Geranium-Inspired Summer Wreath Tutorial

Summer is here in full force & that means it's time to update your seasonal entryway wreath! For me, the warmer the temperature gets from Spring to Summer, the more my seasonal decor transitions from cool to warm undertones. As stated in my Hydrangea Wreath Tutorial, artificial summer flowers can sometimes be hard to work with. Most of the ones in various crafting stores are too saturated. To me, that actually makes it look too fake & can come off a bit tacky if not styled properly. So I focused on subtle pops of warm colors in combination with neutral undertones throughout to avoid this dilemma. 

You will need the following materials:

Grapevine wreath

Wire cutters

High-temp glue gun

Flowers of course

All purchased at Michael's Craft Store

Simply take each flower & start trimming. Leave 1/2 an inch to 1 inch of stem so that you can insert each piece within the grapevine securely. Next is placement. I tend to go clockwise in a pattern when placing the flowers, which you can tell in the images below. It makes it more fluid & put together. 

Once you have filled your wreath, go back & fill in addition spares areas. This will make your wreath look more full & lush. It will also give the illusion of a bigger wreath. From here, glue each piece at the top-base of each stem & you are done!

Close-ups for more detail:

I hope you enjoyed this first official tutorial for the Summer season! It's the perfect, bright pop of Summer color to add inside or outside your home :)

Craft Beer-Inspired Christmas Wreath Tutorial

Being a self-proclaimed craft beer snob, when I saw that Michael's had glittery hop stems this year I immediately knew I had to incorporate them into my front door Christmas wreath. I love that they add that little something extra to your stereotypical holiday accent pieces & they are SUPER AFFORDABLE! We are talking in the cent-denomination people!! In fact, this project only cost me ~$15! + I still have material leftover for other holiday projects!

Michael's - $0.66 each. I used 4 - 3 silver and 1 gold.

I used a grapevine wreath (Hobby Lobby - $2.50) as the base, wire cutters to trim each piece off its corresponding stem, and a hot glue gun to secure everything. My placement technique is the same one I have used in all of my previous DIY wreath tutorials. I will link a video tutorial I did going in-depth on my process here >> https://youtu.be/YFkrSZOUmAs As shown in the image below, combining different colors & textures within the evergreen-color family allows each piece to compliment one another.

Left & middle - Michaels - $3.99 each. Right - Hobby Lobby - $2.50

This in combination with the bright, glittery accents prevents the overall piece from falling flat to the eye. Don't forget to add some pine cones!

All from Hobby Lobby - $0.75 each

After layering and mixing all of these materials, your wreath should look something like this:

Close-ups:

Craft Beer-Inspired Spring Wreath Tutorial

Like any self-respecting Coloradoan, I am a full-fledged beer enthusiast. My husband & I love going to breweries, especially during the Spring & Summer months after a long day of hiking or fishing. We even brew our own beer...well, Grant does. I mostly just sit there & enjoy those amazing mash-boil aromas ;) So the inspiration behind today's tutorial was an inevitable one. Within the past 2 years as the craft brewery industry has exploded, I began to notice that craft stores were starting to carry variations of hop plants - a key ingredient in most if not all beers. The second I saw one I knew I had to incorporate it into some type of decor for my home. I mean, what could encompass my personality/interests more than combining my love for crafting with beer?? Needless to say this tutorial has been years in the making & I'm excited to show you what I've come up with. In fact, so excited that I actually filmed a tutorial on this & put it on my new YouTube Channel!!! I will insert the video here >> https://youtu.be/YFkrSZOUmAs

You have the option of either watching the tutorial in a video format, or reading through it here on my blog. Lets get started! You will need the following materials:

Flowers purchased at Michael's. All were 40%-60% off IN ADDITION TO a 20% off everything including sale item coupon. WINNING!!!

 You know the drill - simply take each flower & start trimming. Leave 1/2 an inch to 1 inch of stem so that you can insert each piece within the grapevine securely.

Next is placement. I tend to go in a pattern when placing the flowers, which you can tell in the image below. It makes it more fluid & put together.

Once you have filled your wreath, go back & fill in addition spares areas. This will make your wreath look more full & lush. It will also give the illusion of a bigger wreath.

With spares areas

Spares areas filled in

From here, glue each piece at the top-base of each stem & you are done! Here are some close-ups for more detail:

 

 I hope you guys enjoyed this tutorial! It's the perfect amount of soft, subtle color to add inside or outside your home! Please subscribe & check out my Youtube video on this tutorial -  https://youtu.be/YFkrSZOUmAs - Your support is greatly appreciated! 

How-To: Framed Antique Skeleton Keys

Antiques breathe life into me. Looking at anything antique just makes my soul happy. From place to place, it has felt & experienced many things - seasons of being well-loved, then abandoned, but then loved again...where ever it has gone, it's been that fly on the wall forever learning secrets & gaining wisdom. It has lived a full life and there seems to be no end in sight - if only we can be so lucky.

You will need the following materials:

Shadow Box - Set of 3 $4.99 (Full Price $9.99) - Michael's here.

Antique Keys (came with 6 keys) - $6.99 - Marshall's; similar here.

Scrapbook Paper - $0.69 - Michael's

Cardboard paper or cardstock

Tape, scissors, low temperature glue gun

Take the backing from the shadow box and outline your scrapbook paper to fit this.

Do the same with the cardboard paper.

Tape the scrapbook paper to the cardboard paper. Doing this will keep the backing of the shadowbox from being damaged by tape & glue.

Take your key & place the glue as shown:

Secure to the scrapbook paper, place into the frame, and you are done! 

You can also do this with a regular frame. Just remove the glass & done! I got this one from the Dollar Tree :)

If you feel like some areas of your home are lacking that little something, this project is perfect! I love this project because it is so customizable, inexpensive, and not time-consuming at all. There are so many frames & keys to choose from, and you can place it in a variety of different ways.