St Patrick's Day Easter Wreath

Having Easter in March use to really put a bee in my bonnet for decorating for holidays, but this year I fully embraced it, since I didn't have an Easter wreath I liked so it was a great opportunity. 

Best part of this is, I have far too much fabric stored so the wreath was FREE to make.

I used these two pins as inspiration.
This is by far my favorite Easter pin ever!

Then we decided to put our house on the market, so I had to take my wreath down... :(

Burlap Bunny and Wreaths

I wanted a new Easter wreath this year. After scouring Pinterest and not really find anything I liked I came up with this. My 6 year old daughter doesn't really like it but tried to be nice. 

I've been trying to come up with this wreath for a week or so, then a few nights ago I decided I would make a burlap bunny but didn't know how to do that so a google search took me to this site. The wreath came together really fast. I only wish the bunny had bigger ears.
Best part of the project, it was free to make, the burlap was all left over from old projects.

Speaking of wreaths I reassembled my foam wreath from the last two years. I decided to keep with the gray wreath. The bow is wonky but so is my life.

I love how much more vintage it feels. The green was loud, I'm too tired for loud right now. I got the printable from here.

Speaking of printables, I also found this Hosanna one that I LOVE. Can you even see it in this picture?

 And to finish my Easter bloggy tour of my living room, here is my bunting from last year. I know I know my husband already told me the piano should be centered but my children like to look out the window.

 Did you know I rearranged my living room yet again? The black chairs are back next to each other.

Winter Wreath

Well Christmas is over, and so now its time to get ready for the next celebration, my anniversary.  Ok, its not much of a celebration for my husband and I.  But I do switch from my christmas wreath to a winter wreath. (Next year I think my christmas wreath needs a update, after three years its looking sad.) Snowflakes was a theme of our wedding, so last year I made this wreath, to carry us in-between Christmas to valentines. But the wreath was all wrong. Its for a place covered in snow, and the snow here when it does come melts quickly, because its so sunny and dry.  I saw this wreath and this wreath on pinterest and came up with this new wreath by taking apart two wreaths.  So it was FREE!

I really like the the rosettes on the snowflakes. (Which was not my idea but came from one of the pinterest wreaths.)

 Since I had a white bouquet of roses for my wedding, and then the snowflake theme.

My Present

Sometimes you gotta make yourself a present. I made this wreath, price once again free. Thankfully I have a million packs of old hem tape. Used the wreath form from last month. Same style as last wreath different execution. I used lots of pictures of me with my kids, and printed them out in thumbnail size. I used three fabric rosettes, because I have three kids. My wreath matches with my printable.

Some may wonder why in the world do I make so many wreaths?  Well I really like having a wreath over my wine rack, since I don't drink its just dead space.  But I see that wreath every time I eat dinner and half the times I eat breakfast.  So I'm ready for a new one every month.  I stare at it everyday.

Love Pillow

I'm slightly pillow obsessed right now.  I wanted a throw pillow for my bed, so here is what I did.
I of course embroidered the pillow, and the fabric rosette I hand sewed instead of glue gunned.

Chocolate Bunny Easter Wreath

I finished my Easter wreath last night. I love it in fact so much more than my shamrock argyle wreath. I was going to wait until after St. Paddy's day, but I loved it too much. Don't forget to notice the chocolate bunny figurine inside. The wreath form is wrapped in gray yarn then green tulle.

I used these tutorials for the flowers

For the felt flowers

The Tulle puff

The calico flowers

The lace rosettes

St Patrick's Day Rectangle Door Wreath

I made a rectangle St. Patrick's Day wreath for my front door. I love my wreath. I also love that I created it myself, instead of imitated something on Pinterest. I've recently realized most of my crafts lately come from what I see on Pinterest-- it feels good to create my own stuff again.  It was quite happenstance that I made it.  My friend wanted to make a moss covered clover for her door, and so we went to Hobby Lobby.  The moss was a few dollars more than I really wanted to spend. But I was so drawn to the green raffia, I had never seen spring green raffia before.  I decided to buy it, and figure out what to do later.  (BTW, Her clover turned out excellent, it was really cool looking.)  That night my husband was fulfilling his scoutmaster duties on a winter campout, so I was left alone with the raffia.  I ended up using my go to craft supply-- cardboard, and made this wreath. I ran out of green raffia, so luckily I already had plain raffia.

I couldn't resist making more rosettes, so I make another shamrock with rosettes.  Everything I already had other than the raffia.  Each package cost $3, perfect price point for my door.

That story has a happy ending, unfortunately I have another wreath with not so happy ending. This story happens before the previous one.  On February 18, my kids didn't have school, and I wanted a St. Patrick's Day wreath.  I thought I surely have enough supplies at home to make a wreath.  I had bought some Pipe Insulation, for just such an event.  I also found an burlap rice sack, and some green felt, what else would I need?! Perfect right?  No, I hated the wreath, luckily it was free.  Also it turns out foam insulator is a terrible wreath form.  Because it has no form!  The longer it hangs on the wreath hook, the more oval it gets.  I'm done with diy wreath forms, if I want a wreath, I'll get a coupon and go to the craft store.  Naturally something this ugly couldn't go on my front door. So I made the raffia wreath. I think if it had a real wreath form, and a different color green felt I wouldn't have hated it.

Too many

I ended up making way too many valentines wreaths! So I gave one to a friend-- she was very pleased.
I cut a heart shape out of cardboard and with the help of a glue gun, I covered it with yarn. Yarn I already had. I used old valentine plaid fabric for my rosettes, and of course a glue gun! Cost of wreath: free.

Heart Shaped Foam Wreath

Since I started putting wreaths on my wine rack, I need two valentine's wreaths right? So I planned on covering a foam heart shape wreath with yarn. Yeah that doesn't work. It has hideous so I gave up. I ended up with this wreath, I love it.

But originally it didn't look like that.  Originally I didn't know what to do once the yarn didn't work, then while sitting at my sewing machine, I realized I could cover it with strips of material. I then pulled out strips and made the insanely crazy valentines wreath on crack, it was a work on progress, so luckily I changed the material and made it look like the first one.

Unfortunately I like my ruffle wreath too much, so this wreath does not reside on my wine rack.

But I did add valentine bunting to my ruffle wreath. It matches perfectly with my valentines subway art.

Heart and Burlap

This is my new wreath. I kind of really love it, like I a lot. The heart shape grapevine wreath was sort of expensive, with a 40% off it was still something like $6, but the burlap and lace I already had.

Halloween '12 Costume #1

Costume #1 for the season is a flower fairy. 

Very fitting because she is currently working at pronouncing her 'F's in speech therapy.  Sometimes I wonder why I make homemade costumes.  When I asked my husband he told me I enjoyed it.  

Wand

 Flower Crown

The best thing is the costume was almost free, all I spent was a $1 on felt for the crown, and $2 on the wire for the shape of the crown.  The shirt and lace was all given to us.  I bought the material for the tutu last year. The wand was left over from her birthday party last year, that I changed up.
I used this tutorial for the roses. Lesson learned the hard way, mechanical pencils are hard to write on felt with, use a traditional pencil.

Freaky Friday Wreath

I am the Relief Society Meeting Coordinator in my ward (church congregation).  I was afraid when my bishopric member (assistant pastor) said that, I was afraid it would involve asking people to say prayers.  Apparently being ward prayer spotlight coordinator has scarred me for life. 

Turns out it is the new name of Enrichment leader. What do I do as Enrichment leader?  I don't know... the presidency seems to plan everything...  But am in charge of a craft for Super Saturday, except its on Friday night.  Its not called Freaky Friday no matter what my brain tells me, I eventually can remember its Fantastic Friday.  This is the wreath I came up with, its loosely based on this wreath, that hangs on my front door.  All year long women have told me, we should make this for Super Saturday.  But I had to modify it, I wanted easy flowers everyone could make and I wasn't about to try to help people modge podge letters, while juggling a baby. 

Here is a great tutorial on how to make the rosettes.

New But Who Knows If Improved

Ends up I hated my last key hook.  I decided imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so just do it exactly like the girl did in the pin, and here is the results.

 I used the same H as in my other monograms.
I'll be honest I'm not sure I like this, but I definitely like it more than my last three attempts.  Attempt 1 and 2 were so bad I didn't even post them. Attempt 1 even broke my color printer.

Key Hook

I saw this key hook on pinterest and wanted one, but I thought I had plenty of monograms without more, so I went with something else in the frame.  I can not tell you how many times I redid the inside of this frame. Well actually I can, its my third attempt.  I still am not sure I like it. Maybe I should just go with the monogram after all. I'm also not sure I like my mini rosettes.  Maybe I should just chuck the whole craft.  Any thoughts...

The end of Christmas in July

I finished my stocking board and I'm so very proud of it.  I can't wait until December, but mostly because my baby will be four months, and so life will be easier, and he will be more fun than he will be say in September.

 Need another shot?  The board looks really pink in the pictures, but it is red.  Remember how I like my finished wood project variegated. If you scroll through my painted wood label at least half are variegated paint.  Its just so much fun to only sand off half the paint off, and the do a wash with the paint.

 Once again no cricket, so I did the lettering the old fashion way.  Traced a print out, like this tutorial, then re-wrote over the tracing with a silver sharpie.  Then it wasn't thick enough for my taste, so I cut off the tip of the sharpie, to make it wider.

I love my holly.  I made the same flower rosette as I've in the past, except for smaller and wider, so they look more berry like and less flower like.  Then cut out leaves and put batting inside.  I'm really quite pleased with my free motion sewing leaf veins.

Subway Art

There are only so many lifetimes you can spend on pinterest before you start to feel left out that your house has no subway art.  Actually I just really liked the Fourth of July subway art and wanted to embrace the fad. Plus I'm low on Fourth of July crafts/decorations.

Also this year I'm on the Relief Society Activities committee, which means I had to come up with a craft for Freaky Friday.  That is not the name, I can never remember it, they changed it from Super Saturday to Friday night.  I was really quite trilled, I couldn't wait to find a hip new craft, not the same ol' same ol'. By the way I was suppose to come up with multiple ideas.  I thought of a subway art frame, where you can change the pages.  Here is what I made.  As I stayed up finishing this craft the night before the meeting, at 11 o'clock that night I knew they wouldn't pick it.

I think overall it was too hip.  Instead, I am in charge helping ladies of making my wreath. Maybe I was just more bossy when it came to a wreath, pretty much every Mormon who walks into my house, tells me we should make a wreath like that for a RS craft. Funny thing is a wreath is hardly the new hip craft, but they have made a resurgence in the craft community and a widely popular. 
Back to the subway art though, don't you love that summer subway art?!  I think its fabulous! I'm sure my idea is not original but I realized, why.. why why why would you want a different frame for each holiday, who wants one more thing to store even if its only an 8x10 frame, plus why buy 10 or 12 frames?!  That is a waste of money.  So this frame matches with my kitchen, and I can just trade them out from behind, its perfect.  I love the rosette I made for it, it is left over fabric from my kitchen curtains. Plus I decided to add pearls this time.  Here is the tutorial for the rosettes, I don't use fabric glue, I just use glue gun on low, and burn my finger tips.

Although the frame is not that easy to open, so maybe, one day I will change it up.  Its on top of my hutch.  I also spent hours pinning all the most perfect subway art pictures in my opinion.  Slightly a waste, but I didn't realize it was too hip of a craft until the night before, hours after I searched down a unique subway art design for each month. Check out my subway art board.  (I mean unique as in I didn't want the same designer month after month.)

Remember These

Remember these?  I made them for my sisters/sister in laws I that I saw last Christmas.  Well my mom felt real left out she didn't get one.  So we bought frames at goodwill, since I wanted one too, and then I couldn't bare to sand the frames, oh the thought of it sounded so nauseating to me.  Finally a month ago, I just grinned and bared it, outside during nice weather.  Oh course it only took about 5 minutes to sand them, but then a good 15 minutes to clean the glass. The frame color and painting is definitely different then the last set, but that's the way I craft.

This is my mom's, she wanted a big one.  The print is only 8.5x11, but I think the frame is a 11x14.

 Here is mine.  I used a different background then the others, I'm not sure if I like it better. There is a pretty good chance, I just like mine the least amount, maybe I need a mat.

Last Minute Sister Gifts

At the last minute I decided I wanted to make all the sister/sister in laws that I would see at christmas a present.  So a week before christmas I began franticly searching Pinterest for something I could make for cheap.  Then I thought just get over yourself, get them monogrammed note cards, at least its something.  But then all at once, or not at fast, it came to me, and I got super lucky and found four frames at Goodwill, and three quart-sized bags of legos for 6.50 each.  I sanded and painted the frames the same afternoon, I found the frames. Then used this tutorial to help me make the fabric rosettes.

  I absolutely love them, and can't wait to find another frame to make one for myself, I know exactly where I'm going to hang it.

This is the text of the photo: 

In this home...

We do second chances.

We do Grace.

We do real.

We do mistakes.

We do I'm sorrys.

We do loud really well.

We do hugs.

We do fun.

We do family.

We do love.

I have been so in love with the text for a few months.  I appreciate the idea to say its ok to make mistakes, but emphasis the sorries.  I am like giddy in anticipation to make myself one.  I'm going to make mine a little bigger.