Saw It Pinned It Did It {Holiday Cheer}

I'm linking up with Katie for her {Saw It Pinned It Did It} linkup.

Because we are in such a small apartment (but not for long!!), I try not put up a lot of large Christmas decorations. I mean, we only have a counter-top sized Christmas tree up this year! So, in attempt to add some holiday cheer without causing more chaos in our small space, I decided to create a fun jar of cheer! I found these two items on Pinterest and used them as my inspiration...

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When I started this project I decided that it would be done for as little $$ as possible. A.k.a. FREE! I pulled a vase out of storage, grabbed my trusty twine, and collected a few beauties from outside {we live in an area that has beautiful trees, bushes, etc. so I had plenty to pick from}. Ryan brought mistletoe home a few days before so I used some of the extra green leaves from it in the mix too!
It took a few tries, but I finally got the pine cones, berries, and mistletoe greenery arranged how I liked it. Once I was finished I added twine to the vase and put it on our entryway bookshelf. I think it's a great little addition with the wreath and holiday candle. 

Excuse the mess :)

Our favorite Christmas time candle this year.

------- What are little things that you add to your home for the holiday? Check out the rest of the Saw It Pinned It Did It {here}!

Halloween Sneak Peak

Here's a sneak peak of a few things I'll be incorporating
into my Halloween costume this year.

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------- Any guesses?  What are you dressing up as for Halloween?

Just to be closer to #NYFW #FNO2012

I decided to throw a little something together to feel like I'm closer to #NFW and #FNO2012.  I made this little printable because it's my favorite Rachel Zoe quote!

Enjoy! ------ Made by Me :) You may use with appropriate credit.

Thanksgiving Printables

I'm a huge crafter at heart and while I can find my way around a computer and edit all day long, I don't create printables--I usually purchase or find cute freebies. Well, with Thanksgiving coming up, I fould myself searching for cute printables to use for the holiday! Of course I want to share my favorites : ) There are a few to use as decorations, one that is a game and even some cupcakes wrappers/toppers!

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Be sure to follow Laura Beth if you share too :)

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Be sure to follow Laura Beth if you share too :)

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Thankful guessing game!

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Banner

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Cupcake wrappers!

Aren't these great?? I want to print off all of them the first or second to have around our place. Hope you enjoy!

Fall Weekend Recap

Via Pinterest

Happy Sunday! Wow, this weekend flew by! As much as I wish the weekend was longer, I still enjoyed myself this while it lasted :)
Saturday started off with a little sleeping in followed by one of Ryan's (usual) Saturday morning breakfasts. Waking up to the smell of coffee and knowing that there are pancakes in your future make for a happy girl! We spent some time around the house for a while...but it didn't last long because we were antsy to get out and enjoy the amazing weather. We decided that Franklin would be our destination for the day and Ryan's parents, our companions :)

The trees are starting to change!

Pretty countryside

We met up and visited a bunch of little shops, walked around and eventually stopped for lunch at Puckett's. I'd been to the Puckett's on the other side of town, but not the one in Franklin....their BBQ  and sweet tea won me over and I plan on going back again!

After lunch we spent a long time wandering around antique malls and little businesses (looking for a bar cart for our place). After the boys were tired of antique shopping, we headed back home and spent the evening hanging around the house.

Ryan made a new friend :)

Loving all of the cute fall decorations...and the boy :)

I started feeling bad (attach of the allergies) on Saturday night so I definitely slept in a little on Sunday too. We have spent the day cleaning, grocery shopping and even crafting! I finally decided on a fall wreath! I made one using some artificial flowers, thin wire and a twig wreath.

This sums up my weekend :)

 

Another part of the seasonal decorations around the house!

I also made a quick and cute print for the dining room. I threw some tissue paper and a quote on card stock into a frame I had laying around and voila! A cute, cheap, and easy piece to add some personality to the dining room :)

10 Day Challenge~7 Wants

Happy Friday! Today is the start of a long weekend and I couldn't be happier! Time to relax, visit with friends, go to the pool, cookout and visit the cabin are in my future! Have fun everyone :)

1.) I want more photography practice! I wish I had more people to shoot and more time to dedicate towards it.

2.) In addition, I want more time to dedicate towards crafting so that I can have my own Etsy shop. That would be a dream come true :)

3.) I want a puppy that stays a puppy forever! But, who doesn't?

4.) I want to wear a new outfit everyday. I love the feeling of wearing something that is new, in style and that makes me feel great!

5.) I want all of my friends and family to live close to one another. I miss the days when everyone was right down the street from one another!

6.) I want to travel more. I would prefer to go somewhere new at least once a month (short trip) and somewhere semi-far away every 6 months or so. I looove to travel!

7.) Honestly, I want to want less! I have been doing really well with that because I have been cutting back spending lately, but I still have the urge quite frequently to just get something. I guess I get a thrill out of buying things (clothes mostly :)).

Sneak Peek

Here's a Sneak Peek of my next tutorial and most recent project!

Stay tuned :)

{Sorry for the blurry iPhone picture..the rest will be better!}

Nashville Skyline

As I mentioned before, I am currently job hunting...that means I've had some extra free time on my hands lately. We have been working on getting our apartment set up and I have been using this as an excuse to try my hand at some craftiness. We did a wall of miss matched (yet matchy :]) frames for the living room wall and we refinished the frame of a second hand mirror to use as well. While those are only slightly crafty, I went a step further and surprised Ryan created a Nashville skyline painting! 

It was a lot easier than I anticipated it to be! It is pretty time consuming, but well worth it (you could take breaks if needed). 

A few months ago I saw a similar project on a blog I follow and I tucked the idea away to use down the road. 

 You can see their version of the artwork over on the The Gaines Gang blog.

STEP BY STEP

I purchased a 'back stapled' canvas at Michael's. It was 40% off (reg. price $17 or $18)...they are usually on sale or you can use one of their coupons.

Grab a photo you have or a Google.com image of the city you love. Free hand the lines or blow up a photo and trace. I free handed the outlines.

 

Trace the absolute outside lines with a sharpie.

Use black craft/acrylic paint to fill in the outlines!

I used a large brush to fill in the large parts of the canvas, and I used a 'script' brush for the detail. You will definitely need a small brush for the details/windows, etc.

Just keep trucking on! It gets a little tricky to keep the paint off of the white so you could paint the top half before you start the tracing, etc. if you want to add some extra color.