Burlap Wreath

My wall was bare. I took down family photos, in anticipation of putting our house on the market. I hated it. It needed something…

So I made this:

It’s not exactly the best thing to go on the wall (family  pictures are always way better…) but I like it.

It was easy to make. I had seen a few pictures like it, but figured it out myself. I didn’t even go to any other blog, or tutorial to make it.

Cut the burlap into strips. Unwind a wire hanger (make sure it’s a flimsy one, that works much easier.) Poke the burlap through the hanger, and fold it back and forth…

I glued some little dots of hot glue in between the burlap in some different spots, so that the burlap wouldn’t all fall to the bottom of the wreath.

The flower is just a rectangle of fabric (green burlap in my case.) Fold it over onto itself and do a basic stitch by hand, then pull the thread tight. Sew it closed when it’s how you like it.

I think I like it better on the door…

Valentine’s Rag Wreath

I decided it was time to take the Christmas wreath down. Only problem: I didn’t have anything to replace it. Unless I wanted to use the pumpkin… which I didn’t!

So, I made a Valentine’s rag wreath!

It was rather easy. I took an old coat hanger, cut it, bent it like a heart and tied rags around it! My friend came over and we made one together while our kids fought played.

I was pretty pleased with how it turned out. And it was tons of fun making it with a friend, as opposed to by myself!

Also, the other day, the boys and I did some painting!

They painted blocks of wood… while I painted this:

It’s an old rack thing that I got at a yard sale, or from my mom, a while ago. It hangs in the boys’ room (they share a room now…) and they put their coats and jackets on it.

I was grappling for something to do, and figured adding some color would be a fun, quick project.

And, of course, the boys’ art:

Christopher managed to cover every single inch of his block. Caleb, managed to cover his clothes and some of the table!

And, the finished product:

Next on my list of projects: sweater boots… from these:

Fabric flower

I’ve seen lot’s of fabric flower tutorials. I have been wanting to try one, but I wanted it for myself. So many of them are aimed toward baby girls. That’s great- except I only have baby boys. :(

So, I decided to try this one!

First, I cut out my circles. (I didn’t have satin, or sating ribbon like one of the comments suggested, so I used the closest material to satin I could find in my stash.)

Then, I started burning. It wasn’t as easy as I thought it might be, but it did work. (Also, I didn’t have a lighter, only matches! heehee)

It took a few times of recutting and reburning to get the sizes/shapes I wanted. But in the end I was pleased with it. (I didn’t use all of my original circles.)

Then, I added a super cute and sparkly button. By simply sewing through the pieces of fabric and through the button.

My final finishing touch was a bobby pin, slipped through the thread in the back.

Now, I can wear it in my hair.

Or on my necklace. (No, I don’t think I like this one.)

Or on my shirt. (I just made it stay, I would use a safety pin, if I liked the way this looked.)

Probably in my hair!

I’m happy with the way it turned out. (It doesn’t really match my pink shirt though, so I’ll have to go change… maybe plain black?)

Family Proclamation frame

This was a Christmas present for my in-laws. I had a lot of fun making it and really loved the way it turned out. Here’s what I did:

Step  1: Buy glass-less frame and Proclamation to the World for $1.50 from Deseret Industries.

Step 2: Find pictures of each family member (their kids and grandkids, and them too.) I ordered prints from Wal-Mart.com. I had a recent picture of almost everyone. But facebook and blogs helped too.

Step 3: Measure the mat inside the frame and create a pattern piece of paper to place on each picture and trace before I cut each picture. A couple of them I cut too soon and had to very carefully re-glue them.

Step 4: Cut and arrange pictures, making sure not to forget anybody! (Yeah, I almost forgot Uncle Jeff, and Christopher- my own son!) Glue the pictures on the mat.

Step 5: I had a piece of glass from another frame that I had used for another project (magnet board). I placed the glass in, replaced the back of the frame and wrapped the present!

I am definitely learning to LOVE photo projects!