Christmas Stockings

So I finally got around to making our family's christmas stockings. I put buttons on the boys and flowers on the girls. I really like them and now we all have matching stockings :)

Jake's (dad)

Mine (mom)

Jaden's

Brooklynn's

JaKelle's

A super cute Dr. Seuss Growth Chart...One of my favs so far :)

My Latest Growth Chart

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I love creating these adorable growth charts. You can mark your child's growth throughout the years on an adorable keepsake.

If you are interested in purchasing one of these, I have many different ones on my etsy shop and I can customize to your liking. :)

Wire Punkins'

Wire Punkin' Tutorial

Supplies:

• spray paint
• galvanized wire
• a large circular object to wrap the wire around
• a small circular object like a pencil to wrap the wire around
• needle nose pliers/wire cutter
  

Start off by cutting a piece of the wire that you will use later. Cut enough wire to wrap around the inside of the pumpkin.

Save this piece of wire that you will use later

Use a large circular object (or small if you want to make a smaller pumpkin) and wrap the wire around the object until you have all of the wire you want wrapped. (note: mine in the picture is not wrapped tight, wrap yours as tight as you can)

Next, gather all of the wire in your hand like so. Don't worry about them being perfectly spaced apart etc. You will do this later.

Then, pull it around so that it creates a circle shape. This will be your pumpkin.

This is the part where you can choose to evenly space the wire and perfect it etc if you would like. (note: i do not have mine perfect as it is just to show you how to hold it etc. )

Remember to leave one of the ends out long like this so that it comes out in the middle. This will be your stem.

Next, take the small piece of wire that you cut earlier and wrap it around the inside part of your pumpkin shape where you were holding it together. This will keep the wire from unwinding and falling apart.

Note: I forgot to take a picture of this next part and its optional, but if the other end (not the stem end) is sticking out awkwardly, you can just wind it around the wire next to it, so its not sticking out.

For the stem part of the pumpkin, take a smaller object like a pencil and wrap the wire around this. You can then bend the wire on the pumpkin or stem how you like it. The nice thing about it being metal wire is that you can mess with it and reshape it and it will stay. Get it how you like it because the next step will make it so you won't be able to shape it later.

Next, get your spray paint (note: I got a brown spray paint with some shimmery orange colored flakes in it, but any color would work like orange, black or white.) and spray your pumpkin. You will probably have to spray it once, let it dry turn it upside down and spray it again, let it dry and see if there are any spots you missed, and if so, spray it once again.

.....and wahlah, you have your adorable festive wire pumpkin :) Enjoy!

Wood Punkin' Decoration

I made these festive autumn/halloween decorations with my sis in law. They are supers simple and fun to make. See tutorial below of how to make them:

Tutorial:

• (1) 2''x 8''x 10'' wooden board- cut into (1) 9 inch block, (1) 12 inch block, and (1) 16 inch block
• (1) 1'' wood stake- cut into (3) 2 inch blocks
• Saw
• Sand paper
• Orange and Brown paint
• Green raffia
  
• Hot glue gun
• Mod Podge
  

Cut the wood into the size of blocks above. Saw small rivets in the wood to give the pumpkins dimension. Paint the pumpkin blocks orange and the stems brown. Let dry and then sand the edges to give a distressed look. Apply mod podge to all the blocks. This will help it to stand up against the weather if outside. Hot glue the stems on top of the pumpkins and tie a bit of raffia around the stems...and wahlah you have some festive and adorable pumpkin decorations.

festive rosette wreath

I made this festive autumn wreath with my sis in law. I got the cute idea from my rather creative sisters blog: http://yellowmums.blogspot.com/2011/09/sunshine-wreath.html. You can see the tutorial on how to make one at that link.

I love it cuz its festive for autumn but also you could use it for other holidays like christmas, valentines, or all year long. :)

Tutorial: Cute Reusable Snack Bag

(As I am sure you have noticed from the pictures, I am not a professional seamstress. But hey, if you wanna become one, you gotta start somewhere, right?)

I love reinventing/recycling old things. Here is a way cute way to store snacks, crackers, and even messy food like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.....because here's the great part, it is water tight and washable (hand wash only people, don't stick this sucker in the wash or dishwasher or it will most likely ruin it. lol). It also stands up on its own! Great for taking on trips in the car, or to church with snacks for the kids.

Tutorial:

Materials needed:

*Sewing machine....(or a needle and thread if you are feeling industrious)

*Scissors

*A reusable bag like this Gerber Graduates baggie (which i happen to love)

*Fabric of your choice,
(or you could even use contact paper....on second thought that might even work better..hmmm gonna have to try that next)

*Bias tape (if you want a clean finish on the edges)



Step #1Measure and cut two sides of material that will cover both sides of baggie. Then cut out a bottom piece that is the same size as the bottom. Tear apart the bottom, (pictured below) to be able to see how big to make the bottom piece, and it will need to be torn apart this way to sew the material on anyway.


Step #2


Sew the bottom piece onto the bottom part. You will have to sew half the side, then going around the long part and then going on half the other side. Flip it around and do the same on the other side.
Next sew the two big panels onto the bag. I like to fold the sides in before sewing to have a cleaner finish. When sewing down the side, continue sewing at the bottom so as to sew the bottom pieces together. This makes the bottom so that it will stand up on its own.


Step #3
When sewing the top of the panels to the bag, make sure you don't sew where the zipper part is.


Step #4

sew on the bias tape on the edges if so desired.


There you are finished!

Tile magents

I love my new magnets. I found some adorable 2x2 inch tile pieces and glued on magnets on the back. Super simple and cute.

I love my new magnets. I found some adorable 2x2 inch tile pieces and glued on magnets on the back. Super simple and cute.