Fall Dining Room + Easy Pumpkin Centerpiece

With these cooler temps, it has definitely been feeling like fall, which has been more than welcomed at our house now that it’s October! And one of my favorite rooms to transition through the seasons besides our front door, is our dining room — this year I wanted to keep it simple, but of course create a statement! And I love the options this centerpiece has for this year and years to come.

This project cost a little more than I would’ve liked, but I was relying on the interwebs and getting things shipped to my door – so I was OK to pay a little more. I would’ve been curious to see what could’ve been found at the Dollar Tree or in an actual craft store. But I stuck to shopping on Amazon. I also got two different pumpkin varieties, because I wasn’t sure about the quality and tried to save a few bucks — I also ordered about 36-pumpkins, unsure of how many I would actually need and I used about 30, so it worked out perfectly!

DIY Shopping List:
– (2) 12 pack – White Pumpkin Pack w/ Green Stems
– (1) 12 pack – White Pumpkin Pack w/ Brown Stems (these were my favorite – price also went up)
– Floral Dry Foam 2-pack
– Bamboo Skewer Sticks
– Greenery/Fall florals
– Optional; paint with colors of your choice
– Wooden box: Whitewashed Planter or Wood Tray Centerpiece

Estimated Project Cost: $60

To create this centerpiece, it’s super easy! I broke/cut the skewers in various lengths to give depth and fill in and stuck them into the foam pumpkins. I filled them in mixing the larger pumpkins and smaller pumpkins, with a majority of the larger pumpkins alternated across the top. The best part if you mess up, or need to move a pumpkin placement it’s super easy to create a new hole/space with your skewer! Once I had all my pumpkins and the top filled, I took some left over greenery from a previous project and filled in larger gaps where you could see the green floral foam.

And wah-la! It’s a mini pumpkin statement and easy to move since it’s all contained. As you can see, the stem colors were different — originally I had the idea to paint them gold, but after getting them in place with the filler, the colors don’t bother me as much. I was planning to paint the white pumpkins in some dull, fall colors, but I ended up liking the all white look with the subtle pops of color with the table runner and faux florals. What do you think?

DIY – Painted Valentine Table Runner

Ohhh, you guys!! This was a fun, easy and affordable craft and I just love how it turned out! This custom Valentine-inspired painted table runner is a spin on an everyday piece and not one that I really ever thought about making, at least one that didn’t involve buying fabric, sewing or investing a ton of time on. Read more to see my supply list, project cost and step-by-step for painting and creating your own X’s and O’s table runner, just in time for a Galentine’s brunch!
Craft Supplies:
– Off-white plain linen table runner from Amazon ($14.99)
– All purpose craft paint: Pink / Rose from Michael’s ($0.79 each)
– Smaller paint brush – I have this 7ct Paint Brush set from Target

Project Cost: $17
(not including paint brushes)

Step-by-Step:
1. I order my linen table runner from Amazon, there was a brief though to try and make my own with buying fabric – but I quickly saw that being a disaster. Two-day shipping and $14.99 on Amazon, sounded way better! I compromised on the size (14″ x 72″), as I like a wider table runner since we have a larger dining room table, but found a off-white linen that looked to be perfect.

2. Paint color was my toughest decision – I initially planned to do black, but thought red could be fun and then ultimately decided on a lighter pink as that worked better with dining home decor and I love how it turned out! Now to the fun stuff…
3. Before I got painted, I did have to iron my table runner to smooth out some of the fold marks! I didn’t get it as smooth as I would’ve liked, but it was much better than before – this was definitely needed before painting.
4. Get ready to paint! I put paper bags down in order to paint, and painted on my dining room table — which was a good feel for the space while I painted and scaling my X’s and O’s. Starting in the bottom corner I kept it simple and fit four across and repeated the pattern by alternating which letter I started with and worked my way towards the center.
Pro-tip: I eyed my spacing and letter size, but you could use a ruler to keep spacing even between lines and/or letter height!

5. Keep going until you finish up the length of your runner! Keep in mind as you’re painting if you mess up, or have brush strokes showing, it’s OK — it’s suppose to look hand drawn and painted which gives it a unique look. Besides, from a distance you can’t really see any of the imperfections.

I let this dry overnight before styling this up! I had another pink table runner that was a little wider than mine, so I was able to layer underneath and the pinks complimented each other perfectly! I then added a few jars with conversation sweet heart candy, some fun colorful garland, this table was just needing a few finishing touches for a Galentine’s brunch!

Besides just completely loving how this came out (slightly obsessed!) — the price can’t be beat for a custom piece that fits EXACTLY what you were wanting.  $16 is about the going rate, if not more for you’re every day or holiday themed table runner, so I imagine I’ll be doing this in the future for more holidays or special occasions! Plus it only took me about 45-minutes to iron and paint.

What do you think!?

Valentine Floral Letter Door Decor

With the last few days of January, I’m starting to get the house ready for the holiday and love! And our front door is always my starting point. Over the summer I finally made a floral letter craft that I’ve had on my list for year’s (and was a gift) and was inspired to create my own floral letter’s only for some new Valentine door decor. I was pumped when I snagged some seriously discounted pink and white florals over the holidays along with an oversized wooden X and O, this was just what I needed for some pretty and festive Valentine decor!
Ok! Here is what you’ll need to get started, in addition to a step-by-step guide to filling in your letters with florals and then securing for a stunning statement piece for your front door!

What You’ll Need:
– 13″ Wooden Letters from Michaels for $5.49 each
– Florals of your choice (7-9 stems)
– Hot glue
– Pink ribbon or color of your choice, make sure it’s at least 3-feet long if you’re working with 13″ letters

Pro-tip: Keep an eye out for discounted seasonal florals in the off season to stock up for future projects or gift ideas!

Step-by-Step:
1. Floral buying tip — always buy a few more bunches than you think! I used about 4-stems of the pink poppy flowers and 3 stems of the white flowers, and I was running short! My initial plan was to do all pink, but did not have enough… which leads me to an important step #2.
2. Once you’ve dead-headed all your faux flowers (removing flower from the stem) — it’s crucial to map out your placement before any gluing! This can help you determine if you need more fillers or need to switch up the design.
3. Now that you have your florals mapped out on your letters, it’s time to start gluing your flowers on! It’s important to be generous with hot glue on the base stem of the flower in addition to the petals if needed to help with coverage. Cut off any additional stem that might make your flowers stick out more than you want! Repeat, until letters are filled in.
4. Allow for plenty of hot glue dry time for your X and O flower filled letters before flipping over to add the handing ribbon. This ribbon will connect the two letters in order for them to hang. Make sure the length of the ribbon is long enough to span the X and O with some extra, to be able to tie a loop/knot for hanging — stretch out over the back of your letters before gluing to make sure you have length. Again, be very generous with your hot glue with this since your floral letters will be hanging from the ribbon. Allow this proper time to dry before trying to hang.
Once you have your letters filled in and the ribbon attached, tie a loop to hang on your front door — it’s time to hang! This would even make fun wall decor that could hang inside your dining room or in place of a photo.  I added extra ribbon at the top to have a bow for a nice finishing touch on the door – and love how the pink and white pops on our blue door! Our front door is now ready for the Valentine holiday and spreading love to anyone who passes by.

 

Looking for more Floral Letter Inspiration? Check out my $25 Floral Letter for Baby Shower decor.

DIY: Bridal Shower Decor

The fun thing for every party or event, at least in my opinion, is in the details! It’s the little things that make an impact and can really elevate the look and feel, every little thing, from the signage to the centerpieces to the activities and photos. You may remember a few of my inspiration ideas for Katie’s Bridal Shower from THIS POST, back in January… well now you get to see the spin I took on them and even how to make these yourself!

Photo-Booth Ribbon Wall

You will need…
1) About 5-6 different types of ribbon (different thickness, patterns, colors) and about 2-spools of each type (total of 12 spools; try and go when it’s on-sale or you have a coupon!)
2) Rope or cord long enough for 6-ft length (can vary based on your need)
3) Hot glue gun and glue sticks
4) Measuring Tape
5) Scissors

I cut my ribbon pretty much at the same length and did a little over 4-ft, again you can customize as you please but this may affect how much ribbon you buy.  I did a little over 4-ft to accommodate for a fold-over in the next step.  So, the purpose for my ribbon wall backdrop, was to simply serve as that, a back drop for a make-shift photo booth that the shower (not intended for full body picture taking!)

Once I had all of my ribbon cut I began to start a pattern of how the ribbons would be organized, I did a little mix-matching too because I wanted to make it look more organic.  I tied the ends of my rope, so that it would be even, and then I started gluing the ribbon by folding over the edges and gluing these tight.  I would suggest doing this on a surface you don’t mind getting sticky and hot glue residue everywhere.
CAUTION: You will burn your fingers, it might be smart to use a utensil of some sort to push down the folded ribbon, unless you don’t mind burning your fingers (like me).
CAUTION #2: Be careful where you put your hot glue gun down, and to not rest your hand on it and burn your pinky (like me).

So hopefully you can finish this with only minor or no burns, and have a beautiful backdrop for your special day!

A few other tips: knowing where you’re going to hang this banner ahead of time (and the color of the walls) may be helpful, as I mentioned in the post about Katie’s shower I had never been to the venue, so I was hoping and praying it would all workout. Luckily the venue didn’t mind tacking things to the wall (but other venues might not!) and the tacks were a bit tricky with the thickness of the rope.

Mimosas & Bride-to-Be Banners

So you can buy these on Etsy for $18-20 each or you could make these for a grand total of $6-8 each and a little bit of your time!

You will need…
1) Scrapbook paper sheets (you should be able to get 4-letters out of one 12×12 sheet – buy a few extra is you think you might mess up! I would also recommend the heavier card-stock pieces too, usually solid colors.
2) Roll of ribbon of your choice (at least a half-inch thick)
3) Paint/stencils or markers
4) Hole punch and scissors

I fold the scrapbook paper in half, and cut and then cut halves of the half’s, to get four squares.  For the mimosas banner, I used different patterned paper and for the Bride-to-Be banner I used a darker, burlap like color to mimic the inspiration I found on Pinterest, aka Etsy. You can then start lettering on the squares, again for these two banners I did a mix of markers and then paint with stencils to do a more rustic look. Once everything is dry, I use the hole punch to cut two holes at the top corners of each square and then I thread my ribbon through and cut appropriately for length. These both worked out perfectly for a little something extra at the shower!

A few other pieces that help top everything off where mason jar centerpieces with ribbon glued around the center, with baby’s breath and carnations filling the jars! Adding something fresh to the tables, definitely made an impact. I also had mini-chalk boards that were signs for a table with goodies and even for the photo-booth.

The cost to make these vs. buying them definitely saved money and I was able to create completely custom pieces that fit a theme to have everything match, while incorporating her bridal colors when and where I could.