Bows From Other Projects

These two bow projects were created with things I found in the dollar bin at Joann's.  I absolutely love these.

Price Breakdown:

$1 Reindeer bracelet
$1 Star craft kit
Metal clip barrettes
Hot Glue
$2

Cut your reindeer bracelet apart and take off the beads.

This project is so easy...simply glue the reindeer head to the edge of the metal clippy.  That's it!  If you want to get real fancy, glue the red beads to the noses of the reindeer to make little Rudolphs!

Next, lets make our little star bows.  I found these cute fabric stars in a craft kit.  Again, these were so simple.  All I did was hot glue them to the metal clips.

Sadie asks to wear these almost every day.  Maybe I should stick with the simple stuff!

Ho Ho Bows

I have a great friend named Jenn who taught me how to make fun, girly bows last year.  This post is dedicated to her.  Sometimes one little lesson spurs on a whole creation of crafts!

Price Breakdown:

$1 ribbon

Alligator clip from my stash

Hot glue gun

Needle and thread

Candle

$1

For a bow of this size, measure out 12-14 inches of ribbon.  This length can vary based on how big or small you would like your bow to be.

To prevent fraying, its important to seal the ends of your ribbon.  You can buy a sealer at a craft store, but isn't it more fun to do it for free?  Simply hold the edge of your ribbon close to a flame and the edge of the ribbon will melt and harden.  Don't get too close or your ribbon will burn ;).

Turn the ribbon RS out and create the first half of your crazy eight shape at about mid-length of the ribbon.  Wrap your other side of ribbon to create the other half of your eight.

Now, down the middle of each loop so that they meet in the center as well.

Pin together.

Next, thread a needle and pull your thread through the center of the bow.  Wrap it around the center several times and pull it through the center one last time.  Tie in a knot and cut off excess thread.

Now, we need to cover our alligator clip.  Cut approximately 5 inches of ribbon and heat seal your edges.  This can be done with a neutral color or with the ribbon your already using.  Turn your clip upside down and hot glue the tip of your ribbon to the bottom edge.

Add a dot of glue to each of the clasp edges and push the ribbon in.  I always told students when I taught that "A dot is a lot" when it comes to glue.  If you use too much, your hot glue will seep over your edges and your project will look cheap.

Next, glue the ribbon to the top of your clip.  Be sure to add a dot at the opposite edge.  This needs to be reinforced since you will be pulling on the ribbon when you glue it to the inside later.  But don't glue to the inside edge just yet!

Flip your clip right side up and hot glue your bow to the center of the clip.

Now, you will need one more small piece of ribbon.  This piece is about an inch long here, but you may need longer pieces if you want to get fancy and tie it in a knot.  This piece will be the final, top piece of your bow.

It's hard to tell in the picture below, but you want to hot glue the edge of this ribbon (after heat sealing, of course!) to the center of the inside of your clip.  Wrap it around your bow and hot glue back to the center again.

Finally, take the ribbon that you held off gluing to your alligator clip and glue it to the inside of your clip.  A dot on both edges is enough.

Tada!

I haven't been slacking!

I just haven't been posting!  I promise I have been doing projects every week...I just need to find time to blog too!  I worked on a huge painting project that I will post soon...but in the mean time, read ahead!

Thanksgiving Wreath

This easy project is actually copied from my friend Stephanie's blog, www.thegeeseandus.blogspot.com.  She made this great wreath and inspired me to make one! (Yes, she is my sensational cake froster from the post below).

Price breakdown:

$2.56 coordinating colors, 5 inches each from 45 or 60 inch fabric (5)
wire hanger
$2.56

I have always wanted to have wreaths around the house, but have always been to cheap too buy them...but now I plan to make one of these for ever holiday!  Another great thing is I made this in an hour and a half (while watching When Harry Met Sally, talk about a good time!).

Start out with your fabric and wire hanger reshaped into a circle:

Cut those fabrics into one inch strips.  Don't worry about being exact...a little variation will add some pizazz to your final piece.

Tie those strips on your wire hanger.  You can go at random or in a pattern, it won't matter either way!

Keep filling up that hanger and push them close together to add fullness.

Hang up your wreath!

Happy Harvest!

Topsy Turvy Birthday Cake

So, here is another great project from FamilyFun.com.  They posted this cake as a nod to a Alice in Wonderland Theme, but I thought it would be a cute cake for any girl's party!

Price breakdown:
$3.00  cake mix (3)
$9.54 frosting (6)
food coloring
straws
disposable cake decorating bags and tips
cardboard circles in 9, 8, 6 inches
$12.54

First mix your three cake mixes according to package directions and bake 2, 6-in, 8-in, 9-in EACH cakes.

Use the top of your cake pans and trace them on your cardboard to make 3 circles, one for 6-in, one for 8-in and one for 9-in.

Next, mix your white frosting with the food coloring of your choice.  I used some fun neon colors.

Next, trim the tops of your cakes off to make them level.  Place them on the coordinating cardboard piece.  This picture is my friend and cake engineer, Rick who did all the cutting (and most of the frosting!) on this cake.

You should have all of this when you are ready to start constructing your masterpiece:

Put a small gob of frosting on the top of one of each sized cake.  Place the coordinating layer on top.  Frost the sides of your layers together with the white frosting.  Experienced people call this a crumb layer.

Ignore the straws, those actually come later!

Next, have your cake cutter, in my case, Rick, cut your layers at an angle.

Now, push three straws in a triangle pattern through each of your layers for stability.  Cut the straws even with the top of your cake.

Next, frost your three layers in the color of your choice.  The picture below is my brilliant baking friend, Stephanie, helping my frost.  She is also Rick's wife :).  I am lucky to know a husband and wife who are both creative to help me in these ventures!

Now, stack your layers (with the cardboard underneath each) on top of one another.

Now, pipe frosting around all of your layers.  We stopped in the middle of piping and put the cake in the fridge because the frosting started to get goopy (is that a word?).  The frosting will stick better if it is chilled (not cold, or it won't spread) and if your cake is cold.  If it makes you more comfortable, chill your cake in between every step.

After all the piping is finished, add any decoration on the side. 

This cake feeds tons of people!  We had 20 folks at our party and it was only halfway gone!  Enjoy!

The Revamp of Hand-Me-Downs Part II (Finally!)

I know that I have been promising the revamp of this hand-me-down for quite some time.  With Sadie's birthday last week, I really wanted her to have a fun party dress, so I pulled this project back out.

Price breakdown:

FREE - Hand-me-down
Ribbon from remnant bag
Tulle from remnant bag    
FREE 

I started with this little dress:

First, I ripped off the sleeves and lace on the top.

Then, off with the rosettes, which I hope to make some fun hair bows out of!

After stitching the collar and sleeves closed, I cut the bottom of the dress off and hemmed it up.  It went almost down to Sadie's ankles, and I wanted knee length.

Next, I sewed a hot pink ribbon around the middle where the rosettes originally were.  I also added a Z stitch to add some drama :).

Next, I stitched hot pink tulle to the bottom of my hem.

Final product:

The Birthday Seat

I found this great project on www.familyfun.com.  Family Fun is an awesome website for crafty moms without a lot of time and they have tons of cool stuff that you can do for the kiddos.  If you are not handy with a sewing machine, this project could also be made with a hot glue gun only.

Price breakdown:

$2.99 yard of felt
.75 coordinating felt color sheets (3)
thread
hot glue gun                               
$3.75

Measure the length and width of your chair and cut your fabric on the fold, with the top being on the fold.  Pin your fabric RS together and stitch together the sides.

 

Sew up your bottom hem and topstitch.

 

Cut out your cake pieces in the pattern of your choice and hot glue to your felt.  I added three candles with flames on top.  The cool thing about this project is that you can add a new candle every year!

 

Cut out the name of the birthday girl and hot glue on. 

My daughter was sad when we took this down this year.  It was quite the crowd pleaser!