It's Fall Y'all

What is it about Autumn that we love so much?  The air is turning crisp, the leaves are changing colors, the squirrels are busy gathering food, and pumpkins are everywhere.  It's quite perfect. Since I had some extra time on my hands the past couple weeks, I decided to make myself a fall wreath because for some reason, I didn't have one!  That had to be remedied. I've seen all these wonderful wreaths made with felt flowers all over Pinterest so I decided that's the kind of wreath I wanted to make, perfect for fall I think--something about the coziness and warmth of felt perhaps. So here's what I ended up with!

Can I just say (and not to toot my own horn)....I love it!  I think it's absolutely adorable and  the colors and different styles of flowers came together so wonderfully.

I used tutorials from here and here and they were pretty easy to make.  The flat, layered ones I just eyeballed and stitched them with a little design in the center with embroidery floss. When I was making the rolled ones, I was never able to use all the felt from the circle, so I trimmed off the ends and made the small buds with those leftovers.  The loopy ones are super simple and turn out really pretty.  For bigger flowers, just keep adding more strips.  The tutorial starts rolling from the outside and works in, I did the opposite and just rolled them up and added more strips as I went if I wanted a bigger flower.  I used the good 'ol craft felt that you get at the craft store.  You can't beat the price and I definitely had a budget for this project.

I started  by wrapping my wreath with this cute calico fabric that I already had in my stash.  I thought it was very fall-y. I had just enough to wrap the whole thing--phew!

 Then gathered up my flowers. I did lay them out on the wreath just to see how it would look, how many flowers I actually had (would they cover the entire wreath or just some of it) and what sort of layout I wanted.  I ended up making enough to cover the entire wreath so that's what I did!  The colors I chose were mustard yellow, dark turquoise, coral, off-white, yellow and brown. Then I hot-glued them all in place.  Hopefully it will hold up.  I may have to reattach through the years with a stronger glue, but for now it works just fine.

These are the little buds and I'm so glad I made them because they were perfect for filling in spaces after I had glued down the larger flowers.

 

This wreath makes me happy and isn't that what crafting is all about? I could make tons more of these and would love to make a Christmas/Winter one!  Can I just get paid for making these?  I mean that would be perfect!

I'm back at work now since the government reopened, so I'll have a bit less time to create, but I hope to make more time for myself to make things. So for now. I'm back to working on my Halloween Spooky sampler and  I just ordered two of The Frosted Pumpkins Stichery's Christmas patterns!  Eek I can't wait to see what the patterns are! See ya next time.

'til Then!

Fancy Roosters

Hello friends!  I hope fall has been treating you all wonderfully.  I'm certainly enjoying the cooler weather and the leaves here in NC are just beginning to change. I love this time of year.  I wanted to drop in and share this tea towel that I stitched up a few weeks ago for a bridal shower gift.  My brother got married to a wonderful girl and I just adore her.  People that I adore get handmade gifts.  It's just a fact.  She is doing roosters in their kitchen so I thought I'd stitch up something with roosters on it...and why not this most adorable pair!  I like to think they are heading out for a date...maybe dinner and movie?  Perhaps they are watching Chicken Little or Rock-a Doodle...heck maybe it's a double feature! Either way, they look sharp.

This pattern is from Aunt Martha's Barnyard Happenings set.  I've stitched several from this set because they really are fun designs. I stitched this all in red but used several types of stitches which gives it a little depth.  I'm very pleased with it. 

I have actually been crafting and stitching quite a bit since I've been furloughed for the government shutdown so stay on the lookout for more posts!

'Til then!

Halloween wreath....full of glitter

I updated my Halloween wreath again.  I've been scouring pinterest for ideas because I knew my little wreath needed something more than what it had.  I have a little extra time to work on things since I'm furloughed for the government shutdown so it was the perfect time to change it up.  I saw this entryway and BAM..that was the inspiration I needed!  I loved the purple and orange ball ornaments and knew that I could do something like that with my purple Christmas ornaments.  So that's exactly what I did.

 I added the purple glitter pumpkin that at picked up at Target for $1 and then clustered the balls together in groups of three around the wreath.  I kept the little jack-o-lanterns and the crow from the previous design and added the glittery leaf picks, also left over from my Christmas stash.

I love it.  It's a little over the top but it is for Halloween after all.  Do you change out wreaths for the holidays? Do you search pinterest for ideas?  I know I do.  I've got tons more wreaths on my Halloween board that I would love to make!

What's In My Hoop?

I thought I'd share what I'm stitching now.  This totally awesome Halloween Spooky Sampler from The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery.  I am in love with these patterns so far!  They released a row every week for three weeks and of course I'm terribly behind and may not finish in time for Halloween this year, but oh well. It's been fun to work on and my first time trying linen!  I don't know why I waited so long to try it because it's wonderful to work with!  Here's my progress.

"H" is for haunted house

 

"A" is for apparition

What's in your hoop?