My ruffled life: May 2011

Friday, May 27, 2011

DIY Summer Wreath

Here's our cute summer wreath. I apologize for all the reflections in the window. Photography is really not my strong point, however, in person, this wreath really is quite nice. It adds a simple summer time touch to the outside decor.

I like it on the door but I think I may move it and see how it looks elsewhere. That's really a problem that I have. I think that I like something somewhere and then I change my mind and move it! But anyways, if you like this wreath too, here's how I made it.

Wreath tutorial:

Here is what you will need:

wreath form
string or yarn ( I chose green)
ribbon
glue gun
scissors
no-sew fabric flowers (tutorial here)

Wrap the string around the wreath.

Hot glue your flowers in place.

Tie a ribbon around it. I bet you all make fabulous bows, mine needs a little help!

Now you have a cute summer wreath!

xoxo

I linked up with these fab parties:
Tuesday:
Vintage Wanna Bee-Talent Tuesday
Sugar Bee Crafts-Take a Look Tuesday
All Thingz Related-Anything Related
Not Just a Housewife-Show me what ya got
Wednesday:
Savvy Southern Style- Wow us Wednesday, Elements Interiors-Whassup Wednesday
DIY by Desin-Swing into Spring, Handy Man, Crafty Woman-Wicked Awesome Wednesday
Eisy Morgan-Inspired by you Wednesdays
Friday:
French Country Cottage-Feathered Nest Friday
freckled laundry-Air Your Laundry Friday
The Shabby Nest-Frugal Friday
Frou Frou Decor-Fabulous Friday Finds
Finding Fabulous-Frugalicious Friday
504 Main-Tickled Pink

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Dining Room Makeover

The husband and I have started to refinish all the wood work in our home. As I've said before our home is over a century old and the wood work is in desperate need of being fixed up. We have started in the dining room and next we will be moving to the living room. These are pictures of our work in progress.

These are the windows that face the driveway before any work was done.

This is the door way between the dining room and living room. You can see the halfway point where the old varnish was taken off.

This is the china cabinet and the doorway to the kitchen. You can see that some work has been done to remove the old varnish.

Here are the china cabinet doors. The glass has been removed so that it will not get broken during the sanding process. You can really see the difference in the color of the wood. Being an older home it is Maple rather than Pine.

xoxo

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Dandelions on the Window Sill

My darling little girls were sitting on the back porch today, chit chatting amongst themselves, when they couldn't help but notice all the wonderful little dandelions. They hopped right up off there stoop and down onto the grass to start gathering sweet little bouquets. Talking to each other about which ones were the biggest, yellowest and prettiest they just looked so cute knelt over the ground picking there "flowers". After each one had a handful into the house they came. They bounced through the kitchen with there little giggles and smiles making sure to stop by the drainer to grab out a couple cups on there way up the stairs. I waited down in the hallway, listening to them go into the bathroom and fill there cups with water. Then I heard the pitter patter of there little feet go into the bedroom. They sat there cups down on the window sill and hearing the happiness in there voices and the clapping of there hands, I couldn't wait to go up and see the smiles on there little faces.

xoxo

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

No-Sew Fabric Flowers

These little fabric flowers are so cute and I've seen them everywhere. They're on pillows, pins, hairbands, bags and the list goes on and on. Being the DIY girl that I am or at least turning into, I thought, Hey, I could do that! So, I searched for some basic ideas and this is what I've found. This little fabric flower is so simple (and addicting) that I just can't help but keep on making them!

Tutorial:

What you need:

Fabric for flower
Sturdy fabric for back (felt or jean, etc..)
Hot glue gun
Scissors

Cut circles out of the fabric about 2 1/2 " in diameter. I did this free hand because I like the sort of shabby chic look it gets from not being perfect. For this flower, I chose to mix light and dark fabric together. I used about 12 cirlces all together.
Cut one circle from your heavier fabric (I used jean) about 1/3 of the size of your previous circles. This is so this fabric will not show through.

Take a dark circle and fold it in half and then in thirds.

You should now have a cone shape and the next step is to snip off the tip. This is so the glue will get to all the layers of the fabric.

Dab the snipped tip with hot glue. Careful of your fingers!!
Place it on the jean circle. Continue until all four petals are down on the fabric as shown.

Next, glue more petals to fill in the gaps. Depending on the size of your flower will determine how many petals to add. Usually about four to six.

At this point, you can finish your flower in one of two ways. The first is to glue a button in the center of your flower to finish it.

The second is to take your last two circles of dark fabric fold the petals as before and glue them into the center of your flower.

When the flower is done you may leave it as is or you go through and "open" the petals by separating the fabric and lightly tugging on it. Sometimes I trim up the outside petals to make them more consistant with all the others.

Now you have a wonderful little flower that is so versatile and may be used for so many things.

Happy Crafting!