Rearrange.

What a nice and busy weekend!  On Friday we attended the Salvage Art Fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity.  We had donated 3 projects and (with the help of Christina Castillo bidding up 1 of the projects and buying another) were able to make a little contribution to their cause.  It was nice to get ideas for next year (I'm thinking a beautiful chime and some paintings) and there was some great people watching.  :)

Then we went out to have dinner at Applebees and we had the privilege of eating with a Veteran (Nick Castillo) on Veteran's Day.  He even got his meal for free, it's nice to see so many businesses doing promotions for Veterans!  It's a nice gesture for a service and dedication that "Thank You" just doesn't cover.  We headed downtown for a birthday (11/11/11 at 11:11 PM) and made our super special 11:11 wishes before heading home exhausted.

Saturday morning we did our usual errands and met Nick and Christina at a craft show at the Swiftel center.  It's such a great place to buy "local" goods and get DIY ideas!  Then we spent the day crafting, constructing and exhausting ourselves in general.  We spent a big chunk of Sunday finishing up projects and cleaning the house, (how is my house ALWAYS needing to be tidied?) rearranging furniture, organizing drawers and closets, running more errands and finishing odds and ends.  Aaron, and everyone else in our neighborhood, took advantage of the beautiful weather and got the Christmas lights up...I hate having them up before Thanksgiving, but freezing conditions and ice are nooo fun!  I will add garland and Christmasify our planters in a few weeks, but for now we will enjoy pumpkins, scarecrows AND Christmas lights.  We had LED lights last year (they glowed blue...I had no idea you could buy them in "warm" and they glow more whitish yellow just FYI) and I didn't care for the look of them, so at the after Christmas sale last year we bought icicle twinkle lights and they look gorgeous!  Aaron did a great job putting them up! 

By the end of the weekend, we had constructed and stained a little table for outdoors, painted and revamped a new shelf for the bathroom, hemmed lace curtains, painted a few little projects and I spent hours constructing rosette headbands and pretty jewelry.  I read something last week about how it's important to "stretch" before you craft...I thought it was hysterical but WOW, I should have taken that advice!  My neck and shoulders are so stiff from jewelry making, but I'm sure it won't compare to how sore Aaron's whole body will be from weaseling around the roof to do Christmas lights. 

Last week, I promised a blog on the wreath that graces my front door.  Two of last weeks projects involved rearranging items we already possessed.  The wreath was so easy to make!  I used flowers leftover from my wedding, ribbon, little decorative balls, and a monogram that Aaron made out of scrap plywood we tore off the back of a dresser.  I also used paint and my glue gun (which I already had) and the only expense was buying the wreath at Wal-Mart ($3.50).

Pretty Pretty!!!

The template for the "M" is just another monogram I had in my house.  

Aaron traced it onto plywood, cut it out with a box cutter and chisel, and sanded the edges.  

You could also print a letter on the computer, or buy a wood letter at Wal-Mart (I didn't like the font of their letters).

I had no great ideas for attaching the ribbon.  

I didn't want it glue directly to the wreath because wanted it removable so I could also tie it in our Christmas wreath.  

The plywood veneer was too thin for hardware, so my solution was hot gluing small ribbons to the back.

Pictures don't do it justice!

 

The wreath and flowers are almost too pretty to cover up with the monogram!  It's so pretty in person! 

 

Remember my pile of fleece and buttons?

 

We made some monsters!  They are inspired by the Uglydolls, so ugly they're cute! 

They aren't perfect, but I have enough fleece to make dozens of them.  :)

 

Here is my boring wall.  It is in the kitchen by my bedroom door.  

It's an awkward spot for decorations, so it was just holding a pinboard.

This is just a frame with scrapbook paper.  

You can use whiteboard marker on it for a cute message board, fun right?

The monogram found a new home, too!  This wll was all about rearranging!  The 2 small pin boards cost $1 a piece, they are covered in burlap and super cute!  I have a few items I am still looking for (mail organizer, pencil holder) so this wall will remain a work-in-progress, but an improvement no less!

With a baby on the way, my whole house has been subject to rearranging lately and the change is nice.  Sometimes a piece of furniture or a picture doesn't work in one room, but looks incredible in another.  If you have furniture and decorations you love, you can always make them work!  What parts of your house could benefit from rearranging?  Have you ever made-over a whole room with items you already own?

Noelle