Sunday dinner

everyone came over for Easter again this year since we couldn't go anywhere yet.  we did dinner this time instead of our usual lunch.  it makes getting ready for it a lot easier since we have the day to prep instead of just a couple of hours in the morning.  we were pretty tired by the end of the day, though!

I did pickled beet eggs again, made my first Tres Leches cake, and some bunny cars.  the food was awesome and I forgot to get a pic!  everyone brought something yummy and Matt made a roast on his new grill.

Leo had just been wearing shirts while in his cast, but I wanted him to look fully clothed in our Easter pics (not that most of them turned out at all!) so I altered some of my old shorts for him with some Velcro along the sides.  I at least got some pics of the boys together.

 

for only $5 I made a new spring wreath with stuff I had and a few new things from Dollar Tree.  I'm limited on my errand running now so since I didn't see any ribbon at the Dollar Tree I just made some from paper towel rolls that I painted brown.  since most of the weight is on one side I added a small clear Command hook at the bottom of the wreath so it hung correctly and not all skewed to one side.  keeps it from swinging on the wreath hook or banging against the door when it's opened and closed, too.

I did another contact paper cut out for the door.  I was afraid my design would be too difficult to put on, but it went on without too much fuss.  I'm really liking my Silhouette cutter more and more :)

I got a Butterfly in a Jar forever ago and sorta forgot about it.  Leo loves it so I have to sneak it away from him to put out on the porch.

Christmas wreath

right after Thanksgiving we went out to east Texas for the weekend and I swiped a bunch of pine cones to use for another wreath.  I got my wreath form on sale, and picked up some ribbon and poinsettias from the Dollar Tree, and used plastic ornaments I already had on hand.  this was a group project, so I needed it to be less expensive, and it ended up only costing me about $6!

it was really simple to make.  we wrapped ribbon around the wreath and filled in with the pine cones, ornaments, and flowers.  we were a mix of seasoned and green crafters, but everyone's wreaths turned out great!

I'm so happy when my group craft projects turn out well and with minimal injuries :)  staying away from hot glue helps, but because these weren't store bought pine cones they were sharp and there was still the occasional "ouch!" whispered in the making - between the wire twisting, pine cone pokes, and wreath scratches I know I had my fair share!

one thing that I learned doing this wreath was not to turn my nose up to cheaper "silk" flowers.  the Dollar Tree by our house has a bunch of poinsettias, but they're all mushed together and crumpled and just not really all that attractive, so I was a little anxious about finding filler there for these wreaths.  I got some just to see if I could straighten out the petals and it wasn't working :(  then I looked over at the corner of the room and spotted the steamer and thought I'd see if I could get the fabric to relax with a little steam - and it worked awesomely!  I will be going back to get more just to use for holiday arrangements around the house now that I know I can fix them easily :)

fall decorating

 

for most of this year I haven't felt much like doing anything around the house, so I wasn't interested in any sort of decorating until Leo's birthday.  now that that's over I'm excited about Thanksgiving and Christmas decorations :)

I loved the wreath Recaptured Charm did and tried to make one like it for myself.  it didn't come out how I thought it would, but it's still okay... as long as I don't look at hers for too long and see how much better the original inspiration is! ;)

I got my coffee filters from the Dollar Tree and they were white, but I was going to spray paint the wreath dark brown anyway so it didn't matter... or so I thought!  I think next time I'd dye them before I start so I don't have to worry about the white peeking through.

I found my ribbon, butterflies, berries and spriggy stuff from the Dollar Tree, too, and pine cones and feathers at Michael's.

I made a little table from two flower pots and a plate to fill up the corner of my porch by the door. I spray painted the pots with the leftovers from the wreath and bolted them together, then set a green Dollar Tree plate on top.  I'm gonna keep an eye out for good deals on more interesting looking pots from now on.  maybe make a bird bath or use them as plant stands.  for now I like it as my faux pumpkin holder, which I got at Michael's - 60% off :)  they're staying whole this year, but maybe next fall I'll do a flower arrangement in the bigger one.

lastly, I used shelf paper and cut out "Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart" on my silhouette and put that on the door.  I like using the shelf liner because it's cheap, but it takes longer to apply than regular vinyl.  still looks good, though, and I think it's my favorite part :)

all my decorating was done outside besides my glass pumpkin that I fill with peanut butter cups and Twix - that stays close to me in the living room O:)