BRINGING FALL INTO OUR HOME

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Bringing fall into our home was high up on my ‘to do’ list during this season! That can only mean one thing for me.. More DIY projects!  This is the first time that Xavier and I will be celebrating the holidays in our own place and i want to make sure we
celebrate the holidays full heartily! So that only meant that once we got our door ready for the fall with our DIY door wreath, it was time to bring fall indoors! Long behold, another DIY! So I’ve had some shelves stored from Ikea since we first moved into the apartment and we didn’t know where else to put them for a while.. The other night sitting on our couch I realized how empty the wall behind our tv is and thought ‘perfect!’ Perfect place to put a shelf above our tv! The purpose is to sort of to mimic a ‘mantle’ minus the fireplace? Does that even make sense??!! in my head it did lol (We do live in Florida after all,lol) And even though it really doesn’t look like a mantle, it still looks good in my eyes! So below I will show you my idea!
We put the shelf up and the DIY projects started in order to decorate with some fall goodies for the shelve (Here is a prior post where I showed my readers how we make sure things get hung straight in our home.) I used a lot of left over materials I had from previous DIY projects and from the DIY wreath. I had a $4 ikea picture frame I had not used, only it was black and I wanted white..so my painting skills came out and the painting began! The two vases you will see, I had bought at Michael’s arts and craft store a couple of weeks back when they had a discount and  I used a coupon! They were perfect for my left over bundle of fall leaves! The two little pumpkins you’ll also see,  I bought that same day and were also super inexpensive! The rest of my materials I already had! Oh and I must mention..do you all know how super handy and versatile washi tape is?!? You will see how so, below in my pictures! Love me some washi tape!

My materials included: remember most i already had..
1. IKEA shelf
2. Burlap
3. Fall leaf bundle
4. Acrylic paint
5. IKEA picture frame
6. Twine string
7. Gold washi tape!
And of-course scissors.. The vases and pumpkins

It was so exciting bringing a piece of fall into our home, since this is a first for us! I made sure that this task on my ‘to do’ list for the seasons ahead started off well, and I think the shelf looks great! It was great incorporating things I had already that were stored away. With the holidays coming up I want to make sure i get my home up to par! Down here in Florida the weather drops in fall, um.. one degree??lol So, in order to get us in the spirit for a new season our efforts have to be up to speed! I guess that’s a good way of putting it.. Either way, this season i want to make sure fall is felt inside our home if that’s all i can get! The shelf is a start and i can’t wait to add more home decor to suit the season! Fall usually gets me excited for the holidays ahead!! I am already thinking Christmas!! is that even ok?? it is right around the corner after all!  None the less, I will give fall the time it deserves until the christmas trees come out! For now, I will make sure my home feels the warmth and coziness of fall, the air a scent of cinnamon and apple pie and that the pumpkins shine brighter in orange than ever! What do you all think of this simple little shelf? I would love your feedback! Any favorite DIY projects this fall??

-Jen ❤

Step one: Getting that black picture frame painted white! I took the glass out first and I used the white acrylic paint i had lying around and painted the picture frame with several coats. I had to take some brakes and wait for the coats to dry a little before adding another coat. After several coats the picture frame was white enough. I then decided to use some pearly white acrylic paint i also had to give the picture frame a tad of shine and a little texture! ( btw, kind of hard to tell in pictures)

Processed with VSCOcam with hb1 presetStep two: Creating a master piece!! lol, just kidding..well sort of. I gathered some of my material i already had and created a little DIY art work. I took a leaf from the bundle I had used for the wreath, a blank piece of paper, burlap and some washi tape! Below is what i came up! Simple but makes its point! Processed with VSCOcam with hb1 preset

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Bad picture, sorry guys!

Step three: Making a burlap banner..again! can you say, a little obsessed with these?? I used some burlap, washi tape (again!,) twine and white paint for the letters! I chose the word autumn.

Processed with VSCOcam with hb1 presetStep Four: Giving my vases some spunk with the twine and gathering everything I had to go up on the shelf!

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FINAL STEP: Put goodies up on the shelf and ENJOY! Processed with VSCOcam with hb1 presetProcessed with VSCOcam with hb1 presetProcessed with VSCOcam with hb1 presetProcessed with VSCOcam with hb1 presetProcessed with VSCOcam with hb1 preset

Hope you all enjoy! Lately arts and crafts have become a place for me to escape from the stress of work and something I really happen to enjoy doing! My ideas aren’t extravagant but rather simple. Either way I enjoy them and hope you all do too!

-Happy Autumn-

-Happy crafting-

 

 

NYC COUNTDOWN

NYCaWe are officially counting down till New York!  Xavier and I could not be more excited at this point. In exactly one month, we will be packing our suitcases with our fall attire and getting ready to get on a plane!  Xavier and I have taken road trips together in the past, but this will be our first mini vacation involving a plane ride! Both of us have been to New York in the past, but of course, never together. This time around to New York, we are looking forward to many things… One being that we will be together!

Another being, that one of the main reasons we decided to take this trip is because we will be attending a big event in Madison Square Garden that is oh so dear to Xavier’s heart. Lol. But of course, as  the good girlfriend I try to be, I could not let my honey go alone and not share the moment with him. He is so excited that he will be able to see his favorite DJ’s, Above & Beyond, live, in the worlds most famous arena..and so am I! I’m sure it will be an experience!

Another reason we are excited is because we came up with the conclusion that we think of New York as a “Hate and Love” type of place! The adrenaline that gets pumping while walking through the streets of NY is exhilarating! Yet at the same time, can be so frustrating! sigh.. But at the end of it all, it is NEW YORK and that alone can get anyone excited, it is the concrete jungle after all.

And finally we are so excited to try new things while we are there. We both have done the “touristy” things and this time around we would love to experience NY from a different perspective by possibly going to places real New Yorkers go to, where the “locals” go!  I guess when the time comes, we will see exactly how much of the ‘local’ things we actually get to experience, due to only being  there for 4 days.

For sure we will be making some room in our schedule to head on over to Brooklyn, we’ve been hearing of some great places to go adventure to there. But we would love some suggestions from you all. If you have ever traveled to NY and have places that you would highly recommend and wouldn’t mind sharing, we would love to hear all about them! And if you are a local New Yorker and have some ‘insider’ tips and or places that are a ‘must’ to see or to go to!  We are all ears and eyes! Oh, and by the way, we are fatties! We love us some good food! So all suggestions are welcomed!! We can’t wait to hear back from you all! We are so excited and can’t wait to share that adventure with you all once the day comes!!  Let the countdown begin!

Oh, and did I mention.. So excited to see New York’s leaves change color! Hello Fall!

Have a lovely evening everyone!

Just a Few of my old NYC shots and our new T-shirts ready to be worn for the event! (ABGT#100)

-Jen ❤

Central Park 2012
Central Park 2012

NYCe

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