DIY Spring Embroidery Hoop Wreath

As of this week, spring temps are in the air, which means it's time to start changing out that winter decor! I did just that this past weekend with my front porch and now I have this adorable spring wreath to add! Last week on Better Kansas City, Belinda and I chatted about how cute and festive these wreaths are and just how easy they are to make! Here's how you do it!

You're going to need wooden embroidery hoops, and as luck would have it, they come as a set! When embroidering, quilting, or cross-stitching, you would use both of these hoops to help hold your fabric taut and in place. For this project, you get two wreaths for the price of one! YAY!

Next, pick all the decorating pieces that speak to you in terms of spring, or any other season you want to place on your wreath. I made one for spring, Christmas, and Mardi Gras, and I'm currently working on one for summer. In addition to the items you've picked, you're going to need floral wire. Make sure you get the floral wire that works best with your project. I picked up both green and silver depending on how much greenery I used or something that was more white based. Additional items you might need are wire cutters, a glue gun, and something to hang your wreath with, if you decide not to leave it as is. Looping thick ribbon is a great option.

Let's get started!

As you can see, I went with all things pastel, especially pink! Pink orchids, a pink, yellow, and white pom-pom garland, and darling pink bunny ears! 

Start by finding the place where you want to start on the wreath. For this one, I knew I wanted my orchids to line just one side of the wreath, leaving the other side open. I clipped off the stem to the best length for the wreath and began wrapping my silver floral wire all along the end to secure the orchid to the wreath. 

After you secure the end of the stem to the wreath, start wrapping the wire around the orchid all along the wreath, making sure to keep the wire tight, but your loops don't need to be too close together. Making sure the orchid is adhered to the wreath is key. 

Once I had the orchid attached to the wreath, I started adding the garland. Luckily, the garland was already wired so it was easy to add to the wreath.

Again, find where you want it placed on your wreath. I decided to bunch the pom-poms around the stem at the base of the wreath to cover the start point. Move the garland up and along the side of the wreath, making sure to fluff and cover up any empty spaces you see. 

Once you have everything in place, take a step back and look at the wreath from a slight distance. If you see that it needs a little more here or a little less there, adjust as needed. One thing I did was wrap the garland in between the flowers to add some depth. 

When I saw these darling bunny ears, I knew they would be the center/focal point of my spring wreath. And even though they are bunny ears, I don't think it screams Easter. This way, you can put it out now and keep it up well into spring. But, I have my summer wreath ready for when the weather calls, so the bunny will eventually have to go! 

I cut the stem of the pick to just under the ears and used a glue gun to adhere them to the wreath. This is the only piece that's glued, so if I decide to take it apart to create something new, the glue will easily come off. And, because it's on the back, you won't see if there's a slight flaw. You can use all of these pieces again and in very different ways. It would be a cute floral arrangement. Or, you could place the garland around a large round candle, place on a pedestal and cover with a glass cloche topper. 

And here is the final product!! It's darling! So sweet and screams spring!!! I hung this on one my parents doorknocker for the photo, but would definitely use a wreath hanger or a teacup hook that I have on the front of my house for year round wreath use! 

And that's it! So easy! And like I said, I made a Christmas and Mardi Gras version. Check them out below! 

A great DIY that is seasonal or year round depending on what you design! And what's great, a project that can be taken apart and the pieces upcycled for a completely different use! Love a versatile project!

Check out the Better Kansas City segment here to see Belinda and I working together on the summer hoop!

XO,

Andrea

DIY Dry Erase Wall Calendar

At the end of last year, I found that I was completely out of the control. And when I say out of control, I mean my handle on organizing our family calendar. Organizing my own life is hard enough, but with all the end of year school activities, holiday traditions, and keeping up with McKinley's tennis and drum practicing at home, I was falling behind. I have a paper calendar that keeps me somewhat in the know, but I needed something more. So, I decided to create a dry erase calendar for the family and a chore chart for McKinley so that everyone was on the same page and McKinley was keeping up with his own practice schedule to earn his daily 30 minute screen time reward.

We've all seen the dry erase calendars at our craft stores, but they are fairly pricey. Even with a coupon or store sale, they were a little outside my wallet spend. And then I decided that it was truly something I could make on my own and with very little out of pocket cost. I hit up my local thrift store for some expensive frames, found free calendar graphics online and had them printed at Costco, and used paint that I already had sitting on a shelf in the garage. I was set! Here's how you do it!

First off, find the size frame that works best for your space and your needs. I knew I wanted to have a calendar and room for a notes section off to the side. It would allow me to jot down grocery items that I ran out of and could pick up next time I was at the grocery store. A list of things that needed to get done that month, like have McKinley fill out his Valentine's for the class party, and for me to get all the room party things together. The calendar would be housed in the kitchen, on a small wall tucked out of the way, but still visible to the family. A 16X20 frame as perfect! And I found two, with a 20% off coupon, and got them both for under $15.

Next, I took apart both frames, dusted them off, sanded them down to get the varnish and other paint off around the edges, and dusted it off again. You need to make sure you get all of the residual dust and debris off the frame so you don't pick it up when painting. Pick complimentary colors to the room you chose. I picked a soft glossy gray for our kitchen since the walls are navy and white. I wanted it to blend in, but pop against the white walls and the navy would be too close in color. I applied two coats of paint, allowing time to dry in between. If you feel the need to add a coat of clear for protection, go for it. Make sure it's in the same finish as the paint. Glossy for glossy. Matte for matte.

When deciding on the design of the calendar, the web has plenty of free graphics to chose from. My dad helped me with this. He was able to use Photoshop to erase the dates from the calendar, as this is a dry erase and I will write in the dates every month, and then added the note section to the side. This option is great if you want to truly make it your own. You can purchase some great ones from Etsy if you don't want to go the Photoshop route. I found some really nice designs when I first started looking. After the calendar was modified, we sent it off to Costco to have it printed. We spent $7! So far, I have $20 in the calendar!

Do you know what the best surface is for dry erase? Glass! And guess what? Frames come with glass! So, no need to go out and buy a fancy, cut to fit surface for your calendar. You can use the glass that came with the frame! Savings again! Now, if you are thinking little hands will be using this calendar (or chore chart), use a Plexiglas for safety. You can get those at your local hardware store. It will work just fine, it just may not clean off as easily or leave residual ink. I tested my dry erase markers on an old piece of glass I removed from a frame years ago and it worked like charm!! I was good to go.

Put it all together. Clean your glass really well, but don't be like me and cut your finger on the edge of the glass! It hurts and it bleeds! A lot! Then assemble it all back the way it came! One of my frames needed a back, it didn't have one when I took it apart, so we used matte board and to hold it in place. These are common clips that you can get at the hardware store or the frame section of your craft store. 

This last part is optional. I decided to add a small wire basket to hold all the things I would need for the calendar. Find the center, we did all the math, and then screw it into place! 

 

 I found the little galvanized bucket and it's perfect for holding all the pens, and there is enough room inside the basket for the eraser and sticky notes for any additional notes or updates you want to add to the calendar throughout the month! 

And there it is! The DIY Dry Erase Calendar!! I love how it turned out! I love that it cost me roughly $20! I love that it fits perfectly in the kitchen! And I love that it's keeping the family organized! 

Will you make a dry erase calendar for the family? It's super easy!! It's minimal materials, and honestly, it's took my less than a week to finish it all! And you gotta love a project that is under $20! Head here to check out the Better Kansas City segment featuring the DIY project! 

XO,

Andrea

DIY Felt Ornaments

Since McKinley is going to work on these after school today, I felt it was the perfect time to post this fun holiday DIY! I am a big fan of giving homemade gifts to family and friends and I make sure that McKinley gives one every year. This year, it's felt ornaments. But they don't have to be just an ornament. They make super cute gift tags on wrapped presents, a tag on your hostess gift bottle of wine, or a darling name tag at your holiday table. And they are so easy to make!

Here's what you'll need:

Felt, fabric glue, cookie cutters, a black Sharpie, fabric scissors, string, and any small craft adornments. I decided against the glue gun, but if you use on, make sure your little ones fingers are out of the way! It's hot!!

First, pick the perfect cookie cutter for your stencil. I chose a tree, snowman, sweater, bell, mitten, and stocking. 

Fold your felt in half so you only make one cut. You will want to double up your ornament to keep it from being see-through and to make it a little more sturdy. 

Next up, glue. You will want fabric glue for this project. You could use school glue, but the fabric glue is a little stronger. And it dries clear. Put a thin outline of glue around the edge of the ornament and make sure to glue the Sharpie side to the inside of your ornament. Once together, you can trim an excess you have.

 Originally, I punched a hole at the top of the ornament to string the hanger, but after the first one, I ditched this method and went with simply gluing the string inside the ornament before sealing it closed. It worked much better. The hole punch is still an option.

 

Now you are ready to start decorating! Use anything and everything small and cute that you can get your hands on! I shopped my mom's craft room and found tons of little mini things to use. Check out the craft stores miniature sections. That's where we got a lot of these things last year.

Here is the loot! I am in love with the sweater, but they are all so darling! 

And here's how they look on the tree, gift, and wine bottle!

The options for creating are endless AND, you don't have to use this idea for just Christmas! Think about Valentine's Day, Easter, Halloween! So cute, right? 

Happy Crafting!

XO,

Andrea

DIY Halloween Treat Bags

When I was growing up, we didn't have fancy trick or treat bags. We had that generic plastic orange  pumpkin with a black handle, and as we got older, the trusty pillow case. McKinley carries a fuzzy pumpkin bag or large fabric pumpkin bucket. Either way, they are super cute! However, I decided we needed to elevate the trick or treat bag this year and I decided to make it myself!

Here's what you'll need:

A canvas tote bag, fabric paint, sponge brushes, paper plate, pencil, eraser, puffy paint, and a steady hand!

Load up your brush with the first color of your choice. Because I was doing candy corn on the bag, I used the colors in order of a candy corn. I started with white, but you couldn't really see it in photos. Apply horizontally on the bag in large strokes. You can make your strips as thick or as thin as you wish. On my second bag, I went for a larger band of paint.

Do the same thing with yellow. After you've applied your colors, go back in and smooth out any defined lines you might see and create an ombre effect with the three colors. 

Next up, it's time to apply your candy corn. If you are anything like me, I need a stencil! I can't even draw a straight stick figure. So, I headed out on the web and found free clip art of candy corn (also witches hats and bats) and sized them to different heights. Go with what makes you happiest. I decided to use smaller candy corn scattered throughout and larger witches hats for the second bag I made.

Once I cut out all the candy corn, I placed them around the bag. I will say, I originally traced too many and needed to erase a few after the fact. When you go to erase them, use a rubber artists eraser. This will allow the pencil marks to come off easier and not pill the fabric.

See that smudge? I tried to use a pink eraser before the rubber one. It didn't work as well!

Fabric puffy paint is what you need! I've used Scribbles and this Imagin8 and they both work well. 

When you apply your puffy paint, make sure you start with a light pressure on the bottle. The paint can splatter out and leave a blob on your project. To get started, try testing it on a paper plate or another piece of fabric to get the feel. And make sure you shake the paint to the end of the bottle. 

Trace each of the candy corn and then add small half circles to the inside to create those defined lines you see in the candy itself.

If you need to smooth out some of your lines, use a toothpick. 

This is the witches hat bag I was talking about earlier. Do all the same things you did above. I made the paint stripes larger and I prefer it! Really fills the space of the canvas. And I love the dimension the puffy paint gives to the hats! 

And here's the completed project!! I love it! It's so happy and makes me smile. And I may use it for more than just trick or treat! It would be so cute this time of year as a little tote for all the things you carry throughout the day. It adds just a hint of Halloween to your daily look without screaming costume alert!! It would make a sweet teachers gift during the Halloween classroom party. 

Allow 24 hours to dry, especially since you applied fabric paint to the bag and all the puffy paint inside the hats. 

What do you think of this cute project? Head here to see the fun segment on Better Kansas City! Belinda Post was excellent at applying the puffy paint! You will be too!

XO,

Andrea