Rosettes

One of my resolutions was to create more this year, so I've spent a bit of time looking for things I could make - things that don't require I purchase a vast amount of supplies or spend hours on them.  Starting small.  In my searching, I've noticed a trend - rosettes.  These things are everywhere and used in so many ways!  So here is my attempt at creating them.  

Basic directions:  Find a book you don't care about anymore - you're going to need the pages.  You'll need to cut the top off to make a square out of each page.  Then draw a spiral taking up the entire square.

Starting from the edge of the page, cut along the spiral you drew.

Again, starting from the edge of the paper, roll the pages toward the center.  How tight or loose is up to you.  Mine actually loosened up quite a bit as I was securing them with hot glue.  Which is the last step - just dab some hot glue on the circle left at the end, press your rosette down and voila!

Some are prettier than others.  But my plan is to eventually have enough to make the wreath below, so a individual not-so-pretty guys won't be noticed.

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It's going to be fairly time consuming.  But here are a few of the things I can do from here:

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Change up what you use - ribbon, fabric, paper, felt, etc - to create a variety of things.  Jewelry, decoration, gift wrap, centerpieces - so much!  You can also change the edges of the material for additional styles.

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I love these paper ones.  Would be perfect for a wedding - and could save you quite a bit.

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Feel free to post your own rosette inspirations!

Valentine's Day

A few weeks ago I ran across the image below and resolved to entertain more often - and more awesome.  So I've been daydreaming about how to expand upon this Valentine's Day dinner party idea.  Here's some of my inspiration:

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These cupcakes look impressive and do-able - my favorite kind of cooking!

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Valentine's Jelly Pop

Valentine's Day S'more Pop

 So many sweet options to choose from!

Valentine's S'more Bite

If you want to skip the photo garland for something more colorful (and maybe easier), paper or felt work wonders.

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A little late night walk with hot chocolate ...

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 Don't forget a little Valentine's Day welcome:

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And finally, this is the best Valentine's Day card for kids I think I've ever seen.  I'll have to remember this for a few years from now ...

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Tomato Planter Christmas Trees

I've been tempted to buy the prefab guys, like these, but $40+ just seemed too expensive.  Thank goodness for the internet.  Pinterest, specifically.  I found this easy (read: cheap and easy) solution.  

If you can't tell - that's just an upside down tomato cage and a ton of lights.  

42" Tomato Cage - $2.57
3 sets 100 Lights - $2.68x3

Total:  $10.61

Made one for each side of the door.  Not too shabby. 

Testing the lights first, of course.

The only part that had any real planning was wrapping the bottom layer.  Just threaded the lights around the bottom loop.

Then diagonally up and down the "tree" until it looked full.  These pictures are with 1 strand of 150 lights, but I ended up adding more for the final picture - 300 lights total.

I thought I would need florist wire to secure the top, but the lights did it for me.  Just wrapped them around each other to tighten up the top.

That's all there is to it.  My Mom actually made one as well - but wrapped it with greenery first and it looks great.  This is an easy project to make your own.

One step closer to being ready for Christmas!

Christmas Decorating

My husband and I bought a house this year.  I've always loved Christmas and have taken pride in our seasonal decorating skills, but my neighbors -  they are serious decorators!  Time to step it up.  So we started with icicle lights.  Easy enough.

But then we needed something for the windows.  Honestly, I think most of the wreaths I see in stores are tacky.  Just too much flare for me.  I was able to find a handful of wreaths at Michaels and just added a little berry for color.  Easy windows done.  

I wanted something with a little oomph for the front door, so I decided to make this guy.  Back to Michaels for berries, spray paint and the letter "G."  Woah, popular letter.  Two Michaels and no G's!  Luckily I found one at AC Moore.  


Tangent: Compared to the crazy disheveled-ness that is Michaels at Christmas, AC Moore was a much less chaotic shopping experience.  The place didn't look it had been ransacked and the line was minimal.  I haven't done extensive price comparison, but it might be worth looking into.

Back to the wreath.  

1. If your letter is a light color, you'll probably want to spray-paint it black to avoid any color showing through. To prevent the letter from sticking to the paper, I propped it up on two disposable cups while painting.  I've seen people use push pins for the same purpose on smaller items.
 

2. While the paint is drying, start cutting small bunches of berries (not individuals) off of the larger bunch.
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3. Now it's time to glue. Picking out little sections of berries, manipulate them to fit the shape of your letter and then glue them down. If you haven't used a glue gun before, word to the wise: The heat is no joke. Be careful not to get it on your skin.

4. I ended up applying two layers of berries to the letter, which gave some additional height and texture to fill in the gaps.
 

And that's it!  My original plan was to hand the G from a ribbon on the door, but it looked a little empty to me.  Additionally, I discovered I have NO ribbon skills.  Looks like it's back to Pinterest for some tips.

So I added it to a wreath.  Much better!

Ultimately I decided it looked best on the side of the wreath.  I may add berries or a ribbon to it later, but for now, I can live with this.  It was honestly pretty easy - although I definitely underestimated both the heat and messiness of a glue gun.  Luckily dried glue peels off almost anything with minimal effort!

Here's how it looks at night:

Final addition - spiral Christmas tree.  Next post!