Our Holiday Mantle

My mantle this year has a little bit of everything.  Of course I used Pinterest as inspiration (I think EVERYTHING I do lately is Pinterest inspired!) to create some new decor but I also used a lot of items that I already had in my Christmas decor 'stash'.

I incorporated some aqua into the traditional mix of red, white and green...  mainly because I use it in my existing decor and because it's part of the curtains I use to hide the bottom cubbies in my mantle surround.  It tied in really nicely and I like that it gives the decor a bit of warmth.

 The focal point of our mantle is the JOY that I created using a pinterest tutorial I had found.  You can read a little more about it in my last blog post.  The stocking holders are Target specials and the stockings were on clearance a couple years ago from Pottery Barn.  (I thought ahead and bought four even though we only had one kid at the time... smart, huh?  ;)  I still need to get the fourth embroidered with baby #2's name though - will someone remind me to do that after Christmas please?

The vase is a craft fail that I keep using... so I guess it wasn't as much of a fail as I thought?!  The 'berry sprigs' were bought on Black Friday at JoAnne's.

I also crafted this cute pom pom garland using more of the yarn in my craft closet!  It's playful and fits in with the rest of the decor well.

 To one side of the mantle is a few different crafts and finds.  The scrapbook loop trees are a great craft I made last year (you can read about how I created them in this post here).  The papers I was able to find have some of the aqua in them so again - it all works out!  The white architectural element I found a few years ago at Tuesday Morning.  The white bird house is normally in baby #2's room with headbands draped on it's spires.  :)  The green tree is metal and is one of two I found on Black Friday at TJMaxx!  They are so cute and add the height I need in those cubbies.

 On the right side of the mantle is two more of the scrapbook loop trees, in addition to some white spray painted pinecones and a birdhouse I normally keep in my bathroom for decor.  When I took this picture I had just put some white twinkle lights inside (another Pinterest idea) but unfortunately there's no electrical outlet nearby and it would've looked ridunculous to have an extension cord draped up there to give it power!  I actually ended up swapping out the lights for a garden sculpture of a bird that I spray painted white - it looks MUCH better!

And of course there's Bobby, our Elf on the Shelf.  He was keeping an eye on my girls perched on the pinecones here when I took the picture.  :)

Thanks for stopping by to see how I decorated my mantle for the holidays!  I am going to be linking up to the Mantle Party on Home Stories of A to Z!

Go check out some of the other awesome mantles that are featured there!  So many great ideas!  I need to start 'pinning' away for ideas for next year.  ;)

It's never too early to start planning, right?

Pinterest Love & Holiday Decorating at the Pursewna Home

Have you checked out Pinterest yet?  If you haven't - you need to.  Or maybe I should warn you that you shouldn't.  It's addicting.  I seriously do not have enough time or money to do all the things I'd like to do that I've found on Pinterest.  From recipes to toddler activities to crafts and DIY projects - so much fantastic inspiration!!!!!
Here are some great ideas/things that I've pinned recently:

The craft room I would give my right arm to have -

Source: via Pinterest

A great idea for our 'naughty chair' -

Source: angiepollsplace blog via Pinterest

An awesome Cheesy Chicken and Rice Bake -

Source: Tasty Kitchen Blog via Pinterest

Painting words on wood - 

Source: thatsmyletter blog via Pinterest

If you'd like to follow me - click here:  FIND ME ON PINTEREST!

Pinterest led me to create some pretty fantastic holiday decor this year - I found quite a few neat/inexpensive crafting ideas to do to add to our 'holiday magic' around the house.  Here are a few of those projects:

#1:  Yarn wrapped letters - I purchased the letters J, O and Y at JoAnne's and used leftover yarn from one of my yarn wreaths (see my Etsy shop: Pursewna for examples).
The Pinterest inspiration:

Source: www.sarahortega.com via Pinterest

The results of my 'crafting':

Ack!  That "Y" is looking pretty sloppy!  I did it first... by the time "J" rolled around I was doing pretty good.  The trick?  Cutting a bunch of 3-4 inch strips and laying them down next to each other to do the ends of each letter.  Then snip the excess and wrap around the letter over that.  (That probably doesn't make ANY sense - if you're interested in a tutorial, let me know!)

#2:  Burlap Ruffle Wreath - I purchased an 18 inch wreath at the dollar store, added quilting batting that I already had to make it a uniform shape, lots of hot glue as well as fabric and buttons already in my stash.  

The Pinterest inspiration:

Source: jonesdesigncompany blog via Pinterest

The results of my 'craft-a-palooza':

This was LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT!  Although burlap is some nasty stuff - I have no idea how people can stand having pillows made of the stuff.  Bleh.

#3.  Felt Garland for the Tree - using red and white felt and sewing it onto ribbon.

The Pinterest inspiration:

Source: The Contemporary Home website via Pinterest

The results of my 'crafting':

Another success story!  I just cut small 'penant' shapes with my pinking shears out of red & white felt, then sewed a straight stitch onto CHEAP ribbon that was 4 for a dollar at Michael's.  EASY PEASY!

#4.  Rolled Paper Christmas Artwork - I bought a few extra sheets of scrapbook paper on Black Friday to add to the couple of holiday-ish papers already in my stash.  Also found some $1 'star' stickers in the impulse lane - perfect for my tree topper!

The Pinterst inspiration:

Source: via Pinterest

The results of my 'crafting':

This might seem silly but originally I had this sitting on our kitchen island and when I was washing dishes (which is a lot with two children under three in the house) I could just see the standard 'backing' of the canvas board I purchased.  SO - I used the leftover scrapbook paper and modge podged it to the back in a random fashion.  Of course now this piece is in the playroom and the back is against the wall - at least I know it's pretty on the backside!  ;)

#5.  Book Trees - I bought two books at the dollar store, cut off some branches from a bush in our backyard and added felt stars using my felt stash.

The 'sort-of' Pinterest inspiration:

Source: craftberrybush blog via Pinterest

The results of my craftiness:

This wasn't a direct link but I figured, the pumpkins I did in the Fall turned out so great - any shape should work!  I just used a 'tree' template and cut out the pages using an exacto knife.  Glued on a branch to the spine and then glued a couple of felt stars at the top.

#6.  Yarn Pom Pom Garland - just using leftover yarn from yarn wreaths!

Indirectly, the Pinterest inspiration:

Source: sweetpaulmag website via Pinterest

The results of my craftology:

I made a couple different lengths of garland using an assortment of pom pom's that I made.  This worked out GREAT!  I was able to use up some of the yarn that was quickly taking over my craft closet and it turned out SO cute!  I will definitely be doing this again - so easy!

A Craft Save!

I recently tried a new craft/DIY project that I found on Pinterest to make a birthday gift for my best friend.  I thought it seemed like such a cool idea - a great way to make some inspiration artwork using some simple items that thankfully, I already had on hand.  Well... it didn't quite turn out how I expected.  That can sometimes be a good thing though - which in this case it was.
Here's an idea and some background on the original idea I found through Pinterest:

Source:  website

Source:website

I love how subtle this is - the white on white.  

Well.... here's how my project went:

the quote I found to use.... 

Navy Blue Puff Paint - the downfall of this project?

standard waxed paper

I also used:
a pre-gesso'd board from Michael's

I just handwrote the quote on a basic piece of paper with a sharpie... 

as in the tutorial online, I put my waxed paper over my quote and then wrote out the
letters using the puff paint and let them dry all day

then I peeled off each individual letter and mod podged it onto my board...
this was a LONG process!!!!

the finished product - all the letters mod podged onto the board

yuck!  green over the blue?  boo.... time to find a solution!

Add caption

I'm getting there.... I ended up using a paper towel and wiping off a majority of the green paint.  It created
more of a watercolor effect which I was fairly happy about.  :)  I unfortunately didn't take a picture of the finished product but I added some blue paint and wiped that away and then a bit more to make more layers.  It ended up looking really nice!  I added a ribbon on the back so she could hang it on the wall - sounds like she's going to put it up in her classroom.  (she's an AWESOME teacher!)

Where I went wrong:

I started out with Navy puffy paint.  So there I was painting with Navy on white.  My plan seemed simple enough - just paint over the whole thing once I had the letters on the canvas.  Boo - not so much. Maybe starting with white is a better idea?  Maybe the white on white is the best option?  Not sure.

I was able to save this project but overall - not sure I'd do it again.  Modge podging the letters on was a PAIN!  I'd rather use a different effect to make wall art - which thankfully there are lots of other ideas on Pinterest to do just that!  :)

Oakleaf Expo - Saturday, November 5th

This last weekend I participated in my first show in the Jacksonville area.  It was a very local show - within my neighborhood here but a great one!  There were 100 differents vendors - anything from pet sitting to bouncy houses, Arbonne to Avon and everything in between....  then there was me and a few others with homemade items!

so happy to be inside!  

looking the other direction inside...

brr.... it was a cold and windy day!  YUCK!

It wasn't my best show but considering the size of the event and it being my first show here in Jax, I'm happy with how I did.  I feel like I got my name out there and because it is original, hopefully a lot of people will remember it!  :)

this is one of the AMAZING 'coat racks' that my FIL Buzz made me!  LOVE THEM!!!

I met some really amazing ladies - please take a minute to look at their amazing products:

Tori with One.Eleven Handmade Bags - she is new to Etsy but has a BEAUTIFUL blog:

Source

I can't wait to see what Tori does on Etsy!

and Maria with Vintage Ooak Designs:

Source

Here's a look at the amazing bib necklace that my MIL & FIL bought for me from Maria:

SO beautiful!!!  I love it!