Ornament Wreath

I made this ornament weath for my front a door a few weeks ago. I really liked how it turned out. About the only thing I dont like is that my husband has broken it TWICE. So, this is acutally the second wreath and I liked the way the first one turned out better. Oh well, hopefully this one will last through the holidays and then I plan to buy some new ornaments once they go on super-cheap after Christmas clearance and re-do it (since this one is currently being held together completey by hot glue!)

There are tons of tutorials out there on blogs about making them so I am not going to do a full tutorial. If you need ideas, I mainly used this tutorial on Eddie Ross. I also liked this one because it had links to several different wreaths so I could get ideas of what I liked (and what I didnt!)

Here are a few friendly tips that I found along the way. (and a few things I will do differently when I re-do it!)

1. If you are even remotely as clumsy as I am; use non-breakable ornaments.

2. That being said, dont use TOO cheap of ornaments (I got these at the dollar sections of target and while I loved that they were only a dollar a pack...I didnt love how how easily the tops broke when I was trying to smish {is that even a word} as many ornaments onto it....or when my husband dropped it.

3. When I do it again, I am plan to do it a little differently: if the ornament tops are all interchangeable, I plan to just string the ornament tops onto the hanger (without the ball being attached to it) at first and then put the balls on once they are all on so I can arrange them and move them around as needed (without having to unstring them all!). Just remember that when you attaching the balls to the ornament tops you have to use a dab of hot glue so they dont come apart.

4. Used ribbon that isnt sheer (I used sheer ribbon and it was pain trying to make sure it didnt show the clothes hanger underneath.

5. SAVE A WIRE HANGER! Man, I didnt realize how much I followed Joan Crawfords advice (you know, "NO MORE WIRE HANGERS" from Mommy Dearest) until I tried to find a wire hanger.

So, I cant wait to see if anyone else makes one and what they find out!

The flower motherload...

My sister found this link which shows 40 differentways to make flowers on Oopsey Daisy.Yes, you read that right, 40!.......AND...... then she lost it!

But, luckily she found it again, so, in an attempt for us to NEVER be left without a flower tutorial whenwe need one, I have added it here at her request. I LOVE the ideas too.

I think I feel a sister craft night coming on the next time I visit home......THANKS SISTA!

One more card idea for my next swap

Card idea for my next card swap

Petti- TUTU

After coming going thru about 10 different TUTU tutorials and not really liking any of them I combined a little of all of them all into one that I finally like. I would change a couple of things if I had to do it over again but overall I like the way it turned out.. Whadda think??


I didnt do a tutorial on it because I didnt take pictures along the way (and I was truthfully totally making it up as I went along) but if anyone is interested in how I did let me know and I will see if I can put some type of semi-intelligent instructions together)

Halloween Dorks

I will readily admit that I am a Halloween dork!

Last week when I was the fabric store getting stuff for the halloween costumes I saw that they had CUTE Halloween fabric 75% off..... AND when I remembered that Halloween was on Sunday this year...... AND when I remembered this post, I decided I HAD to get some cute halloween fabric and make some skirts for my girls.

So, when I should have been sewing halloween costumes, I was sewing skirts instead. They turned out super cute and they got to wear them several times.

AND, the day before Halloween, I saw that there was enough fabric left over for one more skirt, I decided to make one more for myself...Yes, I love Halloween and I am a HALLOWEEN DORK!

Strip Skirts

If you also want to be a Halloween (or Christmas or Valentines Day or Fourth of July, etc) dork too...here is the dimensions for the skirts. I purchased 1/2 yard of 5 different prints plus 1/2 yard plain black fabric for top and two packages of black double fold wide bias tape (quilt size). This gave me enough for 3 skirts.

For the size 6 skirt I used a total of 15 strips 5" x 14" sewn together with 5/8" seams and two black rectangles 14" x 4" for the top.
For the size 3 skirt I used a total of 15 strips 4.25" x 11"sewn together with 1/2" seams and two black rectangles 13" x 3.5" for the top.

Start by sewing all the strip together in the order you want. Sew the first and last strip together as well so it ends up being a tube.

Sew the bias tape around the entire bottom of the tube. Overlap the ends of the bias and turn under the outer end.

Sew together the two rectagles for the waistband with right sides together. Form a casing in the top for the elastic by turning under twice and stitching (leave and opening to thread the elastic thru). Slightly gather the top of your strips and adjust till it's the same length as the waistband. Sew the waistband and the strips with right sides together. Thread your elastic and adjust it to fit the waist size you need. Sew the elastic together and close the opening in the casing.

And VOILA...you are a halloween dork!!! :)