Stuffed felt owls

OMG! These were so fun to make. Now that my little monkey is 10 years old. I feel comfortable give her a grown up needle. Yay! I looked through a few craft magazines to get a few ideas. I have felt fabric coming out of my ears, so I decided to get crafty. I freehand cut all the pieces for the face. Then hand stitched the face pieces first on one of the felt panels. Then I stitched around the perimeter leaving the base open to stuff with Poly -fil. Once stuffed sew the closing. I watched TV as I did this. I think I will use them as props for fun children's photos.  Too cute!

Felt flower wreath

I originally thought I would use a felt owl as the centerpiece, but I decided against it. The wildflowers in my area are in full bloom, so I decided to add felt flowers instead. I purchased plumbing tubing at the hardware store for about $4 bucks. I then hot glued strips of burlap, and then added felt flowers, and leaves.
 The flowers are easy to make here's how:  Cut a circle out of the felt fabric. Then start cutting from the perimeter of the circle ,in a circular direction, towards the center. Once this is completed, start from the center of the felt shape and start forming a flower by wrapping in a circular fashion. It's much easier than it sounds. Cut out leave shapes and hot glue leaves, and flowers to the burlap wreath.  This project took about a half an hour, and was fun.

Jute twine hair accessory

I love burlap, brown paper bags, and Jute twine. Something about these soft brown, rustic textures are right up my alley for home decor, and crafting. I have a container of fabric flowers I made a few months ago in my craft storage. I decided to make my monkey a hair accessory using Jute twine as the head band. The twine grips well to the hair and does not shift, but I would not use it as an everyday hair accessory. It is a little too course for that. I used it primarily for nice pictures of my daughter.
All I did was hot glue 3 separate pieces to the back of the fabric flowers, and secured to her head with a bow knot.  

Here's how to make the flowers: Free hand cut squares out of fabric. Fold square piece in half, and stitch the open side. Now add the next folded square piece to the same thread line. Repeat steps 4-6 times depending on how many petals you want for your flower. Once all your desired petals are on gently push against the thread to form each petal. The tension will create a circular pattern. Play with shapes of each petal. Once petals are shaped to your desire, tie the open end of the thread to secure shape.  Now cut out smaller fabric squares to make the center of the flower. I topped off with a button. You can hand stitch all pieces together, or hot glue for a faster finish.  Use as a hair accessories, embellishment for shirts, jackets, bags, hats, etc...

Felt owl wreath

This time of year I always get the crafting bug. The holidays are right around the cross, so I made time to reorganize my crafting supplies. There is nothing worst then trying to create a project, and getting frustrated trying to find what you are looking for! I decided to get organized first, so my time crafting would be enjoyable instead of craziness. I first took some time to check our all my local crafting magazine. I can't afford to purchase each one, so I take a few pictures on my phone for inspirations, and I also check out Pinterest.com  to help me with project ideas.
Felt fabric is in abundance in my house, so I decided to make a wreath with a felt owl, and flowers. I purchased 3 foam plumbing tubes from Home Depot, cut to side, and taped.  It's cheaper to make your own wreath then purchasing one at the craft store. Cost about $4 bucks for 3 tubes. I wrapped each one in burlap strips.  Then I cut out the felt shapes and hand stitched the face pieces with thread. I then sewed the perimeter leaving the base for last. I stuffed with poly-fil, and stitched the remaining open end. I use a hot glue gun to assemble all the pieces on to the wreath. I did not glue the owl on because I wanted to be able to remove it if I wanted to. Felt is fun, and easy to be creative with. If you get the crafting itch give it a try.

Creative children photos

If your like me and love taking pictures of your monkeys then here is a twist to the traditional standard poses. In my line of work, I offer see professional photos of many photographers. The ones that I've been draw to lately have been the creative one I see with fun props, and beautiful backgrounds, and of course happy children. All these beautiful, imaginative images inspired me to combine my love of crafting with photography.
I decided to play amateur photographer with my monkeys. First creating props like the Legos camera that my son made, and I hot glued together. A plain frame I picked up at Michaels and painted with acrylic paint. I picked up a few lollipops, and silly string which I purchased at the local dollar store. Our family pet Bloom was a must in these pictures.
Once all the props were made, and all the outfits were picked out. I set up theme sessions with my kids, and scouted for a location. Thankfully the wildflowers in my area are in bloom, so that made for a terrrific background for my photos. I also saved a few inspirations photos of professional work, on my phone, to help with creating a nice pose.
The preparation time is the consuming part. The photo session were very short, and the kids had a blast seeing the results. I hope you pick up a camera and think of imaginative way to photograph your little monkeys.

Antique finds...

Antique shopping is one of my favorite past times. I love adding elements of this country, rustic style to warm up my home. If you have never been to an antique store I hope you take the opportunity to stop, low down ,and enjoy browsing through our country's hidden treasures.

Craft project with Leis

I recently got inspired by children photographers who create beautiful fun photo shoots for kids. I decided to get crafty by making these dollar store leis'. I removed from string then stack about 6-8 layers of petals together. Warmed up the hot glue, and adhered all the layers together with a cute button as a centerpiece. I also had some twine laying around so I hot glued the string to the back of the flower to tie onto my daughter's wrists.  She said it was a little itchy, but they turned out cute for our creative photo shoot. Give it a try!