Friday, October 5, 2012

Lawnscaping Blog Hop!



Good morning everyone! Welcome to your next stop on the Lawnscaping Blog Hop trail. You should have come here from Kelly's blog. This month's theme is all things fall, as you can see by our inspiration photo. Changing leaves, pumpkins, apples, pie...mmmm, pie...ahem. Where was I? Ah yes, prizes! The hop runs from Friday, October 5th all the way through Sunday, October 7th. Be sure to comment on all the blogs to be eligible for some fantastic prizes! All of the details can be found on the Lawnscaping page along with a list of all the blogs participating in the hop, in case you get lost along the way.

Now then, before I go dreaming about homemade pie again, let me share with you what I made for the hop. I decided to go completely outside my usual realm of crafting and see what I could come up with for a home decor project. While I've been avoiding jumping on the burlap bandwagon, I finally took the plunge and am hooked. That burlap wreath and the drapey curtains in the photo were just calling to me! Couple those with the pumpkins and fall colors, and you get (in my personal opinion) one really pretty, rustic wreath.


The leaves, acorns, and pumpkins are all paper pieced and fussy-cut from the Lawn Fawn Bright Side 6x6 paper pad. I love that paper so, so much and the smaller pad is perfect for smaller images. I cannot wait to get my hands on the new holiday set!

Of course, when I went to take pictures of my work in progress, BOTH camera batteries were dead so you'll just have to take my word on how I made it. If you really don't believe me, I believe some in-progress shots are up on Instagram. :p

To make the wreath I found what they call a 'craft wreath' at Michael's; it's a 12" diameter piece of wood that's made to be altered. Right next to it was a roll of 2.5" wide burlap webbing. Perfect! I brought them home and while my glue gun was warming up, I started wrapping. Once I had the spacing the way I liked it (I'm picky like that), some hot glue to the back was all it took to hold the burlap down. While it does fray when cut, the line of hot glue acted as a sealant as well - no fray shall pass! (Come on, tell me at least someone giggled at that.) I will warn you; burlap has holes. Hot glue is liquid. Hot glue will bleed through the holes and try to burn you. No, that did not happen to me and you cannot prove that it did. I don't care what it says on Facebook, it's all LIES!

Now then, while the hot glue set I got stamping and cutting. Once all of the pumpkins, leaves, and acorns were created I laid them out on the wreath to decide upon an arrangement. I've learned that doing that before you start gluing really works better in the long run. It also let me decide that the wreath needed something...like GLITTER! I pulled out my Distress Stickles and highlighted the veins of the leaves, the dots on the acorns, and the little flowers on the pumpkins. Funny thing about Stickles - they take eons to dry. No, I'm not exaggerating. I walked away for, I kid you not, 1-1/2 hours and they still weren't set! So I busted out my embossing heat gun to try and speed things along. I think it mostly helped, and it gave the leaves a really pretty, gentle curl. Satisfied that I could successfully avoid the still-tacky spots, my glue gun and I got to work attaching all the pretties. The final touch was some sheer ribbon I had on hand and my wreath was done!

Here are some close-ups of the embellishments:

Leaves and acorns
Just look at that sparkle! Well worth the drying time
Pumpkins in a little pumpkin patch
My fussy-cut, paper-pieced, glittered pumpkin. Totally worth it!
View of my door now - it's never looked so festive!
Thanks for stopping by on the hop! I hope you like my fall wreath. If so, it would be lovely if you started following my blog to see what other crafty things I come up with. There's usually coffee involved, too. Ooo, which goes so well with pie!

All right, you're next stop is Joe Shien Shien's blog! Don't forget, if you get lost along the way head on back to the Lawnscaping blog for directions.

Happy Crafting!

60 comments:

  1. oh wow - what a beautiful wreath!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This wreath is great! I like the sparkles in the leaves! That looks great on your door!

    ReplyDelete
  3. how cute! I am on the burlap bandwagon too! Just screams fall doesn't it? Loving your paper pieced pumpkins. the patterns are adorable!

    ReplyDelete
  4. How clever of you. Now a lot of people can enjoy your creativity.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh wow, this is a very beautiful wreath!!! Love what you did with the paper pieced images and added glitter!!! Very rustic chic--LOVE!!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. beautiful! i agree with you, it's rustic and so perfect for autumn. so creative!

    ReplyDelete
  7. beautiful wreath..!! those red autumn leaves make it looks very beautiful...
    Psst...thank you for correcting me... :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. This wreath has stolen my heart! I would have never thought that On the Bright Side could look so fall, but you totally pulled it off. i love it!

    ReplyDelete
  9. So fun! That wreath looks so beautiful.

    Lauren

    ReplyDelete
  10. Very pretty and unique project, one that you can enjoy for many years to come!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. What a great way to dress up a wreath! Great work!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Such a fun idea! Love it!

    ReplyDelete
  13. This is such a fun wreath! I actually bought burlap last weekend to make a wreath. I can't wait to get started on it!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Cute wreath! LOVE the glitter on the leaves! Thanks for the chance to win free stuff!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Eye candy...and humor! Lol wonderful wreath, nice paper piecing.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Simply sweet and adorable! Great idea!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Lovely fall wreath. Love the glitter and the burlap and your glue gun story.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Wow, just wow! What a gorgeous wreath! I love all the details!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Never would I think to use stamps to decorate a wreath. Beautiful project.

    ReplyDelete
  20. What a great idea! Thank you so much for your inspiration!!!

    ReplyDelete
  21. amazing wreath! it's great to see stamps used on a wreath project... and to turn out so beautifully!
    -Rachel w k
    rwkrafts.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  22. That is one fantastic wreath, and your paper choices are fantastic!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Very inventive! A great welcome for those trick or treaters - great job!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Gorgeous!!! Perfect fall wreath!

    ReplyDelete
  25. what a genius idea!!! your wreath is beautiful!!! and i love the lawn fawn paper of course!!! so pretty!! perfect to greet visitors to your house this fall!

    ReplyDelete
  26. What a great way to make a holiday wreath!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Love your wreath! Thanks for sharing!!

    ReplyDelete
  28. I'm on a bit of a burlap kick lately. It just seems so "Fall-ish" to me, so of course I think your wreath is cute.

    ReplyDelete
  29. So creative, gorgeous wreath, looks great on your front door!!

    ReplyDelete
  30. Hot glue has certainly never burned me either, oh no indeed.

    I'm not sure why I can accept that I'm not supposed to touch the tip of the glue gun but I think it's perfectly fine to touch something that just came out of it...

    ReplyDelete
  31. What a pretty wreath. I love the pumpkins!

    ReplyDelete
  32. So glad I had breakfast before reading your post! All the talk of pie and pie and pie and coffee...
    I love the burlap wreath and I KWYM about the hot glue - it's hot, but so necessary for making projects like this easier. Thanks for sharing everything, but mostly your sense of humor;-)! I enjoyed that tremendously!

    ReplyDelete
  33. Fun project! I wish I made more home decor projects. I just used hot glue for something the other day and burned my thumbs! And PS-love your blog title!

    ReplyDelete
  34. WONDERFUL project! LOVE your use of the Bright side!

    ReplyDelete
  35. I think your wreath is th perfect Fall decor. All the fussy cutting, stickle applying and hot glueing was worth it. Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  36. wow, love the fall decor you've created

    ReplyDelete
  37. Oh Jennifer, I think that your burlap and fuzzy cut goodies turned out spectacular. I love that your very very slow drying stickles turned out so well. They reall do bring out your already beautiful leaves and pumpkins all the more. I think your wreath is just awesome and you are so making me want to get creative this weekend. Now if I could only find the top of my desk. Lol... Have a wonderful weekend and thanks so much for sharing your process. I just love reading how everyone does their creative process. Hugs, Lisa G

    ReplyDelete
  38. what a pretty wreath! Thanks for sharing :)
    -Suzanne suzyq28024@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  39. what a great door decoration for fall! love the paper pieced leaves!

    ReplyDelete
  40. Wow, this is the first time I've seen this type of artwork made from stamps! Thank you for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  41. This is different. Gave me an idea for Christmas. TFS.

    ReplyDelete
  42. I giggled! I have been tempted to play with burlap and this cutie intensifies that urge! I really love the paper piecing on the pumpkins - great choice!

    ReplyDelete
  43. What a creative way to use your stamps ... fabulous autumn project.

    ReplyDelete
  44. Love that you created something from stractch to ur specifications

    ReplyDelete
  45. Pretty wreath! Great texture! Gotta be careful with those hot glue guns!
    DeniseB

    ReplyDelete
  46. What a lovely wreath! And you added glitter? Gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete
  47. Aww this is so creative! Love it!

    ReplyDelete
  48. This is so creative and fun! What a great idea. TFS!

    ReplyDelete
  49. What a gorgeous wreath! I need a new wreath for my front door, so I may have to steal this idea. TFS!

    ~Ashley
    proudusmcwife@gmail.com
    http://marinewifesscrappinlife.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  50. Great wreath! I made my first couple of wreaths last year and they are so much fun (and addicting) to make!

    ReplyDelete
  51. Pretty wreath! I love that you used Bright Side for Fall projects! :)

    ReplyDelete
  52. Very pretty. Great job fussy cutting. The glitter make it look even prettier.

    ReplyDelete
  53. This is awesome paper piecing. I want one!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks a latte for taking the time to leave me a little note! I love hearing what people think of my creations.