Christmas Ornament Wreath

I saw this pin on Pinterst:

I had to go and see what this pin was all about. From the Eddie Ross website I learned that all I needed were some ornaments, ribbon, a wire coat hanger and glue.  I figured that one would look nice on the door for Christmas.  Last year I stocked up on all different kinds of ornaments just after Christmas when they were on clearance.  I decided to use a mix of both glass and plastic.

I started off by gluing all the tops on the ornaments and making sure they were secure.  I found a good little trick to keep the ornaments from rolling around on the table.  I took a roll of scotch tape, laid it on it's side and set the ornament in the hole.

I managed to keep track of the ornaments that I glued by sticking them back in the box but with the tops facing upward.  Here I missed two. 

What I failed to realize is just how many ornaments it would take to fill one coat hanger.  I had to use close to a to a eighty ornaments in a variety of sizes and shapes.  You just place them on the coat hanger one after the other and move them around until it is full but you can get the two ends together.

This is where I ran into some problems.  The coat hanger wire is really tough to bend so I ended up just twisting them together a couple of times and then using some wire to wrap and twist around
the two ends to hold them together.

I then found a good video on YouTube on how to make a bow using wire edge ribbon.

I made my bow and hanger using 2 1/2" wide ribbon and 25' in length.  I attached the ribbon to the wreath using some more wire.  This helps to hid the hook part from the coat hanger. (At this point the ornaments are on there really tight and I popped a glass one off.  It hit the floor and shattered. Probably would have been better to stick with plastic.)   I kept enough ribbon to loop around the wreath behind the bow and knot, to hang it from.  I  used a Command hook upside down on the inside of the door, draped the ribbon over the top of the door and hooked the ribbon on the hook.  I have to say I'm pleased with the result.

I just hope the kids don't slam the door and knock it off. Also hope that the Command hook holds.
We'll just have to wait and see.

New times and Painted floors

New times are upon us.  I've been so busy since my last post to this one.  Life has taken some crazy turns.  The new studio is completed, construction and furniture wise, but not completely set up yet nor has everything else been moved and somehow it still is in need of a good cleaning. I'm still trying to figure out how to organize everything. I think a spring clean out is in order for next year.

I have managed to experiment with some new things though.  Porch paint being one of them. See I have these old hard wood floors that I can't stand to look at. They are just ugly and old.  We have speed bumps in them from swelling due to high humidity during the summers. They are also almost 2" thick.  To rip them out and replace them would cost a small fortune, so not an option. Laminate floor, not an option because of the speed bumps.  What else is left....porch floor paint.  I painted my living room/dining room floors.  They went from being ugly to I like them now.

The walls are a light green color so I went with a dark chocolate colored premixed Valspar^® Latex Porch & Floor Paint.  On the left you can see the old floors and the right is where I've painted:

 

Here you can see more of it painted.

I have to say that over all I like the paint.  The wood grain shows up nicely though the paint and what I did was so easy.  I just washed the floor and painted it on with a brush.  It probably would have gone so much faster with a roller but I like to paint with a brush.  I find it soothing somehow.

I would, however, recommend using some sort of sealer if you want the floors to stay nice and not get the paint scratched.  I did not use anything other than two coats of paint.  It does scratch and scuff but I want that worn look to the floor plus if there is a major scratch that I don't like or want in the floor I can just touch it up with a little brush and paint. Surprisingly the dogs and cats claws do not really scratch the paint.  Most of the scratches that are in the floor now are from moving furniture around.   I plan on doing the treads to stairs and the trim with this as well in the near future.