DIY Fabric Button Earrings - So Easy!

Another Pinterest success!

I came across fabric button earrings on Pinterest and invited my girlfriends over to start crafting! These were so easy to do and a lot of fun to make.  Directions here.  Have fun!!

DIY Bauble Necklace

Create your own Bauble Necklace!  I came across this necklace tutorial and loved it.  Supplies include wooden balls, paint color of your liking, and string to put it together. So easy!

I invited my girlfriends over and we made necklaces in an evening.  This is a great craft night project because it's easy and quick.   One brilliant idea my friend came up with was to paint the balls by sticking them on Qtips.  This will prevent paint from getting on your fingers.  So smart! :) 

"Owl" Sit on You! DIY Floor Pouf

Happy New Year!  
I'm dedicating 2013 as the year for sewing!  I learned basic sewing as a kid (my mom still has a horribly awesome pot holder I made her in grade school) and I also took a class in high school but haven't really sewn since.  I've pretty much forgotten all that I learned except very basic things. I can sew pillow cases envelope style - without zippers or button holes, and basic market totes.  By the end of the year, I'd like to make something with zippers and/or button holes.  Doesn't seem like too hard of a goal...I mean I have one year to figure it out. :)  

In the meantime, I came across this floor pouf tutorial on Pinterest that requires basic sewing skills...right up my alley.  This was my first time using piping so I was pretty excited and I loved how this turned out.

I purchased the owl print at Hobby Lobby and used Hot Pink Maxi Piping Bias Tape.  Total cost of the project was around $15. Not bad.

Snuggle Up with this Wrap

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!  Mine was fantastic.  We traveled to see family in Cincinnati and we surprisingly had a beautiful snowfall!  

I love making homemade presents and luckily my family loves making/receiving homemade items.  One present I was proud of giving was this wrap.  I knitted it for my mom in a washable cotton and I thought it turned out great.  It can be worn as a wrap or a really chunky scarf.  Either way, it'll keep the chill out. 

I loved it so much that I'm planning on knitting another for myself this summer.  I was thinking mustard yellow would be a beautiful fall color.  So many projects on my list...where will I find the time!? :)

Cheers to you and your family and wishing you a wonderful and Happy New Year!

Whooooo needs coffee?

Look Whoooo's adorable! I found a cute owl pattern on Ravelry for free!  It's super simple to knit up (took me 2.5 hours) and it's quite fun.  Now I can't wait to use it!!

DIY Pottery Barn Poinsettia Pillow

I love Pottery Barn!  I walked in searching for stemware and saw this lovely Poinsettia Pillow.  I didn't want to pay $30 for a 12 in pillow ($60 for two) so I decided to make two.  Sometimes my knock-offs don't go that well, but I was happy with the way this one turned out!

Pottery Barn Poinsettia Pillow

I purchased 1 yard of 100% wool felt (I had a 50% coupon for Jo-Ann fabrics!! Woohoo!).  I used the remaining felt for another project and a yard of linen fabric for the pillow case.  My pillow inserts are 18x18 so I cut 2 20in squares for the "top" and 12X20 and 13X20 for the backs.  The back is a simple envelope style- nothing too fancy.

I cut three different size petals. 5 large, 5 medium and 5 small.  With embroidery thread I stitched by hand a stem seam up the middle.

I positioned the large 5 petals on the 20x20 square (the top side) and stitched with the machine all the way around.  Then I layered the medium petals on top and stitched those on top of the large.  I didn't stitch the top of each medium petal to the linen because I wanted it to stick out a little. 

The final embellishment were the gold jingle bells.  I hand stitched those to the center of the flower. 

Then I sewed the front of the pillow to the two back pieces and voila!  I sewed up two solid red pillows for good measure.  My color scheme for Christmas is cream, gold and red.  Once I get my tree this will really look great!!!

Gobble Gobble

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday by far.  There's always great food and long conversations around a dining room table.  This year was a little different because we had kids over and we ended up turning on a movie to keep them occupied.   I see what's in store for me now. :)

I kept my decorations simple for Thanksgiving.  I created a banner that says "Give Thanks" out of burlap.  I came across this blog on Pinterest and she has the template all ready for you.  Only mistake I made was buying the wrong transfer paper.  I purchased the dark transfer paper first and you'll want the transfer paper for white material.   I'll find a use for the other paper down the road. 

I created the table runner out of burlap.  I bought two yards of burlap and then cut the width I liked.  One edge was already pre-sewn so the burlap wouldn't unravel.  With white thread, I sewed the three other sides so they wouldn't unravel as well.  

I had the fake leaves already so I put those on the burlap along with candles. I thought it turned out well. :)

And here is the beautiful bird my husband grilled.  We stuffed it with thyme, an orange, an apple and a red onion.  It was delicious!!!