Wreath Class - 1818 Farms

I have talked before about how much I love 1818 Farms.  If you are not familiar, read about them here.  The owner Natasha is super nice, very creative and so encouraging.  I love taking her classes.  This year we managed to snag a seat in the Wreath Making Class.  This is one of the really popular ones.  This class got me on the 1818 Farms email list.  I waited and waited for the announcement to come out and the class registration to begin.  This class usually sells out and this year was no exception.  However, I am sharing it with you so you can start watching for the announcement for next year's class yourself.  The class was held out in Mooresville on the farm.  Natasha had everything set up for us.

There were live wreaths, pine cones, fruit and all matters of flowers and herbs that they grow on the farm

So I started with this wreath and added three pine cones that Natasha showed us how to properly wire to our wreath.

I then chose to add the buds from the magnolia tree

And then I filled in with some dried Cocks comb, Celosia and Cinnamon Basil seed heads.

Ha! Sweet Natasha told me all those names.  I was calling them very scientific things like the fuzzy purple one and the dangling one and the good smelling one (that basil smelled so good)!

I then glued in some magnolia leaves and fresh cranberries.

Here is my finished wreath

And here is our little group with our wreaths.  

You can see we all chose different materials but all the wreaths turned out beautifully.  It was a wonderful evening.  There was Christmas music and such beautiful supplies to work with.  Not to mention what a fun time with friends creating something beautiful.

1818 Farms also offers some wonderful products.  They are currently offering 20% off through December 1st.  Check out their offerings here.

Love this place and all they offer.  Check them out.  You'll be glad you did!

DIY Tree Flocking

I love a flocked Christmas tree.  I grew up with one.....and then they kind of fell out of favor.  But now they are back!  The only problem is there is no way I could possibly justify buying another Christmas tree.  I may or may not own too many already.  But for two years I have wanted snow on my branches.  So I started doing a little research.  I googled some products.  I watched a few YouTube videos.  I decided on this do it yourself flocking product.



Here are all the supplies I gathered

A spray bottle of water
A kitchen strainer
A tarp
The flocking powder

I followed the instructions on the package.  I chose to flock one my trees that was not pre-lit.  I think you would definitely end up with less bright lights if your tree had lights on it simply because the bulbs would get covered.

First you spray your tree with water. Then you put the powder in the strainer, shake it over the tree while spraying water....I think this is a two person job. 

This is how my tree looked originally

It was such a windy day.  We had to work in the garage.  We thought it would be easier to get the inner branches covered by doing one section at a time.  So we took off the top two sections of the tree and started with the bottom one.

Then we put the middle section back in place and flocked it. Then the top section and flocked it.

It is up to you how heavily you flock.  This is a 7.5 ft tree and I used 3/4 of the two pound bag.  I would say we did a medium flocking.  The whole application took about 30 minutes.

Here is how the tree looked at the end.

and a closer look

We let it dry for about 36 hours.  The flocking was nice and thick.  We moved it back it to the house and decorated it.  Small light flaking came off during the move but nothing major.

Here is how the tree looks all decorated.

....and a closer look.

I plan on using the rest of the powder on some other artificial greenery.

By the way this product  can also be used on live trees and greenery.

I am very pleased with the results.

If you have the desire.....add some snow to your holiday decor this year.

I'll meet you back here on Wednesday.  I hope it is one fantastic week for you!!!

Black Friday....here we go!

Here are few sales you may want to check out:

Michaels Arts and Crafts - tons of decor marked down and some good prices on trees

Target - There was a whole line of people in the electronics department who did not look happy.  When I passed by I heard...."come back tomorrow"...."you'll have the same number"....it did not sound good.  If you buy movies, Target always excels in that area.  They also had some good prices on towels, throws and board games.

Bath and Body - Buy 3 get 3 free .....the Whole Store.  Plus with a $30 purchase you can buy the holiday tote which has 7 or so products in it.

Dress Up - Several good buys including $12 scarves and $24 sweaters.

Sugarboo is offering free shipping all day on Friday.  I bought this metal sign

and put it on the door we use everyday.  They have lots of different sayings and these would make a great gift.

Nordstrom has an additional 20% off of select items.

If you are primarily shopping on line, don't forget to check and see if the store is on ebates.  If you still need an ebates account, please use my referral link.

I will try to post any other finds on instagram and Facebook!

Enjoy your weekend!!!!

Just wanted to say......