Velvet Choker with Pendant

A necklace with a bit of whimsy...

I found ribbon crimp ends at Michael's which let you clamp the ends of a piece of velvet ribbon and then attach a necklace chain to ends. I already had purple and yellow velvet ribbon (from Grandma's collection of supplies), I thought these pendants added some interest.

I attached the first pendant with a button and the second with a loop of wire I made with some pliers. Whatever works, right?

Sunday Afternoon Capelet

I randomly whipped this up on Sunday afternoon. I was bored.

The pattern is the same I previously used for my purple Special Occasion Capelet, only I shortened it about an inch and a half.

I wanted to add white lace to it somehow; I considered adding trim to the bottom hem, but I didn't have any that looked quite right. But I did have some white lace fabric with big flowers on it and as I was holding it up against the green plaid the flowers reminded me of a corsage. So I cut out one flower and hand-sewed it onto the fabric as applique.

I added a big satin ribbon for a closure. The capelet feels Victorian-inspired. I think it would be fun to wear for tea.

See this capelet on AvalynArtistry.com

Party Hats

My aunt had a great idea for something to do on New Year's Eve while we were waiting for the clock to strike midnight. She brought out scissors, glue, cardboard and leftover Christmas wrapping paper, and we all went to town making...

PARTY HATS!

OK yeah I went a little overboard and ended up making a boater hat and a mini top hat.

My sister modeled my hat for me. She is actually a professional actress, model and photographer in NY.

Tiny top hat!

Chewbacca approves.

Christmas Tree Angel

I decided to make a new topper for our new 9-foot Christmas tree! I wanted to make either an angel or a star, and since a star needs to light up and that's really complicated I decided to make an angel out of random stuff in my craft room.

First I took a long strand of raffia string (I decided this looks like rustic angel hair) and folded it back and forth, then stuffed it through a large wooden bead (which sort of looks like an angel's head, if you have an imagination like mine). Then I twisted a piece of gold rope against itself (this is the crown or halo), cut it and hot-glued it on top and trimmed the raffia to look like hair.

For the body I made a cone out of white craft form. For wings I used a pretty piece of ribbon which I threaded through a hole in the back. I then bordered the hole with pieces of the same gold I used for the halo-crown to hide the ugly hole.

Next I got out a bunch of coordinating white and gold trim and lace and decided to figure out how to decorate the body to make a dress. I made a bit of a mess.

I started glueing pieces of lace over the white foam, starting with the bottom piece so the upper pieces would overlap like layers of a skirt. A strand of white "pearls" became a necklace for the angel.

Here is the finished angel, as an ornament. I need a ladder to get her up on top of my tree!

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 - 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!

Wedding Wednesday - Cake-Shaped Card Box

A handcrafted touch adds a bit of personality and customization to a wedding! Even if you aren't getting married until the summer, you can start working on crafts MONTHS ahead of time as you prepare for the big day!

One thing every bride needs is a big box for all of those cards (which might contain money or gift cards) that guests bring to your ceremony and/or reception. You don't want to risk someone running off with it either, so what's better than something big and eye-catching?

This is a card box shaped like a wedding cake!

This craft project is really easy! You need:

• One set of stacking hat boxes
• Box cutter or sharp craft knife
• Acrylic paint (cream or white)
• 1.5-2" organza and/or satin ribbon in your wedding color(s)
• Hot glue & a glue gun

Stack up your hat boxes and cut big round holes in the tops/bottoms where the boxes connect so the whole thing is hollow. Add a slot on top for the cards to go through. Paint them and glue them together, then decorate with ribbon to make it look more like a tiered cake.

Damask Drawstring Bag

Drawstring bags are great to have around if you need somewhere to stash money when you are in the middle of dancing.

Just slip it around your wrist, stuff the money in, tug it closed, and keep on groovin' to the beat!

My sister asked me to make her a "money bag" that she could use for the money dance at her wedding. Knowing she likes the nouveau-French style and had pink as a wedding color, I came up with this style. I found the cute damask fabric in the remnants bin at JoAnn's, and I already had the wide grosgrain ribbon on hand.

To make the bag, I cut out the circle bottom then measured the circumference and used that measurement as the length of the rectangle that comprised the rest of the bag (taking into account seam allowances of course). This is a very simple project that really doesn't require a pattern. I sewed it by hand because my sewing machine wasn't working at the time.

Pillowboxes for Any Occasion

This is one of those craft projects that can get addicting, and I have a box of 200 blank white pillowboxes ready to be decorated!

I decided to make a bunch of pillowboxes that could be used for almost any occasion, like a birthday or Mother's Day. It is nice to have these on hand when you need to come up with a gift on short notice. Have I mentioned how well these hold gift cards? They are just the right size!

There is no end to the way these can be decorated to fit the occasion, whether with paper and ribbon or perhaps fabric and twine or even a felt wrap with a button closure.

As of the time I am posting this, I have already used every single one of these boxes as gifts already. MUST MAKE MORE!!!

Pillowboxes!

Err... what's a pillowbox?

They are boxes... which kinda look like pillows once you pinch the sides and pop them into shape.

They make great wrapping for any occasion, such as wedding favors, baby or bridal shower favors, or other small gifts like candy or gift cards. You can purchase plain white pillowboxes in bulk at a craft store or OrientalTrading.com.

One piece of 12x12" scrapbook paper was more than enough to decorate two boxes and I used some of the scraps to create coordinating gift tags. Ivory satin and organza ribbon leftover from my wedding added the finishing touch.

Materials (for 2 boxes):

- 2 Blank white pillowbox

- 1 sheet of 12x12 scrapbook paper

- Satin ribbon about 1" wide

- Thin organza ribbon or string (to attach the gift tag)

- Scissors and ruler or a paper cutter

- Double-stick tape

- Standard hole punch

Instructions:

1. Measure the length and width of the pillowbox. Cut a piece of scrapbook paper so that the width is about 1 cm less than the length of the pillowbox and the length of the paper is 1 to 3 cm greater than twice the width of the pillowbox. Measurements do not need to be exact, just close. From the leftover paper, cut a second piece the same size for your second box and hang on to the leftover scraps until step three (3).

2. Wrap the decorative paper around the pillowbox lining up one edge with the edge of the box. The box should be completely wrapped, plus a little extra. Crease the paper in two places where the pillowbox is creased, then secure the paper in place with double-stick tape. The extra lenth on one end should be taped underneath the opposite edge which is aligned with the pillowbox edge. Repeat this for your second box.

3. From the paper remnants cut two pieces of paper which are about 1.5" x 3". Fold each in half and punch a hole in one of the corners near the fold.

4. Thread a piece of thin organza ribbon through the hole in the gift tag and tie a knot to join the ends in a loop. Repeat on the second gift tag.

5. Pinch the pillowboxes into shape and fold down the curved edges. Insert gift card or candy (or other surprise!).

6. Tie a wide satin ribbon around the pillowbox to secure the ends. First tie an overhand knot, then slip the looped ribbon on the gift card over one end of the satin ribbon. Finish tying the satin ribbon in a bow or double-knot. Repeat for the second pillowbox.