Colorful Leaf Garland + 10 Things I Love About Fall

Hi guys! Sorry for the radio silence this week...been feeling a bit under the weather. But that hasn't stopped me grinning from ear to ear that it's officially fall. Seriously, I can't remember the last time I was this excited for a new season. I started making this colorful leaf garland a few weeks ago when it was still 90 degrees outside because I just couldn't help myself. It's super easy if you'd like to make your own...just draw some simple leaf shapes on whatever paper you have lying around to make templates for cutting your felt (or you can skip this step and cut your leaves free-form if you don't mind them being a bit irregular). Then just sew your felt leaves together in a running stitch with string or yarn in a complementary color. (I also added a couple of felted balls to finish the ends, but I'd say that's optional.) That's it! Sit back and enjoy your cute window! :)

I know every blog and website right now probably has the same "top 10 things that are great about fall" list, but I don't mind at all because I truly love everything about this season. So here are a few things I'm excited about:

1. The obvious one: sweater weather. I CANNOT WAIT for cozy sweaters and tights and scarves and layers oh mah gah ahhhhh.

2. Pumpkin everything. It's like a drug to me this time of year. We've already had some pumpkin muffins that were sooo good.

3. Candles. I've been on the hunt for the perfect fall candle. I'm not a huge scented candle person in general as a lot of them smell sort of sickly sweet to me and give me headaches, but this year I'm determined to find one I like. (If anyone has suggestions for fall-scented candles that aren't overpowering, please share!)

4. Driving out of the city when the leaves change. We drove out to the mountains last year, and it was so gorgeous...I actually just got a roll of film developed from that trip last fall, so look out for another SOOC post in a day or two.

5. Halloween! I'm already trying to convince Peter to watch scary movies with me (he hates them haha). I can't wait to see cute jack-o-lanterns on porches and ghosts and witches peeking out of windows. And dog costumes! Who can resist a cute dog in a costume?

6. Warm drinks. I'm a coffee drinker year-round, but I like to mix it up every now and then in the fall and throw in a chai tea or a pumpkin spice latte...a decision I sometimes regret about 10 minutes later when I feel sick, but that's never stopped me before, and it won't stop me this year either. :)

7. Baking! I don't know about you, but I try to avoid turning on the oven when it's 100 degrees outside, so that means I don't do a lot of baking in the summer. But a warm kitchen on a chilly fall day? There's no better place. Add to that fall spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger and the whole house smells amazing.

8. Fall crafts and decorating. (You knew that would be on the list, right?)

9. Going for a walk when the air is crisp and energizing and leaves crunch underfoot.

10. Cozy nights. Bring on the Netflix marathons and good books!

I could probably keep listing things all night. There are actually a few fall traditions I don't really get, though, like hayrides in pumpkin patches, but maybe that's because I've never done it before? Am I missing out?

Tell me your favorite thing about fall! :))
xo, Mary

Mother's Day Card

I made this colorful card a couple of months ago when it was snowy outside and I was longing for flowers, but I waited to post it because I thought it would make a perfect Mother's Day card. We all know our moms' favorite gifts are the ones we make ourselves, right? And this card is super simple and quick to make. It would be a great project for dads to make with kids too. :)

What you'll need:
- card stock, construction paper, or a blank card. I used card stock, which I cut to 5x7". (You can really use any paper you have lying around the house, even printer paper will be just fine.)
- pictures of flowers from magazines or catalogs. This time of year, just about every magazine you pick up at the newsstand or in the grocery store will have some floral pictures inside, and a lot of catalogs do as well. (There's no need to spend money though, lots of beautiful magazines are probably sitting in recycling bins right now; just ask neighbors, friends, or coworkers if they have any they don't want anymore.)
- scissors
- hole punch. I used a single hole punch that is cranky and older than I am, but a 3-hole punch will work just fine too.
- black paper (or any color paper that will stand out against your card background...you can also punch holes out of your magazine if you don't have any colored paper)
- glue stick. I used Elmer's All Purpose glue stick, but any kind will work.

Cut out your flowers. I opted for large flowers, all in pinks, oranges, and yellows, but you can obviously do any color combination you like. Any size flowers will work too.

Punch out little polka dots. You only need a few.

Glue everything down, overlapping the flowers as you go. Don't worry if the flowers run off the side of the card; you can trim them to the edge of the card after you've glued everything down.

Why flowers and polka dots? I love mixing patterns in just about everything: clothes, crafts, home decor. Why not? It's fun. :)

If anyone does their own take on this card, please leave me a link in the comments. I'd love to see! xo, Mary

DIY Confetti Card

I agreed to participate in a little snail mail project recently, so you know what that means, time to make more cards! Since my last card DIY involved a fair amount of supplies, I paired this one down to just four--simple and easy. In fact, it's so easy I'm not sure I can really even call this a tutorial. But anyway, here's what I did.

What you'll need:
- blank cards. I used Strathmore Stamping Cards, but you can use card stock cut to the size of your envelopes. The most important thing is just that the surface of your paper is smooth, rather than textured (as in watercolor cards or canvas cards).
- circle punch. I used a 5/8" Recollections brand circle punch from Michaels. (To be honest, there are probably better brands out there, but for my purposes, this worked just fine.)
- tissue paper. I used a multi-color pack that I already had. I don't know what brand it is since the packaging is long gone, but it doesn't matter what type you use.
- glue stick. I used Elmer's All-Purpose Glue Stick. You could try liquid glue with this project, but I thought it would be too messy and soak through the tissue paper.

Use your circle punch to cut out a bunch of circles. This part is self-explanatory. The only tip I can give you is to make sure you have several layers of tissue paper stacked up before you try to press down. If your layers are too thin, they will get caught in the punch and tear your paper.

Start gluing your circles in whatever pattern floats your boat. I did rows of overlapping circles, starting about 3/4 of the way down the paper and layering as I worked to the right. After I finished a row, I started on the next row above it, again overlapping. Also, I only glued the top half of each circle. You really don't need a lot of glue and leaving the bottom half unglued gives the overall card more texture.

I finished my card by adding a little "HELLO" to the front, but you can write whatever message you like or leave it blank.

Wouldn't this card brighten your day up a bit if it was waiting for you in your mail box? I love the way the tissue paper looks layered. And I used my favorite Sharpie paint pens again. If anyone's wondering, I'm not getting paid by Sharpie to talk about their markers-haha-I just really like them. Actually, I'd say it's more than like at this point; we've been spending a lot of time together. ;)

If you decide to make this card, let me know! I'd love to see. xo, Mary

DIY Falling Stars Card

One of my goals for this year is to send more cards and letters, and another goal is to make and share more art...so I thought, why not combine the two? Here's a DIY for a "falling stars" painted and embroidered card. The good thing about this project is that you can be a little (or a lot) messy, and it will still look good when you're finished, I promise.

What you'll need:
- blank cards (you can also use cardstock cut to the size of your envelope). I used Strathmore Canvas Cards, size 5x7. (There's a good price at Jerry's Artarama right now.) I bought these because I plan on making other cards with paint in the future, but you can really use any heavier weight paper cards.
- paint in various shades of blue. You can use acrylic or gouache or watercolor, whatever you have on hand. I used Winsor & Newton Galeria Acrylics. If you are only buying paint for craft projects, though, you might want to go with a cheaper alternative. You could use just one shade of blue and mix in a little black to get your darks and thin with water to make your lights.
- paintbrush. Really any size will do.
- silver or gold embroidery thread. I used silver metallic thread, but you should know that working with any metallic embroidery thread is a huge pain, in my experience. The individual threads like to unravel and tangle up, and it's difficult to make your stitches smooth and uniform. I wasn't too concerned with that for this project, but just keep in mind that it is more difficult to work with so you may want to go with gold or silver thread that is not metallic.
- an embroidery needle.
- something to poke holes in your card with. They make single needle perforating tools specifically for this purpose, but I've always just used thumb tacks or pins or whatever I happened to have lying about...in this case, hello kitty push pins. If your paper is thin and your needle is sharp enough, you may not need to pre-poke your holes, if that makes sense. (I'm sure there's a more technical term for that lol).
- a palette for mixing your paints
- cup of water
- tape. I used regular Scotch transparent tape.
- silver pen. I used a metallic silver DecoColor paint pen.
Optional:
- a piece of cardstock cut to the same size as your card
- glue. I used Mod Podge; any glue or glue stick (or even double-sided tape) would probably be fine also.

That looks like a lot of supplies, but most of this stuff you probably have on hand, or you can find inexpensive alternatives.

Start by painting a thin wash of blue all over your card. I made long strokes, but you can paint any way you like. Build the color gradually, getting darker at the top. (You're going for an ombré effect here). It doesn't matter if it looks a bit messy.

Take a snack break and wait for your paint to dry. Actually, it's a good idea to clean your brush and palette while you're waiting. I didn't; I almost never do, and always end up washing and scraping for hours trying to get dried paint off. Don't be like me. ;)

After your paint has dried--it shouldn't take very long--take a pencil and lightly sketch out where you want your stars to be. Then, poke holes at all of the stars' points. Don't worry if your stars aren't perfect. I actually think they look better when they're hand-drawn and slightly wonky.

Cut a long piece of embroidery thread, go through the first hole, and tape the end to the back. (Taping is better than knotting in this case because it will lay flatter.) Continue stitching around all of your stars. Make a long stitch from each star to a point near (but not too near) the top. When you've made the last stitch, tape your end again.

I didn't get a picture of this next step, but it's pretty self-explanatory. Take a piece of cardstock cut to fit inside your card and glue inside the front to cover your stitches. This is optional because there's nothing wrong with letting the backside of your stitches show. It will look tidier on the inside, though, and give you more writing surface.

I finished my card by adding some dots with my silver paint pen.

And that's it. Write a sweet note and make someone's day a lot more awesome. :)

Painted Hearts Ceramic Cup DIY

I've been looking for a cup or tumbler to hold my makeup brushes and pencils for a few months without a lot of luck. Everything I liked was either too tall or too wide, and everything that was the right size just wasn't all that cute. So I decided to paint my own, and you can too! It's really easy. :)

What you'll need:
- cup or tumbler. I bought this one from Target.
- rubbing alcohol and a cotton pad or paper towel.
- paint. I used Liquitex Glossies, which you can find at any art supply store, or online at Dick Blick, etc.
- a small paintbrush. (Ignore that foam brush in the photo; I didn't actually use that.)
- something to mix your paints on and water. (optional because you don't have to actually mix colors if you aren't feeling it; they're fine right out of the bottle.)

The first step is to wipe down your cup with rubbing alcohol and avoid touching it as much as possible before applying your paint. You'll also want to take the tops off your paints and stir them really well.

I tried out a couple of patterns before deciding to go with hearts...everyone can draw (or in this case, paint) a heart, right? (And it would be super cute to make this for a Valentine's Day gift too.)

I started painting my hearts with a medium teal color that I mixed using blue green, almond, and white. Then I added red purple and dabs of other colors that I mixed to vary my hearts a bit from light blue to dark teal with touches of purple. You can absolutely just use one color straight out of the bottle for all of your hearts, and it would be very cute, of course! The painter in me just can't help but add dimension and texture to everything, I guess.

Here's a closeup so that you can see the variations in color a little better. You can also see how the paint dries to a high gloss finish. This paint is sort of slippery on ceramic surfaces and takes a bit of getting used to, especially if you're accustomed to "the tooth" of canvas or paper, but it really is a gorgeous paint.

After you're finished painting, let your cup dry for 24 hours. You can also heat set your cup by placing it in a cool oven, turning the temp to 325°F, and "baking" for 45 minutes. Turn the heat off and let the oven cool completely before removing your cup. (It's important to avoid drastic temperature changes and best to let your cup gradually heat up and cool down with the oven.) Make sure the cup you used is oven safe.

I skipped the last step, as my tumbler is only going to sit on my dresser and hold my makeup brushes. (And my cup is not dishwasher safe anyway; the care instructions on my cup are only to wipe with a damp cloth.) It is important to note that this paint is not food safe. It is ok to paint the outside of mugs or bowls, just make sure to leave about 3/4" at the top of the mug unpainted (where you'd actually be placing your mouth).

Here's my finished heart tumbler and the makeup I use everyday. It goes nicely with my cloud tray from oelwein (that you can see holding the rest of my makeup) as that tray has lots of blues and dark teals also.

One day I'd love to have a vanity table, not that I spend very long getting ready; I've never been very fussy about my appearance. Nevertheless, I do love the idea of having a place to sit and get ready for the day. Our bedroom is very small, as are all the rooms in this house, so for now I'm making do with everything atop my tall dresser. It's lucky, I guess, that the mirror happens to be at eye level for me. In the interest of full disclosure, it's not normally this clean up there. I did remove a few scattered necklaces and rings and the random bits and bobs that always seem to accumulate up there. I think maybe I just need a cute jewelry dish to catch it all. :)

As always, if anyone decides to make their own painted heart cup, please let me know! xo, Mary

Vintage Luggage DIY Storage Boxes

I've wanted to make trompe l'oeil vintage luggage boxes to store my art supplies for a really long time. No kidding, I bought these luggage labels in 1998, I think, so I'm only a decade or two behind schedule. ;)

What you'll need:
- storage boxes of some sort (plain shoe boxes would work too). The boxes I used are KASSETT from IKEA. They come 2 in a pack for $6.99 and are large enough to hold a lot. (They are made of paper/cardboard so probably won't work if you need to store something heavy though.)
- markers or paint pens. I used Sharpie water-based paint pens, extra fine tip, because my boxes are made of paper. But if you are using plastic, metal, or wooden boxes, you should probably use all-surface paint pens, like Sharpie oil-based paint pens or DecoColor pens. The white marker I used is Recollections brand that's sold at Michaels, but really any white opaque marker will do.
- vintage luggage labels. As I mentioned, I bought mine a really long time ago, but if you search "vintage travel sticker" or "vintage luggage label" on Amazon, there are similar ones out there. You could probably find them on Ebay too.
- ruler and pencil (optional)

I used a ruler to start out, making a few tick marks with a pencil so that my "leather straps" would be spaced evenly apart, and I made them about one inch thick. Then I picked out two stickers with coordinating colors and affixed them to the box lid.

This is the front of the box, where I abandoned the ruler and just drew everything freehand. I prefer the wibbles and wobbles of hand-drawn lines, but you can, of course, use a ruler to make everything neat and tidy. I suggest looking at photos of real vintage luggage online to get inspiration for how you'd like your boxes to look.

On each box, I used a different color pen (that coordinated with my stickers) to do the "stitching" on my straps, in this case, sort of a minty green. (Also, it's odd, but I think because I do so much hand sewing in my shop, when I was making all of these stitch marks, it felt a little bit like sewing to me. Isn't that funny?)

Here's the green box finished.

Another one with blue stitches.

And the last one with orange stitches. You can certainly embellish the boxes to your heart's content. I decided to let my stickers be the star of the show and keep the rest of the details fairly simple. I have a lot more stickers left, so I might still stick a few more on the sides or perhaps keep them to use in another project...maybe in another decade? Ha.

I'm still rearranging things in the studio and getting organized, but my stuff is already looking a lot better with the help of these pretty storage boxes. :)

If you're curious about the history of luggage labels, apparently they were used primarily between 1890 and 1939. Hotels provided labels to travelers after reservations had been confirmed so that when their luggage arrived, it could be easily identified and dispatched to the hotel. Eventually, railroads and shipping lines started to produce their own labels, primarily as a source of advertising. Soon cities, states, and national parks started printing labels also to encourage tourism. Luggage was an investment that one kept for a lifetime in those days, and the labels became a visual history of one's travels. Today, these labels seem quite romantic and conjure up images of the Orient Express and Grande Hotels. I love them for that aspect, the whole nostalgia for a time I never knew, but I also just think they are examples of great design and like little pieces of art.

If you decide to make your own trompe l'oeil vintage luggage storage boxes, please let me know. I'd love to see! xo, Mary

Bat Garland

Happy Halloween, everybody! Last night I was sort of lamenting the fact that we didn't have a lot of Halloween decorations up. We did buy lots of pumpkins this year and orange mums, which are cute and festive, but we didn't have anything spooky or creepy (unless you count real spiders, haha).

So last night, I started rummaging around my studio and found some black paper, and voila! I knew it was destined to be made into a bat garland.

I drew some simple bat shapes on white printer paper, then cut those out to use as a guide to trace on to the black paper. Then all I had to do was cut out my bats and string them together. I used some nylon thread I had for some reason and washi tape to hang my garland. I actually thought about making a pdf template of my bats if anyone wanted to use them, but it occurred to me that no one else probably waits until the night before to make decorations. ;)

I used an embroidery needle to string the bats together and also made two holes with the needle for eyes.

I made 5 large bats, and 4 small bats to make a good size for my window, but you could obviously make as many or few as you like.

All in all, I'd say it took me about an hour from start to finish, and the cost was nothing since I already had all the materials. I also put a jack-o-lantern in the window, which you can't see here, and a couple of black lanterns, as well as the white mini pumpkins that were already there. It definitely feels more Halloween appropriate now.

Did anyone else make last-minute Halloween decorations?

DIY Thanksgiving Place Cards

I've never decorated for Thanksgiving before, perhaps because I've never hosted a traditional dinner before. But this year, my parents will be visiting, and that motivated me to start thinking about decorations I could easily make with materials I already had. I definitely won't be cooking an elaborate turkey dinner, but we can still be festive! So here's an option for easy DIY place cards. It's all well and good to print them off your computer, but I prefer a handmade touch. And I'm certainly no calligrapher, but I think handwriting makes them nicer too.

What you'll need:
- scraps of colored paper (any paper will do as long as it's not tissue-thin)
- drafting tape, washi tape, or some other removeable tape that won't tear paper
- pen and pencil
- glue stick
- cardstock (you can make several place cards from one sheet)
- not pictured here: scissors, ruler

Draw Thanksgiving or autumn-themed shapes to use as templates. I quickly drew a couple of leaf shapes and a pumpkin. If you'd like to use my shapes, you can view and print the pdf here. Also, cut your cardstock to desired place card size (I cut 4" x 4" squares, so when folded the place cards are 2"h x 4"w).

Cut out your templates, and cut your paper into strips. The size will depend on how many colors/stripes you want in your shape. In the example shown here, I ended up using strips that were about 1/4"h, give or take a little, to make four stripes in my pumpkin.

Stack your paper up and temporarily hold in place with drafting or washi tape. Place your template on top and carefully cut out your shape from all layers of paper stacked up.

You can add a bit more tape to hold the template in position while cutting if necessary, but I found the less tape used the better and preferred to just hold my shape in place.

This is what the back should look like (the tape is still securing the front). If you can't see all of your colors, trim as necessary on the back while the tape is still holding the front together. Use a glue stick on the back and position on your place card.

Once your shape is glued down, carefully peel off any tape on the front. Then you can draw a bit more to embellish or just leave the simple shape as is. Use a ruler to draw a line and write your guest's name.

I only managed to get a decent shot of one finished card (see first photo) as I'm still not used to these early sunsets. I frequently forget to take photos until the light is completely gone. But nevertheless, I was able to make several cards with different shapes in a fairly short amount of time.

If I failed to explain any steps clearly or if you have any questions, leave me a comment! I always respond via email. :)
xo, Mary

DIY Yellow Polka Dot Pitcher

Let me tell you a love story about me and a little vintage polka dot pitcher. I came across it browsing on Etsy one day and thought it would be the perfect thing to hold my paintbrushes and brighten up my studio. (And by studio, I mean the corner of my living room in the tiny apartment I had at the time.) Here's a photo below.

source

So cute, right? You might be wondering why I didn't buy it right then and there. The price was too high for my meager budget, especially for something I didn't really need. I mean, I needed it, but I didn't need it, you know? So I kept it in my favorites and crushed on it almost everyday, secretly hoping the seller would have a sale or I'd find a few $20 bills I forgot I had in a coat pocket or something.

Then one day, a very large blog happened to do a post on this very shop and feature this very pitcher! What are the chances? I thought, "Oh no! It will be gone now." And sure enough, it had already sold by the time I clicked over. I was heartbroken.

So after looking for several months for a similar pitcher on Etsy, Ebay, Craigslist, thrift stores, people's garbage cans, with absolutely no luck, it occurred to me that I could try to make my own. And a DIY was born.

My goal was to find another vintage pitcher that I could paint and repurpose, but I could not find anything with a similar shape; everything was very round and short and not at all practical for holding paintbrushes. So my best alternative was to buy a new pitcher from a discount store. I happened to find this one at Marshalls for $9.99. The shape isn't exactly alike, but it's close, right? After that, all I needed was a can of yellow spray paint. It's a pretty self-explanatory DIY, but I documented the process anyway.

What you'll need:
- a white pitcher
- spray paint (I used Rust-oleum Painter's Touch Gloss in Sun Yellow)
- removable circle stickers (these can be price stickers, available anywhere; file color-coding stickers, available at most office supply stores; or what I used, washi tape stickers. Pick whichever size sticker best fits your pitcher.)
- ruler or measuring tape (a measuring tape is easier to use because it wraps around the pitcher)
- not pictured: a small brush and similar color acrylic paint or paint pen for touch-ups

I placed my stickers about 1 1/4" apart, center to center, but your spacing might vary depending on the size of your stickers and pitcher.

Here's a close-up, which is probably not necessary, but you can see the spacing a little better.

Take it outside and paint upside down. I painted 3 light coats because I wanted a really saturated yellow, but you could probably get away with only 2 coats. Follow the instructions for drying time on your paint can. After mine dried, I turned it right side up and sprayed just the top of the handle, which I missed when it was upside down.

After it's fully dry, peel your stickers off. It might be hard to tell in these photos, but some of my circle stickers didn't come off as cleanly as I'd like. I plan on going back and touching up a couple of the edges with some acrylic paint. It's not very noticeable, but if you are a perfectionist like me, you'll want to have a small paintbrush and some acrylic paint in the same color or a paint pen to do the same.

Note: if you are painting over metal or plastic, you might not have the same results. Spray paint can be finicky depending on the material you're covering, and you might need to use a primer first such as Kilz spray primer. My pitcher was ceramic, so I just sprayed right on it with no problems.

By the way, I haven't missed a day yet with NaBloPoMo! Although, I guess I shouldn't pat myself on the back just yet as we're only halfway through the month. :)