I Need More... Hairclips [The tinier the better!]

I love, love, love tiny things.  Always have.  I, of course, had a dollhouse growing up and my favorite part of it was the chimney.  Not just the chimney, but the teeny tiny bricks that covered it.  (I can still remember glueing them on with my mother and smearing the mortar between them...)  Get it?  I love little things.


I was growing a bit tired of my daughter's hair clips and stumbled across two new ideas on the web.  Let me tell you, these are cute as they come!  But the best part of these two new clips?  They're tiny!  Which makes them extra cute in my book.  Give them a try - they're super easy, too!  Here are photos of my versions of their fantastic ideas.

The Accidental Crafter: Ramblings of a Wannabe Crafter and Mother
Felt Flower 
My notes: For a flower this small, invest in the Cuttlebug die cut that they recommend!  Free-handing something this tiny is a hot mess.  The die cut set comes with four flowers and I used the largest flower (1.5-inches) for the petals and the smallest (0.75-inches) on the back to cover stitches.  Adhere with a dot of hot glue.  If you do not have a die cutting machine - never fear!  This "flower" could be made with felt circles, too.

Little Jenny Wren: Life and Dolls
Pinwheel Bobby Pin
My notes: My square measured 1.5-inches.  I used HeatNBond to fuse the fabrics together and a clip rather than a bobby pin.  Just as above, I glued a small felt circle to the back to cover stitches.

I Need More... Jewelry [The Charm of Young Women]

I have been involved in my church's Young Women program for the better part of my adult life and have loved every minute of it!  Last fall, I was released from my calling/job and found myself sorting through all of the YW goodies that I had collected up to this point.  It struck me that I had completed the Young Women Personal Progress program (designed to bring young women closer to Jesus Christ through personal study, learning experiences, and meaningful projects) almost FOUR times in my lifetime.  I can only hope that I learn a little something new each time.  :)  But, I found myself with quite a few medallions and charms - awards for progress - in my jewelry box.  What to do?  What to do?  I rarely wore any of the  medallions alone as necklaces, but would I wear them if they were brought together in charm bracelet form?  YES!  So, here is how I [stylishly] wear my Young Women tokens now.  What do you think?

P.S.  There is one more charm destined for my bracelet.  The Honor Bee.  (See the gaping hole?)  It is a darling little bumble bee that is awarded when you've completed the program and have worked another 40 hours above and beyond.  (I personally think that I've earned that by now, but my current ward leadership thinks otherwise.  Boo!  I guess I'll just have to wait until the next time I'm called to work with the young women!)

I Need More... Peeps [Peeps, peeps, everywhere!]

Halloween may seem to have the lock on candy, but not in my world.  It's Easter.  Come on.  Chocolate bunnies, robin's egg malt balls, super stale marshmallow Peeps, and the tooth-achingly perfect Cadbury Egg?  Really, Halloween?  Really?  You've got nuthin' on Easter confections!

PEEPS GARLAND
So, to celebrate my love of Easter sweets, my home dec centered around the all-mighty Peep this year.  I made about a billion felt Peeps to string into garlands.  (A lucky few even received them tied to the real thing as gifts.)  The garland came from the Dana Made It blog.  See it here.  FYI:  I used a 15 ft. spool of gingham ribbon per 13 felt bunny Peeps, leaving plenty of extra ribbon on the ends for hanging.




WREATH

I then grabbed the glue gun for a session with a styrofoam wreath and several boxes of Peeps.  Here is the basic tutorial.  Although, it was so simple, that a tutorial seems admittedly silly.

Supplies:

Styrofoam wreath, about 12-inch

Ribbon

Straight pins

Hot glue gun and glue sticks

Peeps, just shy of three boxes

How to:

1. Behind the wreath, pin down one end of your ribbon.  Wrap the wreath in ribbon, overlapping edges slightly to hide any signs of styrofoam.  Pin the ribbon now and again with straight pins to keep the ribbon from slipping.

2. Glue your Peeps, side by side, into place.  Just squish them close together, until you've completed your circle.

3.  Pin a loop of ribbon to the back of the wreath and hang it proudly.

4. Resist the urge to eat these uber-stale Peeps when the holiday is over.  Stale may be good, but that's just gross.

I Need More... Catalog Copies [Nordstrom Bow T-shirt]

Late last summer, I lifted an idea from a t-shirt in a summer Nordstrom catalog.  I couldn't help myself.  The t-shirt was delicious and it just screamed "You can do that!"


Supplies:


T-shirt
Freezer paper
Pencil
Sharpie pen
Mark-B-Gone pen
Embroidery hoop, thread, and needle
Fusible interfacing, lightweight




How To:

1. Pin and trim a piece of freezer paper to the front neckline of a t-shirt.  With a pencil, gently trace the neckline of the shirt below the ribbing.  Still with your pencil, sketch a bow onto the freezer paper (or feel free to use my template) and trace the design with a black Sharpie.  

2. Re-pin the freezer paper behind the t-shirt and, with a Mark-B-Gone pen, trace the bow design onto the front of the shirt.  Discard the freezer paper.  (For the record:  It would seem easier to use tracing paper to transfer the design to the shirt.  However, the knit fabric doesn't play well with tracing paper.  Try it if you must, but be forewarned.)


3. Place the embroidery hoop over a section of the design.  With two threads, stitch the design onto the t-shirt.  Move the hoop as needed.  Be careful not to stretch the t-shirt as you sew.


4. Spray the design with water to make the Mark-B-Gone ink disappear.  Do this before you walk away from the project.  Mark-B-Gone turns somewhat permanent after a while.  (I learned my lesson the hard way on this one.)


5. Turn shirt inside out and iron a piece of fusible interfacing just large enough to cover the stitching.  This will help from knots coming undone or fraying.

I Need More... Holiday Handouts [Happy Valentine's Day 2010]

I know that when you're a kid all you want is the store-bought Halloween costume or cartoon Valentine cards.  I did.  But now that I'm all grown up, I appreciate all the hard work my mother did back in the day to make my holidays one-of-a-kind and memorable.  So I am continuing the lovingly cruel cycle with no apologies!  Below are Amelia's Valentine's Day cards which, for the record, beat the pants off every other card in her Valentine mailbox from school.  [Mother smiles slyly.]  Idea originally came from here.

Supplies:


Camera
White butcher paper
Photoshop or other photo-manipulating software
Colored cardstock
Hole punch
Cello bags & ribbon
Goodies for inside the cello bag or a lollipop


How to:


1. Create a blank backdrop for your photo.  Here's how I did it:  I pushed a storage tub flush against the refrigerator (to be used as a bench), unrolled several yards of white butcher paper from the local teacher supply store over the tub (held in place by fridge magnets), and have your subject gently sit on your "bench".


2. As the photographer I would suggest standing on a chair to get higher than your subject.  Then as they reach for the camera with their fist, you get a good angle.  And flood the room with light!


3. Using Photoshop or the like, crop or adjust your photo as desired.  I cropped to 4x4-inches.  Layer text onto photo.  I used colors for the text pulled from the colors in the photo.  Save as a jpg.

4. Print your photos.  I sent mine to Walgreens (because they always seem to have a special on prints).  Call the photo center and give them the final dimensions of the photo that you want.  Many of their machines will stretch your image to fit their 4x6-inch photo size, for example, if you do not instruct them otherwise.  My photos came back to me as 3.75x3.75-inches, so pretty close to the original size.


5. Trim off excess photo and mount on cardstock.  Punch holes near the subject's hand (where you will attach the sweet treat).


6. Attach your treat with twine or ribbon.


7. Sit back and enjoy your accomplishment!  And quietly snicker at those who bought their Valentines.  Hee hee.

I Need More... Subway Art [St Patrick's Day Print]

My friend, Michelle, turned me on to the fantastic blog Eighteen25 recently.  I love, love, love their Valentine Subway Art.  I downloaded, printed, and framed it (along with about a gazillion other folks).  I started decorating for St. Patrick's Day yesterday and decided that I needed a St. Paddy's version of the print.  So, I stretched my Adobe Illustrator legs and created this.  Out of curiosity, I hopped over to Eighteen25 and found their version.  (Impulsivity clearly got the better of me yet again.)  So, now you have two to choose from.  But you should probably download theirs considering it was their idea that gave me my inspiration in the first place.  Darn those cute, creative people!


I printed my 11x14-inch print at Costco for $2.99.  In case you're wondering.

I Need More... Mama Holiday

When I was a kid, I had a friend whose mother decorated for every holiday, baked like a pro, never missed a thank you note or birthday card, and still managed to keep her sanity.  I wanted to grow up to be like "Mama Holiday".  But alas, my middle name is "Chaos".  Well, NO MORE!

I heard about a webinar and planner called Cut the Crazy out of Christmas (and though I did not take the course and know only tidbits about it) the title alone totally inspired me.  So I threw together a planner of my own and I'm off and running.  So far, we're almost to March and I'm still on top of my game.  (If you really know me, you can stop laughing now...)  2011 may very well be the only year that the stars align for this surge of organization, but for now I feel happy. Just like Mama Holiday.

MAMA HOLIDAY ORGANIZER contents:

- Monthly page dividers -  Within each month I file special things not to miss, like:

- Birthday, etc. list - A simple list of important dates for the month.  All cards get mailed on the first of the month.  That way, I don't miss an event.

- Recipes - Seasonal ones like Michelle's Red Hot Popcorn for Valentine's Day or Natural Easter Egg Dyes for Easter or Peach Jam for late summer.  Recipes that I make each year and would be super sad if I forgot.

- Crafts to make - These are usually penciled-in notes or photos of ideas in plastic sleeves.  So far, this has kept me ahead of the game with Valentine's Day cards, and St. Patrick's Day gifts for my family.

This is not a fancy system and it may not even work for you.  But it's working for me.  Oh, and there is ONE rule:  Don't beat yourself up if you miss a holiday or event.  There's always next year!

P.S.  When the webinar rolls around again next year in October, I'll be first in line!

P.P.S.  Sorry about neglecting this blog.  I'll be better because it's in the planner!  :)