Bridal flower crown

Recently a friend asked if I could make a headpiece for the bride from a bachelorette party that she was organizing.  She wanted a floral crown that was a little more earthy than typical party gear. She shared a few pins and pictures with me for inspiration and basically let me choose the color scheme and overall look of the piece.

The party was tonight, so now I'm free to share pictures of what I made without ruining the surprise!  (Naturally, I had to try it on to test out the fit, so bear with the pictures of me in someone else's crown.)

I usually shop at Joann's for my craft supplies (they sell most of what I need, and send me coupons through their mailing list), but for this project, I opted to get my stuff at Michael's.  I've always been hesitant of silk flowers, but since this piece needed to last, I was pretty set on trying to find some that I liked.

The wedding is coming up this fall, so I wanted this piece to be a little autumn-ish, but still summery enough for August.  I used mostly small white flowers and some orange and green ones.  I found perfect glassy looking green and orange beads that were pretty earthy, but a little fancy too.

I twisted the wrapped wire and flowers together and fastened the flowers on it pretty securely (I also took each flower off and glued them back onto their plastic stems since they have a tendency to pop off pretty easily).

I didn't know how big to make it, but since I wanted it to fit and stay on, I loop each end of the crown and braided yarn to tie the whole thing on.  The crown itself has some flexibility, so it can be bent to fit better if needed.

I'm so happy with how this turned out!  I love getting requests for projects; I feel inspired to try new things and do my best to make them work.  The bachelorette party is happening now, so I hope that the bride-to-be enjoys this crown as much as I enjoyed making it!  (In fact, I feel some inspiration for my own wedding plans!)

DIY t-shirt plant hanger

The kitties have been very naughty lately, chewing on and uprooting houseplants that we have sitting out everywhere.  Then they throw up, and nobody needs that.  I have a bunch of hemp and yarn hangers that I made in the past, but not enough to hold the plants that need to be up.  They're pretty time consuming to make, so I wanted to do something else to protect my plants and animals.  This project only took me about half an hour!

I found this tutorial on Pinterest and modified it to fit my needs.  Here's a simple rundown of what I did:

1.  Found an old t-shirt, mine was tie-dyed, men's size small.

2.  Cut horizontally across the torso region to make 6 inch wide loops.

3.  Cut the loops on one end so you have 6 fabric strips, each about 2 feet long.

4. Fold the strips in half and knot several inches below the fold to make a loop.

5.  Divide the strips into four groups of three.  Braid each of these groups about halfway.  Knot each braid.

6.  Split the braids.  Two strands will go left.  One will go right.

7.  Moving circularly from the top knot, tie sections of three a few inches down, combining half the pieces from two braids.  I know this sounds confusing, but looking at the photo here on the right shows the split braids Always move in a circle as you do this so the strands don't get tangled and confused.

8.  A  few inches below these knots, make one large knot combining all the strands.  Trim any uneven ends.  

Add your plant and hang!  My pot is 4 inches, pretty small, but this size seems perfect for the hanger.  A larger shirt would yield a larger hanger. 

Hope the directions and illustrations help anyone who'd like to try this simple DIY!

Thrift find: incomplete embroidered wall hanging

A few months back we were at Goodwill and I found an embroidery kit in a bag for $3.  I opened the package to find this incredibly gorgeous, nearly completed piece.  I was in love!  I'd been telling myself I wouldn't get more embroidered wall art because we have so many, but I had to buy this.

It sat for a little while, and then I got to work finishing it.  Really, all I needed to do was the basket of flowers, the lines on the floor and wall, and a few other tiny details.  The small bit I did do took me quite a bit of time; I needed to learn stitches and get them looking like they fit in with the rest of the work. You can see some wrinkles from the embroidery hoop that the fabric likely sat in for years, but I haven't figured out how to get rid of them out.

The detail and attention put into the piece by whoever started it is just beautiful.  I wonder what happened to prevent them from finishing.  The copyright on the package was from the 70s, but because the original price tag said $25, I figure it wasn't purchased that long ago BUT since the tag was also from a craft store/ greenhouse that I used to work at that closed nearly ten years ago, it's not too recent.  Anyways, I'm so glad I found this and was able to finish it.   I found a frame at the thrift store for $2 that fit perfectly.

I love the cat on the afghan.  I'd love an identical, full size one like that to curl up with.  I mean, the blanket, not the cat... we have enough felines in our home for now.

I think the cats like the piece too.  I hung it above the bookshelf in our dining room.  Five dollars well spent!

Accessorizing our craft room.

After I organized, it was time to decorate the room!  Almost nothing was purchased for this space- most things I already owned and some I refurbished, the rest were thrifted. 

The big picture in the middle was thrifted a few years ago for $2.50.  It's also identical to a picture hanging in the kitchen of the set of Malcolm in the Middle!  I noticed that during a marathon this past winter.  The framed leaves were maybe from Target, but I can't remember. 

I whittled down my button collection to make this heart on a fabric covered board.  I added a stack of movies, although, these will likely change depending on my mood. 

I repainted this little shelf with spray paint (it used to be navy) and put up some little knick-knacks.  I love this picture of the girl and her kitten; it says "Friendly thoughts keep hearts in touch."  39 cents!

This pincushion was my grandma's, along with the brown pitcher in the bottom right corner.  The little animals are from the antique mall.  I planned on putting them in a terrarium, but might leave them here for now.  Little craft bottles for whatever.  Oh, and the vase; it matches the tablecloth you'll see in a minute, so I had to add it to the arrangement.

Another shelf I repainted.  And yes, those are kittens having a tea party.  My mother knows me so well!

I wanted to add a few plants, so I put some clippings I'm trying to root in vases.  The hanging one is rosemary (smells great!) in a little glass bottle with tiny blue beads in the bottom.  The orange vases from Ikea are wrapped in hemp and beads.

The table cloth I'm using was $2 at the thrift store.  I really wanted something to put over the old plastic table top, and something that would be easy to clean if I accidentally splashed paint.  As much as I used giggle at my grandma's old vinyl cloths, I knew that's what I needed.  I really lucked out when I found this one- the print is perfect!

So there's the craft room!  There are a few other details I wasn't able to get good pictures of or have since added, but this is most of it!  I hope it gives people some ideas for how to decorate and arrange their own space on a budget!  I learned that it may take time to create a new space, and it may not be perfect right away, but that's alright!  I mean, I might as well use the craft room to create things for that space!

Our new craft room!!

Well, we completed out first major project since I moved in with Mark, and it's pretty much my life dream: a craft room!  

The entire project was done on a budget- basically only paint and a few small thrifted items to spruce up the space, so I hope it provides ideas for using personal items to create a whole new room!

 The walls were white with an old 90s children's border, so we pulled that down and painted the room blue.  It was supposed to be be more grayish, but since it's our first painting experience, I don't really mind.  Plus, it looks different depending on the lighting.

The table had been in the dining room before I moved in with my own.  I suppose it would make more sense if there were a chair at the table, but we're working on that! 

We moved the futon (aka Mark's old bed) in.  As nice as a table is for paper crafts, I sometimes like to just lounge while I crochet, sew, and bead.  Dexter (the black lump on the futon) seems to have decided that this is his craft room. 

We also added this end table with a small TV and a bigger shelf on the wall.  Extra storage and entertainment for craft time.  My parents dropped off a record player today, so that might be great for non-television entertainment (notice the Wham! album on the shelf, awww yeah!)  

Organization and decorating are essential for a craft room, so I'll be posting more of the details later this week!  

Mushroom yard

I was outside the other day, trimming hedges so the sidewalk in front of the house would be walkable for our neighbors, and noticed some cute things around the yard.  It had been so hot most of the summer, that outdoor exploring time has been pretty limited.  Now that it's been cooler, I feel like I can leisurely stroll around and discover those little details.

When I looked down in the grass, I realized there were mushrooms everywhere!

I started picking them since the lawn mowing company was coming the next day, and then they'd all be smushed.  

I like the red and white ones best, but they'd crumble apart really easily when I'd try to pull them out of the ground.

Some were so tiny you can barely see them in the pictures.

It (finally!) rained today, so I'm hoping that means a fresh batch of mushrooms will be popping up this week!

Road trip 2012, part 5: Backpacking (the descent)

After our evening in the mountains, it was time to head back to the gravel lot we hiked from.  We were expecting it to go pretty quickly (and easily) since most of the hike would be downhill and shorter than the path up, but it didn't quite work out like that.

We started off rather leisurely, posing for pictures with mountains in the background, taking our time to enjoy the scenery, sun, and moderate temperatures.

We used a log as the mount for this picture.

As we continued, we realized that this trail (which was described as "not appropriate for horse travel") was difficult, even (especially?) downhill.  There were narrow trails, loose rock, and steep inclines.

We crossed this creek many times throughout the hike.  An easy and enjoyable task.

And enjoyed breathtaking views, completely unique from those on the hike up the previous day.  As we made our way down, we saw a lot of people.  It was pretty scarce initially, but a few hours into the walk, we were seeing families, couples, and large groups of kids from local summer camps, making the hike up.  There were not, however, other backpackers.

The common destination seemed to be this:

We didn't linger like the other hikers, we were ready to get back to our car and be on the way.  After the waterfall, the terrain got smoother, but then we were up and down smaller hills.  Totally energy sucking at this point.  

After five or six hours we'd made it!  Back to the car, down the road, and to Mark's boss's house for showers, laundry, and a real bed.  <3

Glass hangers for house plant propagation

As if we didn't have enough houseplants already, I've been taking cuttings from a few and putting them in vases around the house.  Yes, I want the house to be a jungle.  Someday, maybe.  Anyways, there was an accident with one of the vases that resulted in two of Mark's carboys for brewing beer breaking, and the dollar vase from Goodwill being totally fine.  My solution: hang the cuttings. 

Two of the bottles I used were from American Science & Surplus in Milwaukee.  I picked them up on our road trip for something like, 50 cents a piece.  I wish I could find them on the site, but they don't seem to be available online.  

The other, the longest one, was from an oil lantern that I lost the main piece to.  

I wrapped them with wire and beads in various ways and voila!  Hanging propagation bottles for my cuttings. 

I'll likely make more if I find more bottles.  You could probably do something similar with other bottles or vases, but what I like about these is that they don't have flat bottoms and don't sit upright, so they need to be hung.  Each is different, and they look pretty in the bay window in our dining room.  I love looking at the roots as they grow.