Fall Decorating on the Cheap

I love the idea of holiday decorating but I hate the idea of spending money on something that is only going to be up for one season.  After a few too many hours on Pinterest I was dying to make something festive happen.

I decided the mantle would be the perfect place to start, this is what I started with. (pretty much... I had replaced the "C" with a new one, and added the candle sticks)

I started with the garland.  I've seen so many fun tutorials on making these and I wanted to give it a try.  I started by searching the house for any scrap fabric or felt.  I ended up using felt to hot glue the candy corn triangles together.  I kept the triangles uniform my making a paper pattern to cut out all the flags with.  The black triangles were also felt and the polka dot fabric was from an old curtain.  To connect them all together I ripped a piece of scrap grey fabric about 1.5" wide, then glued down all the triangles on the bottom half of the strip.  After they were all glued on I went back and folded and glued down the fabric.  It was fast and simple and I didn't have to get out my sewing machine :)

I wanted to stick with a black, white, with hints of color scheme.   I stole the tree picture from my bedroom and pulled my other black and white canvas out of a closet.  Then I headed outside to gather some branches.  I just snuck those into the empty white frame and taped them down on the back inside of the frame.  I printed out a crow silhouette and laid it on some black felt to cut out.  Then taped it to the branch and a little tape on back to the glass on the frame.  The branches really added a nice touch of dimension that I liked a lot.  Not too bad for FREE. 

After feeling successful on the mantle I decided to spice up my dining room table.  This is a room we don't use very often but I have to walk by it all the time.  With 4 kids running around decorating has to be strategic... well, unless you like cleaning up glass.  I decided to try something that I normally wouldn't do in a more high traffic area in my home.  

I used a curtain that I folded under to make the table runner.  For the "tree trunks" I wrapped a few vases and a straw dispenser with some white paper and then used a black marker to make it look like an Aspen tree.  Then, back outside for some more branches.  The flowers were left over from a wreath I made so I thought they might add some nice color.  

Total cost for this... $3 if you count the flowers that were used for a different project.  

Late Night / Nap Time Crafts

I don't know what got into me yesterday but once the kids were in bed I went to work on some fun crafts and the next thing you know I'm up until 2 am.  

I made this letter? letter wreath? monogram? Not sure what to call it... that "W" thingy. 

I made this for a craft exchange that I'm doing.  It will end up somewhere in Texas with a nice lady named Summer W. 

Then onto my Winter wreath.  I bought the wreath a few weeks back at a yard sale for only $0.50, I've been wanting to decorate it ever since I got it.  So I braved Michael's with my four children on Friday and somehow was able to walk out with some super cute flowers and snowflakes which were all 50-60% off yay!  I wrapped it in some fabric from an old curtain. Then started hot glueing like crazy.

When I was done I was so excited I wanted to hang it up.  I got the hook up and then tried to hang it... I ended up dropping it about 4 times before I actually got it on the hook.  Needless to say there is a nice dusting of glitter on my floor ; ) 

 After my night of crafting I just couldn't stop so today I pulled out a blank canvas and made myself a Christmasy painting.  I think I have officially fulfilled my creativity itch for the month.

The Great Failure

Recently I've been having many conversations with women about how difficult it is to be a mom.  The constant struggle of trying to keep the house together, the kids alive, the husband happy, the laundry done, and looking beautiful during all that.... not to mention all the others things but I don't want to bore you.  Then, we are constantly bombarded with images of all these amazing ideas on Pinterest of perfect mommies making beautiful food, having super organized homes, and children that are surprisingly clean and stylish.  In the midst of all this I find myself feeling like a failure on a daily basis, and in talking to other women about this subject I have found that I am not the only one in this boat of failure.

I began to think about the things that make me happy and bring a bit of light to my dark world of failure.  I am a photographer and I LOVE photographing people, I think photos are priceless treasures that capture moments in our life that will never happen again.  Being honest with myself I also enjoy when people compliment me on my work.  It brings a smile to my face and makes me feel great!  As a mom, I feel like it's almost wrong to take such praise when I have failed day after day in house work or disciplining my children but the other day I realized why these small moments in my life are so important.

If you don't read any other part of this blog this is what I really want to share....
"The reason we need to do things we are good at is so that we can be reminded that we are not failures." 

We all have something we can do well... some of us can run fast and long and that makes us feel good. Some of us are creative and can make things that people rave over.  Some of us are just amazing at throwing a party that people talk about for years.   We all have something that we know deep inside that we do well and when we choose to take the time to do those things in the midst of giving everything we have to our families it keeps us from flipping out.... literally.

I'm not suggesting we give up on our families or being an amazing mom, I'm just suggesting that we pay attention to when we need to give ourselves a reminder that we have amazing beautiful wonderful gifts inside of us that need to come out.  I've told my husband many times that I don't want to get lost in the world of taking care of everyone else and end up not even recognizing myself.  In turn he has supported me in my creative endeavors and moments of being myself.  I don't think it is fair to us or our families for them not to see who we really are... honestly what is that teaching our children?

I would love to hear what some of the things are that make you feel good about you, or that make you who you are... please leave them in the comments, you might just remind someone else of something they love that has been lost over the years.

*Why not end this post with a hilarious picture of me taking pics in the dark morning hours with my snuggle bugs?*

Cork Board Project

I found this great 30"x 42" cork board on Craigslist for $10, it had never been used and it was in perfect condition.  

 I almost forgot the before picture, but here is what it looked like before.  I think cork is very boring so I thought I'd spice it up.  

 I did the back round color in a flat finish, and the design was metallic of the same color.  I drew out a template for the design I wanted and cut it out.  I would just lay the template out and paint about an inch around it, so the template wasn't getting covered in paint, I also didn't want the pattern to be perfect so I wasn't super concerned with following the pattern exactly.  

I am not a naturally organized person, so it has been my goal since becoming a wife and mother of four to learn some organizing skills.  I found this great website called iHeart Organizing and printed out some great free printables that will help me keep track to appointments during the week, meal plans and a few other things. 

My fabulous cork board is now hung in my kitchen and ready to keep me on track.