Simple DIY Fall Hoop Wreath With Free Downloadable Graphics

October 16, 2020October 16, 2020 deb@bluewillowlaneLeave a comment

If you’re looking for something unique and creative for your fall home decor, try making your own hoop wreath! I made mine from a few dollars worth of materials and in only a few hours time. I’m also including some downloadable options if you would like to add some fun fall elements to your wreath! The supply list contains affiliate links. Thanks for supporting my site! 🙂

Supplies:

1 tall metal plant stake

Spray paint (I used hammered bronze)

1 foot of wide ribbon for hanging

Glue gun and glue sticks

Small amount of Spanish moss

Fall grass and florals

Invisible line or clear fishing line

Cardstock

Printed circular graphic

Spray adhesive

Chalk paint

How to make the Hoop Wreath:

Bend the plant stake into a circular form.
Spray paint the hoop your desired color
Glue a small amount of Spanish moss across the bottom of the hoop with a hot glue gun.
Arrange the flowers and grasses the way you want them on your wreath.
Starting with the bottom grasses and flowers, glue them in place with the glue gun. Tuck the ends into the Spanish moss.
Print the circular graphics onto printer paper.
Glue one of the circles onto a piece of cardboard or cardstock using spray adhesive.
When dry, cut out the circle.
Glue another paper circle to the other side of your cutout. I added some chalk paint details to the squirrel in green, gray, and tan, but that’s optional. The graphics include several options so you can make your circle reversible.
Make a small hole in the top of the circle for hanging it.
String invisible line through the hole.
Tie the clear line to the wreath.
Put a wide ribbon at the top for hanging.
You’re done!

Graphics Downloads

modern-fall-wreath down
load

This was an easy and fun project! Give it a try! Have a beautiful day, and try something creative! 🙂

DIY Crafts · Free Printables · Home Decor

Free Fall and Thanksgiving Printables: Welcome to October!

October 1, 2020October 1, 2020 deb@bluewillowlaneLeave a comment

Hello and happy first day of October! Are you looking for a super simple way to add some fall cheer to your walls or classroom? These four fall printables remind me of a peaceful farmhouse and of simpler times.

I hope you enjoy them. Let’s be thankful for the little joys in life these days. 🙂

Please subscribe to my blog today for more free resources and fun! Thanks and have a beautiful day! 🙂

Cozy at Home · Home Decor

The Thanksgiving Table: Fun, Simple Ideas to Create a Gracious Table Setting For Your Holiday Celebrations

September 30, 2020October 15, 2020 deb@bluewillowlaneLeave a comment

I don’t know about you, but I love Thanksgiving! The traditional recipes (in our house, that’s turkey, mashed potatoes, baked yams, juicy stuffing, and something we call seafoam salad, made from pears, jello, and cream cheese–trust me it’s delicious), the family, and of course giving thanks for all of our many blessings.

In the last few years, I have taken over hosting from my mother-in-law, which has actually been a lot of fun. I relish all the planning, and especially decorating the table creatively with a unique tablescape every year. This year, I’m not sure how many of us will be together because of the pandemic, but I’m still planning and we will definitely still be as thankful as always and celebrate as much as possible under the circumstances.

Before we get into the post, thank you for checking out the blog today! You can take 25 percent off any purchase of $200 or more at Kate Aspen! Just use code TAKE25. Kate Aspen carries all kinds of beautiful party and wedding supplies.

Kate Aspen - For All You Celebrate - Party Favors, Decor & More

I have a gorgeous quilted table runner made for me by my mother in law from beautiful Mode Rue 1800 fabrics that will set the theme for my table this year. From there, I’m going with a shabby chic farmhouse feel combining soft colors and various textures. Here are a few of my favorite ideas for a shabby chic holiday table.

Start with a subtle color scheme. My table runner is a blend of shell pink, taupe, ivory, and subdued sage green. While not traditional for a fall tablescape, the light colors shine in farmhouse decor.
Let your tabletop become part of your decor. We have a big distressed oak table that can seat a crowd. I like the look of the wood, so I often use seasonal and decorative placemats instead of a tablecloth that would completely cover the surface. As an added benefit, placemats make for easy cleanup.

Layer elements at each place setting. I love to use a few layers of decoration at each place. I have combined solid woven placemats with copper and silver cut-out maple placemats. I also love to mix up a couple of napkin patterns. Here, each guest has a metallic polka-dot napkin and a traditional turkey napkin.
Use pastel floral china for a shabby chic feel. I love the light pink florals with my other colors. Pink and Thanksgiving are not two words you would normally associate, but I love the combination this year!
Find a versatile Thanksgiving decorating piece. I love my white gilded turkey. My little gobbler goes with everything. No matter where I place him, he’s always at home. I remember the day my son with special needs picked this out at Home Goods (and he rarely wants anything from stores) and now I’m so glad he asked for it!

Bring in some natural elements. I love using twig spheres, cotton, pine cones, small pumpkins, and gourds on the table. They definitely remind us of the season we’re celebrating.
Add a showstopper centerpiece to the table. A gorgeous display of blooms at the center of your table will be the crowning touch to a beautiful table. Here I have used large floral orbs you can make yourself (see post here) as a focal point for my centerpieces.
Break out the good stuff. In our home, we have a ton of items that are especially for the holidays. For example, it’s our tradition to use stemware on holidays but it stays in the sideboard for the rest of the year. Everyone looks forward to seeing those special items each year, and I’m so glad we started these traditions many years ago. Crystal candleholders are another item we love for a holiday table setting.
Add some mixed metallic details. I love the look of the copper and silver leaves, rose gold orbs, gold-rimmed china, and gilded turkey all together on one table.

I hope you find a few ideas here as you begin your Thanksgiving preparations! If you are interested in creating a similar look, please see my Shop the Look on Amazon! Contains affiliate links; thanks so much for supporting my blog. 🙂

Click links below for details on my Thanksgiving table picks. 🙂

Cozy at Home · Garden · Home Decor

Five Smart Ways to Extend The Season In Your Outdoor Living Space

September 29, 2020September 29, 2020 deb@bluewillowlaneLeave a comment

For our family, Summer 2020 has become The Year of the Patio. Any socializing we have done, even with family, has been in our outdoor space to minimize the risk of covid infection for our son with Down Syndrome. In a lot of ways, its been a fun year of discovering the birds, plants, and animals that inhabit our backyard and the simple pleasures of the sunshine and fresh air. But now that the season is coming to an end, we, like many others, are wondering how we can maximize our time in our outdoor space and make it more usable into the fall.

Here are a few ways to make your deck, patio, or backyard space more functional in cooler weather so you can continue to get as much use out of it as possible.

Upgrade outdoor lighting.

As the days grow shorter and shorter, I’ve enjoyed all the lighting we have on our patio. We have two sets of vintage-style string lights running along the pergola and amber glass lanterns in the garden and along the house. All this lighting provides enough illumination to comfortably socialize even when night falls. Candle lanterns are a great alternative for portable lighting.

2. Add an outdoor heat feature

Consider adding a source of heat to your outdoor space. This could be extremely simple, like a firepit built from landscape stones, or it could be extremely elaborate, like a whole outdoor fireplace. A nice cozy, warm spot will extend your backyard usability into the autumn months. Right now, we have a small portable firepit that gives us a little extra warmth on a chilly night. A fire table with a seating area would be a terrific addition!

This set is rated five stars on Amazon and comes with the fire table

3. Add comfortable furniture

An outdoor sofa with plenty of space offers lots of options for outdoor enjoyment. This patio features an outdoor coffee table to enjoy a hot beverage and snack or just put your feet up and enjoy nature.

4. Add a great outdoor cooking option

When you have a terrific outdoor cooking area, spending time out in the fresh air into the fall months is a lot more fun. Imagine taking a few steps outside your back door and cooking up something delicious on an outdoor griddle! My young adult kids recently purchased this amazing Cuisinart grill and have been raving about it ever since!

5. Bring out the blankets and pillows

When the weather turns chilly, make sure to have plenty of blankets on hand for outdoor get-togethers. An outdoor storage all-weather wicker storage chest for the patio is a great solution. We always have some wool blankets like this beauty from Pendleton wool around in case the weather suddenly gets cooler.

The weather so far this fall has favored us, and last night we were still cooking and eating outside on the patio at the very end of September. Let’s hope it continues for awhile!

Have a beautiful day and enjoy the nice weather as long as you can! 🙂

DIY Crafts · Free Printables

Free Fall Theme Printables Add Some Color to Your Day

September 24, 2020September 24, 2020 deb@bluewillowlaneLeave a comment

Hi there! Yes, it’s fall and we’re all looking for some DIY craft ideas! Maybe you need something a little more low key than a full-out paint, glue gun, and craft store run kind of project this week. Maybe you want to just do something relaxing and low stress. Well, you could try a little coloring!

I have always enjoyed a fun coloring page, to the extent that I actually had a really cool coloring book as a kid that I kept saving for “a special occasion” because it was too nice to just helter-skelter color all over it without taking my time to make sure everything was well-thought-out first. Guess what? I never used it at all! I guess the moral of the story is to take a little time to enjoy life today.

These free printables could be coloring pages, seasonal wall art, used for decoupage, whatever your creative mind can think up.

I love getting out a big box of sharp crayons or colored pencils and just having some fun! I hope you enjoy these fall designs as well.

Have a beautiful day, and get colorful! 🙂

fall-forest Download

hello fall Download

thankful Download

floral pumpkin Download

Cozy at Home · DIY Crafts · Home Decor

A Rainbow of Twelve Amazing Fall Wreath Ideas

September 18, 2020September 19, 2020 deb@bluewillowlaneLeave a comment

Nothing says warm and welcoming like a beautiful fall wreath. A front door wreath can set the tone and the color scheme for the rest of your fall front porch design elements, so it’s a really important decision. I hopped online today for some color inspiration, and I was amazed by the variety of beautiful wreath ideas out there.

If you enjoy creating your own wreaths, these are great inspiration. If you want a beautiful wreath delivered to your door, all of these are available on Amazon!

I love how all of the wreaths contain fall elements unmistakable to the season, but they also each have an awesome color harmony with the materials that are used.

Here are a few ideas for your own color theme wreath creations.

Red: berries, fall leaves, peppers, mums, fruit

Orange: berries, fall leaves, mini pumpkins, gourds

Yellow: wheat, sunflowers, strawflower, pears, mums

Green: lamb’s ear, eucalyptus, bay leaves, green apples, cotton

Blue/Indigo: asters, lamb’s ear, statice, hydrangea

Violet: berries, cabbage, kale, mums, succulents

I’m still working on my little front porch ideas, but these gorgeous wreaths get me motivated!

Click on each photo for information about each wreath. (contains affiliate links)

Have a beautiful evening and enjoy some Fall colors! 🙂

Cozy at Home · Home Decor

Hello Fall! Gorgeous Neutral Fall Decor Delivered Straight to You

September 17, 2020October 5, 2020 deb@bluewillowlaneLeave a comment

Peaceful neutrals for fall are definitely trending this year and with good reason. Most of us want our homes to feel like a sanctuary and a safe haven right now, a place that welcomes you to sit down and relax without a lot of fuss.

I’m really loving these woodsy farmhouse feel home finds. The candles that look like birch logs…the wise owl….rustic wood arrows and beaded chandelier….that gorgeous fireplace……all combined with fall accents of acorns, pumpkins, and a beautiful wreath. I also love that hint of sage green added to the mix.

I’ve become a huge fan of online shopping this year because we have a family member at-risk for more serious complications of covid so we minimize his risk. Home ordering and delivery is really a convenience I’m thankful for right now.

Click on each item to find out details. 🙂