Fall Grapevine Wreath

Looking for an easy fall craft? This wreath is quick and affordable, and will look great on your front door!

All you need is:
Grapevine wreath
3 Berry garlands, 5' long each (use more or less depending on your taste)
Accessories - I used two pinecone/leaf accents, but you could also use a bow or whatever else you like
Glue gun

Carefully unwrap your garland, and begin weaving it around the grapevine wreath. After you have used all of the garland, make sure it is evenly spaced and secure it in a few places with a glue gun.

Arrange your accent pieces on your wreath and secure with glue...

That's it! Your all done! Hang on your door and enjoy!

Easy Decorative Letters

Have you ever painted decorative letters for your house, but had a hard time getting the paint into all the small nooks and crannies? Use this easy tip to get everything covered, plus save time and paint!

You will need:
Your project
Wood stain
Rubbermade containers (2)
Paint stirring sticks
Foam brush

First, choose a wood stain that will work with your project. Generally, a medium brown stain works best. The stain that I used was a little dark, but it still worked fine.

Pour some of the stain into one of the rubbermade containers. Place the letter into the stain and agitate it so that it is coated with the stain. Turn it over and repeat so that both sides are evenly covered.

Place the stirring sticks across the second rubbermade container. Place the stained letter across the sticks and allow it to dry. Use the foam brush to wipe off any extra stain.

Once the stain is dry, paint the front of the letter. Repeat with the remaining letters/pieces of your project.

The Wood Connection and Valentine's Day Crafts

Have you heard about The Wood Connection? The Wood Connection has TONS of different wooden crafts to choose from. They have crafts for every season, holiday, and life event. There is a ton of cute home decor. Best of all, the crafts are all reasonably priced and pretty easy to complete! They encourage you to take pictures in their shop so that you can remember what to do when you get home, and they also have pictures and instructions on their website.

A few weeks ago, I got together with some friends for a craft night. I was able to make both of these projects that evening:

Small "Love" letters

Hearts on pedestals

We had such a fun time, and it was nice to be able to complete everything in one sitting. I can't wait to go back and get more stuff for Spring!

Also - in addition to crafts, they also sell wooden furniture. You should definitely check them out!

Easy Table Runner

You will need:

1. 3 - 4 different fabrics - I used 1 yard for the middle section, 1 1/3 yard for the smaller stripe and back, and 2/3 yard for the end piece.
2. Thread
3. 1 yard fusible interfacing
4. Sewing machine, sewing notions

Time: about 60 - 90 minutes
Cost: variable, depending on your fabric
**All seam allowances are 1/4"**

Instructions:

1. Cut your fabric to the following lengths:
a. middle piece: 36" x 18"
b. smaller stripes: 6" x 18" (2)
c. end stripes: 12" x 18" (2)
d: back: 36" x 18" (2)

2. Lay your fabric out to create the design of the table runner.

3. Pin right sides together and sew the top of the runner.

4. Pin your back piece (right sides together) and sew together.

5. Cut your interfacing to fit the table runner (2 pieces of 36" x 18"). Following the interfacing instructions, iron the interfacing to the wrong side of your back piece.

6. Pin the front and back pieces of your table runner (right sides together) and sew it together, leaving a 6" opening.

7. Turn the table runner right side out and iron smooth. Pin the opening edge of the runner and sew closed.

Paint Deals

Behr Paint and the Home Depot are currently promoting a rebate offer: buy 1 gallon of Behr paint and get $5 back, or buy a 5 gallon paint pail and get $20 back by mail-in rebate. Definitely check this out if you are thinking of doing some painting in the near future. I am not sure how much longer this promotion will last...so hurry quick!

Ideeli

Ideeli is a website that is similar to Gilt Group, but they seem to offer a wider variety of products. Different items go on sale throughout the week, and are usually only available for about a day. They also periodically have give-aways that you can enter to win. You have to be a member to shop, so follow this link to join:
http://www.ideeli.com/invite/lisapearson

Accent Pillows

Accent pillows can be an easy, affordable way to add a little personality to your room. These pillows are very easy to sew and making them yourself may be less expensive than purchasing them from the store.

Skill level: Beginner

You will need:

1. Sewing machine
2. Fabric with matching thread*
3. A pillow form

*Some fabric stores sell remnant pieces of fabric at great prices. I purchased my fabric from Material Girls Quilts and was able to buy remnant pieces for about $5/pillow.

Directions:

1. Cut the fabric that will be used for the front of your pillow into a square that is approximately 1" larger than the size of your pillow form. I cut my fabric into a 16" square because I used a 15" pillow - for the sake of these directions, I will include the measurements that I used for a 15" pillow.
2. Cut the fabric that will be used for the back of your pillow into a 16" x 21" rectangle (16" tall, 21" wide).
3. Cut the back fabric piece in half, so that you have two 16" x 10.5" pieces.
4. Next, hem one side (the 16" side) of each back piece. I made a 1/2" hem.
5. Once you have hemmed one side of both back pieces, pin both back pieces to the front pillow piece, right sides together. The hems on the back pieces should be in the middle of the pillow and the fabric should be overlapping.
6. Sew the back pieces to the four side of the front pillow piece. I used a 1/2" hem.
7. Turn your sewn pillow right-side-out and insert your pillow form. Congratulations - you have an accent pillow!