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.

Knitting: A work in Progress

I'm not much of a shawl person, but the current trend in knitting are these smaller shawlettes. You get all the joy of knitting a lace shawl but a more modern size. Wear it as a shawl or wear it as a scarf. Or wear it backwards like a bandana. I'm telling you the shawlette is a perfect accessory. Currently I'm working a pattern called Traveling Woman in a delightful sockweight yarn by Alina Shea. I'm really loving both the pattern and the yarn.

It's a much quicker knit then I thought it was going to be. I'm hoping to finish it by tomorrow. It will only have taken me a week if that's the case! And that's with making stitch markers and doing the whole mom thing.

In the ball the yarn looks like a purplish grey mass. But once you start knitting it you can really see the color variations. You just don't see that pink in the ball. LOVE it!

The Ornament Tradition

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is getting a new ornament for each family member every year. This year I got the kids these ones... note the bulldog. (The youngest was nicknamed this his second week of life and it's stuck around.) I'm a bit bummed I didn't get any other pictures of these before I took Christmas down. But oh well.

I mark each ornament with their name or initial and the year it was received.

I also do one for James and I. Because I love ornaments. And this is how I control the after Christmas clearance decor shopping that I would do if I didn't already pay full price for 5 new ornaments. I'm already up to a gazillion boxes of Christmas decor.

Then when the holidays are over all the ornaments are removed from the tree and separated into their own boxes. Each of the kids has a little box with their name on it. This way each year they can put THEIR ornament on the tree. And one day should they move out of our house they will have ornaments for their first Christmas tree.



Yes, it's probably one of my better ideas!

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.

The Obligatory New Years Post

I still can't believe it is 2011. I'm pretty sure 2010 was the fastest year known to man. It seemed to just fly by. I made a lot of personal changes the last half of the year so I don't really feel the need to have any new resolutions to make. Just a continuation of them.

But mostly I want to strive for a little less procrastination and a whole lot more consistency. I feel like we have some good things going for us. Now to be a little more consistent with them. Here are some changes that have been made in the past few months...

Budgeting and working on getting OUT OF DEBT!!
Blogging
Reorganizing the House
Give Gabe Piano Lessons
Work with Aidyn to possibly test her into Kindergarten in the fall (her birthday is Sept. 12th)
Setting and keeping a schedule that works for our family.
Updating and filling the Etsy store
Scripture Study

It's a big list and sometimes I wonder if I'm going through some sort of mid-life crises. But it's probably because I just want a better way of life for our little family. I don't know what it is, but I feel it's really important this year that I get these things working well. Maybe then life won't be as chaotic as last year! (Because it was non-stop crazy with THREE kids, a craft blog, the HPKCHC, church, J's insane work schedule... you get the picture.)

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?!?