HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!

What does a crafty girl do for Father's Day decorations...?

Why she makes a fishing wreath, naturally!

In my adventures as Camp Director I happened upon some clearance fishing ribbon and little fishies. So of course I bought them! And they only sat on my floor for a few months before I actually used them!!! This is good for me...

Here's how to make your own!

All you really need is a wire wreath frame and TONS of ribbon:

Cut your ribbon into strips at whatever length pleases you. Mine are 8" for the inner row, then 9", then 11", and finally 12" for the outer row. How many you need will depend on the width of your ribbon and how close together you feel like tying them.

Start on the outer wire first. Fold your ribbon in half, loop it through the wire, and pull the ends through to tie on the ribbon like this:

And repeat: 

Eventually you will finish the entire outer row:

Just repeat the tying process with your other ribbons, working inward, and in no time you will have this:

Here is a close up of my ribbons:

I really wanted the fishing patterns to show, so I didn't smash my ties together too much... Also I had a limited amount of ribbon and no chance of finding more at the store...

Now you can stop here and your wreath will be lovely!

Or if you happen to find yourself in possession of some matching wooden fishies, this is when you would tie them onto some spaces in your ribbon ties like this:

I left the edges of all my ribbon and fishie tying raw because after all this IS a MAN wreath!

There's an oxymoron for you...

The ribbons all bounce off each other to give the wreath great dimension on your door:

I do love the fishies!

Go make your own!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!

My Mom's side is VERY Irish, so of course I have a ton of St. Patrick's Day decorations!!!

Here are a few of my favorites:

My "Lucky":

 My 3-Shamrocks-On-A-Stick:

My big "Luck":

My collection of Irish sayings on cute blocks:

My sparkly "Irish":

And of course I have something with shoes:

I need new shoes...

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!

Glitter Coffee Filter Wreath!

Ok guys!

This wreath is HUGE, MESSY, and TIME CONSUMING!

It's also INCREDIBLY AWESOME!!!

See?!

My husband hates it...

It doesn't *ahem* store well...

Ready to make one? You will need:

-a white styrofoam wreath frame.
(mine is 18")
-a bazillion coffee filters
(mine are 2 different sizes...oops...I just alternated and it worked fine)
-mod podge
-glue gun and sticks
-big marker of some sort
-TONS of glitter
(seriously. that little thing in the picture made it one row)

Step One:
Stuff your marker down the center of a coffee filter so it forms this shape:

Step Two:
Take the marker out and hold that shape while you dip it in mod podge and then glitter. I eventually moved the glitter to a paper cup and it worked SO MUCH nicer than the paper plate:

Step Three:
Put the marker back in the coffee filter. Use your glue gun to put glue on just the center circle made by the marker and press it to your wreath frame:

This is where the HUGE MESS begins...

Step Four:
Continue around the entire outside edge of your wreath frame:

Step Five:
Keep going row by row towards the center. It does get easier...:

 ...and eventually Ta-Da:

 

You could totally leave it like this if you wanted to! It is super glittery (if somewhat difficult to photograph) and looks great already:

But I spent all of 79 cents on this pile of clearance fluff and needed to use it:

I still think it's awesome:

Go make one!!!

Burlap Petal CHRISTMAS Wreath

I couldn't go to the Pinner's Conference a few months ago.

Mostly because I didn't want to...

But I DID want to make this:

Super cute Burlap Petal wreath by the insanely creative girls over at Find it, Make it, Love it!

Luckily for people like me they made a step by step tutorial on their blog HERE.

If anything I say doesn't make sense, try their tutorial instead...

I made a slightly fuller CHRISTMAS version:

I absolutely LOVE it and it was one of the quickest/easiest/best-turning-out-est wreaths I've ever made!

You will need:
*straw wreath form (mine is the big 18" one)
*plain burlap for covering the form
*decorative burlap for your "petals" (I used 40 feet of burlap ribbon)
*something for your bow
*hot glue gun and TONS of sticks
*pins

To make the "petals":

Cut a 5x5 square of burlap:

Fold down the top to make a triangle. Glue the bottom point together:

Fold down one side point to the bottom point. Glue the points together:

Fold down the other side point to the bottom point. Make sure all the points are glued together:

Now the original tutorial had you just make the petal and pin it on, but I needed a bit more durability... so I glued!

Once you have a pretty good pile going (I ended up needing 84), you can start to assemble.

Cover your wreath frame with more burlap:

Start in the center of your wreath. Put glue ONLY on the bottom point of your petal and glue it on. I also put a pin in mine:

Now glue another petal right in front of your first petal, overlapping as much as you like: 

Continue until you have the whole middle row finished. (I had to snip off the bottom tip of my last petal to squeeze it in at the end):

Now start the inner row! Glue/pin one petal between each center petal FACING THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION, again overlapping as much as you like:

Just keep gluing/pinning one petal in each gap. The inner row is more crowded, so you'll need to overlap a bit more:

Ok, you probably noticed my petals in the above picture are spaced every-other gap. This is what the original tutorial told me to do. I ended up liking a really-full look better, so I altered (ripped off) my first attempt and ended up with this for the inner row:

The outer row is super easy and by now you've got this down! Glue/pin a petal for every center row gap IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION of the center:

This outside row has a bit more room, so you will need to have less of an overlap:

Here is what everything should look like all done:

The bow is obviously optional, but I like the look! I just used the leftover burlap from wrapping my wreath frame! The Find It, Make It, Love It tutorial has a great tip on how to make a "cheater" bow that is always perfect:

TA-DA!:

Go make your own!

Punkins

Sooooooo...

This was my project for Kiwi Lane this month... and it was on their blog a couple weeks ago... and I forgot to post it!!!

To see the original Kiwi Lane post, go HERE

I show you how I turned these:

Into these:

Using the Autumn and Tiny Holiday leaves templates and super-cute Doodlebug Friendly Forest paper:

The top is my favorite part:

Go check it out!!!

Happy Day-Before Thanksgiving!