Simple Handmade Home Decor Item

These decorative balls have been around for a while. Sizes and materials vary. I find them attractive and fun and always feel like touching them :)

Here's how you can make your own decorative balls:

That's all you need - balloons (1 for each ball), jute twine (varieties of yarn would also work well - depending on the final look you want to achieve) and some craft glue diluted with water (1:1).

Soak the twine in glue and water mixture and just wrap the balloon randomly. If you work with yarn, be careful and do not soak too much at a time - it gets hard to work with.

Once you're satisfied with your ball, just leave it to dry over night. Cut the balloon, take it out and that's it - you have a new decorating item to play with!

Here is what you don't want to happen:

Make sure the air is not leaking from your balloon or you'll be surprised next morning, like I was here :)

I kept this 'ball' too and will let you know what can be done with it.

Have a great Monday!

Love,

DK

Yo-yo flower embelishment

Here is how to make a yo-yo flower and some ideas on how to use it.

This is how I start. You can use a template to draw a perfect circle. I just folded this piece like this:

Then I just rounded the ends of the triangle and my circle was good enough.

I didn't need the perfect shape and an exact size for this project, so I started with a piece that measured approximately 15x15 cm and the finished product measures around 7 cm. 

Once you cut your circle, just fold it like this:

and go through it with the straight stitch:

You can choose to do this part with more attention to detail and then iron the finished product - it all depends on what you want to achieve.

Now pull the tread and there you are:

So this is what we wanted for a start. I was to embellish a white little-girl crochet hat, so I added a crochet flower (just chain forming five petals).

Finally, I added one of my m&m's beads. Here is the result:

I could have added just a button to my yo-yo flower and it would still look great. 

If you want to make broach, you can cut a piece of felt and glue it to the back of your yo-yo flower. Then add a pin. 

You can also use yo-yo flowers to embellish hair accessories,cushions, curtains, hand-made cards... Possibilities are endless, really.

Let me know what you use your yo-yo flowers for.

Love,

DK 

Mother's Day Craft Ideas - A Heart for Mom

OK, so we are almost there. I love Mother's Day!
Try this:

This felt heart filled with lavender or rosemary (my choice this time) is a great little gift that will be loved and used. Placed in a drawer or hanging in a closet, this sachet will keep your clothes smell fresh and natural.
It is easy to make and looks so cure, mom will be glad to have it or even choose to keep it as a room freshener just to let her visitors see her precious little gift.

Here is how to create this particular heart shape:

I cut two identical pieces of red felt and one smaller in pink.

To achieve this naive and rustic look, I chose rough stitches and chunky yellow yarn. I first attached the pink heart to one of my red hearts. Then I added the other red heart to the back. I made a 'pocket' which I filled with dried rosemary and than sewed it all together. You can also glue the edges together, but I preferred to put some more work ( read: 'love') into this.
At the end, I added these lovely beads to the design. Just because they look like m&m's.

Enjoy it! I hope Mom will too :)

Love,
DK

Easter Craft Ideas - Part Four

Today's Easter Craft Tutorial: Egg Cosies

We make egg cosies mostly because we like to make them. There is something romantic and noble about them.

I am sorry to say I have noticed we actually use egg cosies less and less.
We mostly have our breakfasts on the run - have no time to boil an egg, let alone to put a little cap on it to keep it warm.

Well, you might want to add egg cosies to your Easter breakfast table at least for decoration.

Here is an easy project for you:

Material:

- 1 sheet of felt in a color that matches your table setting
(I used three different colors as I had some leftover felt already.)
- Thick tread in a contrasting color
- A simple sewing needle (make sure the tread fits).

Here is your pattern:

I designed this egg cosy to be a little chunky for a rustic look and that is why the pattern is 5 cm (2") wide. Have in mind that you will loose a couple of millimeters on each side of each part of the cosy if sewing with a thick tread.
The hight of the pattern will be more or less the same as the width, depending on how deep your egg cups are. The hight of the pattern shown here is 53 mm.

One you have your pattern cut out, copy it on felt and cut three pieces for each cosy you want to make.

Start with two pieces, place them so that their wrong sides are facing each other and sew them together from the basis to the top. Then add the third piece and sew them all together, not at all trying to make your stitches perfect. :)

Here is the result again:

And here is another option:

You guessed right - this was one of my February projects (for more see my older posts).

I really believe that these little things add to the atmosphere now as we have less time to eat together.
If you have family meals only on weekends and holidays, that is one more reason to make them special. And it does not mean you have to spend hours cooking.

On making your simple meals special see this book;


Rita's Culinary Trickery

Even if you are a great cook, there are some smart tricks in this book you might want to use.

All the best!

Love,
DK