Last Minute Christmas

I wanted to share a few last minute projects that take less than an hour to do.  Just in case you have some last minute guests or need a little extra on the tree this year...These projects are so fun and festive I couldn't resist sharing them!  So here we go with the first project:

Letters Hung by the Tree with Care:

 

 

This year when we went to cut down our tree, we were all too exhausted and busy to decorate it right away. So in the meantime I decided to keep it simple and just hang this simple message.

 

Here's what you'll need:

 

Wooden letters (I got mine at Hobby Lobby)

Spray paint



Yarn
Hot glue gun and glue

First my hubby spray painted the letters silver for me. 

 

Then with my hot glue gun and yarn, I placed a line of glue about an inch from the top of each letter and held the yarn over it until it dried.  I found that a straight line across the letters made it hang nicely.

 



 

I spaced each letter about 1/2 an inch apart as I glued them.

 

 

 

There you have it!  Tie the yarn to some sturdy branches and you have instant Christmas cheer!

 

Once we got it together and decorated our tree, I moved the sign and hung it above the mantel in our living room.  Just a few tacks and you're done!

 

Can't wait to see you back here tomorrow to share another project with you!

Merry Christmas!

Salt and Pepper Wells

I have to give Martha Stewart props for this idea.  Years ago I saw this in her magazine and each Thanksgiving as soon as I'm serving the dinner I think - DANG - I was going to make salt and pepper wells!  I know, what I conundrum right? 

This year I am on top of it! Martha's version is a bit fancier - she painted hers gold.  I liked the more natural look of the walnut, as it matches my table better.  I made one for each family member - and they are easy to store for next year!

Let's get crackin'!  Literally!  Since I use an old fashioned nutcracker, I tend to ruin one half of each nut, so just make sure you have at least 2 for each guest in case they break.  If you are more gentle than me you may be able to get away with using both halves!  After they are cracked open, scoop out the nut and fill with salt or pepper.   Fender was always close by to eat the insides!
 

 

 

 

If you are feeling adventurous and have left over walnuts you can make Walnut Wishes to add to your table.  I made them a few years and they were really fun to read at the table!

 

Happy Decorating!

It's Sew Sunday - A Pillow for All Seasons

Recently we added an old wooden chair to our front porch and I really wanted to add a pillow to the chair to cover up some of its less than desirable spots.  But if I was going to make a pillow for Fall, I didn't want to then turn around and make a pillow for Winter, so I decided to make one for both occasions.

So I made this cute reversible pillow that we can just flip over when the time comes to decorate the porch for Christmas!

Here's how I did it...

First, I cut some left over linen from the stockings I'm making for Christmas (I'll show you those when I'm all done!) into two rectangulars.  You can make your pillow any shape you want at this point!

With my favorite font, I printed out the word "harvest" and traced it onto freezer paper.  Oh freezer paper, how I love thee, let me count  the ways!

I cut out the stencil and heat sealed it to the linen with an iron on medium heat, and then painted in the stencil with brown fabric paint.  This is one of my favorite ways to transform fabric.  Check out other projects here, here and here.

While the harvest fabric was drying, I repeated the whole process with "jingle" and red fabric paint.

After both sides were dry, I slowly peeled off the stencil, pinned right sides together and sewed almost completely around the perimeter of the rectangles leaving a scant 4 inch hole on the bottom middle edge.

Then I trimmed the corners, turned it right side out, and filled the pillow with fiber fill.  Once it was stuffed to the brim, I sewed the 4 inch hole closed and patted the filling around until it looked smooth!

 

 

There you have it!  I love how it looks on our chair and can't wait to decorate around it at Christmas time!

Happy Sewing!

Halloween Mantel

This October is halfway over and I have yet to make any Halloween crafts like I usually do - for shame!  But I did manage to decorate our mantel for the season using many of the projects from Halloween past.

 

I did add a few "new" things to the mantel that I've thrifted over the past few months.  My favorite has to be this birdcage.  I've been looking for one of these for awhile, and see spray paint in it's future.  Add a few dollar store crows and we're set!

 

I also love this sewing machine I found at the thrift store.  I wish I could say it was some vintage find...it's from the Fred Meyer home collection, but stacked on one of my favorite haunting books and it fits right in!

 

Click on any of the pictures above to see how each of these projects were made...

 

Happy Decorating!

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Star Wars in September - Star Wars Toy Box

Fender is lucky to have this great little nook in his room under his window.  I wish there were more little quirky corners in our house like this!  I've been dreaming of a toy box/reading nook and dC made it happen!  And yes that is Darth Vader playing the drums with light sabers on Fender's shirt.

Here's the area before...

And here it is after!

All that was needed was a little Star Wars of course so I bought a bunch of his favorite fabric and got out my glue gun.  Sandy Renfrow would be proud!  (I say this because as a child every dance costume she made, she hot glued together while I wore hot pads underneath!)  Instead of sewing on a zipper and getting all fancy, I just glued the fabric onto the foam like I would if I were wrapping a package. 

Using his other pillow case from his bedspread I appliqued "May the Force Be With You" using the same technique as the Boba Fett bag.  That way he can stretch out and get comfortable while reading!

dC scored this original copy of the Star Wars soundtrack on vinyl at the thrift shop for $1.  The inside has lots of great photos from the movie. 

We're not completely done with the transformation of his room - it's definitely a work in progress!  Thanks for spending this month of Star Wars with me!

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Star Wars in September - Dath Vader Bedspread

When Fender told me he wanted a Star Wars room the first thing we did was look for a bedspread.  The bed is such a major focal point in a kid's room that it is the easiest thing to change.  As we shopped around for bedspreads we found a lot of ugly Star Wars ones out there.  They were also pretty pricey, so I bought Fender a plain bedspread and did my own Darth Vader version!

 

I used my new favorite technique for simple fabric applique just like I did on Fender's Boba Fett bag.

 

 

Besides the one on the pillow case, I also added one at the foot of his bed.  And since his bedspread is reversible, I can flip it over, fold it back and have it two different ways.

But Fender likes it all black.  He says he likes it on the "dark side." 

Click on the picture above to see how I made the Darth Vader mini-figure jar topper!

Who knew Darth Vader could be so snugly!

 

 

 

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Star Wars in September-Boba Fett Bag

This is one of the smaller projects I've done in Fender's room to make it more Star Warsy (that's a word I promise!).

Boba Fett is one of the more obscure characters in Star Wars and only has a few lines in the last two movies, but his bounty hunting armor is so recognizable - especially his helmet.  I wanted to jazz up Fender's room with his image so I put it on a toy bag!

When you buy a new set of sheets, they often come in a cloth drawstring bag.  Fender always steals them and fills them with whatever he's playing with that day, so I stole it back and put Boba Fett on it.

Here's how I did it:

I printed out an image of Boba Fett and traced it onto the paper side of some double-sided iron-on interfacing.

Iron the fabric onto the other side of the interfacing using a towel or pillow case as a barrier between the paper and the iron.

Then cut out the image and carefully peel off the interfacing paper.

Place the image on the bag with the interfacing side down.  Using your iron on the lowest steam setting and a wet barrier (I usually wet down a pillow case), hold the iron on the image for 15 seconds. I do it in sections until the whole image has been appliqued.

Let it cool and your Boba Fett bag is ready to rock!

 

 

Perfect for carrying your extra light saber!

Our New Headboard

dC made us a new headboard and nightstands (quite awhile ago now - I think April?) and it's taken me this long to pull our bedroom together enough to photograph his work!  He's a gem!  I think I'll keep him!

 

 I made this wreath from all of our many trips to the beach.  I get there with an empty bag and leave with a full one.  I love drift wood - I have many memories attached to the coast where I grew up.

More of my collection...

I love the driftwood stain he did on all of it! 

 

Thanks for stopping by!

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