Fall wreath

I love the look of the wispy wreaths with flowers, but when shopping for the grapevine base I discovered that it cost almost $25 at the craft store!  There was no way I was going to pay that, so I improvised :)

I bought a standard round grapevine wreath and a "broom" wreath. (They also sometimes sell sticks or vines bundled together). Each was under $4. 

I took apart the broom and broke all the pieces into about 6 inch parts. 

Then, I stuck the sticks into the grapevine circle

I continued until it was full and I was satisfied with it. 

I bought a fall leaf garland instead of stems of flowers because it was cheaper. I cut the leaves off of the garland and stuck them on the wreath. If I need to add a larger "stem" to the lead, I wrapped  wire around it to slide it into the vines. 

I like the look of it being think in one part and fading out, so this is the style I went for when adding the leaves to it. 

engraved glasses

My husband turned 30 this year, and I wanted to make a special party for him. This was of course the best excuse to do a bunch of random crafts! I wanted to engrave glasses for the party for a party gift to guests. I am sorry I did not take pictures of the process of making these. I will do my best to explain the steps. 

I have a friend with a cricket machine, so I hired her to make stencils for me that said "Troy Turns 30."

She cut out the letters for me on vinyl paper, making sure to keep the center of the "0" and"o."

I purchased etching paste from the craft store:

http://www.joann.com/armour-etch-glass-etching-cream-3-oz-permanent/prd1421/

I simply painted over the stencil. Let it sit and do it magic. 

After awhile I wasted it off, pealed off the stencil and admired the product. 

 I bought the glasses at the Dollar Tree! The whole project cost be under $45 for 30 glasses! They were a big hit among our party guests :)

Halloween wine bottles

I saw this post on Pinterest, and adapted it to my own design. 

file://localhost/Users/emilysanchez/Desktop/1ec27395fa6d8c758d60943d85c17f95.jpg

I started by taking off the labels from the bottles. I soaked them in the sink for a while with soapy water. This helped the paper peel off. I think just hand washed them as if I was washing the dishes.

I used Gloss Enamel Paint from Michaels because it bonds to glass. 

http://www.michaels.com/Gloss-Enamels/cp0357,default,pd.html

It took several coats of paint to cover each bottle. Make sure you let to dry completely before adding a new coat. 

I found pumpkin carving images online, printed them, and cut them out with a x acto knife. 

With the stencils on, I painted over them, let it dry, and Wahla! 

Keep in mind : do not soak the paper with paint: it will bleed through. Thicker paper is recommended. 

Finally starting

I've said I wanted to start a blog for a long time. I wanted something that I could post my crafts, home decor and classroom resources. Well, when the husband is out of town, a Friday night with an empty house is the best time to start :) Within this blog I hope to post steps to creating crafts I've found and adapted from pinterest or random places of inspiration, link to my Teachers Pay Teachers account where I sell my classroom products, and random ideas on adding a little crafty frugalness to your life :)