Fall wreath

Thank you, Pinterest, for yet another awesome idea. The weather's starting to get cooler (hallelujah!), leaves are just starting to turn, and you almost need a jacket when you go out in the morning. Bring on long-sleeved shirts, Ohio State football, and fire pitting in the backyard!

To celebrate the beginning of Fall, I'm sharing my latest project - a festive wreath!

My sis (in law), Jasmine, is getting married in a month!

Last weekend was her bridal shower in Indy, and as much fun as small kitchen appliances are, I wanted to go for something more personal. Then, I was browsing around my favorite blogs and found this awesome wreath on FreshHomeIdeas.com. It seems so very Jaz -- and for her Fall wedding, it was perfect; she and Jose Carlos definitely need something fun and personal in their new apartment. Not only that, but her wedding colors are very festive for fall - reds, yellows, oranges. This pretty wreath on the front door can be an exciting reminder that their big day is coming!

via

So, off I went to Hobby Lobby & Jo-Ann Fabrics. I took a regular wreath form -- one of those straw ones you can get for $3.99 at HL or Jo-Ann. [Get it with a 40% off coupon for an additional score.]  I unwrapped the wreath halfway and then started to realize it was puking pieces of straw all over my freshly cleaned floor (ugh!!!)!! I ended up pulling out some saran-wrap and wrapping it all back up again. Since it was all covered with yarn, it really didn't matter, so if I make another one again, the plastic wrap is staying on. (Is it supposed to stay on anyway?)

Then, I wrapped yarn around it for what seemed like forever... I thought I was going to die still wrapping that yarn around the wreath! Once that was finally done, all I had to do was start cutting and hot-gluing. Jo-Ann even had a bunch of cool buttons on sale for $0.25 each from $3.99 for some of those things, so this was a fun and enjoyable project. Just like we used to do in first grade, I folded and folded and cut pieces of fabric like paper snowflakes. It's easy - just cut, glue, stack, and put a button on top. Sorry, I was on such a roll I spaced on taking in-progress photos.

If you look closely, the fabrics on this wreath are lots of different textures -- the green fabric is corduroy, yellow is felt, orange is felt, and others are printed textures or linen-look. Like the inspiration wreath, I also positioned the flowers around on the sides of the wreath so it'd have some dimension.

If you attempt this, I recommend hot glue.... lots and lots of hot glue!

Since Jaz's new apartment is still crying out for some personal touches like wall decorations and accessories, I also gave her a set of 3 small frames to include in a frame gallery - all featuring cheese (one of her proclaimed favorite things). I'm so glad this wreath turned out. Trust me guys, it took a LOT of restraint not to post a Facebook photo or blog post about this thing before I gave it to her! :)

Only a few more weeks 'til the big day...Congrats girlie!

I linked up at:

Orange and Blue

Whew, a little quiet on the house blog front lately! I've been hard at work on BartleysRun, describing how to "do" a triathlon. If you're interested or have ever considered it, get over there and check it out!

I never thought I'd ever say this in a million years, but I think I'm jumping on the orange bandwagon. It's growing on me. Orange is such a happy and cheerful color, it just seems to wake you up when you're looking at it. Since I'm still beyond stumped as to how to deal with this dark brown sofa we've got in the front room, maybe a little pale orange would complement the tan walls nicely and subtly.

The other day, I came across a beautiful home featured by Erin at House of Turquoise (As you might guess, she really likes turquoise!) I love the use of a happy orange color without being too bright or overzealous - so you won't be seeing any orange walls or orange furniture. It is so inspiring that the orange is not the feature color, but pops out of the room filled with tans, woods, and linens. The light blues, yellows, and greens in this color palette make it seem relaxed but fun. Click here for the full home tour. This house is gor-ge-ous... what's the best part? Is it the architecturally interesting ceilings? The industrial chairs? Or how about those curtains that you could totally DIY?  I'll take two, please!

 

This new beachy-feel orange and light blue inspiration led me on a deeper hunt. Here are some of the other playful-but-polished rooms featuring this color combo:

via Houzz

via Houzz

No blue in this room (below), but I still like the soft orange and yellow.

via West Elm.

via Belle Maison

via Houzz

So, what do you think: orange and light blue - crazy or fun?