Coffe filter and yarn wreaths

Several months ago, I decided to jump on the band wagon and make my own coffee filter wreath. I purchased a straw wreath from Michaels and a couple of packages of coffee filters from the Dollar Store. One night when Randy was out of town and after the kids had gone to bed, I plugged in my glue gun and got to work. I started by folding an entire package of filters. This part was tedious, but it worked easier to have everything ready so that once I got to gluing, I had lots of filters prepared. Once I had the filters all folded, I started by gluing the filters to the outside edge of the wreath. I glued them overlapping each other by the tips to make it extra full.

A close up:

When the edge was finished, I started gluing filters onto the main part of the wreath. If you look closely, you will see that the filters are attached different on the front and sides. I glued the first row on the front so that the tip of the filter was even with top of the filter on the outside. After going around the entire front of the wreath, I did another row, staggered so that the tip was glued on between the tips of two other filters. I repeated this until I had about 4-5 rows and it completely covered the front.

Once the middle was finished, I glued filters onto the inside of the wreath in the same method that I used on the outside.
I love how fluffy it is. Although it is perfect for the winter months because it reminds me of a giant snowball, I think that it could be pretty all year round.


My second wreath was a yarn wreath for Valentine's Day. Several months ago, I purchased a heart shaped straw wreath from Goodwill for $1.25. I had plans to cover it in felt rolled flowers, but love the look of the yarn wrapped wreaths. I decided that the heart shaped wreath would look to busy with the rosettes and so decided to wrap it in yarn. I purchased some red yarn this past weekend for $2.00 and sat down to watch my DVR during the kids nap. I taped the end of the yarn in place on the back of the form. Then I wrapped the yarn very closely together one time around the entire wreath form. There were a few spots where the straw stuck out and let the wreath form show through, so I went around the whole wreath a second time, really concentrating on filling in the few blank spots. I cut the yarn when I was finished and hot glued it to the back. Finally, I tied a piece of yarn on the top for hanging.


I love the new wreath! My seasonal wreath looked pretty boring last year with just the red heart garland. The yarn wreath helps to fill it in a little. Though the heart shaped yarn wreath adds a little extra, I still think that something is missing. I am thinking about adding some accents in pink, maybe cut out hearts or cupids. Adding some letters to spell a Valentines sentiment might be nice as well.

What wreaths have you made lately?

Safari themed baby shower

I have not done very much crafting lately because I did not have the energy for it and did not have any projects that I was very enthusiastic to start. After several weeks off, I had the itch to craft and I jumped at the opportunity to do the decorations for my sister-in-laws baby shower. They knew that they were having a boy and the nursery was decorated with a safari theme, so the theme for the shower was a no-brainer. I knew immediately that I wanted to make a baby shower wreath to welcome everyone upon their arrival. I purchased a wreath form and covered it in blue ballons, just like I did for my birthday ballon wreath. Once the wreath was completely covered, I wrapped it with a safari ribbon. I attached a letter "C" for the name they have chosen and placed a monkey cut out in the center. The best part about the wreath, is that they can hang it at their house to announce the arrival of their little bundle!

I also knew that I wanted to make a baby shower penant banner. I purchased a large book of animal print scrapbook papers at Michaels for 50% off, getting more than 100 sheets of paper for around $10, much cheaper than buying individual sheets of paper. I cut the penants out of coordinating colors and patterns, adding letters that I cut using my fiskars circle cutter and templates.
I happened to find a Noah's Ark die cut template pack at Dollar Store that included die cuts of a hippo, lion and giraffe. I used more of the scrapbook paper and cut out several of each animal to hang on the walls.



For the table centerpieces, I gathered all of the safari type stuffed animals in my house and paired them with safari printed bottles and children's dishes filled with M&M's. The bottles were little more than $1 apiece at WalMart. The bowls were $1 for 2 at WalMart and $1 apiece for a travel bowl with lid at Dollar Store. Again, these decorations served dual purpose, as I sent them home with the mother-to-be after the party.

Finally, I prepared a game where the guests had to match the animal with the average length of gestation and printed it in a paper with an animal print border. I found the paper at WalMart and believe that it was $3 for about 25 sheets. The game was pretty difficult, which worked well for my family because they like to cheat! Seriously, my aunts are always causing a ruckus at our family events like this because they get overly involved in the game and trying to win. Yes, we are that family! They actually egged my niece on to give Ashley a hug so that they could measure how far her arms went around to cut their string for the belly band game!
My sister in law got lots of wonderful gifts! My favorite was this handmade piggy bank that featured a dinosaur and baby's name painted on the side. It was so cute!

My proud brother showed up at the end to thank everyone and to help load up all of the goodies! I can't wait to meet their little guy!

Christmas House Tour

Welcome! Come in!


The entry~

I just hung some red and gold ornaments from our light fixture with some red ribbon to bring a little sparkle into the room.


I change the ribbon out in this wreath to go with the holiday or season. You can see my fall wreath and 4th of July wreath.

The living room~

My nativity set from the Dollar Store.

A quilt that my mom made me for Christmas a year or two ago. It actually hangs here all year round (I gave her the hint that I would love to receive another quilt that I could display here the rest of the year).

Living room mantle where we hang our stockings. I need another stocking holder, which I plan to purchase at the end of the season this year.

Our tree, which you can read more about here.

The dining room~


A simple hurricane full of red and gold ornaments.

Our second mantel.

Buffet with card display. You can read more about my card display here.

The kitchen~


Trivet and cups that I bought at the Dollar Store several years ago.

Plate holder that I change according to the season also. My husband's grandmother gave me this one year for Christmas and I absolutely love it!

So there you have our Holiday home. It seems to take longer and longer each year to get everything out, but that won't stop me from adding a few things! I have a list of things that I am looking to buy at the end of the season or make myself for next year. I hope you enjoyed the tour!

Fall Decor

Though I have had my fall decor up for about 2 weeks, I finally decided to take a few pictures and show it off.

This little guy greets you as you enter our driveway. He was one of my first seasonal decor purchases. Though he has lost his legs, he is still so cute!


This runner was a gift and was quilted by my mother. The runner fits perfectly on the buffet in our dining room. My mom lives about 2 hours away and I don't see her as often as I would like, but this runner and other things throughout the house remind me of her and make me smile!


This wall hanging found a place on our dining room table. It was also a gift that my mother quilted. Though it is really Thanksgiving, the colors go really well with my fall decor and then I get to enjoy my mother's handiwork a little bit longer.



Finally, I removed the red, white and blue ribbons from my Summer wreath and wrapped it in a brown ribbon. I added a few sticks with pumpkins and gourds purchased a couple years ago at the Dollar Store. Using the sticks allows me to easily remove them and change it according to the season.



I have a few things that I would like to make to add to my decor, including another wreath for my front door and some cute little pumpkins. I also need to make another pumpkin topiary.

A Birthday Wreath

I got the idea for this wreath from the girls over at "How Does She". It was super easy and only cost about $25 for all of the materials. I am so excited to hang this on the door for Reese's 3rd birthday party this weekend!

You can find the tutorial on how to make this wreath at http://www.howdoesshe.com/birthday-wreath. I put the bigger part of the ballon towards the top and bottom of the wreath and then placed one sideways in the middle which seemed to help keep all of the pins out of sight.