Fancy Fall Wreath

I found this fabulous wreath completed originally (at least the first time I saw it) by Sarah at Thrifty Decor Chick. As soon as I saw her gorg. wreath, I knew I had to make one of my very own...well, for my sister. We are going to her housewarming party mid-October; I can't wait!!!

So here's my finished product:

(I showed it to you first because I thought the "process pictures" weren't very interesting...and I was afraid you would stop reading. :)

Side Note: I hung the wreath on the banister because I was afraid I wouldn't take it down and actually give it to Sister once I had it on my door!!

Here's the dirt: Sarah (with an H just like my sister!! But this one isn't my sister but that would be cool!) made her wreath with a foam square. Go look at hers! Just don't forget to come back. I made mine with this wreath form that I got at Michael's for $3.99. It wasn't on sale but...

I covered the parts that I thought might scratch the door with scraps of an old bath towel. I just cut the towel and hot glued it on. I suppose any fabric glue would have worked but I got out hot glue for the leaves and decided that I wasn't going to go downstairs to get any other glue.

I got bags of fall leaves at Dollar Spot. There are 4 different colors (all the same color in one bag). I used all of 4 bags then part of 2 other bags... follow me? They were pretty pancake flat in the package so I wadded them up and threw them on the floor (not exactly the way the Thrifty Decor Chick recommended but it worked for me and wadding them up was pretty fun!)

I love that they almost look like actual leaves instead of fakes!! Also, notice that the leaves are void of stems. I cut them off using these bad boys!

They used to belong to JJ but now they are mine and they will cut anything!! Ok, so I don't know if they will really cut anything but my Fiskars would only cut one stem at a time. These cut all 10 at once!!

Best part! This whole project cost me only about $8.

(I had the glue and gun and snagged the snips from JJ.)

And Just A Tick More Black & White

Here's the rest of my cousin's shower present! (I showed you the first part here and the "gift bag" here.)

Here are the other cards I made to fill the basket. I also tossed in a Target gift card just in case she hated the rest of the present! You know, not everyone thinks our crafts are as cool as we do!!

Above is some snazzy Smooch spray on SU's Presto Patterns Specialty Paper. (I should show you that sometime...it's kinda cool!)

That's just a black piece of SU card stock stamped with white craft ink on the Medallion stamp then sprayed with Smooch spray...pretty easy! I showed you in more detail here.

Here, you can see their wedding card too (hope she doesn't stalk my blog...but this is wedding week so even if she does, she's probably not right now!).

Lucky for me, she loved them!!

Side Note: My roommate from college, Christen, used to always say "tick". Meaning little or quick like, "I'll be home in a tick; see you then Luarel." Or, "I think I'll have just a tick more chocolate cake. It is my birthday!"

If you're still here, show me some love!!

Some more black and white

So here, I showed you are card I made for my future cousin. I also promised to show you the rest of her present. It is very important to keep your promises so here I am!

I made a gift bag based off a cute little number box I learned to make from my good friend right here last fall sometime. I just made this one a bit bigger (the original held 3x3 cards). This one holds standard A2 sized cards.

A good blogger would have taken pictures while I was making the bag so I could share...well, I didn't. Why you ask? Well, I wasn't sure it was going to work so I started with typing paper.

Oh, did you see that beautiful satin ribbon??? LOVE!! I ran a line of Terrifically Tacky tape across the front of the bag and bunched the ribbon as I went across. I like it!!

Anyway, I didn't get to go to the shower because I chose to spend the weekend with JJ, Sister and my Dad down at the river. I am sure I missed a wonderful shower but I had a blast with the fam!!!

Here are a few more shots of the bag.

Stupid Picture Sizes

I think I am going to go insane if my edits don't start saving properly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Side Note: That many exclamation points are certainly necessary! !!!!! And those too.)

For real... if there's a crazy sized picture, let me know (they're scheduled throughout the next couple of days)!

Wow!

I think the world has slightly passed my by lately.

I started a new job on August 30. I really love it...and I think they like me too! (That last part is sure a nice bonus!) Anyway, I work only 4 days a week but that means really long work days added to a pretty long commute (76 miles to be exact!). But, it's all 4-lane so it's not so bad.

But! I have nearly blogged none! Probably because I haven't been doing much besides work, sleep and drive. Oh, and hang with hubby! You see, the Night Owl (that's me) now sees the sun rise each morning so I have to go to sleep at night which cuts into my craftiness!!

Ok, to be honest, I have made a few things:

1. A fall wreath for my sister's front door - completed! Photos taken, just need to blog!

2. A cute little Christmas tag for my Grandma (with some new distress ink) - Completed. No pictures but do need to show my peeps!

3. Almost 100 years ago (ok, the beginning of August) I made a card pack and cute little bag for a wedding shower present. I took the pictures and I think I even loaded them to photobucket...just need to finish that post. **blogged**

So, I am a list maker and that made me feel good!!

Except, JJs's Grandma Runyon passed away last night. We are sad. Please pray for safe travels as our family comes together. Also pray for my Mother in Law and her siblings and my sweet husband. If you aren't a prayer, well, hug a tree or something.

The Lazy Peacock is having a giveaway

Click here to see her giveaway.

The Lazy Peacock post mostly silver and monogram finds from estate sales and the likes. I really enjoy seeing her findings. I have to admit that I used to almost always pass on silver for sure...partially because I am more of a glass girl and partially from the upkeep (polish, etc). And I always passed up on monogram... come on, you don't find very many "u" out there (from my maiden name).

However, I have found a love for other monograms... I particularly like "s" and "r"...no real reason why! :)

So, a special thank you to The Lazy Peacock for finding my love of letters that don't belong in my monogram and for displaying such great finds!!