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.

DIY Pillow Box

I'm making a lot of different little gifts this year for Christmas and thought that the best way to wrap them was to put them into a pillow box!  And I searched on Amazon and all over the internet for cute christmas themed pillow boxes and didn't find any so I hit myself on the forehead and thought why don't I just make my own??  I googled a DIY pillow box project and found it on ItryDIY.com here.  This was time consuming but I feel great about how each of the little boxes turned out!  I definitely recommend this if you need a small box to wrap up your gifts.

What you'll need:

• 1 pad of scrapbook paper of your choosing (Heavier cardstock works better)
• Ruler
• Scissors
• Dull edge (of scissors or butter knife)
• CD or something round
• Double sided tape or Zots 
• Pen

Dressing Up My Dresser

So my home away from home calls for me to buy a few new "furniture" fixtures and I'm not about to go out and invest in a ton of money into a temporary home.  Moving cost a lot.  And I mean a lot!  Especially if you're making that initial move to rent a room.  You always have to think about the deposit and how you're going to move all of your stuff, or buy new furniture.  I ended up moving some of my stuff but mostly been furnishing my room with plastic and non permanent fixtures.  So my latest addition to my room is this plastic 3 tiered dresser.  I decided to use this as my socks, underwear, pj, pants etc drawer.  Since I didn't want my clothes to be showing straight through the dresser I decided to dress it up a bit.

What you'll need: 

• Plastic dresser drawer
• Scrapbooking paper (or wrapping paper)
• scissors
• Double sided tape
• Ruler
• Pen

No Carve Lace Pumpkin

Pin rating: 4.5
Original Pin: www.pinterest.com/pin/241998179948381288/

Another Halloween related blogpost today!  I love love love Halloween.  Or maybe I just love the holidays.  I believe October kicks off the holiday season right?  Today's post is similar to last year's no carve pumpkin decorating I did.  Don't remember it?  Click the link to check out my Bedazzled pumpkin post.  I picked this no carve pumpkin design for a few of reasons.

DIY Map & Junk Mail Envelopes

I never paid attention to the inside of the junk mail envelope until I started working with EcoMonster.  She showed me the beauty of the inside of the junk mail letters and how to use them for scrapbooking paper or designs for cork coaster.  Today I'm posting some quick photos on how to convert your own junk mail into fun and beautiful envelopes.  I recently used this envelope to send to my pen pal.  :)  Yup, you heard me right, my pen pal.  I joined the Post Mark Society via www.postable.com earlier this summer and have been exchanging letters with my pen pal.  It basically a pen pal group for bloggers created by bloggers.  :)

One thing I love about pen pal letters is that you don't see too much of it anymore since we have the internet, emails, Facetime, etc.  Another thing is that you can let your personality shine through your letters and envelopes!  So after so many camping trips this summer I have a nice pile of park brochure maps stacking in my room.  The quality of the maps is pretty durable so I decided it would make the perfect envelope!

What you'll need:

• Junk mail envelope
• Park Maps (or any other sturdy scrap paper you have laying around)
• Scissors
• Glue stick
• Pen

DIY Jewelry Holder

Pin Rating: 5
Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Under $10
Original Pin Here

I've been looking for a quick and cute way to display my jewelry and earrings at the craft fairs and I've finally found it!  It's super cute and quick to make and I had all the materials already laying around the house.

• Picture frame to hang or stand on a table.  Remove the glass piece.
• Hot glue gun/hot glue
• Lace (the more holes in the design the better)

Toilet Paper Roll Art

Pin rating: 5

Cost: $0 (save your toilet paper rolls!)

Difficulty: Easy

The first time I saw toilet paper roll art on Pintrest my mind was blown away!  I knew I had to try this at some point and I finally had a chance to do it.  So I've been collecting toilet paper rolls ever since last year. (You might even remember one of my organization post with gift wrap & toilet paper rolls)  I had a nice collection until some of it was thrown away so I only had a couple of rolls for this project, but 4 rolls seemed like a perfect amount to get started.  

For this particular project, I got my design from this post here at KidsKubby.com 

• Toilet Paper Roll (at least 4)
• Hot glue gun/hot glue
• Scissors or paper cutter
• Paint of your choice (optional)
• Push pins or nails to mount