I'd Pin That! #2

I have seen the cutest, most awesome stuff on Pinterest this week! 

I want to go out an buy some boots and socks RIGHTNOW.  And an outfit to go with them.  That fits.

Source: ravelry.com via Jessica on Pinterest

How fun is this little photo album?  This would be so fun to make for Halloween, too.

Source: positivelysplendid.com via Jessica on Pinterest

Speaking of Halloween, this costume (!!!).  My child WILL wear this one day!

Source: etsy.com via Jessica on Pinterest

And these pumpkins.  Hilarious in their simplicity.

Source: annilygreen.blogspot.com via Jessica on Pinterest

Since I've taken up crafting with scrap wood, these would be a perfect project:

Source: etsy.com via Jessica on Pinterest

I seriously love Pinterest. And hate it - I've found myself too many times this week thinking I'll just stop by real quick and then time just gets completely away from me.  Oh well.  :)  If you're not on Pinterest yet, shoot me an email and I'll send you an invite!

My Halloween Mantle and the Tennessee Mantle Hop

Fall is in the air and nothing says "October" to me like pumpkins!  I decided there was no better way to incorporate pumpkins into my decor than to create a little pumpkin patch on my fall mantle.

And what's more fun than seeing one Halloween mantle?  How about FIVE of 'em?

Welcome to the Tennessee Mantle Hop - Fall Edition!  

A few of us Tennessee bloggers got together recently and decided it would be fun to have a blog hop to show off our fall mantles.  Check out Angie at The Country Chic Cottage for the previous stop!

And now I present to you: 

The Pumpkin Patch!

I had so much fun turning my mantle into a temporary pumpkin patch.

If you know me, you know I love cheap & easy!  This whole set-up cost me around $30 and I have supplies left over. We're also talking maybe an hour total of work time.  I added in a few things I had on hand and I am very happy with my new fall mantle!

I started with a 2x4 ($2.30) from a home improvement store.  I had them cut it (for free!) into 5 pieces: 12", 16", (two) 20" and 24".  I spray painted all the pieces orange.  

I picked up an assortment of decorative wood pieces from Michael's (did you know JoAnn stopped carrying wood crap? tsk tsk) and painted those with green acrylic paint for stems.  Some pieces I glued together to make more of a statement.  I then attached the stems to the pumpkins with a little E6000.  

I used the same method with a few wood frames and plaques.  Then I wrapped and tied on various scraps of ribbon and fabric to give it a little extra sumthin'.

I decorated an old wood frame with spray paint and rolled flowers and topped it with a bow "stem" for an instant pumpkin wreath.

I printed off a few graphics from The Graphics Fairy for my frames, and also used a few things I had on hand.  I whipped up a quick paper shred garland by shoving paper shred through the sewing machine, one bunch at a time.  I love how it looks under the pumpkins!  It would also be cute in kraft brown, but I am a fan of the pop of green it adds to the whole shebang.

Then I strung up one of my scrappy ribbon garlands to top it all off.

I am seriously loving this mantle a little more every time I look at it!  :)
Now to do something about those gold fireplace doors. Ack!

Don't stop here!  If you want to check out even more fall mantle yumminess, head on over to see what Gina has cooked up at The Shabby Creek Cottage!

 

It Runs in the Family

Do you remember who taught you to craft?  My grandma is my crafty hero.  She taught me to sew and she was resourceful and thrifty.  When people tell me I'll never have time to make stuff when I have a baby, I usually mention my grandma, who had NINE kids and still found time to sew.  Even outside of crafting, she was the kind of person you wanted to be.

Daniel and I decided years ago that if we had a daughter, we'd name her Eleanor for Grandma.

One of my favorite things in the nursery is this dress.  My grandma made it and my mom wore it as a baby.  It's amazing that it's still in such great condition - my mom was the third of seven girls!

I love that my mom saved this.  It's perfect for Ellie's room, made by the woman she was named after.

Button Frame

When decorating the nursery, I really tried to be as thrifty as possible, using things I already had on hand.  This frame (inspiration here) is a great example of thrifty - I didn't have to buy a thing!

I used a frame  that I'd picked up at a thrift store last year (you may remember it from this post).  I used paint leftover from the hairbow organizer, buttons from my stash and muslin from my grandma's stash.  It was a super quick project and I love how it turned out!

We're at the Top of the World

At the very beginning of our relationship, Daniel and I used to drive around our tiny college town in his truck, listening to music.  The Juliana Theory got a lot of airtime in the truck.  One of the songs we'd play over and over was "Top of the World".  It means a lot to us, but it also reminds us of the wonderful group of friends we have.  Daniel and his friends have been to see the band several times and his best friend even used the song in his wedding.  This song is the epitome of "happy".  I need to fill this frame for the nursery and thought it was the perfect sentiment for how we feel about welcoming a new member into our family. 

I whipped this up on the laptop and sent it off to Walgreens for an 8x10 print.  I painted a frame I had on hand and had a mat cut at JoAnn.  Here are a couple copies if you'd like to do the same.  Just click on the pic to make it bigger, right click and save.

Collage Frames

If you're anything like me, the pictures in your frames have been there since you moved into your house.  I know it's not a lot of work, but I can never seem to get my photos updated.  Then there are all the cute baby announcements and photo cards that come in the mail that need a handy place to be displayed.  Enter the collage frame!

I used the same basic idea as my hair bow organizer, but pictures don't clip themselves on, so I fancied up some clothespins:

There's plenty of space to add more pictures and I'm hoping this will make changing pictures out a lot easier!

Linking up to these fun parties!

My collage frames were featured!

Keep Those Bows Straight!

I've been drowning in bows for the past few weeks!  I made over 400 bows and clips to put in a consignment sale this weekend.  Of course, I had to save a few for Ellie!  And by a few, I mean a few of each color.  Needless to say, I had a little mountain of bows and nowhere to store them.  Or nowhere cute and organized to store them.  Now, you know that just wouldn't do!

I started collecting frames a while ago, my ideas for their use evolving over time.  I finally had a light bulb moment and got down to business.  I took my favorite frame (remember seeing it here?) and made it pretty and functional.  I haven't had a chance to hang it up yet, but what you see here is more than 50 bows, all in one place with room to spare (but not much)!

No need for a hair bow organizer?  Come back next week for a more versatile version!

I'm linking up to:

Whatever Goes Wednesday

Look What I Made
Show and Share Day

She Sells Seashells

Okay, srsly.  I didn't mean to be gone that long.  I've been working on my biggest project ever, but I'm not ready to divulge that quite yet. 

So, I've been messing around with the guest bath decor a little bit.  I did a little bit of work that you can see here.  I've refilled the jar with seashells, removed some of the bottles and accented the whole display with burlap.

On the other walls, I added this canvas my friend Caroline brought back from Cali.  I added the burlap and the seashells are collected from Florida.

I also made these frames.  I used cheap square wood frames from Joann, and whitewashed them with watered-down acrylic.  Then I hot glued on about a million shells my mother-in-law, sister-in-law and I collected from the beach in August.  Then I added some burlap to hang them. 

I think they turned out alright! :)

Linking up to: