holiday wreath tutorial

....I like to pretend I'm Martha Stewart....

it's true.

I decided to spiff up my front door by making a wreath, um, from scratch. .

Just something cheap and cute... 

First I purchased the goods...

1. a straw wreath (AC Moore for like 3 bucks)

2. 2 strands of garland (Dollar General 2 bucks per strand)

3. 2 sets of 20 clear lights (Dollar General 1 buck per strand)

4. Red Glittery Ornaments (Dollar General 2 bucks)

5. Silver Glittery Ornaments (Dollar General 2 bucks)

so cheap, right?

oh and I used my 1999 glue gun :) - seriously, it's ugly, but we go way back.

Ok, to start, I wrap the garland around the straw wreath, continuously, until all the "straw" wreath is covered

*note - you could purchase a garland wreath, this would allow you to skip this step, but I had a straw wreath left over from Halloween.

(Oh, side note, please don't look at my unpolished fingernails.)

Notice how the garland is covering all of the straw, you don't want that showing.

And voila, garland covering straw wreath...

Now, take 1 strand of lights and begin wrapping it around the wreath, trying to leave the same amount of space between each wrap (for evenness)....complete this step with other strand of lights too.

Don't worry, you can manuever the lights around to your liking once they are on...but make sure that both ends of the strands of light meet at the end..so they can be plugged in..

To secure the lights, use the ends of both strands of lights and twist the cords together...as such...then leave dangling for now...

Next, take the oranments, and hot glue them onto the wreath where you would like them

*Note: I removed the tops of the ornaments, I didn't need them since this part of the ornament would be hot glued down onto the garland (but don't toss them, save them for another project!!)

Then take your really cool, and pretty glue gun and hot glue the suckers on...aim for evenness...

I could've added more balls but I just worked with what I had. :)

Once all balls have been added to your desire, light it up, move any lights around, ornaments, etc..and....

drum roll please, drum roll..

TAAADAAAAA....

A Merry Little Holiday Wreath, that even your kiddos could help with...

Merry Christmas...and Happy Crafting...

fill in the blank Fridays... love is...

linking up with Lauren...

1. Love is the best present you can ever get.

2. Being in love feels comfortable.


3. My favorite quote about love is "I can live without money, but I cannot live without love" ~ Judy Garland


4. The most important thing in a relationship is trust.


5. A "deal breaker" for me in a relationship is someone who doesn't laugh with me.


6. The way I show love in my relationships is showing appreciation for all he does.


7. I love  Mike...with all my heart...

O' Christmas Tree!

We went searching for the perfect Christmas tree, as we and I'm sure many of you do each year.

We found a lovely little Tree Farm: Cobb's Choose & Cut owned by Eric Cobb and his wife, Sandra.

They have every type of tree you can imagine...
White Pine, Scotch Pine, Va. Pine, Leyland Cypress, Blue Ice Cypress, Carolina Sapphire, Non-PricklyRed Cedar and Pre-cut (fresh) Fraser Firs...seriously, I didn't even know so many variations of Christmas trees existed! But they do, and Eric's sweet little wife, Sandra told me all about them.

This little Tree Farm also has: wreaths (plain or decorated), garland, bows, and tree stands

They offer all the following services: tree drilling, tree shaking, tree baling, cutting, loading, refreshments (mmm the refreshments!), and a nature trail.

We love Fraser Firs...and every tree was just so beautiful, I wanted to purchase a dozen.

And as always, I was beaming with excitement as I fell in love with each tree.

I had Daddy Mackey and the children stand beside a few trees for height decision...

hmmm, Rylee and I search around the Scotch Pines...

or would we love a blue ice cypress...

.

but in case you didn't know this, these pine trees do NOT hold ornaments very well....

only Fraser Firs hold those heavy ornaments...and I have a family tradition of making holiday ornaments each year with my little ones, so I need a tree to hold them all...

Mike searches the trees, we're just so picky...

Rylee checks the tree for diameter, if you will

hmmm....

is she dancing amongst the Christmas trees? Truly, my child.

ah, could it be? could it be, the tree?

The men prepare it for us, fitting it to our tree stand, shaking it out, loading it up on the car...

while we...

take advantage of the holiday treats inside...just look at Mrs. Cobb prepare us some hot chocolate..

And Mike scarf down a hotdog..

and me, sip hot apple cider...

And the barn filled with all sorts of holiday goodies...

Christmas tree shopping = success.

And we got this cheesy little photo too...Christmas card photo, perhaps?

So, now that we have the tree...we must "deck the halls"!

which is just what we did...

a little bit of this...crafted by me!

a little bit of that...

a fully decorated tree and fireplace mantle...

a little decorated village...

Christmas books galore for a family who loves "story time"...

And our Mr. Jingles ...

Santa please stop here...we are sooo ready!

a giveaway...ahhhhh!!

Do you wanna win one of my blooming necklaces?!

Well, my sweet friend, Ashlyn over at My Unrehearsed Life is hosting a giveaway!

 So head on over there and see what you gotta do to win!!

BUT HURRY!! Ends Monday at midnight!!

And tell your friends!!

Just in time for Christmas!! Who doesn't love something free!!??

...grandparents...

I've been meaning to do this post for quite sometime but unfortunately I didn't have any pictures of my Grandmother. until now.

This is my sweet Grandmother. She passed away when I was 10 years old but I still remember so much about her.

Her baking, crocheted Christmas ornaments, costume jewelry, her all white living room, and playing the organ.

She's beautiful. She's sweet. She loved me with all her heart. She gave the best hugs. She held me.

She's was my Grandma.

I get my craftyness from  her, my love of holidays and traditions from her, and my love of jewelry (definetly) from her.

Thinking about her makes me smile.

Thinking about her makes me think of some other super sweet grandparents I know...

I have been so blessed with the most awesomest of parent-in-laws.

Seriously, I've dated some real clowns in my life with mothers that I'd love to tell where they could go..

One in particular's mom who actually told me I "wasn't good enough for her son". bahahaha, looney tunes I tell you, anyway, I digress.

But when I met my Michael, I fell in love with his family too.

My mother in law is one of the strongest women I know. She is such an inspiration to me.

She's hard-working, beautiful, classy, and an amazing mother.

She's smart, a wonderful cook, encouraging, and loving.

My father in law is just as amazing.

He's got the answer to everything.

My children are extremely fortunate to have them as grandparents!

Sure, paw-paw allows M&Ms for breakfast, they let them stay up past bedtime, and buy them anything they want...

but that's what grandparents are for right? ...

to spoil, to love unconditionally, to cherish.

My children adore them.

My children miss them when they leave.

My children snuggle up close to them .

I remember being this way with my grandparents. Loving them more than anything in the world.

Packing up to go to their house for holidays, family gatherings, and just because visits.

I want the same for my children..

Rylee and her "Gam" ~ her Gam who lets her drink from fancy glasses, teaches her about cooking, and lets her help with planting/gardening. 

Reese and her Gammy....she will one day join in on all the fun but for now she's fine with just being held by Gam

Rylee and her PawPaw...who fixes booboos, makes cheese bread, and would do anything in the world for her.

PawPaw's arms...make them feel safe

Reese and Paw Paw...who tickles her with his mustache, blows bubbles on her feet, and lets her sit up on his belly

Another Grandmother I know, my mom....(the daughter of my Grandmother posted above)..

a mom who made everydays nothing short of special, gave me security, room to grow and the freedom to discover the world for myself, gave me friendship, faith, gave me dreams and the courage to believe in them..

She taught me to hold traditions dear and family close.

She's good hearted, she's helpful, she loves my children. And they love her...

She's known as "Nanny"

She spoils them. She hugs them.

She makes them smile.

My dad, their PawPaw Johnson

He plays with them. He cherishes our visits. He makes them laugh.

They love him.

I'm so blessed that my children have such wonderful grandparents, as I did.
I hope my children cherish all the times and memories they make with each of their grandparents.