Block Party Invites

I know I technically don't have to make these but how can I resist?!  I just made them in Word...super easy! I am pretty much the coolest neighbor this block could ask for!

Father's Day banners

I used Paper Pennants and Street signs Cricut cartridges for the We ❤️ Daddy.  Becky Higgins project life cards with photos for the middle banner and a pennant punch by EK success for the small, top banner.

Monster Valentines

For my cutest little monster Jasper!! I love thinking of an excuse to get out my mini monsters cartridge and assemble me some very fabulous monsters.  

A Burlap Christmas (wreath)

Just an update (finally) on the burlap wreath change from fall to Christmas.  (Check out the burlap wreath tutorial here). 

 

Seriously!!  I made this over a month ago and I am still gaga over it!  I L.O.V.E. it so much I am not going to take it apart to make a Valentine's day version.  I think you understand!

Sprigs and bow are from the HL (Hobby Lobby). "Believe" thingy was a score in the Michaels dollar section.  The bells are from my stash but I found similar ones at JoAnns.  (Yes, I can tell you every craft store in a 10 mile radius from my house...and I live in the Chicago burbs...and there are a lot of craft stores...and I go to them all...cause I can...)

So I was so obsessed with these wreaths that we had a craft night at church and all my craft peeps came and we made wreaths galore!  You should have seen my friends get their burlap wreath on...it was a great night.  With the leftover supplies my bff Liberty from over at Crafts reDesigned helped me assemble a couple more gems that we sold at a Christmas craft fair. These are all made from 12 inch wreath forms instead of 16...they are so little and cute and I just wanted to hug and squeeze them all and keep them forever...but then I sold them which made me more happy!  The second one looks like a baby of my wreath from above doesn't it?  Love them, pin them, copy them!  Happy crafting!

Happy Halloween

Clearance at Target inspires some last minute Halloween crafting!!

Adventures in Burlap

I have been itching to make a burlap wreath for a while (did you get that?).  Fall is the perfect time of year to finally make one. Burlap screams fall to me...don't ya think?  After searching all over Pinterest I found a great tutorial here at Sunny Simple Life.  I just love the double layer of ribbon!!  Realizing I could change out the sprigy things and the flower for Christmas and Valentines crap, I went with the red chevron burlap for the second ribbon.  Here is my wreath in all its glory:

Cute huh?!  And here is the close up...cause you just have to have a close up. (Random thought, when there is a reflection in the picture do you ever squint and look closer to see the photographer?  I always want to see if they have a cuter phone case than mine or if they are uber practical and have an Otterbox. You can tell a lot from a person by their phone. You can't see my phone case in this one but I guarantee you...it is cute).

Now that you have looked it over, pinned it and goggled at how cute it is, go out and make one of your own.  To copy my wreath exactly you will need: 

1-12 inch wire wreath frame

*30-35 feet of burlap ribbon (my plain burlap was 4 inches wide)

*30-35 feet of chevron or another printed burlap ribbon (my red chevron was 2 1/2 inches wide)

Optional thinner burlap ribbon to weave through at the very end (found in the scrapbook section)

6 inch zip ties

Small safety pins

Decoratie stuff to fit your season (I used two full floral picks and the large flower is about 5 inches in diameter.)

Floral wire and floral shears if needed

All my supplies are from Hobby Lobby except the zip ties which I found at Ace.

I first laid out my burlap ribbon one on top of the other and pinned them together about every 18 inches (duh...put the pins on the back so you won't see them).  Then I just looped the burlap and zip tied it unto the wreath frame. I went inside to outside and then back again.

Make sure you keep track if how many loops you make in each section so the fullness of the wreath is consistent. Seven loops per section will make the end result very full. (I learned this the hard way...look closely at my wreath and you will see what an idiot I am). The best part? Zip ties can easily be snipped if you need to redo something!!  

When you are done, go through and make sure the zip ties are pointing towards the back and cut them.  Then poof and arrange to your hearts content.  Before I attached all the fall crap, I smushed the ribbon flat and then poofed it out after.  I am sure that makes total sense!   I just tucked that braided burlap ribbon in a random yet organized pattern when it was all done.

Don't rush me...I will post my Christmas and Valentines day ideas when we get there!!

*the tutorial I referred only had me start with 15 feet.  I just wanted mine to be more poofy and fuller than what 15 feet would allow.  Kinda sucks that the ribbon only comes in 15 or 30 foot rolls.  I just have extra now...cause I need more stuff cluttering up my craft room!

Check out the selection of printed burlap ribbon at Hobby Lobby! Gaaaawwwwggg so cute!

Happy Halloween!!

I love the Cricut cartridge called Word Collage!  I dug it out the other day to make something to add to my Halloween decor.  Let me know what you think!!

I know I could have just printed a free sign I found on Pinterest, but it is just too fun to do it yourself sometimes!  Check out my Easter collage here!