Cupcake Flower Lights

UPDATE: Yay! I found the pics of this project more in progress.

 So I think the cupcake liners came from Target and ?. They were definitely 3 pks of colors. And they were all the regular size so the first step was cutting some into smaller circles.

 Then came the folding and cutting the more folds the more points. We decided that two folds with it cut to a point looked like leaves or petals or the inside yellow part (yes I know so technical) so that was one of the most common. 3 folds then cut rounded made a nice flower more folds than that was interesting but harder to cut and more varied results. On the center pieces I thought they looked better folded in a bit (you can kinda see what I mean in the below pic).

 Then we got to arrange. Note: I did cut two little baby cuts in the centers when they were only folded once first top to bottom then left to right. I am not sure that this made putting them on the lights any easier but I speculated that it would so we did it :)

If I remember correctly we bought the 150 strand of mini lights. Originally we thought we would only put flowers on half the lights or so but then we ended up with second pack of cupcake wrappers and ended up doing them all. I think we ended up layering almost every light with either two or 3 pieces.

Previous:
Somewhere I am pretty sure I have more pictures which would make this project much easier to understand. These two are just the pictures my cousin sent me of them actually up in her room. They are too cute not to share so I'll keep my eye out for the rest of the pics.

Stuff Holder :)

Many of my projects are inspired by things I see on pinterest. This is definitely the case for this one. Someone had pinned a pattern for this project. I am not sure how it would work because I am assuming that people have different sized coffee cans which you need one for this but who knows. I was cheap and did not buy the pattern.

I am not an expert seamstress but my grandmother gave me her old machine and I really wanted to sew something. I had some problems with the machine but it took me like two afternoons to finish this and I now want to make a dozen of them.

Roughly my directions are as follows:

1) Get supplies. Pick two complementary colors of fabric, Scissors, something to measure fabric with, a flimsy tape measure to measure can, find a coffee can (or other similar size), add felt or batting of some kind if you are really trying to be pro.

2) Measure the height and circumference of your can.

3) With fabric A make two rectanges with your can measurements (allow for seams). Make sure one of them is actually a bit taller than the can. (I also made one in felt to "line" my can so it wouldn't be as noisy).

4) With fabric A you also need a circle just barely bigger than your can's lid.

5) With fabric B you need a big ole piece. Mind was roughly twice the height of can and double the circumference.

6) Start pinning and sewing. The hardest part is the pockets and the rest is just simple sewing. I used a lot of pins and had to redo one seam it was so bad. Depend of the length of your B fabric and size of your can determines how many pocked you get in the end. I sewed lines going up and down between where the pockets met leaving fabric poofing up. Then tacked it down along the bottom only you get that pocket dimension.

7) B needs to be sewn into a log and pressed. Then folded in half (hot dog style?) and pressed. Then pin the number of double pockets that make sense for your can and fabric length.

8) Keep seams allowances I had a very tight seam getting it all to acutally fit on my can I would not recommend this. Your stuff will eventually hold everything in place you don't need it to be super tight on the can.

9) Finish the can by sewing cord or heavy thread to gather and "close" on the bottom.

Sorry I didn't take more pictures or be more helpful but hey you can always buy the pattern online;)

Notes: My pictures aren't awesome but you get the gist. You can kinda see that you end up with double pockets.If I was going to do this again I would line the inside of the can better. It makes a sort of plink when you put stuff in otherwise you might not know it was originally a coffee can:)

Christmas Wreath on the Cheap

Yep, it's that time of year again and I felt like getting a little festive. After being a bit bummed last year with the tree in  the apartment I decided this year I was going to go cheap. I made two of these wreaths.

First, I thought I remembered this from middle school garden club craft day but I had to find out if it was still true. What is this you ask? I found that yes it is totally true I politely asked the Christmas tree lot guys if even though I wasn't currently buying a tree if they would be so kind as to give me cuttings. They weren't entirely sure but I left with a giant stack for FREE!

When I got home I realized that I didn't have a good base. So I took 4 wire coat hangers (mine were left over from a visit to the dry cleaners but I am sure any would do). The firse two I left the hook up top and just roughly shaped into a circle. I completely unwound the other two. I took the "extra" ones and twisted them around the "real" leaving space between twists. I later used this space to jam cuttings in.

I used pliers that had a place to cut wire to cut my branches. I think it worked better than the kitchen scissors I was thinking of using would have worked.

Luckily I had some left over florist wire in green I had gotten from the dollar store for another project. It is really easy to bend and cut so I used it to secure branch pieces onto the wreath. I probably could have made the branches look tighter in a cirlce but it doesn't bother me how they are a little outside the lines. Next I decorated.

They may not be perfect but they do smell nice and make me happy. The hook of the coat hanger gets hidden by the branches but it makes it extra easy to hang when your ready!

I had way too many branches and my hubby suggested I should have kept more and just put them places because they do smell oh so nice :) Maybe I'll go visit those Christmas tree guys again...

Total cost was free for me because I had everything I needed on hand. I would love to see yours if you try it too!

Note: Not all clippings come from the same tree I tried to get the same type together for each but it may be important to note when you are at the christmas tree lot.

Silver plated dish

Okay, so for those of you following, which is yeah no one, I am still working on my world map:( But I have been working on various other projects too so I figured that I should update you a bit.

A while back well maybe a month ago or so now I went to Good Will. I was half heartedly looking for a spice rack because my cabinet was over whelming. I actually found a decent one for like 7 or 8 bucks it was more than I wanted but I figure wth? Along with it I impulse bought the most tarnished yet fablous bowl ever.

A while back I spent hours of elbow grease trying to clean up two dishes I got from my grandmother's move to a retirement home. It didn't work. I tried some internet thing about foil in the sink. It didn't work. I was thinking about chucking them and what did I find at Target? Polish. Why this works I have no idea but it works!

 The confidence I had from these two led me to think I could purchase this bowl it was after all only $5. I have been on an tight budget so it wasn't like I should have been "shopping" but I felt like the results justified the spending :P

Pictures

Beautiful bowl before- see how dark it is?

I applied the polish like this and then rubbed it around in sections.

 

 

 

See how beautiful the right side is starting to look?

It was hard to get a good picture of the outside for reference so here is the inside. Isn't is shiny amazing?

Oh and I used whatever brand was cheapest at Target at the time in case you were wondering!

In Progress

Unfortunately, nothing new to show you yet. I do have two promising projects in the works though and I figured I tell a bit now.

I thought I would finish my perpetual calendar project with my mom this weekend but it turned out we were too busy on our trip to have time to work on it. Here I thought we would be bored at night and need an activity but instead we had no time for crafting at all. I did get to stop by a cool craft store in Santa Barbara. I wish I had known about it when I was still going to school there! I guess that is life.

I am still really interested in making the calendars so hopefully I get a chance to work on mine soon.

The other project that I have been wanting to do for a while but am just now starting is a map so my husband and I can start pinning places when have been.

I found a coupon online for Aaron Brothers and got the canvas. It took me a while to decide what size would be good. I ended up with a 24x36. Maybe some kind of nod to my former work. Then I went online and found a free basic black and white map. Then I used Gimp to make 14 8.5x11s which I have all printed out. I am planning on using them to "trace" what I want to paint later.

That map project is going to be very time consuming I can already tell so it might be staying in progress for a while but at least I am making progress right?

UPDATE: After I started my map my husband mentioned that I chose the wrong perspective so I gave up for a while but having my first comment inspired me so maybe one day I'll finish :)

Cards: Birthday Blocks/Cake

I have made some of what I consider really cute cards. This round I didn't find any to be too amazing but this one was kinda cute so I figured why not share.

This is the outside. The picture is a bit blurry. (Did I mention I hate my "new" camera?) It says happy in there though on the pink block.

On the inside I wanted something but it took me a while to come up with what and this what I ended up with.

I put a personal not in the big blank space :o)

Not my best but kinda cute nonetheless. Even with the pink I gave it to a boy!

On a side note: I inspired my mom and I wish I had take a picture of her best card. It had a simple stick figure looking solemn with it's eyes close and it said "on your birthday I wish you..." and then on the inside it didn't say anything but had an awesome black background and there was the earth, the moon and glitters stars. I thought it was awesome. Not sure if my uncle got it but it was awesome.

Gifts: Picture Frame To Do List and Card

Okay, so to be truthful the first time I tried this I failed. I failed miserably. I might post a picture of how bad it was but in my misery I already threw out the evidence. The second time was almost worth the efforts of the first and you can't learn unless you try, right?

It may look easy and simple now but let me tell you if you saw the first one!

Anyways my tips:

1) Don't use glitter paper. The glue dries clear but you can still see exactly where it is on that stuff and it does not look pretty.

2) Print the wording. I tried cutting it out the first time and it took forever seriously way too long and it didn't even look that good in the end.

3) Invest in stickers. I only used half of a 1 dollar pack here it is way better. 

4)I cut those lines myself from the paint chips I mentioned last time and I like that I could get matching colors to my stickers. Not necessary for you to cut them but it might prove useful to have a stash of paint chips of your own.

5) I used a skinny dry erase marker to put a couple of check marks on there so you could tell what it was.

6) A check "box" doesn't have to be a box it could be a flower :o)

7) Keep in mind whatever size frame you are using may end up covering some of your design so plan ahead if anything in close to the edge!

I also gave Molly the markers to use it (new) I used one of my own to write on the frame and I gave her some dollar store nail polish so the first task could be true! You can't tell from the picture but I kept with the original idea of glittery by adding a bit of glitter glue but very sparingly so as not to distract from the list.

For those concerned about my cheapy budget turned cool gifts. I spent $1 stickers, $2 frame (left over from table number at my wedding, ha!), $2 on dry erase two pack, $4 on dollar store nail polish, $1 on glitter glue and wasted $2 on original frame and glitter paper:( Not too bad all told.