A Bouquet of Tentacles

A vase of flowers becomes an excellent pencil holder, especially when your pencils are topped with handmade tentacles in a complementary color.

I molded these tentacles by hand (much as one would sculpt dough) and detail-painted them. I don't know how I came up with the idea, I just think tentacles are cool. They evoke monsters/aliens while bringing a pleasant organic shape to everyday decor.

Tear Drop Leaf Earrings

Tips for beading earrings or pendants

Just pick up a random set of beads that have similar shape and coloUrs.

Whenever working with a frame, make sure everything can fit inside, only outside, or make it purposeful (exaggerate) if it’s an overflow look.

Skeleton Leaves Necklace

These are real leaves that have had their pulp removed and what remains are the veins. These leaves are from the Rubber Tree (Ficus Elastica). They can be found randomly at higher end craft stores.

I dipped in an resin to give it strength, and fills in some of the gaps of where the pulp one resided. The three leaves are flexible.  They are attached to jump rings and strung on a wire.  Using wire helps limit any distractions from our gorgeous focus points.

-SmallRiniLady

Wedding Wednesday - Pew Bows

If you are getting married in a church like I did, one decoration you shouldn't overlook is decorating the ends of the pews in the center aisle.

When I was buying flowers for my bouquets, I bought extra hydrangea stems (fortunately they were on clearance) and made pew bows for decorations at the wedding ceremony.

The stem was taped onto a pew clip (which can be purchased from orientaltrading.com) and then I added 6" organza ribbon to make the bow and hanging ribbon. I also added some 1.5" satin ribbon for more interest.

To transport all of them and keep the ribbons from wrinkling I hung them all on plastic hangers. I was able to get 8 of them on one hanger.

After the wedding I was able to recoup a lot of the costs by selling all of the pew bows to a Craigslister who just happened to be planning her own wedding with the same color scheme. You can't do that with real flowers!

For a variation you could make pew bows without the flowers on top and you could add colorful ribbons instead.

Wedding Wednesday - Silk Bridal Bouquets

This was my favorite wedding project - making my own bouquets!

I used "silk" flowers from Michaels. I figured I probably couldn't get the blue color I wanted from real flowers! Since they aren't real flowers I was able to make them all myself, months ahead of my wedding date. I was also spared the hassle of dealing with delicate flowers and finding a way to store and transport them. These bouquets could easily be tossed in a plastic bag without suffering.

After placing all of the stems together the way I wanted the bouquet to look, I wrapped them together with masking tape and then hide the tape with green floral tape. Then I cut the stems with a wire cutter (this was the difficult, time-consuming part!).

Once all of the bouquets were made I created silk wraps with pearl buttons to disguise the wire stems.

I love how they turned out! Two anniversaries later, my bouquet still looks gorgeous in a vase in my kitchen!

Wedding Wednesday - Affordable Custom Flower Baskets

Every flower girl needs a basket to hold her rose petals! However, bridal shops tend to charge a LOT of money for flower girl baskets. When I had to come up with flower girl baskets for my own wedding I found that the local Michaels arts & crafts store carried a Plain Ivory Flower Basket for a very affordable price (even more so if you have a coupon).

Michaels also had these ivory satin flowers and I found the pearl stems in the floral department. All I had to do was twist them in place! I added a matching ivory satin ribbon to hide the twisty wire as a finishing touch.

Two baskets for two flower girls!

Make Your Own Christmas Decorations

'Tis the season for crafting decorations!

I decorated two Christmas wreaths for my home. This is a very simple craft project that you can easily customize to any decor style.

If you're hanging the wreath on a door, bells add a nice touch because they'll jingle whenever the door opens or closes.

Or you can just literally hang a bell on your door. That works too.

Sparkly silk flowers make a nice arrangement on the dining table. I added a coordinating purple bow.

While you're in the floral section, pick up some sprigs and flowers to accent a wreath too!

All you need is:
1 plain wreath
1 small roll of fancy wired ribbon
5 or more flourishes of holly or flowers
1 wreath hanger
Ornaments or bells

Step 1: get a plain wreath and fluff out all of the branches to make it look fuller. Bonus Points: wrap a strand of battery-operated holiday lights around the wreath and secure the battery pack to the back of the wreath.
Step 2: Wrap the ribbon around the wreath, being careful not to twist the ribbon as you do so. You will probably use the whole roll, so make sure the ends are even in length, then tie a pretty bow at the bottom (or at the top if you prefer).
Step 3: Add "garnishes" - sprigs of holly or silk flowers, ornaments, bells.
Step 4: Hang it on a door and enjoy!

Leafy Toss Pillows

I love pillows! Pillows are a great way to decorate a living room or bedroom and it is easy to switch them out as seasons change.

I have a pair of woolen winter pillows that I'd rather not store in the warmer months, so I created zippered pillow covers with some leafy fabric and slipped them over the woolen pillows.

Another pillow!

This little pillow has a zipper on the side, and the pillow form inside of it even has a zipper!

It is even easier to make pillows without zippers, just slip-stitch up the hole after you stuff the pillow form inside your fabric. Your fabric choices are endless!

Felt Flowers for your Hair

I've liked these hair clips I've seen at Fudego stores, but even thought they were only a few dollars, I knew I could make them for cheaper.

 
Reasons why this is better  

1. Mine has more layers making it look even prettier
2. Can't see the bobby pin on this version
3. Great way to use up scrap fabrics can use the same material used as an outfit for a matching accessory

-SmallRiniLady

Materials:  Buttons, Felt, Bobby Pins

Inspiration - Double Single Rose

How miraculous is nature
Notice that the core is like an infinate loop?

Flower Fun Mini Top Hat

I found some printed felt and couldn't resist. Isn't it CUTE? Adorned with ribbons, pink wire, glass crystals.



As you can see it's clipped on with a barrett so it doens't fall off. I tested this by vigorously shaking my head.



Ok Ok I admit it's not perfectly round, I did cut the fabric by hand and hand sew it (cause my sewing machine was broken), but it's still cute.
-SmallRiniLady

Materials:  Printed Felt, Beads, Wire, Hair Barrettes

Wire Flower

I was flipping through a magazine and found a flower made from wires.  I think I did a pretty cute job of making something similar. 

How To
1) Loop some wires around a rolling pin to make some circles for the petals
2) Wrap more wire around where the ends of the loops meet and create a knot through all the loops around that point
3) Twist the circles around the knot point into the flower pattern as shown above
4) use a thin beading wire or string loop in and around the knot point, stringing beads along the way


So what can this be used for?  Lots of guys suggested a brooch (I didn't know guys in their twenties thought brooches were fashionable) while the girls liked it to be a hair accessory.  I didn't want it to be put on a clip where the clip could show, but one good suggestion was to put it on a chopstick.  In the end I just used some black bobby pins (since my hair is black) and attached it to my head as a decorative element; and off to a friend's wedding I went. 

Materials:  Wire, Beads