Yo-Yo Flower Christmas Tree

Have you ever made a yo-yo flower?  I learned how to make one earlier this year thanks to this pin here.  It's so simple to make and super cute!  And who would have thought you can turn a bunch of yo-yo flowers into a christmas tree?  My friend's mom had one on her fireplace mantel and I just couldn't get over how cute it looked!  She was gracious enough to make me a pattern as well as give me some green fabric to make my very own.  

Here's what you'll need:

• 12 in diameter circle pattern
• Scrap fabric in shades of green or solid colors
• Empty thread spool (that will be the tree stump)
• Wooden stick (You can pick one up at your local craft store.  I got mine at Hobby Lobby)
• Scissors/thread/needle
• Polyester filling (optional)

Start by cutting out your pattern on your fabric.  My pattern paper was a little short of 12 inches so I worked with what I had and then rotated the pattern on the fabric since that's the beauty of a circle! 

Once you finished cutting out your 12 in fabric circle you can now cut/trim your pattern to the 11 in circle pattern.

Repeat the process of cutting the circle pattern.

Continue these steps until you reach your 3 inch circle.

Next make a yo-yo flower out of each circle.

Make a little snip at the bottom center so that you can place it on top of the wooden stick.  Put the wooden stick in through the center of the spool so that the spool supports the stick standing.  Stack largest to smallest to create the tree shape.  You can also stuff the yo-yo flowers with polyester filling to make it extra fully, but that's optional. 

Make a little star or find a trinket to put on top and then done!  It's the perfect little center piece for your holiday party!

Don't have time to make a whole tree?  Try this alternative mini yo-yo tree ornament.  String a jingle bell to the center of the lace or string to act as your stopper and then stack the yo-yo flowers through to make your own mini tree.

Felt Plushie R2D2 - Part 2

Alright, so we're right where we left off after Part 1 of the making of the R2D2 Plushie.  You have the 3 blue pieces sewn into the top head and other parts are pinned in place ready to sew.  I took a lot more pictures during this process since I found some parts hard to understand or explain so hopefully the amount of pictures will help.  I probably should have split it into 3 parts, but you'll just have to bear with me and the really looooong part 2 post.  So here goes part 2!

The next step will be to sew close the bottom part of the circle onto the head piece.  This means only the circumference of the top circle will be sewn down.  The slit down the middle of the head will be open.  Stuff the head so it's at 80% capacity to help you keep it's shape while you sew it close.

You will eventually close the whole top circle securely onto the head panels.  

Felt Plushie R2D2

This is my first attempt at making a felt plushie doll and I'm really happy with the results.  He's 100% handmade with love.  His head turned out a little smaller than I had hopped and his legs are a little buffer than normal...And I probably could have done without the swivel head but I thought it added a nice unique touch and I'm so happy he can actually support his own head (sometimes...).  Despite me pointing out what I think are his flaws, everything turned out okay because he's super cute in his own little way. ^_^

Here's what you'll need:

• Buttons (1 big black one, some small black, red and white ones)
• Blue ribbon (I used some 5/8" ribbon left over from my Pearl Bracelet Project)
• Polyester Fiber Fill
• Blue, white, grey felt - I was lucky enough to pick some up in the remnants bin
• Sewing stuff
• White, blue, grey thread (You'll probably need to switch out your thread to match the felt color you're sewing so more than 1 needle is a plus)
• Cotton Cable Cord (I had left over from my Hex Nut Bracelet)
• 1 rivet if you want a swivel head
• A small piece of Poster board cut out for the feet
• Basic hand stitching knowledge - stringing needles, stitching & knotting threads

I was fortunate enough to have the majority of the materials laying around the house already.  The remnants and the fiber fill I bought at JoAnn's on Black Friday and since they had 75% off remnants and 50% off fiber fill I left with everything (and some other stuff) for about $6 which was very exciting!  Make sure to always look in the remnants bin and keep an eye out for sales and coupons!

Sneak Peak of my Xmas Crafting Gifts

Happy Holidays everyone!  I hope everyone is enjoying some time off and spending it with family and friends.  This year my family celebrated Christmas a little early so it feels nice to be done with all my Christmas shopping and crafting already.  Granted it was a mad rush to finish all the projects in time since I was pretty ambitious, but it was well worth it!  Since tomorrow is Christmas I'm making today's blog post a little short so I can go back to relaxing, but I did want to provide you with a sneak peak of 2 of my bigger projects I did last week.  These aren't items that you can find on Pintrest but hopefully you will be inspired to pin them and try them out for yourself!

For my brother's girlfriend I made her a felt plushie R2D2 with a head that can swivel!

For my boyfriend I made him a working Infinity Gauntlet.  For those that don't know what that is, check it out by clicking the Wikipedia link below.  Credit for the original gauntlet design goes to: David J. Guyton.  I purchased his template and made some slight adjustments so that I can add the gems to the gauntlet.

Photo Credit: Wikipedia 

Blog post for this Wednesday & Friday will be for R2D2 plushie.  Next week I will blog about the Infinity Gauntlet.  Stay tuned for some serious crafting updates!

DIY String Christmas Tree Decoration - Part 2

Alright, here comes Part 2 of the project.  =D After letting it dry the whole night we came back downstair and took a look.  

Everything seemed stiff and holding up fine so it was time to take the paper off the cone.  I love how it still holds its shape without the cone.  We did run into some difficulty taking the cone off because the bottom of the party hat was a little sticky still where the bottom trim was originally. To remedy that just tape over it before you start your project.

So the easiest way to take the wax paper off is to go inside the cone and start peeling the wax paper away on the inside of the tree.  Handle the tree with care since it is fragile.  

DIY String Christmas Tree Decoration - Part 1

UPDATE: So after finishing the project I realized that there were a lot of things I learned and wish I had known/tried earlier but didn't.  Please read both Part 1 and Part 2 completely before attempting the project on your own.  Enjoy!

Pin Rating: 2 (for original pin - hopefully with my tutorial it will make this project a 4/5 for you.)

-----

So today's blog post is a little different because I didn't expect it would take this long.  There is a lot of drying and waiting around involved.  This pin was shown to me by a friend and I decided to tackle this pin.  The original pin doesn't have any instructions and the link leads to what I believe is a Russian website so I figured this would be a great DIY post to get the step by step instructions out there.  I had some help on this one which made it a lot easier and fun to make.  But as you can see from the title, this is only Part 1.  I waited for the project to dry overnight and I'll be unraveling it and decorating it later today so expect to see the post up by Thursday on the completed project.

Here's what I'm using:

• Giant party hat from The Dollar Tree (Or you can use a styrofoam cone for ~$3.99)
• Tacky glue with brush
• 3 sets of embroidery floss (.40 each @ Hobby Lobby)
• Wax paper
• Scrap booking Snowflakes

*Note: The tacky glue will make your string a shade darker once it dries so keep that in mind when you pick out your colors embroidery floss.

Some completed projects

So I'm taking a mini break in blog posting today to update you guys on some completed projects.  I didn't want to post the pictures since they were gifts, but my friends and I celebrated a little early last weekend and opened up the gifts already.  Here's a final look at 2 of the projects.

DIY Scrabble Pillow Cases

For the Scrabble pillow cases I used my own template and fabric marker.  I love the clean look the fabric marker provides for the cases, but unfortunately it uses a lot of ink to fill in the letters.  I'm going to have to use felt lettering for any other pillows I make.  It might take longer, but it's not worth buying a pack of fabric markers just so I can use all of the black.  I'm going to go back to Hobby Lobby or JoAnn's to look for a thick black marker sold individually which might work better for me.

If you would like your own set of Scrabble Pillow cases but don't have the time to make them, I have them for sale in my Etsy shop.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/119560993/scrabble-pillow-case-16-x-16-set-of-4

or individual cases here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/119560783/scrabble-pillow-case-16-x-16

DIY Off the Shoulder T-shirt

Here's the final design of the Off the shoulder t-shirt.  I designed and hand drew the minnie myself (inspired by Vintage Minnie) using the fabric markers I had purchased for the Scrabble pillow cases.  Isn't it cute?!

DIY Washer + Ribbon Necklace

Original pin: http://pinterest.com/pin/231724343298464714/
Original blog: Nestled

Pin rating: 4.5

Difficulty: Easy

I love no sew projects and this one in particular was quite fun.  I definitely had an easier time with this one than I did with the pearl ribbon bracelets.  Also loves that this little project required me to make a trip to the hardware store.  I just get all giddy when I'm in there.  That place is so amazing and can inspire so many DIY projects for the home, or in this case jewelry.  My next blog post is also going to be a jewelry piece that includes material from the hardware store so check back on Wednesday.  

So I struggled a little at first in understanding the instructions because it mentions to thread ribbon up or down through the washers but since it has the pictures it made it a lot easier to understand.  I'm going to use the instructions from the Nestled blog and try to clarify anything I thought was confusing.  It was mostly  step 1 where I got confused but everything else was straight forward.

• 20 pieces of 7/16" flat washer (50 pack at Orchard Supply Hardware for ~$3.00)
• 1 1/2 yard of 5/8" wide ribbon

*Update* You can now purchase your very own Washer Necklace DIY Kit via my Etsy Shop.

DIY Off the shoulder T-shirt

Pinspired by: http://pinterest.com/pin/231724343298132064/ & http://pinterest.com/pin/231724343296961753/

This blog post is a little different because I didn't actually follow any step by step blog tutorial from a pin.  This project was actually inspired when I was shopping and there was a really expensive shirt that I wanted to buy and just couldn't afford.  I decided to try my luck at making it and I think it was a success!  I looked over the two DIY t-shirt modified pins on pintrest and got a feel for how they converted their shirts and kind of experimented with it until I was satisfied with the look.  I hope you like the final result as much as I do!  I don't have the picture of the final shirt being worn since this is a gift but I'll make sure to get a final photo and post it later.

• Sewing machine & sewing stuff (needles, thread, scissors, fabric pencil optional)
• Cotton T-shirt 1 size larger than what you typically wear
• Ribbon

DIY Fabric Flower Necklace

Original Pin: http://pinterest.com/pin/231724343298734063/

Original blog: Little Inspirations

Pin rating: 5

Duration: 30-45 minutes

I love making fabric flowers but I never thought of making a fabric flower necklace until I saw it on pintrest.  This is super easy and such a beautiful end result.  My flower template is a little different from the original tutorial but this was the way I taught myself to make the flowers so I just kind of stuck with it for this tutorial.  I also tried out the Fray Check for the first time and I kind of like it except for the fact that it's noticeable when it dries - granted Fray Check is probably better used for clothes that will be washed.  Also, my pictures this time around are all a tint of blue...I'm not sure why but I tried to fix and adjust them as much as possible so please bear with me as I'm still learning the photography aspect of blogging.

• Small flower template
• Fabric
• Felt (not pictured)
• Chain
• Hot glue gun & glue sticks
• Scissors

Optional

• Needle & thread
• Fabric pencil
• Fray Check
• Jump rings
• pliers to break the chain
• Necklace clasp

DIY Pearl Ribbon Bracelet

Original Pin: http://pinterest.com/pin/231724343298464677/

Pin Rating: 3

Difficulty: Medium

Duration: 40 minutes

When I saw this pin I was in awe of how pretty it looked and easy it seemed to be to make.  After I clicked on the link I realized that it was part of a round up blog post and didn't actually include the original link or instructions.  Clicking on the link provided led me to a Pintrest pin and basically I went in circles.  Looking at the link on the website I see that it's a website in another language that I don't see any content.  So all in all I felt disappointed in the original pin which is why I gave it a 3 pin rating.  So I did this pin going off of the pictures alone and felt like this pin is one of the first pins where it looked really easy but wasn't when I actually tried to do it.  Overall result is a great DIY bracelet, but it took a little patience and made me wish I had a 3rd hand to help.  Hopefully this tutorial will help you guy out a lot better than the original pin I found floating around on Pintrest.

• Stretch Magic cord
• Pearl beads
• Ribbon
• Needle with a big enough hole to thread the stretch magic string
• Scissors

 You can probably do this with a regular thread instead of the stretch magic cord if you're making it for yourself so you can make the exact adjustments, but since I'm making these as gifts I wanted some stretch room just in case.  :)

DIY Scrabble Pillow Case

Pillow will spell out "HOME"

Original Pin: http://pinterest.com/pin/231724343298484042/

Pin Rating: 5

Level of difficulty: Medium (basic sewing experience required)

Duration: 1 hr for pillow case + 15 minutes for lettering (For initial pillow case)

It seems as if all of my friends are either looking to buy a new home or have just received the keys to their new place.  Hats off to them!  This gives me plenty of opportunities to make them gifts for their new home.  I have a few friends who love Scrabble so when I saw this pin I knew I had to make it for their new homes.  I was a little worried at first since I never really worked with a zipper before when sewing, but when I found out this pillow case didn't need a zipper I was excited to get started right away.  Also, this pin is a little different since it's really pinned "For the Home" instead of DIY but I always have a DIY mentality so that's how I approached this pin.  (Also, I apologize since photos were taken with my phone since I didn't have the camera handy.)

If you don't feel like trying to make this yourself, I plan to put this up for sale at my Etsy shop (http://www.etsy.com/shop/SimplyPinspirational) after I complete the current set I am working on.  So please do keep an eye out for the pillow cases.

UPDATE:  Pillow cases are finally listed on my Etsy shop.  You can purchase a set of 4 here.  https://www.etsy.com/listing/119560993/scrabble-pillow-case-16-x-16-set-of-4

• 16x16 pillow (Purchased from Hobby Lobby.  Other sizes also available but this process is for a 16x16)
• Fabric - I purchsed Calico 100% cotton, color: Kona.  I found out that the fabric is 38 inches long which is perfect to cut up 1 pillow case.  
• You need 1 18x18 square and 1 square with at least 18 x 20 (added 2 inches for sewing room and additional 2 to fold the flaps in for cleaner backing) square which will become your pillow back
• When you purchase the fabric keep in mind how many pillows you are making
• For this case I found this rule to be a good rule of thumb: 2 pillows = at least 36in (1 yard) 
• Sewing items (pins/needles, scissors, measuring tape)
• Fabric chalk pencil - something that you can mark for measurements with and will wash off
• Fabric marker - to color in the lettering and it won't wash off
• Optional - small blade/knife & paper binding clips

DIY Marble Necklace

Did you miss me?  My boyfriend took a pretty bad spill on the tennis courts on Sunday so I've been making sure to be available for him in case he needed anything.  He's no longer bed ridden so things are slowing going back to their normal routine.  Hopefully I can also get a blog post up for tomorrow.  If not let's just hope next week I'll be back to my MWF posting schedule.

So, there's only 1 week left until Thanksgiving and I haven't done a single Thanksgiving related post!  Can you believe it?  I can't.  Where has November gone?  Maybe it's because the stores go directly from Halloween to Christmas and Thanksgiving doesn't really get much love.  Since everyone is gearing up for Christmas I decided to as well.  I decided this year for Christmas, seeing that I'm on an unemployed budget, I'm going to make Christmas gifts for my friends.  Since I have quite a few gifts to make I decided I have to start early,  especially since some of my friends live out of town and are visiting in early December so xmas gifts need to be ready to go in a couple of weeks!  I'll probably post a Thanksgiving post later next week when I actually have Thanksgiving dinner and use a recipe from Pintrest, but for now, let the Christmas crafting begin!

Also, friends and family who do read/follow my post I hope you're still surprised to see your gift when you get them since the blog post won't reveal who the gift is for.  :)

(Original pin: http://pinterest.com/pin/231724343298624586/)

Pin Rating: 3.5 (Keep in mind this is a pin rating and not a rating or the final product b/c I love the way it turned out)

Level of difficulty: Medium (If you don't already have sewing experience this may be a bit difficult)

• Marbles or Accent Gems (I picked some up at the Dollar Tree)
• Tulle or some sort of transparent/see through fabric (I used Organza since I had A LOT laying around)
• Sewing items (Sewing machine, pins, measuring tape, scissors, needle, thread, safety pin)
• Cute accent button