Fun Making Earrings

My fiance bought me these wonderful earrings that I love and wear all the time!  What first drew me to them was the color.  Once I started wearing them I loved the length and the look.  Here's the thing:  he paid thirty dollars for them which to me seems like a lot of money for earrings.  Now I am a complete bargain hunter and I love saving money when I can.  I love these earrings so much that I will definitely make his money worth it!  But it got me thinking that I could make similar earrings for myself at a much lower cost!  So finally I went to the craft store, bought some materials and got to work.  

Inspiration Earrings

The Materials

All of them cost about eight dollars!

My Pink Version!

I love these earrings!  I even did these at my parents' house without looking at the inspiration ones.  I think my next pair will be even better.

I also bought some skull beads to make a Day of the Dead inspired pair of earrings.  

Skull Earrings

I can't wait to wear these!

I understand why many people enjoy making jewelry.  I am definitely going to keep making earrings.  It was relaxing and fun, so expect to see more!

Spider-Man Valentine

Spider-Man Valentine's Day Card

 

My nephew loves Spider-Man and I made this Valentine for him.  I cut the head out of red card stock, the eyes out of white card stock and drew on the rest.  I'm very happy with the way that it turned out and I think that my nephew will be pleased! 

DIY Bunting

EASY DIY BUNTING

Valentine's Day Bunting

A few years ago I read The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin and I started to think about what kind of things I enjoy.  The hobby that made me happy was crafting so I began this blog and have done many projects since then.  

I found a YouTube channel called ThreadBanger and I loved their tutorials and craft ideas.  This group of people is no longer making videos together but I do follow Meg Allan Cole, one of the women from this group and she has some great videos.  One of her tutorials from ThreadBanger is about making a Mother's Day banner.  Using the instructions in the video I created my first banner and have been addicted ever since.  Every holiday needs a banner!  My sister's husband recently left for basic training and we found some military-themed fabric and made one to celebrate his going away.  

Here is the tutorial that I used (it starts about about 42 seconds):

My tips:

• I use a cereal box to make the triangle template - not expensive card stock 

• I use double fold bias tape (you don't have to iron it in half)

• Before I bought a sewing machine I would use Stitch Witchery fusible iron on tape to connect the sides of each flag and to attach it to the bias tape

On the top green bunting I cross stitched "Happy Birthday Adam" for my fiance's birthday and on the Valentine's Day bunting I stitched a heart with our initials.  I liked them so much that now I hang them over my bead.

  

Ladybug Bunting for a baby shower

For an ice cream-themed party

Skeleton bunting for a Day of the Dead party

 

Baby Shower Soap Favors

I found myself in charge of favors for another shower!  I love for favors to be practical, cute and to not cost too much money.

I was walking through Michaels wondering about these favors and I saw soap molds, dye and soap.

I cannot remember the name of the soap that I bought but I know that I did have Shea butter in it.

You can melt the soap in the microwave and it only takes about 30 seconds.  I put the dye in, poured a little into the molds, waited until it cooled a little and then filled up the mold with white soap.  After about 40 minutes I cut the soap and they popped right out.  

Handmade Felt Ornaments

Handmade Felt Ornaments

This year I wanted to try and craft the majority of my Christmas gifts.  I made felt ornaments for all of my cousins based on their interests.  

I am not a great drawer so I employed my favorite trick; holding a piece of paper up to my laptop to trace a silhouette of the shapes.  

I put a piece of cardboard (from a tissue box) into each ornament to make it more sturdy.  My mom (Thanks, Mom!) sewed the small beads onto this cupcake ornament.

This is my favorite ornament!  My cousin is a kicker on his high school football team and these are the school colors.   It was my mom's suggestion to put the oval behind the silhouette.

I used embroidery floss and sewed the lines between the keys.

A dancer ornament for my cousin who is on her college's dance team.

These were fun to make and inexpensive.  Perfect for my holiday budget this year.  

Finally a tardis ornament from Doctor Who that I made for my brother-in-law and he loved it!