Finally finished!

How long did this take? Too long, but mainly because I was picky about having too many of the same corks close together. I have about fifty Ecco Domani, Kendall Jackson and Robert Mondavi corks, but I wanted this wreath to have a lot of variety. I think my next wreath will merely have three or four brands repeated and I can finish it a lot quicker. Working at Olive Garden part-time really helps me acquire more corks than humanly possible (if I were drinking my way to a final product) so I end up with a lot of the same ones.

Speaking of, I need to be at the OG in 40 minutes, so I better get moving soon...

All you need are some eyelet screws, heavy hanging wire and time... just drink as many different brands of wine as you dare to acquire multicolored and interestingly designed sponge corks.

Doesn't the bow just look excited? I left enough wire on either end so that I could easily twist them around one another with a pair of small pliers and they naturally made a hook. Here's another image so that you can kind of see the wire twisted at the top. I'm not a great bow maker, however; any suggestions?

:)

It's beginning to be Fall outside

These days I'm writing about Norway, and have been using the slides I purchased last year around this time to help. They're incredible: vacation photos from a couple in the 60's and 70's. They had three magazines from Norway alone, and their images are just lovely. I feel lucky to have found them. I am the type to really care about the unclaimed slides of strangers with gorgeous photos of themselves, in love and traveling.

What are the legal stipulations to publishing these prints? Does anyone know?

AND - I need good holiday gift ideas. Things that are inexpensive but nice, typically homemade or repurposed. Here are a few sites I think are a good start:

I love the napkin rings here -
http://www.curbly.com/ModHomeEcTeacher/posts/5587-sixteen-recycled-handmade-gift-ideas

For those of you who can sew, or like to cook, or know a chef -
http://www.craftstylish.com/item/42826/apron-made-from-repurposed-jeans-skirt-back

Or you can get your own ideas from looking through - http://hottiehomedecor.com/index.html - they repurpose sweaters for the home. Talk about "nesting."

http://myrepurposedlife.blogspot.com/ - She does this one thing with a bowling ball - wow - and a few great sewing machine projects. :)

Let me know what you do when it's time to budget crunch.
Hope you're doing well.