Felt Leaf Garland

I love creating with felt.  It's easy to work with and is available in so many gorgeous colors.  There are so many projects that can be made with felt.  In the past, I've shared a few pillow projects here on the blog.

Today I want to share with you a really simple felt project you can make for Christmas or any time of the year.  With so much inspiration, I decided to create my own felt leaf garland.

Here's what I did!  I started by purchasing felt online from Etsy.  Once my leaf template was selected, I traced and cut about 72 leaves.

Not all at once though!  I cut them over time.  Music helps!  A cutting machine would be quicker.

Then starting from the bottom I attached the leaves with hot glue to a long piece of scrap fabric.

Once it was complete, I thought it would be fun to hang it in an open doorway in my dining room.

I used a few push pins to keep it in place.

I added mini globe lights and ribbon bows to make it really festive.

I love the way the garland cascades down to the floor.

I'm tempted to leave it up all year!

I am linking this post to:
Kelly's Korner

Thrifty Decor Chick
The SITS Girls

Thanksgiving Decorating Ideas with Wallternatives

Hard to believe it's November already and the holidays are just around the corner.  Seems like Thanksgiving isn't a holiday most people decorate for.  We go from Halloween to Ho Ho Ho!  We host Thanksgiving dinner at our house, so I like to decorate for the holiday.

I started with big blank wall in my living room.  I thought it would be fun to give it a fresh, new look without being permanent.  

These removable and reusable wall decals are perfect for Thanksgiving.

The Black and White Fall Phrases were extremely easy to apply and can be repositioned.  Use the squeegee to gently smooth out the creases.

 

 

Adding the decals turned my plain wall into a gallery.

Beautiful reminders,

appropriate not only for Thanksgiving, but all year long.

I created the wreath with hydrangeas cut from my front yard.  They started white, then turned lovely shades of pink and green.
 

Such a simple way to dress up the wall.

We all have many things to be thankful for.  Sometimes we don't realize those blessings until we no longer have them.

For more inspiration, visit Wallternatives and check out their other fabulous products.

*Wallternatives provided me with The Black and White Fall Phrases to review.  All opinions expressed in this post are my own!

I am linking this post to:

Sundays at Home with Thoughts from Alice

Stair Spindles and Gallery Wall Reveal

As a reminder here are few before pictures-

To strip the paint off the spindles I went through 2 gallons of paint stripper.  Stripping the paint, required patience and repeated applications.  I found that putting the stripper on thick worked best.  Once the paint was removed, I sanded each spindle smooth before applying the stain.  

For best results, do not go against the grain.

The spindles and frames were stained with Minwax, Jacobean.  I love the color!  It took a few days for the stain to dry and the house to be completely rid of the smell.

And after all that hard work, I am very pleased with the results! 

Not Much Progress

I mentioned last week that I was stripping the paint off the stair spindles.  Progress is slow as I haven't dedicated much time to it. Factor in a new puppy, end of the school year activities with my kids and the  bothersome fumes, completing this project was at the bottom of my list.

My husband is not the type to complain when the house is a wreck in the midst of whatever project I'm working on, but this week he's been dropping hints.  Especially since he didn't see the need for the paint to be stripped.  I know he'll love it though.  He just has to trust me! ; )

In addition to the spindles, I plan to remove the sign above and create a gallery wall of botanical prints.

Nine Botanical Prints via Horchow

I was inspired by this image that I found while browsing Pinterest. This set of prints sells for $1,575.00.  Seriously?!

So I clicked over to Etsy in search of something much cheaper and found these prints.  I love them.  The prints are very similar to my inspiration picture.

I ordered a set of picture mats as well.  Not sure if I'll keep them black or spray paint them a different color.  It all depends on the frames I find.

Hopefully I can work on the spindles a little more this weekend.  Now that my prints have arrived, I'm motivated to get finished. 

Kitchen Cabinets Updated With Moulding

As you may or may not recall, we had some water damage in our kitchen caused by our dishwasher.  Unfortunately, with our high deductible and a lot of insurance mumbo jumbo, we weren't left with a lot of money for repairs.  But, I'm not complaining!  We made the most of our estimate!  We found a great deal on flooring and were able to update our cabinets with moulding.  The process was long, but worthwhile and I'm excited to show you the updates that were made!

Before pictures of our cabinets.  As I mentioned before, they were my least favorite thing in the house.  I can remember second guessing myself after we put in our offer for the house knowing that the ugly cabinets were apart of the deal!  I'm only kidding!!

Our friend came over with his Skilsaw and made all the cuts for moulding and flooring.  While my husband and I did all the painting.

And now!  What a difference a little moulding makes, eh?!  We decided to keep handles/knobs off of the doors.  The cabinet doors have grooves underneath of them for easy opening. 

I love the barn door inspired cabinets.  I initially saw the idea while browsing Pinterest.  Then clicked my way over to Lisa's blog, A Vintage Vine for all the details.  I can't thank Lisa enough for the inspiration!  She has such a beautiful blog.  Her taste and her home are incredibly gorgeous!  

Although we painted the cabinets, the wall colors remained the same.

Once we updated the cabinets, the old rug no longer seemed to work in the space.

I purchased this jute rug and I couldn't be happier!  It fits the space nicely.

I also changed out the curtains.  I made simple window treatments, but sewing them proved to be a little difficult.  I am amazed that they came out even in length.

 

The previous curtains were my first attempt at sewing and it showed. ; ) The curtains were actually made from a sheet set.  I used the pillowcases for window treatments in my laundry room as seen here.

I almost went with this fabric for the curtains.  As much I liked the fabric, it didn't work for the kitchen.

All the plates on the wall were purchased at thrift stores.  You can see the inexpensive way I hung them on the wall here.

A plate holder also doubles as a place to keep my cutting boards.  Laminate counters scratch easily, having the cutting boards nearby helps to prevent further scratches.

I really hoped to add some type of open shelving to this empty wall.  I even found a trio at the thrift store for a great price!  But once my husband helped me hang them on the wall, the shelves made the room look cluttered.  So they came down!  All the ceramic pitchers I've been collecting over the last few years to display on said shelves are now being stored in the cabinets.  Makes me so sad.

I purchased the chair prints from West Elm a couple of years ago.  I found an inexpensive frame at Ross to display them in.  The planters on the shelf were 49 cents each, at IKEA.

The cabinets extend to the ceiling.

I use my small stepladder to reach the contents as needed.

I'm so glad to be done with the kitchen.  We're very happy with the final results!  I think Bella is too!  Thanks for being patient with me as we updated our kitchen.   

*A huge thank-you to Beth @ Home Stories A2Z, Kristin @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Stephanie Lynn @ Under the Table and Dreaming, Home Dzine and Kristi @ Addicted to Decorating for featuring my kitchen on their blogs!

**Click here for a few updates to this post.