Origami Kusudama

I was going on this thing making new kinds of origami flowers and found this flower. Then I found that if you make 12 of them then you could put them into a kusudama. I thought I would give it a try and this is what came out. I finally got the chance to use my origami paper. The beads are even made out of origami paper because I lack real beads. xD I'm pretty happy how it turned out though. I think I'll be trying other kusudama in the future. ;D

Here's where I found out how to do it: [link]

Dress-Up Tie: For Big-Headed Boys

Sorry about my absence, my little girl was blessed this past weekend and I had a lot of family in town. Since she was blessed, I wanted the rest of the family to look nice too, so what does that mean for Daddy & Toddler? Matching Ties!!!

I didn't have time to visit {this marvelous shop}, so I used THIS tutorial to make my son's tie. I was very excited until I went to have him try it on and I could barely get it over his head AND once it was over his head, it was too big around his neck. For a few minutes I wondered how I would fix this...then three words popped into my head: Sew-On Snaps.

To do this you'll need: a tie, matching embroidery floss, needle, two Sew-On Snaps (size 1)

1. Follow the elastic-type tutorial, until you measure your little stud's neck. Then do this:
2. Take the measurement and add an inch to the neck loop of the tie. Then, cut in the middle of the loop.
3. Blanket stitch the new edges so they won't fray too bad.
4. On the edge, about an half-inch in, sew on one side of the snaps. Snap the other half back in as an easy way to match it up on the other side, then sew it on. Repeat with second snap.

You've now created a new tie for your little man!

Linking to:
Market Yourself Mondays at Sumo's Sweet Stuff &
Just Something I Whipped Up at The Girl Creative

First Feature

We finally got featured for the FIRST TIME for the gospel quiet book I made over the summer! Woo Hoo! It just happens to be on one of the BEST craft blogs---UCreate--- check it out HERE!

Thanks for nice words, I promise to work on templates/tutorials. I made two books back-to-back over the summer, so I've been taking a break from the world of Quiet Books. Now I know there's interest, so I'll try my best to get those done soon.

A Contest Entry

Here it is. My submission for Red Heart Yarn and JoAnn's crochet/knit contest. As part of the rules, he is made from from eco-friendly yarn. I bought four colors of this kind of yarn. 70% of the yarn is acrylic while the other 30% is made from recycled products. They'll be judging on technicality, orginality, use of color, and quality. I believe that I did what I could in those categories. I had plans to make a little star and heart for him to hold but with how the arms turned out I thought that would be funny looking. He is about 12.5" tall from ear tip to toe and 8.25" wide from hand to hand. Wish me luck! I won't know if I made the top five until the end of March. ^^

Oh, I also made some Valentine's for my roommates. They all seemed to really like them. They're made out of vellum, scrapbook paper, and craft foam.

Football Wreath

Every year we have a Super Bowl Party at our house. We had a great time and can't wait for next year. We've been doing this since we got married, but this year, using THIS idea as a spring board, I finally made a permanent decoration:

Being the Sports Fan that I am I LOVE how this wreath turned out. With a styrofoam wreath and some felt---we now have super decor to match the game!

The Saints and Colts emblems are both just pinned onto the wreath. Each year I'll make the emblems of the Super Bowl teams and have this awesome wreath. My husband teased me that I would probably have to make my teams' last. Don't worry Chiefs--- your day will come!

Valentine's Shirts: Boy & Girl

A couple weeks ago, I made these for my kids:

All I needed was wonderunder, a little bit of fabric, floss, and fabric markers.

His says: Heart breaker-in-trainingHers says: SweetheartI sure L-O-V-E these two!

TLS Charm Experiment

Sometime ago I finally got my hands on some TLS (Translucent Liquid Sculpey). I've been wanting the stuff for a while to make icing and jelly stuff for my charms. I was able to get it because Aunt Cheryl gave me a gift card for JoAnne's. (I also got my fabric for my new costume for 50% off at the same time. ^^) After having the TLS for a week I finally go the chance to try it out (Thursday last week). It's messy stuff! I'll just assume that I'll get better with it over time. I'm glad how the frosting came out, but not the blue berry juice and jelly. I think I used way too much chalk color in it because it didn't turn out as transparent as I wanted. In the future I know what to do and here's hoping to better charms in the future! =3

Alphabet Magnets

First, off, we hope you like the make-over! It was about time! What do ya'll think? I got all the elements as freebies from Digi-Scrap Depot---love them! Don't forget to Grab our Button and become a follower! Now--- onto the Alphabet!

I finally finished a Christmas present to my kids this past week. ALPHABET MAGNETS!What you need:

• 6 pages of felt
• Embroidery Floss
• Needle
• Basic knowledge of blanket stitch (great tutorial HERE)
  
• Small baggie of poly-fil
• Glue Gun & Sticks
• 3/4 in magnets

DISCLAIMER: When using the finished product, remember, if the magnets are removed from the felt they could be a choking hazard. As with all toys, supervise your children! :)

Here's what you do:
1. First find a font you like and type up the alphabet. I used Grilled Cheese sized 250.
2. Cut out the letters and use them as a guide to cut out on felt. I just held the letters in place, as to save time from tracing onto the felt. (NOTE: I cut out enough multiples of letters for my kids to spell their names i.e. Bob needs two B's instead of one).3. Use the floss to blanket stitch around each letter. Sounds simple, but it's time consuming. Just take the letters with you whereever you go. Save yourself a little hole to stuff in some poly-fil; stuff and sew the hole closed. Repeat with all letters.
4. Use glue gun to attach one magnet to the back of each letter. Repeat with all letters.
5. Put on fridge or other magnetic surface for child to find after nap. Watch and Enjoy!