Fall Is In The Air!!

This morning I awoke to a fabulous 58 degree morning! Fall is FINALLY here! Yay! Now instead of just pretending it's fall, it really is! (For anyone who lives in a southern state, I know you're feeling me on this!)

In honor of this cooler weather, I added a little something to my coffee table centerpiece. I love decorating for fall and really love the pumpkins and fall leaves. That being said, I am a cheapskate. (lovingly termed by my mother...) Hmmm, how to get pretty pumpkins and fun leaves without spending much? First thing, pull out a couple of pieces of cardstock. Grab some Glimmer Mist and spray away! (I used tattered leather, black cherry, old lace and some green shade I can't remember.) Trust me, it looks really messy now, but it works in the end! Don't adjust your computer, the paper is in focus. This is just how odd it looks.


Use your Cricut and the Designer's Calendar cartridge to cut out a bunch of leaves in all different sizes. (I cut in sizes 3"-4".) Once you have the pieces cut out, admire how the blotchy paper became fabulously colored leaves, that unfortunately are missing a little something...


I love the shimmer though! After thinking a bit, I decided that the edges of the paper while white, weren't going with my fall theme. Hmmm... Chalk Ink to the rescue.


After adding a bit of dark green ink to the edges, my leaves were starting to look better and better. All that I needed was a little veining courtesy of my stylus. Don't look too carefully, it's pretty sloppy, but perfection isn't needed to add the hint of veins.

After getting a hold of some Dollar Tree pumpkins, some Martha Stewart glitter (get the good stuff folks, it makes a difference) and some Modge Podge, I managed to transform the cheap pumpkins into something a little more impressive looking. Mix those "new" pumpkins with some fall leaves and tuck them into the basket and Voila!


I have to say, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. What do you think? (Leave me a comment and let me know!)

A New House!!

Congratulations to my brother and SIL on the purchase of their first house. Unlike me, they purchased a brand new home in a great neighborhood here in town! That means for them much less commute time to town, and for me more time with my precious nephew! My heart goes out to them with trying to move between 2 houses 20 miles apart after working 8-10 hour days teaching. Add to that the assistance of a 1 year old "helper" and their life has been pretty crazy this week. Thankfully the end is in sight! Congratulations on your new home guys! I hope it's everything you want!

Washington County Fair

As I said in my last post, I have been enjoying the Washington County Fair this week. Wednesday night I got to go hear an awesome friend play, Kristen Kelly. She is a rising star in the Texas Country Music world and really, really sweet in person to boot! For some reason, I expect "famous" people to be snotty and uppity, but Kristen is down to earth and so sweet. (Granted, I haven't met any famous people, besides Kristen, so I'm not sure where my expectations come from, but...) If you haven't heard her, check out her songs on iTunes or her better yet, her tour schedule! Check her out live. Unlike many singers, she's as good or better in person than she is on the radio!


Before Kristen came on, our group got to enjoy the WCF VIP room. Translation, you get a meal and all of the ritas and or beer you can drink. It's great for me since I'm a teacher and don't want to be seen imbibing in public... My best friend Casey managed to work several mini miracles in securing all of the passes I needed. BIG THANK YOU!!! We had a blast hanging out and thanks to my SIL for the pictures from the night!

Finally!

I know, I promised I'd post about my creation inspired by Craftaholics Anonymous and A Little Bit of Everything. I've been busy hanging with some awesome kids and experiencing the local county fair. Fun stuff. Anywho, life is getting back to normal and here is the much anticipated, at least by me, post!

I loved the idea of the wreath post and most importantly the overall cost! I started with a wire coat hanger, which I had to steal/borrow from some guests' clothes. (Don't worry, I replaced it with another hanger. I'm not that bad of a hostess!)


After getting the "circle" ready, I took my fabric, one yard of each color and 1.5 yards of the Halloween print and tore it into strips. (that amount of fabric ended up being plenty! I made another complete wreath and a half!) My strips in the pic, were WAAAAY too long, so I took all of them and cut them in half. I ended up with strips about 1" by 9" long. Again, it was very, very "about." Another great thing about this project, no rulers!! After having tons of strings all over the place, I discovered on several blogs that a rotary cutter makes this step a breeze. Oh well, live and learn...


After I had the strips cut and sorted into groups, I began the process of tying the fabric to the wire frame. This is where the episode of "Hoarders" came in. I can't ever just sit and watch a TV show, instead I have to be doing something, anything! So, while I watched these people who kept insisting they were "collectors" not hoarders, ha!, I tied strip after strip, after strip! Actually, it goes pretty fast and has instant gratification, always a plus in my book...


Once I finished tying all of the fabric, I decided that I once again couldn't leave well enough alone, and I needed to add something, anything...


I headed to my Cricut and cut out the word "BOO!" I also shadowed the letter in black. After layering the letters, I decided that it still lacked punch, so I coated the orange letters in tons of glitter. After sealing the entire set in Modge Podge to protect it from the humidity, I attached it to the hanger hook on the wreath and hung it on my front door. Who cares if it's only September?? I have been bitten by the fall bug!

So what do you get when???

So what do you get when you spend just a little too much time cruising awesome blogs and see this spooktacular wreath from Craftaholics Anonymous:


This really cute fabric wreath from A Little Bit of Everything:


And an episode of Hoarders?



Hmm, well you'll have to wait and see. It's currently drying now!

(So, are you completely confused yet?)