Twine Christmas Cone Trees

For the complete post, scroll to the bottom & click through to the site.

So I got some of this stuff to use instead, (I know, I know), and it works MUCH better.

I wrapped the cones in parchment paper and secured it with pins, and then wrapped the soaked twine around the cone in a crisscrossing pattern, wringing it out a little at a time as I went. IMPORTANT NOTE: If you want to make sure that your cone is structurally sound, you'll need to do lots of crisscrossing. This ensures that each piece of twine has another piece to help support it.

You'll also want to make sure that your bottom strands are straight all the way around the base, or your Christmas trees may end up with a little gangsta' lean going on.

Once I was finished with the twine, I put green raffia in the stiffener and wrapped it around the cones as well, just for a little color and a different texture.

Once all was dry (I usually left it overnight), I used a knife to separate the parchment paper from the cone, peeled the paper away from the twine and here is the end result!

The best part about making trees this way is that you can make several trees using only one foam cone as the mold. I wanted to try out a few different things, so this let me experiment on the trees without “using up” one of the foam cones, since they are kind of expensive. I have a plain pair, and this pair that has just a few tiny berries hot glued on in various spots.

Another set I spray painted white, sprayed with glitter, and then hot glued on these larger berries.

This one I actually used the little cone for (I had two, so I was willing to lose one of them). I spray painted the cone and the twine separately, hot glued the twine onto the cone, and capped it with (of course) little berries.

I even made one for some Valentines Day decor.

What do you think? Not to shabby, right? I love these. I made tons of them all December long and then gave almost all of them away as gifts. Which means I get to try out some new options this year. :)

If you love these but don't feel like the hassle, I also have short and tall versions available in my etsy shop here.

American Apparel Circle Scarf Knock Off (tutorial)

For complete blog post (where I found this) scroll to bottom of this post & click through :)







The American Apparel gave these other options on how to wear it, though I can’t imagine wearing it as a dress!

(source)

For easy instructions to make this cute scarf go toCome on, ilene!

Upcycled Sweater Boots

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 I've got to try this!!! These are sooo cute.

For the original web site & more great ideas like this scroll to the bottom of this post & click through.

What do you get if you mix and old sweater, some cheap flat shoes, and lots of hot glue? Sweater boots, that's what!

Step 1The supplies

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To make your boots, you'll need a big bulky sweater with nice large sleeves, some cheap flat shoes, a hot glue gun, and some buttons, as well as a sewing machine and a needle and thread. I machine embroidered my boots as well, but it's not necessary, just awesome :)

Step 2Fitting your boots

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Snip off the sleeves where they meet the sweater, flip them inside out, and slide them up your leg, sweater cuff first. Slip on one of your flats, and then stretch the sleeve to form to your leg, while keeping the edges wrapped around the shoe. This will give it a nice boot shape, instead of a big slouchy triangle.

Pin the new stretched shape in place.

Step 3 Sewing your boot

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Once you have the shape you want, snip off the excess outside of the pins (I found there was a lot of excess near the back of the foot and especially at the heel, don't feel bad about snipping off quite a bit there). Carefully slide the sweater off your leg without disturbing the pins, and sew a seam down the side to secure your new boot shape.

Step 4Fitting your shoe

Take your flat shoe, and slip the inside of the sole into the bottom of the sweater (the open side without the cuff), Line the back seam up with the heel.

Step 5Glue!

Take your hot glue gun and go to town! Run a line of glue just above the seam of the sole, and glue the edge of your sweater in place. I started at the back near the heel, making sure the seam was centered, and then worked my way around to the front.

Step 6Flip them right side out

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Turn your boots right side out. This can be a bit challenging, but those cheap flat shoes are pretty bendable, which helps quite a bit. Test the fit to see if you like em'.

Step 7Making the cuff

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Take the rest of your big bulky sweater, and snip off about 10 inches off the bottom. We're going to use the finished bottom edge as the bottom edge of our cuff. Snip it in half, and use the pieces to wrap around your leg. Measure how much you need, pin, and cut it to size. I cut some height off my sweater boot as well, to get it to the size I wanted.

Step 8Embroider

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Totally optional, but awesome addition. I did this with one of my embroidery designs, on both pieces of the cuffs.

Step 9

Fold your cuff right side in, and sew a seam along the edge you trimmed. Turn your cuff right side out again.

Step 10Sewing on the cuff

With your cuff turned right side out, tuck it inside your sweater boot. If you have embroidery, make sure it's facing the way you want it to once it's turned right side out again. Pin the edges together, and sew a seam around the top. You might want to reinforce this seam a few times, since this will be the part of the boot that will be tugged on the most.

Flip your cuff right side out, and if you wish, sew on a button for some cute embellishment.

Step 11Your finished boots!

Ta da! Awesome sweater boots from a lame old sweater and some cheap flats. If you want a slightly more detailed tutorial or want to know how to machine embroider on knit, you can see the full thing here. I hope you enjoy your new boots!

Found on:

Upcycled Sweater Boots

Paper bag Floor

Source: lovelycraftyhome.com via Amber on Pinterest

I like the paper bag floor idea. I may do this sometime. These are insperation ideas that I have found of other peoples projects.

Source: groceryshrink.typepad.com via Amanda on Pinterest

Source: thebudgetdecorator.com via Pat on Pinterest

Source: joyfolieblog.com via Valarie on Pinterest

Source: joyfolieblog.com via Briana on Pinterest

Source: lovelycraftyhome.com via Kassi on Pinterest

Source: mossisawesome.wordpress.com via hollydgray on Pinterest

Source: lovelycraftyhome.com via cindy on Pinterest

Source: lovelycraftyhome.com via Tanya on Pinterest

Source: lovelycraftyhome.com via Jamie on Pinterest

Source: lukeholzmann.blogspot.com via Amber on Pinterest

Source: associatedcontent.com via Amber on Pinterest

Source: curbly.com via Laura on Pinterest

Gotta see the finished floor of this one - click through to the blog

Source: carlaandpetersimonsays.blogspot.com via Ingrid on Pinterest

Who said money doesn’t grow on trees?! Card Making

I just love these card ideas; A link to the complete post is at the bottom of this post.

Found on:
Card making, scrapbooking, and craft ideas with Hero Arts stamps!

DIY Infinity Scarf

Found Here:
http://studio5.ksl.com/index.php?nid=61&sid=14428842&s_cid=E0002

WOOL SWEATER THROW

Ever since I checked out Mothers and Daughters at Home by Charlotte Lyons from our library, I have longed to make a throw like hers from my old wool sweaters. She has several nice projects in the book that use felted wool sweaters, but this one was the one that caught my eye. After gathering three or four adult sweaters in coordinating colors, a pair of sharp scissors, and about three 250-yard spools of thread in a color to go with my sweaters, I set out to make my own throw.



I began by felting any of the sweaters that had not already been felted by accident. Then I cut along the seams of each sweater until the front, back, and each sleeve were separate, flat pieces. Then I took a scrap of cardboard to cut a 4 1/2 inch square which I used as a template to cut as many squares as I could from each sweater piece. I cut around any stains or holes that I came across and I saved all the sweater scraps for decorating other projects.




Now I had to decide how I wanted to arrange the squares to form the throw. Working on my living room floor, I laid the squares out in rows and columns and played with different patterns until I found an arrangement that was pleasing to me. In the end, my "pattern" turned out to be more of a lack of a pattern! I made sure that no to two same-colored squares were touching, but I did not follow any other design. I had enough squares to make a throw that was nine columns wide and eleven rows deep. After I was satisfied with the order of my squares, I made sure that the "grain" of each square was going in the same direction and that each front was facing the same side. Then I stacked each row in the order that I would sew them together.




Sewing the squares together was easy. Setting my sewing machine to a zigzag that was almost, but not quite, a satin stitch, I began sewing the individual squares of each row together. Then I sewed the rows to each other, being careful to line up the seams of each square. My final step was to stitch all the way around the outside edge of my throw. The sweater pieces stretch some as they are being sewn together, giving the seams a rippled look which adds a certain charm to the look of the finished product.






















Found on:
New Life, New Purpose: WOOL SWEATER THROW