Harvest Wreath

A few years back, my friend Amanda and I threw our own wreath-making party, just the two of us. Martha Stewart's crew should have come to the house and filmed these two amateurs cracking up over our projects, glue guns and floral wire in hand.

I still hang my wreath every year, and I think of Amanda who lives many miles away now. Crafting with a friend is twice the fun--and the end product bears memories of time spent together.

I hope you're inspired to grab a friend and make your own wreath this year. All the supplies can be picked up from your local craft store. For this project, I embellished a simple twig wreath with silk flowers, berries, gourds and feathers, all attached with floral wire. Raffia tied widely at the top serves as a holder and adds to the country harvest look. Since autumn is nearly over, you might try a winter-themed wreath, substituting ornament balls, berries, bells and ribbons on an evergreen wreath instead.

Fall Apple Stamp Stationery

This week, my toddler brought home a large sheet of apple stamp artwork from her Mother's Day Out program. Instead of hanging it on my fridge, I decided to share the artwork with our friends and family by creating these stationery cards for autumn greetings.

Cutting out the stamped paper, I used a brown permanent marker to trace around the "apples" and drew in the apple seeds and stems. Red gingham ribbon wrapped around a brown stationery card finishes off the country look. On the back of the card, use rubber cement to attach some white paper to make room for a personal note.

Silk Flower Arrangements

I'm usually not a big fan of silk flowers--the real thing is always preferable, in my opinion. However, with the luxury of fresh flowers in short supply at my place, I like the way this arrangement looks and making it is a snap!

1. Go on a nature walk and find a tree branch with a sturdy center and not too delicate branches for your base.
2. At your local craft store, pick out a few bunches of silk flowers in the same color scheme. The trick is to mimic a small tree in blossom, so choose flowers that have small buds on them and ones that are in full bloom.
3. Snip the silk flowers from their stems and use a hot glue gun to attach them to the tree branch you selected. Be mindful of your placement of blossoms on the "flowering tree" to achieve a natural look.
   

Fabric Decoupaged Photo Box

Do you have any scrap fabric lying around that you're looking to re-purpose? I recently took a pair of fabric scissors to a worn, floral bedspread I had back in college. Then, using a couple of coats of decoupage, I adhered the fabric cutouts to a plain white photo storage box. Layering most of the cutouts on top and intentionally overlapping some of the petals over the edge of the box achieved the casual look I wanted.

I often think of decoupaging only when there's paper involved, but fabric works well too! This project takes hardly any time at all to complete. Alternatively, try it on a hat box or any other similar surface.

Tequila Lime Tart

I never promised that my posts would be entirely original or even feature projects created by me personally. So, I have to take this opportunity to brag on my dear husband who baked a spectacular birthday treat for me. Craving the sweet-and-tart flavor of a summer lime dessert, I suggested this recipe (Family Circle, July 2009 issue) to him.

Does the photo not say it all!? I mean, the man even garnished the top with crust crumbs and lime slivers! It was delicious, and I highly recommend the recipe (but please note, the baker is already taken).

Seasonal Color on a Budget

Planting perennials as the core of your landscaping and filling in with annuals based on the season can be a cost-effective way to ensure interest and color all year long. In my front bed (shown above), the perennials are already well-established and consist mostly of shrubs and groundcover.

Since I was on a tighter budget this year but still craving that burst of color for spring/summer, I got resourceful and divided two large mounds of perennial white Mexican petunias into 12 smaller clusters and spread them throughout the front of the bed in a checkerboard pattern. Then I purchased 24 dark purple salvia plants and four 1-gallon snapdragon mixes to fill in the gaps (shown below).


Like icing on a cake, you don't want to skip the mulch! It not only provides vital nutrients to the soil and captures moisture for the plants, but you can't deny it's aesthetic value. When I put down a fresh layer of mulch, it makes everything look new even though only a few of the plants have changed.

All in all, I spent $21 on flowers and $6 on mulch for the front bed that should last me until the fall. Not a bad price for instant curb appeal!

Polka Dot Birthday

Polka dots were the theme for my sweet daughter's first birthday. I made her invitations by printing the details on a simple flat stationery card, then I used a circle cutter to make the balloon shape and attached the striped paper behind it.

I made her a circle-cut banner, hole-punched and tied together with ribbon; it was suspended across the window in the main party area.

Her 4-inch, two-layer smash cake was topped with homemade strawberry frosting (a little runny in consistency, but what can you do when your guests have already arrived!?). Party goers were served cupcakes with buttercream frosting and pastel M&M "polka dots." Foods shaped like circles were also a hit: bowls of cucumber wheels and crinkle-cut carrots with ranch dressing and fruit kebobs of alternating cantaloupe balls and grapes.

When we had Party #2 for local friends (I know, I know...from now on I'll only throw ONE party per year!), I was able to recycle much of the decor, including the circle pendants for the windows and extra balloons.