Autumn Wreath

Im not very experienced or great at making wreaths yet. But I like them for inside the home as well as the front door. I wanted a very inexpensive way to create one so I got all my materials from Dollar Tree. I know- based on my blog you would think I go there everyday! I almost do!

Cost: $5 (I already had the glue gun, spray paint, buttons and small sized ribbon)

You need:
Grape vine wreath
miniature pumpkins/squash
roll of fall season wire ribbon
fake loose leaves
clip on sunflower
buttons
any other ribbon you like
spray paint
glue gun

I lightly sprayed some gold paint on the wreath without totally covering it. I just wanted to add some pretty and warm sheen to the wood. It dried fast. Then I wrapped the entire thing with some thin sparkly gold ribbon. I attached it at the start and finish with a hot glue gun.
Next I glued the large bottom bow on. To make the bow I folded a foot long piece on both sides and glued the ends together in the center. Then I wrapped a small piece around the center and glued that to the back. Next I cut two medium sized pieces and attached them to the back to make the pieces that hang down. I know it would be great to have pictures of this but I made it so quickly I forgot to take any!
After the bow was made and glued to the wreath I experimented with placement of the leaves, buttons and the miniature pumpkins and squashes. I glued them on, once I was satisfied with the placement. I had to hold the pumpkins and squashes down for a minute while the hot glue dried so they wouldn't fall off.
After everything dried I clipped the sunflower on. It has an alligator clip on the back.
Thats it!

Fall/Halloween Decor

I start decorating for Halloween early every year. Its not even the 25th and Im all set up! I have been collecting decorations for a few years now. I have a pretty decent haul of things and most of it I got at Dollar Tree, thrift stores and Ross. Some of it I made. Most of it from Dollar Tree. I see no reason to spend a fortune on decor. I am going to share some images of what I have set up in my home and where I got it! The above door piece is from Ross.

I ordered this Tombstone Corners village from Dollar Tree here. It was only $10. The online set comes with 16 pieces (only one of those is a house.) For some reason it doesn't include the entire set so you can buy many more pieces (mostly houses and characters) from the actual store. The online set comes with a couple items you cannot get in-store though so it is worth ordering.
These two colored houses are not a part of that set. I got those at a thrift store for $2.

These above three images are all decor I got at Dollar Tree (I already had the bird cage.) The plastic window/door hangs are too large for any of my doors and so I hung them in front of our stairs instead. The lantern is small and comes with an LED light. The skeleton bends just enough to go inside my birdcage that hangs from the ceiling. 

These are all things I got from Dollar Tree again, except for the two larger tomb stones which came from the Party Store and the bottles of tequila that I already had.

I got all of these light-up haunted houses at thrift stores over time. All for a few bucks. Same with the pumpkin tree.

And now finally my favorite- my fireplace hearth:

I got much of this at Ross- the pumpkins, the light strand, the haunted house, the crow and the stand-up metal cat. The other cats and the tree were from a friends garage sale. The hanging items, the small pumpkins, the snow globe, the head stone and the framed picture are all from Dollar Tree.

Im crazy about fall/winter decor so Im sure next year Im going to have even more to share!

Epsom Salt Luminaries

These are great for Christmas time or anytime. They look frosty and cast a soft glow.

Super easy to make too! Here is what I used:

First step- to color the Epsom Salt simply separate it into different bowls for your different colors. Then place one to two drops of food color in and mix it with a fork. After its all colored pour it onto a plate and gently shake it so that it evenly covers the plate.

Then I painted a thin layer of glossy Mod Podge onto some old candle jars I had cleaned out. I rolled them on the plate covered in a thick layer of the food dyed Epsom Salt (the crystal kind not the flake kind.) Let them dry for a day.

The next day I sprayed a layer of Satin clear coat over them to help hold the salt in place. Thats it!

Refresh Old Furniture

I had mis-matched old furniture in my room that was in bad need of an overhaul or a haul out! I didn't want to buy all new things right now because if we move into a place we buy (which is in the plans) I may want to get new things that I intend to keep for a long time that are perfect for that place. So I decided to overhaul the stuff we have now. It was pretty easy and inexpensive to do. I bought spray paint and new drawer pulls and that was all the supplies I needed. I decided on the color grey because it will go with any accent colors I use in the room and so I can change my room colors easy enough without worrying about the color of my furniture. Here is the paint I used:

If I redid this project I would have used Rust-oleum primer or primer and paint in one. The HD is definitely not as good of quality. It doesn't cover as well but it did the job. Here are some before pics of my furniture. I forgot to photograph one of the end tables:

The end tables were a pretty color but were scratched up and didn't match. So while I hesitated at painting them I knew if I didn't I'd just be getting rid of them. I took the drawer pulls off, fixed any loose screws, and primed and then painted them. I let them dry outside for a day or two because they smelled. Then I put new drawer pulls on and that was it! All done. Here is the after pic: