Birch Branch Wreath...mini tutorial.

So, I decided that I really needed a new Christmas wreath for my front door.  I wanted something that would still look festive and fitting for the holiday, but unique at the same time. 

Then the other day when I was at JoAnn's I came across some birch branches.

I love birch...the smooth, round shape of the branches and the white, papery bark.  Ugh, it's just beautiful to me.

The branches at Joanne's were originally $14.99 for one, 48 inch branch but were marked fifty percent off...making them $7.50 each.

This seems to be a pretty good deal from the research I've done.  I also found some birch branches on Amazon.  The price was about $40 for four, 48 inch branches...making them $10 a piece which isn't too bad.

I set out cutting down my brach into 1/4 inch discs...not fun when the miter saw is in the garage and the temperature outside is 15 degrees.  After several cycles of cutting and running inside to thaw out I had cut down my entire branch into an armload of wooden discs.

Then, using piece of cardboard from an old box, I cut out a ring to use as my wreath base.  If you don't have a piece of cardboard lying around you could use foam core board or anything sturdy enough to support the weight of the wreath.

I made the cardboard ring three inches wide and it measured approximately 15 inches in diameter.  You can adjust those measurements to you liking if you want your wreath bigger, smaller, wider, thinner...

Then I used my trusty old glue gun to attach all of the discs to the cardboard ring.

I started by attaching a row of discs down the center of the cardboard ring, then added a row on either side of it.  It's okay if the discs hang over the cardboard because you won't see it anyway.

Then I just continued layering my wood discs.  I added two more rows on top of the bottom three to cover the gaps, then finished with one more row on top.

 

The finishing touch was this aztec print bow at the bottom of the wreath.

And here's how it looks on my turquoise door...that I'm still debating on painting, but can't decide what color.

I love the earthiness of this wreath.  It would look great in a farmhouse style home, but would also look great in a modern styled home.  It's super versatile.  I also love that you could leave it up on your front year round if you wanted too.  And the thing I love best of all, that it only cost me about $10 to make it.

Birch branch...$7.50 {Joanne Fabric and Craft}

Black and White Aztec Print Ribbon...$4 {Joanne Fabric and Craft}

Glue...{free- already on hand}

Cardboard Ring...{free-from an old box in the garage}

Four words peeps...Merry Christmas to Me!

Here Comes {Halloween}!

My project/things I really wanna do list continues to grow, while funds seem to keep shrinking. {Studly and I just had to replace the hot water heater. I would have postponed this $3,500 investment and used the money for more important things...like throw pillows {you could buy a lot of pillows with that kind of dough} and lumber, but the constant seepage of water from said water heater onto the basement floor made it a little difficult to overlook.

So, since the budget is a little thin currently, I have had to resort to inexpensive projects...and by inexpensive I mean {free}.

Wanna see what I've been up to?

I have been wanting to make a "vintage" style garland for awhile and came up with this super simple, super cute, super cheap version.

I made one for a friend using black lace that I had in my craft supplies and pages from an old book I had from previous projects. I'm old school when it comes to my lettering...I don't have a fancy paper cutting/di-cutting machine or anything like that, so I just picked a font off of the computer {Algerian} and printed the letters onto my book pages {which I strategically taped onto a piece of printer paper...old school remember}.
Turned out all right, no?



After I made hers, I decided I wanted one too. I was out of lace, so this time I used pieces of scrap fabric tied together.

I found the cool vintag-y pumpkin image online and used it to divide my words. I love how simple and classy they are...just the right amount of "festiveness" for my dining nook. Best part though, they were free and took only minutes to make.

I figured since I had the book pages and glue gun already out I may as well make some paper wreaths to accompany the garland.

I started out using black lace again and a spooky, cat image.

I still had some time on my hands so I made a second one using glitterized bats and little black gem for the center.

I still had some time on my hands so I made a third. This one is my favorite of the bunch. I used an old frame with a festive greeting, printed from the computer, which I embellished with more glitterized bats and glued it to the wreath with crap loads of hot glue. It turned out fan"freakin"tastic, if you don't mind me saying so.



The frame is actually made out of plastic instead of wood, so it's fairly lightweight. I'm thinking a solid wood frame would be to heavy to work for this project.



And again, the best part about these wreaths is that they cost me nothing, just a little of my time.

After finishing all of these projects I had to see how they would look in their new home...the porch.



This just goes to show, that you don't need expensive equipment {though it doesn't hurt} or a lot of money to create cool things. You'd be surprised what you can come up with limited supplies. As the old adage goes "poverty breeds creativity". Okay, so I just made that up, but it works. Happy crafting!

Blue door...adorned.

I finished my lima bean wreath. I love the door even more with this adornment. A pretty little wreath for under $10...me likey. What's more, the wreath will be absolutely fab for fall/Thanksgiving. And yes, I'm already thinking about it. I will be whipping out the Halloween decorations for the inside come July 25th. A bit too much, possibly. But I love fall. At least I won't be putting up the decorations outside...at least not for a few more weeks.