Fall is Here!!

Well technically speaking, the first day of fall isn't until Friday the 23rd, but this crisp weather has got me ready to celebrate my favorite time of year. Don't get me wrong, I love Summer (and pine for it all winter long) but really nothing is better than those 8 weeks or so of perfect Autumn weather. The bite in the air, warm spiked cider, THANKSGIVING (definitely my favorite holiday.) The list goes on. We have a lot to look forward to this fall - I can't wait for things to get rolling! 

In honor of my favorite holiday I want to share my first fall craft. It was super easy and helps usher in this beautiful season. I was inspired by this picture: 

 Adorable, right? I wish my front door was black. Maybe I'll paint it. Anyways - I love this wreath and knew the second I saw it that I wanted to recreate a fall version. I couldn't get to the craft store fast enough. It was super easy and can be customized to any season or color scheme. It was so hard to make just one! I spent $27 on materials, not bad considering similar ones I found online retailed for over $60. I'm sure I could get the cost down even lower if I shopped around or had a coupon, but I didn't have time for any of that. I needed this wreath on my door asap.

Here is what you'll need: 1 grapevine wreath, bundle of your favorite silk flowers, wood address numbers (I opted for the bigger numbers, three little ones just didn't look right), hot glue gun, paint (to coordinate with flowers), and wire cutters. 

You need to cut the stems down to about three inches - just long enough to thread through the vines. If they are too long they will stick out the other side and the wreath won't lie flat on the door. 

Paint your wood numbers with whatever color you like to coordinate with the flowers you select. The plan was to paint them ivory and "antique" them, but once I got the bronze coat on I really liked it and thought they added a nice fall touch. I used acrylic paint and a sponge brush.

Once the flowers and numbers are prepped, it's time to get gluing! Thread the stems through the vines placing each stem pretty close together - you want them to be full. Fill the wreath about halfway around. Once you are happy with the placement, put a little glob of hot glue on the base of the flower stem to keep them in place. The numbers take a little while longer to get just right. I had to reposition my 6 a few times before it was just right. I use high-heat hot glue because it's much stronger than the regular low-heat kind.... but that means it's much harder to undo anything you don't like so be careful!

Here is my final product! I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out - I might even make another one with cute spring colors. 

Coincidence that my burgundy and gold mums are starting to bloom? I think not.