Projects

I have all these amazing projects I've been working on that I am loving how they are turning out.  I am dying to share them with you, but I need some better photos...and some finishing touches.  I am not sure that I have shared it here but I have recently moved into a new house.  It is a blank canvas awaiting my touch.  It is two years old and doesn't have a yard so unfortunately that has become the priority.  I will be posting the projects as soon as I get them completed and get time to post them.  Have a beautiful day.

Teacher Appreciation

Today was the last day of school.  My oldest has been bugging  asking me, since teacher appreciation a few weeks ago to do a gift for her teacher.  Well, the last couple weeks have been crazy.  I just haven't gotten to it. I meant to do it yesterday and then got coerced into  got asked if I could help with field day, which it was my good friend so of course I said yes I'd help.  It was divided up into two sessions so I thought for sure I'd have time to work on my project (if I could remember what I was going to do).  Well, turns out things came up for other volunteers, SO, I helped all day, and have the sun burn to prove it.  No problem right, I still have the rest of the night (what was I going to do?).  Well, then the guy who was trenching for our sprinklers came and I had to keep all small children off the sidewalk and make dinner.  And then husband wanted to plant some things in the garden and, well, when he's willing I take the help.
Fast forward to time for school this morning.  Now, I know, I saved an idea somewhere for what I was going to do, but I still don't remember what it was.  7:00 frantically searching online...7:30, just give up and go get a gift card or something, not everything has to be homemade (get over your neurosis), 8:00, I checked Pinterest and came across something I remember liking but wrong time of year for doing it cheaply.

Bummer, what am I going to do?  8:30, I've got it!   

I have an obsession with cupcakes, and while I don't have the supplies for this large cake I may have some for a cupcake.  Did I mention that school gets out at 12:30?  So, I ran around my house gathering supplies, which isn't easy as we are still in a bit of a mess from moving. 

I found a tube in my trash from my vinyl rolls, but you could use a yogurt container, or sour cream, or the bottom of a plastic bottle cut off.

I used a hacksaw to cut my tube into three pieces and I made a duct tape bottom for it, which if I were really intentional and cool I would have used patterned not just the silver.  You tube videos on making duct tape wallets really came in hand on this one.   

This was really using the trash I had on hand and making do.

I got a box of crayons 24 pack for each of the three I had to do, and an additional box to split between the three because 1 didn't quite do it.  You'll need to chance your number depending on your base container.

I lined the crayons up to look as nice as they could color wise.  There are not enough purples in a box, might I add.

After I had them lined up I taped the back with packing tape so they could use them if they wanted to. You will need to leave an inch and a half at both ends.

Then wrap the tape sticky side out around the tube and secure on itself making a ring that fits around the tube.  Then fill in the remaining sticky with the remaining crayons until it is surrounded.  You could just put double sided tape around the tube and then apply the crayons, or you could make it more secure by using hot glue but you wouldn't be able to use the supplies, which was my goal here.  And the tape trick made it so fast.

I then added some supplies to the middle, paper clips, book clips, treats, erasers, a glue stick.  

Because I didn't use heavier glue I wrapped it in a ribbon and tied a bow to the outside and wrapped in cello wrap for good measure.

After I filled it, it didn't look like a cupcake like I wanted it to, so I grabbed the tissue paper I had in my wrapping stash and folded it into a loose tube and wrapped in a coil gently crumpling it to the shape I needed and then I taped off the end on the bottom and taped it to the top of the stuff inside and squished it into the crayons carefully, so it would stay on top but could be taken off to see what was inside.  I did have to make a trip to the store for some goodies but I finished it at 11:40 and ran to the school. 

Valentines wreath

I had this brilliant idea for a wreath out of felt.  I wanted it to be heart shaped and I wanted to do it out of felt and have a variety of flowers.  I changed it up a bit from when I started. 

I wanted to make a wreath for Valentines day.  Whew, I got it done and still have a few days to show it off.  And now that I look at it I can see some things I would move.  Ha isn't that how it always goes.

So this is what I did:

I cut a billion 3" circles.  Well, ok maybe not a billion but more than one hundred.  I didn't really count them, sorry.  It was about a yard and a quarter worth of felt sold on a bold I'd say maybe a 72" wide.  Next, with the help of my 6 year old assistant, I folded them all in half and then in half again so I had a quarter circle.  Then we stuck a straight pin in the point and pinned them into a straw wreath.  You could use another kind but straw was cheaper.

I pinned them pretty close except for the last third I did loosely so that I could put the flowers on that side and it wouldn't stick up too far.  Next I made several different flowers out of red, light pink, and dark pink felt.  I also used some teal tulle too just to add some more interest.

I sewed the flowers but you could glue them with fabric glue or hot glue.  For this one, I had a middle that needed to cover my stitches and so I used a button for the middle.  I happen to have a large box of vintage buttons that belonged to my grandma.  Side note: This piece of information does not help the hoarder in me get rid of anything.  If you know much about me, you know that I really love my grandma and I got a lot of my crafting abilities from her.  Every time I look in the box I find little reminders of her and the legacy she left behind.  I love her.
After gluing the button to the middle.

Notice they were 25 cents, for more than one button.  That's just all that's left.

I hot glued all of the flowers onto the wreath

Yay!  I need to make the wreath hang lower, but I love how it turned out.