Fabric yoyo's!

I was in the craft store and I found these adorable little fabric yoyo's, they were a little spendy but I bought a pack anyway because I didn't know how to make them. Well, I got those little cuties home and started analyzing them, and in about two seconds flat my genius kicked in and I realized a kindergarten could make these! So..... I tried it, and it totally worked! Can you tell I was a little surprised? Yeah, well it always amazes me when something so simple sells for soooo much- see, ignorance is not bliss- it's stinking expensive! But, no more   I , you, WE will never have to pay for these prepackaged yoyo's again!

Start out with a circle of fabric- your yoyo will shrink by  about 1/3 the size of this when finished, so measure accordingly.

Flip that baby over and get ready to see miracles happen.

Start by folding 1/4 into the center.

Now begin pleating, simply fold the fabric over itself to form a pleat and hold in place. (I used the sewing machine for mine, but you can use a hot glue gun if you want, just put a little dot of glue under each pleat).

Continue pleating around the circle and holding in place with your finger- don't let those pleats out!

Once you reach the half-way point you are ready to stitch that half in place.

Just run a straight stitch across the center most points of the pleats to secure them.

Now, continue where you left off and pleat the other half. The very last pleat can be a little tricky, so just work with the fabric until you are happy with the last little pleat.

Stitch the other half of the pleats and your yoyo is complete! Yes, the center is kinda ugly (which might be perfected later as I continue to make these- and if so, I will update you!)

These are the little baby yoyo's I bought at the store- and I didn't want them to go to waste- so I used them to cover the center of my bigger yoyo's.

My machine has a "fix" button, it just stitches a spot in the same place a couple of time to hold something down. So, that's what I used to keep the little yoyo's attached. If your machine doesn't have this feature, you can hot glue the yoyo on top, or you can use a straight stitch and just go back and forth in a tiny spot a couple of times.

These are my big daddy yoyo's with their little baby yoyo's in the center. I also decided to cover the center of the little ones with a tiny white button- just for extra cuteness and to cover the opening- even the store bought ones have an ugly center.

This is what I did with them- made a pillow cover. The possibilities are endless- I could see these as an adorable hair clip, on  a lamp shade, added to cute towels, on the corner of a pot holder, tiny ones sewn to little girly socks..... ok, you get the idea!

If you do make some of these- post a link to your blog and let me see what you did with them!

Little knobs.... lots of charm!

So, we've been making projects around here, and this is one I just love! I got this brainiac idea and put it together, and I love it! Did I already say I love it???.... well I do!


 Oh- just so you know- in case it isn't completely obvious- I am NO professional! I try to make my posts clear and step by step... but I'm not a professional- so please read the entire post- BEFORE- you do the project. If you have any questions or comments- please feel free to leave them and I will try to help as much as I can...... you know, not being a professional and all.


Supplies you will need- large flat board (length/width and thickness is totally up to you).
                Small wood plaques in different shapes/sizes.
                Drawer pulls in your choice of color/size.
                Spray paint/primer and spray paint colors of your choice. (optional- clear coat)
                Wood glue
                Hot glue gun/glue sticks
                Drill
                Hacksaw (or other tool designed to cut metal)

Start out by primer/painting your wood board and plaques.

 This is the king of spray paint/primer combos- I LOVE this stuff1 It covers great and if you want to paint over it with another color it really helps!

These were my color choices- unfortunately I couldn't find the green in a spray- so I had to brush it on.

Paint your board and plaques in your color choices- may take two coats- finish with clear coat if you want.

Next- drill holes through plaques where you want to put your knobs- this is totally up to you depending on the look you are going for.

Then measure on your large board coordinating spots to either put the knob screw through, or if you don't want to actually use the knobs for hanging, you can counter sink a small hole so the plaque with the knob will lay flat on the board.  If you are going to do this last option, go ahead and cut the screws off even with the bolt.

This picture shows the hole cut in the larger board, filled with wood glue to let the bolt from the knob rest in it- it will also give a tiny bit of support.

This is the back of one plaque with the screw cut off even with the bolt and wood glue applied.

Because I do not have the patience of Job... who am I kidding , I have NO patience! I chose to hot glue the plaques as well as wood glue them. So just run some hot glue around the edges of the back of the plaque- but not too close because you don't want it to squish out on the back board.

Now, press the plaques into the back board being careful to line up the screw from the knob into your pre-drilled holes. (note- if you want to actually use this as a coat rack/towel rack- drill completely through the back board so the entire length of the screw will go through the board and you will attach the bolt to the back of the large board- then cut the screw off so it is flush with the bolt).

When you have everything in place, it should look something like this!

  

Seriously, could this be any cuter???? No, I didn't think so either!

Baby steps....

Ok, so as promised I am going to post some fun stuff that I've been making! I thought the logical thing to do would be to post the littlest, easiest project and then move on up to the big daddy projects! So, with that in mind, today we make felt flowers! So super easy and sooooo many places to put them. Seriously could go nuts with these flowers!

Step one- cut strips of felt/fleece in desired color.

                                                    

Step two- cut petal shapes- depending on flower size you need about 8 large, 8 medium and then 1 center circle for the middle of the flower. (I only used 10 petals total for this flower) You will also need a circle of felt to glue petals to.

Step three- two glue dots evenly spaced about 1/4 of the way in from each side.

Step four- fold exterior corners into glue dots and hold until secure. This will be the back of the petal.

Step five- flip petal over and put glue dot directly in the center.

Step six- squeeze sides together to scrunch the petal to the center.

  

Your petal should look something like this.

  

Center of the flower- step one- cut round circle and place glue dot in the center.

Step two- fold circle in half and hold until glue is secure.

Step three- place glue in center of folded circle.

Step four- fold 1/3 of flower onto glue dot and hold until secure.

Step five- place glue dot on interior edge of the fold you just made.

Step six- fold remaining 1/3 of circle into the center, hold until secure.

Your center should be an upside down triangle now, and when you look at the top it should look something like this.

Cut circle for bottom of flower- if you want a large flower cut the circle accordingly- I made a pretty small flower so this circle is about the size of the palm of my hand.

Put hot glue all over the top of the circle (note: if you are unsure about the number of petals you will need, glue them one at a time instead of how I did it with all the glue at once- that way, if you feel you need more petals, you can whip a couple out and glue them on.)

Place petals evenly around the circle to form lower layer of flower.

 Glue remaining petals to fill in gaps, leaving a small space in the center for the middle of the flower. When it is all finished it should look something like this.

Now- go stick it somewhere!!! Anywhere!!! Seriously..... go!

Just an fyi- this sweet little lamp shade will be a project in the very near future!

Oh, and here is a big one I made for a pillow- I sewed this one instead of using glue because I just knew my family would be abusing my throw pillows!

M-I-A...

So, a LOT has been happening at my house! We have been busy redecorating, making all kinds of stuff and it's been crazy! I'm going to try to start this week with the different projects we've done. Some are quick and easy and others are a little more involved- so stay tuned for some fun tutorials and some super cute crafts!

Super Smoothies!!!

I got a great deal on mangoes the other day, so we decided to make some smoothies and Popsicles with them. They were a huge hit with the kids and I snuck in a bunch of stuff that is so good for them- and they never knew it!

 I kept the smoothie to drink in the fridge, but the other half of it, we poured into little paper dixie cups and inserted Popsicle sticks and froze them. It was a sweet, healthy treat that was so good for them. The Popsicles didn't last two days!

Recipe- 2 mangoes cubed
             6-8  strawberries
             1/2 banana (or more but it can over power the other fruits)
             2 full celery stalks
             1/2 cup raw spinach
             1/4 cup apple sauce
              1 cup vanilla yogurt
Throw all ingredients in blender/food processor and mix it up until smooth- we don't like our smoothies chunky, so we really blend it up! That's it! Drink it!..... or if your kids love Popsicles they will LOVE it if you pour it into Popsicle molds or if you're cheap like me- just get some little paper cups from the dollar store and some Popsicle sticks- fill the cups, insert sticks and freeze. The nice thing about this is that you can literally just peel the paper cup off of the frozen Popsicle- so it's easy for little hands. Enjoy!!!

Measuring up!

This is a super cute way to keep track of your kids' height! A giant ruler! You can make your own really easily, or you can probably find one on Etsy, or another site that sells hand made items.

 Just go to your local lumber store and grab a board (the thickness and width of your choosing)- but the length should be at least 6 feet. Stain the board any color you like- I LOVE the colored stains for wood! Once the stain is dry, measure out your board and print off the numbers in whatever font you like. Once the board is measured, simply lay your printed paper with numbers on it and use a ball point pen to trace the number onto the board in the corresponding spot. Tracing the paper on top of the board will leave an indent in the wood- this will be your guide to paint your numbers and measuring lines on to the board. Now, fill in the lines left on the board with paint to make your numbers and lines. Once your measuring lines and numbers are dry, coat with a sealer. You can either put a picture hanger on the back to hang it on the wall, or drill holes in the corners to hang. Now pick a great spot to hang it, and get measuring!

I have a permanent marker resting on the top ledge of my ruler, so I can grab it and measure the kids without having to find a pen first! I chose to write their heights on the opposite side from the numbers, but you can do it however you like. The nice thing about this growth chart is it can go with you when you move, and it won't get crumpled up like the paper ones. A great idea is to do one to match each child's room and record that child on their own chart- when they are grown and have their own children, you can pass this chart to them to add their children to their chart- it can become a family heirloom- hand made by you!

It's all fun and games!

I came up with this fun solution to a problem we were having. We have too many people in our family for the traditional 4 person game pieces that come with most games. Along with having too many people, there was also the issue of too many people wanting the same color game piece. Welcome Squinkies!!! That's right, those little rubbery, cute, perfectly sized toys that are all the rage right now.

 These little guys are just the right size for almost all of our games. Each kid gets to pick a Squinkie and use it for that game. We throw them all back in a glass jar for safe keeping. I bought a set of 16, so we have plenty of pieces for everyone to play the game. The kids love this solution, and so do I!

So, if you lost your game markers, you have a big family, or you just want really cute game pieces, go buy some Squinkies!