Christmas Wreath: Rolled Fabric Flowers and Evergreens

Yesterday I worked on our Christmas wreath, I think it needs a simple bow - so while I decide, here is a sneak peak.

I used the same tutorial for the rolled fabric flowers as seen on the Christmas tree

I then glued them to a floral wreath that was cut in half (the other half was used for our fall wreath) and stapled some local evergreens to cover the rest of the wreath.

I used about 2 yards of fabric for the flowers, so total cost of new supplies was only $4! I'll be back next week with finished photos.

I'm also excited to share my next DIY Christmas gift, it is super simple and I love it (hopefully you will too!) Stay tuned!

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Don't forget to enter for a chance to win {4} 8.5x11 prints from my etsy shop!

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Annabelle's Christmas Photos

After we put up the tree, I was excited to get my annual Christmas shot with Annabelle. I decided to try this tutorial on taking photos with a bokeh effect background. I still have to work on the camera settings and lighting, but here a few that I got.  

Annabelle was a very good sport! She especially didn't like the santa hat. Let me rephrase that, she liked it but only as a chew toy. She eventually gave in and we got a few good ones. I love the last one, it's like she is saying, can I take this off now?

and finally, here are a few pics from the last two years:

2011

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2010

Such a sweet puppy face! She is much furrier now - I love the scruffy face too though!

I only make Annabelle wear bows and scarfs one time a year ... so I guess it's okay :) 

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Fall Decor: Gold Magnolia Wreath

When it comes to seasonal decorations, I like to keep it pretty simple. This year for fall, I decided to make a wreath and after seeing Britt's fall inspiration from Gus & Lula.

I decided to use magnolia leaves because I liked the shape and thought the thickness of the leaf would hold up well. Since I am using real leaves, I don't plan to keep it past the season, but I hope that it holds up for the next few months.

I gathered some leaves ...

cut a 14" foam floral wreath in half so it will sit flush on the door and I'll have one for Christmas, thanks for the idea Pinterest!

I then poked diagonal holes with a meat thermometer ...

filled with a little craft glue and put the leaves in at an angle. I ended up with about three rows of overlapping leaves.

Once the glue dried (about an hour or two) I sprayed it with Krylon's gold spray paint

I used a 3M hook to mount it to the door, tied ribbon around the wreath fairly tight so that it wouldn't move as much, and attached it to the hook.

Total cost: foam wreath was about $4 (Michaels with 40% coupon) and gold spray paint was also about $4 (Michaels with 40% coupon), leaves were free!

about $8, plus I have the other half of the wreath to use later!

Total time was about an hour or two ...

I'm working on the rest of our porch decor, stop by soon for pics!

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