Featured on Studio 5 "Acorn crafts to go NUTS about!"

It's always a great time working with Brooke Walker and the entire Studio 5 crew. 

Today I was able to showcase some fun DIY fall crafts using acorns that I found in my own yard. Now don't fret if you don't have an oak tree of your own. You can easily buy all types of natural acorns on Etsy. Here is a link to one of my favorite shops https://www.etsy.com/shop/CreationsByShelly?ref=l2-shopheader-name .

For starters I came across my own acorns while doing a bit of fall clean up. Once I looked on the ground and saw these little gems, my mind immediately went to work dreaming up the possibilities. Pinterest is a great starting point for me. As a DIY crafter I'm always looking at projects and wondering how to re create them. Here are a couple of great pinterest ideas that I found for using acorns

 

I love all the inspiration from a tiny acorn, Here are my versions presented on Studio 5 today. I started with a basic grapevine wreath and glued on natural acorns in random sizes and in different directions. I also add some faux green fall leaves to make the wreath pop. In the end it was a very simple project that will look great on a door, as a centerpiece or in a tablescape.

Next I tried my hand at some simple, but glittery acorn ornaments. This is really a do-able project for anyone. By adding a little gold glitter and painting the base of the acorn white, you get a darling embellishment to any Christmas tree.

While I was at it, I found some small wood discs at the craft store and added some white painted acorns on top. Next I added a magnet on the back, and now I have some fun fall festive magnets to embellish any magnetic surface.

On to one of the top crafting trends right now, felt balls. These are so darling and fun to make, especially from some 10 year old girls on  a YouTube channel called Club Chica Circle, who are pros you can find them here https://youtu.be/qfNYw9JqPWg  

To bring in a fall element I added a cute acorn cap and strung them together.

You can really add a stunning element to this years Thanksgiving dinner by making a simple napkin ring. To do this I used a toilet paper roll, and trimmed it to the width I wanted. Next, I glued the acorns on to the cardboard roll, and finally to top it off I added a leaf from my acorn tree. Perfect, simple and free.

Finally my last project was a fun one. I made these larger than life acorns using a large styrofoam egg from Hobby Lobby, next I took a brown paper lunch sack and cut off the bottom. Then you cut down the seam to make it a flat rectangle. 

Now for the fun part, crumble it up, yes crumble it up and then straighten it out and repeat this process 3 or 4 times. This makes the lunch sack have a fantastic texture and soft and pliable so that you can hot glue it to the egg. 

For the top of the acorn I used a variety of crafting supplies. The first one I added real acorn tops and then filled in the gap with $ store crinkle paper. The second one I wrapped with gray felt and added twine for the top of the acorn. The last one I used a pine cone and cut off the ends and then glued them on the egg shape starting around the middle of the egg and working my way to the top. I loved how these turned out. They make the perfect addition to my console table.

I hope you have a fantastic November bringing fall into Thanksgiving. Check out may latest post featuring some of the little fall changes I made around my own home. I absolutely love decorating my home to welcome in the changing seasons.

Welcome Fall Decor

When we bought our home this summer, I decided to decorate in a simple white, cream and navy color scheme with a flair of nautical accents. It was perfect, but as summer changed into fall, I needed to change some of the decor with it.

I love the fall weather, when the leaves change to the yellows, and reds. When you want a cozy blanket and a book to curl up with besides the fire. I wanted my home to reflect that cozy feel and accomplished it by trading out just a few accessories. Here are some pictures including some before and afters.

I switched out my beautiful white flowers for soft cotton stems and pheasant feathers both from Michael's craft store. I still adore my CC Creations glass and rustic wood vases.

 

For the console table, I added a gold foil print from TJ Maxx, and a couple of pumpkins. I really wanted this to be simple and clean.

On my built ins by the fireplace, I changed the flowers in the basket to faux fall florals that I already had on hand. I added a pumpkin sitting on some fall leaves and a darling ceramic squirrel from TJ Maxx.

I love the impact of symmetry on my kitchen table. I found some tall wheat bouquets in my fall totes and added some tall gourdes with a lantern sitting on a rustic fall wood slice.

For my end tables, I left the lamps but added two white bone boxes, a gold sphere and a rustic Pottery Barn vase filled with greenery.

The second end table has a similar Pottery Barn Vase filled with metallic sparkly acorns, sitting on old books with the covers removed. I added a stacked pumpkin to the inside of a orb and finished it off with some greenery. All items are sitting in a navy tray from TJ Maxx.

My front entry table features a wheat wreath, with a wooden monogram "D". Also on the table is a larger Pottery Barn urn filled with fall leaves purchased from Tai Pan, and a grapevine acorn. I love that this is what greets you when you first walk through the front door. 

Happy Fall Y'All!

Studio 5 featured "Faux Pallet Mummy"

I'm very excited to share a recent project that was featured on Studio 5. 

To add a fun fall element to my front porch this year, I thought I would try to create a "Faux Pallet(aka cedar fence slats) Mummy".  

The reason I opt for cedar fence slats instead of actual pallet wood is the ease and use of these boards. To find enough pallets, and tear them apart with out the board splitting or removing all the nails, is very labor intensive and time consuming. If you haven't ever used the cedar fence slats for a project, give it a try. The results will look very similar and you'll never touch a pallet again. You can find them at Lowe's in their lawn and garden section for $1.16 a piece. 

To begin I knew I wanted a form or structure to attach my faux pallet wood to. I went to Lowe's and had them cut a very inexpensive sheet of wood to a 5x3ft size. 

Next, I googled a mummy template and found one that I could draw free hand onto the board.

My favorite part came next, when my husband introduced me to a power tool called the Rotozip.  This tool is a hand held cutting tool that we used to cut the outline shape of the Mummy with. You can also use a zigsaw too, but I loved the ease, and versatility of this tool.

After the Mummy was cut out, I spray painted the Mummy's head black to make the eyes pop that I would be adding later. Then I started cutting my fence slats and nailed them onto the Mummy form in a diagonal pattern. I cut different lengths of fence slats to give the wood a stacked look. I also cut the wood a little longer than the form on each side.  

Next I found two round discs at Joann's Craft Store and painted them with black and white pain to look like eyes. I then added them to the Mummy's head with wood glue. Once dry, I layered the fence slats over the mummy's eyes.

After I added the fence slats over the eyes, I flipped the Mummy over and cut the end of the fence slats off  using the same Rotozip tool. It was very easy to cut then ends of the boards off following the Mummy outline. Then I flipped it back over and gave the whole project a good sanding. 

To add to the layered Mummy look we then nailed on a few additional fence slats going the opposite directions. 

To finish the Mummy look, I then watered down regular white paint, about 2/3 paint 1/3 water, and whitewashed the entire mummy, except for his face.

I propped him on my front porch, added a trick or treat sign and some pumpkins and loved the end results. 

Happy Fall Y'All!

2015 Craythorne Parade Home Bedrooms and Jack & Jill Bath

I chose to decorate the two additional bedrooms in the parade home with girly flare. I still needed to keep the bedroom finishes neutral, but had fun adding little touches here and there to bring them to life.

The first bedroom I decorated as a nursery. On the wall over the crib we added a boxwood wreath and these simple but beautiful ceramic birds found here.

 A darling neutral zebra print rug from Rugs USA, helped ground the room. I also used a white dresser, two gray linen chairs and a white side table, all found at TJ Maxx to anchor the space across from the crib.

 The crib bedding and bed skirt is from Pottery Barn. The gold chevron pillow is from Target and the white and gold polka dot pillow is from Lighting Design. The "Goodnight" and "Sleep Tight" signs are from Hobby Lobby. Some of my pictures from this room are incomplete. I'll post additional pictures on a later blog post.

For the second bedroom, we started with board and batten around the whole room. Again, the colors used in the entire house are Sherwin Williams "Agreeable Gray"  and the trim color is HHW.  For this room I used a gorgeous day bed similar to the one shown here. This one was actually purchased through my furniture rep at a discounted cost. Contact me if interested for pricing/purchasing info. The bedding is really the highlight to this space. I used a white and pink polka dot bed skirt from my own collection. Next I used crisp white sheets and a white quilt from Home Goods. The floral duvet cover was found online here. I used the IKEA ruta duvet cover for the end of the daybed. I love the buffalo check pattern and couldn't resist using another duvet cover to make the curtain panels for the room. I have simple tutorial for making these found here on my blog. The green felt flower accent pillow was purchase at Down to Earth a few years ago. To provide additional lighting to the space I used IKEA sconces, that were inexpensive and quick to install. 

Some fun accents on the dresser are these paper flowers found at TJ Maxx and these beautifully covered classics found at Anthropologie.  

 One of my favorite features in this Craythorne home is the Jack and Jill bath these two bedrooms share. I love the natural light these cute windows provide. I tried to carry in the soft pinks and greens into this space to tie the two rooms together. The cabinetry finish is a soft gray wash stain with nickel finish hardware, the counter top is carrera marble from North Davis Cabinetry. I found this amazing mirror at Target, and the light fixture is from Lighting Design. The shower curtain was purchased at Kohl's. The bathroom rugs, towels and counter top accessories were purchased at Home Goods. The beautiful tile work pictures of the shower were not immediately available and will be posted on a later blog post.

Decorating this part of the home was such a treat and appealed to my second nature being the mom of three girls. Stay tuned for my next post about the gorgeous parade home office.