Sunday, October 9, 2011

Ruffled Felt Garland

I love garlands.  Especially ones that are cheap and quick to whip up.  Because I also love making new garlands every year (along with new wreaths...and new decor items...and new holiday decorations...hmmm I sense a pattern).  This year my Halloween theme is candy corn and I just had to make a new garland for our stairs.  Coming up with a new garland for this railing can be a little challenging - Hubs insists that the railing be functional (pesky safety!), which means I can't wrap a garland around the railing.  So that means I have to attach it to either the back or underside of railing using either staples or thumbtacks.  After some brainstorming, a tri-strand ruffled felt garland in candy corn colors is what I dreamed up:



I used the same method as the St. Patty's day rainbow garland to ruffle up a looooong strip of orange, yellow and white felt.  Then just attached the garland using thumbtacks to the back of the hardwood railing.  And let me tell you, it is some very hard wood. 


Here's the very simple how to:


1 - To determine how much felt you'll need, measure the area that you plan to decorate and double the measurement.  For this garland, I used a length of yarn to create a sort of template for the finished garland (looping it on the railing) and then doubled the length of the piece of yarn to get my measurement.  I needed 1/2 yard of each color.


2 - Using pinking shears, cut the felt in 3 inch wide strips.




3 - Ruffle the felt by scrunching it as you run it through the sewing machine.  When you come to the end of a strip, just lay the next strip slightly overlapping and continue scrunching




4 - Once all the colors are ruffled, just gather them up and swag them together.  Yes, my orange and yellow are technically reversed.  I always seem to reverse the yellow and orange.  I am obviously candy corn dyslexic. 




Simple and easy - from beginning to end in a half hour :)


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Wednesday, October 5, 2011

PW's Action Sets

I might be the last person on the planet to download Pioneer Woman's Action Sets, but good lord they are AWESOME.  I've had it on my list to do for a looooong time, but this past weekend I finally took the 20 minutes to download and install sets 1 & 2.

I've been a Photoshop Elements dabbler for years.  A little digital scrapbooking here, an invitation there, clean up some pictures, and done.  But I have never realized the awesome power that is digital photo editing.  And now that I have a full set of foolproof action sets, my life will never be the same.  Never I tell you!  I have seen too much!  I cannot go back to a life of regular pictures! 

In case you doubt me (not you!  you wouldn't doubt me would you?)  Here are 2 little examples:

Sure, the before is cute...but the after is fantastic.


Again, the before is ok.  I had to do some cropping.  But then the color boost from the PW action sets (Power Boost & Lovely in case you were wondering) makes it pop.

In case you too have not downloaded Pioneer Woman's Actions Sets, here's the link for the Photoshop Elements.  And if anyone has any tips, tricks, treats, tutes, please let me know!

A Very Wet Apple Festival

This past Saturday was cold, rainy and muddy.  But you couldn't stop us from attending our annual Apple Festival.  And, dare I say, we had just as much fun as we would have if it were a beautiful day.  After all my gushing last week, I had to post a few pictures:

We rode the school bus to the site - oh the excitement Munchkin has to ride this school bus...and look for cows...because the only thing that can make a ride on a school bus better is cows!


We bought one of those pumpkins carved out of a log using only chainsaws (yes, multiple chainsaws).  We watched, in the pouring rain, the chainsaw artist (seriously, I'm not sure what to call him) carve a pumpkin from beginning to end.  Munchkin LOVED every.single.soggy.second.  We had to buy the pumpkin.  It called to us.


And then Hubber had to lug it around for the rest of the day. 


We checked out some antique tractors.



 We (and by we, I mean my mom, sisters and I) spent some quality time with the craft tents.

We listened, and Munchkin danced, to a banjo band (ok, I might have danced too...I'm weird like that...thankfully no one captured it on film)


And we bought a bunch o apples...so that can only mean one thing.  There will be apple recipes upcoming.  And possibly apple crafting.  Although it hurts me to sacrifice an apple. 

And here is our wood-carved pumpkin in his new spot.



And here is Munchkin carving it with his chainsaw.  Of course he has a chainsaw - don't all 4 year olds?



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