Presto Chango Christmas Wreath

Sneak Peek at my Christmas Wreath

I am getting a lot of mileage out of my white base wreath I bought at Target several months ago. With it I've been able to make a Magnolia Leaf Wreath for the fall.

I made a Feather Wreath for Thanksgiving.

Now it was time to give the wreath an injection of Christmas spirit. I removed the feathers, but left the green nuts on it. I had a green fabric leaf wreath that I made out of some floral filler stalks. All I did was twist 4 of the stalks into a circle shape and secure with a few pieces of floral wire.

I set my white base wreath inside the green leaf circle.

To secure the two together, 1) I fed some of the base wreath twigs under the leaf wreath and 2) twisted them over to hug the green leaf wreath.

That couldn't be any easier! No glue, no mess.

I compared two different ribbons next to my wreath and ultimately chose the black and white one.

Tied a pretty bow and stood back to admire.

Hmmm, I like it, but it just wasn't feeling Christmasy enough, so I quickly tucked some red floral sprigs with teeny bells on them into the wreath and gently curved them to match the shape of the wreath.

Now that is more like it!

In less than 10 minutes I have my Christmas wreath! This base wreath has been the best $10 I've spent all year!

I'm going to try to use this wreath all year and will be sure to share the transformations with you.

Sharing this project at these FABULOUS link parties:

DIY Showoff  Project Parade

Skip to My Lou - Made by You Mondays

Between Naps on the Porch - Metamorphosis Mondays

Mad in Crafts - Mad Skills Party
Tip Junkie - Handmade Projects Tues.

Coastal Charm - Nifty Thrifty Tues.

All Thingz Related- anything related Tuesdays

Creating a House of Grace- Twice owned Tuesdays

I'm Topsy Turvy - Topsy Turvy Tues.

Blue Cricket Design - Show and Tell Wednesday

Domestically Speaking - Power of Paint
The Tshirt Diaries - Upcycled Wednesday

Fine Craft Guild - Tutorial Link Party

Somewhat Simple.com - Strut Your Stuff

Shabby Chic Cottage - Transformation Thursdays

The Virginia House - We Can Do It Cheaper

Fireflies and Jellybeans - Show Off Your Stuff

Decor Mamma - Frugalicious Friday

In the Fun Lane- Fresh Coat Fridays

Miss Mustard Seed - Furniture Feature Fridays

Tater Tots and Jello - Weekend Wrap Up Party

Funky Junk Interiors - Saturday Night Special 

A Little Knick Knack - Everything but the Kitchen Sink

  Shabby Nest - Frugal Friday

Shutters for Displaying Christmas Cards

Thank you to everyone who left me such wonderful comments on my rustic Christmas décor! I may not have been able to reply to all of you, but I DID read each and every comment! And thank you to the rest of you who took time out of your day to look at my post. 

As promised, I am sharing with you the tutorial for creating the shutter screens that I display my Christmas cards on.

I am completely obsessed with decorating my home using shutters (only I use them on the inside instead of the outside!) I have one hanging in our half bathroom and two more in our upstairs hallway dressing up a dormer window. Luckily I still had two pairs laying around.

I began by attaching three hinges to hold a pair of shutters together.

I mixed two colors of red acrylic paint together (cadmium red medium & Lucas madder red) to get the perfect Christmasy red.

A perfect Christmas red is neither too orange nor too cranberry. It is very similar to Coca-Cola red.  

Factoid: Did you know that Coca-cola red is so special that the company does not share the formula for the color?

Using a 2" Purdy paint brush, I dabbed the brush into the paint and then wiped it off on the plate. Then dry brushed the paint onto the shutters, letting the bristles skip over the slats.

I kept dry brushing the shutter until I had enough paint for it to appear red, and yet some of the dark green color still peeked through.

 

Here is a close up of the green paint showing through:

Then I set each screen up in the corners of our living room and used clothespins to attach the cards.

The red shutters really bring in the holiday spirit!

I'm curious, how do you display your cards each year?

Rustic Christmas Decorating

"SANTA CLAUS IS COMIN' TO TOWN!" Cover your ears because a very tone deaf woman (myself) was belting out the Christmas songs this weekend. With Thanksgiving behind us, I released the restraints and broke out the Christmas décor. The kids are loving it and counting down the days until old St. Nick comes down our chimney!

Christmas Morning 2009 - Magic North Pole Snow Footprints (Baking Soda y'all!)

As I told you the other day, I wanted to create a rustic country theme this year in our living room. So, without anymore restraints....here it is!

I spy with my own two eyes, a Pottery Barn Inspired Lantern from the Habitat ReStore!

I told you I had a plan for those old pool balls!

Do you think I achieved my goal? Rustic? Country?

Goal or not, I think I like it.
Although it took me four days of noodling to decide I have to let it be.

I can't tell you how long I've been looking for an affordable cake stand.
Thieve's market in Raleigh had THREE! Count them...1...2...3!
Of course I only bought one, so if you need one, head on over there.

Yeah, Baby! You know I couldn't pass up those rusty sleigh bells at SuzAnna's!

An old cheese grater (you can't see it but it has a candle inside.)
An old sports stop clock and one of two large acorn decorations.
I couldn't resist them, after all Raleigh IS the City of Oaks.

Another PB Inspired Lantern. Love these $5 finds!

Each year I try to think of a new and creative way to display all our holiday cards.
This year I put together two shutters to make a screen. The tutorial is HERE!

That concludes the living room tour. If you aren't bored to death,
I'll show you a small vignette I have in our kitchen on top of the pie safe.

Isn't she adorable? That little angel found her way into my shopping bag at SuzAnna's.
I hope you all have a fabulous holiday season!

Now cover your ears again as I sing to Santa Baby (because I'm no Eartha Kitt!)

Also sharing on Southern Hospitality's Vignette Party 
And Coastal Charm's Open House

Making a Decorative Barn Door

Today you can get a double dose of Pretty Handy Girl! I am sharing a tutorial on making your own ladder shelves over at Centsational Girl's blog. If you haven't met Kate (aka Centsational Girl) she is a powerhouse of creative ideas for decorating your house, refinishing furniture, and much much more! So hop over there and then back here for a one-two punch of DIY!

When Miss Mustard Seed and I were junkin' on Black Friday, she asked what I was looking for. I immediately answered rustic, rusty, and anything that looks aged and has a story to tell. I am so wacky like that, I could care less how well something is made or if it is an expensive antique. When I die, my kids are going to be sadly disappointed that all these antiques I've collected over the years aren't worth a dime. C'est la vie, right?

So, this year for our Christmas décor, I decided to create a natural rustic country inspired theme. What better way to invoke that spirit than with an old barn door. The only problem was that I didn't own one. No problem, I'd just make one!

Materials:
Plywood board - painted or stained red
3 - 1" x 4" boards - painted or stained red
Nails or screws
Wood glue
D-ring picture hangers
Picture Wire
optional: Rusty door parts

In my "I can't throw anything away scrap pile" I took some old plywood scraps that had been stained with red stain.

You will need to measured the space above your mantle, subtract a few inches from the top and bottom, then cut the plywood down to size (using a circular saw or table saw.)

 

Lay two 1" x 4" strips of plywood as cross pieces.

And one 1" x 4" piece at an angle. Draw a line where the horizontal pieces intersected with the diagonal piece.

 

Use a miter saw, circular saw or jig saw* to cut the angled cuts.

Liberally appy glue to the back of the 1"x4" strips to secure them to the plywood base and then nail some finish nails into the strips to secure them. You can use a pneumatic nailer* if you have one, but screws or regular nails hammered in will work just as well! No need to buy any new tools for this project.

Hopefully you have a nail or hook already installed on your fireplace. Luckily I did, but in the past I have also just leaned artwork against the brick. So, if you choose to lean, ignore the next few steps.

Measure the location of the hook on your mantle. For example, if the hook is 20 inches from the ceiling, and you want your barn door's top to hang 12 inches from the ceiling, then you will need to install the hooks 9 inches down from the top of the barn door. This will allow an inch for the wire to slack. Get out your D shaped picture hooks and screw them to the back of your barn door using a cordless drill* or just a screw driver and some muscles. Repeat on the opposite side.

Feed some metal picture wire through one D ring. Twist once...

...then feed the wire back through the D ring and twist the rest of the wire tightly against itself.

Pull the wire taught and repeat on the opposite side.

This is the best way to attach picture wire so it doesn't slip. If you are hanging something super heavy, you might need to loop the wire back through the D rings a few more times.

If you have some old gate handles, hinges, or latches, attach them to your door. I screwed this old RUSTY gate lock to the top of my barn door. It makes a convenient hanger for...

...my Christmas wreath!

That's all I'm going to show you of our mantle.

On Tuesday Layla at The Lettered Cottage is hosting a holiday mantle display party. Until then, I better get crackin' and finish decorating.

*If you are wondering why I seem a little heavy on the power tool mentions in this post, that is thanks to Ann (aka Nutbird), she really wants to know what is in my toolbox. If you are interested, click on the link at the top of my blog labeled My Toolbox. Those are the essential tools I recommend. In addition to the ones listed on that page, I do own:

• a 10" Dual Bevel Sliding Compound Miter Saw (I just love saying that out loud!)
• a Router
• a Pneumatic Trim Nailer and Stapler
• a Table Saw
• a Band Saw
• a Scroll Saw (which I still have not used yet)

...and for Christmas I'm going to whisper in Santa's ear and ask for a Dremel 8000 this year. Do you think I deserve it? Have I been good? If you see him, please put in a good word for Pretty Handy Girl ;-).

Sharing this project at these FABULOUS link parties:

DIY Showoff  Project Parade

Skip to My Lou - Made by You Mondays

Between Naps on the Porch - Metamorphosis Mondays

Mad in Crafts - Mad Skills Party
Tip Junkie - Handmade Projects Tues.

Coastal Charm - Nifty Thrifty Tues.

All Thingz Related- anything related Tuesdays

Creating a House of Grace- Twice owned Tuesdays

I'm Topsy Turvy - Topsy Turvy Tues.

Blue Cricket Design - Show and Tell Wednesday

Domestically Speaking - Power of Paint
The Tshirt Diaries - Upcycled Wednesday

Fine Craft Guild - Tutorial Link Party
Somewhat Simple.com - Strut Your Stuff
Shabby Chic Cottage - Transformation Thursdays
The Virginia House - We Can Do It Cheaper
Fireflies and Jellybeans - Show Off Your Stuff