Burlap Carrots Tutorial

Recently a friend of mine found these adoreable carrots on pinterest.

I went to pinterest and I thought I would type up my version of how to put them together. 

Cost me around $4.50 and is super cute to boot!!

isnt she just the cutest thing ever??

Step 1: 

purchase 1 yard of orange burlap for about 3 large carrots

 (I found mine at Hobby Lobby)

Find some fun spriggy fillers in the floral department

(Mine was left over from christmas decor)

purchase one roll of ribbon

If you don't already have any poly fil get some of that, or I have seen people use plastic grocery store bags as filler!

Supplies:

scissors, glue gun, pony tail holder

Step 2:

Cut the burlap into a triangle shape.

Then use the hot glue gun and glue the two angled sides and the bottom together.

Step 3:

Fill the carrots with poly fil

Step 4:

Gather the carrot at the top and attach an elastic ponytail holder.

Step 5:

Stuff the green "spriggy" filler in the top of the carrot and tie a cute knot of ribbon around the carrot.

Step 6: 

Attach a small piece of ribbon or twine to the backside of the carrot to have something to hang the carrot from.

Hang and enjoy!!

(somehow through an update the images have rotated and become distorted, locating the original image to repost for y'all!)

The other two are hanging on my gate!!

(and they need some filler!)

Love having something bright and cheery to drive up to!

Painting Progress

Remember this post on doing a DIY painting?

Well this is the base coat.. 

I think I have a long way to go.

Here is the view in the room.

so this houses den will make a nice playroom/movie room in the next house... 

Only took us being here three years to FINALLY get it the way we want it. 

(need to show y'all a pic with the area rug we jut got) 

My newest obsession!

Thanks to a dear friend for giving me the conversion software for my embroidery machine I can now do stuff like this!!!

Can't wait to show you more!!!

DIY: Silk Flower Arrangement

Some say it is a blessed talent to be crafty, I call it a blessed curse. 

I just have a really hard time paying for something I know good and well I can either make on my own or easily recreate. 

Here I where I insert pictures of very expensive, unbelievably realistic looking silk floral arrangements

 

image courtesy of first fruit collection blog

This is an arrangement from the store I actually purchased the stems from.

Most of these arrangements run between 89.00-499.00 (depending on size)

 image courtesy of google

This is a live arrangement but could easily be recreated in high end silk pieces.

Step 1:

Fill vase of choice with floral foam. 

The foam comes in rectangular pieces, I just used a kitchen knife to trim the pieces down and fill the vase to the rim. (the stakes of the flowers will "adhere" the layers together)

(sorry the images have become distorted)

Step 2:

Fill the vase with the "innermost" pieces. For the wheat pieces it took way, way more than anticipated. I only planned on using one buschel of the wheat but ended up needing both.

 

Step 3:

Fill the vase with the lower "filling" element, this layer is not as thick as the middle. I cut the stems of the ferns down and manipulated the pieces so they alternated directions. 

Up close picture.

Step 4:

Cut the stalks of the color-pop accenting piece.

 And fill in around the vase every few inches.

 

Step 5:

Enjoy your beautiful centerpiece that cost you less than half the price.

When the arrangement isn't sitting on the table it is resting on our sideboard!! :)

Cost Breakdown:

vase $16

wheat buschels 2 at $8

red stalks 6 pack for $6

fern buschel $6

Total: $44 plus tax. not half bad.

Any questions feel free to email me at jbrodden@gmail.com

Pin It

A banner of love

Okay so...have a confession... I like to make things really really difficult on myself.

ie.. handmake a banner without a die cutting machine! TRUTH!!

Anyway, it turned out to be quite fun so here are the steps if you so choose to join me in making one.

Here is what I started with.

note: what you think you are starting with and what you acually may end up using tends to change!

Step one:

Use the circle tracer and make your circles for the background, the cut out circles.

 Step two:

Find a needle, thread and crepe paper. Use a weaving method to thread the paper and slowly gather. this will create a ruffled affect in the paper.

*glue the backsides of the ruffle medallion together with craft glue

Step three:

Glue the center of the medallion together and let sit for a few minutes, then glue the outside edges of the medallion and dip in glitter along the outside edge.

Step four:

hot glue on chip letters, hot glue medallion onto "backer" paper

(I used the remainder of the letters of a box from a christmas banner I made)

Step five:

this was the point where I realized I needed a second background so I dug in my stash of scrapbook paper and found this stripe. I used the outer edge of my tracer to scallop this paper and cut it out.

 then hotglue the background to the other pieces.

Step six:

punch holes into the corners of the backer paper and string letters together with either ribbon or twine.

Step seven:

Hang and enjoy!

Image Inspiration

So... I have this 30x40 painting... it has sat blank in my home for over 3 months now...

I am super inspired by Michelle Armas.

Attempting to use her work as inspiration for this blank canvas in my living room. 

Wish me luck!!

I mean this is just.... divine... only hope mine can have this much depth and movement as her work does.

Happy Weekend!

A Framed chalkboard

Here we are with another "left from April" post. haha...

Do yall remember the horrible storms that ripped through the south back in April??

They were awful, quite a few homes in my neighborhood are just now being rebuilt from this storm. 

As drab as this situation was a little bit of good did come from it.

You see one of my neighbors lost their shed and they apparently had it jam packed with antique goodies.

ie. this guy below.... I went digging trash day, in the rain to rescue this gem!!
 

 He sat in my garage until late May and I finally went to work.

 

All he needed was a fresh coat of paint and a chalkboard insert. 

Luckily I had a scrap piece of plywood just the right size laying around and many months prior I had purchased the chalkboard spray paint.

So.. you got it!! a FREE project and just what I needed to add to my little "office nook" we have created in the kitchen!

Want to see him now??

paint,

chalkboard

silicone.

one hour, DONE !!

 He has a few minor imperfections that I need to work on. Like a finial for the other side maybe? haha

Since this is a vintage frame with no backint the piece of painted plywood is suspended between heavy beads of silicone caulk. Worked like a charm!!

Now you get to see the dirty truth of what this room really looks like. haha

The desk my sewing machine is sitting on was my great grandmother's.

Momma says Granny Pennington would be proud her table is still being put to good use.

Notice its last "face lift" was ohhh 1991? yah...

It's on my maternity leave to do list. 

.

And this list grows as the minutes pass...

Happy day before gobble gobble day!!

Tip Junkie Feature- Laundry Closet

Ahhh.... did you hear?? 

Lori, the Tip Junkie featured my laundry closet in one of her articles.

ps she is kinda  big deal... her site now has an iphone app!! true story, download it... you won't regret!

This particular article was sponsored by Downy.

Here is the video!

I am so honored to have this simple $10.00 facelift shared on her site!

click on the picture for the link to the article.

eek... there she sits... 

Thanks again for the feature Lori!!

Just say no...

Anyone ever seen these?? Or maybe made them?

Source: 2gypsygirls.com via Ann on Pinterest

Or these??

Source: mydesigndump.blogspot.com via Joan on Pinterest

Well, let me just tell you a funny little story as to why I am boycotting making some of my own. I guess you could say I had a "bad experience."

My Sophomore year in college 3 girlfriends and I were getting ready before a Christmas party. Everyone came over to my 100 year old house I was renting to "get ready."

The heat was on, the candles in the non-working fireplace were lit and the candles were wrapped in the most beautiful bark/ bark paper I had ever seen. 

We had on the typical nostalgic christmas songs, were drinking egg nog and helping each other put on makeup.

A friend,Victoria, says "aww I love this song, chessstnutsss roasting.... on an open fire......" Then we noticed a cracking sound of a fireplace coming from the den.

We all acknowledged the sound and carried on with getting ready. 

As we gathered our coats to leave I walked in the den to almost 3 foot flames emerging from the fire place. 

Well, four college girls go frantic when someone, namely me... an overly dramatic Olivia De Havilland type, runs to grab a pitcher of water to begin extinguishing the flames emerging from the bark candles and the fireplace. 

Ironic huh? 

As I round one corner to poor water on the flames, Victoria, rounds the other corner and screams, "Flour will extinguish it!!"

Well ever wondered what flames, flour, and water make???

Vintage soot covered playdoh!!!!

Luckily the flames went out quickly, I had a homemade paste to get that fireplace as clean as it has ever been.

And most importantly, a lesson was learned!!! 

Upholstery- the story of a bench

Here is the story of a small bench with LOTS of potential. 

You remember that major story in April that swept through the southeast??

A lot of bad happened, but some good did come, like some awesome antiques on the curb;

enter exhibit A.

A sweet friend of mine snatched this and a few other items out of someone's "trash" pile. She knew if we  put our minds together we could make this little guy cute in no time flat!!

We had no top, so we used a scrap piece of plywood, drilled 5 holes to make a diamond shape and got to work.

1. covered in multiple layers of batting.

2. stapled the batting down

3. trimmed the excess

4. covered the batting with dr's flannel, aka curtain inner lining... same thing

5. cover buttons in accenting fabric

6. pin and sew the piping in place.

 7. attach main fabric to the cushion

 8. attached the buttons with an upholstery needle and heavy duty twine

 9. we added "L" brackets underneath to attach the cushion to

10. stapled the piping to the bench frame, and screwed on the top.

I will show a "tada" pic in my friend's uuber cute house.