My Halloween'd Up House

Hey everyone! Long time no see...right? Yeah, I was trying to get back on track...still am...BUT there is still hope out there for me! I promise. Don't turn your back on me, 'k? :)

Seriously, now that September is over (super busy month) I am really planning on gettting my blog act together. Fo. Sho.

SO! Halloween! I pulled my decor out of the attic, and even though I didn't add anything new (boo hoo)

I did rearrange things a little bit, so it seems new-ish. :)

The pic above shows my mantle.

Still my mantle, but different view -of course. I love that sitting skeleton.

The quality of this picture leaves something to be desired, but you get it....

SPOOKY banner.

Close up of candles on mantle.

Again, same wreath as last year. For tutorial, see HERE.

Shelves inside the living room.

Even though I haven't been posting, I have been working on some things for Chatty Crafty.

I plan to share some of the little things I've made in the next few days!

Thanks for being spook-i-licious, and not forgetting about me!

Tracella

aka- My halloween name.

Pretty Autumn Wreath

A Big thanks to all who have been patient with me, and my non posting! Ughh!! Seriously...It's making me crazy, but I just have to hold on a little longer...

Anyhoo, (as usual when school starts) I have been crazy busy. Time has been flying by. I can't believe fall is just around the corner. That makes me really, really, really happy! It's my favorite time of the year, and it's pages are full of my favorite colors!! REDS, ORANGES, and even a little GREEN!

Usually, my fall wreath is orange/red, but this year i went the olive green route. I wanted the wreath to match my new beautiful porch bench pillows, so I used the extra fabric to make a couple of the fabric rosettes. My mother-n-law had given me some burlap, two slightly different shades of khaki (one being alllllmost a greenish color), so I used it for rosettes, also. Of course, I thought I would need a small pop of red, so my final rosettes were made with a pattern that had red/orange in it. (Kind of hard to tell in these pics.) Once I made the rosettes and hot glued them onto the wreath (4.99 at Michael's) it seemed like something was missing. I just happened to have purchased some "Autumn Hydrangea" blooms for another project, and they just happen to match my wreath perfectly! YAY! NOW, the wreath was complete.

Everyone have a fabbbbbbbbbbbbbuuuuuuuuulous weekend!!

Trying to get back on track- :)

Tracy

Another Summer Wreath!!

I finally got around to making a wreath for my own front door. I bought the yarn (at Big Lots for super cheap!) at the VERY VERY beginning of summer, but I am so very A.D.D. I ended up starting multiple projects, and this one ended up last on the list. Ahhh, like I always say...,"such is life."

It's pretty cute, and my ode to the ocean. :)
I used the same technique as I have for my other yarn wreaths to wrap it, but since it was a rectangular frame the corners were working out kind of weird. I ended up just leaving as you see, and I am ok with that.

The rosettes were made with left over fabric from all the stuff I have been making for my new classroom. (Will post that stuff later when it's ALL done.) I am totally in love with these prints and colors.
What's that? Want to know how to make the rosettes? Is that the murmur I hear from the crowd? Well, you are in luck. I posted a tutorial back in the spring, but plan on posting another one with pics later in the week. Stay tuned.

Hope everyone is having a fabulous week! It's bitter sweet for me. I go back to work on Monday after being off for two months. I am trying to get every little drop out of this free time this week!


Summer lov'n ...had me a blast...-

Tracy

Linking to :

Happy Gift!

My dear friend, Corbett, (we go by last names at work) had a birthday...she turned...um...23, I think (cough cough35coughcough) :) She is a fantastic teammate, we taught 5th grade together this past year, and a super awesome friend. Anyhoo, I made her this cute little door accessory...can I call this a wreath? I love the summery colors, and almost kept it for our house since I am a Crosby....C would be fitting!

Spring Wreath

Up until today...the weather has been beautiful here in Chattanooga.(Today it's rain, rain, with a chance of more rain.) It's one of the things I love about Tennessee. Spring. The trees are blooming in lovely shades of pink and purple, daffodils and tulips are popping up all over the place, and the sun is shining! Now that my allergies are somewhat in control, I was able to get outside this week to work in the yard. I really enjoyed it, and was inspired to create a new wreath for my front door that would match how I was feeling...

Of course, I am partial to the yarn wreath (as seen here and here....and here) However, this time rather than going with felt flowers I made fabric rosettes. These rosettes are easy peasy, and c-u-t-e! You can use them for loads of crafts.
Rosettes: (I should have taken pictures, I know!, but I forgot. Sorry.)
*Cut a length of fabric 1/2" wide, and the longer the length, the bigger the flower.
*Put a dab of hot glue in the middle of the end of the fabric. Fold the fabric in half and roll it up tight a few times.
*Put another dab of glue next to the roll and fold it over. Keep folding and wrapping as you go around the outside of the rolled material. Add a dab of glue every 1/2 turn or so.
*When you get to the end of your fabric strip, fold a little of the fabric under the back of the flower,and add glue to the back of the flower.

**Liquid stitch works really great to put flowers together, but I know more folks have a hot glue gun.**
Wreath: Look here for tutorial.

It's so fresh and bright! I love it.

Happy Spring!

Winter Wreath

I made this wreath for my mom for Christmas. I thought it would be nice for her door for the winter months. Since I had to mail it to her, I was kind of afraid to put anything sticking off of it...like ornamental branches or the like. Anyhoo, it turned out pretty, and simple; two things I love. :) To see how I made it, you can check out my first wreath post here.

Another Secret Pal Gift- Commissioned

My friend asked me to make a Christmas wreath for her to give her secret pal. Since I am totally into yarn wreaths right now, I thought this was a perfect excuse to hone in my mad yarn skills. It turned out pretty festive, classic, and still in the simplistic fashion. I was pleased. I do hope that my friend's secret pal loves it as well.
Since I didn't finish it until about 10:30pm, and I plan to hand it off tomorrow...I had to take pic's in a dark house. Sorry for the quality.

Halloween Yarn Wreath

I have been wanting to try making one of these wreaths for a LOOOOONG time. I saw some on Etsy, then my friend over at More Chic than Shabby started talking about them, then my bestie over at A Bird and A Bean made one! We hadn't even talked together about yarn wreaths, but that is how it always works out for us....one of us thinking/the other doing and vice versa. (She usually ends up on the "doing" end of it first, as I am terribly slow...)

Anyhoo, I finally got around to making one, and I am SO GLAD I DID. I am absolutely in love with these wreaths! For the cost of what you put in to it....it's flipping amazing. I spent a buck on yarn at Big Lots, and about $4 on a styrofoam wreath at Hobby Lobby. The rest of the stuff I already had, so I was in like flynn.

Here's how it went:

1. You need a basic wreath, and yarn. It can be any kind of wreath you like, and whatever size.

(The yarn spells it out for you!)

2. Tie one on! A knot that is...just tie one and start wrapping. Erin says in her post that it doesn't have to be perfect, that it will end up ok. No worries. I am completely OCD, so I had to wrap mine meticulously. It took about an hour, which is how long Erin says, on her blog, that it would. I watched an episode of Teen Mom online while I did it. (It's my guilty pleasure! Don't judge!) When you finish, just tie another knot in the side you choose to be the back.

3. I used felt to make flowers for mine. I have seen all kinds of things on yarn wreaths, but I already had felt. Plus, there is love in my heart for felt. I had made these flowers before, and hadn't used them for anything, so I was excited to use them on this. Ok, so cut a circle out of the felt. Size depends on what you want. My small flowers used about a 3 inch circle, and my larger ones about a 5 inch circle.

4. Once you have the circles cut, cut into it in a spiral motion as seen below. Then just roll the felt up starting on the outside. Use hot glue to glue the very middle fat piece to the bottom of the rolled flower. I then hot glued a bead into the center of the flower. I made 4 large flowers and eight small ones, but you can use as many as you like.

5. I made Cash go out into the yard and pick me out a couple of little branches. I covered them with Mod Podge, and some orange glitter that was left over from the "Spooky" banner.

6. I arranged everything to my liking, then hot glued it all down. (Thank goodness for hot glue!!)

7. I had some left over black and white ribbon from some other project, so I used it to tie the wreath up.

Afterward, I thought I might like a black raven on my Halloween wreath. I found one in my stash, spray painted him black, and stuck him in the mix. I am not totally sure how I like it, but I suppose it's fitting for Halloween. What do you think? Bird or no bird?