Fall Decor: Thrifting & DIY

It's been a week since our "Jeeps Or Jewelry?"  gender reveal. I still haven't put everything away from the party. The house is kind of a mess. But I decided (naturally) to ignore the mess and get some Fall crafting on while I was in the mood.  I recruited the husband to help me drag out my storage totes of Fall cuteness & decor and got to it before my energy faded.

You remember the nice chalkboard my sister made for the party with the Old Wives Tales? See it here. 

 I grabbed the board, some chalk, a cup of water and sat down to work on my *masterpiece. I was planning on working on the board for a good while, but it turned out to be a fairly easy 10 minute project.  

I hung the chalkboard in the dining room above my antique wash stand that my uncle refinished for me. 

I love to set up a display on the wash stand. It also serves as storage for some of my platters and dishes I use for parties. I scored this double cola crate for $5 at a flea market last year. The faux flower arrangements are from dollar general. I bought them over 5 years ago when I was decorating my little apartment on a budget. Over the years I have spruced them up by adding little flower picks and ribbons from JoAnn's. They've seen better days, but I don't mind. I just give them a fluff and they are good to go. The glass bottles are old pepsi cola bottles that my dad and I dug out of the muddy bottoms at the farm. We found all kinds of vintage bottles.

Here's a picture from that day we went picking at the farm. Don't you think he is a good daddy-wearing the mismatched gloves (so I can use the good pair) and carrying the heavy buckets of moldy, muddy treasures for my latest whim?

I love changing out my decor for the seasons (or more often if the mood strikes). I have learned how to keep it within budget by rotating my favorite flea market finds and stocking up on after season clearance items. Sometimes a little paint or a clean up job is all a piece needs to become revived again. I especially enjoy displaying items with a story or meaning behind it. Like the vintage bottles reminding me of spectacular muddy farm days with my strong, loving dad. What's your favorite way to save when it comes to seasonal decorations? 

*Want to try your own chalkboard masterpiece?

Tips for writing on chalkboard- Keep the chalk wet. It will look like it is barely writing and very light in color. But don't worry, it dries bright white and looks so much smoother than dry writing. Keep a damp soft rag and q-tips handy for mistakes. If you are coloring in a big section for a doodle or large lettering, just wet the board where you are working. Don't worry about it being perfect. You can make faint measuring lines (just erase with a q-tip) and be precise if you would like. I prefer just to eyeball it.  I like my projects to look just a tad bit imperfect and homemade. 

Jeeps Or Jewelry?

BOY OR GIRL?

Phew! What a fun and exhausting week. Last Friday we went to our 20 week ultrasound to see if Baby Campbell is a boy or girl. It was so amazing to see our baby moving around and knowing that everything is healthy and on track. We decided to host a Gender Reveal Party with our parents and siblings to tell them the exciting news on Sunday. It was a long two days waiting to spill the beans....

Here are photos from our "Jeeps or Jewelry" Gender Reveal Party.........

My sister helped me make this banner for the voting table.  Isn't it terrific?
The rest of the display are all things I've had around except the Jeep book that I bought for Baby last week.

Pardon the lighting.  Eco friendly bulbs are not great for photos. Need to work on my camera skills before Baby arrives.

Jeeps?

Jewelry?

After everyone voted we were at : Boy 3 Girl 8

               

My sister made this and brought it to the party for us, the chalkboard is a gift for Baby's room and I think it will be awesome for future photo props. Results: Girl 8 Boy-4 (not all shown) 

This washstand is my favorite piece of furniture. I always use it for display. I didn't want to spend a lot of money on the party so I wrapped some Ball jars in yarn and made some tags to hang on a silver jewelry tree I got years ago at Goodwill for $.50. I've had that vintage baby name book forever and it worked perfectly as a title for the name suggestion station.
Some twine & clothes pins to hang ultrasound pictures-which turned out great. Baby was very cooperative. 

It was fun to see everyone looking through the pics and trying to guess. I had the labeled pictures hidden of course!

This was the "Can't Wait Tag Tree" I asked everyone to fill out a tag to Baby Campbell telling one thing they just couldn't wait to do with Baby Campbell. I'm going to save them all in the baby book. I filled out one from the doggies as examples. Mine read:  "I can't wait to hear your first giggles. Love, Mommy"  Baby laughs are my favorite!

This was the name suggestion station. It was fun reading all the responses. We had some great name ideas.
 Still no name yet though.  What a hard decision!

Time for the big reveal!!! Boy or Girl? ...1....2......3.......!!!

IT'S A BOY!!!!!
Remember those votes? I think it was a surprise all around! 

I made my favorite Jello poke cake and I couldn't resist crafting this tiny little banner. 

Blue Jello for boy!



Overall the party went great. We had so much fun!  It was even better that all of our family got to attend church with us before the party. Sometimes God gives us an abundance of blessings. We are feeling that now and pray that we remember to give Him the glory for it all. Prayers Answered.

And Oh my, we are so excited about having a little boy!!!!

Here's our 20 week shot announcing our BOY!