Christmas Wreath

I have finally completed the wreath that I have been talking about!  I didn't buy enough ribbon originally and couldn't finish it until I had time to buy more.  I'm really happy with how it turned out.  I know that Christmas is still several months away, but I wanted to do this while I had time.  

Check my previous posts for the tutorials for the burlap roses and the felt poinsettias.  

Materials:
- Glue gun/glue
- Styrofoam wreath
- Ribbon (about 14 yds of 7/8 in.)
- Decorative rope
- Felt poinsettias
- Burlap Roses

Instructions:
1.  Begin by gluing the end of the first piece of ribbon to the Styrofoam wreath.  Then wrap the ribbon around the wreath.  You will need to pull it tight but shouldn't have to glue again until you reach the end (try to keep all seams on the back of the wreath).  If you use a second color of ribbon, you will want to wrap it after the main ribbon so that it looks like it's wrapped on top.
2.  Wrap the decorative rope in a few spots.  I used it on top of the silver ribbon and around the flowers (attach the flowers before wrapping the rope in that area so that you can use it to fill in the blank spaces).
3.  Arrange the flowers and attach them with glue.
4.  Use a small piece of the rope to make a hanger (glue it onto the back of the wreath).

Burlap Roses

A few days ago I mentioned a wreath that I am making using Burlap Roses and Felt Poinsettias.  I have wanted to make the burlap flowers for several months, ever since I saw this burlap bouquet on Pinterest.  I thought it was gorgeous, and then I saw a wreath with burlap flowers on Etsy (I would add the link, but the item is no longer available - you can find the photo Pinterest account).  I tried following the Snugasabugbaby tutorial, but for some reason, it wasn't working the way it should have (in other words, I was doing it wrong).  Instead of continuing to to struggle with that method, I decided to try something that I had seen on TLC's Craft Wars, where the contestant created roses by twisting and gluing one of the challenge materials (at this point I don't remember what the material was).  It worked!

Materials:

Burlap
Wire
Pearl Beads
Glue Gun/Glue

Instructions:

1.  Cut strip of burlap the length of the fabric (1-3 inches wide, depending on the size of the flower you want).
2.  Slide a bead onto the wire and fold the wire in half around the bead.  Twist the two pieces of wire together.
3.  Glue the end of the burlap strip to the wire.  Then, wrap it a few more times and secure with glue.
4.  Now begin to wrap the burlap in the opposite direction, twisting as you go.  You will need to secure with glue every few twists.
5.  Continue wrapping and twisting until you are almost out of fabric.  As you glue the last twist, pull the end of the fabric to the underside of the flower and glue it down.

Felt Poinsettia

I realize that it's only September, but I have a vision for a wreath that I want to make for Christmas (I need to replace the ugly one that I've used for the last few years).  My vision includes a felt poinsettia (and some burlap flowers, but I'll get to those another time).  There are tons of tutorials for felt poinsettias, but none of them had the look I was going for.  To sit next to my burlap flowers on a wreath, they need some shape (most felt poinsettias I found were very flat).  The solution?  An iron.

Materials:
- Glue gun/glue
- Straight pin
- Red or white felt
- Paper
- Scissors
- Pearl beads
- Iron

Steps:

1.  Draw two poinsettia patterns (one large, one small) on paper.
2.  Use the patterns to cut the two poinsettia pieces from the felt.
3.  Fold each petal in half and use the iron to give the poinsettia some shape (you will have to do this six times for each piece - each petal must be ironed separately).
4.  Glue the smaller piece on top of the larger (make sure the petals are alternating rather than sitting directly on top).
5.  Glue five beads in the center (glue down the first 4, then glue the 5th on top of the others).

T-shirt Flower Tutorial

When I saw these t-shirt flowers on a spot of sunshine, I couldn't wait to make one!  They are so simple, yet elegant (elegant t-shirt = what?).  We have tons of old t-shirts that NEED to be repurposed.  Usually old t-shirts are repurposed as rags in the garage, but I was able to grab one that hadn't been used for any kind of garage wiping.



Materials:
Old T-shirt(s)
Fabric Glue
Card stock/felt
Pencil
Scissors
Ruler/Compass

1.  Create a "flower" pattern (6 petals) that will be used to make your petals (this is where I used the ruler - I used it to make my pattern roughly symmetric).  You could also use a stencil or a pattern if you have one.
2.  Cut out 8 petals using your pattern.  I found this to be the most difficult part (more time-consuming that difficult really).  I tried doing this with just one pin in the center of the flower but found it to be much easier when I pined each of the petals to the t-shirt.
3.  Once all of the petals have been cut, fold each one in half and then in fourths.  Put a dab glue inside the corner of the last fold to hold them together.
4.  Use the card stock to make a small circle that will be used as your base (I used the compass to make the circle, but you could use something round that you have around the house).
5.  Glue 4 petals, corners in, onto the card stock circle.
6.  Layer 3 more petals on top of those, and glue them down.
7.  The last flower will go in the center.  Put glue on the corner and push it into the center.
8.  Once the last petal is in place, open it up and glue a button inside (the button isn't necessary, but I like it better with the button than without.

I created these flowers to use on a wall art project I was doing, but they can be used for many things.  I think I may make another that can be tied to a scarf or pinned to a top.

3D Wall Art

I love creating wall art for my house, but I'm not able to do it as often as I'd like because... well... once I create something, I need some wall space to hang it!  But, I had this idea that I really wanted to try.  I have seen several paintings with some type of 3D aspect on Pinterest and have been developing an idea in my mind.  I wanted to use one of the flower crafts (tutorial here) that I had been planning to try, along with simple colors and a very basic painting.



Materials:
3 canvases (or a different number of your choosing)
Paint (chosen colors)
Paint brushes
Flowers (any type will do)
Glue (E6000 or another really strong glue)

1. Mix background paint color (of course you could just buy the color that you want, but I like to mix them myself)
2. Paint the canvases (in this case, I used two coats to make sure the canvases were covered.  Acrylic paint dries fast so you won't have to wait long).
3. Paint stems and leaves (you will probably want to sketch your plan on paper first.  If you're not confident in your ability to pain, you could also try stencils).
4. Use E6000 glue to glue to flowers to the painting.

Pretty simple, right?  Find the t-shirt flower tutorial here!

Saturday Morning Treats Part 1

Saturday Morning is one of my favorite times of the week.  I get to sleep in, and I have time to make yummy sweet things for breakfast.  Recently, I have been trying new recipes, and I want to take a moment to share some of them.

Blueberry Cake Doughnuts

A Well-Seasoned Life 

These doughnuts were yummy, but Gabe and I found them to be a little too fluffy (more like cake than a doughnut).  Next time I will try modifying the recipe so that the batter is a little bit thicker, and the doughnuts are more dense.  Find the recipe here.

 

Cinnamon Doughnut Muffins
Noble Pig 

Cinnamon Doughnut Muffins.  Photo Credit: noblepig.com

I was so excited about eating these that I forgot to take a photo of my own muffins.  They were easy and very tasty!  The muffins were moist, and the cinnamon sugar on top was amazing!  Find the recipe here.

Baked Chocolate Doughnuts
Laura Ferroni 

This was my first try at making doughnuts, and I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was.  Prep wasn't too difficult and the baking time was really short.  I used a regular sized doughnut pan, rather than the recommended mini doughnut pan, and baked them for 10 minutes.  I also used heavy cream in place of the buttermilk, in the doughnuts and the glaze, because I didn't have buttermilk.  They turned out great, especially while hot! Find the recipe here.