Plaid Ribbon for the (Christmas) Win!

Mollie and I saw this ribbon at least a month ago and we both instantly loved it!

I recycle my bows for a year or two, until they start to look rough,

 and then I like to change it up. 

You can see last year's sparkly stripe here in the kitchen windows.

We have started "decking the halls" and we are loving it everywhere we put it!

It has so many colors in it and the blue background is such a beautiful shade.

This one is on the front door.

Evergreen wreath is a Black Friday deal from Lowe's,  magnolia leaves from a friend's tree and a BIG bow. I may add some battery operated fairy lights. I'm not sure because I tend to forget to turn them off at the end of the night

 and then the batteries are kaput in no time flat :)

Trader Joe's boxwood wreath, more magnolia leaves (it's the South - we can't help ourselves!), fairy lights (the wire is far less noticeable in real life)
 and the fabulous blue plaid ribbon!

Our giant gold Santa got in on the blue plaid ribbon too!

We are just getting started. 

There's more Christmas decorating to come!

...And Coming in at Number Three!!!!

The air has been clear and crisp in Atlanta the last few days.

A change from our humid, Summer days

 (which I love and I'm not ready for Summer to go)

but everyone else  is excited for Pumpkins Spice lattes and

 Pinterest is one big Pumpkinfest!!

This blog post about this stack of pumpkins from a few years ago

 is my third most popular post of all time!!

If this seems a bit too large or involved then

 you can always make these - a much smaller scale!

But if you are into bigger and better than I "mustache" you to make this guy!!

or you can keep it simple and squishy fun

and just make these with the kiddos!!

Linking up:
at Zevy Joy's Fall Inspiration!
and  White Spray Paint Blog!



Banner Making

Soooo, every year the team gives a banner to the village we visit in Honduras.

There is always a welcome banner hanging up at the school when we arrive 

and we present ours when we are preparing to leave. 

They keep the banners and display them in the village. It's very sweet.

Wellll, I volunteered to make the banner.

 Months before the trip.

Literally months.

Last year we did it at the camp one night and I thought that it would be nice to do it in  advance with all my supplies close at hand.

Makes sense. Except I procrastinated. 

I had a zillion things going, deadlines, etc. and I just didn't get on it.

I thought about it. 

And I barely took any pictures when I finally did it.

And when I did, it was dark and I was working on a table outside on the screened porch.

So this is what I've got :)

I made the banner from a remnant of bleached drop cloth.

 It's about two and a half feet wide by 5 or 5 1/2 feet long.

I made two rod pockets - top and bottom 

and straight stitched the sides because drop cloth ravels like crazy.

I outlined a big flower in black and College Girl and I painted it with lots of bright colors.

We used craft paints and Sherwin Williams Color To Go samples.

We used big brushes and blended the colors in big strokes on the banner. 

I slid a slender branch into the two rod pockets.

I tied twine on the top branch to make a hanger and

 the branch in the bottom rod pocket was to give the banner weight 

so it would hang straight after being rolled up in a suitcase and hauled up a mountain!

But the really fun part of this banner 

was the rainbow ribbons I sewed to the bottom 

and forgot to take a picture of!!

This is the only shot I have of the completed banner which we all signed 

and gave to the village on our last day.

We provide the food for a fiesta which is a big deal and a lot of fun. 

Everyone in  the whole village gets to eat a big meal.

We sing our respective national anthems, there are a couple of speeches, games

 and hugging and goodbyes.

It's hard to leave.