Day 16: Felt… I love it.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Welcome to Day 16 of the

Crafting Over Sweeting Challenge.

Sweets eaten: Nada.
I even made s’mores (my FAVORITE sweet) for our family dessert last night and didn’t eat any.
Can I get a “Woo-Hoo!”?

Sweets craved: S’mores… obviously :D.

Today’s featured craft is:

These are so simple, so cute and so versatile.
In this tutorial I use them in clips, but there are so many awesome ways you could use them. One of my future projects will be to do these in red and white for a Christmas garland….
so excited!

For this craft you will need:


1 sheet of felt

Buttons
*any that suit your fancy*

Embroidery thread & needle

Hair clips
*any hair supply store will carry these.
You will also need ribbon if you want to cover them.
Here is an excellent tutorial on how to do that.*

Scissors

Rotary cutter, quilting ruler, and rotary cutting mat
*or a ruler and scissors, the above items just make it a little easier*

Glue Gun

Start by cutting a 3″x 3″ square


Keep cutting squares, decreasing their size by 1/4″
(3″ square, 2 3/4″ square, 2 1/2″ square, etc.)

Your last square will measure 1″ and
this is what your finished pile of felt squares will look like…


Now you’re going to shape your squares into flowers.

Take a square and fold it in half.


Cut the folded edge so it’s curved, like so…


Then do the other side.


Unfold, then fold so the cut sides are together.



Cut the two edges like you did before.


and Voila!


Repeat these steps with the remaining squares
and you get a lot of scraps,


and a beautiful flower.


Sew together the flowers in the middle
and attach your button of choice.



Tie your embroidery thread in a knot on the back of your flower.


Hot glue your clip to the back of your flower.
**Update: At this point in the post I did a “Helpful Tip”, that was more me
voicing my frustration than an actual tip. My issue was that the ribbon covered clips
always seemed to slip out of (my) hair more than the the non-covered clips did.
Thanks to a comment from Kayla, I now know how to avoid this.
Check out Kayla’s awesome comment below
to see how to keep your ribbon covered clips from slipping.**


So pretty!
Here’s a second, smaller one I made with a ribbon covered hair clip.These are so much fun, and like I said you can do so many things with them.
Get creative, and like always
Happy Crafting!Linked up to:
Blue Cricket Designs
Lil’ Luna
Sew Much Ado
Sweet Little Gals
Fabric Bows and More
seventhirtythree

Kayla
October 19, 2011 at 5:21 AM
If you buy that non slip cupboard stuff and put a tiny piece inside the ribbon lined clips it helps prevent slippage.

Lizalou
October 19, 2011 at 7:23 AM
Thanks Kayla! I’ve been wondering about that for awhile!

Sara
October 19, 2011 at 8:11 AM
So cute! Would LOVE it if you would link this up at my turquoise lovin’ party going on right now!! http://www.sweetlittlegals.com/2011/10/turquoise-lovin-9.html

Lizalou
October 19, 2011 at 10:05 AM
Thanks Sara! Just linked up to your site… I’m pretty sure we are color soul mates. Turquoise is my absolute fave and I’m having so much fun looking at all the different projects!

Meredin
October 20, 2011 at 5:00 PM
I loved these liza…normally I don’t do much crafting but I went out last night and bought felt, buttons, and hair clips. I think I have made over a dozen of them so far, some for Emily and Autumn and others for Christmas gifts. They are so easy, yet so cute!

Lizalou
October 22, 2011 at 8:27 AM
Oh my goodness Meredin, I was so excited when I read your comment! They ARE super easy and are really perfect for Christmas gifts. Just to hear that you made them made me happy :).

Alix
October 22, 2011 at 8:32 PM
These are really cute! However I don’t wear a lot of clips in my hair, so I think I will adapt them for my Christmas wrap in place of bows.

 

Day 14 & 15: I SEE YOU…

Monday, October 17, 2011

It’s nice to be posting about the

CRAFTING OVER SWEETING CHALLENGE again.

I’ve still been crafting, but like I said in a previous post we spent this weekend as a family…
in my mind that meant no blogging.

Sweeting Update:
Sweets eaten: I’ll admit, I had a couple sips of soda this weekend.
The amazing thing was, just a couple of sips made me completely sick to my stomach.
I guess my body is getting used to no sweets. I know it was a misstep, but at the same time
it just made me realize that this Challenge is totally worth it!

I am so excited about today’s featured craft!
It has actually taken me a couple of days to complete, which is why I combined days 14 and 15.

Today’s featured craft is the:
“I SEE YOU” Yarn & Tulle Wreath

Tulle wreaths seem to be the popular holiday decor for this Halloween,
so of course I had to make one :).

For this craft you will need:
1 wreath

Yarn
*I used white*

Strips of tulle
*Use any color you like, get creative!
Mine measured about 3″x 20″*

Googly Eyes

Sparkly letters
*I got mine from Wal-mart… have you noticed I get most everything from there?*

Trusty glue gun

If needed, remove any flowers or decorations from wreath
*This one is gorgeous, but it is also old, worn and balding.
It was crying out to be revamped*


There we go… fresh start!


Wrap your yarn around your wreath,
leaving 3 inch spaces for the tulle.


Simply tie the tulle in a knot around the wreath



Line the knots on the edge of the wreath like so…


Trim tulle to whatever length you prefer

Almost done!


Play around and figure out where you want your
eyes and words to go, then glue them on.


and there you go!


I absolutely LOVE this wreath!!
I know I may seem like a wreath fanatic at times (and I may be)
but this is just perfect for Halloween.
Not to mention it is a-mazingly easy to make, which is always a plus.

Happy Crafting!!

Linked up to:
Sumo’s Sweet Stuff
Mommy by day, Crafter by night
Sugar Bee Crafts
Today’s Creative blog
Someday Crafts
Skip to My Lou
Hope Studios
Tip Junkie
Roca and Company
Sew Woodsy

Mandi@MandiBeingCrafty
October 17, 2011 at 9:58 PM
That is so fun! I love it!

Ann @ makethebestofthings
October 18, 2011 at 10:31 AM
Well done! Love the play on words. I can see this done up for Christmas with “Be Nice.” I like that you used a mix of tulle colors and yarn, nice combination.

Vicky
October 18, 2011 at 12:03 PM
What a great makeover. The tulle and eyes work really well together. I like how have added so many different elements on this wreath that all work so well together. I am a new follower from Teach Me Stuff. Vicky from www.messforless.net

Mel the Crafty Scientist
October 18, 2011 at 10:31 PM
This is so cute! I’m a wreath fanatic too lately! So glad you stopped by my blog so I could find yours – I’m your newest follower!
-Mel the Crafty Scientist
Also, just in case you didn’t know, you’re a no-reply blogger so I couldn’t email respond to your comment… you can find a tutorial to help you fix that here. You’ll probably get lots more comments from bloggers if you do that too! : )

Lizalou
October 18, 2011 at 11:14 PM
Thanks so much Mel (for being my newest follower and for the advice)! I’m still getting used to all the technical aspects of blogging, but that one was a nice and (thankfully) easy fix.
Your blog is so awesome. You really have some amazing projects on there! I can’t wait to try some of them out.

Carmen
October 21, 2011 at 6:32 PM
This is adorable! And the basic concept could be adapted to so many other themes. Great job. Would love it if you would link this up to our Rockin’ link party going on now at RoCa and Company. Here is the link: http://rocaandcompany.blogspot.com/2011/10/you-rock-6.html. Come and show off what you got. Hope to see you there…
Remember…YOU ROCK!!
Carmen @ RoCa and Company
www.rocaandcompany.blogspot.com

Katie
November 1, 2011 at 7:12 PM
cute wreath!

 

And we have a winner!

Monday, October 17, 2011
Friday was the
HALFWAY THERE GIVEAWAY!
It was so exciting to see such a response from all of you.
I wish I could give something to everyone, but as you know there can only be one winner.I know normally this is where a comment randomizer would be used, but I decided to go with the original randomizer…Yep, a cute little mason jar and strips of paper 😀


All folded up…


Give it a good couple of shakes…


And the winner is…


LINDSAY!

Lindsay had this to say about Halloween crafting:

Decorating Pumpkins is a craft I love to do every year, and your cupcake paper painting on the pumpkins was awesome!

But, I think this year I have my eyes on making a Halloween garland like you made!

Thank you Lindsay! I’ll be in contact with you shortly so I can get you your prize.

Thank you to everyone for entering! This is the last week for the
CRAFTING OVER SWEETING CHALLENGE
and I would like to do at least one more giveaway before it’s done so keep checking back here.

As always,
HAPPY CRAFTING!

Lindsay
October 17, 2011 at 2:35 PM
Oh my Goodness!! I’m so excited! Thanks Liza!

Family Time Out

Sunday, October 16, 2011

This weekend we took some much needed family time.

We went to into Seattle and took the kids to the aquarium. The kids absolutely loved it.

We also took the ferry into Seattle. My oldest boy calls it the “boat”, and was thrilled that we not only rode it once but TWICE.

We also went on a ward trip to here. It was a-mazing!

So, I hope you can forgive me for not blogging.

Tomorrow I will be featuring a delicous beef stew (I totally count cooking as a form of crafting :D) and an awesome yarn and tulle wreath.

I will also be announcing the winner of this tommorow.

(Are you just so excited?? I am!)

Stay tuned, and keep being crafty!

Day 13: Glow-Stick Lanterns

Friday, October 14, 2011

Here’s to Day 13 of the

Crafting Over Sweeting Challenge!

Sweets eaten: Zip.
I’ve noticed I’m not having so many cravings anymore, and at least the dreams about tables full of baked goods have stopped :).

Sweets craved: These… I love Pinterest!

The Day 12 featured craft is:

Glow Stick Lanterns

As I said above, I absolutely love Pinterest. I have never gone on there and NOT found something absolutely adorable and completely awesome. It is where I found today’s craft project. Now I’m not sure where exactly these originated, but the picture I found on Pinterest came from Lil Blue Boo (find her awesome site HERE.).

For this craft you will need:

glow sticks & mason jars

That’s it!

Use scissors ( or a box cutter, which is what I had on hand) to cut off the ends of your chosen glow sticks.

Empty contents in your mason jar.
**Helpful Hint: Lil Blue Boo suggests adding a little water to help the glow last longer.)

Screw on the lid, give it a shake and…

So cool!!!

Now I added a little ghost silhouette to cut from construction paper.


Just glue it to the front and you get this…


Spooky.

I just love these! They are so much fun,
and will definitely be lining my porch on Halloween night.

Happy Crafting!!!

Meredin
October 15, 2011 at 10:37 AM
I’m a fan…I may just have to do this on Halloween, looks pretty darn simple!