Glitter Pine Cone Ornaments

I was at my daughters house and she had all these little pine cones in her yard, so I picked up a few and put them in a mason jar for future projects. I decided I would try some mini glitter pine cone ornaments. They are really easy and quick to make.

Materials:

Pine Cones

Glass Glitter

Eye Screws

Glue

Metallic Bakers Twine

Paint Brush

First I screwed in my eye screw to the top of the pine cone. 

With my paint brush I painted a line of glue along the edges of the cone and sprinkled with glass glitter.  When it was completely dry I added my metallic bakers twine.

Fairy Garden House

Recently I was at Bachman's and they had a darling section of Fairy Garden accessories.  It inspired me to try making a miniature house. 

Supplies:

Wood Bird house from Michaels

Small Rocks

Craft Glue

CelluClay Instant Papier Mache

Paint 

Clear Acrylic Sealer - Mod Podge

First I took the bird house and removed the bottom and cut out the door.

Then I put my papier mache around the bottom half and glued the small rocks in.

Last I papier mached the roof and added a chimney.  

After I let it dry overnight, I sanded the roof and applied my paint.  I used Martha Stewart weather crackle effect on the roof to make it look worn. Once it was done I sprayed on the acrylic sealer.

Lilacs

The Lilacs are in bloom!  This afternoon I decided I needed a Lilac bouquet and clipped some off of the many plants blooming in the backyard. They needed a little trimming anyways and the house smells wonderful!  

Burlap Wreath

Finally after a long, long winter I decided it was time to make a summer wreath for the front door.  

I wanted to use up some items that I had a hand to keep the cost down.  

First I wrapped and hot glued the burlap around the wreath.

I took a piece of burlap that was 3-4 times longer than the size of the wreath.  Using my hot glue gun I glued the center burlap string on the end to make sure it was secure and not to pull through when gathering.  Then on the other end I found the center burlap string and gently pulled it to make a gather. I attached the gathered piece to the wreath.

I made little bouquets of dried caspia, lavender and statice around the wreath. Then I glued some greenery under each little bouquet to finish it off. 

Nubbie Scrubbies and Tawashi

I haven't crocheted in a while, it seems as though I have been choosing knitting projects over crocheting.  I found some quick and easy crochet projects on Ravelry.  I made a few Nubbie Scrubbies and Tawashi's. The Tawashi is great for hand washing dishes.  I was thinking they would also be a nice size for washing my face, I am going to have to try that out.

These were free patterns on Ravelry.  Below are the links.  You may need to set up a account if you don't have one.

Nubbie Scrubbies  

Tawashi

Masterpiece Wall

My daughter purchased her first home a little over a year ago and like any new home owner she has a to do list that doesn't end.  She saw this idea on pinterest and wanted to do one for Jackson and Tanner.

We ordered the 4x24 inch wall decal from a etsy shop madebytheresarenee.  She offered the decal in many colors and we ordered the dark brown. It was exactly what we wanted.

Lindsay decided this was going on a short wall and wanted to do three sections.

As always we butter up to Jon for our wood projects. We had him cut us 3 - 2x23 inch boards.

We painted the boards with an expresso color, added picture hangers to the back and glued on 3 clips to each board.

Lindsay applied the wall decal.

Then we hung the boards.  I had a hard time getting a good picture but you get the idea.

Paper-Mache Easter Eggs

These are the latest addition to my Easter crafts.  Eventually I will be making green and blue eggs to coordinate with my Easter Tree,  but for now I wanted to make sure I had at least two eggs done before Easter.

Here are a few of the materials I used: 

Assorted lichen, paper flowers, paper-mache eggs, Dresden trim, Caspia and a wood napkin holder.

I found the rabbit clip art at Graphics Fairy.  

Rabbit Link

Assorted Rabbits link

I resized the images to around 1 1/2", printed out one regular and one reverse page orientation on to card stock so I could have a front and back. Then with my X-acto knife I carefully cut out the rabbits and glued them together with a small wire inserted at the bottom between the two cut outs.

To get rid of the white edges on the side I used my watercolor pencils and colored it in.  Then I added a few coats of Mod Podge to seal it.

 I cut out a hole in the paper-mache egg, painted and added Dresden trim around the opening.

I added some crafters clay in the bottom of the egg and created the inside of the egg.  To finish it off I added a paper rose to the top.

I painted the napkin rings and used them as my egg holder.

Felted Easter Bunny

For one of my Easter crafts I decided to needle felt a rabbit.  This is my first attempt at doing a rabbit. It always seems like with making the first of anything there are things I would do different when making the next one. For instance I wasn't exactly thrilled with the shape of the head, but instead of redoing it I just remind myself thats what makes it unique.  

                         

Then I gave her a little home with felted eggs.  

Easter Tree

When I go to Michaels I sometimes stop at the Dollar Tree next door to see if they have anything interesting to use for crafting.   

This time I found a potted tree there. So I thought I would give making a Easter tree a shot.

I found these cute little wooden hen eggs at Craft Supply House on Etsy.

They are just under a inch long and the perfect size for this tree. I added a eye screw to them and then coated them with glass glitter.

Of course I had to change the pot color!  I had some MS Weather Crackle effect that I had not used before so I experimented.  I painted the base brown. Then painted my weather crackle effect and once that was dry I painted the top with a antique white.  For my first try I was pretty happy with the results.

I cut a organza bag I had into strips and used that to tie the eggs onto the tree.

Valentines

Last night I started making my Valentines with some heart notecards I had found at Michaels.  I wanted to try to keep them simple.  

First I printed Happy Valentines Day on some clear mailing labels and used some valentine borders I had from last year. Then added the bakers twine along the edge.

Now I am off to to the post office to get them in the mail!

Recycled Sweater Mittens

While doing my January clean out I discovered this cashmere sweater I had saved to use for felting or mittens. I decided to try the recycled sweater mitten pattern I had.  You can find several free patterns for recycled sweater mittens on the internet.  I washed the sweater in hot water and put it in the dryer to shrink it up.

From the sweater I cut out the mitten pieces and the cuffs which will be used for the cuff portion of the mitten.  The pattern suggests I used fleece for the lining but I chose to use a cotton flannel.

On the cuff I needled punched a wool flower and added a button that was attached to the sweater.

  One less project off my to do list and just in time, the past few days Minnesota has been unbearably cold.

Adhesive Fabrics

I have been busy reorganizing everything in my office/craft room after the holidays.  January is always the perfect time to get everything back in order and ready for the new year.  Of course mid stream of organizing I have to make some cosmetic changes.  For instance these wood storage boxes needed a major change.  I had some adhesive fabric I have been longing to use and it would be perfect for this project. I also decide to repurpose a empty candy can I had from Christmas.

The adhesive fabrics made a quick and simple change to this can. First, I applied a shipping label to the can so I would start with a white base and then added my adhesive fabric.  I masked off the can and then applied some crackle effect and antiqued. I wanted it to have a old worn feel.

On the wood boxes I used a Ralph Lauren Faux Technique Glaze I had left over from another project.  After I applied and let dry I roughed up the corners and little with some sand paper.  Then I added my adhesive fabric. I used a black Sharpie marker to changed the color of the hardware on the boxes. Then sealed everything with a thin coat of Mod Podge.