Monday, October 17, 2011
Did Someone Say Party?
If you haven't already, you really must check out the DSSP website and blog. Heather and Gretchen do an amazing job of giving fun, easy ideas for pretty much any type of party you can imagine. Right now they have a wonderful giveaway for Big Picture Classes.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Sweater Fall Wreath
There are lots of great ideas on the web for creating gorgeous wreaths, especially wreaths for this time of the year. My favorite time of the year - fall! There is nothing like the cooler weather and the incredible hue of colors lining the trees, sidewalks and lawns to make our creative juices start flowing. I took some time out of my busy work schedule to draw on the inspiration from nature and other crafters to create my own fall wreath for my door.
CAUTION! Before we go any further, I have to apologize for my awful photography. I am not good at taking pictures, as you will clearly (or should I say, blurry) see below. Thanks, in advance, for your patience with the visuals.
The wreath I created was fashioned out of a vine wreath, a woman's sweater and a few scraps of leftover felt from a previous project. And, to make this project even more frugal, I purchased the sweater and the wreath from a local 2nd hand store.
I was instantly drawn to the color combination I used. Not sure why, since my door is a brick red, but I really felt that it would draw attention to the wreath and allow me to highlight the flowers themselves. I used two techniques to create my flowers. I suggest using the tutorial found on the Little Things Brings Smiles blog. This blog does an amazing job of giving clear, step-by-step directions.
Note: If you have not made felt flowers before, you really must give it a try. This was an incredibly easy process and the flowers I made were the ones I actually used. No need to improve on my process! I really don't think you can make a mistake. In fact, I found that my imperfections actually improved the look of the roses I made.
The next step was to apply my sweater to the vine wreath. I actually picked out this particular sweater because of the pattern on it. I wanted the sweater to do some of the work for me. I just cut the sleeves off the sweater to cover the wreath.
To apply the sweater material to the wreath, I first positioned it to where I wanted it. I tacked on the front section carefully to ensure that my chosen pattern fell correctly on the wreath. I also took the time to match up the pattern as I had to use the 2 sleeves to get my entire wreath covered. The last step of the sweater application was to wrap the sections around the back and adhere using the hot glue gun again.
Last I applied the felt flowers to my wreath. I used the flowers in a couple of different areas to help me cover up the seams from the sweater application. I think that randomness of the placing helped to add to the dimension of the wreath.
CAUTION! Before we go any further, I have to apologize for my awful photography. I am not good at taking pictures, as you will clearly (or should I say, blurry) see below. Thanks, in advance, for your patience with the visuals.
The wreath I created was fashioned out of a vine wreath, a woman's sweater and a few scraps of leftover felt from a previous project. And, to make this project even more frugal, I purchased the sweater and the wreath from a local 2nd hand store.
I was instantly drawn to the color combination I used. Not sure why, since my door is a brick red, but I really felt that it would draw attention to the wreath and allow me to highlight the flowers themselves. I used two techniques to create my flowers. I suggest using the tutorial found on the Little Things Brings Smiles blog. This blog does an amazing job of giving clear, step-by-step directions.
Note: If you have not made felt flowers before, you really must give it a try. This was an incredibly easy process and the flowers I made were the ones I actually used. No need to improve on my process! I really don't think you can make a mistake. In fact, I found that my imperfections actually improved the look of the roses I made.
The next step was to apply my sweater to the vine wreath. I actually picked out this particular sweater because of the pattern on it. I wanted the sweater to do some of the work for me. I just cut the sleeves off the sweater to cover the wreath.
To apply the sweater material to the wreath, I first positioned it to where I wanted it. I tacked on the front section carefully to ensure that my chosen pattern fell correctly on the wreath. I also took the time to match up the pattern as I had to use the 2 sleeves to get my entire wreath covered. The last step of the sweater application was to wrap the sections around the back and adhere using the hot glue gun again.
Last I applied the felt flowers to my wreath. I used the flowers in a couple of different areas to help me cover up the seams from the sweater application. I think that randomness of the placing helped to add to the dimension of the wreath.
Voila! I hung the wreath on my front door with a beautiful wreath holder that I recently got at Target. I think it would have been nice to use some type of a ribbon to hang the wreath - maybe something in a large plaid using the same color combination. However, my door is new and I didn't want to tack anything to it just yet.
This was a very fun and easy project. It helped remind me how important it is to take the time to do the things that I enjoy the most. Using my creativity doesn't have to be time consuming or stressful. This wreath is a good reminder to me of the beauty in the simple things. Hope you get some inspiration from this project and use it to create beauty in your life!
Check out some other great fall wreaths to give you inspiration!
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