Merry and Bright Pom Pom wreath

Last winter was a rough one in this household.
We saw strep throat twice, the flu, and me with pneumonia.
Here's hoping this year is much healthier.

The positive side to being sick in bed for two weeks was that I could do some crafting.  It was our first Christmas in our current home and I wanted to make some new decorations. Some of my old decorations didn't fit my style anymore and some didn't make it in the move...

Remember this awesome wreath?!?

I loved her so!  
She melted in the storage unit.  It was tragic. Still hard to talk about. ;)
I really want to make another one and make sure she's more durable.   

Do you love her as much as I do?

Wanna make your own?  

Check out my easy tutorial here. 

Even though I made this years ago I know for a fact they still carry those candies at the dollar store this time of year!  If you do make one please let me know.  I'd love to see them! 

So clearly we needed a new wreath. I know I'm not alone in my love for pom poms.
That's obvious when I search on Pinterest.  I didn't have the stamina for a full pom pom wreath like this one.  But it's in my to do someday file, because it's gorgeous.

I already had an undecorated faux wreath that I wanted to repurpose. So I thought a polka dot look would be fun. The bright colors make me happy and fit right in with my style. 

I have a bin or two of yarn in my craft room.
I chose nine of my favorite colors.  Pretty much the rainbow.  Except purple.
Not a huge fan of purple.  Unless it's for the Baltimore Ravens ;)
I love all things bright.  Especially at Christmas. 
I'm definitely not traditional when it comes to my color scheme.

I used my trusty pom pom maker thing-a-ma-gig to make these lovelies but you can actually use cardboard or even a fork if you don't have the gadget.
IMHO the gadget does the best job and it's a good price. If you are making a lot of pom poms I think it's worth the investment.
Sharp scissors are a must too.  Cutting on aluminum foil a few times does the trick!
The fluffing and cutting is the most time consuming part and maybe tedious for some.
I personally really enjoy that part.

I find it super satisfying.

I made 24 pom poms in total and left a long tail so I could easily attach them to the wreath by just tying them to the branches. I could have cut the tails but I was lazy and sick so I just tucked them in.

As I type this I am looking at my picture of the wreath and realize there is only one turquoise pom pom. I wish I could say it was some really cool, on purpose, artistic expression but I'm pretty sure it's because I was so out of it. haha.

My pom pom decor didn't stop there. 

I had purchased these mini wreaths on sale at Hobby lobby way before I got sick with no clear idea what to do with them.  I got the idea to hot glue mini pom poms on the wreaths and hang them on my mirror, cabinets, chalkboard, and tapestry to tie in the whole bright color scheme. 

I liked how they were similar to my main wreath.  This project was super easy, quick, and affordable. 

My kind of craft.

This year I added some pom poms to our stockings.  I bought these stockings a few years ago at Target.  I used fusible web to iron on the girls initials that I had cut out of fabric. 

The garland is from Michaels, last season. They had it again this year.  I never buy it full price. Both years I have gotten it at 60% off! 

I like how it also ties into my "round" theme.

Here's some more of the garland on our tv stand. 

The bottle brush trees are from Hobby Lobby.

I know it's only 11 days until Christmas *gasp* BUT these pom pom crafts are definitely quick enough to do in a day. You could even hot glue pre made large pom poms on a wreath and get the same look as my yarn pom pom wreath.

Do you make a lot of your decorations?
Do you decorate more traditional or do you decorate to the beat of your own drummer boy? See what I did there?  Tee-hee.

I'd love to hear your ideas!

Let me know in the comments below.

Stay tuned to see how I made this Anthropologie inspired garland.  

I'll be posting all about it soon!

Sometimes it's better to start somewhere now then to start somewhere later

Hi. I'm back!

*Gulp* I have major butterflies in my stomach as I'm typing.  I have written many drafts only to abandon them.  I can't believe it's been 7 years since I've posted.  Insert bug-eyed emoji here.  Oh how I have missed this.

Where have I been?  Hmmm.  That's a complicated answer but let's just say wherever I have been and whatever I have gone through I have found my way back to myself.  Actually an even better version of my previous self before stuff hit the fan.  All my prayers have been answered.  My girls and I are healthy, happy, secure and thriving.  

Once life had become more stable I began to really miss blogging, crafting, DIYing etc.  I had also been contemplating getting back to selling my creations on Etsy.  I felt I was finally in a place where that side of me could be nurtured again. 

But I was scared, unconfident. I felt like a has-been, uncool, not good enough.  

How was I going to find the time and energy to stand out, to be successful? Social media is flooded with images of "success".  How was I going to fit in?  Did I even want to?  Would I have to change to be successful?  The idea of being inauthentic in order to be successful paralyzed me. I had worked so hard to come back to myself, jeopardizing that was triggering.  So I talked myself out of it.  I was happy working part time, being a mom/taxi, housekeeper, and occasional crafter. At least that's what I told myself.

And partly that is true.  Those things make me happy.  But something was missing.  So I began searching.  Listening to motivational podcasts, reading self help books, and taking personality tests (I'm a 1 wing 2 btw and an INFP).  To be honest these only made me feel more inadequate and raised more questions in my head.  But I trudged on hoping to find something that would help me figure it all out.

Taking a break from all this heady stuff I decided to listen to one of my favorite podcasts Young House Love has a Podcast.  John and Sherry are so cute and funny and somehow manage to teach me something while making it lighthearted and fun.  They are geniuses!  In episode 152 they interviewed Miranda Anderson from Live Free Creative.  She was so inspiring!  Immediately I cut my YHL podcast short (sorry guys, promise I went back later to finish 😊) and headed over to Miranda's.  The first podcast I listened to was Episode 1: Why NOW Is The Right Time.  It's about "why you can and should get started TODAY on the thing you want to do."

Miranda had a lot of great advice in her podcast but one sentence stood out and had the biggest impact on me.

"Sometimes it's better to start somewhere now then to start somewhere later"

I truly believe that you have to be open to things in order for them to make an impact. 

LIGHTBULB.  MOMENT.

This quote gave me permission.  Forget those insecurities and just do it.  So what if I have no clue how to successfully market my Etsy shop.  Who cares if no one reads my blog posts.  Who cares if I only have a few followers.  I will figure it out.  This stuff makes me happy.  Creating, writing, learning.  All of it feeds my soul.  So I just started.  I made an instagram post and announced I was back at it.  The sales, the comments, the likes, all of those are bonuses.

So here I am.  Scared out of my mind but doing it.  And it feels great!

Talk soon!

Love, 

Andi