{spring things}

These hair pins and ring are just a few of the new pieces I have made. I'm really loving the colors, aqua and coral, and I just wish my new haircut was cute enough for those pins.

I used EcoGlue this time because I was tired of getting headaches from the awful stench of the glue. So, I tried this one out. It worked really well, despite all the problems I had in the beginning.

This glue is water-based, so it is much thinner than the other glue. The cabochons kept sliding off of the bases on the pins.

In the end I just kind of propped them up with other objects. I'm not sure I can use it to glue earrings to posts though because it is so thin.

However, I really appreciated not suffocating or feeling like I automatically had cancer while I was gluing my pieces together!

Rosette Tutorial

Here's the rosette tutorial as promised! It's a pretty simple thing, but I thought I'd go ahead and explain it anyway. Bear with me, please. This is probably going to be a long one, but I hope you can put it to use!

1 Begin with a long piece of felt. I used about 1 inch by 6 inches. Remember that the width of the piece will be doubled in the end, so this should make a 2 inch rosette. You can of course go larger and smaller, and this will allow for stacking!

2 Stitch along one long side using a basic running stitch. You don't need to tie off the ends, but leave about two inches of tail at the start. You'll need it later! Small stitches will result in a more ruffled rosette, while long stitches will produce a less pronounced ruffle.

3 Pull the end of the thread while holding the start tail until the ends of the felt meet and over lap. The ends may not ruffle as well, but don't worry!

4 Using the long end tail, sew the two short sides together, again with a running stitch. I went to the top and back down, just to make it more secure. Try to avoid sewing through the short tail, so that you can use it to make a tighter ruffle later.

5 To finish, pull both tails tight until the center is closed or nearly closed. Tie off with a knot, clip the ends, and you're done!

Variations: You can also use the technique with frayed or pinked fabric-- like this, or double the fabric over and sew the edges together to form the basting stitch. Remember to use a longer length with fabric, as it is not as thick as felt.

Rosette Rage

I've been in a rosette frenzy of late. I've done this before, but never in this quantity. I just kept making them.

It was really to have something to do with my hands. I cut strips of different colors, lengths and widths, and then I gathered, and gathered, and tied. And I really had no idea what to do with them at first.

But then, it just appeared, in a burst of inspiration. I don't know why, but the more I do, creatively, the easier it comes. I think it's that way for a lot of people, and this is why I am striving to never go a day without doing something creative, stretching my creative muscle, I guess.

And like stretching real muscles, I am hoping that my creativity will expand, become more flexible.

And the burst of creativity said to me last night, why not make a necklace out of these... So I am going to try!

P.S.I'll try to post a tutorial for this soon. I tried finding a similar one online, but no luck. Stay tuned!

Cherry blossom hair clip

I was inspired by the movie Mulan to make this gorgeous-- I think-- hair clip. I love the simple, beautiful look of cherry blossoms, and I think what made this clip was the, dare I say it, delicacy of the felt and the wonderful colors.

Felt is not normally a delicate material, at least not the felt you find at the craft stores, especially with consideration to the colors. However, these beautiful felt colors are courtesy of pixiexrose on Etsy.

I did have a few problems, but in the end, I think it turned out beautifully. I'm obviously not the best at embroidery, and although I've tried many times, I cannot make a French knot stay, well, knotted. In the end, I just made a knot close to the fabric. Not as fancy, but just as cute!!

The greatest reaction...

I recently gave a pretty flower clip to the little girl down the street. She absolutely loved it, and it was such a treat to get to see her prance around feeling pretty. I know how good it feels to have a new accessory! I'm really starting her out early, no? But, I thought I would share this lovely picture with you all... She's such a sweet heart.

She also reminds of another little girl...

Fabric flower variations

I've been out of commission for a while, after a little bit of oral surgery and starting a new job, but I've still done a bit of crafting, of course! I seem to be stuck on making these flowers. But who can blame me? They are super simple, easy to adjust to whatever you need, and so cute.

I finally found my way to the quilting fabric store. My boyfriend had to reign me in because I had 20 fat quarters. Oops. However, I finally got some cute, floral, vintage-reprints that I think are perfect for spring.

The lighter fabrics are much better for spring than the heavier felts. They are also much easier to cut and sew, especially with this tutorial from Nest Decorating.

I've made a few variations to make a clip, which is the same technique as the blue bird hair clips. I also made the loop smaller on one to fit a skinny barrette for my sister.

I really do love all the things you can do with a few simple techniques, some cute fabric, felt, and vintage buttons!

Failure clips and successful gift... boxes

I decided to make a friend some hair clips. I wanted to whip out my embroidery skills, but they were much more rusty than I thought. But I persevered. I embroidered the clips with paisley designs, but it was such a small space that it did not turn out the way I wanted.

So I tried to redeem myself with a cute gift box made out of paper... and I think I did an okay job!

I've never been good at sort of origami crafts, but my mother and I used to make these small boxes out of greeting cards.

For these boxes, I just used scrap booking paper, but I think a heavier craft stock would be better. These boxes are cute for small gifts, and I tied this one with embroidery floss. You could also attach a loop at one corner and use this as a cute ornament! A garland of them would be cute for birthday parties or make many in different colors for your Christmas tree.

The instructions were in Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Crafts, which I highly recommend! You can also find the directions at Martha Stewart Living.





(I apologize for the pictures. The lighting in my kitchen isn't great!)

Blue Birds of Happiness hair clips

These tiny blue birds of happiness won't poop in your hair or on your car (like some other birds I know).

I made these adorable clips for a friend of mine, but they are so easy, I thought I'd share it with you. Of course, you can use any cute woodland creature or anything else that you want!

• These clips are very easy to make. All you have to do is trace the clip on piece of paper and add about a 1/4 of an inch on all sides.


• Cut each pattern out of a doubled piece of felt, making two, and cut the second one across about 3/4 of an inch down from the wide end.


• Sew your bird, then wing, to the top piece (here I used embroidery thread). I also ironed fusible interfacing to both pieces of the bird to stabilize the smaller, delicate parts.


• Then sew the backs and front together, including everything but the back of the clip.

These clips are easy to personalize and inexpensive to make. Embroider your initials or a funky design to the top, as well as using felt pieces. There are literally endless ideas for these cute hair pieces.