Candle Sweaters

I had the sleeves and turtleneck leftover from the pillow covers and mittens. I absolutely cannot let a good sweater go to waste. I used the sleeves to cover to glass candle holders and the turtle neck on a rectangular glass that holds my finished cards.

Since I only had the red sweater, I just mixed it into my current decor. However, think of all the ways you could decorate using a sweater sleeve. Probably not what you were going to use your brain for today, huh?

Here I used the containers for craft storage. I used the tall container to hold dowel rods and finished paper medallions. The small container is holding paint brushes. (Don't forget that super cute 'Blessings' wooden plaque is for sale in my Etsy shop.)

If you don't have any tall glass cylinders on hand you can always use a clean Pringles can! I know, genius! Use the short Pringles can for a little depth while decorating. I think this would be cute if a green sweater sleeve was used for St Pat's or a yellow sweater sleeve used for Easter. I think I need to take a trip to the thrift store soon.
Remember to comment if you like what you see! I love comments!

Ribbon Wreath Tutorial

I love a good Google image search. I wanted to make a wreath for my front door but wasn't sure where to start. That's where my good friend Google comes in. If you haven't tried an image search yet then you are truly missing out. Here's the link: Google. Just type in whatever you are looking for and a picture will come back. I think it's most popular first and so on.

I looked through pages of wreaths before I settled on the simple bow method. I found this tutorial at Home By Sunset. The directions are pretty simple. Use a wire ring or convert an old hanger (as I did) and start tying bows. I got these two huge spools (50 yards)of ribbon at Costco a couple months ago.

There are 26 bows in each color. It took me roughly 2 hrs to complete. I did have a few interruptions as I do have 4 year old twin boys at home with me. Oh, how I wish they knew how to tie bows (or their shoes).

In retrospect I would have lined the hanger with florist tape because the flowers do flip slightly when not on a hard surface (like the door). Overall, I am super happy with the wreath. It brightens my day when I drive up to the house and I see it. I will be doing another ribbon type wreath for Easter. I got a super deal on yellow ribbon at Menards after Christmas sale. Yes, Menards!

If you like what you see, leave a comment. Comments make me happy!

Decorating with Free Printables

I have two picture frames in my entry way hall that I like to decorate with each season. I don't post about them because it's soooooo hard to get a good picture. It's dark in the morning and the sun glares in the afternoon. Here are a couple of ho-hum pictures of my printable art.
This 6 inch Happy St Patrick's Day circle is from How Does She? They do make you sign up your email but it's totally worth it.
This little cutie is from eighteen25. This is straight off the printer; no trimming, no nothing. Yep, I said, "No nothing." That's my favorite kind of printable.


Now I need to work on my Photoshop skills so I can offer my own free St Patrick's day printable!!

Lucky Banner

I love banners. LOVE them. I love them like kids love cake! I made this one last year. I used an old fruit snacks box for the backing. I hand cut all the letters since I didn't have my Cricut Expression yet.

Isn't it a sparkly, gorgeous treat for the eyes? I hope to make another banner before St Pat's.
If you like it, leave a comment. We all love to be loved, right? I am sharing this banner at:

Edit: I added flowers to the banner. I made two different kinds. The first one is the same one I used on my Christmas cards. You can see those here. It is five punched scallops, spritzed with bronze glimmer mist and held together with a brad. The second is five punched scallops too. To make this flower you fold four of the scallops into fourths and glue on. This flower is also held together with a brad. I like the little addition.

Mustache Valentine

I've been brainstorming ideas for my boys valentines day party for awhile now. Well, not really brainstorming but thinking about it before bed. As in, "Do I really have to make 40-ish valentines?" I remembered a cute Martha flower valentine pictured here. I kept thinking of ways to make it more masculine. I knew my boys wouldn't go for flowers. They're only 4 but they already refuse to wear pink.

Then it hit me! A mustache valentine. I thought I was a genius. I could cut out little mustaches for the boys and lips for the girls and wrap it around the lollipop. I mean, really, I am so smart. Then I decided to google it make sure nobody else was as smart (i.e. thought of it first). Turn out I am not a genius. I found cute mustache ideas here and here and here. I guess great minds think alike.

What I DID do was make them cute, original tshirts. Using my new best friend (PSE) I made the mustache valentine shirt. I printed onto t-shirt iron-on transfer paper and ironed on. You can download it here. Again, I ask that you leave a comment or become a follower when you download. Thanks!

Love Printable

I've been working on my Photo Shop skills. I came up with this design for Valentines day. This could be printed and framed for wall decor. It could be matted to cardstock for a nice card. Or you could print it onto iron transfer paper and make a cute little shirt.

Click here to download. If you do download, please leave me a comment or become a follower (because it's nice). Thanks for looking and enjoy!

Ruffled towels

I can't believe it's been almost a week since I've posted. Well, actually I can believe it. We were part of Snowmageddon this past week. We got over a foot but I lost track when the wind started blowing huge drifts at us. We shoveled out on our snow day. The kids definitely enjoyed all the snow!
On to the towels. I have a house full of males and my cutsey, flowery decor is barely detectable. I have seen ruffles all over blogland lately. I really wanted to do something with ruffles but didn't know what.

I started by ruffling a ribbon I had. It went ok. I don't have a ruffler foot for my sewing machine so I just did a straight stich down the middle and pulled the thread until the ribbon resembled a ruffle. I liked it but thought it was too blah to put on anything. Then it hit me!

I have had these super soft and plush Tommy Hilfigar towel in my stash for-evah. I just needed the right project. I gathered up some fresh and some old fabric and went to work.

I love that they are fun and frilly and can be used for Valentine's day or for spring. I would use them in a feminine (very) bathroom. I'm even thinking about using them as decor in my kitchen.

I love them! (It seems I love everything I make.) :) If you'd like to purchase one they are in my etsy shop. BabsMadeIt. Convo me on etsy or leave a comment here and I'll give you a 20% off code.