DIY CHRISTMAS GARLAND

Here is a project I have been working on for the last couple of weeks. I always wanted to have garland to decorate our stairwell for Christmas.
The cheapest one I ever found already decorated was $39.99 for a piece that was six feet long.
Well, after measuring our space, I quickly came to realize that it was going to be a very expensive project.
I needed 38 feet worth of garland, which it would of cost me over $240. No way!
This year, I started planning on making them right after the summer and as soon as the Christmas decor was out in the stores, I bought all the supplies I needed.
I found the garland itself at Hobby Lobby on sale for $3.99 for nine feet and all the picks, ribbons and different berries at Dollar General. I already had the poinsettias.
Total cost of project was $43.00 for 38 feet of decorated Christmas garland with lights! Enough to decorate the whole stairwell. I know they are not as fancy as the ones in the stores, but I think they are going to look just fine.


 These are the flowers I already had

I bought the red and gold picks with the little pinecones at Dollar General.
Each package had two picks.

Added the little gold berries

Also, some ribbon in three different colors and red and gold Christmas balls

And here is what the garland looks like
I had to lay one of the pieces on the floor to take a picture.

I have them all in my storage closet waiting very patiently for the day after Thanksgiving, when we plan to start decorating the house for the holidays. LOL

Until then, I am making bows, also for the stairwell. Ten more to go!

This was a very easy project, but very time consuming. I was a little afraid at the beginning, but there is nothing a glue gun can't do! 
I hope you had a great weekend!

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HOOKED ON METAL ART!

This has been my addiction for some time now. LOL  I have really been into metal art lately.
I feel it gives our home the finished look that I have been looking for.
Our home has very high ceilings and some of these spaces have been very hard to decorate. There is just so many paintings you can hung on the walls before your home starts looking funny. I think the metal art you can find in stores today is a great addition to any space and some times, as pretty as a picture or painting.
Here are some ideas

This piece is kind of different and very pretty. When I bought it, I had no idea where it was going to end up.
This is how I used it.

I liked how it looked with the wrought iron on the stairwell

Next, is the super huge wall  on the left as you enter our house, over our formal living room and dinning room.
What a challenge this wall was! Such a big space!  It stayed empty for a long time until we finally found two of these metal pieces.

Here is what they looked like

These are so huge, but it still seemed like something was missing, so we purchased this smaller one.

 

We finished it last December and this is what it looks like. You can see them from everywhere in the house and even from outside, through the large arch window. We love them!

Through out the year, I have bought some other smaller pieces.
I used some over a couple of mirrors

A little extra touch over a painting in the entrance hall.
I love the Fleur de Lis!

Over the bed

And a few smaller ones around the house

I am still looking for some other special pieces for a couple more spaces and also, always looking for new ideas and inspiration on how to use metal art. Told you I was hooked! LOL
I hope you are having a great weekend.


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FALL PORCH DECOR

 I decorated our porch back in September when I did the Fall decor inside the house, but for some reason, I have had a hard time getting some good pictures.
As you can see, I tried taking them at different times of the day and this is the best I got.
I have a lot of fun decorating our back porch. It gets a "facelift" with every different season and also for Christmas. I can't wait to put that together!

For now, and until the end of November, this is what it looks like.
We sure do enjoy our outdoor space!

Our dinning area.
I made all the pillows for the chairs and added some flowers and candles to the table.

Also added Fall picks to the outdoor curtains for a little more color.

Our sitting area.
I painted  the bird houses in Fall colors and stenciled some Fall designs on their little roofs and put some red and yellow flowers on my old pots.

 

 

Well, it is not much, but it sure added a warm feeling to our outdoor space.
Sorry for the quality of the pictures.
I hope you enjoyed this little tour.
Come back and visit!

Tami, from scribblesandswirls.blogspot.com/ nominated me today for a Liebster Blog Award!
Thank you Tami, you made my day!

As a new blogger, I'm honored! The "Liebster Blog" award it given to up coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. "Liebster" is German and means sweetest. kindest, nicest, beloved, loveliest, cutest...

The rules for the Liebster Award are:

1. Thank the giver and link back to her.
2. Reveal your top picks and leave a comment on their blog.
3. Copy and paste the award on your blog.
4. Have faith that your followers will spread the love too!

Part of the fun is picking the blogs to pass the love along to!

 In no particular order, here are my picks: 

helen'sdecor.com
avintagegreen.blogspot.com
http://www.hopefilledlivingmagazine.com/

Check out these blogs and pass on the love, have fun!

Thank you, Tami!