My Weekend In Color...

xoxo

DIY: Happy Fall Banner

Continuing along with the Fall crafting spree, I added to my a Fall banner created from a vintage map, twine and a little bit of paint. 

Happy Fall!

 

You will need:

Vintage paper of some sort

A laser printer with Orange Ink

Twine

Hot glue gun/sticks

Manila folder (or something to make a triangle stencil with)

Scissors

Using this free font I printed out each individual letter on the glossary of an old book of maps I had left over from this project.  (You can find the Halloween font for the Pumpkin symbol here)

 

I created a triangle template out of a manila folder to trace over each letter after they were printed.

Once cut out, I dry- brushed goldenrod paint along the edges of the triangles keeping the brush dry and paint inconsistent. 

 

 

By the time my glue gun was warmed up my paint was dry and I was ready to glue twine to the back top of the triangles.  Almost instantly I was able to hang up my new Fall Banner onto my mantel.

 

 

 

It is a festive addition to my Fall Feather Wreath and goes perfectly with the handmade pumpkins I will be adding tomorrow!

See you then!

Linking up with WOW US WEDNESDAY!

Fall Feather Wreath

Hello Birdies!   I just wanted to let you know that it is mid-October and I have not done a single thing to decorate my house for Fall.  {Enter gasps and judgment here.}

Don’t get me wrong, I have been busy.  I jogged for 15 minutes last week.

But after seeing all of you Instagram pictures of the autumn trees, post your pumpkin recipes and pin your ideas for the latest and greatest painted pumpkin,  I decided I should put down the bottle (of cough medicine) and get to work.  So I set out to craft as many Fall themed crafts I could possibly manage in one weekend.

So I pushed through my sore throat (I don’t just drink cough syrup for fun people) and went to my local craft store for a couple of feathers and burlap.  As I was checking out the sales girl repeatedly told me how lucky I was that they actually had burlap in stock.  Apparently some Pinterest wreath is causing a burlap shortage everywhere.  I think my wreath is going to cause the same phenomenon.

 

I sewed some fabric and burlap flowers, cut out burlap leaves, gathered a wreath, found coordinating twine, heated up my hot glue gun and set out to work.

 

 

I’m not sure if it was my fever breaking, or me just being dramatic about the gorgeous outcome… but I have chills!

 

 

Join me tomorrow to see how I made a painted Fall banner for my mantel using a vintage map and twine.

 

Linking up with WOW US WEDNESDAY!

Words to live by...

Sometimes others can just say it better than I can...

Keep walking, though there's no place to get to.
Don't try to see through the distances. That's not
for human beings.
Move within, but don't move the way fear makes
you move.
Today, like every other day, we wake up empty and
frightened.
Don't open the door to the study
and being reading. Take down a musical
instrument.

Let the beauty we love be what we do.
There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the
ground.

Rumi

Tea Take Two

Yesterday I was drinking some tea.

By yesterday I mean last week because it has been a good minute since I blogged last. 

So today I thought I would carry on with the tea trend and show you a tea cart that I have made over.  Now this is the second tea cart that I have painted; the first was a gem that I purchased for next to nothing at a yard sale:

It’s super cute with its new key lime make up.

The second and most recent tea cart was found on the side of the road about 100 yards from my house.

I stole it from my neighbor.

Just kidding, they were throwing it away.

On it was nothing but, you guessed it, bird poop.

I’m all about the birds people, but that’s disgusting.

So it sat outside of my house on my back stoop for a couple of days until I go the nerve to clean it.

 

Once wiped down, I took an electric sander to the surface to rough it up so the layers of white eggshell paint would adhere nicely.

 

 

Next I took Miniwax's grey wood stain and barely dipped a clean rag into the can. (make sure it is mixed incredibly well, this stuff will settle on the bottom of the can like crazy).

 

Taking my stain dipped rag I then rubbed it across the edges of the tea cart and anywhere where it had detail.  Keep repeating this process until you get the desired look.  For a darker contrast keep applying more stain to your project.

 

 

Well there you have it.  Lesson learned today: If you are my neighbor, I will steal and paint your trash. 

Linking up with Wow Us Wednesday!

Tea Cup Cozy

Its cold, it’s gross out, it’s fall in Tennessee.  Please don’t mistake this as complaining, I am happy about this.  Fall is my favorite time of year (after summer of course).  So there is nothing that I want more on a day like today than to curl up with a blanket and sip on some hot tea.

Luckily for me my cup is cuter than yours.

This isn’t bragging.  Just stating the facts.

 

See.  It's pretty cute.

Last Christmas my roommate Ivy gave me this adorable knitted accessory (that she made) and was clever enough to not only put a button on it… but the button has a bird on it!  Talk about putting birds on things!  She knows me all too well.

She also made our other roommate a coffee cup cozy too.  Which also happens to be super adorable.

 

 

 

Now go pour yourself a cup of hot tea and enjoy the awkward photo shoot that took place this morning in my kitchen before I went to work.  A tea cup is a tough prop people.

 

You're welcome.

Ten for Ten

October Top 10

1. Anything with a pumpkin spice flavor.

2. Pumpkin carving yo!  Although this year I think I am going to retire my knife and pick up my brush.

3. Being reminded how great your friends are and how lucky I am to have them.

4. Running while looking like a rainbow.  I’m talking Color Run people.  Memphis watch out.

5. Singing Hey Ho on the top of my lungs.  Thank you Lumineers.

6. Fall weather= layering of clothes.  Nothing makes me happier than my cardigans.  Wow. I’m a grandma.   

7. Getting a new phone.  I’m about to blow up instagram.  And kick your booty in Song Pop.

8. Having all the windows in my house open and hearing the train go by in my backyard.

9. Trying to narrow down all my amazing Halloween costume ideas.  This year is going to be epic.

10. A full year after leaving teaching and I am feeling more hopeful everyday about the future.  Whoever needs to grow up?