Candy Heart Garland

I'm excited about the new look for my blog. The design comes from the same lady who designed my photography business blog. I'm still working on things and will hopefully have it finalized soon.

Also... I will have more info on the Sew and Tell competition in a day or two. If you would like to sign up, please do so asap!

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Valentines Day is a big deal for Alanna because we usually have or go to a party with her friends. This year, I have promised her we would have one here. So, I've been thinking about decorations, activities and food. I'm sure I will be posting a lot more ideas over the next few weeks.

Anyway...

Last night I made a garland out of candy hearts. It was easy once I came up with a way to do it.



For my first attempt, I hot glued them to a grosgrain ribbon. However, when you hung it up, the hearts faced downwards. Fail.

I figured it was the weight pulling it over, so I glued another row of hearts to the backside of them. Same thing. Fail.



Getting annoyed, I gave it one more chance. I used a thick thread instead of the ribbon. I took two hearts and sandwiched them together, hot gluing the thread to the top, back of the hearts. You can get an idea of what I mean by the above picture.


It looks adorable and it was really cheap! Success!

Show and Tell: The Judge

Have you checked out the competition I'm setting up? Check out the previous post. It'll be super fun!

But this thing is even more fun now! Our judge will be


KIMBO, from A Girl and a Glue Gun! For total hysteria, check out her blog! She is so funny gives some great ideas.

Here are a few things of hers that I love:


How funny is that? I might do this one for a bridal shower gift... for a close friend of course.


This little craft seems like a great way to deal with good and bad behavior. The sad face makes this one perfect!


A good deal and a great craft go hand in hand, right? That's why I like this one. She got *almost* all of the letters on sale and made educational wall decor.

Check her out... You'll love her!

Thanks for being our Judge, Kimbo!

Sew and Tell: A fun competition

*I'm scaling this down a bit.

Many of you may be aware that my husband has been out of work for 9 months now. Thankfully, we also own and run a photography business in Milwaukee that is keeping us afloat while we wait for another job. I say all of this because my necessary frugality sparked an idea. It's something I'm calling Sew and Tell.

So, here's the idea behind it. You have one week in which to make an outfit (it can be for yourself, your child, whoever). The goal is to create something that is adorable and yet affordable.

However, there are a couple of guidelines. All of the materials used must be from your stash or from thrifted items. Obviously, you can buy thread. But, no store bought buttons, zippers, etc. Those must come from your stash or the thrift store.

The fun part, there will be a prize! I'm still working out the details of what exactly this will be. If you are interested in being a contributor of one of the prizes, let me know. There will also be a judge that will be selecting one winner. The winner will be announced the following week. However, please let me know if you would like to participate by Jan. 28th.

I will give you further details if there is enough interest.

You can contact me at: frebyrds1@gmail.com
If you have any questions, please just ask.

Once I know if there is enough interest, I will set up the dates.

Finished Ladybug Pillow Pet

I finished the ladybug the other day and my daughter couldn't be happier. Thankfully, she is only 4 so she doesn't care if it isn't the "real" thing. Who knows how long that will last?

I attempted to make pattern pieces for the head in photoshop, but it just wasn't working right. So, tomorrow I will be scanning the pieces at Office Max since I don't own a scanner. Lame. But I really want to get that posted for you! It took me awhile to get the shape of the head the way I wanted it. I might as well save you the time and post the pattern. Look for that soon.

These photos are not great as I took them at night. I'll post some better ones later.

Alanna has dragged this thing everywhere since I've finished. Well, let me clarify. She has been dragging it everywhere since I finished the body. But now that the head is done, she couldn't be happier!


I learned a great lesson with this pillow. I will never again assume that I can't make something that is sold in the stores. Even if it isn't exact, I can make it! So, have at her! It's easy!

I have decided to add this to the Bloggers Pillow Party. Why not right? I was making the pillow anyway, so why not enter it?

Check it out!

Speech Meet

I have been meaning to have the pillow pets posted yesterday, but found myself busy getting my son ready for speech meet. Next week is the second of three rounds of the spelling bee. What a smart little first grader! We're proud!

I know I'm prejudice, but isn't he adorable even though he is desperate for a hair cut?

Valentines Heart Garland Tutorial

I will have the pillow pets posted tomorrow... so check back

I order some of my presentation folders that I give to clients with all of our wedding package info in them from a company called Paper Source. I love that catalog!

In their catalog they have paper kits for different holidays. This time they had an ADORABLE heart garland that I knew I could make with items I had on hand.





Here's how I did it:


Materials Needed:
2 12x12 pieces of cardstock
double sided tape
needle
thread
scissors
pencil



Mark 1 inch lines across both pieces of cardstock.


Cut out the strips.


Fold the strip in half.


With a pencil (round not ridged), roll one end of the strip 3.5 inches down (or 3 turns around the pencil)


You should now have this.


Adjust your curl to look more like a heart.


Repeat on the other side.


Repeat with all of your strips.


Cut a piece of thread or fishing line as long as you want your garland and thread it with a needle. Start threading your hearts on my poking the needle through the center of the crease at the bottom of your heart.


Continue threading them on.


Starting at the bottom of your chain, take the first heart and place a piece of double sided tape to one inside curl of the heart.


Place the string on the center of the tape and press the other side of the heart closed.


Continue with all of the hearts.

Pillow Pets - mini tutorial

Do your little ones want pillow pets as much as mine do? Seeing as I have 4 children, spending $20 on a pillow seems like a waste. That's $80!!! Even if I got them on sale, it would be AT LEAST $60! Forget that! Fleece is 50% off at Joann's right now so I got all the fabric for $20. Awesome! Shannon is working on putting up a tutorial and pattern pieces for a few different pillow pets. How handy would pattern pieces be??? But she was making all the ones my kids don't want. The bee and ladybug are 2 of the desired pillow pets in this house. So, instead of waiting for her tutorial, I started making a few last night. I'm working on the heads now and they are coming along well.



There are a few things I should have done that I see how that the bodies are done. Here is a really quick explanation of how I did them. Mainly, black feet. They should be on the bottom and not just the top.

Here is a little pictureless tutorial. I will post some pics of the process after I work on the next pillow pet.

Main body pieces:
1. Cut two pieces of felt that are 19"x19"
2. Cut arches out of all four corners on both pieces. (I only did this on the top but should have on the bottom) When cutting the arches, I started about 2.5" up from the corners.
3. Cut 8 arches out of contrasting colors (I used black for the bee and ladybug).
4. Sew the arches to the large pieces of fleece.
5. Attach a the loop side of a piece of velcro that is 1.5" long in the center one of your fleece pieces. It should be about 1" from the edge.

Strap.
1. Cut a piece of fleece that is 5"x7".
2. Fold the fleece in half and sew on two sides.
3. Turn right side out.
4. Attach the hook side of your velcro to one end of the strap.

If you are making the bee:
1. cut two strips of black fleece that are 19"x2".
2. Take one of your two large pieces of fleece lay your straps on top, measuring so they are evening spaced between the arches on each side.
3. Top stitch them down.
4. Cut two wing shapes out of yellow fleece. Sew them right sides together, leaving a hole in the center on the top that is about 4" big.
5. Center the wings on top of your black strips.
6. Run a straight stitch down the center of the wings, leaving a whole between the two layers on either side of your straight stitch.

If you're making the ladybug:
1. cut 7-2" circles of black felt (you can cut more if you would like)
2. Hand sew or top stitch these to one of your large pieces of red fleece.

Assemble the body:
1. lay one of the large pieces of fleece down, right side up.
2. Lay the strap on top, long side in, matching the end with one side of the pillow. (make sure the strap is not where the head or tail side of the pillow will be, but on the side).
3. lay the other piece of fleece on top, right side down.
Sew the layers together, leaving a hole about 4" wide at the top where the head will go.
4. Turn right side out and stuff to your liking.
5. s

For the bee:
1. put a small amount of stuffing in the wings. You don't want these too puffy.
2. hand sew or top stitch (I managed to do this) them closed.


Next is the heads. I will be working on getting pdf patterns for these when I figure out how. eeek. The heads for the bee and ladybug are nearly the same.



Watch for Shannon's tutorial coming soon. She may have done hers differently and the animals she has made are beyond ADORABLE! I can't wait to see her tutorial and pattern!