Decking The Halls {Wedding Invitation Ornament}

Although this is technically our 2nd Christmas, David and I finally have "Our First Christmas" Ornament! I pinned this great ornament made from a wedding invitation and thought this would be a perfect addition to our Christmas tree!!

I started with two wedding invitations and cut one in horizontal strips (so you could read each line) and one cut vertical (for longer curls).

I then wrapped the strips around an ink pen to make the curls and put each one in the ornament.

The ornament turned out great and it will be special for David and I for years to come!

Linking Up to:
Lemon Tree Creations
Centsational Girl 
Bower Power Christmas Crafts
The Southern Product Queen 

Deck the Halls {Coffee Filter Garland}

Christmas has been on my mind for a few weeks now. I don't know what it was this year that made me just want to skip over Halloween and Thanksgiving and go straight for Christmas so early! I have tried to put off decorating until at least a somewhat normal time of the year by working on projects a little ahead of time. I have had fun pinning all sorts of inspiration for my Rustic Elegant Christmas.  My first project was an Anthropologie inspired Coffee Filter Garland.

 My inspiration came from Pam Garrison's coffee filter garland that I found on Pinterest!

To make this garland, I used both white and natural coffee filters (no they are not used coffee filters!).  I used the coffee filters as a template to cut circles of "blank newspaper" paper, kraft paper, sheet music, my handwritten "Merry Christmas" paper, and brown tissue paper.

I cut a long string of twine. (This part was purely a guess on how much I would need; I cut a pretty long string and it worked out almost perfect! About 6 inches too long).

I tied a knot, cut a slice in the middle of every layer, thread a stack on, and then tied another knot to hold it in a cluster. I made a short stack and then I would double that and make a tall stack just so my garland would have varying size groupings.

And I loved how it turned out! My family is still warming up to the idea that I am decorating with coffee filters! "It doesn't look very Christmas-y".

I know it isn't the typical red and green Christmas but I feel like when the greenery and shiny decorations are added it will be pretty!

What do you think? A little too weird? Or do you like a little change up from the traditional Christmas decor?


Linking Up to  Centsational Girl, The Southern Product Queen, Bower Power Christmas Crafts Remodelaholic  

Anthropologie Crush

Have you ever been to an Anthropologie? My first time was just earlier this year. I know -crazy- but tiny town East Texas doesn't have many Anthropologies around! I was amazed at some of the displays I saw when we visited in Philadelphia. Anthropologie hires some of the most creative people around. They're particularly resourceful at repurposing everyday objects into works of art. This would be my absolute dream job! Take a look at some of their amazing displays!

Parts of Furniture

Plastic Cups

Books

Paper Chains

Coffee Cups

I think this is all paper?

Wine Corks

"This philosophy comes from the organic need to re-imagine and reinterpret what is already part of our environment," says Karen Heilbronner, Anthropologie's visual director, in Philadelphia. "We are always working with our presentations in a state of evolution, and that lends itself naturally to the reuse and redevelopment of existing material."

Quote Via 

Marshmellows

 

Scrap Wood on Outside of Philadelphia Store

Clothes Pins

Balloon Animals

Wine Corks

Scrap Wood

Isn't it all great! Just for kicks- Google "Anthropologie Displays"! You will see all of the amazing-ness I have been swooning over today! My latest project is Anthro inspired! Can't wait to see how it turns out!

Simple Word Art

I have been pinning a ton of graphic art and prints lately. Ones that I think would look great in my home or even some that could be personalized for a fun gift at Christmas or a wedding. I got to thinking how easy it really is to create your own printable word art through a simple program on your own computer. I am by no means a graphic artist! (I wish I was)! I have dabbled in Photoshop but I don't know enough about it to make a piece of art. One program I do know how to use (and don't laugh at me) is Microsoft Word! Haha! Ok- I had to laugh at myself! I told you I was no graphic artist! But it is simple!!! Here are a couple of pieces I pinned thinking they would be a great wedding present!

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The first step is to find fonts you like and install them on your computer.  There are hundreds of free fonts available online if you simply search for them at sites like Dafont and Kevin and Amanda and many, many more. If you have a PC  here are some simple instructions on how to install your new fonts. Once you’ve installed your fonts you can get to work creating your own word art!

To start- open up a new Word document and 'Insert' Word Art. I chose a font I liked and then typed in the first line of text. I then adjusted the height and length to fit the page. After that, I just copied and pasted that one line- editing the text and only the height as I went.

I changed the one line with my husband and my name to be a reddish color. The rest are all the same gray.

And I made sure the dimensions of the word art would print out the size of an 8" x 10" picture.

For the other Graphic Art- I basically did the same thing.

This time I changed up the font and color on each line. I printed this one to be a 5" x 7"

After I printed them off, I placed them in simple frames with white mattes. I thought they turned out pretty good for a Mircosoft Word piece of art!

What fun artsy things have you done on your computer? Do you have more skills when it comes to the actually programs made to do these kinds of things? Any tips on how to make graphic art on other programs such as photoshop?


Linking up to The Shabby Nest , Young House Love,  Bower Power 
Chic on a Shoestring