Fall Wreath - On The Cheap

Fall Wreath on the Cheap 

Tutorial

I love, love, love fall!  How could we possibly have a true fall here in Central Texas?  Well okay, we don't. Maybe for about 8 days of sporadic cool, crisp weather spread over the course of two months and then low and behold, it's winter.  We just make it and fake it!

View of the finished product.  It looks as if my scarecrow lost a limb, grrrrrr -  dang dog!

I haven't made a wreath since the Spice Girls came out with their first hit single.  Pinterest is my new best friend, so I thought it was time.  There was only one problem , the cost.  I am really, squeaky, freakin' cheap.  I'm not sure why, or where this trait came from, but I am.  Unless its buying a purse, but that's another story.  

Up close and personal with the monogrammed dollar store pumpkin.


I wanted my wreath to be long and narrow, (I have a funky front door with a wonky little window.)  I used a piece of insulating foam for pipe from Home Depot, in the plumbing section,as my wreath base that set me back $1.38.   I had to cover that business up with something so I went with burlap from Micheal's craft store  that was around $6.00 for two yards with a coupon.  (I felt like this was on the high side, I'm sure you can find it much cheaper somewhere else.)  The ribbon came from Micheal's as well,on sale for $2.88.  The leaves and pumpkin came from Dollar Tree and cost, (you guessed it), a buck. 

Cut it down to the size you desire and duct tape the two ends together.  

I
 I cut the strips of burlap too wide, but it worked anyway.  You could also use burlap ribbon. Wrap it around the wreath using a glue gun to secure it on every other turn.  




After gluing the burlap all around the wreath, it's time to put the fun stuff on.  

The dollar store finds.  The pumpkin was very bright and garish.  I had to tone it down, and age it a bit with paint.

I used water downed  brown craft paint to highlight the grooves on the pumpkin.

I printed out a fancy-pant G font and glued it directly to the little guy with cheap, white school glue and a small paintbrush, but you could use Mod Podge.

I attached everything on that wreath using a glue gun, and made a simple loop bow with the ribbon to hang it. It's not the best, but I like it, and it's super light. When the door slams, and you know it will, it actually stays on.  Happy Fall ya'll!

                             Rock Candy

Oh how I love Pinterest!  We made rock candy last week, and while it took forever for the crystals to form -- it was worth the wait.  

You will need:

Wooden skewers (clip the points off)

Food coloring

Tons of sugar

Water

Glass jars

Clothespins

Boil a mixture of 3 parts sugar, 1 part water until it becomes a syrup.  Take off the burner and let cool for ten minutes.  Pour mixture into glass jars and add your food coloring.  Place sticks in jars, if your jars are larger you can fit two sticks, if they are smaller only use one stick -- they seem to crystallize better if they have a little elbow room. Hold the skewers in place with a clothespin on the lip of the jar.  Place the jars in a sunny spot, like a windowsill   It took about 8 days for ours to form completely, but it was a little humid that week.  

Blast From the Past

Sophie was over the moon with her latest and greatest Halloween costume this year - "80's Girl".  I catch myself referring to the eighties as if it were The Golden Age of my life.  My husband and I were kids and teens during this decade, so I feel like were are experts in all things eighties.  I start my sentences with, "We would of never shown our midriffs in the 80's."  or "We would of never left the house without makeup in the 80's".  Sophie must think of the 1980's as a magical time, where the people were fully made up to the nines everyday, and life was like a Molly Ringwald movie.  Maybe it was -- I'm not too sure, my memory is not as sharp as it used to be -- mostly due to the chemical warfare that I endured with my excessive grooming, ie Aqua Net.  

Owl Cupcakes

 

I have seen these cupcakes all over the internet this Halloween season and wanted an excuse to make them.  Sophie has Girl Scouts snack duty today, so we went for it!  They are so simple and so cute.

You will need:
1 Package of Oreos
3 Packages of M&M's -- you will need a lot of brown ones -- for some reason we barely had any brown.
20 baked cupcakes, iced with chocolate icing.

Split your Oreos carefully.  Use the plain side for the ears.  Take a serrated knife and saw the two sides off of the circle, (see pic).  Place ears at an angle on top and a little bit poking through the cupcake.  Attach  the eyes with icing and then place brown M&M, M side down, onto the white part with a little dot of frosting.  Place a yellow or orange vertically for the beak.

 Super cute and easy!

The Kids Are Alright

When we moved back to Hilltop it was hot mess, to say the least.  Griffin did not want to move -- at all.  He was so happy in Brenham at his Christian private school, B.C.A.  Sophie was bummed to leave, but was excited to come home to Hilltop and live in a house again, and not in a commercial building that was under construction.  Well, it was a bumpy restart here.  Sophie adjusted fine, Griffin - not so much.  Without going into the details - we are now  "accidental"  homeschoolers.  It was the BEST decision we have EVER made.  I am grateful for the wonderful years that both kids experienced in school.  Homeschool is something that I would have never considered unless for  the events that transpired.  It is new adventure in learning for our entire family.    Some days are tough.  When cabin fever hits us  we take action and go on a field trip, take a hike or go read outside.  I will include more about our homeschool adventures in the future.  

From Trash to Treasure -- Literally

Found this very old dresser on big trash day in my neighborhood. It was so heavy, but somehow the kids and I managed to lug it home hanging out of my trunk. It took a lot of cleaning, sanding, and Modge Podge, but I think it turned out pretty cute. Note to self: Don't ever try to wallpaper.

Sophie has a Parisian themed room, so it now holds her "stuff". You know the "stuff" you would love to get rid of when your child is spending the night at someones house? Surely, she won't miss ticket stubs, 100's of jelly bracelets, stickers, bits of this and that -- right?? Well, Sophie would.

So now it is housed in a funky dresser that she helped to create. Problem solved.