The Re-Decorating Itch: Part I

I don't know if it's more of an itch to move or just to re-decorate, but Landon said no more new decorations until we move, so now I'm itching for both! This was the best before picture, since I forgot to take one before I started the project. I had to bring the wreath hanger into the house because I put potted flowers on the front porch for the summer. So then I needed a new wreath to hang from it. So I took the yellow flowers in the vase on the dresser in this picture:
And turned them into this:

And here is where they now sit:

I just plucked them off and hot glued them to a straw wreath. Total project cost: $1.50 (the cost of the wreath). Next up, what to do with the other potted flower arrangement from the entertainment center.

Sewing Machine Cover

Somehow in our last move I lost my huge plastic sewing machine cover, grrr. I'm sure it will turn up in the next few months now! My machine sits on my craft desk in our bedroom because I use it too much to have to get it out and put it away each time. So to make it a little prettier in our bedroom I made a quick cover. The closest tutorial I could find was here.

Obviously I didn't use a heavy-weight fabric because you can see right through it, but I'm trying to use up my fabric stash so I can replenish with cute new fabric! So fast, so easy, so cute!

Stake Project

This is a project I've been working on for the last 2-3 months. The theme of our stake relief society women's conference was "Be Your Own Kind of Beautiful". I had a committee of 5 in the end and we decided on a mirror decor theme, but wanted a few "different" types of centerpieces.

Now, remember, we were using church money and trying to spend as little as possible by borrowing or re-using goods from friends or previous activities. For starters, the table cloth linings were found in the stake relief society closet, not the prettiest, but good enough for this event.

We managed to scrounge up 6 candlesticks for these mirror topiaries I has envisioned. After putting one together with rhinestones one night, Landon laughed and said it wasn't going to work, not that I asked for his opinion. So I resorted to these paper flower topiaries since I was already making some for Kiki's All About Easter Event, then threw it on a mirror base to make it work for our theme.

We also rounded up 24+ frames that I cut mirrors for then hung wreaths from(made by one of the committee members).

Not sure why I took a picture of the crooked candle vase, but here it is, I used a shiny silver material to rest the candle in and rhinestones around the candle (hot glued to ribbon, then to the candle) for a reflective accent.

And last we found 6 square glass vases, wrapped some reflective cellophane around (for the mirror look) and threw in some flowers.
In addition to the centerpieces we had a couple of LARGE mirrors in the chapel and foyer also with large hanging wreaths and made 225 mirrors with a scripture theme written on top as a handout for each of the sisters that attended. I was beyond nervous for how it was all going to come together (real flowers, fake flowers, paper flowers, cellophane, ya know?!). But it was okay in the end, I was more concerned with trying not to spend too much!

Easter Dress

Peekaboo photos is one of my very favorite photo sites and inspiration for outfits and accessories I want to try for Bexley. I've seen these skirts in her pictures several times and always wanted to make one for Bex.

I had every intention of making Bexley's Easter dress this year with these skirts in mind, but couldn't find the motivation when the time came. So instead I took this dress that was just a hair too short and made it work.

Front before:

Back before:

Front after (including matching bows):

Back after:

I just added a slip, basically, and sewed ruffles on the back half and add a couple of ruffle layers on the front to add the length. Then I cut an opening in the back to show off the ruffles. Last, I sewed a strip of ribbon around the entire base of the top layer skirt to finish it off.

When Kiki and I got together a few weeks ago we were sharing our ideas for our girls' dresses and had the same idea, I couldn't wait to see her's from complete scratch. And she did not dissapoint! Check it out here.

Girls' Weekend

Just got home from the weekend of a lifetime. I missed all of my favorite girls and now I miss them even more. Kiki always brings little gifts for us so I was not about to not have something to give to her and everyone else. All wrapped up in brown paper packages.

And since I was playing all weekend I missed the cutest little 8-yr-old's baptism, but who doesn't appreciate a fun little gift instead?!

Four Ways to Easterize Your Candlesticks

I've been featured on Kiki Creates!

Which is hilarious to me because I don't condsider this a real craft blog, it's just a collection of things I've made and where I found the ideas. So here are a few Easter ideas I've found and re-created.

This is what our "mantle" looks like most of the time...with plain, boring candles.

Now with a few Easter twists...

#1 - Candlestick Nests

I had this little combo sitting in an apothecary vase on the kitchen table and thought, "why not on a candlestick?" So here it is...just some thick moss from Joann's and some speckled eggs from Hobby Lobby.

The next three projects are all relatively similar to each other. I found my egg shaped styrofoam at Hobby Lobby. First you'll want to shave off a little of the egg from the bottom, so it can easily sit on the candlestick.

#2 - Moss Eggs

These are so simple, I'm sure we've all seen these and the next project done all over the craft blogging world with the round styrofoam balls. You simply glue the moss on to the styrofoam.

#3 - Rosette Eggs

Simply glue or pin rosette flowers all over the styrofoam egg. Kiki gave the best rosette tutorial I've seen just a couple of weeks ago. Check it out here.

#4 - Paper Flower Eggs

This idea spurred from Martha Stewart's Hyacinth Topiary idea. I didn't have the fake flowers lying around, but I do have an abundance of paper, so I cut out a few flowers, stacked two at a time and pinned them on.

Ta-da! These ones were my favorite and made the final cut to sit on the mantle for the season!

Bedroom Additions

It's been so easy to make new friends since moving to Cincinnati. I just tell them I can help them with the fabric they've had sitting in their bedroom for over a year now, then make a few curtains and pillows. Then they have to be my friend for a lifetime! So here is one of my new friend's bedrooms. She found some adorable bedding at Target and lots of great fabric at Hancock's to match. Her bedroom has a bay window, so this curtain was in the middle with two single swags on either side.

We had so much fabric leftover so I made a simple valence for the bathroom. We still had fabric left so I made a few extra pillows for the bed.

It took me nearly two months to finally get it all done. I'm not sure why. But now it's done and I'm excited for the next project I've been "forced" to do in a future post on Kiki Creates!