Thursday, March 24, 2011

Easter eggs...how to...

It is such a bummer that easter egg kits haven't really changed in 30 some years. You can get tie dye, sparkle, swirl, throw on a sticker that doesn't really stick, or for something super exciting you can get a clear crayon and watch it magically appear after you dye it in super stinky vinegar colored water. So, what do you do instead......stalk other bloggers for ideas!!!  I saw something similar on another blog and decided to try it. I love cute easter decorations and even more if I can make them super cheap!!






Hobby Lobby has paper mache eggs 3/$1.00. I took a few old childrens books and tore out nine pages, one for each egg. I took one of the pieces of paper and wet it under the sink. This makes it easier to tear (i liked the torn look over the scissors) and easier to shape around the egg. Modge podge the whole egg then start ripping what you want on the egg. Cover it all, modge podge it again and smooth it out as much as you can. Be careful not to rub too much or you'll end up rubbing off the paper. You will be sticky...its kind of fun!! Let your egg dry without touching the other eggs. Thats all there is too it! I have also thought of tearing up an old piano book too...wouldnt that look cute! Not something I have on hand! Cant wait for garage sale season so I can stock up on random things!! Happy egg decorating!!!

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Spring...I love....

I love spring, I love that I can poop my kids out by sending them outside and that they can explore the woods and puddles...they love it out here!!, I love the birds singing, I love seeing little green buds poking up, I love Michigan and that we appreciate spring because we just came out of  a long winter, I love not having to pack snow clothes for school , I love how its lighter out later, I love, love Jesus and thank Him for seasons and all the beauty each one brings!!!

I found this blog with a tutorial, its here.... http://www.cluckclucksew.com/2009/10/tutorial-scrap-buster-fall-pillow.html . I love this pillow!!! I made mine springy instead of fallish!! I needed a little owl break! :)  If any of you want me to make you any of these pillows (like the people I know, I'm not so sure I want to ship these all over) I honestly would love to, as long as you're okay with all my imperfections! :)


Wednesday, March 16, 2011

new hair pretty

So, I made this tonight in about 20 min. and its so easy!! I will post a tutorial if anyone is interested. Ellie needed some new hair accessories so I threw in some green for tomorrows St. Patricks day! Have a great day bloggers!!

Monday, March 14, 2011

Owls....again

Hmmm, I just posted about Owls I made and it disappeared?? So, I will try this again!! I have been trying to make a pattern that I really like and this is my favorite so far. Let me know what you think, what I should add or try differently.  I decided to add pockets on these...maybe for pacifiers, the tooth fairy or just some little treasures. They are really fun for me to make and I love using different patterns!!

Ice and Owls

This weekend Dan surprised the girls with tickets to Disney Princess' on Ice!! They had a blast!! I totally enjoyed it too!! The lights, costumes, music...so very Disney!!! Aubrey pretty much just stood clapping the whole time while Ellie's eyes looked like they were going to bug out of her head!! I love being able to take them to super special things like that! I would highly recommend it to anyone with little girls!!
The 7 dwarfs

Tinkerbell going for a ride

The girls' favorite part...the big fiery dragon!!!

Monday, March 7, 2011

Felt Flower Tutorial

 Quite a few of you have asked how I have made the felt pillow flower. There is a blog that I found one on but I did it a little different. I am not usually very good at giving directions or explaining things well so bare with me. If you are a perfectionist this tutorial is going to drive you buggy because I just wing everything and don't have exact amounts or measurements to any of what I do. Sorry!!!
This flower can be done with or without a sewing machine! It truly is easy and can be done in an hour or so....really I don't know how long it takes. I stop to get someone a drink, help get out a toy, etc. :)

Step one, decide how big you want your pillow and where you want your flower/s to be.  I find a CD works for a good object to trace, it makes a nice sized flower. I start by cutting out felt circles. Cut out about 2in. across and cut out 10 or so start and then cut those circles in half. Each of mine are a little different, I don't cut them all out exactly the same, I like the look that gives.

Like my choice of CD!? lol!
Next you need to lay out your first layer of the flower, overlap them and then pin the petals down. Use either your sewing machine or by hand to secure this layer.
The first layer, see how IMperfect it is....thats okay!!!


With the second layer, you use the same sized circle halves as the first layer.
When you get to the next layer cut some smaller circles. As I do this layer I create a small crease in the petal. It gives it a little dimension. Your machine will kind of want to do this crease anyway. Mine does anyway.
So heres what it looks like after four layers. Add more or less, do whatever you want for your look. There are no right or wrong ways to do this.
I like to add a twisted flower to the middle. All I do is simply cut a section of the felt and twist it. I sew it by hand with dmc floss. Use a strong needle to get through the felt.
Heres where you twist until you form enough of a flower to cover the center.
Looks like this as I do it, then I secure it to the middle of the flower.
Here is what you end up with, flippin adorable!!
Today I decided to add a small flower too, so I did the same as the other.

Now you sew it and make it a pillow!! Careful ironing around it...but you will want to iron, it gets kind of wrinkly looking!


So, here is the front of it.
And to change it up a little bit, I put a patterned fabric on the back.
There you have it, simple, fun and all your own!! Plus these are cheap to make...if you shop clearance bins like I do!! :) Have fun with these and I would love to see pictures of your own!! If you have more questions or I didn't explain well enough please comment or send me an email!! Thanks for your interest in my crafting!!

Sunday, March 6, 2011

a few new sumin' sumin's to share

So, I decided to play around with something a little different than pillows. Well, I shouldn't say that, this is an stuffed owl. There are so many cute ones out there so I thought I would try a small one and see what happens. Its not bad but has some pretty large ears!! I wanted to work on a "ladder stitch" here and I am not very good, definetly need more practice. Thanks becki for letting me know what it is!! Things will be much more professional looking!!
Aubrey still thought it was the coolest thing ever...gotta love her!

I have been wanting to put some ruffles on something ever since I figured out how to do it on the machine...so fun and easy! I found something like this on line and thought I would try it on a kid size shirt first. When I do it again I will do it on a tank top and add a few smaller ruffles. Kind of cute!

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Life and pillows (shocker, I know!)

Happy March!!! I love being able to write that! It feels like spring is in sight now. February is the shortest month yet the longest feeling month!!! Hooray for waiting for the daffodils to peak out!

Little Ell is already taking home school projects! The kitchen was a mess of magazines and modge podge. She had a lot of fun making "her" and even let her little sister help!
For school, parents are asked to make a Jazzy Jar for fun night. I decided to make mini bean bags with some scrap fabrics. They are used with tickets and can include anything from candys to gift cards etc. Kind of a fun thing for parents and kids!
The pillows this week are these...one with felt bundles and one with a doily. (or as Dan said "nice spider web pillow")Both ideas came from the Girl Creative blog on my page. Dan asked me what in the world I am going to do with all of these pillows so if you have an idea, let me know. I was wondering if there are any fundraisers around here that could use some?? Like church auctions? Contact me if you would be interested. The house can only use so many pillows!!