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Check out the latest addition to BrittanyBowerDesigns.com, and just in time for Christmas! A straw wreath is wrapped in Christmas ribbons and then adorned with red and white glitter accented poinsettias. Green leaves create the traditional colors and silver pines add the final touches.
It’s been a busy few weeks for me and it’d be fair to say that the holiday hustle and bustle has begun. But in the midst of it, I was finally able to get this lovely addition to my collection completed. Layers of yellow deco mesh create a sunflower wreath with green petals and contrast beautifully against the brown satin ribbon bow center. Check it out at BrittanyBowerDesigns.com.
This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I earn a small commission at no cost to you! When you purchase through the links provided, you will be supporting Brittany Bower and helping to bring new content to the site!
If “one picture is worth a thousand words” as expressed by the Advertising Executive, Fred R. Barnard, then you could write a book on the difference that one Ring Light from Amazon has made in the photos for my website!
Just a little background… when I first started my website, BrittanyBowerDesigns.com 2 years ago, my friend Kat’s biggest critique was about the photos. I need more – something to be able to judge the size of the wreath against, more details, and better lighting. Well, at the time, I had done the best I could with had – settings and tools. I used our more professional camera, a Sony A6000 which Chris always was able to take amazing pictures with! Since they weren’t working out as well for me, I figured lighting was probably my biggest challenge since I was shooting inside and he always shoots outside. When I renovated the Craft Room, I installed the brightest lighting I could thinking it would give me the best advantage, and it has in many other ways, but it still wasn’t enough.
Fast-forward some time with Kat learning different marketing strategies and playing with her own business ventures, she discovered the ring light and insisted I buy one. Fast-forward another year and a half after taking time away from my site to focus on planning and executing a wedding, the recovery from it (which is no joke if you do it mostly by yourself and with a bunch of DIY) and other work-related changes and adventures, and I am back at it with the suggested light! And while I usually leave product reviews to my husband, JCBower, the difference is so significant, I had to do my own 😜.
Below are some of the before and after’s. The new pictures are lighter and brighter, and the glitter on the Jesus is the Reason for the Season wreath finally POPS like it should!
But I have to say the wreath I had the most frustrating time photographing was the Merry Christmas Deco Mesh Wreath. No matter what I tried, and how much color correction I did afterwards, it either came out super dark or it looked washed out and was clearly given away by the sign in the middle (bottom right).
Now, the greens look green, the reds look red and the sign can stay its true colors, and it’s not even the main focus of this picture!
While the ring light does have 5 color temperatures and is dimmable, so far the whitest and brightest setting has worked the best for me…but I do like the other options in case I end up needing them later. With the new pictures, all I have to do now is simply straighten and crop. Definitely worth the investment, and while I already knew Kat was brilliant, this is just further proof that I should take any and all advice she is willing to share when it comes to marketing!
This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I earn a small commission at no cost to you! When you purchase through the links provided, you will be supporting Brittany Bower and helping to bring new content to the site!
Spring is right around the corner, and I am so excited for it!
Lately, Chris has been challenging me to try different wreath styles and I have just completed one that is perfect for the change to come. Just as Winter fades into Spring, pink fades into white in this ombré flower. It gave me the chance to branch out from the deco mesh and tried my hand with poly burlap and, as an added bonus, I got to try out the wood burner I got for Christmas.
If you like it, go check it out in more detail at BrittanyBowerDesigns.com. And if there a color combination that you’d like to see, send me a message at brittany@brittanybowerdesigns.com
Hey everyone! I have some exciting news. As you know, I started a new crafting project making wreaths back during the summer as a way of mentally escaping the craziness of the world around us. This has been amazing therapy for me and (according to my amazingly supportive friends and family) I have finally achieved the “WOW” factor that I always craved with my crafts, and have decided to make them public for y’all to see and share in. The wreaths I have shared throughout the year are there with a few others. Go check them out at BrittanyBowerDesigns.com.
While the Let It Snow Wreath was the first one to get me really excited and think that I might be onto something, this candy cane wreath is my favorite! You could clearly see the theme even before I added the additional decorations and it seemed to build itself. It is the fullest and largest of the wreaths I have made to date.
Now that Christmas is almost upon us, I will be shifting gears shortly. If there is a specific theme you would like to see (holiday related or not) please let me know, either on here with a comment or at brittany@brittanybowerdesigns.com.
This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I earn a small commission at no cost to you! When you purchase through the links provided, you will be supporting Brittany Bower and helping to bring new content to the site!
Okay, okay, so it’s not real snow. But a girl can wish, although the only time I miss the snow is on Christmas Eve and Christmas day.
Finished Merry Christmas Wood Letter Sign
I wrote before about using the acrylic paint with a thinner consistency on the wooden Merry Christmas sign and how happy I was about it. Now, I have taken it a step further. For an ever Christmas-ier feel, I have added a snow effect using Aleene’s Glitter Snow from Amazon.
Chris had suggested the spray type, like the Santa Snow Spray that you can also find on Amazon or in the craft stores. However, after reading more about it, I found out that it is not suitable for the outdoors and comes off surfaces fairly easy. It’s better suited for inside windows and trees. If my tree wasn’t already white, I’d get it to add the snow effect. Since the sign is intended for a wreath, I needed more versatility and durability.
Using the same paint brushes I had already bought for the acrylic paint, I was easily able to build up the Glitter Snow to the thickness I was looking for by allowing it to dry overnight in between session. And for a first try, I’m pretty happy with how it came out and cannot wait for the holiday season to officially begin!
This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I earn a small commission at no cost to you! When you purchase through the links provided, you will be supporting Brittany Bower and helping to bring new content to the site!
So I’ve been learning about how to paint wood signs for the wreaths, and it’s been quite the learning curve. I’d like to be able to hang my wreaths outside and needed a good, safe paint for it. Doing some reading at the craft store, it looked like acrylic satisfied these needs while providing a good variety of colors to choose from.
As you can see from the picture from Part 1, there are also different consistencies for the paint. The green I chose for Merry Christmas was thinner which allows the wood grain to show even after multiple coats. Blessed and Family were done in a paint with a thicker consistency and should provide a smoother looking finish. I like both, but it depends on the project.
The one challenge I didn’t anticipate, however, is trying to get to the space in all of the nooks and crannies. Merry Christmas is laser cut, which provides the darker edges and a more finished look, and I seemed to be able to control the paint enough to avoid any overlap on the sides with it, and Family isn’t too bad in this area. But when I tried to do the inside of Blessed, I felt it starting to look messy, even with the new paint brushes I bought for it. So an alternative method was needed.
Merry Christmas in thin consistency acrylic paint Blessed and Family in thick consistency acrylic paint
While spending way too much time in the craft store and loving every minute of it, I found pour over paint and spray paint. Chris had mentioned spray paint before, but I didn’t know what I thought of it. It always seemed kinda messy and smells when it’s sprayed. The pour over paint looked interesting, but messy and possibly wasteful. Knowing an alternative was needed regardless, I went with my fiance’s idea of spray paint.
It ended up being easier than I thought and the acrylic doesn’t have any noticeable smell – I also leave it outside for about an hour after to dry, so maybe that has something to do with it. Trying it out, I sprayed the wood letters outside on wrapping paper – like this from Amazon. We used it to protect the tile floors when we painted other rooms in the house and had some left over. Choosing a flat surface protected from the wind, I sprayed it from various angles to ensure all of those pesky nooks and crannies were gotten as well as across the top.
Thankful in Punk Lak Gloss Acrylic Spray Paint’s Dark Wine
Although the Dark Wine color didn’t work out so well for what I intended it for, I do like the end result and even with the dry time, it only took an hour at most. I spent at least that just fighting with the insides of Blessed alone, and only got halfway. I think Chris was onto something 😉.
Brittany Bower 