Christmas Mantle in the New House!!

I cannot believe how long it's been since I last posted!
I just opened a new post and happened to glance at the date of the last one and my heart jumped! 

I don't know if I've ever ever every gone that long between posts before. 

And that's saying something considering I feel like I've had some pretty crazy busy moments in life. 

But this one just did me in. 

Between having a tiny toddler running around, work, holidays & moving, I've been one exhausted mama. 

We did a lot of moving on the weekends and in the evenings since me & the hubs didn't feel like we should days off work (considering we took off to run to NYC for a minute already!). So my nights & weekends were so insanely packed it wasn't funny.

The past week has been the first week where I feel like I've actually been able to breathe a little.

We actually spent the weekend doing some things that we WANTED to do- shopping, taking the kids to see Santa...some fun things :) 

So slowly but surely I feel like I'm coming up for air after this crazy move. 

We have tons unpacked but between painting, getting a wall put up & getting christmas decor out, I feel like I still have a million things to do. 

The house is feeling more like OUR house though & that's super exciting. 

Anywho. 

I HAVE missed you guys & the blog so much. I promise to try and get better with things around here :)

I figured that after such a long break, it's only appropriate to come swinging back in with none other than a mantle post.

Because besides wreaths, decorating my mantle is my favorite thing to post about!!

We have lots of small updates to the house that we want to do and I have some smallish plans for our mantle/fireplace area, but it's still beautiful even right now so I was so excited to decorate it for the first time!!

I didn't have time to go all DIY crazy and do lots of new projects so it's a smattering of old pieces & a couple of new bought pieces. I did make one new piece but it didn't turn out the way I wanted it to in my head but it'll do for this year :) 

Check out our decking of the mantle for this Christmas: 

My absolute favorite thing about the new house is all the gorgeous molding everywhere.

I'm a bit of a molding freak...it's just the gorgeous icing to an already beautiful canvas. 

And there's such gorgeous molding on this fireplace. 

I'm not crazy about the tile but it's pretty enough for now :) 

This mantle is quite a bit smaller than our old one so I've had to adjust a bit on how I set things up but it's plenty wide enough for my layered displays that I love so much!!

The new DIY piece this year is the 'Blessings Fall Like Snowflakes' piece. 

I had big plans for this guy and it fell  a little short of the end result I was wanting and I didn't have the time or patience to fix it yet...I"ll get to it eventually. But at the moment, it does it's job :)

I used a weathered frame I had whipped up for something several years ago- in the move, it got piled in my 'workroom' and I felt like it finally needed to come out and shine for a bit. 

I painted the backing blue, added gold snowflakes, a vinyl saying & some twinkle lights for a fun 'marquee light' effect. 

I wasn't crazy with the end result but I ended up liking it a million times better when I layered the chunky white frame on top of it. 

The battery already died for the lights so that was a bummer. So no lights in the pictures :/ 

The gorgeous oversized snowflakes on the side of the mantle were some beautiful DIY pieces that the hubs made for me last Christmas as a surprise. 

It was actually one huge snowflake but it came apart during the move & I loved having two of them so I left them for now. 

They were perfect for adding some weathered charm to my snowflake setup. 

The gold deer head is my new item of the year from Michaels. I'm kinda obsessed with him. 

I love, love, love seeing all of our cute stockings hanging in the new house!!

They fit perfectly across the middle of the fireplace- I made them last year when we added Baby M to the mix. They were plain burlap stockings until I added some fun trim & monogrammed our names on them. 

The wooden faux  barn door is from my spring/summer mantle and it was just set next to the mantle when we were pulling all kinds of things out of boxes and just happened to stay there. I really loved having another layer of decor on the bottom so it just worked itself into Christmas decor :) 

I layered my cotton ball wreath, a wooden snowflake & a burlap tree with it to give it some Christmas spirit. 

I also added a wooden ammo crate with a comfy blanket on the other side of the fireplace. 

Adds all kinds of coziness in! 

The white cabinet door, 'Merry & Bright' sign & rag garland have all been recycled from years past. 

I still love all the pops of red admist the neutral & blues. 

We went very simple with Christmas this year so I wouldn't feel so overwhelmed with decorating when we still aren't all the way unpacked. 

I decided the mantle, the Christmas tree & the entryway were top priority this year. 

I added a little Christmas to the foyer area too just for when you first walk in...

And besides a few frames & garlands spread throughout the house, that's pretty much all I've done this year. 

I can't wait to completely deck out everything next year but for now, I"m just enjoying the simplicity of a few things out. 

We still have all the magic of twinkling lights and the Christmas-y feel to the home...just on a smaller scale. And I'm learning to be okay with just making progress at the moment :)

I hope you guys are having a wonderful holiday season so far this year...I'll try to pop in more before Christmas but no promises :) 

Thanks for popping by and listening to me ramble. I hope you enjoyed my little bit of Christmas so far!!

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Glitter Leaf Wreath

Happy Monday friends. 

Missed me the past couple weeks?! 

I've been swamped under packing, cleaning the new house, working & our fun trip to NYC last weekend! 

With everything that's going on right now, I feel lucky to even be able to sit in front of a real computer for a few minutes!! 

I thought I'd pop in real quick & share another super easy & gorgeous fall wreath that I did several weeks ago back when I could actually sit down & make something :) 

Since I wasn't able to full out decorate for fall this year with the whole moving thing going on, I figured I'd settle with just a couple new fall wreaths. I mean, the doors aren't moving at the moment so they're safe to decorate, right??

I made this wreath the same night I made my bucket handle wreath so they are somewhat similar but with a few different twists. 

I think this one is a bit more glamorous where the other fall wreath is more rustic chic. 

Isn't it lovely? 

I love the combination of gold, linen and glitter!!

This one only uses a few items so it's a fun wreath to make when you're just needing to keep your hands busy...it's incredibly repetitive for the first bit. 

Supplies needed: 

*linen or muslin (I used a thicker linen material)

*Pins or hot glue gun 

*Glitter leaves (walmart & Hobby Lobby) 

*bucket handle or ribbon (to hang from)

*wreath form

First things first, attach your bucket handle. 

If you're doing this part, make sure to attach it before making the rest of your wreath. 

I attached mine with scrap pieces of yarn. 

If you're using ribbon, you can attach it after. 

This next part is a bit confusing to explain so I added a couple pictures to show you how I folded the linen pieces. 

I cut my piece of linen into squares- I didn't measure them so don't panic!

Just make them about 4-5 in or so. I like having varying sizes to give it more texture anyways. 

In order to attach them to my wreath, I first folded them. 

The first picture shows how I did the first fold- just pull one corner across to the other side of your square in an asymmetrical fashion. 

Then fold it again in another asymmetrical fold (second picture).

I made sure that really none of the edges lined up because I wanted them to flare out and give lots of texture when it was on the wreath! 

  

Start attaching them to your wreath with either hot glue or pins. 

I used hot glue for mine- I'd put a dub in the middle as I was folding it to keep them flat and then put a dab on the wreath form before adding my fabric. 

Work in a circular fashion around the wreath form until it's full. 

Once you've filled the form with your fabric folds, add some bling to it!
I added some gorgeous glitter leaves to mine. 

The big ones were found at Walmart and the smaller gold leaves were a Hobby Lobby find. 

I simply added them with hot glue to the bottom of the wreath. 

I love the simplicity of the fall leaves against the linen background. 

And the texture of the folded fabric make the wreath look so full & cozy!!

For some reason they remind me of corn husks which is appropriate for the season I guess :) 

And of course, I love the rustic charm the square bucket handle brings to it too.
It's all in the details!!

I'm so excited about moving but hate that it's kept me from decorating for fall!

Fall is definitely my favorite season to decorate for and I haven't bought a single pumpkin yet this year!! Boo. 

So I guess I'll get my fall fix from these pretty wreaths and hope that cuts it for this year :) 

I hope you guys are having a great week- I'll be sharing pictures soon of the new home once we officially close & get started moving in!!

Happy Halloween week :) 

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Planked Coffee Table Makeover & a BIG Announcement!

Aha!!

Did I pull you in with the coffee table makeover OR the big announcement?? 

Either way, I'm super psyched that you're here!! 

I've been dying to tell you guys but have been waiting until it feels really official...

because it's kinda a big deal.

No, I'm not pregnant again. 

Sorry. 

But another huge life even is happening in that we are officially buying a house!!

You guys. 

I love the house that we've been in for the past six years. 

But I cannot wait to share the new one with you!!

We are in the process of wrapping all those fun legal things up and are in a MESS of packing boxes & purging things to get ready to move in a few weeks. 

So things are hectic and crazy and overwhelming.

Annnnnddd it means I can't decorate for fall :/ 

Which is incredibly hard for me. 

But the new house has so many fun things... including a craft room! 

We gave up the craft room here last year when baby M made her appearance and my dining room table has become the end-all place for the embroidery machine and projects. 

So I"m incredibly happy about having my table back and having a space to create in again. 

And it also means tons of fun house projects coming up! 

So just say a little prayer for us if you think about it because between work & the new house my mind feels ready to explode. 

But me and the husby have awesome plans to head to New York City this weekend for his bday present of seeing Aladdin on Broadway.

A much, much, much needed getaway. 

Anywho.

Onto this fun table makeover.

Of course I figured I'd share this living room update with you guys just before we change it all up and have a totally different living room. 

But it's still a fun transformation. 

Here's the beast we were working with:

You won't believe how much we got it for. 

This table was a very rare find at our local Goodwill clearance store- we've gone a total of 2 times and this was on our first trip there. 

We found this guy for a whopping $3!!

I guess everyone thought it was a hopeless case since it was missing the glass inserts that used to be in those openings. 

Hubby actually found it and decided it needed to come home with us. 

It sat untouched for a while before we came up with a plan for it. 

Then we decided all it needed was a new top. 

Remember that gorgeous planked dining room table I posted about forever ago? 

Well we took inspiration from it and decided we needed to give this a little plank love too.

Plus I think hubby was just sad that we sold that table and wanted to have something similar in our own house. 

We started with a good cleaning and sanding. It needed a lot of love since it had been knicked and scratched everywhere. 

I painted the base of it before adding the planked top so I wouldn't have to worry about getting paint on the new wood. 

I painted it a pale blue first and then topped it with an off-white paint color. 

I wanted to be able to distress it enough to show wood & some of the blue. 

After painting, we cut the boards for the top to size with a table saw & jigsaw.

Use your jigsaw to cut those rounded edges after tracing the tabletop onto them. 

I stained the top in my favorite dark walnut color and then we attached them to the tabletop with a combination of wood glue & wood screws. 

I sealed the top with a furniture wax and then we brought it in!!

This table was huge compared to the tiny thing we had before and filled up the space so much more nicely. 

I love the added bonus of getting a little more storage with the shelf underneath. 

The detailing on the legs and curved edges on the bottom shelf make it unique and I love the blue showing through the white paint. 

Definitely makes it fit well into my home :) 

I'm a big fan of the two-toned look of furniture and love the contrast between the dark stained wood and lighter colored base. 

And the yellow rug hubby bought for my bday helps keep the room feeling light & bright even with the dark wood. 

So real talk for a second. 

This table has gotten quite a bit of love from the kids and has endured all of it pretty well. 

I've had it for about two years now and think I need to sand down the top and give it a fresh coat of stain. 

The pine wood we used is pretty soft so when the kids color & write on top of it, it tends to get scratched fairly easily.

However I think with a coat of poly it'll help it a bit more. 

I loved how much our living room was transformed by this giant table!

I am kinda sad to say that since we are moving into a new house, I'm thinking we are changing out coffee tables.

Which means that I'll probably be parting with this beauty soon. 

So bittersweet to be constantly changing out furniture.

I'm in the middle of redoing an awesome piece though that I'm thinking will be even more perfect for our space!

Can't wait to share soon!!

Butttt in the meantime, check out these before & afters....

It's amazing how different it looks isn't it??

I don't know if I'll ever not be amazed at the power of paint & some creativity. 

What do you think of my coffee table transformation? 

Hope you guys are having a great week- I can't wait to share more details about the new house soon & our NYC trip this weekend!!

Be sure to like Tattered and Inked on Facebook to see pictures & updates throughout the week :) 

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The Bucket Handle Wreath

What a boring title, huh?

It's late, it's been one of those days and, well, I wasn't feeling very creative.

I'm also currently having my embroidery machine going beside me and it's deciding to have 'one of those days' as well. So every weird click & jiggle has me completely on edge. 

It's already tried to eat the last thing I put on the machine so I'm basically holding my breath that it doesn't decide to do anything crazy. 

Sigh. 

Doesn't leave much room for great titles. 

But it doesn't mean the project itself isn't great :) 

Check out this gorgeous little wreath I whipped up a few weeks ago...

In all seriousness, I shouldn't insult it by calling it little.

It's actually pretty huge after it's all said and done. 

But I like a big wreath on my front door :) 

And check out my most favorite part of all...

Yes. A bucket handle.

Because it makes me happy, that's why. 

I have no idea when I got it so stuck in my head that I needed bucket handles but I did. 

And the search continued for several weeks because when you know you have to find something, you can't ever find it. 

But I happened to find a few random items that had bucket handles on it at a local thrift store and snatched them up. 

I hate being patient. 

But it paid off for this cutie. 

Want to know how to make one for yourself? 

Gather these few things: 

I won't actually make you guess 

(although that would be kinda fun)

So here's the rundown of what's in the terrible quality picture above: 

*Straw wreath form (or styrofoam, pick your fave)

*Rolls of burlap (mine were from Walmart) 

*Faux pumpkins (mine were picks from Hobby Lobby)

*Hardware (these are optional)

*paints for pumpkin (not picture) 

*pins or hot glue gun for assembly

*bucket handle (optional)

First things first, let's prettify those pumpkins a bit. 

I really don't have a perfect rundown on how to replicate my paint job. 

I kind of just made it up as I went. 

I wanted a worn-out but beautiful Anthropologie-esque look. 

I painted mine in varying shades of white/cream, let it dry and then haphazardly brushed gold paint & gold rub-n-buff on. 

I love the drippy effect I ended up with. 

In true Anthro fashion, they had to be a little funky so I popped the fake stems out and added some fun knobs I got at Hobby Lobby.

Love them. 

After fixing up my pumpkins, I attached my bucket handle. 

When I first took my handle off the bucket, it was a little too flat to work well on a round wreath: 

So just squeeze the ends i a bit until it's exactly the way you want and then attach to your wreath with some twine/string. 

I used yarn for mine, just wrapped a few times and then tied it off. 

Now we can start working on the wreath!

I searched a couple different looks for burlap wreaths because I wanted a fuller look rather than just squares or rolling it around the form. 

I found a few I liked and just kinda made it up as I went :) 

Seems to be the pattern with this one. 

 I took my rolls of burlap and cut them into roughly 4 inch squares. 

They don't have to be perfect so just make a bunch of squares from your fabric. 

Once they're all cut, 

I started rolling them. 

Take one corner and roll it diagonally towards the opposite corner. 

You'll end up with a little burlap burrito. 

Don't make them tight rolls, you want them to be open enough to look fluffy on the wreath. 

This is where I got excited and stopped taking pictures. 

Sorry :/ 

But basically you're just going to glue/pin your little rolls onto your wreath, starting with along the backside edge of the wreath. 

Then work your way in, adding more layers of the burlap rolls in a circular pattern all the way around and into the wreath. 

I went back in and added some rolls after it was finished to fill in certain areas. 

For some of the inner circles, I almost folded the rolls in half to get them to lay down right. 

After your burlap is all attached, add your pumpkins. 

I actually left a blank spot on the side where I wanted them to go and then attached them using my hot glue gun. 

Then filled in the areas around them with more rolls. 

I'm in love with how it all came together!!

The pumpkins are a fun addition to the classic burlap wreath and I'm loving the pop of color the orange, golds & tiny bit of blue brings to the neutral background. 

Plus I love the cute little knobs nestled into the wreath- it's a fun happy to have on the front door. 

This wreath would be fun on a small scale too but would also look gorgeous as the centerpiece for a mantle :) 

It makes me happy to have a little bit of fall sneaking into the house- it's finally starting to feel like fall around here, as of today's weather. 

And I'm hoping it sticks around. 

In other news, me and the husband are leaving for NYC in TWO weeks to see Aladdin on Broadway. I bought tickets for hubby for his 30th bday and we are crazy excited about having the whole weekend away together and spending some time in the big city during the fall.

Any New York natives/lovers that could give us fun places to eat/go while we are there?? 

Hope you guys are having an amazing week!! 

Friday is only a few hours away, hang in there!! 

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Linking to: 
Link Party Palooza @ I Heart Naptime. Creative Collection @ Blooming Homestead. The Party Bunch @ Whipperberry. The Best of the Weekend @ Cottonwood Lane