Tutorial- Zipper Flower and Feather Hairclip

So I realize that I'm a tad bit late in the game with this whole zipper flower thing but I had these feathers hanging around that I really wanted to play with. And some tulle. And a button. And a ribbon bow. See...?? What does one do with all this?

Why one gets out ones glue gun of course! And some felt and an alligator clip.

Cut your zipper in 2 1/2" lengths and glue the overlapped ends together.

I didn't like how you can see through it and that it didn't lay flat(ish)... see what I mean?

So I folded over that back bit and glued it down like this:

It makes the front of the flower petal look better as well.

Now it's time to glue the petals to the button in a flower shape. One petal had a little too much glue. Oh well.

Glue a ribbon bow to the front of the button to hide the button holes. You could be done here and call it good and attach it to your hair clip. But then what would you do with that tulle? And the FEATHERS!

Get your felt and cut out a piece. I thought an oval would be nice. It doesn't really matter what shape since you won't see it. Oh, and it's about an inch or so big. Yep, I'm super technical today!

Take your tulle and fold the edges in towards the middle.

I forgot to take a pic of the next step but here you would see a picture of me glueing the ends of the tulle into the middle of the felt piece.

Now glue the feathers on. Space them out and overlap them a bit. Trim the ends so they don't poke out.

Glue the zipper flower over the ends to hide them. Then glue the whole thing to your alligator clip or a headband. Wear and enjoy. I love it!

Yes, I'm wearing it right now. In my pj's. So what. It's pretty.

A Modern Heirloom Baby Blanket

Sometimes crochet can be downright... well, ugly. I'm not going to lie. For most people the word crochet conjours up mental images of old afghans done in horrendous colors. Like orange and brown. (But this color combination is very much ok if you happen to be a Oregon State Beavers fan. Not ok otherwise. Trust me.)

But this baby blanket. It's pretty. It's soft. It's very feminine and I really hope that it's appreciated. Because I love it.



For those of you who are pattern and yarn nerds this is a Terry Kimbrough pattern. When I first looked through the book I was skeptical. All of the blankets are made in that horrid boucle baby acrylic. Not a pleasant thing. Plus, for "baby" yarn it's not soft. So if you are a knitter/crocheter and you need to use some acrylic (which unless your making it for yourself or another like minded fiber nerd it most definately should be acrylic) you really need to try Jo-Anns Sensations Cuddle. It's soft and not shiny. The lable says it's perfect for baby and kids. And it is! I loved working with it. And I have huge sensory issues. I give this yarn 5 stars. It's great.

Here it is all laid out. The blanket is the perfect size. Not too small and not too big. I love the colors. I'm really liking the two of them together and it just gives the blanket that special something. Much better than if it was all the same color.

The ribbon adds a feminine touch. That and I love bows.

Invasion of the Flowers!

The only problem when you make fabric or felt flowers is that you can't just make one.



I tried to limit myself to just the fabric flowers. Obviously that didn't go as planned.

See these super cute rosebuds? By far the easiest and least time consuming to make. Therefore they are my favorite!



I think the pinwheels are cute. Next time I make them I will use an interfacing to sandwhich the two colors together. I think it will make them look a bit neater.

Now to attach them all to hairclips/bands/GLOVES! And then wrap them up!

Ruffled Headbands of Cuteness!

Sometimes I make something that just makes me so incredibly happy. And oh boy do these do that for me. I can't tell you how ridiculously excited I am to give these to the nieces this year. And some for Aidyn. And a grown up version for myself. I love them.

Cute, huh?!?

The Awesomest Christmas CD... Ever!

Forget treat plates! For this years neighbor/friend gift I decided to go the CD route. I downloaded (legally!!!) a rather funny batch this year. And by luck Target had 100 cd's for $11 something. That's half off! SCORE! All I needed was some CD sleeves. I could have bought some of the plain white ones and stamped them. But, I have a huge stockpile of scrapbooking paper and have made a pact with myself that I can't buy the cute new stuff until the old stuff is gone.

So I made FIFTY of these bad dogs...

And I cheaped out (money and time wise) this year and just wrote on the CD. Next year I'll do the labels I think. Good thing I have legible handwriting!

Here's the playlist for those of you who are curious:

The Awesomest Christmas CD Ever!




1. Dominick the Italian Christmas Donkey-Doug Kershaw
2. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus- Jessica Simpson
3. Susy Snowflake- Rosemary Clooney
4. I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas- Gretchen Wilson
5. Jingle Bells- Bing Crosby
6. Must Be Santa- Bob Dylan
7. Frosty the Snowman- Jimmy Durant
8. Nuttin’ for Christmas- Art Mooney
9. Feliz Navidad- Joe Feliciano
10. Christmas in Killarney- Bing Crosby
11. The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late)- Alvin & The Chipmunks
12. You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch- Thurl Ravenscroft
13. Grandma Got Ran Over by a Reindeer- Dr. Elmo
14. Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy- Jack Black & Jason Segal



.

Glamour Gloves

A few weeks ago I was perusing the blogosphere and came across a tutorial on Little Miss Momma's blog for Glamour Gloves. Oh my word, I was so excited. Not only are they super cute but they are ridiculously easy to make and wonderful on my pocketbook. They make fantastic gifts. I love, love, love, lovety, love them and have to force myself to not buy a million pairs of gloves to make more.

Aren't they cute?

I made these for my SIL for her birthday. They are the ones that started it all!

I love this stuff! A mini freezer paper tutorial.

When I discovered that you could use freezer paper as a stencil... oh man it was like the heavens opened and a chorus of angels sang.

 I cut the "J" out with my awesome KNK-Groove. Best thing on the planet that Groove is. Not going to lie though. There is a learning curve on that think. After you cut out your stencil you iron the paper shiny side down on your fabric.

 Then you paint it in. I use the Tulip Soft Matte fabric paint. It's awesome. Seriously. Don't forget to put cardboard in the shirt so the paint doesn't bleed from the front to the back. I also use a stiffer brush when painting on fabric. It just goes on easier.

Let it dry, remove the paper and then lightly iron over it to set it. A perfect personalized gift! And so easy!

A baby shrug

After having three incredibly cute boys my friend Caron is having a girl! I knew I needed to make her something. But what?

This cute shrug of course!

The shrug itself is knit. You can find the pattern here. (You need to be a member of Ravelry... but it's free to sign up!)

The flowers are crocheted. I just whipped them out. I should write down the pattern for them. They are super easy and definately add the girly touch this shrug needed.

And of course I had to make a matching hair clip!

Can't wait to see that baby girl, Caron!