Just Noodling Around!

Hey everyone!  I sure hope ya'll are having a great week.  Busy & hot around here, but that's nothing new.  I'm so excited to be participating in this great party that our sweet "always thinking outside the box" friend, Debbie at DebbieDoos & her co-hosts have cooked up -- "Summer Pool Noodle Party!"  Come along with me while I share my creation, & then get yourself over to Debbie's & check out all the rest.

I seriously didn't think you needed to see the pool noodle before I used the very sticky duct tape

to form my wreath shape.  After that I wrapped the entire wreath with strips of burlap, hot gluing as I

moved around the form.  I had to be careful to keep most of the hot glue on the burlap & not get much on the actual noodle -- it melts!

My inspiration was this wreath...... 

which you can find HERE.  I like the idea of the Family Tree, but I have quite a lot of family wall galleries, etc., so I opted to do something different.  I did use a leaf pattern that she was nice

enough to share.

I cut out several leaf shapes from burlap & my favorite linen-look fabric & then glued two together with a wire in the middle.  I just took a dark brown marker & drew in the stem & added stitching lines around the edges.  I also used a stamping pad to add a bit of color on the linen-fabric 

to shabby it up a bit.

Once again, The Graphics Fairy was where I went for some ephemera & florals that I copied onto

some buff colored cardstock just to give me that mellow color.

After printing these pics, I glued them to some craft paper cardstock & used a small hole punch

to make it easier to attach to my wreath form.  I used T-pins to attach both the pics & the leaves.

Just an FYI:  when I'm gluing or doing any messy type stuff, I use one of the many flimsy catalogs

that are constantly arriving in the mail to cover my work surface.  When one page gets too sticky or painty (I like to make up words), I just flip to another couple of pages.  Works great & I'm not constantly wiping up while I'm busy crafting!

Before I secured anything, I just laid it on the floor to see if I liked the layout.

Next I started adding some extra elements.  I had the little tiny white floral, wired garland & thought it would add a bit of fill around the wreath.  I also dug around in my button stash & glued buttons to the T-pins that are holding the little photos & leaves.  Because I had added the wire to the leaves before gluing them together, I was able to do some bending & curling.  For the top of the wreath, I just gathered some bits & pieces of ribbons, burlap & tore some strips from the linen fabric, & then tied them together, added a button & attached it to the wreath with another T-pin.

And this is where I hung it.  I know it looks kind of low, but that's a 9' door & I'm short, so there!

I typically don't like the bare space in the center of a wreath (I'm just quirky that way), 

so I added this pic.  It's a photo from our trip to Spain, & I played around with it in Picasa to get an effect that I felt would go well with the rest of the wreath.  This little house makes me smile! 

So there you have it!  I'm very pleased with how this turned out, & I didn't have to buy a single

thing to pull this together.  That makes me very happy!

Thanks again to Debbie & Gang for coming up with such a fun and creative idea.  And thanks to all of you who stop by here, I truly appreciate each and everyone.  See you again soon!

Be Happy!

CAS

I also like to party here:

Toni at A Bowl Full of Lemons for One Project at a Time

Kim at Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays

Jenny at The NY Melrose Family for Whimsy Wednesdays

Gina at The Shabby Creek Cottage for Transformation Thursdays
Sherry at No Minimalist Here for the Open House Party on Thursdays

Katie at Katherine's Corner for Thursday Favorite Things

Kristen at Kristen's Creations for Share Your Creations on Thursday

Heather & Vanessa  At The Picket Fence for Inspiration Friday
Cindy at My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday
Courtney at French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday