DIY Rustic Fall Wreath

I don't know about you, but I absolutely love September thru December! I love Fall colors, the family get-togethers, the humidity dying down, and the FOOD! This year, I am determined to get some crafting done and finally finish some awesome DIY projects. 

Today, the women in my husband's family got together to eat and drink wine make some holiday wreaths. Everyone else made theirs out of fabric and wire wreath forms and they came out amazing! However, my husband and I are smack in the middle of a "no spend month" and while I wanted to participate, I didn't want to spend the extra money to make a fabric wreath when I had some leftover grapevine wreaths in the shed! So I headed to Michael's and grabbed some fall foliage, which happened to be on sale, and decided to figure it out as I went. I don't want to toot my own horn, but Honk Honk! My wreath turned out fabulous! Unfortunately (for you), I was too distracted by my hilarious in-laws to take step by step photos so you will just have to bear with me! 

Supplies:

1 Grapevine wreath

3-4 small bunches of flowers/foliage 

1 spool of 2" coordinating ribbon OR 1 pre-made bow

10" piece of curling ribbon or string (omit if you are using a pre-made bow)

Hot glue gun 

Scissors 

Step 1- 

Cut all of your flowers and foliage off the branches, leaving about 2" of stem. 

Step 2- 

Arrange your flowers/foliage on one half of the wreath and hot glue into place once you are happy with the placement. 

The only progress shot.. My bad. -_-

Step 3-

Make your bow. There is a great tutorial on how to make a wreath bow here. Skip this step if you purchased a pre-made bow.

Step 4- 

Attach your bow to the bottom of your arrangement on the wreath by tying the string through the center of the bow and around the wreath. 

The finished product! 

 Yes, I know it is still Summer, but I love the look of this wreath so much that I couldn't wait to put it up! I adore the rustic look; I live in the country and it is totally appropriate.

The whole wreath cost me about $10 to make. Everything was on sale plus I had a 10% off coupon good towards my total purchase! Michael's had wreaths in the store that weren't as cute as this one for $50!!

I plan on making a Rustic Christmas wreath in a similar style as soon as the Christmas decorations hit the shelves! :) Stay tuned!

My secret to endless amounts of energy

Since becoming a stay at home mom 15 months ago, I have struggled with productivity. At first, I enjoyed staying up late, dropping Elli off at school, and napping with the baby. The house was clean within an hour, and stayed that way. Once we started homeschooling, I needed to get my act together and not only wake up early, but stay awake. It was so hard to fall asleep earlier than 2am! And if there is one thing I love, it's sleep. I can sleep 15 hours if left undisturbed. Something had to change. About the same time, I was mentally ready to lose the last bit of baby weight Evan oh so generously left me with. I started waking up at 5am and heading right to the gym. It.was.so.hard!! I have always loved staying in shape, but willingly waking up that early was a struggle. But I did it! And after a few weeks of forcing myself to get out of bed, I was able get up as soon as the alarm went off - and looked forward to the time to myself at the gym! The energy I have throughout the day is incredible! Not only am I sleeping better, but I have also lost 13lbs. I'm only 7lbs away from my goal weight! 

If you are feeling sluggish, I highly recommend setting that alarm and getting active first thing in the morning! Walk on a treadmill while reading a book, lift some weights to your favorite songs. Just do it! I'm currently blogging while cooling down on the treadmill ;) Don't make excuses. If you fall off the bandwagon a couple days, just pick back up where you left off. You are the only obstacle in the way of being/staying fit. 

Sisters by Heart/Linked by Heart

Earlier this year, I was blessed with the opportunity to join my favorite nonprofit organization, Sisters by Heart, as a Regional Coordinator for their newest project, Linked by Heart. Sisters by Heart was founded in 2010 by a group of dedicated HLHS moms who wanted to offer something that was truly lacking in our community; hope and support. They joined forces and over the past 2 years have formed into an amazing organization, reaching hundreds of families that would have had no where to turn for support. Sisters by Heart sends care packages to newly diagnosed HLHS families that include super awesome items every Momma needs for themselves and their HLHS babe while in the hospital awaiting and recovering from their first open heart surgery. And their blog.. Man. These women work so hard to provide accurate and encouraging information to the hundreds of HLHS moms on the web, scouring for hope that their baby can make it through this journey. As if that weren't enough, SBH recently expanded their organization to include Linked by Heart. They have recruited HLHS moms across the country, myself included, to help support the entire HLHS community, not just the newly diagnosed moms. By registering in the Linked by Heart database, families from all over the country are able to connect with other HLHS families in close proximity, by similar complications, same hospital, etc. It is truly an amazing resource and I am so honored to "meet" and support the moms in the Southeast region!

Sisters by Heart/Linked by Heart have touched so many lives already. They rely on monetary donations to keep the support by way of care packages going. If you are touched by the hearts of the women of this organization and want to help send some love and support to Mommas of babies with a broken heart, please consider sending a donation their way here.

It's here!

For months I have wanted to sit down and revamp my blog Evan's blog. As much as I have loved using this blog to update everyone on Evan's condition, I have wanted something more; a space to write freely about the other aspects of my life. What? You didn't know I wasn't just a heart mom?! I know, it's crazy to think I have a life outside of my super special babe, but I do. I want so badly to post about my sweet girl Elli, to post my latest pinterest projects, recipes; all the fun stuff! And so I will, starting now! Welcome to MY new (to me) blog! ;)