Branching Out Centerpieces

I take every chance to get creative at work.  These budget friendly centerpieces were made for a Chamber of Commerce event.  They were made from some branches, paper rosettes, plaster of paris, some decorative swirly things from the craft store, and fake grass.  I must say that they were perfect for the event.  I am hoping that there will be another time I can make these because rolling all of the paper flowers were actually relaxing, really.  I love that each one is unique and not two of them came out the same.  The lovely power of nature and a little bit of paper and glue.  These would be great for a wedding, shower, or for the home.  

Do something crafty, do something for others, do something positive.
Have a great weekend!

DIY Pillow Pet

Who doesn't want to take their pet with them everywhere?  This is a great way to bring your favorite animal in plush form to work or maybe vacation where our little friends are not always welcome...or it can just stay at home too as part of your home decor.  Plus, it's just a great way to put their cute mug on a pillow.  It may be verging on crazy, but I think it's just perfect for anyone who loves their pet(s).  I know I'm not the only one.

 

Materials:

pet photo

iron on transfer paper

computer program and ink-jet printer

fabric: solid colored cottons or jerseys work well

scissors

needle & thread/sewing machine

polyfil

I chose the best photo to use for my pillow and cropped it with a computer photo program.  Some may have options for printing on special paper like the photo transfer paper, if not I am sure you can just make sure that the photo fits when printed.  

 

Cut printed photo paper around the actual cropped photo.  You can certainly cut closer to the

photo if you choose.  It's definitely your preference.

 

Iron on the photo paper picture side down.  Make sure to read the directions for proper application!

 

After several minutes peel the back of the paper, and the photo is transferred onto the fabric.

 

Cut one inch around the photo.  Make sure to cut two pieces: front and back.

 

Time to sew.  You can just sew by hand or use a sewing machine which will certainly be

more sturdier.  The picture should be "sandwiched" in the middle before sewing both pieces together.

 

Make sure to leave an opening.  

 

Turn the pillow right side out, using the opening that was left unsewn then fill with polyfil to 

desired puffiness.

 

Darling's face is now on a pillow!

Here's Darling posing with her pillow.
As you can see the pillow version of Darling has a green tint to it.  It may be due to the ink in the printer.
Note to self: change photo to grayscale next time.

The pillow will be traveling on holiday with my aunt, and Darling will be staying with us.

I may end up making a pillow of each of the dogs in my family; some standing, sitting, sleeping....so many ideas.  

Fairy Terrarium

My Mama loves looking through magazines to find inspirations for DIY's...for me.  She knows me so well, doesn't she?  Well, I guess while going through old Martha Stewart Magazines she saw a pretend terrarium with a fairy inside.  Perfect for a gift for one of my favorite little girls!  I found it pretty easy too as long as you have all of the materials.  Plus, you can change it up to any kind of terrarium that you want.  I can see this being a great present for anyone.  Just find the right things to put inside!

Materials Used:

glass container with a lid (or plastic)

styrofoam disc 

artificial moss

plastic figure

various rocks

artificial flowers

artificial butterflies

newspaper for work area

E600 glue - not pictured
double pointed pins - not pictured

I glued the Styrofoam base on the bottom of the glass container.  It dented as I was putting it inside, but that's ok since the Styrofoam is going to be covered anyway.

I glued the rock on the Styrofoam and stuck the twig with a little bit of glue onto the Styrofoam.

Then, I glued the artificial moss and covered the Styrofoam, making sure that it is completely covered as well as the nooks and crannies and around the Styrofoam.  I used the double pointed pins just for extra security.

 

Since my plastic figure is sitting, I placed it right on the rock.

 

I added the rocks, flowers, and butterflies with glue.

 

I glued the cover of the container.

I hope you enjoyed my little tutorial.

I think I'm going to be making more of these.  Such a great way to personalize a gift.

Let me know what you think!

Pay It Forward

This week I agreed to pay it forward.  I made a commitment to make something for five people who commented on my Instagram post.  In return they must pay it forward too by posting this (or something similar) on their Instagram and making something for five other people.  I hope that the five who commented will make the same commitment that I am making this year.  I'm excited to start creating for these people and I'm sure that I'll keep you all posted!  

Happy Friday and I wish you all a wonderful weekend!

Look What I Got!!

In my previous post, I showed you all what I made for my Craftaholics Anonymous Handmade Gift Exchange "giftee".  Now I get to show what I received in the mail from my "gifter".  Through Elfster, my gifter asked me questions to get to know me and my craft persona.  I also shared my blog site, etsy, and Pinterest.  This is what she came up with the information that I gave her!!! Isn't it great?!  She has some serious sewing skills that I wished that I had.  I can't wait to go and use my bag with matching key fob and coin purse. I love the color combination that she used!!  So me!

Bag with wooden handle, key fob, and coin purse made by my craft exchange gifter.

Polka dotty purse...too cute.  How did she know I like polka dots?!

Mustard fabric with blossom branches inside the bag.  I love mustard...the color and the condiment!

Key fob and coin purse.  Too cute to use....but I might have to ASAP!

A huge thanks to Linda of Craftaholics Anonymous for organizing a great gift exchange.  I hope that everyone who participated had as much fun as I did!  If you'd like to see what others made or received from their gifter please check out the Handmade Gift Exchange Linky Party!

Here Birdy Birdy

If you've been keeping up with my posts, you may already know that I love joining craft exchanges.  Especially the Craftaholics Anonymous Craft Exchange Summer 2012 hosted by Linda of Craftaholics Anonymous, who's relentless efforts always make the experience truly worthwhile for all of the participants.  This time, she's joined forces with Elfster to make the craft exchange event go smoother.  Imagine trying to match up hundreds of crafters out there with email address and mailing addresses?? Hello?! That is a job in itself.  Elfster helped her out a little bit with this event, and I think it went pretty well...well enough that I'm excited to join the next one!

My craft exchange giftee loves birds, bird houses, and accessories.  I wanted to incorporate some sewing and crocheting in my gift.  I made a hand sewn bird from the Spool Sewing website and added my own addition of the legs with floral wire.  I like how it turned out since it's able to stand on its own.  It was a pretty easy project so I made another type of bird, this time with my own owl pattern.  I added a loop on top so that it can be hung as a decoration or even an ornament.  I also made her a "delachic" signature necklace with a crochet covered wooden bead on a silver plated chain.  My giftee was very excited to receive her package and so was her little daughter!!! Mission completed!  

Big shout out to the lovely Linda of Craftaholics Anonymous who single handedly organized another successful craft exchange.  I'm down for the next one coming up in November.  If you'd like to participate or see what others have crafted for their partners, please check it out and you can even get an email reminder when it's coming up!!

Covered Clementine Crate Tutorial

Do you love to buy clementines at the store and don't know what to do with those crates?  Hope this post will give you the push to recycle those wooden boxes that can be used for so many things.   For this project, I've made a centerpiece or decoration out of the crate with paper flowers and a watering can with "water" sprinkled on the small garden.  Perfect for a bridal or baby shower, or just brighten up an office or a corner in a home.

You will need:

clementine crate 

burlap or any fabric you want (1/2 yard will yield for 2 crates)

scissors

hot glue gun w/glue sticks

stapler w/staples

Labeled parts of the clementine box.

Place the clementine box in the middle of the burlap.  Make sure that
all of the sides are even and that there's enough fabric to go over the panels

Cut from the corner of the burlap up to half an inch before you
get to the clementine box.  I did this for one of the short sides first

Apply hot glue between the posts.  Don't go past the posts!

Pull the burlap up making sure that it is stuck on the box.
Be careful that you don't burn your hand.

Turn the box around, working on the inside.  Cut the burlap right along
side of the posts for each side

Still working on the inside of the box,
Add hot glue to the panel and fold down the flap between the posts.
Now, do the other short end of the box.

The end result would look like this for both short ends.

Time to work on the short end corners.
Tuck the extra flap inside.

Make sure to line it with the edge of the panel, the posts showing.

Add hot glue on the panel

Fold the corner triangle of burlap over around the corner.

Make it go around the post.  It should end behind the post.
Now, do the same for the three other corners.

Now time to work on the longer sides of the crate.

Fold one corner along side of the box.

Now, do the same for the other side.  You will have an isosceles trapezoid
on the side of your box (oh man I went mathematical on you).

Put the box on it's side which will make it easier to fold down the fabric.

Add glue on the panel, and fold down the fabric making sure that the
fabric stays on the wood (watch out for the hot glue).

Put the box right side up again.  To make the folds look neat, staple on the folds.
Repeat Do this for the other side of the box. 

Et voila!! The covered clementine box.