but I ran into several problems. The zig zags went the width of the fabric rather than the length of the fabric and of course the fabric width was several inches shorter than the pillow, so I’d have to piece it together and match the chevrons.

I enlisted some help from my grandma and when we went to start measuring and cutting we discovered that the fabric was printed crooked! We finally got everything laid out and I said, so how am I going to put the pillow in and out? Turns out she assumed I was sewing the pillow in the case and I assumed I’d be able to take it out of the case for washing! So one end has a few snaps that I can now open and close.

Overall I’m really happy with how it turned out. My one complaint is that the case is a little saggy, but that’s not a huge deal.

When I was making my bed up to take these pictures I realized I’m really happy with how this area of my apartment has turned out! I of course could get a fancier or nicer looking alarm clock and a more adult looking throw, but I think it’s pretty perfect for now. So this is the “After.”

I also got a new set of sheets which I like. I’ve been drooling over this set from West Elm, which also comes in yellow, for a couple of years. I just couldn’t bring myself to spend $70 on a set of sheets. Target finally came out with some striped sheets, and while I very much love the width of the stripes on West Elm’s, Target’s on clearance for $8 will do me just fine!

Fireplace Mirror

I’ve got several mirrors in my apartment, but the one over my fireplace is a bit unique. When I first moved in my Grandma and I went shopping at a little antique store in Blair, OK to find some decorations. I ended up with this medicine cabinet. I was hoping to take the mirror off of its cabinet, but it ended up being too hard, so it’s still got a cabinet behind the mirror. If I wanted I could hide things in it! So here’s the before:

I’ve been wanting to paint the frame black for AGES and finally got around to it last month. I’m wishing now that there was some way to make the frame have a little more oomph. Maybe a frame on top of the current frame to make it wider? Do you have any ideas? I printed out my heart diagram the other day to decorate for Valentine’s Day. It might be a little on the weird side, but I’m liking it!

Cross the Ocean Print

I’m in Hawaii, so this awesome print and this quote (by Christopher Columbus) kind of apply. My advice: if you ever have the opportunity to go abroad make it happen.

via dearmusketeer Etsy

Felt Flower Wreath

Quite a while ago I came across this cute felt flower wreath made by The Pretty Poppy (here’s another person who made it too), and I bookmarked it and planned to make it. Quite a while later I bought the supplies to make it. And then finally last summer I got around to making it. I loved the mustard color wreath and the white wreath, but settled on the white one because I thought it was a better year round wreath. I haven’t done it, but it would be easy enough to dress it up for each holiday with some accents. Hearts for February, shamrocks for March, red and blue beads or something for July, plastic spiders for October, fall leaves for November. Anyway here’s how mine turned out.