Burlap Candy Corn Banner

I wish I could take credit for coming up with the idea for this super adorable burlap banner, but I actually found it in the motherland (A.K.A. Pinterest.) I came up with a pattern and got started. There are actually 6 pieces on this banner but it was too hard to get them all in the photo. You'll just have to trust me. ;-)

This project is simple. Just cut out triangles in burlap, paint them (and allow them to dry in between colors,) polka dot them (with the end of a foam brush,) then fold down the top edge about 1/2 inch and sew a loose zigzag stitch across the top and stitch them to twine, which has been hidden in the fold. Then cut various ribbons and rick rack and tie them in between the triangles. Then trim up the edges to get rid of the fraying burlap. Voila!

I keep on selling these so I am guessing that I am not the only one that thinks it is cute. I finally had a surplus and was able to keep one for myself. I think that is the hard part of being a professional crafter. You make them for others, and then miss out on having them for yourself! Oh well. It is fun to send my projects to new homes. I kind of like the fact that they value my work enough to pay for it. Very vindicating. (See kids, the messes are worth it! Yes, you can buy more Pokemon cards...) ;-)

Happy that the weather is starting to change around these parts. Can't wait for the cooler weather to stick around. Happy that pumpkin spice EVERYTHING is happening now. So fabulous. Happy Jen is happy! :)

Shabby Topiary and Table Decor

The topiary on the table with the other decor.

I was asked by a friend of mine to help decorate a table for a church women's gathering. I was super excited since I love to do things like that but was afraid to do it by myself. We had so much fun planning! My friend came up with the theme "burlap and lace" and told me to "run with it!" Yay!! My favorite thing to do ever!! I love to be shown or told what to use as inspiration but then given the trust to come up with my own interpretation. So... here is the inspiration I used. Found on Pinterest, of course. Super easy project and I am loving the results!

MOPS Leadership Nametags

With the beginning of each school year, a new year for MOPS and MomsNext begins. For those of you not familiar with these organizations, they are groups for moms of all ages- MOPS for those who are pregnant through preschool age and MomsNext is for moms of school age kids. They are great if you are in desperate need of friends or support or just an outlet for relaxation. I have benefitted so much from joining the group and am on the leadership team. I do creative activities with a couple other ladies. We are having so much fun planning for the new year! The next theme is "A Beautiful Mess" and the Bible verse that accompanies it is Ephesians 4:10- "For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." I am so excited!! 
Anyway, we recently had our leadership planning retreat and it was decided that we needed to stand out a little, in the sea of moms. We wanted them to know that we were available if they had a question or if we could help them in any way. Thing is, we only had generic looking plastic covered boring nametags. Those wouldn't do for me. Nope. So... I volunteered to come up with a design and to create a tag for each member of the steering committee. 23 in total. This project was so fun! I just went to Hobby Lobby, invaded their ribbon section and started my collage. I ended up using my Silhouette to cut the vinyl names and my labeler to create the position titles. I had blank bottle caps and found the jewels that I put in the center in the scrapbook section. I bought the paper, feathers, and burlap flowers there too. The chevron washi tape was something that I got online somewhere. I honestly couldn't tell you where. Maybe Pick Your Plum?? Not sure. But that stuff is everywhere these days. I cut out the oval shapes with my Big Shot machine. Then I glued all the pieces together with my hot glue gun and decoupaged the whole surface with Mod Podge. Simple as that! Not a hard craft, but definitely time consuming. It took me "some" hours to finish them all. But I think they are totally worth it. I am sure we will be easy to identify with our beautifully messy tags.

Patriotic Wreath

I wanted to share a wreath I made recently for my "benevolent benefactor," AKA, friend Kim. She showed me a picture on Pinterest of a patriotic mantel, said she loved it all and then told me to go for it. I mostly used the photo as inspiration for the feeling of the projects that I ultimately completed. I did 5 total and will be sharing them all as I find time. This wreath is the first that I completed. I made it by wrapping two kinds of ribbon around a straw wreath form. I then made a poof out of tulle, and added some rick rack to the back of a tin star ornament that I disassembled to make it more simple and usable for me. The small tag was actually part of the star ornament but the design on the other side of it didn't match, so I used my Cricut to cut out the "4th" in navy blue and mod podged it to the tag. Then I hung that from baker's twine and a ribbon bow which served to separate the two ribbon colors. That was it! Easy and fun!