Do It Yourself Wreath

I'm all over tackling projects around the house: painting, demolition, tiling. Give me a hammer!

But when it comes to crafts, welllllll, I usually save those for the classroom.

Until I found a DIY wreath on a blog I love. Which linked another blog with specific directions. Both of these girls made lovely examples.

That's when I knew I had to try out my craft skills..........

I purchased all necessary materials at Michaels. Yarn, felt, ribbon, and wreath form. Such an inexpensive project. Oh, and the color possibilities are endless!


First, I wrapped the yarn around.....and around.....and around......and around the wreath form (with the plastic cover still on the wreath form).

I won't lie........

I did die a little inside during this part of the process. Can you say carpal tunnel syndrome? And my arms got tired. But I eventually got into a rhythm. And I loved the idea of this finished wreath so much, it motivated me to keep going.

Oh, and football was on, so you know what that means....

Next, I cut spirals out of the felt. The spirals didn't have to be perfect, and you could make them skinny or fat.


Then I wound the felt into rosettes. The bigger the spiral, the bigger the rosette.


Finally, I hot glued the rosettes onto the wreath and suspended the wreath from a ribbon!

I'm in love.

And I'm addicted! I'm already on wreath number two. A smaller version.

Sadly, someone else beat me to the punch on Etsy.

Thank you to Take Heart for detailed directions and to Nuestra Vida Dulce for introducing the idea!

Now it's YOUR turn folks! DO IT!

I'm Thankful....

For my mom's amazing cooking skills......

(I really like pepper.)

For some winter weather on Thanksgiving......

(Those are my mom and dad's
leaves. I raked. Remember?)

For the cutest niece and nephew on the planet......


For great family gatherings...........

(Happy Birthday Mom......who
was born ON Thanksgiving!)

For a patient mister who will pose for tons of photos. Against his will..........


For Pizza Hut, who delivers on Thanksgiving evening, long after the feast is over and you are turkeyed out.........


And for pumpkin pie for breakfast on Black Friday.......

(While I'm shopping from the
comfort of my own home.)

A Footnote

I finally raked the yard this weekend.

Well, the front yard anyway....

That's the part that matters, right?

(Backyards don't count. They are fenced and have nothing to do with curb appeal.)

I think I found the motivation to tackle the yard (by myself*) because I was hopped up on lots of this....


The holiday drinks were buy one get one free this weekend. I tried each and every flavor.

Maybe more than once.

And I can tell you that pumpkin spice is still my fave, with peppermint mocha being a close second. While the eggnog is good, it's a little heavy and super sweet. The gingerbread tasted woodsy or something. Like tree bark.

Not that I know what that really tastes like.

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*The reason the mister didn't join me in raking: I accidentally mentioned that Friday through Sunday was his "birthday extravaganza weekend" which exempt him from any manual labor. And he took me up on it. With the exception of starting our temperamental lawn mower for me, helping with two bags of leaves, and looking real, real guilty.

Then he went back inside to finish watching a football game.

I think you should know.....

• This shirt, although super cute, is very hard to iron. And it almost makes me break out in hives when I attempt to get the ruffles wrinkle-free. HELP ME!
  

I almost don't want to ever wash it again.

But I will.

Promise.

************

• The handle on my crockpot lid broke off. This is very inconvenient.
  

Would any type of glue work to repair it, or is it a goner?

************

• Our yard needs raked. Badly. We haven't touched it. At. All. I'm sure the neighbors are whispering about us. Whatever.

When you have six mature trees, you bide your time.
Why not do it once, when all the trees are finally bare?

************

• This song is ridiculous. But for some reason, I love it. And now it's the ringtone for my ladies. Holla!

• If I happened to be stranded on a desert isle and could only have one thing to eat, it would have to be cheese dip (and tortilla chips would automatically come with it, of course). What would you want to eat on your deserted island?
  

I'm Jumping....

On the Shutterfly free Christmas card blogging bandwagon......

I've seen numerous blogs post about this amazing opportunity, so I thought I'd join in on the fun.

But not for myself.

The mister is not into posing for a photo to be mailed card style.

No, he's not.

So I'm doing this for my sister.

She sends photo cards out yearly, so I'll be designing one for her! And I think I've found the perfect card, since she'll be in Hawaii on Christmas day.............

(We won't talk about my feelings towards that.)

Another couple of cards I like, and would probably choose for myself, the mister, and Sir Chester are these:

(Love the simplicity of this one.)

(Love the vintage ornament design on this one.)

I've ordered from Shutterfly numerous times. I have three hardback photo books to prove it. I've also ordered basic prints from them, and I've always been pleased by the quality of the product and speed of delivery! Not to mention the great deals they offer!

All this talk about Shutterfly and Christmas cards makes ME want the 50 free cards for myself. I bet you want them now too! Go for it!!!

Now to get a Santa hat on Sir Chester and reindeer antlers on the mister........

Love & Hate

I know. Two consecutive "Love & Hate" entries.

SORRY!

How bout I mix it up and do the "hate" part first.............


Hate: Daylight savings.

#1. It makes me feel like I'm running late for work in the morning, since it's now light out when I leave for school.

#2. When I get home, I feel like it's already bedtime. The early onset of darkness makes me so sad. Especially on these 70 degree days we've been having.

Another hate: Cave crickets.

Again.

There was not only one, but TWO cave crickets in the bathroom last night.

You all know how I feel about them.

And the mister was asleep already. So guess who had to kill them?

Luckily, my shoe aim was on last night. (And it was the mister's shoe. Shhhh!!!!)

I get the heebie geebies just typing about it.

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Love: I got to hear my favorite Christmas song live and in person Friday night. I didn't cry, but I did smile the whole time. It made me very happy.

It's a wonder I didn't have a seizure at the concert. There were crazy lights. They had fire and fireworks. It was great.


Minus a few cheesy moments........cue choreographed dance moves, arm motions, and hair flinging. Oh, and narration too.

Yeah, none of those things work for me.

But the instrumentals and vocals were outstanding.

(The very small, sideways video.....not so outstanding)

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Love (again): My favorite shop, Leola's had their annual holiday open house last week, and I left with more of one of my obsessions: vintage Shiny Brite ornaments.

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Even MORE Love: I never win stuff.........so something crazy is going on........because I have won THREE things this week.

• An apron at Ashley's Pampered Chef party......

Thank you Ash and Kathy!!

• A headband from Blue Cottage Kids (for my niece)! Thank you Vanilla Tulip for hosting this giveaway!
  

• A facial or glycolic peel (both a $50 value) from Esthetiques (my fave spa)......

Speaking of Esthetiques, I have to rave about them. They hosted a Customer Appreciation Night this week, and I walked away with not only the gift certificate for the facial but also a free eyebrow wax, a free 20 minute massage, a free manicure, and a gift bag filled with samples and discounts. They had treats and drinks too. It was amazing.

So basically, I have way more to love than to hate.

And my bushy eyebrows have been tamed.

And my fingernails are bright red.

I feel pretty lucky.

Love & Hate

Love: That this is coming up on FRIDAY............


This group is amazing. They sing one of my fave Christmas tunes. I just might cry when they perform it.

Seriously.

Yeah, I'm excited.

I might even buy a t-shirt.

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Hate: That Cracker Jack toys just aren't what they used to be.

No offense, Cracker Jack makers, but I liked the trinkety things from back in the olden days, like the little figurines or mini whistles.

Or the rings.

I'd take a tattoo even.

So when I opened my bag o' treats the other day with excited anticipation, I was pretty darn disappointed in this...........


No offense to Ben Franklin, but finding an educational leaflet puzzley thing wasn't exactly what my nostalgia filled heart was longing for.

I still love Cracker Jacks. They are mighty tasty.

Now I just know not to get my hopes up for a poodle figurine.