Felt Heart Table Runner

Yesterday I was in Target and saw a really cute Valentine's heart table runner. I almost bought it, almost. Instead I went home and made my own. I mentioned before that I have a love for my glue gun. Anything that can be glued instead of sewn gets glued. This was the quickest easiest project ever! I simply cut out felt hearts and glued them together. I started with the big hearts for the base and then added little hearts as I went along. I'm happy I didn't buy Target's version!

Here is the before of my very boring kid friendly dinner table.

Look what some felt and a glue gun will do!

My table is still certainly kid friendly and I won't be upset if the runner gets messy because 1) Valentine's is only one week away and decor will be coming down soon anyway, 2) I used supplies I had and spent $0 to make it, and 3) I was done with this entire project in half an hour!
*I only used six sheets of felt for my runner. A few more sheets of felt would have made this perfect for a mantel (which by the way, I unfortunately don't have).

 

Valentine's Day book for Daddy - printable

Last year I saved a post from a fun craft blog called Oopsey Daisy. She had her son color a cute book for her husband's birthday. She provided printables and instructions. See her original post here.

I spun the idea and had my daughter make a book for her Valentine's gift to her daddy. I edited the first and last page of the printable and then let me daughter color the pages. She colors a bit out of control! I almost kicked into crazy mode and "helped" but I decided it was her gift so she could make it however wild she wanted. I cut the pages and glued them onto colored cardstock. I used a heart hole punch and put them on a ring. I tied some pretty heart and red ribbons onto the ring to give it a Valentine's Day look. Our book turned out cute and I'm sure my husband will love it!





Cut and paste the images below into a word document if you would like to make one too.

 

Dictionary love poem

I saw a really fun idea to make love poems using an old dictionary at mmmmboppin' last week. To see the original post, go here.

Our wedding anniversary was this week so I used the idea to make my husband a sweet card letting him know how wonderful I think he is. I originally planned on making a wall hanging for his office but then when I realized the size of my dictionary, I decided to make a card instead.

I printed his name on blue cardstock and folded it in half to make a card. I glued the clippings from the dictionary directly onto the card next to the letters. The little red heart gave it a splash of color. We were on vacation last week so I had very limited time to make a card. This could have turned out so much cuter but given the 15 minutes I had to make it, I think it's perfect and my husband loved it!




This would make a perfect Valentine's Day card for someone special!

 

Extra! Extra! Valentine's Day card

I saw a very cute valentines day card online this week.

Isn't it adorable?? To purchase the original go here.

You know me...I don't really buy anything before trying to make it first. I played around on scrapblog and made my own.

I printed the image at the bottom of a piece of grey cardstock, trimmed, and folded. I love how it turned out and I think my husband is really going to like it for Valentine's Day!

I'm taking a risk posting this before Valentine's Day but I'm fairly certain my husband won't see this post unless I tell him to go here. :)

 

Pretty in Pink

I have not been sewing for very long. I dabbled in it in high school making a few skirts, and in college I made a love sac for my boyfriend. But I didn't really get into sewing until I had my daughter. There is something about little girls that really inspires me for new projects. Making children's clothing is relatively easy because you don't have to worry about body shape. I am learning more with each project, but here is what I have learned so far:

-it is all about basic shapes. Triangles, semicircles, and rectangles. You can make any basic piece of clothing using these shapes.
-if you don't use a french seam make sure to zigzag your edges. Nothing says homemade more than a frayed edge.
-kids clothing is whimsical, so have fun. Add a ruffle here or a button there. There are no rules, just play around and try lots of new things.
-Lastly, I usually let my fabric choice inspire my design. Or I find a design that I love and want to create.

For this project I followed the last principle. I love the basic elastic neckline because it is so easy to adjust to fit your model. I also love the bib fronts that we are seeing on so many designs these days. So I took a basic design and added my own flare. I doubled the sleeves to give it a layered look, I added pleats to the front for some movement, and I added the bib ruffle for added interest. I think it is the perfect Valentine's Day dress, but the best part is I picked a somewhat neutral fabric so she can wear it any time. I think I am addicted to designing now. I can't wait to start the next project.

Lucky n' Love

I made these cute Lucky and Love blocks today with my son. They are so easy but really fun to make. I actually got the idea from a friend at church and we made Thanksgiving and Christmas ones. The best part is they are reversible so it says Love on one side and Lucky on the other. Talk about easy and efficient decorations.

-All you need is 5 wood blocks (I went to Home Depot and asked them to cut a 2x4 into 6" pieces, I got 15 blocks for $2.15. We are going to use the other blocks to make Jack and Liz name blocks for their rooms).
-sandpaper
-paint, I used acrylic paint in vanilla
-scrapbooking paper cut into 3.5"x5" squares
-vinyl letters
-and craft glue like mod podge
-any stickers or embellishments you like

1. Sand all the blocks ruff, just to get them smooth and help the paint stick.
2. Paint the blocks on all the sides leaving a rectangle on both face sides (this is where the paper will go). Let dry completely.
3. Use the mod podge to paste the paper you like on each block. Cover with mod podge and let dry completely.
4. Stick on your vinyl letters and your stickers.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 on the other side with the LUCKY paper and letters
6. Display and enjoy.

You can also sand down the sides and corners after you are done painting to give it more of a rustic feel. Super cute and easy, anyone can do it. This is a great craft to do with kids too. My 2.5 year old son had a great time painting his blocks, picking out the paper for them, and helping me put on the stickers.

Sewing fabric on paper - Robot Valentine's Day card

The other day I found some fun robot fabric at Joannes. I used it to make a set of brother shirts for a friend that just delivered her third little boy. I sewed a robot on each shirt and love how they turned out!

Today I used the same fabric to make some cute robot valentines. I used double sided tape to hold the fabric on the paper while I sewed with my sewing machine.

Never sewn on paper before? It's EASY and you can get super creative!

 

Love print - foam stamps and fabric paint

Doesn't this look pretty on my piano?

I was absolutely ecstatic to see these large alphabet stamps on clearance today at Joannes.

I knew just what a wanted to make with them when I came home - a pretty embellished LOVE print for Valentines Day! I had a 5" x 7" frame with a broken glass just waiting for the perfect project.

I took out the broken glass and then used the backing to measure a scrap of fabric. I cut out the fabric with about a one inch allowance to overlap the back of the frame.

I ironed the wrinkles out of my fabric and placed a sheet of paper behind it on my craft table. Then I painted the "l" stamp with fabric paint (Tulip Soft).

I stamped the l on the fabric and continued with the rest of my letters.


Then I dug out some cute embellishments (stickers and tulle). I tied the tulle in a knot and glued it on the corner of the print. You can use anything to add some fun to your framed print.


I plan on changing the print in the frame each month for an easy cute holiday decoration.

 

Fun Find Tutorial - Love Banner

We really enjoy looking at creative blogs for ideas and tutorials. We are going to start sharing the fun we have following other crafters' tutorials in posts titled "Fun Find Tutorial"...I'm excited to share my first post today!

At Second Street is a great blog I've been following for awhile. Take a few minutes to look through the archive; I'm sure you'll have fun! Today she posted about a cute love banner she made. The picture below is from the original post. For the full tutorial go here.
Lucky us - she included free printables! Instead of printing on pink paper, I used a light purple. I also modified the way it was hung. I just used a rectangle hole punch and then strung it on some pink ribbon. Love it!

I also decided to add a little Valentine fun to our living room coffee table. My husband and I purchased this table about seven years ago. At the time I really liked it but had no idea how much I would grow to love it! Last year I discovered its decorating potential when I put flowers under the glass top for spring. This table is now my absolute favorite thing to decorate each month!

I added some hearts this morning.