Hello, Fall!

Since my last post, it has really started looking, and feeling, like Fall here in Grayson.  We all know that Fall reminds us of Thanksgiving and this past week, Preston and I have been blessed with countless things to be thankful for.  Last week went by pretty quickly and we were off to Pikeville, Abingdon, and Elizabethton for a long weekend.  However, all of that excitement is in another upcoming post.  Today, I am sharing a couple of my  fall projects that I have been working on...my first attempt at wreath making and some outdoor decorating, warning: lots of pictures!  

Making my wreath was wonderful, who knew some fake leaves and a glue gun could be so much fun?  I loved every minute of it!  I had looked on Google images for a few ideas but didn't really find anything so I just went with my own idea.  After getting my supplies at... you guessed it, Hobby Lobby, I couldn't wait to get started.  I first applied the leaves and berries and followed with the bigger items, the last being the beautiful bow (which my fantastic Mom assisted with).  Enough words, here are the pictures! 

Love this!

I just love that sparkley corn!

As mentioned before, I loved making this wreath and really love how it turned out, I can't wait to make one for Christmas, Winter in general, and any other time I can make one!  

Outside, thanks to Nana and P-Paw, we have a lovely bale of straw with some pumpkins and gourds to spruce things up a bit. We really enjoyed picking out our pumpkins and gourds, even had to make a second trip back to get more!  Here is our or hanging wreath and outdoor decor!

Hope you enjoyed seeing some of our fall projects, come back to read about our future home! 

Brooke

A Crafty, Relaxing, Weekend

Hello!  I hope you enjoyed your weekend, I know we did. We had plans with friends on Saturday, but our plans were canceled, however, we still enjoyed a fun Saturday.  After sleeping in, we spent the day with Rachel, John and their boys, Owen and Camden, and Adam and Meghan.  We started by going out to the playground by our apartment where Owen was enjoying himself on the swings, slides, and ropes.  Soon after, the guys headed in and us girls and Owen and Camden went on an adventure.  We wanted to do something crafty and Meghan had a great idea she found on Pinerest.  Have you heard of Pinterest?  If not, check it out here. There are so many wonderful ideas all on one website!  We went to Hobby Lobby for our supplies, of course.  Afterwards, Owen and I went into the fish store where he was mesmerized by all of the "Nemo" fish!  Anyways, we got home and started our project, which took longer than we thought.  Project of the day: Crayon letters.  These are great for kids' rooms, teachers, and such, but mine is simply going on a wall in our craft/office room.  Sorry I did not take pictures through the whole project, didn't even think about it until after!

Supplies needed:

• 1 shadow box or scrapbook frame (we used 12x12 scrapbook frames, either is fine)
• 1 piece of cardstock  
• crayons (amount depends on letters, I used 3 boxes of 24, Crayola)
• Sharp knife
• Running hot water
• paper towel
• Glue gun/glue

First of all, put all of your crayons in the freezer.  Weird, yes... but it helps! Next, we opened a word document to create the outline we would trace onto the paper.  By inserting word art, stretching the letter is easier.  After printing the outline we liked, we cut them and traced them on to the paper.  Now comes the longest part of the project, cutting the crayons.  Get one pack of crayons out of the freezer.  By measuring  eyeballing the right size needed, the cutting begins.  First, hold the knife under the hot water and then wipe it off with the paper towel, find where to cut the crayon and begin.  Do this for the entire letter.  It is fun to use tips of the crayons and pieces without tips.  I used a whole crayon once or twice.  Take out boxes of crayons as needed.  After getting all of the crayons cut and you have enough to cover your letter, arrange them how you like, don't be afraid to mix and match the colors.  Next transfer them onto to paper they will be glued on.  Now, pick up two or three crayons at a time, put hot glue on the paper and glue them in place.  Do this for the entire letter. After all crayons are glued and the entire letter is covered, simply put your creation into your frame and you're finished!  It is fun to put a name beside or under the letter, but I just did the letter in case I want to add something later.  Here is my finished product:

I think it turned out quite nicely... hope you enjoyed it! 

On a totally different note, I absolutely love fall decorations and I made a simple centerpiece for our table...

Hope you have a great week, check back for my wreath making project!

Brooke

Welcome to the Riffe's

Hello!  I hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend.  Preston and I didn't have many plans for our long weekend, except to catch up on some much needed rest and enjoy our Monday together.  Saturday we enjoyed a baked salmon dinner with friends, John and Rachel.  They were so nice to invite us over for the evening.  Sunday we enjoyed a great worship time and message at church that was followed by a yummy lunch at home.  Soon after lunch was a fantastic nap, man... it was wonderful!  Sunday night we had fun with Adam and Renee with game night, including Apples to Apples and cards.  That catches us up til today, Monday.  This morning, Preston and I slept in and then after getting ready, we headed to Ashland.  After not having such a great week last week, we decided we wanted to do something fun today.  Our first stop was Hobby Lobby.  Now, if you know me, you know that I consider just going there fun.  Well, it was great!  I have been planning to get supplies to make a fall wreath and I got everything I needed.  There was SO much to choose from, and it was all 50% off, score!  I plan on posting about my wreath making process next week.  After Hobby Lobby, we stopped at Cheddar's and enjoyed a delicious lunch... Lemon pepper chicken? Yes, please!  After lunch we hit Wally-World for a few groceries and came home.  We really enjoyed spending a date day together. 
Now, I have been meaning to post about our apartment, since we have been living there since May and I decided I should give you a picture tour today.  Here we go!

When walking in our front door, you enter the living room/dining area.


Our Living Room




Another angle of the living room,
thanks for the painting idea, Emily!




Living room, again.

 From the living room leading into the kitchen, is where our dining table is.

From the living room, you can see our teeny tiny, yes I said teeny tiny, kitchen.  Even though it is small, we can still do everything we need to.  This makes me look forward to the day that I have a larger kitchen!

As we go down the hall way...

Our first stop is a bathroom... we often refer to it as "Preston's Bathroom" simply because that is where he gets ready every day and he picked out the decorations.

Now you are coming to our spare bedroom/office.  We have a futon that pulls out to a full size bed when we have company.  Surprisingly, we have already had great use out of it from different guests we've had.  The first one of course, was Miss Brinley.  This room has lots of stuff from our dorm rooms, hence all of my pink!

I just realized that I forgot to take pictures of the laundry room, but it isn't that exciting.... so, oh well!
Here is our bedroom:

Last but not least is the master bathroom, also known as "Brooke's Bathroom" because just like Preston's, this is where I get ready and I picked out the decor... of course it had to match the bedroom!

Well, I hope you have enjoyed touring our apartment... see ya next time!

Brooke