Tie a Yellow Ribbon 'Round the Old Oak Tree Yarn Wreath

Everyone seems to making these "yarn wreaths". Looking at them, they appear top be very time consuming, so I shrugged of any notion of trying to make one for myself. I don't like making anything that takes more than a half hour or so. But my neighbor gave me a whole plastic tub of yarn - full of quite amazing colors -  and, I discovered you could buy all types of flowers ALREADY MADE at the craft store so I thought I would give this type of wreath a try. I made a couple for my sister-in-laws for Christmas...

 

When my daughter saw the wreaths, she commented that she wanted a "yarn wreath" too - something to honor her hubby {my son-in-law} who was about to deploy. The first thing that came to my mind was that old song "Tie a Yellow Ribbon 'Round the Old Oak Tree". So I began to craft her wreath!

 

Here is what you will need to make your own:

1 round form - foam or hay {hay is cheaper}

1 ream of yarn {color of your choice}

felt to make your flowers and leaves {or store bought flowers}

hot glue gun and sticks

 

 

First - wrap the yarn around your wreath form once and tie it off...then continue to wrap. Keep wrapping until the entire wreath is covered where nothing shows but the yarn. I wrapped two full rounds and that seemed to make good coverage.

 

 

 

 

Take sheets of felt and cut leaf shapes. Glue leaf shapes down to your wreath first. After you have made or chosen your flowers, you can hot glue them in place on top of the leaves to finish your wreath. Tie ribbon around the wreath so you can hang it.

 

 

 

I am sure that I could make the flowers myself, but who has that kind of time? Enjoy crafting!

 

 

 

 

Finding your nerve...to use patterns

For a number of months...well, honestly, maybe years {who's counting} - I've had a piece of fabric above my kitchen sink {laid over a tension rod} trying to mimic a curtain. Epic fail. But not quite sure of what I wanted to do with the space, I turned my head to it.

In front of the same window, I have this pendant light hanging over the sink {thay my husband installed 2 years ago - repacing the ugly florescent light that was there when we moved in 14 years ago}. I have experimented with many shades and colorful pendant light covers. My favorite of course were the drum shades. All of them white, all of them round.  None of the combinations saying "my kitchen window makes me happy".

Well FINALLY - I pulled the fabric down from the tension rod and began to sew. Hung the curtain and went on the search for the perfect shade. How lucky can a girl get? I found a few shades on clearance the same day, but they ALL were patterned. What would I do? The curtain was already so  full of shape and pattern. I have never been much on mixing patterns, just don't know how.  But I took my favorite to the counter and brought it home. When I placed it on my light fixture...I stepped back, folded my arms and thought to myself...my kichen window makes me happy.

One more project done.

{small buffet for our small space}

I love our home even though the kitchen and dining space are not ideal. I am constantly trying to find ways to stay organized and functional while still having something great to look at. I thought this island would help with storage....

and it did...but it always looked junky. {don't worry, this is not wear it was placed in the room - this is just where it landed to have it's photo taken for the local yardsale site once I replaced it - read more}

A few years back, my sister gave me this cabinet - {you missed the ugly hardware that were on it}

And I figured I could revamp it to replace the open storage unit that I was currently using. So, I picked a color and started painting. This is the result.

I kept the original round knobs on the cabinet doors because they had a nice patina...I also kep the hinges that matched.

I had a couple of pulls that matched the hardware on my kitchen cabinetry {which was just what I  needed to replace the VERY 1970's ones that were on the drawer before....

I was quite please with the result...AND THE AMOUNT OF NEW STORAGE I HAVE - that is NOT visible to visitors!

NO Sis - you can't get your cabinet back now!

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{handmade laundry detergent}

Saving money really means something these days. And while I have always used some homemade cleaning supplies {because they really do work better} I only recently started researching making my own laundry detergent, dish soap and other homemade products. Made my first batch of laundry detergent and LOVE IT. Smells good, cleans well and cost pennies compared to other store bought detergents.

1- 4 lb 12 oz box Borax (2.15 kg or 76 oz) found in the detergent isle
1- 4 lb box Arm & Hammer Baking Soda (1.81 kg) found in the cooking isle
1 box Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda 55 oz (3 lb 7 oz) found in the detergent isle
3 bars of Fels-Naptha soap, found in the detergent isle or 3 bars of Zote soap
2 small containers of Oxy Clean or store brand Oxy Clean (try to get about 3.5 lbs total (1.58 kg)) found in the detergent isle.

(the oxyclean is optional, I added it into mine because my boys play outside ALOT and get dirty)

Of course I bought generic to save money - and found most of my items {the soap, oxyclean and baking soda} at the Dollar Tree for $1 each. Found the Borax and the Super Washing Soda at the Harris Teeter. Spent less than $10 for 6 months worth of detergent because this detergent is not filled with fluff like store bought detergent is. It is concentrated - so only 1 tbs is need for each load.

milkglass lamps

So, I bought these milkglass lamps about a year ago at a local junk store for around $12 for the pair. I had big plans for them to adorn our mantel but I am an easy craft kinda girl - any project that takes more than 30 minutes totally turns me off.

Because I thought covering the shades with fabric would be difficult and hard to manage, I went with a material I knew all about - PAPER. However, my first selection was definately not what I had in mind. It totally belonged in someone else's house.

My next paper choice said everything I wanted it too, but I realized that paper could only be a temporary fix because all the papers I found that I liked were for scrapbooking so I had to piece papers and patterns together and tape them to make it long/wide enough to cover the shades. They stayed like this until now because I found a how to on Pinterest! Who knew all I would need was a glue gun and my fabric to cover the shades? I am a pro with a glue gun!

I got my courage up and found the fabric I liked and with a glue gun, ran a line of glue along the edges where the fabric met at the overlap  and glued the fabric tight together.

Then I ran a bead a glue every few inches underneath the lamp shade and turned the fabric under. It looks so professional!

It's a Winter Wonderland - Coconut Cupcakes

 Ingredients

Cupcake Ingredients

          3/4 cup of unsalted butter, room temperature

• 1 1/4 cup of sugar
• 3 eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup of canned coconut milk
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups of flour
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1/2 cup of sweetened desiccated coconut

Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients

• 1/2 cup of butter (1 stick), room temperature
• 8 oz of Philly cream cheese (1 package), room temperature
• 1/2-1 cup of powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup of sweetened desiccated coconut

Method

Cupcake Method
1 Preheat the oven to 350 F. Cream the butter until light and fluffy. Add sugar and cream till light and fluffy again, scraping down the sides halfway through to ensure even mixing.
2 Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for 30 seconds each to ensure mixing. Be sure to scrape down the sides after each egg to ensure even mixing.
3 Combine the flour, salt, and baking powder in one bowl. In another add 1 cup of a well shaken can of coconut milk and a teaspoon of vanilla. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients and mix, then add 1/2 of the wet ingredients. Continue alternating with the wet and dry mixtures, ending with the dry. Stop mixing once just as the ingredients become incorporated; do not overbeat.
4 Fold in the coconut. Scoop into cupcake papers about one half to three-quarters of the way full. Bake for 18-22 minutes, rotating the pan after the first 15 to ensure even baking. Be sure to check with a toothpick to see if the cupcakes are done. If the toothpick comes out of the cupcake clean, then they're ready. Allow the cupcakes to cool for a minute or two in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Frosting Method
1 Cream the butter and cream cheese together, about 3 minutes. Scraped down the sides and bottom.
2 Slowly add the powdered sugar, taste as you go adding more sugar until you have reached the desired sweetness.
3 Fold in the coconut. Spread onto cooled cupcakes. Sprinkle on a bit of extra shredded coconut on top and serve.
Makes 20 cupcakes.

{a handmade Christmas}

I am all about decorating on a dime. And this Christmas, especially, offered no reason to change my ways.  So, here are some simple solutions for your grand taste but small pocketbook.

{above} Christmas trees using 12x12 sheets of scrapbook paper and candlestick holders.

In this we mixed burlap and grapevine together with some shimmer and shine to create a Winter Wonderland snowman for the front door.

And these little snowman ornaments will look great on our packages or make great little ornaments for our neighbors. Rolled with simple white yarn and hot glued together. Topped with a wire black hat and little wire arms...

But one of my favorites that I created this year for the home is this beautiful tulle wreath.

adding the special touch - a rolled flower from some quilt binding and a bird nestled inside.

{more to come}

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