DIY Christmas Shelf Wreath

My staircase shelf was seriously lacking some holiday spirit. I didn't want to buy anything new (I dread going to the shops during the holiday season), and per my usual style I wanted to create something myself. When I realized I had so much leftover material from my Craft Beer-Inspired Christmas Wreath I decided to make another wreath, but with a twist.

You will need the following materials:

The majority of the items on the left were leftover pieces I've had for years now. I newly purchased the 4 items on the right from Hobby Lobby - Bauble stems: $0.77 each | Wreath $2.50 | Bronze pine cones: $0.50 | Evergreen stem: $1.00

These were the leftover materials I used from my Craft Beer-Inspired Christmas Wreath (shown new). 2 Evergreen stems on left: $3.99 each - Michael's | Evergreen stem on right: $2.50 - Hobby Lobby | Glittery hop stems: $0.75 each - Michael's

Taking wire cutters, place as shown:

Add your glittery & colorful pieces. Secure everything using a hot glue gun.

Add accent pieces...

 ...and you are done!

No shelf space? No problem - this can be used as wall decor too!

3 Ways: Distressed Autumn Mason Jars

It's no surprise that I have an obsession with distressed mason jars. Here's my super easy & affordable take on how to paint & style them for the Fall season :) I find that each one brings a different light & tone into the space it occupies. The beiges & browns add a coziness & home-y feeling while the more golden & cream tones brighten up the room. So if you're indecisive as to which one you should do, ask yourself what the room/space needs. No matter what you choose - beiges, cream, & browns go along with so many different colors that you won't have to worry about whether or not it will match the color scheme in your home.

Before you start painting your mason jars, first remember to clean them with soap and water. Wipe them down to dry and then apply rubbing alcohol on the outside of each jar with a cotton ball. This will ensure that all dirt and oils have been wiped away so that the paint will adhere to the glass surface. To distress, I used 150 fine grit sandpaper for each tutorial listed below.

#1: Halloween Mason Jar

Paint used:

Wheat used - Hobby Lobby $3.00 each:

 

Apply 2 coats of orange paint to a clean mason jar. I mixed equal parts Terra Cotta & Orange Spice.

When that has dried, apply 1 coat of Burnt Umber and let dry. Distress with sandpaper. As you sand, you will begin to see the orange color peak through Burnt Umber! Add some twine & wheat and you are done :)

I placed mine on my kitchen counter, next to my basket of lotions :)

#2: Beige & Brown Mason Jar

I have an entire blog post detailing how I painted this mason jar here >> http://jessicarosehomedecor.blogspot.com/2015/06/distressing-tutorial-easy-cheap-how-to-make-anything-look-antique.html 

Wheat used - Hobby Lobby $3.00:

After painting & distressing, add twine & the brown wheat, and you are done! I placed this arrangement in my bedroom. The brown tones make the bedroom feel so comfy & home-y :)

If you are curious about the Pottery Barn-inspired glass window, I have also done a tutorial on it as well. They were made using pictures frames from the Dollar Store! LINK HERE >> http://jessicarosehomedecor.blogspot.com/2015/07/how-to-diy-rustic-window-dollar-store-picture-frames.html

#3 Cream & Golden Mason Jar
Paint used:

Wheat used:

Apply 1 coat of White paint. Ley dry. Then apply 2 coats of Parchment. Using White as the base coat brightens up Parchment. When that has also dried, distress with sandpaper, add twine & wheat, and you are done!

I decided to place this on my kitchen bar :) The golden & cream tones really brighten up my living room!

 Add an heirloom pumpkin for a pop of color ;)

And there you have it - 3 different ways to paint & style mason jars for the Fall season!

DIY Mini-Pumpkin Patch

Going into this Fall season, I knew I wanted to incorporate hay stacks into my seasonal decor, specifically these cute miniature size ones I found at Michael's! Since hay is synonymous with pumpkin patches, I found it fitting to 'stage' a DIY mini-pumpkin patch for my staircase shelf in my living room! This was styled more towards the neutral spectrum of color with pops of autumnal color (you know how much I love my neutrals!!), but there are so many ways you can customize this to make it your own -you can add more color, or other objects synonymous with the Fall season.  

You will need the following materials: Grand Total: 10.52!!

Metal bucket - I painted mine white (Michael's - $2.99 Full Price; $1.79 with coupon)

Hay Stacks (Michael's - $4.49 Full Price; $2.25 with coupon)

Mini-Pumpkin & Pine Cones (Hobby Lobby - $6.99 Full Price; $4.19 with discount)

Mini-Wood Crate (Michael's - $1.00 Full Price; $0.50 with coupon)

Harvest Corn (Hobby Lobby - $2.99 Full Price; $1.79 with discount)

Paint Sponge

3 paint colors of your choice I used these:

What you want to do first is turn your bucket on its side and arrange your setup to cascade out of the bucket. Stage your pumpkin patch before you paint any of the pieces. This allows you to plan out what colors you want to paint each pumpkin. Since I'm using 3 different paint colors - I made sure I didn't put the same colors near each other to ensure that the overall look would not fall flat & bland to the eye. Use 2 coats and let dry. Shown below was my initial set-up:

I felt like it was missing that little something extra, specifically color & dimension! To fix this, I added a crate to give the setup depth and height. I also added the corn for a pop of color and fullness. Simply painted the crate white and twisted off the corn from each stem.
Add acorns & pine cones, place on your shelf, & you are done!!!