SHARING THE LOVE…CONTINUED.

Hi all! Unfortunately, I must make this quick as I need to start my drive into DC any minute now! I’m off to visit friends and cheer on others at the Marine Corp Marathon on Sunday (run, Maffy, RUN!).

To continue sharing the love…I recently came across a few DIY projects that should keep you busy over the weekend and hopefully add a little holiday cheer to your home.

1. First, if you haven’t yet started your Fall décor, this classically simple wreath would be an adorable addition to your front porch:

Found via The Charm of Home. Don’t you just love that burlap ribbon?

If you’d like to add a Thanksgiving twist to the wreath, consider adding faux fruit, such as pears and grapes, instead.

2. This oversized moss letter via Dear Lillie is fabulous! You may have seen similar oversized letters via Pottery Barn – for $79 (not including shipping & handling). Well, Jennifer over at Dear Lilly offers a complete oversized moss letter tutorial…and on a miniscule budget!

3. Speaking of oversized letters, this monogrammed wall hanging would be such a sweet and personal touch to a wall gallery. Tonya over at Love of Family and Home offers her own tutorial.

4. And lastly, these newsprint page candles via The Shabby Creek Cottage would be such a charming touch to any mantle!

You can also consider using vintage sheet music….particularly if you enter my giveaway and win! Yep…

TWO lucky winners will receive a large stack of vintage sheet music for your crafting pleasure. All you have to do is follow me via Facebook, Twitter, or email (or all of the above), and leave a comment on this post each time you do so. I will select two winners at random.

This giveaway will close on 10/28/12 at 11:59 EST. Winners will be announced on Monday!

For more vintage sheet music inspiration, go here.

Have a great weekend ya’ll!

DIY THURSDAY: SHEET MUSIC WREATH & A GIVEAWAY!

Don’t you just love Thursdays? With the holiday season quickly approaching (I can’t believe it’s already the end of October!), I thought I’d share with you a quick and easy project that just may help with your holiday décor…

I’m sure many of you have seen Miss Mustard Seed’s sheet music wreath:

When I first set my eyes on this adorable wreath, I fell a little bit in love, so I set out to make my own.

First, I loaded up my makeshift work station (aka my living room floor) with all the items I needed:

1. A stack of vintage sheet  music (which I happen to have BOXES of…)
2. A glue gun and glue
3. Ribbon
4. Scissors
5. Pine cone (optional)

Really, that’s all it takes! Now, some of you may be wondering where in the world am I going to find vintage sheet music? To help you along with this little problem, I will be giving away TWO large stacks of vintage sheet music for TWO lucky readers! The how and the when is revealed at the end of this post, so read on my friends!

After I had all my supplies on hand, I began by folding and carefully ripping a few sheets into eighths (you’re welcome to use scissors, but I happen to like the distressed affect ripping gives). With a few more sheets I then did the same with fourths and then with halves.

Once I had enough pages torn, I folded each set of eighths, fourths, halves, as well as full pages into cones, using the glue gun as needed.

I continued to fold these miscellaneous sized pages into cones until I had enough to my liking, and then the fun really began!

*Please note: if you happen to be doing this project on a surface you do not want to get glue all over, make sure you lay down a mat, newspaper, scrap piece of paper, what have you, BEFORE you get glue gun happy in order to protect said surface!

Per Miss Mustard Seed’s wreath, she may have begun by gluing her largest set of cones together into a circular shape to create a solid foundation, and then proceeded to layer each varying size set of cones over that to get the final product you see above. I, on the other hand, wanted to go for a slightly more disheveled look, and so began with the smallest set of cones, using a cut out circle as my backbone…

This is the backside of the wreath in progress (and I was actually working on newspaper, but moved the wreath to the carpet for picture purposes only!)

I then began vaguely layering each varying size of cones into the gaps, using plenty of glue in the process, until the wreath was to my liking. Once all the cones were in place, I glued a small pine cone into the center just for that little extra oomph, and glued ribbon onto the backside to hang. And the final product….

Viola!

I just love how it turned out! Of course, this wreath could stand on its own anytime of year, but with a little added garland, it would make the perfect holiday décor. You could also consider making miniature versions of this wreath as Christmas tree decorations, or to use as a bow for those special presents.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Now on to the important part!

TWO lucky winners will receive a large stack of vintage sheet music for your crafting pleasure. All you have to do is follow me via Facebook, Twitter, or email (or all of the above), and leave a comment below each time you do so. I will select two winners at random.

This giveaway will close on 10/28/12 at 11:59 EST. Winners will be announced on Monday!

If the wreath wasn’t inspiration enough, here are just a few more things you can do with sheet music…

If you weren’t one of the lucky winners, you can purchase stacks of sheet music from my shop

LINKED TO:

FEATURED PARTIES AND A HUNK OF JUNK TRANSFORMATION

Hello my friends! I’ve been a bit absent the last few days due to some recent travel, but I’m back with a couple of goodies up my sleeve!

First, I want to thank Kim from Made In A Day and Katie from Katie’s Nesting Spot for featuring my barn door to coat rack creation!

I would highly recommend checking out their blogs for some fun and quirky craft ideas – and if you have any fun and quirky crafts of your own, you should definitely link up to their weekly “linky parties.” Thanks Kim and Katie – I look forward to seeing many more amazing ideas and inspiration!

Next, since I missed last Thursday’s DIY post, I wanted to show you a little something I was working on while in DC…

Now, I definitely had a great time visiting with friends and family, but there was an underlying bittersweetness to the trip that was difficult to shake off – a dear friend of mine is moving to Boston in just a few days and I was specifically there to see her off with a few more good memories before she totes herself 400 miles uptown.

A few days prior to my arrival, this dear friend asked if I’d be willing to paint a small bookshelf that came her way via her grandfather – one of the few furniture pieces that will be moving with her – and of course, how could I possibly say no? So with hand sander and paint cans in tow, I drove up a couple of days early to get to work.

Let’s just quickly say, the piece wasn’t in the best of shape…

Eek!

…but it was small and compact and, thanks to the electric sander I brought with me, fairly easy to sand down. With a little bit of wood filler, a can of Annie Sloan Old White, a few strands of Frog Tape, a custom mixed pop of color, and A LOT of love, I transformed this hunk of junk into something with a little more personality:

Perfectly fitting for my friend, I think – a solid foundation with a punch of color and quirkiness. Hopefully she agrees!

Lastly, don’t forget to send in your “Pets on Furniture” pictures for a chance to win a care package courtesy of moi (that would be me), Simon (my cat), and Mattie (my pup). The winner will be featured in tomorrow’s post.

Cheers!

HAPPINESS IN THE FORM OF FURBALLS…

Well hello my friends! I hope everyone enjoyed their extended weekend…my husband and I actually extended ours an extra day and had a nice “staycation” full of laziness, beer, and brownies (and probably a few extra pounds…).

Speaking of brownies, I delayed writing a post today thinking that I would be the bearer of most excellent news this afternoon – a new (furry) addition to the family in the name of – yep, you guessed it – Brownie! Unfortunately, upon an early afternoon arrival to the ASPCA with Ms. Mattie-Lu in tow to meet this new little creature that would potentially become her brother, we discovered that our Brownie was adopted just hours before. I’m not quite sure how to feel at this point – sad that our little man wasn’t adopted by us, or thrilled that this adorable little pup found a home! I think Mattie-Lu’s expression sums it up quite nicely…

(where’s my brother?)

Of course, my cat Simon had to put in his two cents as well…

(dreaming of a dog-free home…)

I must say, if you don’t own a pet, it is something that I would highly recommend. Not only are they a constant amusement, they give life that additional dimension, that extra vigor, and bestow such an abundance of love on body and soul that life can’t help but feel blissful, even in the worst of times.

Sure, the little critters can also be a bit troublesome and overly boisterous – I can’t tell you how many pairs of shoes were destroyed, lipsticks eaten, shirts shredded, and hairballs discovered – but it’s been worth it, truly, it has…

In the end, no matter the chaos they may cause or things they may destroy, I can’t imagine life without my furballs. Simply said, they make me smile and frankly, isn’t that what life is all about?

(can’t resist a comfy basket!)

(you talkin’ to meee?)

The above picture of Mattie looking guilty on couch actually reminds me of a fun series on Desire to Inspire called “Pets on Furniture.” And, well, there’s not much more to it – animals on furniture, but with just a little more panache….

Oh my goodness! It was so hard to stop at just a few! Adorable animals + exquisite interiors = pure purrfection.

Do you own any animals? If so, do share! Email me your own pictures of “Pets on Furniture” and I will feature my favorites next Wednesday, 9/12. Original content only, please. The winner will receive a little care package put together by yours truly, with a little help of Mattie and Simon, of course.