Love Grows Here Sign

Sometimes I'll get the urge to craft but I don't want to leave the house to get supplies. I'll look around the house and see what I can find. I wanted to make a sign for the entryway and had chipboard and card stock on hand so that is how this sign came to be made.

All you need: chipboard (When chipboard comes in packaging, keep it. They can be useful for projects such as this!), paint pen, card stock, twine, and hot glue.

I wanted something with a spring theme and that felt welcoming when you walked through the front door so I chose the phrase, "love grows here." I traced the phrase with a pencil and went over it with a paint pen.

I used my Cricut to make the flowers. However if you don't have a Cricut this tutorial from Frog Prince Paperie shows another great way to make paper flowers.

Probably the hardest part was deciding where to put the flowers. I played with it until I got something I liked.

Once you know how you want your sign to look, it's time to hot glue it all together! All you need is a drop of glue to make it all stick together.

I hot glued and taped twine to the back of my chipboard. Because the material was light weight, the twine worked well in hanging it up.

And there you have it--a sign made just for spring! It adds a pop of color and whimsy as you walk through the door!

Wreaths, Birdhouses, and Bookmarks

Spring is here!

This means making floral wreaths, painting birdhouses and adding pom pom trim to the roof because even birds deserve a little whimsy, playing with my Cricut and making a sparkly Alice in Wonderland bookmark, making a lucky charm necklace, and knitting up a bunny.

Besides my crafting, I also listened to the audiobook The Girl on the Train. I've had people at the library recommending it to me for the past year and I finally got around to it and now I know what all the fuss is about! It was so good! It was one of those stories where I would purposely take the long route or stay in the heavy traffic lane so I could listen to more of the story. If you haven't read it, then make sure you do before the movie comes out.

I also just binge watched War and Peace. I recorded the mini series when it first aired and it sat on my DVR unwatched for weeks. I didn't know much about the story except it was about aristocratic families in Russia. I never felt in the mood for it as I thought it might be a stiff, boring story but I thought to myself, "give it a try." I certainly wasn't going to read the 1200 page book (really, whose got time for that?!) so I did indeed give the show a try. And I was hooked from the first episode! It was beautifully filmed and the characters were so wonderfully diverse. And it was not stiff and boring. It was vibrant and intense. I think I just might have to check out the book.

So, that's how I've started my spring and I hope you all are having a lovely beginning to your spring too.

Berries, Yarn, and Stars

I can't believe it's already March! What happened to February? It went by in a blur. But I have pictures to prove that February did happen.

I made a yummy Lemon Berry Cake. I'm a chocolate lover but I made it for a family member's birthday who prefers white and fruity cakes and it was divine! Didn't miss the chocolate!

I also knit the Sweet Peach Shawl from Lion Brand. It was an easy project and my first shawl. The pattern is free if you're a Lion Brand member.

I've also already added some Saint Patrick festivity to my house by making a green ombre pom pom garland.

And finally, the weather has been lovely and spring like so I made suncatchers with the kids at my library.

How did your February go?

Hope you are already having a lovely March!

Snowflake Hairpin

November, you are going way too fast! I'm trying to savor every misty morning, fallen leaf, and crisp day. I love this time of year. The world just feels more magical. Winter and the holidays are right around the corner. Everyone is a little bit more cheerful, kinder. People are practicing gratitude and compassion. I wish it could be like this every day of the year and it ought to be. We should practice theses traits on a daily basis. Every morning I read the news and there is another tragedy, another heartache. We ought to connect more with one another. The best way I know of connecting with people is through making and sharing. So, this weekend I made a snowflake hairpin!

Making hairpins is really quite the easiest thing. Plus, they make great little gifts for people. All you need is a button, hairpin, E6000, and scissors. Your button can be of anything but I choose a snowflake to fit the time of year. Just cut off the shank, dab your button with the E6000, and stick your hairpin on. Ta-da!

Hope you having a lovely November!

Yarn Wrapped Letters: Boo!

I'll be honest. Within the first fifteen minutes of this project, I thought: I'm never doing this again! I initially thought that this would be easy and for the most part the Os were, but that B killed me. It took me forever to wrap the yarn around it, and I would end up getting frustrated because it would look funky and then I'd have to start over. At some point I just stopped caring and finished the darn thing. This is why in the first picture I thought I would do each letter a different color but my black yarn was so much thicker than the others and would get the job done faster so I stuck with it for all the letters. I guess this is one of those crafts that just looks better on pinterest. Next time, I'll just paint my letters. Screw the yarn. I'll stick to knitting with it than trying this again.

Ghost Garland

This ghost garland kit came from Martha Stewart. I bought it a couple weeks ago and was trying to wait until October to make it but couldn't wait. I'm already putting up Halloween decorations. I couldn't resist! I love this time of year and all the anticipation for the upcoming holidays! Plus, it was a nice break to work on this and get away from writing.

This was a fairly simple craft and you don't necessarily need to buy the kit but sometimes I don't want to think too hard on my crafts. I like it when someone does all the work for me and I just do the fun part of putting it together.

Wrap cotton balls with tissue paper, tie it together with ribbon, and put on ghost faces with stickers or a black marker. Easy!

Another thrifty and easy Halloween craft are these milk jug ghosts. I did this a few years back and still use them during Halloween.

Have a favorite Halloween craft? Are you already in the Halloween spirit? 

DIY: Tassel Necklace

I love statement necklaces. They add a nice touch of whimsy to a basic outfit. I made my own tassel necklace and it was so easy that you can make one, too!

Supplies:

chain necklace

10 mm jump rings

embroidery floss

scissors  

Pull your embroidery floss through the jump ring.

Cut the ends of the embroidery floss.

Carefully take out five strands.

Use those five strands to make a double knot under the jump ring.

Make sure your knot is secure!

Snip off the extra strands coming from the top of the knot.

Trim your tassel to desired length.

Slide your tassel onto your chain.

Repeat with other embroidery floss until you have an ombre tassel necklace!

Happy Making!

Crafternoon

I'll admit I have a crafting problem. Every week I find myself at a craft store and I can't help but buy something. Lately, I've been obsessed with the Crafternoon projects. I've probably bought half-dozen. This chalk art is the first one I've tried and I really enjoyed doing it. I love that these projects have all the materials included and all you need is a free afternoon to complete it.