Fall is one of those seasons that just happens for everyone at a certain moment.  For me, last year, it was just something in the air.  This year, it happened to be the turning of the calendar to my favorite month of September. 

I was playing in the park with my girl a few weeks ago, and noticed the beauty of the fallen leaves from a nearby magnolia tree.   It was instant inspiration!  Up close, I loved the shape and caramel color of the leaves so I thought they would make a perfect wreath for our front door.  

This year, my requirements for a fall wreath were this: cheap and easy !   Here’s this year’s front door wreath, and the best part is that it cost me less than $5 dollars. 

Some of the magnolia leaves have a bit of shimmer . . . I couldn’t resist enhancing many of them with a little metallic craft paint.  

I simply painted some of the leaves with various craft paints from my stash.

Then I wiped off half the paint with a paper towel to highlight the leaf’s natural beauty.

A little hot glue on an 18 inch craft ring from Michaels . . .

90 minutes later: a shimmery caramel colored front door wreath, tied up with braided jute twine and secured to the door with a 3M adhesive hook.  

Easy, inexpensive, and oh-so-autumn! 

Magnolia leaves hold their shape for several months, so this year’s version should (fingers crossed) last through the season.  

Are you finally ready for autumn too ?   What are your plans to bring fall into your home this year?  Do share !

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A big thank you for all those who linked up to the Stars & Stripes Party this week, you all amazed me with your creativity !  I loved visiting your links and seeing how you style your homes, thank so much to all of you for sharing, it was a lot of fun !

Here’s just a few of the patriotic treats, projects, and displays that stood out to me . . .

Red, white, and blue tablescape and hutch display at Sweet Something Design

Simple glitter letters on shelf with flags from Eighteen25

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Greetings friends, happy Friday !  You all know I’m on a lavender kick lately as I’m harvesting my plants in my garden.   I’ve made plenty of bouquets this week to give to all my neighbors and friends.  My entire house is filled with the scent right now.

Lavender is one of the most soothing herbal remedies, so much so it helps you sleep better !   So this week, I put my dried lavender to good use by making some eye pillows with linen fabric and simple embroidery.  

Here’s my step-by-step how I made these lavender eye pillows:

Supplies:  Fabric of choice; fabric lining (optional); dried lavender (approx 1.5 cups for each pillow); organic rice or flax seed; sewing machine; embroidery hoop & thread (optional); ink jet printer; scissors; masking tape; cardstock. 

First, I cut my linen fabric to approximately 8” x 10”, then used masking tape to attach it to cardstock.  Make sure your fabric is perfectly flat to the cardstock or it will cause a paper jam.   

Next, I centered this image below in a Word document, then ran it through my computer printer !     Printing with black ink comes out dark brown on the linen. 

Note, the ink when dry is steadfast to the fabric and won’t run, but try not to get it wet, because it can bleed just a bit. 

I hand embroidered the details of the lavender sprig to the linen with a small hoop and some deep purple thread. 

Next, I cut some fabric lining to the same size as my linen, then sewed my lining and printed linen inside out on three sides.  The lining is optional, but I think it helps keep the outside fabric texture smoother to the touch, especially if using these on your eyes.   

To create lavender filling for pillows, combine 2 parts dried lavender to 1 part organic rice or flax seed.  You can use less lavender if necessary, but I have plenty so that’s my math and I’m sticking to it.   If you’re short on lavender, you can also use essential oils to enhance the scent of your flax seed or rice filling. 

Fill your pillow with the lavender mixture, then hand sew fourth side together.

That’s it, easy peasy !

Use them for relaxation, headache tension, or even tucked in your pillowcase or bureau drawer.   And did you know lavender is a natural moth deterrent ?  Place them in your closet as a repellant !  Or just leave them next to your bed as a soothing scent to drift away to slumber. 

Here’s the best part !  I’m giving FIVE of them away to you, my lovely readers, PLUS a bundle of fresh lavender, from my garden to your door. 

To be eligible, simply leave a comment – the FIVE winners will be chosen by Random.org.  Giveaway ends Monday June 21st at 8 p.m. 

******  THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED  ******

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You knew I was going there.  You knew when I spied those jeweled wineglasses at Chateau St. Jean winery last weekend that I would be forced, literally forced, to recreate the look for less.  Just cause it’s in my DNA. 

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Over the past months, I’ve been putting just a few finishing touches on my stepdaughter’s bedroom, and one of the last things I wanted to do for her was inject the space with a dash of big girl glam.  As you know from my fixation on metallic finishes, I’ve been wanting to silver leaf something, anything, for quite some time.  An inexpensive bronze Kmart lamp became the victim.  I’ve had this lamp for over three years and it was just looking a little, well, plain to me.  So rather than buying her a new lamp, I just decided to give it a glitzier look. 

For the faint of heart, the lovers of standard lamp bases, and the devotees to dark bronze, avert your eyes, look away, look away !   Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Now, for those like me who adore all things shiny, feast your eyes on my latest transformation, a lamp refinished in silver leaf. 

Before and After:

This project was incredibly simple, and took only a few hours to complete.  Here’s the play by play. 

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My friend Lindsay is having a crafty little contest on Thursday and I thought I’d throw my name in the hat.  I consider myself pretty thrifty, but when you are forced to stick to a $5 dollar budget in this contest, you must get very resourceful.   

So I got my craft on the other day and made some paper maché Easter eggs using what I already had in my house – which is tricky when you only have brown eggs and very thin tissue paper.  But my kindergartener and I managed to hatch a fresh batch of blue eggs on the cheap. 

Disclosure:  I was completely unsure when I started this project if it would be a disastrous waste of time, so I decided to invest nothing beyond what I had on hand, which meant using brown not white eggs.  Or you can just use store bought plastic eggs, but I’m cheap.  Unsure of the outcome, I refused to brush my hair, my teeth, or get dressed out of my flannel plaid pajamas to make a special trip to the craft store or grocery store.  In hindsight, white eggshells would work better to save time and several layers of tissue.  Just saying. 

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The Special Interest Publications by Better Homes & Gardens are one of my all time favorite go to resources for DIY ideas.  Today, I thought I’d pass along some of the ideas from my inspiration files that I think are completely fabulous. 

Enjoy ! 

How cool is this idea to wallpaper the drawers of a dresser with a little decoupage ?

Sew a half dozen sheer napkins together for a cafe curtain, and add charm with mismatched flatware as curtain hooks !

Add a pop of color to your pantry by sewing kitchen towels into basket liners. 

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I’m just going to come right out and say it.  We.Women.Need.Chocolate. 

The mood lifting qualities of chocolate cannot be denied.  There is simply no such thing as too much chocolate.  At least, that’s how I see the world – through chocolate tinted glasses.

Last week, in anticipation of Valentine’s Day, I began my adventure in chocolate candy making.  What began as an experiment ended happily ever after with a blissful box of three varieties of dark chocolate candy. 

First, I started with Sea Salt Caramels dipped in Dark Chocolate.  You can read that harrowing journey right here.

My next adventure in chocolate candy making led to these two decadent delights: 

Raspberry Chocolate Squares and Toffee Bites.

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Whenever I pass the knitting section in the craft or specialty fabric stores and spy all of the beautiful yarns,  I wish that I had the skill to knit so I could put those gorgeous threads to good use.  Unfortunately, I don’t knit at all. 

Then I had an idea to use yarn in a decorative way, by wrapping it around some homemade frames and creating some original wall mirrors for a blank wall space.  With this project, I started out with every intention of making two wall mirrors, but in the end, I left one frame as is, just because I like it better that way. 

We had a very blank wall between two windows for the longest time and I finally decided to add some decor.  I already had the shelf, the pitcher, and the vintage Audubon print. 

These days, I’m very focused on adding more texture to my home in creative ways.  These yarn wrapped frames seemed the perfect way to do it, and a great project for a rainy weekend. 

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I can’t believe this year is almost over, and come to think of it, an entire decade !   2009 has  flown by at record speed.  It’s true what they say, “The days are long but the years are short”, and boy do they get shorter every year !

Anyway, I thought I’d post a roundup of some of the non-holiday focused crafty and creative projects I’ve completed in this past year, especially for those friends who are new to this blog.  Last week was a roundup featuring thirty of my Before & Afters of 2009.  Check it out right here if you missed it. 

Now for the creative and crafty roundup !

This fabric covered headboard is surrounded by decorative painted trim for a romantic and feminine look in the bedroom.

This DIY jewelry tree is an eco chic way to display jewelry, inspired by Urban Outfitters.  It was featured on Casa Sugar.

This Ballard Designs inspired laundry room drying rack was a cinch to put together and the effort has paid off handsomely.  It dries all our delicates and sweaters.  Love it !  It was also featured on Apartment Therapy !

Inspired by Restoration Hardware, I framed some vintage skeleton keys I found at a local salvage shop. 

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