DIY

For those of us in the South where Magnolia trees are abundant, there are a lot of DIY Magnolia projects one can do on the cheap. For instance a Magnolia wreath for your front door is beautiful at Christmas and pretty easy to make. Magnolia leaves dry beautifully and actually turn a gorgeous color gold. You can preserve the leaves and utilize them in projects that last a very long time. For this wreath, I did not go through that process but will post later how to do that too. Promise.

One thing I see often on DIY Magnolia leaf projects is the advice to cut branches off your tree to utilize the leaves. I’m not sure what the thinking is for this because the leaves are very, very easy to break off. I recommend taking a box outside and breaking off leaves at the bottom and the back of your tree (I have a yard where my tree has a “backside” unseen) so that you leave the bulk of the fullness of your tree in the front and middle unmarred. Also, people make these wreaths out of the dried leaves which have already turned. You can do that but it’s harder because the dried leaves can break. The fresh leaves are super easy to handle and don’t break easily.

Things You’ll Need

Wreath (grapevine is best), Pruning shears (I just pluck the leaves off by hand), Floral wire, Wire cutters, Ribbon, Glue gun and glue sticks

My husband made me a grapevine wreath quickly outside (he’s an artist and handy that way) but you can get one at Michaels or AC Moore for $5 – $20, depending on the size. The straw ones make a huge mess and I don’t recommend them.

STEP ONE: Gather your leaves, whether fresh off the tree or dried from the ground (will be gold)

STEP TWO: Wrap 4-5 leaves with wire around the stems, so you will end up with a lot of wired bunches of leaves. You can always run outside to get more if you run short.

STEP THREE: Glue down each bunch at the stem with your glue gun where you want it on the wreath. Be careful not to let hot glue drip on anything important if you are using the grapevine type wreath. I like these the best because you can insert the stemmed bunches where you want them easier and they hold in place better.

STEP FOUR: After you glue a stemmed bunch down, wrap the stems around the wreath with the wire, don’t cut it, just keep it going until your done. If you want to cut it, that’s fine too. Grapevine wreaths also allow for you to wrap wire tighter and through the vines. I like that about them!

If you don’t have wire cutters like this, scissors will work but it will make them dull and this will make your husband or significant other cranky, trust me.

STEP FIVE: Glue, wrap wire, glue, wrap wire, round and round placing the leaves where you want them. You can add a ribbon to hang, or a bow for decoration, pinecones, berries, whatever you like. I like it plain.

I found a wreath exactly like this on Etsy for $170. It is pictured below:

This is my wreath below. It probably cost me $2 worth of glue and wire, literally.

You can do it! Love, HauteAngel

Magnolia leaves are non toxic, but they should not be eaten. Don’t rub your eyes when working with any plant, branches or leaves. Wash hands well when done.

HOW TO PAINT A FLOOR CLOTH BY HAUTEANGEL

So these little nuggets of love I call Buddy and Spike are pretty bad about peeing on my floors, especially Buddy. He’s a rescue dog, full-blooded Maltese and had been caged for 9-10 years. He was emaciated, hair long and matted, had all but a few teeth pulled, got microchipped, shots, fixed, the works. After being cleaned up and rescued by an amazing place called Saving Grace Pet Adoptions in Wake Forest, NC, the poor old guy just isn’t too hyped on going outside to pee pee. So we put puppy pads out and take him out A LOT! Spike has an occasional accident. End of story, it’s messing up my floors and they ruined a $500 carpet. Floor cloths have been used in homes since Colonial days. They can be painted in any design you like, then varnished with several coats. If there are “accidents”, you simply wipe them up and your floors are protected.

You will need a canvas floor cloth. I did a lot of research and think this website offers a great product at a fair price. Canvasworksfloorcloths.com

I ordered a 4′ x 6′ canvas floor cloth for $95. I wish I had ordered a bigger size but I can paint a larger one later.

2 cans Valspar metallic with bright gold lid

I had the monogram for a wedding project and just laid it down and used like a stencil. I purchased it from jane.com (the monogram), which is an Affiliate of HauteAngel.

I laid it outside on some scrap paper and sprayed it all gold.

Then I hung up the rug to dry. I mixed some darker gold paint and water and brushed it in small, striped areas overall. I painted the monogram silver, added some silver glitter on top and let it dry for several days.

Last step, brush a clear gloss urethane sealer over the whole rug. Let dry and do as many coats as you think is best. I did three and think it was too much. Next time, I would do two very thick coats, letting it dry in between for a few days. Do not do any of this inside, the fumes are not good for you or your pets.

FINISHED PRODUCT:

It is not as big as I’d hoped but for under $125 for all supplies and relatively little work, it will do for now.

The bowl is from Grandin Road collection, sold on its own website and on HSN. Love their stuff!

The material for my seat cushions, quasi-Gucci, was purchased on Etsy for a great price and recovering them took about an hour for all four.

I think it’s cute!

Spike, tell Buddy stop pee pee’ing on Mommy’s wood floors!

Love, HauteAngel

ARCHITECTURAL ALPHABET PHOTOGRAPHY

One thing I love is architectural photographs, where you look for items on buildings and on objects that represent alphabetical letters. Then you can blow the pictures up and spell out meaningful words to you. I just did this for my daughter and her fiance’. The loved it!

Here are some pictures I’ve taken in Florida visiting my parents, hence the nautical look, and some more from Asheville, NC. These are free for you to use as my thanks for reading, and hopefully enjoying, my blog.

Please follow me and tell your friends. Love, HauteAngel

As promised, here are the assortment of Floridian (I’m a Native), Alphabet Photographs for you to use as you please.

Love, HauteAngel

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