DIY: Christmas Card Wreath

One of my absolute favorite things about the holidays is giving and receiving Christmas/New Year's cards. I know that might sound silly, but it's the time to recognize how many loving family members, wonderful friends, and caring supporters you have at all times. Sometimes, especially when life is hard, we forget about all of the people that love us and are there for us in times of need and in times of celebration. That's why Christmas cards mean so much to me. They are that constant reminder that no matter what happens, you have so many people behind your back. And during this season, you have the chance to read special notes from so many of them, see pictures of their families, and celebrate how blessed you are to have those people in your lives.

Each year, though, I run out of space on the refrigerator to display all of the cards. Which, I have to say, makes me so happy. So, after seeing a friend's wreath that she made, I decided to make a Christmas card wreath that could display all of the cards. It's an easy, fun Christmas project, and it's definitely useful around this time!

DIY Christmas Card Wreath

You will need: scissors, scrapbook paper (Christmas-themed optional but a variety is best!), clothespins (I used 40), embroidery hoop (mine was 9" from Michaels), hot glue gun, ribbon (for hanging), foam paint brush, paint

Sorry about the quality of some of the pictures. My phone had to do that day. 

Directions:

1. Paint the embroidery hoop the color of your choice. Let dry for at least a couple of hours.

2. Tie a ribbon around the top of the embroidery hoop (I looped mine inside it after it was dry to cover the screw). The length of the ribbon solely depends on how long you want it to hang from wherever you place it! 

3. Cut pieces of the scrapbook paper to the size of the clothespins. Cut as many pieces as you have clothespins. I used about 40, which was perfect for the size of my embroidery hoop. Try to alternate scrapbook paper and use a few different themes! I used plain green, green and red plaid, festive Christmas paper, and an off-white Christmas paper and cut 10 strips of each. 

4. Glue the pieces of paper onto the clothespins and hold down for at least 10 seconds to fully secure.

5. Glue each clothespin onto the embroidery hoop. I left about 5 cm between each clothespin, but it doesn't have to be exact! For most of them, have them turned to the outside, so that they will clip outside of the hoop where most of the cards will go. Alternate each 4th or 5th clip to face inside, though, so you are able to display them all around.

6. Hang in place of your choice! I just used push pins since we live in an apartment, and it has never once fallen down!

7. Use the clips to hang your cards, and enjoy the display. :)

Again, sorry about the picture quality, but it looks so cute in my dining room!

Happy Holidays, everyone!!

Fall Decor Galore!

It seems like we have something going on every weekend. Every. Single. Weekend. But this past one, my husband and I both desperately needed to have a low-key couple of days where we could just enjoy each other's company and let the day take us where it would. It was amazing. Between Friday night and Sunday, we enjoyed taking several walks, riding bikes, making some delicious food, watching a movie and some of our Netflix series (currently Prison Break), and of course, watching lots of football. We even managed to get our grocery shopping done! We also picked up some craft items from Dollar Tree and Michaels, and I put together a fall wreath, painted some mason jars, and put up all of our fall decorations, so I'm sharing the finished products with you!

Fall decor galore! 

I've been wanting to use mason jars forever to hold some of the flowers that I put out for each season. I saw some great ideas on pinterest to give them an "antique feel." Basically, we picked a couple of them up from Michaels and picked out a color that we thought could transition through each season easily (a sand color--we might paint some others in a fun color later!); then my husband used sand paper to give them some imperfections and give them a rustic look. I love how they turned out!

The painted mason jars and "P's" (for the wreaths)

Finished jars!

And this shows how I'm using them with other fall decor to display the flowers. :)

I also love making wreaths! This one was so easy. We picked up the branch wreath from Michael's for just over 4 dollars (plus they have great 40% off coupons!), and then I picked out a letter I liked from there, as well. I wanted a bigger one, but they are always out of P's... guess our last initial is popular? I thought the sand color would go well with the fall wreath, so I painted that along with the mason jars. I bought the burlap from Michaels, too. I also picked up some fall craft items from Dollar Tree, like these fabric leaves, the mini gourds, and the strands of "Indian corn." At least, that's what they look like to me! I made a huge bow out of the burlap and hot glued that on first. Next were the leaves on the right side and the gourds on the upper left. I added the P on the right side of the bow, and I finally decided that it needed a little more, so that was when I added the Indian corn on top of the bow. There wasn't exactly a plan, but I think it turned out nice!

Ta-da! :)

We have a basket of candles that are placed on our coffee table all year long, so I added some of the fabric leaves under it to give it the fall festive feel, too. The rest are all just decorations I have from previous years! I love the "Harvest Welcome" sign that I used in front of the mason jars and flowers (see above) and the "Blessings" piece. They both came from Walgreens two years ago, and I use them every year!

Hope you are enjoying this time of year. I can't wait for it to get cooler, but I am loving seeing the colors in the mountains change. It's such a beautiful time! :)