Book Club: the beginning

Some friends and I started a local book club this week.  I was shocked when I moved out here that there were so many new friends that were readers, but no book club!  A few of us decided it was about time and we spread the word.  We had our first meeting at my house and my wonderful hubby painstakingly hung twinkle lights up for me while I made some bite sized snacks.  I kept the table as uncluttered as possible, knowing people would be bringing books to share.  We had a wonderful first meeting and have the next few months assigned and ready to go!  Maybe I'll post what we read and a general feeling of what everyone thought of the book.

Our first selection:  The Giver by Lois Lowry

Jewelry Organizer

I have a little jewelry box that my dad gave me many years ago.  It's sentimental, and therefore I don't want to get rid of it, despite not having much room for necklaces or larger earrings.

I made this in 10 minutes.  I took an old picture frame that no longer had glass (the only casualty of our move), wrapped the back of the frame in batting and some fun fabric, taped batting and fabric down, and DONE!

I used picture frame hooks for the bracelets and necklaces.

The earrings hook in all on their own.

This is now hanging in my bathroom and I can actually see what is in my jewelry box without having to take out a couple of layers of jewelry first, and the rest is easily displayed.

Candy Corn Wreath

A friend of mine invited me over to make a candy corn wreath the other day.  These wreaths are super easy to make and can create a big impact.

This wreath was made following the instructions from the Woman's Day magazine.  Perhaps you've seen the cover of their magazine at the grocery store with this wreath on it?  Anyway, click HERE for all of the supplies and instructions.  I was lucky in that my friend went and picked up all the supplies and all I had to do was tape and glue away.

The trick is figuring out how to keep the bugs away from the candy for long term display and storage.  I don't know about the storage part yet, but you can read about different ways to preserve your wreath HERE.  I couldn't find the preservative spray that the website talked about, so I tried to find something similar.  I picked up this can at my local Walmart.

I laid my wreath on an old piece of carpet and sprayed at least 4 coats on, allowing each coat to dry before spraying again.  I liked the spray, it coated well and didn't make the wreath shiny, which I didn't want.  Only time will tell how it holds up though.

I may change my ribbon out, but this is what I had at my house.  I chose to hang my wreath inside because my front door gets a lot of direct sunlight and we have some pretty warm weather here still.  Don't want my candy corn to melt!  Have fun with this project, I sure did!