DIY: Felt Heart Garland

Oopsey Daisy is an absolutely adorable blog that helps us stay on track with our Valentine's Day themed crafts.  We are closing in with only 35 days to go until the big day filled with hearts, dinner, champagne, and stuffed animals.  Speaking of hearts - this felt heart garland couldn't be any sweeter. 

You can make your own with some scraps on hand!

Let's get started!

I started with the felt.   I secretly wanted to use all wool felt, but my frugal conscience got the best of me.  So I purchased the red and mustard wool felt, and I had the other colors on hand.  I LOVE the color scheme!  The mustard and turquoise were fun and unexpected pops of color.

Then I sat down and just started cutting out a whole lot of hearts!  I didn't use a pattern--just used the old traditional method of folding the fabric over to achieve a symmetrical heart.  I think I cut out about 90 hearts total.

It was 12:30 AM, and I couldn't thread the yearn through the needle for the life of me.  Finally I tried this trick of taping the end with masking tape. Duh!  It worked perfectly.

I knotted the end of the yarn to prevent fraying and then started stitching!

I made sure that I had plenty of excess yarn so I could sew as long of a garland as possible.  (I didn't want to have to thread that needle any more times than completely necessary!)

I wanted to be unpredictable, so I didn't repeat the colors in any certain pattern.  Crazy, I know!!

I just knotted the very end of the yarn, and started draping!

So what do you think?

DIY: Make Bows into Pom Poms

Here is another fantastic DIY from Martha Stewart's website.  If you still haven't been on her webpage - what are you waiting for??  It is full of wonderful craft ideas for any time of year.  We are so close to the holiday, but there is definitely still time to whip up a few easy DIYs for decorations and gift wrapping!!

DIY: Kraft Wrapping Paper Stamping

Sugar Bee Crafts has a TON of wonderful ways to wrap up all those Christmas gifts you have been buying up for family and friends.  If you want a wonderful and unique way to wrap up your stuff - check them out!!

We especially LOVE this stamping on kraft paper idea!!

DIY: Embellish a Plastic Storage Container

Make and Takes blog has a great embellishing tutorial for those $1 containers you can find at most stores.  We love the idea of using all of our various ribbon pieces to make these pretty!!

Supplies for Ribbon Container:

• Ribbon: 3 – 3ft long pieces or 1 long 9ft piece, any color
• plastic basket with holes – mine was from the good ol’ Dollar store

Take your cut ribbon and start at the top, weaving through each hole. Make sure to leave at least 4-5 inches at the outer end to tie into a bow when it’s done. I chose to do three colors of ribbon, one for each level of holes on the container. But you can easily use one long piece of ribbon for the whole thing.

Weave the ribbon all throughout the container. Once the ribbon has gone through each hole, tie the two ends together in a bow. My son made one for his room to hold his CDs. He liked threading his green (always the color green) ribbon through the holes, making sure not to miss one.

These are easy to create and would make great gifts for anyone needing a container. I’m thinking teacher gifts!

DIY: Felt Holiday Tree(s)

Danielle Thompson is keeping us inspired and in the Christmas spirit.  We love these felt trees and can't wait to give them a try!  Check out her blog for more DIY!

   

First I wanted to give credit to my initial inspiration for these (b/c it is one of my pet-peeves when people don't give proper credit... grr.. i've seen this happen so many times to other people, and even me... and it just makes me so sad. I try very hard to always give proper credit! although unfortunately with all of the things i bookmark, i do lose track sometimes where i got the idea in the first place. But very very rarely.) 
My inspiration for this actually came from a project (no surprise!) from Emily Martin/The Black Apple last year. I had the idea of making these felt trees in my head this year, and knew the concept was hidden in my subconscience from SOMEWHERE, and then i remembered her trees from last year. :-) But after looking at them for the first time this year, i realized they're pretty different! But same concept...
I wish I could provide some patterns for the felt pieces, but #1, as I've mentioned, I don't trust my pattern making skills, especially when it comes to fabric! and #2, I'm not sure that all styrofoam trees are standard sizes at all craft stores, so the patterns might end up being off depending on where you buy your tree forms.
But essentially the shape will look something like this and get smaller as you layer up the tree:
 
You just freehand cut the scallop along the bottom of the shape. It doesn't have to be perfect, and I sort of like the freehand look: :-)

To start:
1. Cut out your pieces of felt. I used generally 3-5 pieces/colors of felt per tree depending on how layered you want it to look. For each color tree, I used 3-5 shades of one color to show a gradiation of the darkest shade to the lightest shade going towards the top. On some I did a dark-light-dark-light look as well. Whatever worked with the shades of felt that I had. I used wool felt, but you could also use craft felt at craft stores... it's cheaper, but not as pretty, and you won't have the same amount of color shades as you'll find in wool felt.. i got mine online.
The first layer will be your bottom layer. It won't have the scalloped edge b/c it will wrap around the bottom of your tree form. You'll need to snip the area that wraps around like this so that it will fold over with little bulk. Then just hot-glue to the bottom:
 
Then you can glue a circle of felt to cover your bottom completely.
(I used 3 different sizes of tree forms: small, medium and large. So if you do try to make a pattern, you'll need to make a different pattern for each size/shape tree as they will of course differ.) I basically just winged it with each layer of felt... wrapped the fabric around and just cut away til i got generally the shape that i mentioned above. Then i wrapped it around hot-glued, where the ends met, to the tree form, overlapping:
 
 
Since I knew my that my trees would only be seen from the front, i didn't stress too much about how they looked on the back. As you can see, the backs of mine look a bit haphazard. They still look tidy at least. If you wanted, and you know they'll be seen from all sides, you could add a strip of ribbon along the seam on the back like I did here, vertically:
  
 
If you want to be REALLY tidy, you could wait on adding the vertical strip of ribbon, and first wrap your trims and ribbons around the tree horizontally and when you're done with that, you could add your vertical strip of ribbon to hide all of the felt seams/ribbon-ends on the back. Or just leave the felt seams as-is. It really doesn't look bad, as long as you overlap the ends so that no foam shows through. If you're a sewer, you could even sew the ends together on each felt layer and slip over the form!
The great thing about using these styrofoam forms is that you can also pin things to it (as you can see I used lots of pearly colored pins). And that is actually even easier than having to use hot-glue constantly. I'm not a big fan of glueing (i don't totally trust it!), so i try to use it only if i have to. But you'll definitely want to add some hot-glue to reinforce everything.
2. Ok you're done adhering your felt layers, it's time to embellish. You can start adding your trims and ribbons to wrap around the tree horizontally. (or you can leave them as-is with no embellishment! sort of a more modern look) I wanted to embellish, but not overly, still keeping a somewhat clean design (well, clean for ME at least).

DIY: Crochet Acron Cap Necklace

A Foothill Home Companion has inspired us to get back into crocheting.  We are excited to do this one and can't wait to pull out some yarn and search the yard for acorns missing their caps!



We set about gathering acorns to make more necklaces, but found that most of our acorns are loosing their caps on the way down, or on the way home in Aidan's pockets. So I reverse engineered Resurrection Fern's pattern for acorn baskets to make acorn caps.




Materials Needed:

fine gauge crochet yarn
small crochet hook
hot glue gun
acorn

Step One:



Chain desired length of necklace. Mine was close to 24 inches. Keep in mind that it will go over your head.

Step Two:



Chain five more, slip stitch to fifth chain from needle to form circle.

Step Three:



One single crochet stitch in each of the five chain stitches to make first round.
For the second round, crochet two single crochet stitches in each of the five stitches to make ten stitches.

Step Four:



Single crochet one stitch in each of the ten stitches; work two to three rounds until cap forms and reaches desired size. Slip stitch to finish cap and weave in yarn.

Step Five:



From inside cap, pull the end of the chain through the middle of the cap with the hook, slip stitch inside cap to anchor and weave in end of yarn.

Step Six:



Use a hot glue gun to attach cap to acorn.

DIY: Easy Screen Print T-Shirt

We just love this tutorial from Calico Skies blog showing how to make a quick and easy (and CHEAP) screen printed t-shirt!

Be sure to check out her blog for more!!

Here's what you need:

Shirt (thrifted), modge podge, fabric paint (this was my first time using Martha Stewart's all-purpose acrylic paint and it's amazing!), design, cardboard piece, embroidery hoop, nylon or panty-hose fabric, paintbrush, and permanent pen.

1. Create a design for your screenprint. I started with something simple since it was my first time using this method. Later, I did a more elaborate design for the front of the shirt, after I did this first heart as practice. Make sure that your that your embroidery hoop is large enough for your design.

2. Stretch the nylon over the hoop so that it is taut.

3. Trace your design using a a permanent pen.

4. Using Mod Podge, paint the "negative space", or, the space that you do not want to be painted.

5. Fill in the whole area, making sure there are no holes or gaps. I was obsessive about this because I didn't want the paint to seep through. Let dry completely. It took about 3 hours for this little one to dry.

6. Lay the hoop flat on the shirt and position where you want the design to be, and place a piece of cardboard beneath the area so that the paint doesn't bleed through the back. Squirt a generous amount of paint over the design.

7. Use the cardboard to spread the paint over evenly.

8. Carefully lift the hoop off the shirt and voila!

9. Let the paint dry completely before wearing.

DIY: Cookie Cutters from Soda Cans

"Making do with the not so new and other frugal things I do" blog is fantastic.  We love the nothing is really trash approach.  Why not use the things you've already paid for / used / loved for another purpose!

Check out their blog for the instruction on how to make the goldfish with a recipe!

First, I sliced one in half with a knife and then cut a strip with my heavy duty scissors all the way around.

Then I evened up the edges by cutting them as straight as possible.

Then I worked with the strip to create the fish shape. Don't bend too often or you will crack it. I did it on my third try. Sorry that this picture is missing the last bend back to make the flat edge of the tail, but after three tries, I lost count of what photos I had taken!

Then I sneaked my stapler in the back and stapled it together. I cut off the mismatched edges.

And there you have a fish cookie cutter. I have to admit it isn't the most comfortable to use, I am thinking about putting some duct tape along the top edge because pressing the piece down with no handle hurt just a teensy bit after awhile. It is probably 6 times larger than an actual goldfish cracker, but it's a fish!

DIY: Upcycled Dollar Store Candles

Libby Dibby has a great upcycle tutorial for Dollar Store candles.  We love the idea of taking something that is already usable, but making it so that it fits our home and decor - or even fits a holiday, party or wedding theme!

Check out their blog for more DIY!  This one couldn't be more simple!  We like instructions that are so easy they take up less than a paragraph.

We took Dollar Store candles, the kind with saints on them... And used ModPodge to secure tiny fabric scraps to them... They look even better than I expected them.

DIY: Easy Decorative Vases

Natural Home & Garden's blog has a great way to upcycle a plain glass vase - or even one that has a design, but you are looking for something new.

These graceful vases take about 60 seconds to make: 20 seconds to cut the paper, 20 to brush it with glue and 20 to wrap it around a glass. Fill the finished vases with cut flowers, dried arrangements, maybe even celery stalks or lemongrass. If you like, place a votive candle in the bottom of the glass and watch the intricate shapes and unusual textures of these delicate vegetable (and fruit!) papers flicker to life.

Why toss old corks when you can use them to create fun wine cork crafts? Try this project for a DIY...

1. Measure and cut handmade paper (available at specialty paper and craft stores or online) to the right height for your tall, straight-sided glass with a craft blade or scissors. You can leave the top edge irregular or cut it straight.

2. Thoroughly paint the back of the paper with white glue or Mod Podge, a nontoxic acrylic découpage medium sold at craft stores. Be sure the adhesive goes all the way to the edge.

3. Smooth the paper around the glass vase. Press firmly as you go to remove air bubbles. Let dry before using.

DIY: Upcycled Watermark T-Shirt

U Create's blog has a great DIY that we honestly never would have thought of - who knew that just using some glue could make a t-shirt look so much more fun!

Check out their blog for more DIY!!

What I love about this project is that it's completely customizable. I used favorite quotes to decorate my shirt but you could also use song lyrics, bible verses, favorite book excerpts, etc. You can also choose whatever color you like. I think it would be a very kid-friendly project as well. There are so many possibilities!

 Materials:

Elmer's Blue Gel Glue (it must be the blue gel, white won't work)

Fabric Dye (RIT is my tried and true brand)

A white cotton Tee, Tank, Dress etc.

 Tutorial:

If you're unfamiliar with Batiking, it's a method of dyeing fabric in which you create a design with a dye- resist. When you dye your garment in cold water, all will be colored except where you've placed your dye resist. In traditional batiking, you would use wax as a resist. I tried this out and found it to be messy and difficult to control. Using store bought glue is much more convenient and very easy to control.

Step 1: Prepare

Wet your tee with cool water and place a water resistant board between the layers of fabric. I used the lid of a bin.

Step 2: Design

I'm not much of an artist, so what worked best for me was writing favorite quotes right across the front of the shirt.

This quote was found via Pinterest

Source

You could also try drawing a simple design like my very amateur sailboat:

Let dry completely. This will take several hours.

Step 3: Dye 

Your dye bath should be prepared using cool water. Experiment with different amounts of dye until you find the right concentration. Keep in mind that the color that comes out of the dye bath will be a couple of shades darker than the dry, finished garment.

When you get the color you want, lay your tee flat to dry.

Step 4: Wash

When your tee is dry (to let the dye set) soak it in cool, soapy water for about 15 minutes. This soak washes the extra glue out. Throw it in the washer and dry as you would normally.

Step 5: Wear and Enjoy!