New ornie and wooden spoons

Hello, my peeps.  I know, I should be posting more, but it just hasn't been in the cards...hehe....Here is another dollar store craft for your Christmas gift giving.  Wooden spoons!  I cheated a bit and bought these at Wally World (4 for $.88)  It is so simple!  Simply paint them white, front and back and add faces and a bit of homespun as a tie.  These are really cute given with kitchen towels or hot pads.  You could also put together some recipes and tie this on.

I also was cutting out some "Santa's Clotheslines" from red felt and I had some rather large scraps left over.  I decided to make Santa's hats as ornies.  I simply measured around the outside of a battery operated tea light (dollar store buy, 3/$1) and drew out the shape of a hat.  I had to experiment with the trim a little, but another good way to use up scraps.  I poked holes in the top and cut a piece of rusty wire (about 8" long)  I curled the ends of the wire and hung on a little tag that says, "He's making a list and checking it twice."  Then I glued a rusty bell on the bottom.  I think these will be a great seller at craft shows!  Total cost to make is less than fifty cents!

Well, my bloggie friends, off to water the garden.  Maybe it will rain......

Tutorial Tuesday

Hello, my peeps.  Hope your weekend was great.  Well, its back to the grindstone today.  We spent the weekend with our home improvement list, and I could hardly wait to get back in the studio.....and to get it cleaned up.  I bought 10 packages of the ping pong balls for the snowmen (prior post) and some other goodies from the dollar store.  So here is my latest creation:

And can you guess what this little sweetie is made from????

These disposable champange glasses have that great bell shape for a skirt.  You get 6 in a package for a dollar.  For the dress, I tore a piece of homespun(use whatever pattern or fabric suits your fancy) 5" x 10".  I ran a loose gathering stitch about a half inch from one of the long ends and pulled it tight.  Knot off your thread.  Then place atop the stem of the inverted glass.  Of course, you will remove the plastic base.  Hot glue into place.  I also placed just a dot of glue on the back to hold the skirt together.  Hot glue the head in place.  For the heads, I simply paint 1" wooden balls in a flesh tone.  I do several of these at a time and like to use the ones with a flat side. (hint:  Put a piece of masking tape sticky side up on your painting surface.  This will hold the balls in place while you paint.)  Paint on eyes or use a marker.  Blush the cheeks.  I tied a piece of jute over the stitching line and glued on a rusty bell.  I tore another piece of matching homespun 5" long and about an inch and a half wide and glued to the back.  I glued a tiny flesh painted ball to the area where the ends meet to simulate hands.  For the wings, I took some strands of raffia, tied it in a bow and glued it on the back.  Glue on some moss for hair.  I used rusty wire for a tiny halo.  I can see alot of uses for these.  How about a name tag where the ball (hand) is?  They are light weight enough to use as an ornament or a topper on a small tree.  Let your imagination run wild!

Let it snow!

More snow this weekend.....No wonder I am having a hard time thinking about Spring.  We celebrated my grandson's 16 birthday yesterday.  He is such a sweet boy.

Today, since I just can't seem to get going on my spring stuff, I finished up some candy canes....yes, candy canes.  Another dollar store find, these plastic candy canes come six in a package.  But they are that ugly cheap looking plastic.

I wrap them with whatever I have on hand.  The red and black check is an old flannel shirt of my husband's that I cut into strips.  You can see old ribbon and homespun.  I like the primitive look, but you can use what ever you like.  If its bright colors that you like, use those.  You can even wrap with muslin scraps and then add a colored ribbon to simulate the stripes.

I like to start on the bottom or straight end.  Put a little dab of hot glue and hold a corner of the fabric over the end.

Wrap the fabric or ribbon on the diagonal, being careful to overlap each wrap so the plastic cane doesn't show through.  When you get to the end, put a little hot glue on the tip and fold in the fabric.  Trim as needed.

Here are several that I finished up earlier today.

I used fabric, wired ribbon, paper ribbon, etc for these.  Experiment with them.  This is also a great craft for your kids or grandkids.  Just make sure you substitute the hot glue for a white glue (it'll take longer to dry) or you do the gluing.  And just a little Martha Stewart tip, keep some cold water in a cup or small bowl when you are using the glue gun.  It really helps to dip your fingers in it if you get some hot glue stuck to the tips.

Now, if you didn't stock up on the candy canes during the holidays like I did, just be patient.  Put this little tutorial on your pin board, or bookmark it for later.  If you can't find candy canes on line right now, the dollar store will start selling them again in October.

 

Small Jar Candles

I got this idea from another blog, but just wanted to ask.....What 'cha think?

The fragrances so far are:  Garden Rain, Clean Sheets, Black Cherry, Sweet Pea, Lavender Fields, and Ocean Breeze.  They turned out really cute, I think, anyway.  What do you think????