hoop inspiration board

i made a little inspiration board for my mom.  

her birthday was last week and a long with a few other items i sent it away to celebrate... wish i could have fit in the package, too.  

what you need:

• embroidery hoop 
• fabric
• cork tile {you can find them anywhere, usually in the office section}
• marker
• knife
• scissors 
• hot glue gun

what you do:

1.  place the hoop over the cork tile, trace a line on the inside circle of the hoop, and cut along the line.

2.  glue the cork inside the circle with the hot glue

3.  place the fabric over the inside circle and stretch over the cork circle, secure with the outside hoop.  

4.  cut excess fabric around the edges and glue down to the back of the cork

5.  mount on a wall with a nail and hang or prop against the wall

where do you collect all the things that inspire you, such as notes, cards, photographs?  i think i will make a few more of these for my creative space.  happy monday.

jar

i am like the rest of the world, itching to organize my life and all the things in it, following the drop of the ball each new year.  the thing i can never find, even though i have many, are my scissors.

here is a quick and easy project to jump start your goals to be more neat and orderly.

what you need:

• jar {glass, aluminum or whatever you have in your recycling bin should work}. 
• sticky back foam sheets 
• fabric {optional, if using a glass jar}
• scissors 
• washi tape or ribbon {optional} 

what you do:

1. trace the bottom of the jar to cut two circles of foam and one circle of fabric
2. stick the foam to the bottom of the jar, stick the other foam circle to the fabric circle and place in the inside bottom of the jar {this keeps it from sliding all around and protects your scissors or other things you toss in}
3. embellish the rim 

happy weekend.

bottled candy

gearing up for a new year's party?  these are super cute for kids of all ages...

what you need:

• lots of candy
  
• clear bottles and caps
  
• paper - scrap book paper or wrapping paper or newsprint, whatever you have {you know the drill}
  
• mod podge {of course, this is one of my favorite craft tools}
  

course of action:

1. clean and dry all the bottles of their labels and contents {yum}
   
2. mod podge a label to each bottle {for a christmas party our label read, wishing you the sweetest christmas}
   
3. cut paper to fit the bottle case and mod podge in place, trim
   
4. cap each bottle
   
5. party

how much fun is this?!  we are doing this for our valentines this year, so tune in then, too!

oh christmas tree

or should i say, oh my, christmas tree?!

i let 1 and 2 decorate the cookies any way they wanted...

fun times... more is better, right?

deck the halls

we usually toss our holiday cards and photos into a basket or display a few on the fridge.  this year we are using our art-display in our little hall to display our cards.  i have never been known to leave well-enough alone, so i dressed up the clothes pins.

what you need:

• mod podge
  
• clothes pins
  
• paper - scrapbooking paper, news print, photos, whatever you have
  

cut the paper to size and glue it on - that is all.  i also added a magnet the the back of a few to use on our fridge.  simple and easy - just my style.

what do you do with all the holiday cards arriving at your house this season?

same concept, but this time with letters... p e a c e

i roughed up the edges with sand paper and painted a bit of white to distress, then mod podged over the top.

just a reminder to myself during the crazy holiday season... p e a c e.  maybe it should say b r e a t h e?

more pine cones

i keep referring to this box of pine cones we collected while on holiday in wyoming... it is never ending, so we decided to glitter a few up and hang them on our tree.

what you need...

• pine cones (duh)
  
• glitter
  
• mod podge (we like the one with glitter already in it, so it won't get in little ones' eyes by chance)
  
• ornament hangers
  
• hot glue gun 

1. paint, paint, paint, each pine cone and let them dry (we dried our cones on waxed paper)
   
2. glue a hanger onto the pine cone
   
3. hang it on the tree

tah-dah!  that's all folks.

pinecone wreath

we collected a box full of pine cones this summer during our trip out west, so i made this wreath this holiday season.

here is an easy tutorial to follow if you have desires to make your own, via V & Co .

simple holidays

 i love to craft during the holidays.  here are a few ideas...

all you need is a can {let us try to recycle}, scrap booking paper or other repurposed papers, glue, a ribbon, and a button or other embellishments.

1. measure the paper just slightly taller and longer
   
2. glue the can and the paper
3. smooth the paper to the can and make sure there are no bubbles
4. fold the top of the paper over the top lip of the can for a more finished look
5. glue a ribbon and button around the can to embellish 
6. toss in a handful of treats and give it away

here are a few ornaments we made with the same concept.

1. kraft paper ornaments or an old ugly ornament you would rather cover
2. scrap book paper, cut to fit
3. glued and sanded around the edges to give it a more worn or vintage look
4. then glitter mod podged to seal   

next, i am on to fabric.

what will you create this season?

Curling Ribbon

B is always loves the cute hair ribbons in the stores.  I hate spending $$ on that sort of thing.  So, I make it.  Did you know you can curl your own fabric ribbons?  

We tried it out over the 4th.  

Wet the ribbon with water.  Wrap around a dowel or chop stick (in my case).  Bake at 200 degrees until dry (about 10 minutes).  Unwrap and fluff!  

Ta-dah!

Pretty it up

Garage sale find, $5.  Let me tell you, we didn't buy it like this... it was UGLY.  It had a cartoon character on it that I despise so much I will not even type the name.  It was suppose to be cute, but it was not.  I can see past the yuck in a lot of things.  White step stools at Target run around $25 and Pottery Barn Kids $69.  Yes - I can look past the yuck.  My total cost to reinvent this into something suitable for our family?  $7.  Isn't it beautiful now?  

A Work In Progress

Brin & Nohl (my Etsy shop)... It's all a work in progress and taking much longer than I had imagined.  I'm sure I'm putting too much thought into it all, but getting my store open has been a project.  I wanted to make sure I had a good stock of things before I opened.  I also wanted to make sure I had the right variety.  I think I'm about half-way there with everything.  

But really, at the end of the day, it comes down to the fact that I'm sorely lacking in time.  Can we have a 26 hour day?  Plus, when 10 o'clock rolls around, I turn into the old lady on the block and I must get to bed.  I just have to keep reminding myself, this is for fun, it's just a hobby.  This is not my job... "Mommy" is my true title!  

So, 24 hours it is, and 10pm - I'm off to bed... my kids will be up before I know it.  I need to keep it light!