Autumn Decorating: Simple Garland Tutorial

I'd love to tell you that I decorate my home for every season, but the sad reality is that I really only decorate in the fall and winter. I've got a few spring decorations that are my very favorites, but they are frequently forgotten in the New Year rush and bumble. And summer in Phoenix is just too darn hot to do much of anything including decorating. Because we (meaning the kids and I) are so proud of our efforts, I thought we'd share a few decorating ideas. Of course, it is getting a little late for Halloween decor, but you can certainly apply these ideas to other seasons.

We'll begin outside with my beautiful fall foliage.

That's it.

Now, we'll proceed inside with my bookshelves that we recently moved together. You will probably notice that I include a lot of potted plants in my decorating. I love plants. They add such a beautiful, organic feel to my home.

As you can probably surmise by the bricks and children's artwork, I believe in integrating kid stuff with adult stuff. I think it adds to the overall loving and accepting ambiance in our home.

Now for my crowning glory in decorating this year...I am so proud of this chandelier that I just might burst confetti puffy hearts. It was very difficult to photograph because I didn't want too many distracting elements in the background and I also didn't want to take everything off the walls. (I only have so much time to stylize my photos.) I hope you can get the idea. If only all of you lived near me, I'd show you in person.

I thought that the garland was enough until Zo came home from Brownies with these awesome-dawsom paper pumpkins. I quickly swiped them up, added strings and hung them. Now, we are complete.

Let me share with you how I made the very simple garland because everyone should be as happy as I am. (giggle) The title to this tutorial is a little lengthy, but I think it sums it up exactly

How to Make a Very Simple Garland 
and Achieve a Sense of Serious Pride 

in Your Decorating Talents

Materials
Double-sided paper
Hole Punch (optional)
Paper punches
Scissors
Sewing machine and thread OR embroidery floss and needle
Any other objects you'd like to incorporate.

Here are a few ideas for shapes: ghosts, cupcakes, any basic shape, leaves, hearts, flowers, letters, suns and moons, animals, Santa hats, pencil shapes, building shapes, shamrocks, birds, strips of paper or fabric, flags, superhero symbols, cars and trucks, etc.

Other things you might add: playing cards, tags, felt items, bulky flowers (like Primas or tissue paper flowers), ephemera like ticket stubs, maps, paint chips, crepe paper, etc.

Technique
1. Punch or cut out the shapes you'd like for your garland. You'll need about 2-4 pieces of 12x12 double- sided paper to make a nice size garland depending on the size of your punch, of course. (I personally used scraps from other projects.) My two oldest daughters (8 and 10 years old) helped with this part. Don't forget that you can use fabric too! Just use your scissors with fabric.

2. If you have a sewing machine and would like to use it, load up with your favorite color thread and begin to sew for about 6 inches with nothing in the machine, just get a little tail going. Next, place your shape into the machine and let the feed dogs take it in. Continue to sew for about an inch after your shape is integrated into the garland, then add another. Repeat until you are happy with the garland's length. If your thread breaks, don't panic. Just start again on the last shape and continue. Snip off any extra threads at the end. You can see a close-up below. I varied sizes of circles and was quite loose about how far apart they are. You can either randomly add each shape or you can do an ombre thing by starting with a light color and getting darker or you can keep each color together. You decide.

3. If you do not have a sewing machine, punch two very small holes in each shape at the top and thread a needle with a long piece of embroidery floss. (You want your holes to be big enough that the needle passes through easily, but small enough that the floss stays in place and your shapes don't eventually migrate to the center of the garland.) Go in and out of each shape adding it to the garland. This will take longer than the sewing machine method, but will have a homier feel. If you turn on the TV or listen to a podcast, you'll be done in no time!

4. Immediately after finishing with your sewing, hang your garland and enjoy the fruits of your handiwork. You rock!

Paper Strip Pumpkin Tutorial

Materials

2 Brads (any size)

Double-sided patterned paper

Hole punch

Scissors

String (optional)

NOTE: You don't have to make these spheres into pumpkins, they could also be Christmas ornaments or abstract globes or hung like lanterns for a fancy dinner party. It all depends on what kind of paper you use. What would happen if you used sheet metal? WARNING: Be careful with sheet metal as the edges may be very sharp and cut your hands!

Technique

1. Cut strips of paper out of double-sided paper. The strips should be about 2-3 inches wide and about 7-12 inches long depending on the size pumpkin you'd like. You'll need about 8 strips per pumpkin.

2. Stack the strips and punch a hole at the top and at the bottom of the all strips. If you have a Crop-a-dile, this will be easy. Make sure that you don't punch too far off the edge and the paper rips.

3. Insert the brads into the two holes.

4. Separate the strips to obtain a beautiful spherical shape. Do this carefully so you don't rip the paper.

5. If you'd like to hang your pumpkins, tie string to the brad and hang.

6. Enjoy!

If you have other ideas for cool garlands, please leave me a comment, I'll add them to this post. And, if you have any picture links, please share those too. Now that I have my cool chandelier (thanks Jess!) I'm very excited about decorating it.

xoxo
B

Zoo Trip

A few weeks ago, the kids and I went to the Wildlife World Zoo in Litchfield Park, AZ. If you are in the Phoenix area and have a day, this zoo is well worth the visit. (FYI: You can get half-price coupons in Hickman's egg cartons sold at Target.) The animals are so close and so awake that it is thrilling for all ages. We got there right when the zoo opened. In fact, we were the first ones in. (We were more than excited about this adventure.) Can you blame us? When I get pictures like these?

Yes, that is a lion cub awake! And yawning. So cute. And the paws were so big!

Check out this guy in the aviary.

The rhino was so close, I could have touched him if I'd just stretched out my arm a bit. I decided that I wanted to live, so I didn't.

The camels were full of chat. They moaned and groaned for a good 5 minutes before we were pulled away by the warthogs nearby. They were asleep.

I don't have a very good picture because they were moving so much, but the black leopard and the spotted leopard held our attention for a long time. They were pacing and growling and even playing. It was amazing. I've never seen a leopard awake. Ever.

We also rode the zoo train and giggled over the bird that ran alongside us.

It was a fabulous day.

Winner of a Free Seat in Mixed-Media Memory Boards

Hello everyone! As usual, I'm a smidge late on announcing the winner of a free place in my Shimmering Mixed-Media Memory Boards class. Unfortunately, that's how I roll sometimes.

I've been working on class content without stopping all week. I did draw a name on October 20th, but I failed to announce that lucky winner! So without further ado...

The winner is...GMS! Congratulations! I've emailed you with directions on how to redeem your free place. Class begins on October 27th!

Thank you to everyone else who entered the giveaway! I know that you didn't win, but I've got some very exciting plans for this blog and for the newsletter beginning January 2012. As soon as I've got everything in order, I'll divulge my extremely ambitious plans. I know you will love it lots.

xoxo
Beth

Giveaway Winners

Happy Friday everyone!

Friday is my favorite day of the week. It is ripe with the possibilities of the weekend and represents the end of the stress of the work week. Wonderful day.

I've got a few giveaway winners to announce! First off, a few weeks ago I asked you to divulge a bit about your creative pursuits. I loved reading your comments. Each of you is so creative and I'm pleased that you felt comfortable bragging a bit about yourselves. Each of you has inspired me to live more creatively. Thank you. The winner of a little something from me is lexid. She went totally out on a limb and started, picked out and resewed a quilt. Good for you girl! Also, I was moved by SuZeQ's comment about working creatively with her therapist to solve her leg and foot pain. Good for you for taking action and thinking outside the box. As a recent (within a few years) knee injury survivor, I know how pain can debilitate and I'm sending loads of positive pain-free vibes your way. So instead of one, I'm sending out two packages. As soon as you two email me (kartchnerfamily @ cox.net). I'll pop a little one of these into the mail for you. (Yours will look slightly different from the one pictured.) I hope that this little bluebird brings you joy.

I've also got a winner for the issue of Mingle!

Before I announce that, can I just tell you how much better I felt after reading your recent party stories? I thought that I was the only one who had cold-feet when it comes to entertaining and now I realize that I'm simply part of big group of cold-feet-ers. Thank you everyone for your candid thoughts. I'm now totally at peace with my hostess anxiety.

Now, the winner. Completely randomly chosen by Random.org is commenter #2...Sue!

Congrats! Email me your snail mail (kartchnerfamily @ cox.net) and I'll pop your issue of Mingle in the mail!

Congratulations to everyone and again, a big fat thank you for your lovely comments. They always make my day brighter.

Also, there are only 5 days left to enter into my giveaway for a free spot in my Shimmering Mixed-Media Memory Boards class! See this post for details.

xoxo
B

Mingle Magazine Giveaway

Have you heard about Stampington's newest magazine, Mingle? It is filled with ideas for entertaining and gathering with friends and family. Not to mention the eye-candy. Good heavens...the eye candy, people!

I have to admit, at first, I wasn't interested in this particular magazine because I don't host very many parties. My life is so busy (heaven's to Betsy, with 6 littles, every single meal is a raucous party!) that I really don't have the opportunity. Plus, I feel very comfortable creating artwork for my walls, but when it comes to cooking and decorating, I've got some seriously cold feet.

However, when I actually sat down and began reading, something amazing happened. I was completely inspired by every. single. article. I'm not kidding. Not only that, but I didn't feel completely overwhelmed by the magazine. Sometimes when I read decorating or entertaining magazines, I end up chucking them at the wall because they make me feel...well...cruddy. I get feelings of inadequacy and all I want to do is lick my wounds and feel sorry for myself. (I usually stay far away from party/decorating blogs for that very reason.) Not so with Stampington's Mingle. Yes, the articles are all about amazing parties and amazing hostesses, but they didn't make me feel hopeless. The overall spirit of the publication is positive inspiration. How refreshing! And doable. Even for hopeless hostesses who don't like to cook for anyone other than their immediate family. (Like someone you might know...)

Oh, let me say a little about the photography too. The pictures are absolutely divine. The color schemes, the little details, the sumptuousness in them was amazing. Simply amazing. All and all, this is a great magazine. Perfect with a hot drink and perhaps a little something sweet. You're going to love it. I know it.

And...thanks to Stampington's generosity, I am hosting a Mingle giveaway!

 

I'm just so excited to send a lucky winner a brand new copy of this magazine courtesy of Stampington! If you'd like to win, leave me a comment telling me about the last great (or cruddy) get-together that you hosted (or attended). I'll choose a winner on October 14th based on the comments that I receive.

It's only fair that I begin so...my last get-together was with a few neighbors. I set up a baked potato bar (I thought myself quite decadent when I had both bacon and sour cream available!) and we got to know each other better while our children played outside. It was very simple. There weren't any fancy decorations or invitations, but we all enjoyed ourselves.

Okay, your turn!

So Much to Learn

I feel like I'm in a state of transition right now. I've been working on improving my art, setting up my business and learning all I can about things like small business taxes, LLCs and marketing. At times I feel completely overwhelmed and I have serious thoughts about giving it all up. (This usually happens after I've been trying to figure out the whole accounting thing. ack.) But, then I'll sit down and create something and I'll remember why I do what I do. I love making pretty things. The End.

A few days ago, while chatting with one of my besties, (to steal a bit of lexicon from Big Bang Theory) I asked her how she gets everything done. (I was in an overwhelmed phase) and she told me that her new philosophy was ONE. Whenever she has an entire day of activities (and believe me she is busy), she tells herself to do one thing and then focuses completely on that one thing. For example, in the morning, when she needs to clean the kitchen, take a shower, dress the kiddos, etc. she tells herself: shower. Then she focuses on that shower. That is the one thing of the moment. When she finishes that, she focuses on one more thing. Eventually, she gets everything done and she hasn't gotten herself all in a dither doing so. I really like this advice. I have a tendency to focus on so many things at once that I get my head completely turned around and I can't even tell which way is up. Surely, I'm not the only one, right?

Anyway, back to self-improvement. I've found a few resources that I wanted to share with you because I love to share cool stuff.

First, I've been listening to CraftyPod like crazy pants. Each podcast is under 30 minutes and filled with interesting tidbits. Plus, the show notes are a wealth of information. Sister Diane covers everything from macrame to publishing to taxes to leftovers. I love how diverse she is. When you have 19 minutes, check it out.

Second, I've discovered a very interesting class that begins in January by Tamara Laporte. It is called Life Book. It is a year long class with over 14 incredible teachers. I took Tamara's free course a few months ago and learned tons and tons. I can't imagine what I'll learn in this 365 day class! My mom and I are planning on taking it together. Let me know if you sign up and we'll add you to our cool-dude class group. (giggle).

Third, I've always been obsessed with beeswax. I'm not sure why. Maybe it is the whole flippant "none of your beeswax" statement that I picked up in 6th grade? I don't know. It could be the whole texture thing. I love playing around with texture. Anyway, I want to learn more about encaustic art and now, thanks to Judy Wise I'll have a chance! Unfortunately, I'm on my own in this class. My mom isn't into beeswax. Bummer. Let me know if you are enrolled so we can swap notes, okay? Judy's class begins soon so don't fiddle around trying to decide.

Fourth, you may have noticed that I've added a few links to small business information on my left side bar. If you are interested in starting your own business, you may find these helpful. If not, just ignore them. I mainly put them on my blog so that I could personally keep track of these resources. I wanted you to be aware of them though.

Okay, that's it for now. The kids are off of school for the next 2 weeks so we've been quite the busy little bees. We decorated for Halloween (pics to come soon) and we moved all kinds of furniture. Don't you just love doing that? If you come to our house, you might run away screaming because of all the black plastic spiders in the front porch area. There are 100 to be exact. Along with quite a few webs. We are very proud of our creepy front area so on Halloween, make sure you comment. It is about as scary as we get. Even the spiders were a bit much for little Quinny. He wouldn't touch the web stuff and only after he saw all the older kids handling them safely would he touch one. This is the same kid who will easily jump from a 10 foot ladder. Funny boy.

xoxo
B