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 :)

Refurbishing Antique Glass Bottles

I've always wanted to incorporate antique glass bottles into my home decor. Their various styles, shapes, and sizes just can't be found in the glassware section at your typical department store. I wanted that authentic wear-and-tear to add character to the mantel I was designing, not to mention antique shopping is basically Heaven on Earth!! So I ventured out to my local flea market to make that happen ;)

Find old,weathered glass bottles of various heights, sizes, and shapes. Remember - slight cracks, dents, rust spots, and scuffs are a good thing!! This will ensure texture & dimension to the setup. I found all of mine at an epic antique store in town. Each bottle was a steal at $1-$2 dollars.

 I used 2 methods to refurbish these antique bottles:

#1 Accentuating Its Flaws

Some of the bottles had a natural weathered-look that I didn't want to paint over. Remember those slight cracks, dents rust spots, & scuffs we mentioned earlier? I found that I could emphasize them by painting just the inside of the bottle! Simply squeeze dollop of acrylic paint inside the bottle and swirl it around, making sure to coat it completely. Because these are antique items having gone through wear & tear over many years, this method allows that uniqueness & character to come to the forefront without covering it up with paint.

#2 Painting Layers of Colors + Distressing

This method is exactly like the 3rd option in my blog post Distressing: How-to Make Anything Look Antique (link here), but instead of layering 3 similar colors on the outside of the glass, here I applied the first color to the inside of the bottle, then added the second and/or third colors to the outside of the bottle. I finished with sanding.

3 layers of colors (one inside, two outside) + sanding

Inside

1st outside layer

Sporadic 2nd layer

 

2 layers of colors (one inside, one outside) + sanding

Inside Coat

Sporadic Outside Coat

If I had chosen just one re-purposing style - either method #1, method #2, or leaving them be - it would've fallen flat to the eye because they would've been too uniform. Since they are antique and each unique in character, I wanted each bottle to stand out, yet compliment each other. Using different methods accomplished this- the different finishes & textures allowed each bottle to juxtapose one another.

Tutorial on the Rustic Glass Window shown above using Dollar Store Picture Frames HERE!

DIY Weathered Picket Fence

I love weathered-looking fences. To me, weathered wood exudes that comforting "cottage meets rustic" vibe I can't seem to stop obsessing over. This being the theme of my living room,  I designed and created this piece specifically to be the focal point on my new mantel I just built (Mantel Tutorial Link Here). I absolutely love how it turned out! It is so gratifying to create something & have your vision breathe life into your home. I hope this inspires you to do the same :)

You will need the following materials:

Five - 5/8 in. x 3-1/2 in. x 6 ft Cedar Dog Ear Fence Picket (Link Here)

One - 5/8 in. x 5-1/2 in. x 6 ft Cedar Dog Ear Fence Picket (Link Here)
One - 2"x3"x96" Whitewood Board (Link Here)

Hand or Power Saw
Eyewear Protection
Gloves

Hammer

Wood Stain

Cheese Cloth

White Acrylic Paint

Paint Brush

Sand Paper
Wood Glue

1 1/2 inch Finishing Nails

 I want to mention that this project cost me zero dollars - I used scrap-wood/leftover materials I had accumulated from various DIY projects :) I provided the links below so that you could see specifically what I used.

What you want to do first is cut the tops of your fence pickets to various lengths. These desired-lengths will vary from person to person depending on where you are placing it. I had these 4 leftover fence pieces from the flower box I made at the beginning of Spring (Tutorial Link Here). Since the space between my ceiling and mantel isn't very tall, these were the perfect height.

I wanted to make it wider so I added 3 more sections. I added one - 5/8 in. x 3-1/2 in. x 6 ft piece. 

Then, I took my 5/8 in. x 5-1/2 in. x 6 ft plank and cut it in half.

**Helpful hint: determine the height for your tallest piece and from there, stagger the heights for the remaining pieces.

I loved how the half-pieces just tied the whole look together. It made it look "less neat" and more rustic.

 
 From here, stain with a wood stain of your choice. I used Miniwax Wood Finish Oil-Based Interior Stain in 'Jacobean' (Link Here). Since cedar wood is porous, I used a light hand when staining each piece to avoid over-saturation. Sanding each piece beforehand will also help to avoid this. The wood pieces below the fence pickets will act as the cross bars (top) and the stand (bottom).

 When that has dried, lightly paint these pieces with white paint. I did this by lightly tapping my paint brush into the paint. You don't want to cover up the stain you just applied - you want to compliment it and have the stain peak through in a subtle way that's pleasing to the eye.

You could leave it like this, but to me it was missing dimension, character, and the authentic-nature of a real fence. So I decided to add 2 cross bars.  I placed them at angles to exude more of that "old & weathered" look.

Place the glue as shown, then secure with your finishing nails.

Place atop your mantel and you are done!!