i make stuff

yarn ball wreath

our new front door called for a new winter wreath..It was pretty simple to make.. A bit time consuming but totally worth it and i'm loving it.

wishing you all a wonderful holiday next week!

authentique & twinery hop

If your visiting my blog via the hop.. thanks for stopping by! If you're coming by way of Goldicar Designs you're on the right track. If not, make sure you start at the beginning over at authentique paper blog and don't forget to check the bottom of the post for giveaway details..


This weekend cyra has plans to attend a birthday barty for two very special twin girls.. so we worked together to wrap some special gifts.


First we made some letter cut-outs using authentique paper's uncommon collection and hung them with twinery blossom twine. I laminated the letter cut-outs so they would last longer.. i think these would be sweet as tags for a backpack or lunchbox. Finally we taped them to the package using some pretty japanese washi tape. 


These twin girls are turning 5.. and I wanted to incorporate their age in the packaging.. so I wrapped the larger box with five strands of twinery blossom twine.. made mini flags using washi tape and finally used the petite type circle stickers also part of the authentique uncommon collection.  Each flag & strand representing a year of their life.


For the twig ornaments, I followed the traditional native american god's eye technique and used twigs with beautiful pink sorbet and lilac twinery twine. For a special touch.. cyra painted the twigs pink and purple before we wrapped the ornaments.. these would also make special holiday decorations..



Special gifts for some special friends, all wrapped with love.

Your next stop is suburbNgypsy.. thanks again for stopping by!

Don't forget to leave a comment on this post to be entered in the hop giveaway! The Twinery will be giving away an ultimate color sampler pack.. and Authentique Paper is giving away beautiful paper of course!

Have a great weekend!

the little guy's birthday bash - car theme

in keeping with the car playmat.. zaya's big sister thought a car birthday party was in order.. if I've learned anything when it comes to birthday parties.. is when they are little.. is to keep is small.. so on Saturday we celebrated the little guy turning 1.. with a few special people. here are some of the details..







a sweet party for a sweet little guy..

more memories framed.

When Zaya was born, my mother-in-law handed down to me two sweet items of clothing, daddy's sweater when he was a little guy.. and pop pop's (grandpa) bib from his early years.. I had these sweet mementos dry cleaned and hung them similar to the shoe growth chart.. all ready to be hung in my little guy's room.

After lining the shadow box with linen, I laid out the items on the linen and pinned them down using white glass head pins.


Simple meaningful decor.

how-to table setting place mat.. freezer paper stenciling

I've been trying to get cyra more involved in meal-times.. so I freezer-paper stenciled place mats with images of silverware and plates.. to "help" her set the table..




I cut the freezer paper using my silhouette.. but you can also go the more traditional route of cutting out the stencil manually..
(I've shared all of my files at the bottom of this post.)
after cutting out your freezer paper.. arrange your stencils and iron them onto your place mat, shiny side down, no steam, med-high heat setting.. I found that the "plastic lined" freezer paper works best for stenciling..


then using a foam brush I painted the place mats with fabric paint with two even coats... allow your place mat to dry entirely before applying the second coat. Once completely dry.. slowly peel off the freezer paper.. and that's it!




here are my files, if you'd like to try this.. be sure to download the JPEGS if you are going to manually cut out your stencil..

Silhouette files (MAC):
Plate Silhouette file
Silverware Silhouette file

If you use a PC and have a Silhouette.. I'm not sure the above files will be compatable on your software, since I use a MAC. You can get around this by downloading the JPEGS, then import them into your Silhouette library and use the trace feature to set up your file. You can also refer to this Help section on the Silhouette site. Importing and cutting other images with the Silhouette

jpegs, if you are going to manualy cut your freezer paper stencil:
silverware JPEG
plate JPEG

here is our first time using them.. cyra thought it would be "silly" to use the painted plate as her plate for lunch... she is just too much.


hope you enjoy this project as much as we do!

the twinery - project one

 


so if you missed my post a couple weeks back.. i'm on the twinery design team.. how fun is that? when i recieved my first packet of lovely twine.. i wanted to design something to display the twine that is simple and functional.. and here is my idea.. a vintage shelf of twine. the vintage spools store and unravel twine as you need it.. and it's also beautiful to look at! 
I'll share below how I built it. very simple.. you'll just need a couple things you may have around your house.
here it is.. the vintage shelf of beautiful twine.

 


you'll need:
twinery twine (of course)
scrap old piece of wood.. 20 inches
vintage spools (ebay is a good resource for these)
wood pegs (you can find these at most craft stores)
small bar picture hanging system.. (home depot 10$)
wood glue
power drill
ruler & pencil

ok. lets get started. first wind your twine..

 

grab your wood.. measure and decide how far apart you want your spools, this would depend on how many colors you are going to display.. etc.. mine are 2 inches apart..


drill your holes..


attach your picture hanging system to the back of the board.. follow directions on the package


sand and glue pegs onto board.. allow to dry


attach to wall.. and enjoy.


now how simple is that?
I have mine hanging over my sewing/craft table..and I'm loving it.

 

we decorated ginger people

I've been thinking of ways to teach cyra about giving during the holiday season.. trying to make her a part of the act of giving as much as possible.. so i had this brilliant idea that we were going to decorate ginger people.. and hand them out to friends, neighbors and even visit daddy's work..

here is my DISCLAIMER: when I started to think of the logistics of making 3 dozen cookies with a newborn and toddler in hand.. even I could not wrap my energy around it.. and for those of you that know me, know that it's a pretty big deal for me to admit that I can't handle it ALL... so why not order gingerbread already baked and ready to decorate?
No.. I did not bake these.. but no one has to know right?

So we invited cyra's bestest friend sofia.. and got to work...it's a good thing too.. since after 3 cookies.. my daughter decided she would much rather dance in the kitchen than toss sprinkles everywhere.. so sofia got in the driver's seat and took over.


we had a good time..



this one was by far the prize of the bunch..


once dry.. they were all wrapped and tied with twinery twine..


and labeled with holiday greetings..
 
for all to enjoy.
It was a good feeling watching my daughter give.. and say "happy christmas"..

wool felt christmas tree

here it is.. so simple.. a wool mini tree..


to make this project you'll need:
wool felt.. (you can try using a variation of colors.. or felt some old christmas sweaters. I had two scrap pieces of felt on hand.. but I'd love to try this in many other variations.. )
craft glue or glue gun
foam cone.. I used 12 inches
scissors


first you'll want to start cutting your felt into leaf shapes..


then cut some more..


start lining the cone.. bottom up with the felt leaves and glue as you go along.. if you use a glue gun.. i suggest leaving the plastic wrapper on the cone.. it sticks much better to the cone that way.


now how simple was that?