Chicken Wire Funky!

I recently saw these at Contended Sparrow and was inspired to make my own...

It all started with a red lampshade that was just sitting in the closet. 

After ripping the fabric off, I used my wire cutters and pliers to attach the chicken wire then gave it a couple coats of white Krylon Dual spray paint. 

My plan was to keep it like this, but the more I stared at it, 

it started to scream,

"D o l l  m e  u p !"

So I hot glued some French gimp to the top and bottom 

{if I'd had more, I would've added it to the 4 sides as well...but unfortunately I cleaned Hancocks out!}

I made rosettes out of muslin, rhinestone buttons, and this broach...

...and added some peacock feathers.

I had it on a black lamp base, but like it on the turquoise better...

Thank you for checking out my chicken wire lampshade! I hope you like it!

Big Hugs 2 U,

Bella Nest linked up with:

So Very Creative

Coastal Charm

Cedar Hill Ranch
Reasons to Skip Housework
Today's Creative Blog
The Kurtz Corner
Ginger Snap Crafts
The Blackberry Vine
Petite Hermine

Not Too Shabby Chalkboard

Good morning, Lovelies! I'm so happy you're here today! 

This is a chalkboard I made from a plain black frame...

Here's how it's done:

1. Spray paint your frame and  use sandpaper to shabby it up.

2. Make rosettes from different color burlap and lace.

3. Use funky embellishments for the centers (I used shells, starfish and sand dollar buttons) and hot glue the rosettes to the frame.

 4. Paint the glass with chalkboard paint (I used Americana)

And you're all done!

Can you tell I'm so ready for some beach time? 

It's been such beautiful weather here and the sand and sea are calling my name! 

Thank you again for stopping by! Have a wonderful, sunny week!

B.N. linked up with these great parties:
Reasons to Skip Housework
The Shady Porch
Saved By Love

Funky Pumpkin Topiary

Hello & welcome to a brand new week! I have to say it came so quick this time that it left my head spinning! I'm so excited to share one of my weekend projects with you today. My son Caleb & I took a trip to the pumpkin market on Friday (it's actually just a fruit stand, but the word market just sounds so nice, doesn't it?!) I was inspired by all the pretty colors and shapes of pumpkins, squash, & gourdes we saw, to make something for my dining room table...

 Here's what I came up with:

Here's the supplies I used for the topiary: 

 pumpkins, flower pots, wooden skewers, twine, hot glue

For the embellishments:

 craft mirrors, tacks, old t-shirt, burlap, decorative pins, needle & thread

I laid the biggest pumpkin on top of the flower pot then the next one in size on top of it. I attached the smallest of the fruits by hot gluing 4 wooden skewers together & wrapping them with twine. I'm sure there's many other things you could use to hold the pumpkins together, but this is what I had available. 

This version is very simple, but it wasn't my original idea... yes, my first (& favorite) attempt failed in standing up right. Here, I painted candle sticks and used them to join the pumpkins...

Wasn't it cute? 

And to bling up the pumpkins, I used my craft mirrors left over from my recent sunburst mirror re-do (which I will share later this week) & made rosettes from old t-shirts & burlap.

 Here's a quick picture tutorial on how to make those:

@ Step 2, sew the pointy corner together to give the petal some fluff & then sew the 2 petals together. To make the center, cut a thin strip from your old t-shirt and give it a little tug so it will curl up on the sides. Roll  pretty tight. I add a little hot glue here & there until I get it the size I need. 

 Add the rosettes with pretty push pins. 

There's so many things you could use to decorate your pumpkins, but my favorite was the monogram I did with the tacks. Trace out your letter b4 you begin to poke the tacks through.

Have fun with this craft! Please share your topiary ideas. I'd love to see or hear about them! 

Oh & Happy Fall, Y'all!!! 

I linked up with: