Homemade Ornaments

We put up our tree last night- and I wanted to make a few ornaments.  I had a can of gold spray paint laying around and some perfect small things for ornaments.  

 Some baby pine cones from the beach

A few buttons

A leaf and a piece of my backyard palm tree

I strung them with floss and hung on the tree.  

 I made an adorable garland with the baby pine cones.  

 Remember the felted acorn ornaments?  

Have you made any ornaments this year? 

Felting Acorns and a Very Lovable Life Sized Felted Squirrel

I can't think of a better fall craft than the felted acorn!  I really enjoyed making them and I think you will too!  

If you are interested in making a few, check out this tutorial-- or if you're more of a visual learner, click here to watch a video tutorial.  

If you're too busy or you just can't add another new craft to your life-- you can buy some handmade acorns on Etsy.  I especially LOVE these felted acorn earrings by Dianthusa.  Check out her Etsy shop!  Her felt jewelry is just gorgeous and it's handmade in Paris!

Here is a great collection of acorn craft inspirations and some lovely tutorials as well!  

• Lavender Scented Felted Acorns
• Martha's Acorn Crafts
• Tutorial for Making a Felted Acorn Necklace
• Fabric Acorn Tutorial
• Colorful Felted Acorn Ornaments

With all of your new felted acorns and other acorn crafts, it might be nice to have a felted squirrel around!  This amazing life size needle felted squirrel was made by a woman named Barbara and is for sale in her Etsy shop, feltedheirlooms.  Barbara has a lot of really cute felted animals in her shop-- the dogs are my favorite!

Thanks for reading my blog today.  I would love to see your fall crafts!  Send me some pictures of what you're working on!  You can post pictures of your work on Mister G's Facebook fan page or Tweet me @MisterGandMe.

xoxo,
Ashley


Photo Credits:  1 Mister G and Me,   2 and 3  Dianthusa,  4 and 5 Barbara Crowther

Chevron Mug

I have been looking forward to making my very own "Chevron Mug" for a few weeks!  Wit and Whistle, the amazingly talented author of the tutorial, used black porcelain paint from Blicks.  There isn't a Blicks near me but I found a tube of red paint on Amazon.  I was so excited to have red for the holidays!  My imagination was going wild with ideas for red, red, red!

Spoiler alert!!!  This project is riddled with disappointment.  I've had a good and long run of recent successes so it's about time for a bust.  It's ok... You can laugh!

You should know three things about me pertaining to this project...

1. I have a freakish phobia of eating/drinking/cooking out of non-foodsafe surfaces!
2. I am awful at painting my nails.
3. I suffer from delusions of crafting grandeur.

I was very worried about drinking a hot beverage from a crafted cup... so I used masking tape to create a no-paint zone so my lips wouldn't touch the paint.  Although the tube does say the dried paint is oven and dishwasher safe, nowhere could I find the word "non-toxic".  

By the time my first stroke was complete I knew where this project was going... The color of the paint was not red, but instead a very pinkish fuchsia.  Not very holidayish... The paint was really goopy and clumpy.  Trying to thin out the lumps created new blemishes.  It only took 3.5 columns of chevron to realize that this design was not going to see the light of a breakfast table...  Uneven, clumpy, drippy, smudgy sadness.  I peeled the tape away, smudged it some more, snapped a few pictures of the disaster, and washed it all away.  (I'm pretty sure a similar craft must have coined the phrase 'down the drain'.)  

This is the exact feeling I have almost every time I paint my fingernails.  I foolishly get all excited thinking my nails will sparkle and shine, only to find my hands covered in a light tint of polish and the trash full of muddied cotton balls.  

Ok, the thin lines were not my thing but a different design would work!  Right?  Wrong.  I won't bore you with the details of how many attempts were fruitless...  The author of the tutorial made it look so easy!!!

I was so discouraged with the outcome of my mugs.  I had envisioned beautiful photos with perfect chevron print and felt like I couldn't post my flops for the world to see.  But that's just not me!  I'm not perfect and I just love to craft!  It's not about the finished product-- it's all about the love of the craft.  Anthropologie-ish chevron mugs are just a bonus!  Anyways, I'm sure every crafter has their day... You have to take the good with the bad.  For me, projects like this make my home runs that much more special.  

What a hot mess!  

I kid! I kid! But seriously, I had such high hopes for this project and really wanted to have something to show for my troubles.  I knew exactly who would appreciate my ridiculous, sloppy mugs!  

My "Chevron Mugs" for John

Let me know if you try this project!  I would love to see your mugs!!!  

Knitting Needle Organizer Tutorial

The other night I started a knitting project and it took me FOREVER to find matching needles.  (I really wish I took a before picture of my knitting basket!)  Well, something had to be done...  

If you feel inspired to organize your knitting needles, you will need:

1 Long piece of felt

1 Long piece of fabric 

Sewing machine or needle and thread

Scissors

Hair tie

Fun button

Step 1: Take your felt and cut it to the size you like.  I had the perfect long piece that I had felted from a winter scarf.  You can felt a wool winter scarf yourself by washing it in the washing machine with the smallest amount of HOT water and the most aggressive wash setting.  You may need to run the scarf through a few wash cycles until the stitches begin to disappear and you will have some fuzzy felt.  I stretched my wet felt out and laid it on the radiator to dry.  Any flat surface will do-- but lay a towel down first to protect your home!  

Step 2: Decide where you would like your needles to be placed.  Then snip two holes for each pair of needles.  My felt was stripped so it was easy to line up my holes.  Snip a smaller hole for smaller needles or crochet hooks and larger holes for larger needles.  

 

Step 3: Measure your piece of fabric and pin the hem to match the size of your felt.  Hem all 4 sides of your fabric.  

Step 4: Squeeze the middle of a hair tie together.  Pin it in-between the felt and fabric in the center of one of the short ends.  (This will latch to a button for closure.)  Sew the felt and fabric together-- wrong sides touching and good sides facing out.   

Step 5: Sew boundaries for your needles.  Leave more space for bigger needles.  

Step 6: Insert your needles into your organizer.  Roll it up and mark where the end of the hair tie touches.  Sew your button here and close her up!

 Looking good!  Post pictures or your fancy needle organizer in the comment section!