Yarn wreath

I had seen these gorgeous wreaths wrapped with yarn all over the internet around the holidays last year and fell in love! Then, of course, I couldn't stop looking for more ideas and found several adorable ones for Spring (and here)... I love unique gift ideas so I knew I had to make one. There's a great tutorial here. We had some dear friends who were moving away and I decided to make one as a housewarming gift. She's a Bama fan and although I couldn't find any crimson red yarn or felt for the flowers, I did find houndstooth felt so I just went with it.

Here's how it turned out!

 

I bought the "G" from Hobby Lobby and just hot-glued it to the wreath.

The yo-yos are easy and super fun to make. The felt roses took some practice but I think they turned out alright. Everything just gets hot-glued to the wreath so the back isn't pretty but that's ok! I had a sheer black ribbon that I looped around the wreath for it to hang from and it was ready to go! 

The Perfect Recycled Mug

I love coffee. I've been on the hunt for a great recycled travel mug for a long time. Recycling is great, but I admit I just love the look - white tumbler with a rubber grip in a fun color. I have a mental list of must-haves for the perfect recycled travel mug, the top three being a flawless seal that won't leak, it must must must be made of plastic (I've seen the recycled-look in a ceramic travel mug... ceramic, seriously? I drop things. a lot.), and of course, it had to be cheap - we're talking $10 or less.

Well, I was in Nashville recently with my good friend Julia and I found IT.

Here are the top 12 (top 10 just didn't cut it) greatest things about my Copco - the greatest recycled mug on earth:

12. The seal is magical, absolutely no drips

11. The air hole in the top doesn't splash coffee in my eye when I take a drink

10. It's made of very durable plastic (and BPA-free, says the Copco website)

9. It gets me a free drink from Starbucks on Earth Day

8. The lid has a big dip in it so my nose doesn't get smushed when I take a sip of homemade caramel macchiato.

7. The rubber grip is turquoise

6. It keeps hot drinks hot for a LONG time

5. It keeps cold drinks cold for a LONG time

4. It doesn't stain or get a gross ring of dried coffee creamer on the inside when I forget it on my desk overnight

3. It was an impulse purchace. Those are the most exciting because they aren't planned. Spontaneous is best.

2. It was only $7.00
1. I found it at Jo-Ann Fabric (and we know that all good things come from craft stores)

Sigh.
It's perfect.

You could get one from the Copco website for a dollar more and only in brown or you could go to Jo-Ann and take me with you.

Candlestick Pedestal Plate

I LOVE pedestal plates!! They dress up a table or buffet wonderfully at a party and when they're not showing off tasty hors d'oeuvres I use them for decoration. I'm usually a sucker for a great cake plate although they can be expensive. I don't like expensive. And then I came across this idea for a cupcake stand on a blog I love called Love Stitched. I liked the idea, but had a plate instead and I think it turned out pretty good!

There are so many things I love about these pedestal dishes! You can easily find the things you need at a thrift store or yard sale which, for me, adds to the excitement because I love a bargain. They're easy, inexpensive, and handmade. Talk about a great gift idea! Here's how to make your own:

Supplies (get ready, it's complicated):

• A plate
• A candle stick or small vase (a glass could work too)
• Strong glue, like Gorilla Glue or Super glue for crafts



Still with me? Some tips on the plate... Some plates have a raised ring on the bottom of them which helps in a lot of ways. For one, it can help you find the center of the plate so your dish ends up level. It can also help as extra material for the glue to stick to for added stability. Just make sure the lip of your candlestick or vase fits around it either on the inside or the outside of the ring.

 

Your candlestick or vase should be rather short unless it's a sturdy glass (like my pic with the green plate and milk glass cup). The pedestal dish pictured above is on a candlestick, only about 3 inches tall.  You'll just have to play with your "pedestal" for different looks or to see if using it upside-down provides more stability.



Wash and completely dry the plate and the candlestick. Follow the directions on your strong craft glue and glue the candlestick/vase to the bottom of your plate. When the glue is completely dry, wash it all as one piece and it's ready to use!! Lovely!

New Craft Boards

Hubby helped me put together these craft boards for our extra bedroom that is becoming my craft room!

We made two craft boards so we started with 2 sheets of pegboard and four lengths of wall trim from the hardware store. I spray painted the pegboard but the trim was already a great mocha brown color.

Hubby sawed the trim to fit like a picture frame around the pegboard. Notice his fancy work bench and 45 degree angle guide? Yeah, that's our trash can and some 8x8 scrapbook paper folded in half. How resourceful! 

Couldn't forget little Hurley. He's such a good helper, picking up all of the sawdust pieces in his beard for us. 

The finished trim for one pegboard

We tried gluing the trim to the pegboard with some heavy duty stuff but it was just extremely messy and took way too long so Hubby just drilled some short screws into the back and it looks amazing!

See??

Now, it helped me to lay out my supplies on the floor, first, to visualize how it would look on the board.

Then, voila!! Pegboard #1 was installed! I love it!!

The other board is above my sewing table and looks great, too!

I tried to get a shot with both pegboards in the viewfinder but I ran out of room at the wall... Oh well, it's close enough! And little Hurley thinks it looks pretty good, too. :)

Rubber Duckie, you're the one...

This was the duck I made to stick into my friend's baby shower gift basket.  It turned out pretty cute, I thought, but it was tough to make!  I bought enough supplies to make more (yellow washcloths and sponges) so hopefully with practice they'll look even better.

Welcome!

I get so wrapped up in browsing craft and sewing blogs that I decided to try my own.  It's more fun to look at the ones that already exist but I'll do my best to update regularly.  I recently bought a sewing machine and I'm hooked!  What I enjoy the most, though, is finding alternate uses for things - like this cake stand made from an ordinary plate and a thrift store milk glass cup.  See what I mean?  :)