Thursday, December 22, 2011

Is H for Hilyer or Hilarious?




Found this cute letter K wrapped in garland on Pinterest, also found a letter Y (sorry no photo). Looks easy huh? NOT!!! I went to HobLob (mile from the house) and found a big size easy, non fancy letter H. The letters used in both examples I found were not at my Hobby Lobby as the tutorials had said!
Started wrapping it, it has to be done in two sections by the way. There is not way to do one continuous wrapping on the letter H (that K neither!). I should have married a Smith, cause S would be a cinch. The garland was wired so it formed easier than say string (juke) where you would have to glue every swipe to the back and around. Well, I got the garland all around and boy do I wish I had a photo of that. I laughed for 10 straight minutes...it looked like a solid rectangle of garland. The garland in between the 'arms' and 'legs' of the H was overlapping and completely filling the spaces. It reminded me of a little green monster that needed one big eyeball. Those of you who know me are suprised i didnt go with the eyeball and call it a day! But hey, this Pinterest thing has got me to thinking I am some kind of creative genius so I figure I gotta give the little monster a haircut and get to my original desired ending. Scissors was taking too long, so I got out my husbands beard trimmer/shaver (the thing they give you crew cuts with in the Army). Worked like a charm and faster. Then it looked plain and the eyeball would not have been funny at that point but well, creepy. So, i got some floral Christmas embellishment at the Hob. Had the ribbon and oh boy do I need to work on ribbons. I am over it and going with it. Phew, I am tired and it was suppose to be a small easy project.

Another embellshed wreath


Also got this wreath at Lowes Warehouse and embellshed it with the letter, an ornament and floral Christmas pick (snowflake). All supplies except wreath came from Hobby Lobby. I painted the letter 'M' myself. This project was so easy. Any Mommy who sews for their child can walk into Target or Walmart and see a basic simple dress or tee shirt and think of embellishing it to look like Boutique clothes, I just applied that to a wreath!

Purchased wreath with my embellishments


Made this wreath for my Mother-in-Law. I got the wreath on clearance at Lowes Home Improvement Store. It was marked fall clearance, but white berries do not say Fall to me. Looked Christmas and wintery to me. Got the deer ornament at Hobby Lobby and the red glitter snowflake as well, though the snowflake is a floral embellishment and not an ornament. Letter and paint also from the HobLob. Very Easy project.

Auburn Wreath


More gifts...wonder if my Husband's administratvie assistant and receptionist are excited to see what I make them every year for Christmas or making bets on how tacky the craft, lol! Again, found a variation of this on Pinterest, everything came from Hobby Lobby or my stash of supplies. I am surrounded by Auburn-ites living here in the University town, and even though we are Bama fans living in Tigerland, I will support them #2. The bow is made from satin ribbon and will never make it outdoor but I threw this together late at night and Hobby Lobby was closed so this will have to do. It is not glued on, so she can remove it. Working on my gluing the letters on more carefully next time as well. Still the most fun was the rosettes I made with scrap fabrics.

Alabama Wreath


Gift time for Christmas and I have always loved making my gifts. Though some friends and family would probably prefer I just buy gift cards or something normal. Where is the fun in that? Is it all about me ya know...well, maybe not. But I like crafts! Saw this wreath or a variation of it on Pinterest. I love mine other than maybe the A needs to be a lighter grey, it looks black but it is more charcoal. These rosettes made from fabric scraps are loads of fun and I can do those while watching TV at night. There are about a jillion tutorials of those as well on Pinterest, find one, get started.

Cleaning burnt & cook on grease off cookware


Found this: http://www.re-nest.com/re-nest/how-to-clean-burnt-frying-pans-with-vinegar-bicarb-140547 and I have this cookie sheet like thing that came with my toaster oven that is in deep need of a clean (or the trash). I did not have a way to heat it directly with this recipe because the pan has holes in it so I put it inside another pot and performed the recipe. It worked OK. But I could see how it would work magnificently with direct heat.

My very own EZ Bow Maker!


Well, you have probably seen the EZ Bow Maker in craft stores http://www.ezcraft.com/PDF/ez_bow_maker_instruction.pdf , where it teaches you to make a bow with their bow maker which is just a wood plant and 2 wooden dowels (mine is a hair different). Saw this at BHG http://www.bhg.com/christmas/gift-wrapping/festive-bows/ , which is their homemade creation. So I went to Hobby Lobby and got the supplies to make my own: There are lots of forms to use as a base, this was the cheapest at $1.99 and I already had a wooden dowel, that I cut off two pieces of to make the rods. Then I pushed them into the foam (florist department) to make 'premade holes' and then shot hot glue into the holes, put the dowels back into the holes, let dry...ta-da! And it worked just fine.