Easy DIY Rope & Greenery Wreath

I am ALL about the easy decor projects.  Today I'm sharing a super quick, yet still thrifty 

DIY Rope & Greenery Wreath.

I made a matching pair to decorate my double front doors:

These wreathes are great for inside or out and very simple to put together.

They combine faux greenery & jute elements which is really on trend right now:

To be honest this project came about because I could not for the life of me find the summertime wooden signs I usually put on our front doors!  I looked in all my storage spots but just could not find them.  

I don't have a lot of time to go shopping these days or really want to spend much on expensive stuff to stick on the doors.  Having to get 2 for double doors hikes up the prices and since our house faces full sun most of the day the sunlight wears them out fast too.  Since these aren't brightly colored, any fading won't be as obvious over time.

I found two basic artificial greenery hoop wreaths at Menards.  Just a simple metal ring with some faux plants.  They were $5.99 each, but seemed too small on their own for our large doors.  

So I scrounged my craft stash and hit pay dirt.

I'd bought two 12 inch rope rings on clearance for just $2.47 each a while back but could never figure out how to use them.   

They were a perfect fit!  (Note: you could probably just cut some firm rope and hot glue the ends together if a pre-fab rope circle isn't easy to find).  Then came how to attach them.  Hmm...

I found some twine and layered them together then wound it the twine around them loosely, starting under the plants and going all the way around.  

Then I knotted the ends together on the back. 

 

It still needed "something" so I used some faux peony blooms left over from my DIY Faux Flower Hand Knit Pillow project: 

And hot glued one to each wreath right in the middle of the greenery.

I had a bit of 1 inch wide burlap ribbon on a spool, but just a yard & a half, so I cut it in 

two pieces:

Then folded each in half and looped it into a lark's knot and then knotted the open ends together.  

That gave me the ideal way to hang them on my door hooks:

I estimate each of these cost about $10 to make and took under 30 minutes to do both.  

Not a bad price and minimal craft effort too!

Now our front doors look more stylish and interesting and it didn't take much time 

or $ to do it:)

DIY Faux Flower Hand Knit Pillow

Easy & thrifty Do-It-Yourself decor is always a win!  Today I'm sharing how I made this gorgeous little throw pillow with just a few basic craft supplies and minimal skills.  You do not need to have any special knitting or sewing skills for this one!  

The plush chenille yarn gives great texture to the pillow and the silk flowers, with wood bead centers, add pretty details and color.  You can customize it with whatever colors and flower types you want to go with any decor.  

Materials:

- Skein of jumbo chenille yarn (28yds or more)

- 2 bunches of silk flowers

- Large painted wooden beads

- Crochet or other thin yarn & large craft needle

I happened to get all my supplies from Hobby Lobby, but similar items can all be found in most craft stores.

To make the actual pillow I used thick chenille yarn called Yarn Bee Eternal Bliss in the Ivory color, and a simple hand knitting technique to create a round pouf style pillow.  I followed a great video tutorial from Do It On A Dime to make it.  

I used it previously to make this Fluffy Pouf Pillow for my baby's room last year: 

I'd just recommend making the loops a little looser if using chenille yarn.  The chenille doesn't stretch and flatten like a wool/wool blend yarn so you don't want the stitches to get too tight to work with.  My finished pillow was 11 inches in diameter and 7 inches high, so I did 15 stitches around and 8 rows high. 

I picked some large & small bloom faux floral bunches

and a box of assorted painted wood beads in complimenting colors:

I pulled the blooms off the stems and removed the plastic centers and arranged them to get the shape I wanted on the pillow and then worked with them individually.

I cut a strand of my crochet yarn and threaded a bead then threaded both ends through my craft needle:

Then I ran the needle through the center of the bloom where the hole was through all the petal layers since I'd removed the plastic pistil & stamen:

I knotted the yarn to hold the beads tight in the center.

Then I took the yarn tails and wrapped them around a few loops of my pillow's top and tied some tight knots and clipped off the excess tails.  At first I used my craft needle to help, but it's just as easy to do by hand.

I repeated this attaching my blooms really close together to get a nice full floral top:

Then the pillow was done.  There were plenty of flowers and beads left to make another pillow, so with some of the items on sale, each pillow comes out to be about $12-15.

Since it's so easy to modify this design by using different yarns and toppers, I'm thinking about making some holiday themed versions since we've got Halloween, Thanksgiving & Christmas all coming up.  So stay tuned for more pillow crafting fun! 

 

Easy Craft Pumpkin Flower Tower Table Decor

 It's October and that means pumpkin season!  My Pumpkin Flower Tower is a simple way to add some pumpkin decor that will compliment any space: put it on a mantle or console table, use as a centerpiece - it would even look cute on a bathroom shelf or counter.

I paired mine with some wine & pomegranate colored candles and my DIY'd Fall Patchwork Ribbon Sign for a little fall-themed entryway decoration.

Layering in silk flowers that compliment with your room's pre-existing colors means it's easy to work that tricky pumpkin orange into any decor.  

My kids say it's like having a beautiful cake out on display and I'm inclined to agree!

  
Materials:

- Trio of foam craft pumpkins, small, medium & large

- Silk flower bunches with small, medium & large blooms

- Charger or plate

- Hot glue gun

Remove all the blossoms from the stems and sort by size:

Remove the stems from the bottom and center pumpkins - gently twisting and then pulling removes them from most foam styles.  Or just cut them off.

Arrange the largest blossoms on the charger so that they'll peek out from under the largest pumpkin.  Add some hot glue underneath each one to hold in place.

 Add a circle of hot glue to the bottom of the largest pumpkin and set on top of the blossoms.

Hot glue the medium pumpkin to the top of the largest pumpkin and the smallest on top of that to make the full tower.

Put a circle of hot glue at the base of each flower for the middle row:

 and press them into the space between the pumpkin layers. Repeat with the top tier.

 Hot glue a few leaves from the floral stems here & there for a more natural look.

Now the tower is ready to display!

It's really helped make our foyer look fall festive and transition beautifully into the neighboring living room's wine colored walls. 

Now whenever anyone comes in, there's a happy fall look to greet them!