Pallet Wood Ornament

This is one way that I am passing on a legacy of homemade Christmas to my children: I make an ornament each year to give to family. This means that my children each have at least as many ornaments as they are old! I am really enjoying doing it and they are enjoying putting them on individual trees in their room each Christmas season!

This years ornament was inspired by some I saw for sale at the Daisy Festival this year. They ended up completely different than what I saw there, but I love to improvise! :)

I cut lengths of pallet wood, sanded and stained them. Then I used ModgePodge to attach a paper to the front that has the names of Jesus all over it. I scoured the craft store and did not find a manger that was bold enough, so I used some scrap stamp rubber to make my own manger stamp and stamped it in brown ink on the front. Then I drilled two holes in the top, used clothesline wire (because that is what I had and I hate running to the store for more stuff when I can use what I already have!) through the holes and twisted them around with my jewelry pliers. The last touch was a little bow made of twine that I tied on one end of the wire. I am so excited about the result!

Cork Christmas Tree

 I made three of these and gifted two to my Mom and Sister for Christmas over the weekend! They were quick and easy, and they turned out better than I ever thought!

I had my mom and friends collect corks for me, and then cut them all to about a inch and a quarter length. Then I rubbed a few in some metallic ink pads I had (silver, copper, gold) and one in brown. I hot glued the triangle for the tree and a twine bow on top for hanging. Then I cut a trunk to a point and glued it to the bottom. I am really enjoying the natural look and it pops on the tree.

Pallet Christmas Tree

 My husband picked up this pallet from me in the trash pile down the street because I had seen some great Christmas trees at the craft fair I went to recently. Then I looked online and found an idea that I knew would be just right for me.
So we cut the pallet, increasing 2 inches on either side, to look like a tree and removed the back boards. The middle piece is 4x4 and perfect for a sturdy stand, so we left it just like it was.








Then I stained the middle piece with a mahogany stain (painting carefully between the slats). Next I used a little white paint I had left from a house project, mixed it with water, and did a little whitewash on the slats.

After that, I had to decide on lettering, and ended up choosing to use my Cricut to cut vinyl and and adhered it to use as a stencil. I spaced them out, gave the letters one good coat of brown paint and let it dry.









Lastly, I cut a few twigs, formed a star with wire on the tips, nailed a little nail in the top section and hung the star on it. (I figured that little star would never make it in and out of the attic without breaking apart, so I wanted to be able to remove it and put it away safely!)


Now I just have to wait until after Thanksgiving to be able to display it!!!

Elegant Swirls

It took me a long time and a lot of different tries, but I finally feel like I was able to copy the elegant swirls of this beautiful wedding invitation. I loved the asymmetrical swirls at the top and the pair of hearts! I like to add them to wedding projects like this because they add a punch of color without putting flowers on.

Less is More

I have been enjoying my time working on wedding invitations this week. I always try to see something in the invitations to 'copy' into the quilling so that it all coordinates. This time, it was the flower in the background that I picked. I put this together, thinking that it was just the beginning of the project, but the more I looked at it the more I thought "Less is more!" It just didn't look like it needed anything else. I thought it looked so elegant with just a couple flowers filling the corners.

What do you think? Is less, more?

Green Necklace

A little green for me to wear on St. Patrick's Day...

and hopefully a lot more days too!

Quilled Shamrock

I quilled a little shamrock for St. Pats Day...

St. Patrick's Day Wreath

I have a couple friends that I have been talking with for months about making a wreath. We talked about it so much, that we bought the supplies back in the beginning of December!! I never did get that Christmas wreath made...but still wanted to work on one. So I tried to make one festive for St. Patrick's Day! I got out all the green fabrics in my stash, and while my hubby watched a seriously lame movie about California splitting in two, I made flowers. This morning, I thread each button for the centers on a piece of floral wire and threaded it through the flower. This way, I have a wreath I can easily change! I think if I take out a couple green ones, and add in a few pastels, I have all the flowers I need for an Easter wreath! I had this grapevine wreath hanging around from fall (I think) and just wired them on where I thought they looked nice.

A few more lame movie nights, where I can concentrate on my flower making, and I could have a wreath for every season! :)

String Heart

I have seen these string art projects popping up, and wanted to try one. A Valentine heart seemed perfect. I had my hubby cut a board to size and traced around a foam heart we had sitting around. Then I gave it one coat of white paint. Because I couldn't find a hammer or nails, I improvised with some thumbtacks I had sitting around...which worked out just fine. Actually, they made the project much quicker. I pushed them in part way and then gave each of my girls (8 & 4 years old) a color of embroidery floss - red & pink. They wound them around which was a great way to make this look random! :) After they finished, I pushed the pins all the way down in, so they were tight and put it on a shelf. Two hour project - and that's just to let the paint dry in between!

Love Wall Hanging

I have been wanting to make one of these for over a year now! Ever since I spotted one at a friend's house that said "NOEL" last Christmas. I said I would make one of those before Christmas this past year, but never got around to it. Then when my hubby was out of town last week, I decided I would spend an evening or two on it...but couldn't make one to say NOEL and not use it for 11 more months!! So I made "LOVE (always)". I really like the little heart added to the bottom with "always" stamped on it....to remind us all that it's not about a silly holiday. It's LOVE. And love is for always.

Since I've got sizes and everything worked out, I hope I can change up the colors/papers and quickly make a few more. I have the perfect narrow wall strip where I could hang one year round....Now to come up with a 4-6 letter word that sums up St. Patricks Day...and is not LUCK. Since I don't believe in luck. ;)

Crochet Cowls

I found this wonderful, soft, slightly-bulky yarn and have been inspired to work on a few projects.

This first one is a circular scarf. I started with a chain of 65 and worked in circles of sc, dc, and hdc until I had the right size. I wanted it to be cozy, but not hugely bulky. I think that it turned out just right!

For this second one, I wanted a buttoned cowl. I have been looking at these online and they look so nice. Because I was already in the hang of the pattern above, I worked this one in a series of 2 lines of dc, 1 line of hdc, to give it a little more interest than just repeating dc all the way down. I started with a chain of 22, and worked until I finished my skein, which ended up being just the right length. I popped on a button, and really like the result.

 

Both of these are gifts, but I did get myself a skein of grey to match my new grey cowgirl boots and can't wait to get mine finished too!

Jack-O-Door

 

I am so excited about this easy, recycled decoration! We took old milk jugs, and cut triangles, a circle and some trapezoidal shapes. Then I tried attaching them by magnet to the door...until I realized that just because this door is metal does not mean it is magnetic! :) So we went the easy route of masking tape. I am not sure how long the tape will keep them on there, but it was easy enough to tape them back up anytime! Such a fun and easy (and FREE!) Halloween welcome!

Scrabble Pillows

I saw a picture of these in a magazine years ago and ripped it out and put it in my 'file' of future projects. I can't believe it took me so long, or how easy they were. I cut the numbers and letters out of freezer paper with my Cricut, the letters were set to 7" and the numbers 2 1/4". Then I ironed the freezer paper to my fabric squares for a stencil. I got some black fabric paint and put one coat of paint on by dabbing a tough brush in and 'dotting' the fabric in the stencil. Then when all was dry, I measured carefully around one of them and cut a 16" square. I used that one to lay on top of the others and cut them the same size. Then I sewed, serged (because the fabric seemed like it would unravel!) and stuffed.

Now who wants to come over and play??

Most Wearable Earrings

My mom sent me a package. Inside was a pack of these marbles that she had baked so they had a cracked look, and the silver 'toppers'. I was so excited, as any crafter would be, to get surprise crafting materials in the mail. I immediately glued the marbles to the 'toppers' (forgive me, I have no idea the word for those things!). But I had a hard time figuring out what to do next. Then it finally hit me to put a chain on it and make a simple drop earring.  Little did I know that I would create the most wearable earrings ever!

I find I am reaching for these earrings almost daily! They match everything, and are a little showy against my dark hair with all the crackles, which I like. Thanks Mom!!!

New Diaper Tote

When the diaper bag from the hospital ripped on me yesterday, I  knew I had a little project to do. I whipped this up with some fabic from my stash that my sister had handed down. It took less than one hour from start to finish, with some telephone talking in the middle to a friend. Fast, easy and so functional to keep these two necessities neatly tucked away...and can easily be left with him in the nursery!