Burlap and Pom Pom Christmas Wreath

Yes, Christmas decorating has started around here... At least for the outside of the house, since it's been perfect weather for stringing up the lights while the temperatures are still in the 50's. So, I decorated my door with this ruffly burlap wreath I made, inspired by this one. I made mine out of a burlap coffee bag I'd been saving for a while, and since it had red and green print, I thought it would look great as a Christmas wreath.

Here's what I used to make my wreath:

• burlap, cut into three inch strips (or you could use burlap ribbon)
• wire
• wire cutters
• wire wreath frame
• small pom poms, in green and white
• white yarn
• green eyelash yarn
• hot glue gun

To make the wreath, follow the tutorial at this blog.
Here are some of my personal helpful tips while making the wreath:

I didn't worry about using a single strip of fabric, it worked fine for me using several strips, and I like the frayed edges, shabby chic style. But if you want a neater look, you could use burlap ribbon on a roll. I also twisted circle of folded fabric around before securing with wire to the wreath frame.
To finish, I secured the loose ends of fabric to the wreath circle with wire so it wouldn't droop.

Then, I played around with some ribbon for a bow, but decided a bow was not what this wreath needed. No, it needed some whimsical touches-soft fuzzy white yarn, fringey green and blue eyelash yarn and green and white pom poms.

Yes, I was happy with this Christmas wreath. I loved all the texture and playfulness. I joked that it reminded me of a cat toy. The nice thing about the way I decorated this wreath is that if I want to take off the yarn and pompoms and keep the burlap for a spring or fall wreath, it could be done easily. If you like this wreath, check out last year's Remade Winter Wreath or for more of my seasonal tutorials, click here.

Thanks for visiting ReMadeSimple!

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DIY {Reclaimed.Recycled.Repurposed.} Spring Flower

Happy Spring! We are getting ours early around here and to celebrate I have been having fun thinking up little flower projects lately-have you seen my Pincushion Flowers?

I have a really quick craft for you today that repurposes a few of my favorite things: wine corks, shutter slats and milk jug plastic.

  And I got to test out the new Martha Stewart paints and spray paint set. It would make a great kids' project too I think. Want some of your own?

Here's you'll need to make these flowers:

• clean milk jug circles (cut out of the side of a milk jug)
• wine corks
• shutter slat or thin strip of wood
• wire
• buttons
• scissors
• Martha Stewart multi purpose craft paint (or spray paint)
• Martha Stewart paint sprayer kit (or spray paint)
• low temp glue gun
• frame hanger

First, cut even slits all around three milk jug circles. 

Then, roll up the ends of them until they curl with a paint brush or pencil.

(they should look like this)

Then, cut a few inches of wire, loop the wire through the bottom flower, twisting at the base to secure.

Add a drop of hot glue to attach the second and third top circle.

Now it's time to add some color. Either use the Martha Stewart sprayer according to directions or spray paint in color of your choice to spray the center of the flowers. Allow to dry.

After the flower is dry, attach a button to the center of the flower with a hot glue gun. 

Then, attach your frame hanger with hot glue to the back of the shutter. 
Push the wire through the middle of the cork and hot glue to the shutter slat vertically.

Finally, loop a piece of wire into the shape of leaves, and connect to stem to finish.

I hung my spring flower in my tangerine jewel box half bathroom. Love how this tiny accent looks in my tiny space. (More on how we added this second bath into a corner of our house in a later post! )

I'll be decorating the house for Easter this week-can't wait to show you some of those ideas!
Hope you enjoyed this one today!

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Pallet Gone Artsy

I have been fascinated by projects I've seen using the ordinary pallet reclaimed as 

something beautiful and was on the search for some pallets so I could start creating.

In my spare time when my husband is off work, we sometimes

find cool junk out on the streets. This was my lucky day. These

pallets were laying outside abandoned in our downtown. 

Yes, that is in fact 3 pallets

rigged to the top of our little hatchback. 

Side note: People sometime ask us how we have 2

kids without a van and I tell them we survive just fine-and sometimes

can even fit furniture inside/on top of it. (You should have seen our car

when we left IKEA! When there's a will there's a way...ha ha...)

Ok, back to the story: So, we found these pallets and since we always drive around
prepared with bungee cords and rope, we tied them up and they got home just fine.
The first project I got to make with them was a gift request for "local art".

Here's what I used to make this project:

• one pallet plank
• wire
• 4x6 photos of zoomed in letters (one letter on each photo)
• staple gun
• sander and sandpaper
• wire cutters or Dremel with cutting attachment
• foam board
• exacto knife
• matte Mod Podge
• small craft paint  brush

To start the project, we took zoomed in and took photos of lettering around our city

on local businesses. We used it as a fun walking scavenger hunt for with the boys. 

(see, this is how you fit in projects with kids and teach them their A,B,C's...)

After getting the photos printed, (we used 4x6's) and gently prying off the pallet plank 

with the back of a hammer,  we were ready to get started:

First, I lightly sanded my pallet plank to soften and lighten up the appearance.

Then, I traced each photo onto foam board.

I cut the foam board rectangle with an exacto knife. This would be the backing

for the photos. (Make sure you protect the surface underneath by cutting on a mat or cardboard.

 I just used a cutting board because that's what I had laying around.)

I evenly spaced out each piece of foam board onto the pallet,

 then used a staple gun to secure them into place.

After the foam board pieces were secure, I brushed a light, even layer of

matte Mod Podge onto the foam board. 

I then placed the photos onto the foam board, careful not to get

any Mod Podge onto the photo, lining them up evenly with the foam board

 and smoothing with a tissue.

For the next step, we needed two people. We wrapped wire

tightly around the pallet in an x shape in the front. I held it in place while

Jeff used the staple gun to secure it in place. 

When it came time to cut the wire, our wire cutter wasn't doing the trick, 

so I pulled out my new Dremel with the cutting attachment. 

It worked really fast, but be prepared for sparks if you try this. 

And wear safety goggles! Yikes!

Here's the finished sign showing off some hometown love! We were so happy with the mix of rustic, industrial, and modern styles. Perfect for the loft apartment where it's going.  I want to try this idea for my own house with other words spelled out, maybe hanging vertically with family photos?

So many possibilities when you take the humble pallet and turn it into art. I can't wait to do a headboard with the rest of them, and whatever else I come up with. Well, what do you think? Are you in love with pallets too? And have you ever made anything from them?

Thanks for visiting ReMadeSimple!  Looking forward to showing off some more of my repurposing and thrifty decorating projects in the near future. I hope you come back to visit and if you love what you see here, please consider staying connected via Google friend connect, Facebook or Twitter on my sidebar to the right!

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