Burned Wood Ornament

Yes, it's been two years, but I am still crafting! Every year I give my grandchildren an ornament, so that when they move away form home, they will have a collection of memories to decorate their tree with. This year I decided to give them handmade ornaments with their initial burned onto it. I found a font I liked and printed it. While I was doing that, my husband was slicing 1/2 inch thick rounds of wood, from a branch we found in the yard. Using a piece of carbon paper, I traced the letter onto the wood. I used the image as a guideline for burning the wood. When I finished, it looked like this. Using a dremel, (or you could use a drill,) I made a hole at the top of the ornament. I threaded some ribbon through the hole. I also put the date on the back And hung it on the tree.

Fall Book Page Garland

I was hoping to get better pictures before posting this, but that's not going to happen, so here you go. I pulled out some pages from a book I'm getting ready to alter, and spent about half an hour watching tv and cutting out leaf shapes.



 I did a water color wash in fall colors, on about 1/5 of the leaves.



I cut some thin paddle wire, (found in the floral department,) into 12 inch lengths and taped one to the back of each leaf.



Then I started twisting the leaves together one by one, like you'd make a traditional greenery garland. How to HERE.



Enjoy!

Yes, It's Been Awhile.

We have moved across the state and I now have my daughter and grandson living with me. I'm in the same town as 3 of my other grandchildren, so instead of crafting, I've been playing with them. While perusing Pinterest I found a craft to do with the kids and thought I'd share it with you. I found an excellent tutorial on Aestheticnest. Check it out.

You will need: Freezer paper, fabric markers, (I used Crayola) and a cotton t-shirt I printed out out a K and an A then traced them onto my freezer paper, cutting them out as I watched the Olympics. I ironed each initial to a shirt, and my project was ready for my granddaughter's visit. They are scribbled all over their initial and once they were happy with how it looked, peeled off the freezer paper, and I heat set the marker design with an iron.

Here they are modeling their shirts. What a fun project!

Sparkly New Bird

I'm so itching to craft something, but we have been in the process of selling and packing up our house for the past few months. I can't wait to get settled somewhere and break out my supplies.
In the mean time I'll share this sculpture I just purchased from local artist, Melissa Menzer. I don't like to copy anyones work, but find this very inspirational and have plans to use it as a springboard for some projects.

Popcorn Balls.

Because we don't get fall weather here in FL, we do what we can to celebrate the season with food and decor. I had my friend Eva over last week and we made candy corn studded, popcorn balls. Sweet and gooey; perfect for fall festivals and Halloween parties.



They are really easy to make.



Just make sure to butter your hands VERY well before forming the balls.



Or this will happen.



If your syrup starts to harden like ours did here, just put the tray in a warm oven for about 30 seconds.



Popcorn Balls.

9 Cups of popped corn
1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of water
1/4 cup of light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon of vinegar
1/4 teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

your choice of candy or sprinkles. I used candy corn and indian corn.

Grease a 17x12x2 rimmed baking sheet and place 9 cups of popcorn, (all unpopped kernels removed,) on the sheet. Keep warm in a 300 degree oven.

For the syrup, in a heavy sauce pan combine sugar, water,corn syrup, vinegar, and salt. Cook and stir over a medium high heat until mixture boils. Reduce heat to medium and continue boiling, stirring occasionally to keep from burning. Boil to a hard ball stage, or until a candy thermometer reads 250 degrees.
Remove the syrup from the heat and stir in vanilla.
Sprinkle your candy or other add ins on the popcorn and pour the syrup mixture over all of it. Stir with a wooden spoon to coat the popcorn with the syrup. With well buttered hands, form into balls.

One bit of caution. The syrup mixture is very hot and can burn you pretty bad...kind of like hot glue, so be careful when you are pouring it.

Upcycled Necktie Scarf.

I've seen pictures floating around Pinterest of these gorgeous scarves and knew I'd have to try my hand at making them myself. Goodwill has a plethora of ties to choose from and my daughter picked these two for me to make a scarf for her. I say scarf, but the finished product is more like a piece of art to wear around your neck.



I started by placing my ties so they overlapped a bit, with the large ends arranged so both ties are fully visible.



I formed pleats,



and pinned them in place.



I hand sewed the pleats and ruffles in place so that the stitches weren't visible, and added a snap to close the scarf; a piece of velcro would work just as well.



I've made this one to put in my Etsy shop, and I plan on making more...once you start, its hard to stop!

Danmade Bookcase.

Add this to the list of projects I want to make.