Classic Fall Wreath Tutorial

Sometimes those artificial Fall flowers you see in stores can be too over-saturated with color. Bright oranges, yellows, and reds can come off a little cheap & tacky looking. To avoid this, I incorporated creams and beiges with subtle hints of earth-toned reds, yellows, and browns into my entryway wreath this year. I love how it turned out! It's humble rather than overstated - making a statement without screaming loudly with color ;) And it cost me no more than $10!!

You will need the following materials:

Wire Cutters

 Grapevine Wreath

High Temp Glue Gun

Twine

Flowers

Small Pine Cones

What inspired this was this branch piece I found at Hobby Lobby. It was something I had never seen before & I loved how soft and earthy it looked.

Cut & apply as shown:

 These flowers from Michael's go along perfectly with the branch piece we just used! I love that the beige color is concentrated on the inside and fades out to an autumnal cream color.

Michaels: $1.29 for 3 flowers in one set - purchased 2 sets

 Apply in-between the branch pieces, as shown:

For reference, I cut each piece at about this length:

 Now for pops of color. I love the brown/brick/terra cotta color of this flower stem. Plus, the tiny flowers are so adorable! It adds color and texture without overshadowing the other parts of the wreath

Hobby Lobby: $3.99 Full Price, $1.99 Sale Price

Apply as shown:

I wanted to incorporate red & yellow into the mix as well.

Dollar Store: $1.00

Hobby Lobby: $3.99 Full Price, $1.99 Sale Price

 Place, as shown:

 Add some small pine cones throughout, secure with your glue gun, and you are done!

Close-ups:

Harvest-Inspired Rustic Wheat Tin - Under $10!

Every year around the best time of year (second to Christmas), my in-laws come to visit from Southern California. For them it's a chance to escape the 100 degree heat waves, smoggy air, and that horrendous 91 freeway traffic to actually experience a season other than hot-summer or cold-summer ;) It's a week filled with amazing weather, Fall colors, fly fishing, craft beer, Oktoberfest, autumnal candles & teas, pumpkin patches, and most importantly good quality family time. I want my home to feel cozy and seasonal for my family. So whenever the day of their arrival starts to get a little closer, my Fall decor inspiration is in hyper-drive and I become this crafting maniac for a solid 3-4 weeks.  When you take the concept that's in your head, make it with your hands, and have it bring life into your home, no matter what the room - that is the awe-inspiring moment that drives my creativity.

Today's DIY decor can be used in any room in your home & it is so inexpensive and easy! You will need the following items to complete this project:

FloralCraft Dry Foam - Link Here
Brown moss - $1.00 - Dollar Store
Wheat bushels - $6.99 Full Price; $4.19 with coupon - Michael's
Small bronze bucket - $2.99 Full Price; $1.79 with coupon - Michael's
Box cutter
Wire cutters

The piece that inspired this project were the beige and brown wheat bouquets I found at Michael's. You could use one particular color over the other, but using them altogether gives the decor piece the most dimension so that it doesn't fall flat to the eye.

Using your box cutter blade, you will first  take a piece of dry foam and cut it to the same diameter as the bronze tin. Then, slice the corners off a little bit at a time until it fits snug in the tin.

You don't want the foam to move around too much in the tin or else placing the wheat pieces will be difficult.

 Next comes the wheat. You can use wire cutters, the same box cutters, or any scissors you have handy. Cut them into small, medium, and long lengths.

You will be placing the wheat into the dry foam like so:

For the best dimension, place the longest pieces of wheat along the back third, medium length pieces in the middle third, and shorter pieces in the front as depicted below:

Long pieces in back

Middle pieces next

Short pieces in front

Be sure to intermix the colors for a lush, natural look! Now it's time to cover up that dry foam! Take your moss and simply cover up the perimeter and the spaces in between the wheat pieces :) 

 Don't forget to cover the center...

  ...And voila! 

Add some accessories to accompany the main piece and your easy, simple, & cheap Harvest-Inspired Wheat Tin is now complete! 

Happy Fall everyone! If you re-create this DIY, please leave a photo in the comment section below - I'd love to see them! See you in my next tutorial!

Easy & Cheap Autumn/Fall Inspired Kitchen DIY Using Mason Jars for $10!

Easy & Cheap Autumn/Fall Inspired Kitchen DIY Using Mason Jars for $10!

Happy October 1st everyone! It is finally that time of year where everything just gets cozier in my home. I get better sleep, my coffee tastes more scrumptious, & soothing bubble baths feel more relaxing and less like a sauna. Last year around this time, our area of Colorado was hit by heavy rain and biblical flooding - "The 1,000 Year Flood" to be exact. Stress for my husband & I were at an all time high - we were evacuated from our newly purchased home and we had no flood insurance. In the end - praise God - our home was safe, but needless to say our first Fall in our new home was everything but relaxing. Even driving around and seeing the aftermath of such great destruction everywhere was mind-boggling and honestly, a little traumatizing. So, this year I wanted to make our home feel extra cozy. I decided to start in my kitchen because it's where I spend the majority of my day. I wanted to incorporate that classic Autumn orange-red hue along with a cozy cream/beige color, harvest sunflowers, and mason jars for that county-cottage feel.

Colors: Terra Cotta (left) & Orange Spice (right) - on sale for 50 cents each!

I purchased these acrylic paints & sponge applicator from Michael's. I combined the colors to get that mix of red & orange I was aiming for.

To prep for the paint, I took a cotton ball and some rubbing alcohol and cleaned the outside glass of my mason jars & let that dry ~ 1-2 minute. This will get rid of all traces of oil or dirt that could mess up the finish of your paint. Then, I painted one thin coat at a time with my sponge applicator letting each coat dry for 15-20 minutes, or until dry to the touch. I applied 3 coats total. When the painting was complete, I tied twine to the top of the jar (as shown above) for that touch of 'country home'.You could even take it a step further from here and distress the jars up a bit using low grit sand paper and gently sanding off some of the paint for that vintage look!

50% off! - $2.49 for each bouquet

Next up are the sunflowers. I also purchased these from Michael's. As you can tell by the picture, these bouquets used to be fuller. Using wire cutters, I cut off one sunflower at a time and arranged them into the jars to my liking.

Medium size mason jar (left) & Large size mason jar (right)

For the orange-red painted jar (shown on the left) I oriented the cream-colored sunflower to line up with the front of the jar to juxtapose the orange-red color of the jar itself. For the cream painted jar (shown on the right) I did the opposite - placing the yellow sunflower at the front in order for the cream color of the jar to pop more. I also used more of the yellow & orange sunflowers and less of the cream sunflowers because the jar is already cream itself.

Everything from Michael's :)

 For that 'harvest' touch, I took it a step further and added this cute little bronze-colored basket to the whole arrangement. I filled the basket with brown moss and topped it off with a cute mini pumpkin & pine cone, but you could use whatever you like for your own personal touch :)

Add some of your favorite kitchen lotions, a Fall candle, and there you have it - my very easy, simple, & classic Autumn Kitchen DIY using mason jars! Enjoy! :)

xx,

Jessica