Sunday, November 17, 2013

DIY Ribbon Christmas Wreath

I finally made it down to Hobby Lobby the other day. Since moving to this small town, I've had to travel to Syracuse (about 60 miles) to go to half the stores that I miss from back home. While I was there shopping for Christmas Decor, I saw this gorgeous wreath made from ribbon and ornaments. I really wanted to buy it, but it was $49.99. Even with all the Christmas Decor being 50% off, I still couldn't wrap my head around spending $25 on some ribbon and ornaments. I looked around Pintrest and Google and wasn't able to find a good tutorial, so I told myself that I would just wing-it. I think it turned out pretty good, so I will share my steps with you. 
I gathered most of my supplies from Hobby Lobby, and I bought the wreath lights from Wal-Mart. I'm sure you could go to Michael's, or Joann's, if you don't have a Hobby Lobby near you.
I spent $30 on all the supplies, I know I said that I couldn't imagine buying one for $25, but the reason mine went up so much in price, was due to the fact that I was going to add the snowman ($6) and the lights ($9). The store bought one had neither of those things. 
What you need:
  • Work Wreath 16"
  • Deco Mesh, any color you want
  • 2 other wired ribbons
  • 2 glittered curlies
  • A stuffed Christmas character (like a Snowman)
  • Battery operated wreath lights
  • Ornaments
  • Any other decor items
  • Wreath Hanger

 Let's get started, I bought a 16" work wreath from Hobby Lobby, I decided on the work wreath over a normal one so that I wouldn't have too many branches in the way of the ribbon.
 I started by taking the deco mesh and wrapping it in and around the branches. I would cut off a piece about a foot long, and then wrap it around until it made a nice loop.You have to work with it a little but to get it the way you want it, but it's not too difficult. 
This is what it should look like when you are almost done. (Sorry Tank photo-bombed this picture)
Done with the deco mesh! It looks plain right now, but don't worry.
Alrighty, next I cut my two ribbons of choice into 10" strips and then wrapped them in loops around the wreath and deco mesh. You can put however many loops you would like. Some of the ribbon wasn't staying the way that I wanted it to, so I took some hot glue and glued it into place.
 Next, I took these battery operated wreath lights and wrapped them around my wreath. I took the black box where the batteries go and I hot glued it to the back of the wreath. The ribbon mostly covered it, but you want to make sure that you can change the batteries if needed and you want to be able to get to the on/off switch.
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Next, take your ornaments, snow, flakes, and glittered curlies and glue them where you want. I got carried away doing this and forgot to take pictures. I'm so sorry, but it is pretty self explanatory. I just grouped the ornaments and hot glued them together and then to my wreath. You can see in the final product how I did it. 
Pretty cute right? Sound off in the comments with what you think and any questions! 











Thursday, November 7, 2013

Ikea Mirror Makeover

Awhile ago, I bought six black mirrors from Ikea. I loved how 
cheap they were ($1.99 each) and that they were square 10 x 10 which was
the perfect size for the space I needed. They came in multiple colors, but I went with black at the time.  Now that we moved into our new town house, I couldn't find anywhere to hang them.
I finally decided that they would look good on a blank wall in our dining room. They were perfect, but
they were plain and went unnoticed. So I decided to spice 
them up. Here is what they looked like before. 
Plain right? So I thought about spray painting them, glittering them, etc. But nothing actually stood out to me...until I took a trip to Jo-Ann's for a different project and found the perfect makeover tool. 

These Decorative Nails by Dritz Home came in multiple colors and shapes. I chose round silver nails and was on my way! P.S. these babies only cost me $1.99 for 36!


What you need:

  • Mirrors
  • Decorative nails 3/8" 9.5 mm
  • Rubber Mallet (a hammer will scratch the nails so if you don't have a rubber mallet, place a wash cloth over hammer head and secure with a rubber band)
  • Cutting Board
  • Ruler
  • Pencil

STEP 1: I cleared off my table and laid out all six mirrors. I wiped them down with a wet paper towel to remove any dust and then let them air dry. 

STEP 2: Here came the fun part. I didn't want all the mirrors to have the same pattern, so I laid my nails where I wanted them on each mirror. Coming up with six different patterns with only 36 nails was a challenge that I accepted and conquered! 

STEP 3: I placed one mirror on top of a cutting board (the nails poke through the mirrors a teeny tiny bit) and measured out where I wanted the nails so that they would all be even. I then marked the area with a pencil and hammered in the nails. I continued with all six mirrors until they were done. 

STEP 4: Hang on wall and wait for compliments.  








Link for purchasing Ikea Malma mirrors: