Spring Wreath

I have a Fall wreath and a Winter wreath but I don't have a Spring wreath. I love walking up my entryway and seeing a wreath hanging on my door. I think it looks much more inviting. I rent so I can't paint the door so this is my way of expressing myself and adding some homey touches. All the wreaths at the store weren't what I wanted and they were cost more then I wanted to pay. I took matters into my own hands. I found a wreath at Goodwill for $2.99 and bought it.

I don't think the picture quite captures the nastiness. I ripped all the dirty silk flowers off and dusted the wreath.

Then I looked around my apartment for something to decorate it with. I had a vase of silk flowers from a long time ago that looked perfect. I use my husbands pliers and cut three of the flowers off the arrangement. Then I separated the clusters of berries. It was easy and fast. I actually was hoping it would have taken me longer. This project didn't quite get the craft itch I had that day :)

 

And here is the wreath hanging on my door....

Total cost of the project was $2.99. I already had the flowers and berries. I didn't even need to use hot glue. I just twisted the wire in the silk flowers and stuck it in the wreath. It was fun and easy. Give it a try.

Sweedish Weave

I have been working on this project for quite some time. It took me a month to finish but it was well worth it. I loved worked on it. It was nice to be able to cozy up on the couch and work on a project and it was really easy to take it to craft groups too.

This is a baby blanket for my little boy due in June. 

I learned how to do this project at a Relief Society Quilt Group. Marlene Seymour was our fabulous instructor. I used slightly variegated green yarn. The white background is what I weaved the yarn into. It is called Monks Cloth. You can get it at Joanns and it comes in Cream and White. If you want other colors you have to order it online.

The smaller pattern is called a bush.

The large pattern is called a tree.

I loved this project. I think I will be doing more Sweedish Weaves in the future. You can buy patterns for them and the instructions are very easy to follow. I love reading your comments so don't be shy :)

You can do it

If you have been wanting to make some cards but didn't know where to start this would be a good card to tackle first. 

All you would need is cardstock, glue, ribbon, a stamp and ink (or a regular computer printer) and a paper cutter (mine is a 12 x 12 fiscars rotary paper slicer).

I took my 8 1/2 x 11 cardstock and I cut it in half. Then I folded the cardstock to make my card base. Then I stamped my feather onto a cream colored cardstock and I ran my ink pad along the edge of the square. Then I clued it to a brown piece of cardstock. I also took scissors and used the blade to rough up the edges by running the blade along the edge. Then I stamped the sentiment at the bottom and tied a ribbon onto the card. It didn't take long at all. 

If you don't have access to ink or stamps then you can use your computer. This is how I started out. Instead of stamping the sentiment right onto the paper you would print the sentiment on cardstock and then cut it out and glue it to the card. You can find all sorts of free graphics on the Internet. There are also sites out there that sell digital stamps so you can download them and reprint them over and over again. Some of them you can even color.

So what are you waiting for? Stop spending a fortune on lame cards from the store and gather up some supplies and start creating. You can send me pictures of your card creations and I"ll post them here on my blog. briellekennington@gmail.com Just include your name and some details about the card. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Toodler Bow Tie

This year for Easter I really wanted to make Austin something that he could wear to church on Sunday. I won't be getting him a new Sunday outfit so I thought this was a good way to spruce up his suit. 

I read through about 6 different tutorials from craft blogs to find one I liked. I liked this bow-tie tutorial the best.  I made a few tweaks to make my bow-tie.

I added some heat-bond thin stabilizer to the back of my fabric pieces. I also cut my small fabric piece 2 x 4 inches. I tried a 2 x 2 inch peace and it didn't fit.

I would have also liked to use a serger for this project but I didn't have one available. *some day I will :)

The last thing I changed was how I put the small piece around the bow-tie. Instead of marking the material and then sewing it with the machine and then sliding it onto the tie...I just hand stitched it on. I wanted it to be nice and tight and I really like how mind turned out. 

I was going to wait to post pictures until my little guy wore it on Sunday but I couldn't wait. I love this fabric and everything I used I already had to this project came to a grand total of $0.00!

I promise I'll post more pictures of my little guy wearing his new bow-tie.

Bold Prints

I tried something new. I wanted to use some really bold prints and see if they worked together. It isn't my favorite card I've ever made but I think it works. Next time I'll use white as my card base and maybe tweak the layout a bit.

Ruffles and polka-dots

This card was really fun to make. I love the teal and red color combo and I just ruffled the ribbon with thread and needle. Then I sewed the ribbon onto the card. I tried my double sided tape but it wouldn't stay.

Birthday Banners

I used some paper from my stash for this project. I punched 1" circles with my punch and then I put double sided tape on the wrong side of the paper and then folded the circle in half over the yarn. I came up with this card when I was looking at all the awesome Holiday Banners people have been making and posting on craft blogs.