Easter Basket Bunting Tutorial

I've been a parent for the last 15 Easters.   For about 10 of them, I had the privilege of putting together an Easter basket for my oldest daughter.  I love doing Easter baskets! I think it might have something to do with the challenge of fitting everything into such a small space, while still making it look cute. Why is it that the basket seems much larger when you're shopping for things to go in it, than it does when it's time to fill it?  

Anyway, now that Zoe's two, it's time for me to start playing Easter Bunny again.  This year, I've come up with a something to add a little more charm to the basket, without using up any of that precious basket real estate, and I've put together a little tutorial to share with you.  

 Here's what you do.

Supplies:

baker's twine

Heavy Duty Heat-n-Bond or another iron on adhesive

fabric scraps

Tools:

tapestry needle (it looks like a needle on steroids, found in knitting section)

scissors

marker

iron

ironing board

Directions:

• Print the bunting template.
• Rough side down, lay the Heat-n-Bond over the top of the bunting template and trace as many pennants as you need.  
• Cut shapes out.
• Rough side down, iron Heat-n-Bond to the BACK of your fabric scraps.
• After they've cooled down, cut out pennants .
• Carefully peel the paper backing from the Heat-n-Bond.
• Now fold your pennants together, shiny sides facing each other. Leave an open section at the top of the triangles.  You'll thread the twine through this opening later.
• Carefully iron the front and back of the triangle together, making sure not to iron the opening at the top closed.
• Using the tapestry needle, thread the baker's twine through each flag.
• Tie to the handle or the front of your basket, removing an flags that don't fit, and trimming any excess twine.

That's it! 

Linking to:
Take a Look Tuesday @ Sugar Bee Crafts
Inspire Me Weds @ seven thirty-three
Whatever Goes Weds @ Someday Crafts
Strut Your Stuff Sat @ Six Sisters Stuff
Link Party Palooza @ Today's Creative Blog
Think Pink Sunday @ Flamingo Toes
Wow Me Weds @ Polka Dots on Parade
Lovely Ladies Linky @ The Seasoned Homemaker
Frugal Friday @ The Shabby Nest

Pottery Barn Knock-Off - Chunky Wall Shelf

Several years ago, I spotted a gorgeous shelf from Pottery Barn that carried a nearly $400 price tag.  OUCH! 

I tore the page out of the catalog, gave it to my husband, and asked if he could make one for me.  He tacked it up in the garage, where it sat for almost four years.  A couple of months ago, I took it down, showed it to him, and asked when he thought he would be able to get started on it.  A few hours later, I had a hollowed out shelf made from a few pieces of wood, and scrap molding.  

Now it was out of his hands, and in mine.  I was in charge of the finish.  Like the PB version, I wanted mine to look chippy and old.  This was a problem since he'd used painted pine to build the shelf.  There was no way for me to stain it unless I removed the paint.  Since I always choose the easy way, that wasn't something I wanted to do.  I'd been reading about milk paint for awhile, and following Shausha from Sweet Pickins on FB.  I learned that using milk paint on top of a dark base coat, will give the same look as if you'd painted over a stained piece of wood.  

I headed out to Home Depot, and picked up some dark brown paint.  I used two coats on the shelf as my base, and then painted over the top of that with several coats of Old Fashioned Milk Paint in Oyster White.  

Behr in Bitter Chocolate

Between coats of the milk paint, I dried it with a hairdryer.  Doing this helps create a nice crackle effect that adds to the chippiness that you already get with milk paint.

Once the last coat was on and dried, I used a putty knife to scrape down some places where the paint was already chipping, and then sanded a little more with a sanding block.

I love the way it turned out!

Linking to:
The Inspiration Exchange @ City Farmhouse
Made by Me @ JAQS Studio
Wow me Weds @ Gingersnap Crafts
Whatever Goes Weds @ Someday Crafts
Wow Me Weds @ Polka Dots on Parade
Lovely Ladies' Linky @ The Seasoned Homemaker
Frugal Friday @ The Shabby Nest

Repost - Halloween Ribbon Wreath

*** re-post from 2010***

If given a choice between pretty holiday decorations and cute/whimsical  holiday decorations, I will always choose cute.  I don't know why.  Maybe because cute & and whimsical = happy to me.   There have been a lot of cute Fall and Halloween wreaths floating around here the past few weeks and I'd like to show a few of my favorites.  

I love this Fall Rosette Wreath that Laura from along for the ride made.  I just packed my Fall stuff up, but will be bringing it back out on Nov 1st.  In the meantime, I'll be making one of these to hang up when the time comes.

Then there is this this.  Beverly's (from Flamingo Toes) Semi-Scary Halloween Wreath. 

 

Because I love candy corn, I love this Woman's Day inspired Candy Corn Wreath from Karly @ Jellybean Junkyard.

OK, now this one isn't a Fall or Halloween wreath, but it so could be.  I can imagine these pins alternately painted black and orange or white and black.  Also, I think you could use regular clothespins and Mod Podge some Halloweenie scrapbook paper to them.  This one is an Embroidery Hoop Wreath

and it was created by Heidi over at Budget Wise Home.

This one was actually posted last year, but I recently ran across in during a Google image search.  I've already got the stuff to make this one and am hoping to get to it this weekend (fingers crossed because I've been saying that for the past two weekends).  This Plush Wreath was made by Mandi over at Smile and Wave.

I saw this one today through the Craft Gossip Facebook page.  It's a Boo Wreath by Paige Evans.  It's one of the projects from the Oct/Nov issue of Simply handmade.   

After I did my morning chores, I went right out to the local Five & Dime to get the stuff I needed for this.  I omitted the BOO and the bow, but I love how mine turned out.  I still want to get some ric-rac to add a little more whimsy to it.

Linking to:

DIY Fall Festival
Sugar & Spice 

No Sew Baby Monthly Appliques

I want to start out by saying that it's hard to believe my post from this same day, last year was about the crib quilt I made for this sweet button of a girl who will be seven months old on Sunday.  Where does the time go???

Today's tutorial is for no-sew baby month appliques.  Now, I know you can purchase monthly stickers, but these are more personalized, and a little different than what everyone else might be doing.  These are so easy to apply that anyone can do it.  You could give the appliques with a set of plain onesies as a shower gift and new mommy can iron them on herself.  You wouldn't want to iron them on beforehand because it's really hard to know how big a baby will be and what size they might be wearing at a certain age.  I'd recommend either giving the appliques by themselves as a gift or as I said earlier, pairing them with 12 different size onesies.  

Knowing what month baby is due makes it easy to customize these around the holidays.  A January month could be a blue fabric with white dots or snowflakes, February could be a red fabric with little hearts, March with green fabric for St Patty's, and so on.  For whatever reason, this didn't occur to me and it's something a friend suggested to me the other day.  So now, even though I have through month nine done for Zoe, I'll be redoing them to match the upcoming holidays.  

I guess you're probably ready for me to get on with this so here we go!

This tutorial will work for any applique you want to do.  If you decide you'd like to stitch around the applique, I'd recommend either medium or lite Heat-n-Bond.  The ultra-hold will be too hard to sew through.  You should be able to find Heat-n-Bond at any place that sells fabric or sewing notions. Even Wal-Mart has it.

MATERIALS

Various fabric scraps big enough for your numbers

Heat-N-Bond Medium or Ultra-Hold 

a pen - I find a sharpie is a little easier to use

iron

INSTRUCTIONS

In Word, choose your font style and size and type out numbers 1-12.  I've used Comic Sans @ 400 in BOLD for mine.  Now, print them out. Print them in reverse, or in mirror image if you can. 

Next, rough side down, on top of your printed numbers, trace the numbers onto the smooth, paper side of the Heat-n-Bond.  IMPORTANT:  if you didn't print your numbers in reverse, flip your printouts over before tracing.  If you don't trace the numbers in reverse, they will be backwards once your put them on the onesie.

Now you'll cut around your numbers.  Don't cut them out yet, just cut around them, leaving a 1/4 inch or so space.

I recommend cutting any open spaces in the numbers out first, before bonding.  For example, the 4, 8 or 0.

Following the instructions on the back of the Heat-n-Bond package, bond your numbers to the fabrics you've chosen.  Once you've bonded and let the fabrics cool, you can cut out the numbers.  

Leave the paper backing on until you're ready to bond.  When you are ready to bond the number to the onesie, peel the paper backing off and position it right side up on the onesie.  *Using medium heat, press the iron down on the number for 6 seconds.  That's it!

*If your iron is too hot, or you leave it on the applique too long, it won't bond correctly.  If you do this, let it cool down a little and try again.  

Linking to:
Wow Us Weds
Creative Spark
Look What I Made 
Sugar & Spice 

Nursery Crafting

Well, I'm still alive, and still baking this little bun. We've got about 10 weeks until her debut, and I'm just putting the finishing touches on her room.

Today, I want to share her mobile with you.

I'd planned on making one from the beginning, I just couldn't figure out what I wanted. I shared one type of mobile with you all, months ago. I actually started making that one, but of course, as soon as I found out I was having a girl, my nursery plans changed. Out went the gender-neutral room, and in came the floor to ceiling girly room.

I ran across this mobile a sometime back in late summer, and decided I'd give it a shot, even though, it seemed to be pretty time-consuming.  

Following this link will take you to The Handmade Home, and to the tutorial for the mobile.  I'm just gonna run through a few tidbits on how I made mine.

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First off, this wasn't nearly as time consuming as I thought it'd be.  It's the perfect TV project.  Since I started knitting, nearly 10 years ago, I have the hardest time just sitting and watching TV.  I absolutely HAVE to have something to keep my hands busy.  This project was great for that!  

Second, for a mobile, you can't beat the price.  I spent around $5 on this.  The only things I had to purchase were extra felt sheets, and the baker's twine I used for hanging. 

I used a few pieces of fabric on some of the rounds, but I found I liked the way all felt looked better.  It just really made the embroidery stitches stand out (it seems like I may have read this very same thing over at HH).

I found my baker's twine here.

I cut all of my circles by hand.  I traced around various household objects with a fabric pen and then cut everything out.  I used objects (spool of thread, small tape measure, suction cup) that had similar measurements to what Ashley recommended.  * Just so you know, I've added the Sizzix Big Shot she recommended to my Christmas list this year.  Fingers crossed that i get it!  I have so many plans for that machine (think garlands galore).

Our ceilings are 8ft so I didn't make my mobile nearly as long as the ones over at HH.  This means I didn't need quite as many rounds as she did.  I ended up doing 5 strands.  The 4 outside strands had 4 completed rounds on them and the center strand had 6.  I ended up using a total of 44 rounds. 

I used a 15" hoop, which I painted to coordinate with the rounds. 

********

One good thing about this mobile is that you can use it for years.  It's not really babyish, and would be fine in a child's room.  Shoot, Han is 13 and she wants one for her room.  

I'm hoping to be back to blogging more frequently, at least until Zoe arrives.  It's been a LONG time since I've tended to a newborn so I'm not exactly sure how much free time to expect.  My guess is, not much. 

Linking to:
Met Monday
Motivate Me Monday 
Sunday Showcase 
Made By Me

DIY Beachy Wall Art

Happy 4th (OK, 3rd) guys!  I hope everyone is enjoying this wonderful holiday weekend. 

Last week, I participated in the Beach Bash over at The Country Chic Cottage.  If you missed out on the projects that were posted, head on over and take a look.  Here's the project I shared.

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I want to share with you today, a simple project to help you "beachify" your summer vignettes or even a spare wall you might have.  It's a great way to bring some beach life into your decor.  I'm planning hang mine as a collection in my master bath.

The project I'm sharing is my Simple Beachy Wall Art.  I think the whole project took me less than 30 minutes, and I was able to do the whole thing almost completely with items I already had on had.

Materials Needed

• assorted frames
• paint & brushes (optional - My frames were already pretty beachy so I left them as is.)
• burlap
• scissors
• spray adhesive
• shells

Directions

*If you're going to paint your frames, go ahead and do that first. 

Remove backing and glass from your frame.  

Lay your backing onto the burlap and trace around the backing.  Then cut burlap.  I cut mine a little larger than the size I needed, just in case I made some sort of mistake (I usually always make mistakes).  

Spray backing with a light coat of spray adhesive and smooth the burlap onto the backing.  Any creases or wrinkles in your burlap will be smoothed out at this time.


Let the adhesive set about 10 or 15 minutes, and then trim away any excess burlap.

Put backing back into frame (without the glass).

Now it's time for the fun part!  Lay your frames flat and play around with different shell arrangements until you find the ones you like.

Once you're satisfied, use your glue gun (I couldn't find mine and had to use E600) to glue the shells in place, making sure to leave everything flat until the glue sets.  

That's it! Pretty simple, right??

Linking to:

Met Monday @ Between Naps on the Porch
Mad Skillz Party @ Mad in Crafts
Market Yourself Monday @ Sumo's Sweet Stuff 

Beach Bash - Beachy Wall Art

My beachy wall art is the subject of today's post for the Beach Bash, which is going on over at The Country Chic Cottage this week.

Head on over for the deets, and learn how to make your own!

I Made a Spring Wreath Too - Dolla Tree Style

*Pssst...  there is a Spring Wreath link party @ the end of this post. 

I really wanted a nice Spring wreath for my front door, but I didn't want to shell out the big bucks.  Also, most pre-made wreaths are too big for the space between my front door and the storm door.  I'd planned to do another ribbon wreath, but then decided I wanted something a little more professional looking.

A few weeks ago, when I went to a doctor visit, I noticed they had a really pretty grapevine wreath that was covered in faux ivy.  I decided to make one just like it.  I bought this sad little grapevine wreath from the Salvation Army for 99 cents.  Then I went to the Dollar Tree and bought four packs of ivy garland.  

I wrapped the garlands around the wreath, hooking each end to the start of a new "vine".   The I hung it up with some hemp rope.  It looked sooo sad and plain.  So sad that I didn't even bother taking a photo.

I looked around for some kind of flower that would look nice on my poor little ivy wreath.  I was thinking roses & ivy would look nice together. I Googled "rose & ivy wreath", looking for some inspiration, but found none.  Boo!

I finally stopped by the Dollar Tree last Sat and found these "magnolia" bushes.  I say magnolia that way, because the stigma (that fuzzy thing in the middle) on these are gray, and our magnolias don't look like that around here (SC).  I've never seen one that's gray and so I don't know if that's right or not.  You know, there is a reason stuff ends up at the Dollar Tree.   

Anyway, I still think my wreath is awesome, and for $7, you can't beat it.  Or maybe you can.


Gotta cheap DIY Spring wreath to show off?  Link 'er up here.




Linking to:
Hookin' Up With HOH @ House of Hepworths
Everything but the Kitchen Sink @ A  little Knick Knack