a little xmas- and a donut?

Today I finished up a few Xmas-y crafts that I've been working on. These styrofoam trees turned out pretty well, especially since I used what I had already(except for the smaller cone which I bought at the dollar store), making this a bit of a recycled craft. Here's the link to the original project: http://www.favecrafts.com/Christmas-Decorations/Tissue-Paper-and-Yarn-Trees-From-Plaid/ml/1 . I was thinking that if you wanted to make this craft but didn't already have styrofoam cones you could probably use cardboard and form it into cone shapes. Just an idea! FYI- mod podge is impossible to get of your hands! I've washed them at least 20 times (not exaggerating!) and I still have some stuck on my hands. ugh!


Another Xmas craft I finished up today were these felt bird ornaments. Another easy project that you could make out of any shape. These might be cute in bell shapes for Xmas too. The embroidery went pretty quick too since you can be a little creative with it. These would also be a great project to use up felt scraps. Also, a good project for kids- only maybe use fabric paint instead of embroidery? probably safer! lol

So about that donut... I got a little tired of my pins and needles in a bag (since they were falling off the other pincushion I had) so I decided to make a new pincushion. I found this idea when I was searching for a pattern, and alas- a donut pincushion was born! Chocolate with sprinkles too- now I'm hungry!

surprise--more felt !!!

I went craft shopping today and came home with a bunch of new felt and of course some other craft goodies! Then I made these felt Russian nesting dolls. I love how they turned out! I may even try making them in different sizes like the real ones. Even though these were in the holiday craft magazine, I think they're cute for any time of the year. You could probably even make them with different appliques on the body for different holidays. The possibilities are endless!

Of course, since I bought all that new felt, I just had to make some more flowers. I tried the poinsettias in red but I think that I like them better in white. I also did some more flower pins and some more rosette barrettes. I am really loving the barrettes and the different color combos. I also made some other flowers for the yarn wrapped wreaths, but since I didn't get more wreaths the flowers must wait- I'll post pics of those as soon as I get the wreaths.

Happy Crafting!

flower crazy! - and a couple of ornaments

Today I decided to be brave and try making the felt dahlia pin. It took a while to measure and cut out all of the petals but the end result rocks! I have to say that the rotary cutter did help in cutting the squares nice and even but trimming the squares to the petal shapes was a little time consuming. Once that was done, it went pretty quick with only a few minor hot glue burns (thanks to my new mini glue gun!). And voila- here's the finished pin!

I also tried making a few felt roses which it turns out are actually really simple. Instead of making the roses and leaves in typical color combos I decided to mix it up a little and add some gray in as a neutral to balance the bright colors. I'm loving the end result!

I did try making a few felt Christmas ornaments today too. Some turned out better than others and some I just didn't like at all. I learned that cutting snowflakes out of felt is a lot harder than I thought- or maybe I just need a smaller sharp scissor! I'd like to try making a few more but I think I need some more Christmas-y felt colors first. I need to figure out where they get all the cool colors that they use in the magazine though. hmmm.

Happy Crafting!

flowers, flowers, and more flowers!

Today I decided to experiment with some more felt flowers- there are so many out there and they are so addicting! Once you start making them,  its almost impossible to stop (unless you run out of felt in certain

colors!) So I decided to make my flowers useful instead of just pretty by gluing pins to the back of them. Now I can use them on sweaters, bags or even around the house (on pillows, curtains, etc.) The possibilities are endless. As my felt flower fest continued I decided to make a smaller flower into a ring and not surprisingly, I love it!

The other day I got a great new magazine which has so many holiday

craft ideas (felt, crochet, paper, painting, etc.). With so many fabulous projects, the biggest question is where to begin. Since I've been on a felt kick, I decided on the felt pinecone. I liked the color of the one in the magazine better, but being the thrifty crafter that I am, I decided to work with what I had. And you know what- I really like it. I see a trip to Michael's in my future to stock up on some more felt!
Happy Crafting!

i love felt flowers!!

Today I finished two of my wreaths that I've been working on. The first is a Christmas wreath wrapped in red yarn with a big white poinsettia- love it!! I'm not crazy about the ribbon to hang it from though so I might try something different. I love how the poinsettia turned out and might just have to make some into pins. hmmm.

The other wreath I finished is more for everyday. It's wrapped in a fuzzy brown and blue yarn with turquoise and off-white flowers.  Since the picture of the whole wreath didn't come out great I took a close-up of the flowers. They were too cute to not show off! This wreath will look great in my room once I switch to my fall bedding. yay! I'm really enjoying making these felt flowers. They're bright and simple- and I keep thinking of all the great things I could do with them- look out Christmas! lol. I just got a new holiday craft magazine today and I think I want to make one of everything in it. Oh, where to begin! lol.

organizing and a little crafting

Not too much crafting today, but I think I finally have my newly organized craft shelf the way I want it- for now at least! (see picture at left). The fabric bins are all from the dollar tree and are great for organizing all those small miscellaneous craft supplies. I also got a new glue gun which normally wouldn't be so exciting but it's just super cute!And the best part is that since its small it doesn't burn me like my old one- yay! Not the best picture (my photo skills are definitely lacking!) but it has this funky flower pattern on it.

The only crafting I did manage to do today was to start on my foam wreath. I wrapped the yarn on two different wreaths (one for everyday and a Christmas one). Tomorrow I'll work on the felt flowers for them. Also, didn't have much felt in colors that matched the yarn, so it's off to Michael's tomorrow!- shocking I know! lol.

go team!

Here's the finished product- edward and anastasia in their back to school outfits. (note- they're sporting Jets green!)They still need some accessories though- what bear doesn't!

Tonight was Knitter's Anonymous at the Knit Addiction where almost everyone was working on hats and scarves for Operation Gratitude. I've already finished five hats and was working on number six tonight. (see picture at right).

Happy crafting!!

edward and anastasia bear

So it's back to knitting today and of course I decided to start yet another new project- shocking! lol. I was starting to grow tired of looking at my edward and anastasia bears (from knitting today magazine) in their summer outfits, so I decided it was time to start working on their Back to School outfits. Of course, as is always the case, these tiny things end up taking a lot longer to knit than expected. I did finish edward's  outfit (minus the shoes) and started on anastasia's skirt. That's it for today- Pics of their finished looks to follow! But for now, here's (almost finished) edward.

upcycled mirror

I've been wanting a mirror for my dresser for awhile now but couldn't find any that I loved, so I decided to make my own!- and it didn't cost me anything. The mirror was on the inside of a jewelry box that was breaking apart, so I glued the mirror to a picture frame (since it didn't have a stand on it). Then I made a bunch of fabric rosettes (which I learned to make the other night- thanks Kylie!) and glued thm to the frame. I finished it off with some bling for the flower centers. And there it is- my new upcycled mirror that I LOVE!