Outside Christmas Lights 2013

Putting up outside Christmas lights was one of the

very first things I got done this year... I put them up in

mid-November when it was 60 degrees out! But I did

NOT turn the lights on until after Thanksgiving :) 

Anyways... the only difference between this year and

last year was that I added lights to two plants on the right

side of our garage. Last year, I told myself that I should get

someone to line the house with lights for 2013, but it just

didn't happen this year. So again, I'll say... maybe next year!

Twine Initial Wreath

I've been working on a TON of different projects all at once, but

most of them aren't quite finished yet - that's a big reason why I
haven't been able to post anything lately... But hopefully I can get
some projects wrapped up soon so I can share with all of you!

 

What I do have ready are these two simple, cute wreaths. Now that

I think about it though, can you call it a "wreath" when it's not round

at all? Not really sure what else I would call it... maybe door decor??

I don't know. Whatever. I'm sticking with wreath. ANYWAYS...

 

My sister made this H wreath. She used cardboard to cut out an

H, and secured the twine to the cardboard using hot glue. A few

paper flowers, a bow, and a ribbon completed the look. How cute?!?

I loved this wreath so much that I literally took it off her

door to put on mine! It's very convenient that we both have the

same last initial (actually, we have all the same initials, RLH).

One of my prerequisites for a husband was that his

last name had to begin with an H! Kidding... not really... :)

 

After putting up the H wreath at my house, I bought pink flowers

to put in planters on either side of the door. I think it's a cute

summer look, even if it is more girly than what I usually do.

 

Anyways, two weekends ago, we had a bunch of people

over to the house for a new bible study group. One of the girls

liked the wreath and said she would love to have one, so I made

her one on Sunday =) She asked for the ribbons to be black. I

ended up just getting a D from Hobby Lobby (40% off too with

a coupon!)  and I already had the other supplies. It isn't as

big as the H wreath, but it's still adorable!

 These wreaths would also look perfect in the spring and fall,

just by switching out the colors of the ribbon. Hope you like them....

(but I mean, honestly, if you don't, you're a little weird!!!)



Outside Christmas Lights 2012

I've been adding to my outside Christmas decorations each year,

and even though I still don't have as many lights up as I eventually

want to have, I am getting close!

 

 This year, I added two more trees on my front porch, as well

as garland and a wreath with lights around the front door.

I love the trees in all the windows facing the street. I haven't

attempted putting lights ON the house yet - my husband is a bit of

a Scrooge when it comes to decorating for Christmas, so I have to do

it all by myself! Maybe next year I will just hire someone

to put lights on the house?? At any rate, I still think it looks pretty.

If only my plants would grow faster and take up more space!!

Thumbtack Monogrammed Pumpkin

I saw the idea of decorating a pumpkin using thumbtacks on

Pinterest last year and didn't get around to making one then, so I

just HAD to do it this year! And I'm so glad I did, because I love it!

I just wanted a simple monogram ("H" for my last name). Of course,

the easiest way to do this would have been to print the letter from the

computer, but I wasn't really thinking about the most efficient way to do

things.... but I'll tell you what I did.  I had a wooden H that was curvy.

I traced the H onto newspaper and cut it out.

I just placed the newspaper on the pumpkin, and attached it with thumbtacks

to keep it in place.  I completed one section at a time, and had to overlap the

thumbtacks in order to completely cover all the newspaper.

It was a very simple project - the hardest part was finding silver thumbtacks!
I went to 3 different stores before I found what I needed at Michael's!
This size letter took about 200 thumbtacks. If I had to do it over again, I would
have started the letter lower on the pumpkin. Sitting right in front of it, I thought the
letter was low enough, but when it's sitting on the ground, it's a little too high on the
pumpkin for my liking.  But regardless, it's still adorable, and I love that I can keep it

on my porch well past Halloween and on into the Thanksgiving season!

Burlap Initial with Floral Fall Wreath

I made a new wreath over the weekend... totally stole the idea

from a wreath I saw at Hobby Lobby!! It was one of the easiest

wreaths I've ever made.... and one of the cutest!!

 

Supplies:

12" straw wreath

ribbon (took every bit of 9 yards that was 1.5" wide)

wooden H letter

burlap

fake flowers/berries/leaves

glue gun & scissors

Directions:

Wrap ribbon around wreath, hot gluing to secure it to the wreath.

Hot glue burlap to the wooden letter. 

Trim off any excess burlap, glue the edges down over the sides (the hardest step for me)

Hot glue the letter in place on the wreath.

Arrange the foiliage around the letter and hot glue in place.



 

 

Could it BE any easier?!?!?

Mine doesn't look EXACTLY like the one at Hobby Lobby - it was

a little more elaborate, with the foliage hanging down - but I was happy

with how it turned out =) Here is the inspiration wreath from Hobby Lobby:

I think the wreath accentuates the mums and pumpkins that

I have out on my front porch... everything is pretty simple though.
I just tied a couple yellow bows to the pumpkins, and wrapped the
yellow mums with burlap.  But I still think it looks nice!

 

Happy Fall Y'all!!