{Valentine} Printout Downloads

Doing a little bit of hunting for some "sweet" Valentine printouts and came across a few that I really loved.  Oh, how I love this time of year!!

Valentine Circles by Angela @ Anything But Perfect

Valentine Matchbooks by Kim McCrary @ All Things Simple

Valentine Candy Basket @ Party Planning Center

Elephant Post Cards by Vanina @ Mother Crafter

Valentine Vintage Treat Tags by Betsy @ B. Nute Productions Party Place

BTW, loooove this blog.  Betsy makes amazing products.  A must-see site!

Mint To Be Mine by Julie @ Like A Pretty Petunia

Valentine Quote by Rebecca @ As Simple As That

Happy {4th} Wreath

Each year I attempt to add to my seasonal decor by crafting for a new holiday. Last year I snagged a few awesome deals on July 4th decor so I decided to make it my "new" holiday this year.  Well, no holiday is good without a wreath to commemorate its coming.

Pretty simple, but I love the colors.

Materials needed:

• 2 grapevine wreaths
• 1 roll of 3" burlap ribbon
• 1 roll of 3" blue wire ribbon (I chose blue chevron)
• 1 roll of 1" red ribbon
• floral wire
• scissors

Step One:

Begin with about a 5" piece of wire and wrap it around the burlap and then through a few branches of the wreath. Twist the wire tightly so the burlap is snug against the wreath. 

 

Continue this process around the entire wreath until you have come to the point where you began. You will want to give each section quite a bit of slack so it "puffs."

Step Two:

Now begin a second trip around your wreath. This time you will weave the burlap back and forth in a zig-zag pattern over the first strip of burlap. Cut the first strip of burlap where you ended so you begin at a new starting point for the second strip. I tucked the second strip of burlap under the first at each connecting point so you couldn't tell where each ended and each began. 

This is what the wreath looks like after the second strip of burlap is added. You may have to adjust things here and there but remember it doesn't need to look perfect.

Step Three:

Here comes the color! My favorite part.  Layer the narrow ribbon over the wide ribbon.

Push the floral wire through both layers of ribbon and then attach it to the wreath.  Once again, tuck the connecting points beneath the burlap.

   

    

    

Step Four:

Making the bows. I only had a little bit of ribbon left over, so I couldn't do anything elaborate with the bows here. I folded a piece into thirds, overlapping the ends. 

Then I secured it by wrapping floral wire around it.

I then took a shorter piece of ribbon and tied it around the center, knotting it behind.  I attached it to the wreath with wire. 

Linking up:

Standing Pallet {Garden}

Pallets, pallets, pallets! We all either have one or wish we had one so we could tackle one of those thousands of awesome pallet projects out there. Here is an easy project that does not involve power tools. Big smile on my face!

Please forgive my lack of photos. I totally wasn't thinking and forgot to take them while my husband and I were putting this together.

Materials needed:

• A pallet
• Weed barrier
• A staple gun
• Potting soil
• Plants (Preferably trailing plans)

Step one:

Cover whatever side is going to be the back of your pallet with weed barrier, stapling it to each horizontal and vertical board. Staple around the bottom and the sides as well but leave the top open. Try to leave as little space as possible between staples so dirt does not fall through the gaps. You are essentially trying to make a "wall" on the back of your pallet.

Step Two:

Lay the pallet on the ground, back side down near the area in which it will be displayed. It will be hard to move once it is filled with dirt. Begin filling the pallet with soil between the slats, leveling out the soil with your hands or a trowel. 

Step Three:

Once you have filled the pallet almost completely, you may now begin planting your plants. Make sure to tightly pack the dirt around the plants. Any empty space will cause the soil to shift when you stand the pallet up. 

Step Four: 

Here's the sad part. Let you pallet rest flat on the ground for about a week so that the roots have time to establish. I know I was eager to stand mine up right away, but the soil will simply fall right out if you skip this step.

Once you feel as if your plants have had time to take root, you're ready to stand that baby up! I placed mine on some extra paver stones we had to add visual interest. At this point, you can also add flowers in the top area of your pallet. I haven't gotten there yet.

Now, watering can be a little tricky. You may tip your pallet down while you water which will allow you to water the dirt well without the soil going everywhere. I kind of cheat and just water it while it is standing up. I use a watering can and try to be gentle with the soil. I haven't had any problems. Once my plants had grown to a good size, it became increasingly easier to water them. Everything sort of stays in place.

As you can see in the photo, I have since added more plants to my garden. They grow well and are extremely easy to care for. Just remember to tip the pallet back down before you plant new flowers.

Have fun!