Beaded Bookmarks!

We seem to be having a hard time keeping up with bookmarks. And we seem to be reading at least one chapter book at a time. Which means, I’m constantly trying to remember where we left off….

So when I saw these adorable bunny bookmarks by Small for Big, I was so excited to make them! Have you seen this? The project has been featured all over the blog world! It’s just so adorable!

I wanted to try making them out of pom poms, since I knew for sure we had different sized pom poms around this house somewhere… The key word in that sentence is somewhere… I couldn’t find them anywhere… So we used the beads that we have at the house. I loved the wood colored originals, but we had colored beads and I think they turned out nicely.

I showed my son the picture of what we were making and proceeded to pick every shape we had, except the circles, for the bunnies! Then he decided that, no, no bunny for him. He was making a little square-headed kid! OK! Well, I stuck to the directions and made a bunny!

I had grand expectations of this project. We were going to make a BUNCH of these for Easter gifts. Then the kiddo left me. Alone. Beading my bookmark. I didn’t have the needle the directions described and our yarn kept separating, so I had to keep adding tape to the end of the yarn in order to bead the beads. So, it was a little slow going and the kiddo lost interest.

He’s so excited to have his bookmark in our book tonight!

Now I have to find something to read to use mine in!

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A Vertical Starfish Garland DIY

Don’t be too sad, but I hate to say it…. This is my last Christmas present post! Yes, February is halfway over and I’m still chatting about Christmas!

This was a gift for my mom who loves everything beach inspired. And who reads the blog, so I couldn’t write about it before Christmas!

I saw this picture of the vertical starfish garland in Coastal Living in the December issue and pulled the ‘ole, ‘I can make that!’ I immediately tore the page out so I wouldn’t forget. And yes, I do subscribe to Coastal Living. On accident! It was also a present for my mom last year, but I accidentally got my mom and myself an issue. Instead of canceling, I’ve really enjoyed it! Now to decide if I resubscribe??? I already have some more DIY ideas for the beach house (or my mom…).

So off to work I went in my little Christmas workshop! I had the rope left over from our pirate party and some starfish still left over from our wedding. I had given most of them to my mom to decorate her house, so I did have to ask her to bring some back for me to make her present! HA!

Originally I was planning on using just one piece of the rope, but then realized a little more simpler approach! I measured out the length I wanted between the stars and then hot glued the one long length of rope to the back of the starfish. Then I went back around each one and wrapped the rope around the top of it. So it looks like one continuous rope, but… It’s not!

I wonder if she’ll hang it at her house or the beach house??? hmmmm….

It would be fun for an Under the Sea party, too, Huh??? Just a little something different than the typical garland!

 

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A Valentine’s Printable for You

Amidst all the sewing this week, my son and I took some time out to be crafty! We are making Valentine’s!

Quilt inspired Valentine’s that is!

I was totally inspired by S.O.T.A.K. Handmade’s pixelated heart pillow. When I first saw it I thought I’d make a few for Valentine’s gifts, but then realized I might not make it in time…. So instead of sewing it, we decided to glue it!

Consider your self warned though…. If you use my printable you must cut a bunch of 1/4 inch squares. You may think, oh, these are small. Easy! Right? Easy yes, quick no! It took me much longer to cut out all the squares than I thought it would. But once you get them cut…. Fun times! My son decided to take a shower while I finished cutting the little squares and I was still cutting when he got back. I heard him (’cause he’s really loud! Are all 4 year olds this loud???) telling his Dad that he had to get back upstairs to make his Valentine. When he came back he was like, ‘WHAT???? you’re STILL cutting???’ Yes, dear….. I’m still cutting out little bitty, teeny, tiny squares!

But once the cutting was done, we were on our way to some super cool Valentine’s!

As we were starting, I was about to correct my son, yes, he’s 4, and get him to get all the little 1/4 inch squares of paper to align perfect in the grid. Then I breathed, because I can get a little OCD when it comes to details like this, and let him go! And I love how his turned out! Even if it doesn’t fit in the teeny tiny grid! HA!

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And of course, he loved his role of acting SUPER excited to get mail! I also added a little heart glued to the outside of the envelope. You know I’m a sucker for the wrap around address labels or something, at least, added to the envelope too. So this year, instead of the address label, I’m adding the ‘coordinating’ heart on the outside!

Ready for the printable? I have a few versions!

If I scared you about cutting all those little pieces, you can download the card with it already colored in. With the grid, here. I think the grid gives it a little more of a quilt-y feel.

Or you can download the already colored in version without the grid, here.

And if you are a little on the OCD side like me, and are super excited about cutting all the little pieces, you can download the grid with the ‘gluing guidelines’, here!

Enjoy and Have a great Valentine’s Day!

A Rainbow Christmas Flag

Yep, I’m still going on with the Christmas presents I made. Well, kinda. This is another one that ‘Santa’ made!

Most everything on my son’s Christmas list was super hero related. And he got tons of that. I just didn’t make it. I mean ‘Santa’ didn’t make much of the super hero toys. Mixed in with the super hero toy requests was a request for a Rainbow flag!

So a rainbow flag he got!

While I was discussing this project with Santa, I wasn’t exactly sure how I was going to do the stick part. Then to my surprise, we found these flags for 19 cents at an office supply store! My son was excited, he has a thing for flags. obviously. And so was I, but I was trying to play it cool, while inside I was jumping up and down with my score!

I didn’t want to make the flag just a typical rainbow flag, so I knew I needed to come up with a little something different. That’s where the slanted vertical lines come in with the polka dots on each end.

I sewed the strips together and the folded the seam under and sewed it down.

A simple project. A loved project!

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A Handmade Christmas- Pot Holders

And another thing marked off the to do list!

This Christmas there are a bit more handmade items than in years past. Which is fantastic! I’m actually doing them! But the one problem is my procrastination…. Staying up late the last few days! The good part is, I’m loving the pieces I’m making. I can’t show you too many of them since the gifts are going to people who see the blog… So most of January I’ll be showing what I made for my handmade Christmas!

These pot holders were a lot of fun to make. I don’t think I measured a single thing! Oh, that’s not true. I did measure to make sure that they are square. Otherwise, I just kinda cut until they fit.

Remember the Curtain Are So Easy Tutorial I did this summer? Those curtains were for my Stepmother’s kitchen and I had extra pieces left over. And I knew that they needed to be potholders to go in her kitchen!

The first one I made was the elephant one. The elephant is a recurring theme in their home… Roll Tide! TYpically he’s not yellow, but…I loved this Premier Prints elephant fabric.

Then I made this one with just a simple little quilting design.

And lastly, I made the ice cream bowl one! I was totally inspired by this one from Pink Penquin, which she sells here. I admit, I didn’t buy the pattern. But… I’d recommend buying the pattern so that your’s looks as perfect as hers do and so that you don’t end up with a lop sided bowl like I did. With all that ice cream in my bowl, if it was real, it wouldn’t stand up!

My Dad has a little addiction to ice cream. He has a bowl every night before bed. My Step Mom said that if the ice cream wasn’t in the kitchen, he probably wouldn’t even realize that they had a kitchen! So I thought the ice cream one would be fun!

So, like the magnets, I’m kinda addicted to the pot holders now!

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Christmas in a Jar!

Alright. Alright… I said I wasn’t going to make new Christmas decoration this year, but I can’t seem to stop….

Last year, I got these jars for Christmas. Or was it two years ago??? At first I was like, what am I going to do with them?? I put away a few pictures from the shelf, added some sand and sea shells and called it cute! Then this Halloween, I realized that they were just sitting there waiting to become a part of our holiday decorating.

I had the glitter paper, the deer and my collection of cone trees. My first idea was to do each jar totally different, but then decided to go with the two deer jars. And then a little something different for the middle one.

The middle one was originally going to be a papercut of the Abominable Snow Monster.  Remember my Christmas paper cut art piece last year? Well, I realized I hadn’t done one in a year. And wanted to do another, but not a whole piece so I thought it would be perfect to do a little one for the jars. But then we came across these little candy figures of Santa and the elves at the Dollar store and the Snow Monster was out and Santa’s village was in!

And the papercut is miniature! But I love it. My husband just shook his head and smiled when he saw me cutting out each little window….

I used this pretty thick glitter paper, so it was kinda hard to get the perfect cone shape for the trees. Oh, well…. of course, it doesn’t help that it’s kinda like a Carnival Hall of Mirrors trying to photograph these trees in the jars! And the Epsom salt makes for a perfect snow theme.

I had a great time coming up with the little designs for the jars!

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The Glitter is Out for an Ornament Tutorial

If you’ve been reading since last Christmas, you know that I rarely break out the glitter unless it’s Christmas. It’s out again! And I’ve been making glitter tree ornaments.

I’m doing another swap…. Yes, another one. This one is an ornament exchange! The 5th Annual Handmade Holiday Ornament Exchange hosted by Blu Penny. I’m excited! So originally I joined thinking I’d exchange the tree ornament I made from my son’s designs, but then this idea hit me… You might already know this, but I have a growing collection of brightly colored pointy, cone trees that I decorate with. So then this seemed perfect!

The Idea started with this tree as the final product, but the making of went through a few ideas… The idea came from a bag of wooden spools I picked up at Goodwill and have proceeded to lose. I’m 99% sure I have these spools, but I can’t find them anywhere. Then I found some ‘fake’ spools and this is how I finally decided to make the ornaments.

The materials you’ll need are:

Little Foam cones

Little Wooden Spools

Mod Podge or glue

White Paint

Paint Brush

Glitter, I prefer the super fine glitter

Barbeque Skewers

Ribbon

And not pictured (I forgot) is a Loop Turner

Step 1:  First, I painted the little spools.

Step 2: Push the skewer in through the cone. This is kinda tricky, because it wants to come out through the side. So you have to work it up and straight through the middle.

Step 3: Coat the cone in the Mod Podge.

Step 4: Coat in glitter!!!

Step 5: Glue the spools onto the bottom of the cone. I kept my skewer sticking out of the tree to help locate the right position for the spool. (You can also use a hot glue gun for this part!)

Then you have this great little forest of glittery trees!

Step 6: Pull the ribbon through the spool and the cone.

Step 7: And tie a knot at the bottom of the spool and another one at the top of tree. This covers up that flat top part of the cone.

And Voila! It’s ready to hang on the tree!

I’m totally in love with these trees, but now I have to decide which of my swap partners gets which tree….

Do you decorate with these bright colors? Or are you more or a red and green traditionalist??

Be sure to check out all the ornaments in the ornament exchange flickr group for more inspiration!!

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A Sweet Holiday Hostess Candle Gift

I hope you had a chance to make it out to the Greens and Gifts Galore this weekend! As guests to the sneak preview there was another craft that we got to make that I want to share with you…

Kristin Price from KristinPotPie had this great project set up for us all to make. It could be a great gift to take as a hostess gift to your next party or just to keep (like I’m doing). A bunch of them grouped together would be a beautiful centerpiece as well. (I just thought about that as I was writing this or I would have set it up and taken pictures…)

It’s super simple!

First let’s decorate the top. I cut a circle, but my first one was too small… So I cut again. This time I made the circle larger than I needed, then set it up on the jar and trimmed it down. Cut some greens, grab some floating candles and add water. (If you are giving this as a hostess gift, you might want to wait to add the water. Just in case… You don’t want it to spill on the way to the party!) Then add some ribbon embellishments to the top and Voila!

I don’t remember exactly what the clippings we used were, but I’ll let you know when I find out!

What would you do? Keep it or give it away? Or make more than one and do both???

 

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Free Cookies and Coffee and Crafts and Gifts and Greens Galore!

ok, so I don’t have any cookies and coffee for you, but I can tell you where you can get some!! If you are near Seattle, please try to make it to the The Arboretum Foundation’s beloved holiday sale, Gifts & Greens Galore. Get ready because it’s starting now! The event takes place today and tomorrow,  Friday, December 7, from 12 to 5 p.m., and Saturday, December 8, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

I was recently invited to attend the sneak preview and it was pretty cool!  I had never been to the event, so I was curious to find out more about it. The invite said crafts so how could I resist??

The annual event is a fund-raiser for the amazingly beautiful Arboretum, right in the middle of our fair city! The sale offers a one-of-a-kind selection of eco-friendly botanical decorations. While I was there donors were dropping off all sorts of beautiful clippings perfect for holiday decorating. The clippings, from both donors and from around the Arboretum,  are all sorted and sold by the pound. Not only can you buy the clippings to make into your own creations, but you can also pick up locally sourced and sustainably harvested wreaths, swags, and garlands.

Isn’t that hydrangea wreath fantastic? it was also made by local volunteers. Love it!

There’s also a great sale to pick up Christmas presents, including these great terrariums! And some great DIY demonstrations:

On Friday at 1 p.m., author and outdoor living expert Debra Prinzing will show shoppers how to create beautiful holiday centerpieces using seasonal, locally grown materials;

Northwest lifestyle and entertaining expert Alexandra Hedin will give a demo on Saturday at 11 a.m. about unique ways fresh greens can be used for the holidays;

Sue Mariotti of The Terrarium Shop on Etsy will show you how to build a miniature terrarium (so hot right now!) on Friday, from 2 to 4 p.m.,

And Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Foundation volunteer craft specialists and educators from UW Botanic Gardens will also host show-and-tell activities during the event, one of which we got to make!

These great little wreaths are made from ivy branches. Since ivy is an invasive species, the event will not be selling any of it, but it can be used in crafting!!! Lisa, the Education Program Assistant at the University of Washington Botanic Gardens, was there directing us on making these cute little wreaths. I love my super little simple one. Just a little bit of ivy branches, a pine clipping, a little mini pine cone nut thingy (you can see I’m not real up on my planting terminology) and some ribbon!

I loved seeing all their ideas on different ways to use clippings, from your own home or from their sale, as decorating embellishments! Check out that star place setting. How cute is that???

And thank you so much to The Arboretum’s local coffee roaster. Zoka Coffee, so offering free coffee for the event and to Cougar Mountain Cookies for the delicious cookies. Be sure to taste a little of both while you’re there (for free!)!

We also got to make another cute craft! But I’m saving it ’till tomorrow! Come back!!

And the details again….

The Arboretum Foundation’s beloved holiday sale, Gifts & Greens Galore, returns to the Graham Visitors Center at Washington Park Arboretum, Seattle, on Friday, December 7, from 12 to 5 p.m., and Saturday, December 8, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

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Follow me on Seattle Blogger’s Recommend!

Ever wonder what we think about up here in the dark and rainy Pacific NW winters?? (I swear it’s darker this year than usual…) We Blog! We Pin!

This week I was asked by Mandi from Living For Pretty to be the guest ‘Pin-er’ on the Seattle Bloggers Recommend Pin Board! I’ll be pinning Christmas Crafts all week. So be sure to follow this board for all sorts of great pins.

Last week the topic was food. I soooo want to try the Goat Cheese Bacon Balls! Of course, I would! Bacon!!! Yum!

Ok, back to finding great Christmas Crafts to share!