DIY: Yarn Wreaths

I'm not sure who invented these fun, crafty, yarn-loving wreaths, but I've been in love with them since I found them on Pinterest.  And after making my first one, I simply can't stop.

I love them so much that I've been giving some serious consideration in making them as a very small side business.  After seeing how everyone and their mom sells yarn wreaths on Etsy, I think I'm going to make them on a more local level.  And the whole, "Hey I make wreaths - if you want to buy one, let me know and I'll hook you up" thing might work too.  So that goes for you blogland, if you want one, hit me up and I'll see what I can do for you.

But I'm not yarn wreath-making hog.  Besides, these weren't even my original idea.  Several people have asked how to make them, so I've decided to share my own yarn wreath-making secrets with the world.  I'm sure there are a dozen different ways to do them, but this is what works for me now that I totally consider myself a yarn wreath pro.

#1) - Start with a super organized crafty space.  Or, just clear some space and do what you can.

#2) Don't buy foam wreaths.  Seriously.  Where I shop, foam wreaths cost anywhere from $8 to $15, and that just seems crazy to me. I found these awesome straw wreaths for half the price.  A good medium sized wreath is only $3.99.  Score!

 #3) This is where you'll get different instructions.  Some people unwrap an entire spool of yarn so that they can just continually wrap a wreath.  I don't know how people do this.  I never tried.  It seemed laborous to me.  So I invented another hard way.  I cut a very long strip of yarn off of the spool and glue one end to the wreath.  Starting with the price-tag is great as hot glue sticks way better to paper than saran wrap-type plastic!

 #4) The very long process of yarn wrapping commences.  Since I cut my yarn into long strips, once I reach the end of the strip, I glue it down to whatever side I deem as the back the of the wreath.

#5) If there is excess yarn that might fold over into the top or front of the wreath, I trim it, that way all of the pieces that get glued down are all in the back.  When you get good at this step, you will be able to use the glue to not only glue down the last piece of yarn from that strand, but when starting a new strand - uses less glue and the back will stay neater.  (This part feels hard to explain - if you need clarification, let me know!)

#6) Almost every time I get to about this point, I need to either take a nap or get something to eat or change a load of laundry.  I should warn you - the first time I ever made a yarn wreath it took me about 17 hours to wrap it.  Not really, but it was quite a long time.  Just know, if you get this far, you can keep on going.  You'll get there, I promise.

#7)  Not everyone does this, but I do.  I make a little loop - it works better for when you actually go to hang a yarn wreath on your door - whether you use a nail or wreath hanger. 

#8) To do this, I make a loop and run the yarn through itself to create a little knot.

#9) I do this a few times until the loop is three or four strands thick to support the wreath when it hangs.  Honestly, I don't know how I get this to work every time.  It just does.  Keep in mind, this loopy thing might take some practice.

#10 - Once you get to this point, you'll get super excited because you're almost done and you can see the light at the end of your yarn-wrapping tunnel.

 #11) And before you know it, wa-la!  A fully wrapped yarn wreath!

 #12) This is where it gets fun - the embellishing part.  Whatever you decide to add to your yarn wreaths, make sure you are sure.  Once you start hot gluing things on, there is no taking it back off neatly.

 #13) I almost always add felt flowers to my wreaths.  These are some of my favorites to make.

 #14) These are the easiest and I put these fun rosettes on almost everything.

 #15) After everything is glued down the way you want, admire your work.  Because look!  It's so pretty!

So, that's it folks.  All of my awesome DIY instructions on how to make what you've seen on Pinterest.  And seriously, if you don't want to do one yourself, send me an e-mail and I'd be happy to do one for you.

Happy yarn-wrapping everyone!

On my day off...

On my day off I play with buttons....
and string.
On my day off, I create.....
and make pretty things.
Lots of pretty things.
On my day off I get dirty and make a mess.It's my day off. And I'm thoroughly enjoying it.

Oh and thanks Pinterest for all the Christmasy ideas. I owe my new-found craftiness to you.

Flowers, mustaches and haircuts

I'm not sure where this weekend went. I got lost somewhere in felt flowers and mustache making and about three pounds of hair that got cut off.

I'm not kidding about this felt flower ordeal. This is REAL.
I'm trying to get a wreath finished to send to my Auntie in Africa. And I need to get it done ASAP so she has it when she decorates her place for Christmas.

And the "Mustache Bash" baby shower is this Saturday so I've been furiously making mustachey things. My boss at work had some things printed up for me - like these great stickers that I put on cups.
And these stickers that I put onto scrapbook paper and made into cute cupcake toppers. Aren't they so cute?! Oh Pinterest, how did I ever plan a party without you?
I made these myself out of foam paper and glued them to skewers for fun photo ops at the party.
So clearly, I'm up to my eyeballs in mustaches.

BIG NEWS: Tommy is officially potty-trained. For serious! He had a major breakthrough this weekend and now everything goes into the potty - all the time. He even seems to be holding it at night, though we still put him in a pull-up at night just to be safe. But still - two weeks and wala - it's done! Every time he does anything in the potty, Tommy beats me to the punch and claims for himself, "I'm so proud of you, Tommy!" I guess he heard that from us a lot!

In other not-so-big-news, tonight as I was putting another round of leftovers into the fridge, I decided I had to document this:
Todd and I have made a conscious effort to eat out less and eat at home more. And we've been doing really well with that. Clearly. But maybe it's time for leftover night?! I have a full week this week and won't be around to cook much, so these leftovers will definitely come in handy!

And the three pounds of hair I got cut off? This is me about ten minutes ago and it's almost midnight. My hair has endured church, a three hour long nap (holla!), dinner making, visiting with friends who came over to eat the dinner, and mustache projects galore. So this is end-of-the-day-deflated-and-flat-new-shorter-hair.

I love it though - even deflated.

Another busy week and weekend ahead. Dinners, Grace Group, teaching, decoration making, baby shower and prepping for Thanksgiving! This is when I have to remember to take things one day at a time and not over do it lest my joints start screaming at me.

It's time for me and my deflated hair to go to bed.

Awfuls, pumpkins and felt flowers

I'm running on steam and coffee this week. I'm not sleeping well with Todd gone. And a blurby kind of post is all I have in me today.

Someone told me after paying for my McDonald's coffee yesterday, that I have cat eyes. I've heard a lot of things about my eyes over the years, but that was a new one. Cat eyes? Really?

Todd usually takes Tommy to daycare on Thursday, but with him gone this week, I had to do that myself today. And I'm not sure who had the bigger meltdown - him or me.

On Tuesdsay, I broke the bathroom sink right off the wall. I literally went to turn the faucet off after washing my hands and the thing fell to the ground and broke. Thankfully my boss also found it hilarious, because I couldn't stop laughing! I'm pretty sure things like that only happen to me.

Tiffany was in town over the weekend. And we had to take at least one crazy picture while we were out and about. This was us trying to make pumpkin faces.
Speaking of pumpkins, we've decided to give the pumpkin carving party another go this year and I'm determined to brush up on my carving skills and do something awesome. I cut a giant heart into my pumpkin last year because I ruined it with my original design. Carving is a lot harder than it looks!

Oh and also, I think I'll be baking some pumpkin bread this weekend. All this pumpkin talk reminded me.

This week my boss has bought me two Starbucks coffees. And then today she gave me this awesome chunky necklace and a pair of earrings she bought at a trade show. I am spoiled, but I've decided that this is okay.

Tommy calls waffles "awfuls." It cracks me up. And when I make them he also says every time, "These awfuls are like pancakes!"
Todd and I saw the movie Courageous last weekend as part of his birthday outing. It was outstanding and seriously moved our hearts - we both cried off and on throughout the whole thing. It made us want to be better parents and take raising our son even more seriously than we do.

I'm officially obsessed with felt wreaths after making my own. I've even started a board on Pinterest dedicated to my new obsession. I've even thought about trying to make them to sell, though I might try and make a few more first. But seriously - they're so cute and fun and I just want to sit in a pile of felt and hot glue myself to happy land. It's sick I'm telling you. Or I've just found a new hobby and this is all perfectly healthy. Either one.

Because of this new obsession though, I'm now looking at everything in my house and wondering what it might look like with a felt flower glued on to it. At some point, felt rosettes might take over my house.

I also learned I have a "thing" for burlap.

I found this yesterday and could NOT stop laughing. When auto correct on your phone goes terribly, terribly wrong. I dare you to try and not laugh at this.Told you that was funny. And to my Grammy and my Gramma - I'll explain to you what "auto correct" and "cameltoe" are later.

Oh and also, one last Pinteresty thing, I've added a button up at the top of my blog, so if you read this blog and you want to see my boards or follow me there, you totally can because I figured out how to do that.

Two more nights without my beloved. I miss him like crazy and have never looked more forward to a Saturday evening in my entire life.
It's a gorgeous day today. The breeze is blowing and it's a cool 73 outside. Perfect "fall" weather for this Texas girl. Happy Thursday ya'll!