Ribbon Chain Garland

This post is a little late for fall and Thanksgiving but you know how it is! Time flies when you are having fun! I have a ton of decor for Halloween and almost as much for Christmas. It seems like the month between Halloween and the Christmas season just seems to speed by for me. So Thanksgiving seems to get the shaft a little bit in my home. Leftover pumpkins and handprint turkeys are the extent of the decorations around here. I decided to remedy that and add a couple of garlands this year. I made a pom pom garland. Which was crazy easy so I won't even go into details about it. The one I am most excited about is a ribbon chain garland! 

Did you make paper chains as a kid? I loved making them. I would make them and then take them apart and trash them and start over. This ribbon chain garland will last for years hopefully!

Supplies:

craft glue

coordinating ribbon

I used 3 spools of 1 and 1/2" ribbon. The glue I used was Elmers Craft Bond glue. I actually wouldn't recommend this glue. It says quick dry but it definitely wasn't. When I make another for Christmas I will probably use fabric-tac or a good old glue gun. 

The strips of ribbon are cut to about 7 inches long. After all the cutting was said and done I ended up with 15 strips of each color.  

After that I put a thick line of Craft Bond and made the first loop. You want to make sure that you use enough glue. The brown grosgrain ribbon seemed to just soak up the glue so it needed a much healthier line of glue. The seam is just overlapped. I didn't do any fancy overlapping to try and hide it. The ribbon loops can be turned once it is hung so the seam is in the back, am I right?

Yay three loops! Now all you have to do is loop them through each other and wah-lah!

This is what I mean about the seam. I just cut glue and stuck. Easy Peasy. After you have looped all your ribbon together, let it dry overnight. Just to make sure it is 100% dry.

Oh I love how it turned out. I am thinking of making another with thin ribbon to layer with this one and of course there are Christmas ones coming. It went together fast and it was a total bargain. The cost with the glue was less than 10 dollars. That's my kind of craft! 

Do you like to make your holiday decor? We'd love to see any posts or instagram pics of your DIY holiday decor! Tag us @ramonaavenue! Or leave a link to your post in the comments.

Peace out! -AnneMarie 

Pumpkin Planter

It is fall!! YAY! I love the colors, smells, tastes and sites of fall. I love the cool days and crisp nights. Oh fall, you so pretty. I thought with it being the first day of fall that a fun DIY was in order. A pumpkin and mum DIY. So check it out! 

A pumpkin planter! It is crazy easy and so beautiful. The colors of those mums with the orange of that pumpkin is just lovely. It is a little bit of a bummer because it is temporary. Eventually the pumpkin will rot. However, I don't mind that because fall is temporary too! Lets throw caution to the wind and enjoy it. 

The supplies you need are:

One pumpkin

One to two mum plants- I did two because they were pretty small and my pumpkin was pretty good sized.

Carving knife

Spoon for scraping out the innards of the pumpkin

Bowl or pan to gather the seeds

Spray bottle with half bleach and half water

Potting soil

Cut a big hole in the top of the pumpkin. Make the hole bigger than you would for a jack-o-lantern. It needs to be big enough to easily plant your mums. Use the spoon to scrape out all the innards of the pumpkin.  

Super clean! The cleaner the inside of your pumpkin the better. 

Flip your pumpkin upside down and cut a drainage hole. You can do this with a drill but I just used the knife to cut a hole. 

This next step is important! Spray the inside and out of your pumpkin with your bleach mixture. Really wet it down. Then let it dry thoroughly. The bleach solution helps to preserve the pumpkin so it takes longer to rot. 

Now plant your mums. Fill the bottom of your pumpkin up a bit with soil and then put your mums with the root ball fully attached. I shoved two little mums in my pumpkin. Then I  had to use my hands to put dirt in all the crevices. Make sure you don't tamp down the soil. You don't want it tight! It will last longest in a cool place.  

Now enjoy your temporary but beautiful pumpkin planter. This would make a great centerpiece for a party. I will post updates of how it is holding up over the next few weeks. 

Peace Out- AnneMarie