Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Fabulous Fall Printables


Last spring, I posted a collection of my favorite free spring printables and you guys loved them. So, I have another collection for you today of my favorite free fall printables! Yippee for free, beautiful printables, am I right?!
Please keep in mind, these are other bloggers' masterpieces, so follow the links to their blogs and pin individual images from there. Show them some love while you're visiting, too!

Starting out with my very favorite fall printable...



















Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Jessica's Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins


Happy First Day of Fall, Everyone! In the spirit of the day, I thought I'd share my favorite fall treat with you all!


In our previous house, we were super blessed to have amazing neighbors turned friends living just two doors down from us! One of my fondest memories of that home is all the walks around the neighborhood that Jessica and I did, pushing our babies in their strollers and chatting. I'm so thankful for the friendship made in our old neighborhood!

One fall, Jessica shared some pumpkin muffins with us and I've been hooked ever since! There's a million pumpkin recipes out there, but I come back to this one every year. It's easy, only dirties one bowl for prep, and the muffins turn out moist and flavorful every time! Bonus points-- it makes a ton, so there's always enough to share!

Jessica graciously said I could share the recipe with you all! Hope you enjoy them as much as we do! Enjoy!

Thursday, September 17, 2015

Neutral Fall Mantle {2015 Edition}


For some reason, all this week, I've been mentally ahead a day. It's the worst today, because I keep thinking it's Friday and we're about to start the weekend! Boo! Anyone else all out of whack this week, too?

If you've been following me on Instagram, you have already seen a sneak peak of my fall fireplace decor. I was originally planning to do a colorful mantle, but when I got out my fall decor, this just came together so easily, I had to go with neutral again this year! I love how fresh it looks, while still bringing in all the fall touches that I love! 


I have to say, I'm insanely proud of how this wall in our living room has turned out! Between painting the walls, adding the planking, and building the built-in, it has gone through quite a transformation!


This cute wood and burlap acorn bunting was only $3 in the Target dollar spot! Major score! There's so many cute fall decor items in the dollar spot right now, so go check it out! #notsponsoredbytarget #iwish


I added a couple of my burlap covered pumpkins I made last year to each side. I love how the pumpkins look on top of the candlesticks that I converted from taper candle holders to pillar candle holders!


Cotton, a textured vase, and neutral books finished it off. Super simple!


Have you been busy decorating for fall, too? Do you go all out with colors or stick to a neutral color palette? I genuinely love them both!


Linking up with Remodelaholic, Savvy Southern Style, and many other awesome blogs!

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

DIY No-Sew Pumpkin Pillow


Do you ever get project ideas where even you think you're crazy and it's going to turn out horribly? This project was totally one of those. But, I was determined to make it work and it actually turned out better than I thought! #winning


If you've been reading this blog a while, you know that I can't sew. It is just not a power I posses...and I've tried. Oh, I've tried. ;) I finally gave up and donated my sewing machine. The horror! 

Unfortunately, my lack of sewing abilities costs me in the decorating department. I see all.the.cute things but can't make them myself and can't afford to pay someone to make all.the.things for me! Cue, my crazy project idea... 

I really, really wanted some cute fall pillows for my front porch. I was feeling southern and cutesy and thought a little pumpkin pillow (or five, ha!) would be adorable. So, what's a non-seamstress to do? Hot glue it! Oh yeah, baby! It actually worked really well and now I'm the proud owner of adorable pillows that I made myself on the cheap. Woot woot! Picture me dancing around my living room, twirling my pumpkin pillow. 

Ready to see how I did it? I took a million pictures of the process so that you other non-seamstresses could make these little fluffy lumps of adorableness, too! Non-sewers unite! 

Step One: Gather scraps of coordinating fabrics and burlap. I found this adorable polka dotted burlap at Joann's!


Step Two: Cut two pieces of burlap into desired shape, slightly larger than you want the finished size. 


Step Three: Lay the burlap pieces on top of each other with the right/patterned sides facing the inside.


Step Four: Carefully lift the top piece and add a line of glue where you want your seam, leaving about an inch of extra fabric on the outside. Then lay the top piece back in place and firmly press your fabric along the line of glue. Make sure you do this on a surface you don't care about or lay down old newspapers, as the glue can seep through the burlap a bit when you apply pressure. 

Repeat this step on three of the four sides. Make sure to leave the fourth side open so you can add filling! 


I was distracted trying to take a picture and glue at the same time, so accidentally did my line of glue too far from the edge. I discovered if you don't touch the glue and let it dry, you can peel it off. Just a tip in case you mess up!

Step Five: Turn the pillow cover right side out, reaching inside and making sure to get the corners and seams well turned out. I pressed along each seam to get a good, crisp line. 


Step Six: Onto the pumpkin! Grab a patterned fabric and lightly draw the outline of a pumpkin on the back of the fabric, then cut it out. You could also trace a picture of a pumpkin if you don't trust your drawing skills! 

I wanted to use multiple fabrics for my pumpkin for an added touch, so I grabbed a coordinating fabric and drew and cut a football shape to use for the middle of the pumpkin. Then, I traced and cut a stem out of green fabric. 


Step Seven: Arrange the pumpkin pieces onto the pillow, making sure to make the open end of the pillow the bottom. Slip a piece of cardboard inside the pillow so the glue won't seep through. I had just worked on two lumbar pillows that closed on the side, so made the open part on this square pillow facing the side, too, without thinking. I wish I had put the open side on the bottom instead, since the final seam doesn't lay quite as flat as the other three seams. (That's true of sewn pillows as well.)


Step Eight: Working in small sections, lift the pumpkin fabric up and add a line of glue close to the edge of the fabric. Carefully lay it back down on the pillow and press and rub firmly to adhere the glue. Do this all the way around the perimeter of each fabric. 


Don't let the pillow switch out in the picture confuse you! I tried to glue too much at once on the first pillow and burned my finger, so I had to take a new picture of this step for you on my second pumpkin pillow. Don't be like me, glue in small, 2"sections!

Step Nine: Working in small sections, glue jute twine around the perimeter of each fabric to seal off the raw edges and add a cute, finishing touch. Use a toothpick to remove any excess glue that seeps out while it's still hot.


Step Ten: Remove the cardboard, stuff the pillow, then fold the last open side of the pillow down toward the inside about an inch all the way around. Add a line of glue close to the inside of the folded edge and press to seal.


DONE!



I love, love, love how it turned out! I loved it so much, in fact, that I added a pumpkin to this $8 Michael's clearance pillow so that I could have one for my living room, too! Isn't it adorable?!


I also used this method to make two burlap lumbar pillows for my adirondack chairs on the back deck! I specifically picked burlap fabric since I knew the glue would adhere well to the rough, hairy texture. I really want to try this method out on a drop cloth, though, and see if that fabric would work, too. It's a lot smoother, so I'm not sure how well the glue would hold. I'll have to try it and report back! 

Hope this inspires you to cutesy up your porch whether you can sew or not! The possibilities are endless!

Linking up to Savvy Southern Style, Remodelaholic, and many other awesome blogs!

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

DIY Knotted Rope Finials


Hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend! Ours was fun as we tried to pack in the last of our summer activities before school starts back tomorrow.

It's time for another Monthly DIY Challenge with my blogger friends! This month's challenge was to create something for our home using rope. I was really excited about the theme and had the perfect project in mind! Be sure to check out all of the other awesome projects linked at the bottom of this post!


Our bedroom hasn't seen much decorating love since we moved in three years ago. It's been feeling dark and blah, so I've been trying to lighten it up and add some texture to the space. We inherited curtain rods for the room from the previous owners. I liked the color enough, but the finial was really not my style. I mean, it looks like a Saints logo and if you've been around this blog a while, you know I'm a die hard Patriots fan! :) I decided to switch it up and create a finial out of rope!


To create my finials, I simply needed rope, craft balls, and glue. I originally purchased the rope at the hardware store, but it was too hairy for my liking. I ended up finding smoother rope at Michael's along with the wooden craft balls. I was going to use E6000 glue to attach the new finial, but made a last second decision to use hot glue and it worked out great!


For each finial, we created a monkey fist knot out of the rope, slipping a wooden ball into the middle as we were making the knot. We used this video tutorial to figure out how to tie the knot. I love the chunkiness of the monkey fist knot!


Ready for a blogger confession? I tried and tried and and tried some more to tie that stinkin' knot, but I simply am not the type of learner that can read a tutorial or watch a video for something and then be able to duplicate it. I need someone standing next to me, guiding me. In the end, I tasked my husband with watching a video tutorial and figuring out the knot. Of course, he figured it out in 5 minutes flat. Geesh! Haha! Here's the video that he used:


When the knot was complete, I pulled a piece of the rope over just enough to expose a bit of the wooden ball. I placed a dollop of glue onto the ball, then slid my rod in and held it until the glue was hard. Then, I went around and added extra dollops of glue to secure it more. That's it! 


So much more my style! I love that it adds in a light, relaxed touch to our bedroom! And because I'm a tease, that's all I'm going to show you! I just replaced the curtains in our bedroom, but need to raise the rods a few inches before I reveal them to you! Check back soon to see the curtains and how the new finials look in the room!


Be sure to check out all of the projects! Didn't by bloggy buddies knock it out of the park?! Such creative ideas!


Rustic Rope Valance

Rope Wrapped Cans

Rope Picture Hanger

Pipe and Rope Shelves

Rope Finials

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

5 Minute Fix: Antique Key Art


Hey Friends! Popping in to share a ridiculously quick and easy project for you! It seriously took longer for my glue gun to heat up than it did to complete this project! That's a win in my book!


I found some fabulous antique style keys at Michael's in the $1.50 bin a few months ago. I snagged some up, knowing they'd make adorable art! Then, I started my search for the perfect frame to go with the key. Obviously, that took a while, but I finally came across an inexpensive wood frame at Home Goods a couple weeks ago.

Funny story about that Home Goods shopping trip... My kids were with me, so we strolled down the toy aisle to look at all the cool stuff. My son found an awesome watch for half the price I'd seen it elsewhere. His birthday is coming and that exact watch was on his birthday list, so I wanted to buy it for him. I figured it I waited and came back without the kids, it'd be gone. I had to find a way to sneakily buy it without him seeing me. So, I exclaimed about some cool toy down the aisle to distract him and quickly shoved it into the stroller awning to hide it from him. Then, when we checked out, I had to send him to look at candy so I could hurriedly get it to the cashier without him seeing. I barely made it! But, the cashier caught on quickly and wrapped the watch all up so he couldn't see. Whew! When did birthday shopping get so hard?! I mean, I turned into the crazy mom that thought it'd be a good idea to send my child to look at candy without intending to purchase any candy! Haha!


Anyway, back to the key art. I popped the glass out of the frame, then glued some burlap to the back of the frame. I wrapped a bit of jute twine around the key, then glued it onto the burlap covered frame back. I reassembled my frame and wallah! Easy, fast, cheap art!

What easy projects have you done lately? What's the craziest thing you've done to distract your kids so you could sneak buying them a present?

Linking up to Remodelaholic and many other awesome blogs!
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