Rustic Wreath

 I made this wreath to take with me to GMT on Monday.  I'll post a link to the segment on facebook, but in the meantime, here's a visual step by step.

 I bought a few picks with rusty bell, and then I used my 'stone' Krylon to make these silver bells 'rusty'.  I've tried a bunch of other techniques, and this is, by far, the most effective.

 I bought some larger picks with evergreen stems, and cut them apart.  I literally just poke and bend them into the wreath.  You can dab a little hot glue on the stem, but they stay really well regardless.  Please notice my helpers foot in the above photograph.

 I also wanted a large candy cane, but all I could find were sparkly canes, so I took some fabric I had and hot glued it over that glitter.

For less than 15 dollars, I have another new wreath.

Rustic Pine Tree Mobile

 I have a friend who went with the rustic/camping-ish theme for her little guy's nursery and she saw a mobile made out of pine trees and asked me if I could copy the design.

I'll try most crafts once.  I bought an embroidery hoop (I only used the inside hoop), plastic rings...I have no idea what their purpose is, but the craft store had them near the yarn.  I got some string from the jewelry dept (I figured if it was sturdy enough to wear, it could hang this mobile up).  I found some unfinished wood trees online by searching.  They only cost about 5 dollars for 10, BUT....the shipping was also five dollars.  Oh well. I also got three colors of stain (which I had around my house):  Cherry, Walnut, and Oak.  

 I drilled a hole into  the top of each tree.

 ..and painted them with the different stains.  I actually used a paper towel to rub two coats of stain onto each tree (letting them dry in between each staining).

 I tied strings at different lengths into each tree.

 Then I tied the strings onto the hoop at different lengths, evenly around the hoop.  I tied several knots, snipped the edge, and then super glued it so it would stay.

I drilled four holes and then doubled up more string and tied those through and up towards the ring at the top.  

The hardest part of the project was trying to get a shot as the mobile swung in the wind....it's really not crooked, but...you take what you can get.  I put it all together for 16 dollars, and that's including the 5 for shipping I could have skipped if I had time to hunt down those trees at a nearby store.