DIY AUTUMN WREATH

I ventured out to some of my favorite craft stores yesterday in search of Autumn inspiration. I was basically looking for a new way to make a wreath for my front door, something a bit different by using a square shape. The selection was pretty limited. Square is just not that popular, however, the square wire wreath frame below seemed just perfect.

Then came the dilemma of how and what will I attach to the frame?? Searching up and down the aisles at Joann Fabric I came across a beautiful leafy garland with shades of gold, brown, red and orange. It was more than sufficient in length to provide all of the leafy fullness that I needed to cover the frame.

I started by attaching the garland with florist wire directly to the frame.  

As I worked around the perimeter, then trimmed some of the leaves from the garland and hot glued them to strategic places so that the metal frame was not exposed.

To embellish the wreath adding faux acorns, small purple berry clusters and pheasant feathers seemed just enough for that touch of Autumn. In lieu of a bow, I chose a simple piece of burlap ribbon to secure the wreath to the top of the door.

The materials used made it difficult to create nice sharp corners, but the final DIY showcases a brilliant display of Autumn greeting our guests at the front door.

Are you making an Autumn wreath this year? What are you using for your frame.......grapevine, wire, twig? Feel free to share your ideas with us....it's a great way for all of us to learn!

Wishing you a wonderfully creative Wednesday!

Kathleen

***Thanks so much for stopping by today and WELCOME to ALL of our new friends!! Our blog subscribers and Facebook page has grown immensely during the last week. See you on Thursday for Devine Find!

GARDEN LUNCH TABLESCAPE & FOODIE FRIDAY DIP RECIPE

I hope your week went well. We haven't had the greatest weather; in fact most days were rainy. I don't mind when it rains because it's so good for the plants and trees, but when you are planning a luncheon on an open patio and the sky looks ominous......well let's just say I'm glad I was able to sneak it in BEFORE the rain came!

Today's blog was inspired by a beautiful bouquet of flowers I spied at the grocery store. Who doesn't LOVE sunflowers mixed with purple status, and daisies? 

Here's the bouquet that started it all----Can you see why I couldn't walk away without bringing it home?

Of course a table setting was necessary.

When creating the theme, I knew I wanted a relaxed feel. Not like a picnic relaxing but like a "Garden Lunch with the Girls," relaxing. 

I chose a purple and white gingham fabric from JoAnn Fabric. It took about 2 yards of approx. 46" wide fabric stitched together to fit my table. I finish stitched the entire hemline also. And there you have it....my new tablecloth.

After a successful trip to the Dollar Tree I brought home the purple placemats, the lime green charger plates, 2 lime green towels and the seed packets that I placed at each place setting.

I cut the towels in half and hemmed them making them into napkins,  and then tied them with purple ribbon from Michaels. I also purchased the pink vase bottles from Michaels on sale. The rest of the place setting items and the white urn are from my personal collection.

I couldn't resist adding a bit of a Foodie Friday recipe for you too! This Herbed Greek Yogurt Dip came to mind because it's so light and delish with veggies. It just so happens it matches my tablescape....hmmm......maybe that was a conscious decision!

Herbed Greek Yogurt Dip

1- cucumber
1 1/2 cups fat-free Greek Yogurt
1/2 cup sour cream
3 Tbs. chopped fresh dill
2 Tbs. chopped fresh mint
1 tsp. grated lemon zest
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 head cabbage, optional

Grate unpeeled cucumber; chop. Drain on paper towels; squeeze dry. Combine chopped cucumber with yogurt, sour cream, dill, mint, zest, garlic, salt and pepper.

CABBAGE BOWL

Transfer dip to cabbage or serving bowl. Serve with veggies and/or pita chips or wedges. 

MAKES 12 servings
***Recipe from-Celebrate with Woman's World-Summer Keepsake Issue pg. 7

I hope you enjoyed my "GARDEN LUNCH WITH THE GIRLS" tablescape and recipe today. Have a wonderful Father's Day weekend!

CHEERS TO ALL THE DAD'S!

Katheen

****Thanks for stopping by and sharing your day with me. Stop by on Monday to see a very cool DIY project!

CREATING A NATURESCAPE MANTEL & DIY VASE

Since I started blogging nearly a year ago, I have noticed an interesting change in how homeowners discuss how much they are spending on decorating. It used to be we didn't discuss prices, but that has certainly changed. Today, with so many DIYers, vintage thrift shoppers, and stores like IKEA, we all feel proud what we have done on so little! I like this new trend.....its fun, rewarding and let's face it, we all love to save money!

On the heels of saving money.......I have been laboring with how to decorate my fireplace mantel for Spring, quite honestly, by not spending a lot of money. I am all about recycling and reusing items by changing up their location.

I tossed around the ideas of colorful twigs, big urns to anchor and loads of other things. Of course I went to Pinterest and perused their pages of ideas, but nothing hit me. Then I was in JoAnn Fabric the other day and I found a small print that was very simple. It had ferns, a butterfly and some lettering painted on it. That was all I needed. I bought the print and built the mantel starting with my new little fern print. It reminded me of the woods when I was a kid where the ferns grew wild......hence my mantel theme was born.

I decided to make vases to incorporate into the theme using jars. Since I have already mod-podged and sprayed jars, I needed to try something else. I headed to Dollar Tree and found this cool lime green and white stripe clothesline and decided to wrap each jar with it. The color was great and would blend in nicely with the existing greens I was using.

Materials needed:

•  Thin clothesline or twine (Dollar Tree) (My 3 jars took one spool of clothesline.)
•  Elmers or Fabric glue
•  Glue gun
•  Old jars of various sizes

Instructions:

• Unwind clothesline
• Dab one spot on the very top of the jar edge with hot glue
• Start applying the clothesline by pushing the end of the clothesline into the hot glue (Make sure it is secure before moving on.)
• Apply Elmers or Fabric glue around each line pushing together the clothesline tightly so that there is no gap between rows. It is necessary to make sure you have enough glue on each line to keep things secure. The glue dries clear, so no worries about getting spots.
• At the bottom of the jar as you near the end, dot it with the hot glue just as you did in the beginning.

It's that easy.......aren't they the cutest? 

  NATURESCAPE MANTEL

To complete the mantel I needed something a little larger on both ends to anchor the vignette. I brought out 2 of my Ethan Allen pieces from years ago, filled them with moss from the Dollar Tree and ivory flameless candles that I had in my entertainment stash. I love the way they flicker in the evening light. 

I also needed some flowing fern like vine that I found in JoAnn Fabrics to ground the picture.

At first I wasn't sure I would like all different shades of green on the mantel, so I added just a bit of color by using fresh flowers in the color of purple and white and that was just enough for me.

I'm really happy with the final results. It's quite simple and was so inexpensive. Why not look around your house to see what you have, re-purposing is so much fun. I love new perspectives on old objects. Is it time for you to freshen something in your home?

I hope you have enjoyed watching me build my new Naturescape Mantel. Well see you Foodie Friday for some heavenly deliciousness!

Until then--Happy Creating!

Kathleen

***Thanks so much for stopping by The Lavender Bouquet. We'd love to hear from you. Feel free to leave us a comment.

                                             

Countdown to Christmas--Week #4 DIY---Christmas Ornaments

I can't believe this is Week #4 of my Countdown to Christmas DIY projects. This week I am featuring some Martha Stewart Adhesive Stencils that we used to decorate clear ornaments. Along with the purchase of the stencils, I also bought several colors of stencil paint, and small spouncers for paint application. Tiny items like jingle bells, gingerbread men, and snowflakes were added for a little added interest to the inside of each ornament. A pretty red ribbon, tied in a bow was added with a loop at the top for hanging on the tree.

The photo below features a "Merry Christmas" ornament that my 18 year old niece created during our evening crafting. She did a lovely job laying out the stencil and applying the paint with a spouncer. She also crafted two other ornaments, one for herself and a matching one for her boyfriend for a Christmas gift.  She monogrammed one side with each of their initials and then stenciled a Christmas design on the other side. They turned out so beautiful. I am sure he will love her very special gift from the heart!

This is such a fun and easy craft for children and adults gathered around the family table. It is an inexpensive gift that may be personalized for that special someone on your Christmas gift list or just make one for your own tree.

Happy painting!


ENJOY!
K

DIY--Tartan Holiday Pillow

We had a beautiful weekend! The sun was shining and the air had just the right amount of crispy cool to warrant being able to just wear a vest. My kind of weather.......I would be happy if our winters were just like this weekend. Wishful thinking!

My husband and I worked diligently this weekend. Checking off our outdoor list. The garage is cleaned and all of the patio furniture is in. The planters are emptied and stored. We even stacked the wood he ordered for the fireplace. Preparing for winter, yuck, but it is done and something else is checked off my list.

Speaking of lists, I have been gathering my list of DIY's for the upcoming holidays. I thought I would start this early while the selection is fresh and available in the stores. By doing so I can share with you and maybe even give you a nudge to start early too!

I have always loved Tartan plaids, but this year I am really inspired by them.  So inspired I am going to use them in my home decorating this year. I couldn't wait so I got a head start on a fun little project.

It just so happens that Tartan seems quite plentiful at the moment. I saw red, green and white plaids, with the red being my favorite. I did a bit of shopping today at Michaels and JoAnn Fabric. I was able to find spools of Tartan plaid ribbon in various sizes, one of them a flannel 1.5 inch from JoAnn Fabric is what you will see today in my DIY pillow project.

Last year my friend Sharon loved a Christmas pillow that I have on one of my sofas during the holidays. I had purchased it from Horchow a few years ago and it is beautiful, but expensive. When Sharon told me how much she loved it, I mentioned that I thought I could make a similar pillow myself if I just took the time to do it.

Although, it is not quite the same holiday design as my Horchow pillow, it is a festive pillow that cost a fraction of what mine did.

Materials you will need:

1--12 x 16 Pillow form ($4.50) (You may use loose stuffing instead also)
1- 14x16 inch piece of fabric (I used unbleached muslin-$2.78)
1-County Red Stencil Paint ($2.99)
1- spool Tartan Plaid Flannel Ribbon ($7.79)
1 set of stencils $6.99
1 set of small sponge spouncers (applicator for paint) 4.99
***I have plenty of ribbon, applicators, stencils, and paint left for other projects, so taking that into consideration the final cost of my pillow is approx. $15.00

 Directions:


1. Cut 2 pieces of 14"L x 18" W pieces of fabric. (Unbleached Muslin)
2.  Measure and locate the center of the fabric and mark. Place the letters to be stenciled evenly spaced across the material working from the center outward.
3. Tape the stencils in place to avoid shifting.
4.  Pour a small amount of paint into a shallow bowl and dip the sponge applicator coating the sponge with paint. Dab off a bit before applying it to the fabric. Apply as much or as little as you like.
5.  Let the paint dry completely. Then put the piece into the dryer for a few minutes to seal the paint.
6.  Trim one piece of tartan ribbon measuring from end to end of width of fabric.
7.  Stitch ribbon in place and press on reverse side.
8.  With right sides together stitch the perimeter of the pillow allowing a 1-inch side seams AND a 6-inch opening so that the pillow may be stuffed through the hole.
9. Cut corners on an angle before turning the fabric right side out. When turning the fabric right side   out, gently use the point of fabric scissors by pushing the point into the point of the corner of the pillowcase. This allows for a nice crisp point.
10. Press.

11. Stuff the form into the pillow case.

12. Blind stitch the opening closed....touch up with iron if necessary. YOU ARE FINISHED!

 I love my new Holiday Pillow.........

and I love the fact that I saved so much money!

I hope you are inspired to start making some of your upcoming holiday projects yourself. You truly can save alot of $$ by setting aside a bit of time and revving up those creative juices. The end result can be so rewarding!


Share your projects with us on our Facebook page The Lavender Bouquet. Please pass my link along to your friends too!

I would love to see what your ideas are for the upcoming holidays. See you Wednesday!


ENJOY!
K

DIY-- Halloween Decor

As I was thinking about Halloween quickly approaching I thought I had better get busy, get my wreath made for the front door, and get my porch decorated. Oh gosh, I had just decorated it for FALL.....wasn't there a way I could do a presto-chango and have my Fall porch change to my Halloween porch?  Actually I started channeling Samantha from Bewitched for a little help and she obliged...........

This is my 2013 FALL WREATH.

   

  This is my 2013 Halloween Wreath.

I ran to JoAnn Fabric and picked up a paper mache' hat, ($1.59) spray painted it black, and stapled it
to the existing leaves on the wreath. I purchased THE WITCH IS IN placque ($3.89) from JoAnn also and attached it with a bit of wire to the bottom of the wreath. Everything was 70% off making my grand total to change my wreath less than $5.50!!

Adding my favorite Houston gauze ghost to the corn stalks worked well with the existing mums, pumpkins and gourds.

I added stick figure ghosts that I bought at a craft show many years ago in Ohio, on the other side....giving another touch for Halloween.

Last year in Home Depot I found black twigs with tiny purple battery operated lights on them. I stuck them into the existing planters on my porch and added a few leaves to the already planted baby cabbage plants in the pots. These little purple lights give an eerie look in the darkness on Halloween night. Last year my husband monogrammed the white pumpkin for me, and the real pumpkin on the right side my husband carves the night before Halloween. We still love the old fashioned carved pumpkin with a candle.......remember the smell of the candle burning the lid of the pumpkin?

My Halloween porch is finished. I added corn stalks and skeletons to the mix for some added spookiness! For just a few dollars and a little help from "Samantha" we are now ready for our little goblins!!

Happy Halloween to all..........

ENJOY!
K