Fall wreath update- now a MisAdventure!

So my fall wreath, which has gottten tons of comments, is maybe not the best tutorial. I woke up from a nap yesterday to find this.

Hot glue does not hold well if exposed to heat!
Oops..

So now  it's back to the drawing board for an adhesive that will hold up to the full day of direct sunlight my front door recieves.
Stay tuned.

Fall Decor

Since Labor Day weekend was rainy, I took some time to put out my fall decor. It's been so hot this summer, I'm definitely wishing for cooler days and falling leaves!

With all the home improvement projects half started around here, my dusting isn't quite as regular as my mother would hope. So, I tried to minimize the amount of "stuff" I put out.

On the upside, putting out new decorative items has really made me feel more at peace with where my house is now. Last week, everywhere I looked was another project, another thing "to do". Now, I can look at my living room and think "It's getting pretty comfy in here".

On the mantle, I have pheasant feathers from my Christmas stash in a cylinder vase. 

My burlap wreath along with some books wrapped in kraft paper.

My Ballard Designs Mercury Candlesticks with a blue pumpkin from Hobby Lobby years ago

This armoire on the opposite side of the sofa got the rest of the pheasant feathers, along with my mercury glass- look pumpkins from last year.

Now my house and I are both ready for fall, whenever it decides to get here.Where has the year gone?!? 

A Little Bit of Fourth of July Decor

If you know me, you know I am perhaps not the most punctual person on the planet. In fact, I'm far from it. I haven't been on time for anything in YEARS! I was even late for my first date with Prince Charming.

So if you know me, it should be no surprise I still have Easter decor out in late June. I keep meaning to take it down, but time gets away from me.

This weekend, I finally made a "summer" wreath for my front door.  I wanted it to layer on top of my burlap wreath, be cheap, and be pretty.

I took the embroidery hoop from my tissue paper wreath, and took all the tissue paper off. Let sit for a week or so while you try to catch up on everything else in your life.

I used two bandannas from the dollar section at Target- my favorite store!

I used my rotary cutter to cut one bandanna  into bias strips 2" wide. 
Then, I sewed along one edge with a loose straight stitch (as big as your machine will go) for several strips.



Then, tie the upper and bobbin thread together on one end of the strip (so your gathers don't unravel. I learned that the hard way.) Then, pull the bobbin thread on the other end so your fabric gathers up a bit. You don't want it all tight and scrunch, just a little ruffly.

When you're done, you'll have a pile like this:

 Sidenote: Don't you just love the concrete floors? Yet another project I've been meaning to do for months.

Now, plug in your glue gun and dust off the embroidery hoop.

Lay a line of glue on the outside edge of the hoop, and stick the thread-gathered end of your ruffle on.

Repeat all the way around the outside, then the inside of the hoop.

I was supposed to be done there. But I didn't like how my ruffles showed the embroidery hoop. It also looked a little skimpy.

So I used the second bandanna worth to cut more bias strips. I did another layer on the outside of the embroidery hoop, gathering the ruffle only a little bit.

Then, since the hoop was STILL showing, I cut a few more bias strips and stitched down the center of them.

Gather those only a little bit, and glue on TOP of the embroidery hoop.

Now it was finally looking "full" as Mom always said. 

 I cut a long bias strip from some red fabric, made a bow, and hot glued it on since I couldn't find any red ribbon.

I wired this on top of my burlap wreath and hung it on my front door!

I love all the ruffly goodness, and how this project only cost me $2!

I hope you all have a safe and Wonderful Fourth!