Pastel Spring Wreath

I love this time of year, I love Easter and I love all the bright colors that come with spring. I was shopping my local Target and found this adorable yarn wreath. 

I forgot to take a picture of the wreath by itself, with just the yarn. I knew I had to have it when I saw it. It was $12.00 and I could have made one myself but I knew I would spend that much buying all of the different yarns so I purchased it. 

It was a smaller wreath than I usually use so I decided to cut some burlap strips to add to the back. I hot glued them and made small pleats to give it a little fullness. 

Do you know the trick to cutting burlap straight? Simply pull a string all the way across where you want to cut and it will give you a nice straight line to cut. 

I made some flowers out of satin fabric. I used about 10 layers to get a really full flower and before I burn the edges I cut little slits in the circle. It makes them curl up and be more 3 dimensional. 

Here's another trick I always use a glue stick to hold down anything that has hot glue. I won't burn my fingers and the glue stick doesn't stick to the fabric. 

I love all the texture to this wreath, the yarn, the burlap and then the contrast with the satin fabric flowers. 

I just had the outside of the house painted so everything looks so nice and clean. I'm not sure I will get any other decorations up for spring this year but that's ok this brightens up the entrance and makes me happy.

What I've been up to...

I began this blog almost 3 years ago. I had no idea what would become of it, and how I would find friendship and encouragement along the way. I never really had big dreams of becoming a huge blog I just wanted to share what I was working on and for about 2 years I did that. My husband was a huge supporter of my blog, always reading my post and telling his friends to do the same. Since his death I haven't really blogged at all, but really I had started to question why I was putting so much time into my blog when there were so many other things I wanted to work on. You know what I mean when I say you can become consumed by the computer to the point that you don't do what you really love and so I had begun to pull back some last spring and then Mike got sick not long after that and I just haven't felt like putting my energy into this blog. However, my struggle is letting Mike's death be the last of this blog, something he believed in and encouraged me to be a part of. I don't want that to be the end of this so for now I'll share what I have been up to but still don't know how often I'll be posting.

I have recently been bitten by art journaling and mixed media art. There are many great artist out there sharing and teaching everyone about these techniques, my new favorite is Donna Downey. She was in my area over the weekend so I went to a few of her classes. What a fun lady, and uber talented. It was a great weekend of creating and laughing, can't beat that, huh?
Enough chatting I'll just share the pics of what I created.

I'm itching to get my hands dirty and play with some more canvases. I believe art heals, I know my heart aches for creative time. It's not about how good it is, it's about the process. I came away with a great quote from the retreat, by Picaso.

 Inspiration exists, but it has to find us working.

Here's to inspiration...

Advent Calendar Countdown

I have been doing alot of crafting lately. It's good for me, It has always been the thing that grounds me, calms me, rejuvenates me and so given the new circumstances of my life I need all of those things... daily!. I mentioned a few months back that it has been a long time dream of mine to share my love of crafting with other women. I had my first workshop back in may and then life got in the way. It's funny how we think we have a plan! Anyway, now here I set alone most every night and so now more than ever it seems like the perfect thing to do. So I am taking the plunge! I put together several projects and women have been trickling in little by little to relax and enjoy. It really is fun to watch. I've also been having private "Arty Parties" at friends homes. The hostess picks out the project she is interested in and invites a bunch of her friends and I show up with all the supplies. A couple of nights ago we made Advent Calendar Countdowns.

Don't they look great! I found this idea on Pinterest but couldn't find the original person who made it. If it's you, I'm happy to give you credit, just let me know. Mine is not exactly the same, I put a couple of twist on it and added my very favorite activity for the last day.

It's made with a mini muffin tin that has 24 cups. I raided my stash, Dollar Store, Walmart and of course Hob Lob too. This is the perfect project to do with a group because most of the stuff comes in multiples in the bag.

 I made these 3 with some things I had a round the house. The little wreath is made out of a half of a pipe cleaner and some twine wrapped around it. The middle one is a white Sharpie on black paper and the last one I embossed with a stamp I had that just happened to have the word believe. I think it may be one of my favorites. I filled each cup with an activity, something fun to do at Christmas time. I found all kinds of ideas on the internet. One of my favs was have a picnic around the Christmas tree, how fun would that be??? Now if you are thinking these cups are so small, how can I add any kind of a treat? A candy kiss works perfectly, but I also gave everyone a little bag and suggested it be the bonus bag. If you want to give your child something that is too large for the cup, just put a note in that says "check out the bonus bag or grab bag."

Here's the part that I just love. On Christmas morning have this sack filled with a horn and bells with this poem on it. Ring the bells, blow the horn, this is the day that Christ was born? When my kids were small we always did this and then sang Happy Birthday Jesus. It's a great way to remind them what the day is really all about.

So get out your stash, use up some scraps, and be creative. You will be surprised by how much stuff you already have. I should say I used  adhesive magnet sheets to keep the papers on and I printed off the numbers for each day from the computer. It is on a plate stand, which works perfectly to hold it up. I love this idea! The activities are great prompts and I think it's a great opportunity for families to enjoy the season! And as for our craft night... it was a blast! It's fun to see your dream in action. :)