{DIY} Tissue Paper Poms

I love nothing more than to turn a .99 cent store supply into cute decorations for a party!  I will be making these Tissue Paper Poms for my upcoming baby shower, but they are great for any occasion.  They work especially well over a dessert table, for example.  

The process is simple, the supplies are easy to come by.  

1.  Here's what you need:

• Scissors
• Tissue Paper
• Twine/Hanging Wire

2.  For this example I chose to make a large scale pom in light blue.  I used 10 sheets of tissue paper, aligned them together, and went to folding like an accordion.  I started at one end, folded 1 1/2" in, then flipped the pile over and folded that section 1 1/2", and continued back and forth till I got to the end.  

Then I took the twine and wrapped it around the center of folded tissue, and rounded the edges with my scissors.  Because this is a large sized pom, cutting a nice even rounded end was a little bit tough, but if you have good scissors this shouldn't be a problem.  

You could also cut the edges into points, like so:

3.  Then I began to gently peel the layers of tissue, so they would form a nice round ball.  I began with one side, as seen in image 3, flipped that over and did the other side.  I flipped back and forth until I had a fluffy tissue paper pom.  I did fluff the pom a bit to fill gaps and make sure it all looked even and full.  

4.  And voila, we have an easy and cost effective way to decorate for any occasion.  Because this is for a baby girl baby shower, I chose light shades of pink, green and yellow as that is the color palette.  You could make an ombre effect, starting with white, then light pink, pink then dark pink and red, for example, or whatever you want to do.  

Can't wait to have these at the shower!    

Sew new to sewing...

So, for Christmas, my mother in law and her parents got me my first ever sewing machine and accessories.  I had said this was on my wish list, and then once I received it, I freaked out! I immediately felt I shouldn't have requested such a glorious and complicated machine, because I felt I didn't have the sewing gene skills embedded in me.  (Note, I don't feel this way now)

I dove into the machine, however, and learned how to thread a bobbin, I practiced some stitches, and then I attempted to make a napkin...it was the saddest napkin I've ever seen! After that I tucked the sewing machine and accessories away, and decided to try anew at a later date.

Well, that date is now!  I've recently stumbled upon some cute baby clothing sewing patterns on Etsy, and I became re-energized to try my hand anew at sewing.  There are so many cute things I could make for my daughter-to-be, and I decided to dive into a project.

Bypassing easy projects, I decided to do a tote bag! What the heck was I thinking?  Not just any tote bag, but I decided to use some burlap and denim I had from some projects I did last summer-some of the toughest materials around!  I figured it best not to go out and buy new fabric, when I have perfectly decent fabric already, but for my first attempt I really should've gone with simpler fabrics.  I do love how burlap and denim look together, and I knew that using the two would make a cute tote bag to have on the go, so I went with that.

One of the accessories I do have is "1-2-3 Sew", a great tutorial book with sewing projects from simple to advanced.  It also contained pattern pieces, which was perfect and just what I needed!  The only thing I didn't have was someone looking over my shoulder to help guide me-that is until I referred to the internet for terms and a few YouTube sewing tutorials.

The nice thing about " 1-2-3 Sew" is there is a website attached with the book called The Long Thread.  And the project I wanted to make was listed there as well, which is the Market Tote.  Rather than give the tutorial here, it's best from the pros.  But, before you pop over to see the tutorial in total, I have included some images here of my progressions from chopped up and pinned fabric, to the finished project.

After all the fabric was cut, first two pieces pinned and ready to sew!

Post-sewing first piece, and pressed open seam.  Rinse and repeat for other side.  

Fast forward to interior lining pinned to main bag pieces.  The final steps were the most difficult for me, but I got through it, as you can see below!

I was worried the lines of everything wouldn't appear clean, and I was happily surprised! Now I have a cute tote to take with me to the grocery store, or to the beach-if I lived near the beach! This project did take me a span of a weekend and a day, because I had to put it down now and then, and pick it up again.  I got stumped at a few directions, frustrated at times, but I learned what to do after the fact.  Don't mind if I give myself a little pat on the back for completing something out of my comfort zone, that actually is functional to use! Yay me! :)

Now for the tutorial, please visit: The Long Thread: Market Tote Tutorial

Next project...I'm thinking cute diaper covers or a sweet little romper for my baby girl! Any projects you've sewn lately?  Please feel free to share! 

Up-cycling: Turn that antique mirror into a chalkboard!

I am enamored by unique ways to create a chalkboard pieces, be it for decor, function, or both!

I've seen so many ways to turn different items into chalkboards, and I wanted to make one.  As we are getting ready to move in a few months, I've been going through different items in the home, and recently I came across an old mirror that belonged to my great grandmother.  The frame is in excellent condition, the mirror not so much.  Rather than get rid of it, I decided to turn the mirror into a little chalkboard piece to display in the home.  

I went out to seek some chalkboard paint the other day, and found "chalk paint".  It's not a chalkboard paint per say, but the ladies that helped me advised a few coats can make any surface as a chalkboard.  I purchased the little jar, and ran home to turn my mirror into something special.  

The chalk paint is really smooth, and glided on with such ease.  I painted with 3 layers to build the base for the chalkboard.  

I let this dry for over an hour, and went to town with writing.  I do have to admit, I did this once, and when I wrote with the chalk a bit of the paint came off and the mirror was exposed (insert frown face).  However, because the paint is chalk based, I thought to wash the mirror clean, and try again-it worked!!  Practice makes perfect, right?

And the final result:

I'm so thrilled with the way this turned out, and that I didn't have to get rid of the mirror!  I really wouldn't have tossed the frame, it is just too pretty, but I immediately found a use for it!  

Have you created a chalkboard out of something ordinary to now make it extraordinary?  Please share!

Baby Shower Planning

These months are flying by in my pregnancy! I cannot believe how fast time has flown since I found out I was expecting.  I know it'll go much faster when my little bundle is here, but I'm already staring at my 3rd trimester in the face-crazy!

Right now I'm in the planning process of the baby shower.  I'm really excited for it!  Normally most moms-to-be aren't included in the planning process, aside from being asked what they want at their shower, whom to invite, and whether or not there will be games. I, on the other hand, am way more involved in this planning process, because I love to plan parties, and hope to do this for a living down the road.  So why not start with my very own baby shower, right?

I have chosen a very sweet theme for my shower, and I am so over the moon excited for it! The theme will be "Cute As A Button"!!! I love this theme for a few reasons.  One reaon is that I love buttons! I go to antique shoppes and thrift stores in search of buttons, because they are cute, and I love turning them into unique home decor pieces, like a button bouquet.

Since buttons are cute, and my baby girl will be "cute as a button" the theme really works.  Once I decided my theme, I started designing the invitation, the first item which the guests will see and will set the theme nicely.  Of course I immediately looked to Pinterest, Craft Gawker and Google to get some ideas, and there are tons to peruse and inspire!

As the weeks boil down to the shower, I will unfold bit by bit what I'm creating to have as decor and favors.    What is on my agenda, you might ask?  Why white chocolate buttons, of course! I cannot wait for this project to begin! Other items will be button bouquet centerpieces, pennants, and a few other projects.

What I will share with you now is what my invitations will look like.  I'm really happy with this result:

I created this with the help of Photoshop, and a great scrapbook website called Two Peas in a Bucket.  They offer digital scrapbook files, amongst materials for scrapbooking, which is perfect if you're planning to design your own stationary or online scrapbook.  I've used Photoshop for many years for my photography projects, and this week I learned how to use it for "designing" purposes.  Two Peas in a Bucket has an online tutorial video to share how to create a baby shower invitation, and I used this as a guide to help me, which I so needed! If you're interested in this, click here for the link.  You have to know your way around Photoshop in order for you to pick up on it easily, and I benefited greatly from this.  

My invitations will actually be postcards, to save on money.  I use Zazzle.com to sell my photography, but also to mass create things like stationary.  I did this for our wedding "Save the Date" postcards, and it made an impact.  So people will receive the postcards, and hopefully stick them on their fridge as a reminder.  

I cannot wait to share with you how I am going to create the white chocolate buttons and other details! Until then, thanks for stopping by! 

Hangers with Words

One of my favorite projects I sought out to create were hangers with words.  I first learned of these through the bridal blogosphere, as nearly every single blog had them in bridal gown images.  The hangers with wired words are more attractive than the plain plastic hangers, a fact a wish I had known 3 years ago!

All is not lost, though, the hangers aren't just for brides, they can be for any occasion actually.  Since I am a mom-to-be, I thought why not make one for my baby girl?  Here is my little tutorial for making Hangers with  Words.  It's rather simple to do.

Supplies:
16 guage floral wire
hanger (for shirts/dresses)

Directions:
1)  Start off by writing your word onto a piece of paper.  Write it rather large, and in a cursive style that will be easy to trace with wire.  Remember the old school days of writing in the form of D'Nealian? Kind of use that reference to writing your big loopy letters.

2)  I chose 16 guage floral wire, as it is easy to bend and work with.  I started with the end section, went in about 1 1/2" and then bent it-this will be the part that wraps around the hanger.

3)  I then wrapped that end around the slot on the hanger, wrapping twice to make sure it would hold taught.  Once I had the end piece secured, I aligned the wire to the width of the hanger to figure out where my start point would be for the word.  With the word "baby" already written down, it helped guide me to where that starting point would be.

4)  To really work with the wire, I removed it from the hanger, keeping the form bent where the end section was, so I wouldn't lose track of it.  Then I started in tracing the wire around the letters as best as I could, holding the wire firm with my left hand, and looping with my right hand.  As I mentioned 16 gauge wire is rather easy to work with, and is quite bendy.

5)  From this point it is up to you on how to maneuver the wire around the wording.  Play with looping over or under with each letter if it looks off.  With the "Mrs" wire, seen at the top of this post,  I really had to figure out the r and the s to make it look the way I liked it.  Having the word printed as a guide truly helps!

6)  Once you are happy with your word, then take your wire after the last letter, hold that tight, and section off another 1 1/2" and wrap that around the opposite slot on the hanger.  I made sure that the end piece would not be seen from the front facing hanger, so when I wrapped it around, the end nicely fell to the back side.  And there you have it!

It's so cute, and makes a great gift to give someone, or even yourself!  You can be as simple as pictured here, or doll up the hanger even more with a pretty bow, wrap the hanger itself in yard or silk, the possibilities are endless.  Have fun and enjoy this project!