Candy Corn Decorations

I saw a picture of some felt candy corn that a friend had made so I decided to do the same. This is a really simple craft to make if you have a sewing machine and basic sewing skills. (Mine are not much better than basic so if I can do it so can you!) The hardest part for me is always cutting the pieces out. And that's not even hard, just a little time consuming.

Supplies Needed:
Orange felt sheets
Yellow felt sheets
White felt sheets
Orange thread
Batting
Marking pen or marker
Scissors
Sewing machine
Pattern for candy corn (printed to desired size from computer)

Directions:

1. Cut out candy corn printed from your computer. Then cut along each color.
2. Trace each shape onto desired color of felt and then cut them out. Remember that these are double sided so you'll need to double the number you cut out. (If you want 5 total, then you'll cut out 10 total of each piece.)
3. Sew the three pieces together. I used the zigzag stitch so they would easily stay together.
4. After you finish sewing the 3 pieces together then get two complete candy corns and put them back to back. Using a straight stitch sew beginning at the widest portion on the end. When you're about 3" from your starting point start filling with batting. Finish sewing shut, making sure there is no gap.
5. After I finished sewing I used my scissors to trim around the edges to make sure they were even. Mine ended up being about 6" tall. If I made them a little bigger I would have gone around the edges with pinking shears.
6. Decorate as you will. I put mine in a jar. If you want to you could always sew coordinating ribbon on in loops and hang as garland. *Another option is to use the dark brown instead of the yellow for a twist on the candy corn. Use your imagination and have fun!

Christmas in July- Ho, Ho, Ho Wall Hanging

For church I'm teaching a class for a wall hanging that says HO HO HO. It's based on this project. In order to keep the price down and appeal to people who feel limited in their crafting abilities this is a simple craft. (There are several steps, but the process is simple.)

Supply List

• Wooden Letters: 3- H's, 3- O's
• 6- 12" x 12"coordinating decorative scrapbook papers
• 1-2 coordinating craft paint
• Decoupage medium
• 2 sponges
• 3 square wood boards, sanded to get rid of rough edges and splinters (Depending on the size of your letters you may need to adjust the size. For this project I did 10" square boards.)
• 2 1/2 yards ribbon, 1" or wider (grosgrain or strong wired ribbon)
• Hot glue and glue gun
• Staple gun
• Ruler
• Stickers (3D stickers), ribbon and other embellishments

Directions

1. Sand all the letters and boards to get rid of rough edges.

2. Select 3 different papers for your letters. Trace your letters on the scrapbook paper and cut out.

3. Paint the sides of the letters. Don't paint the top or bottom. Set aside and let them dry. You may need to do several coats. I usually do 2-3 coats. You'll usually get a little on the top or bottom. It's okay, but don't paint the entire top or bottom because the paper won't stick to it if you do.

4. Paint the sides of the boards. Set aside and let them dry.

5. When the letters are dry adhere the letters to the front of the letters with the decoupage glue. Set aside and let them dry.

6. Cut remaining scrapbook paper to size for the boards. Adhere to the boards with the glue. You can use the ruler to make sure the paper lays flat. I usually paint the glue on the board and the paper in sections to make sure it sticks on there really well. Set aside and let them dry.

7. When the letters are dry seal them on the sides and top with the decoupage glue. Do the same to the boards. Set aside and let them dry.

8. Optional- If you want to embellish with ribbons tie them around the letters. Another thing I've done is when the letters are still wet is get chunky clear glitter and put it on them. It looks really cute! I've also used fake snow on the corners and then put glitter on it to make it look like sparkling snow.

9. Get boards out and turn upside down. Place the boards an equal distance apart, using a ruler if necessary. Staple the ribbon starting from the bottom board, up to the top board, making a loop at the top, and then back down to the bottom of the board.

10. Turn the boards over. Take the letters and place them on your boards. Move them around until you have them arranged the way you like. Then hot glue the letters on the boards. Press down so they are adhered well.

11. When everything is dry you can add your other embellishments- like stickers or skinny boas.

Valentine's Wreath

Here's the Valentine's wreath for which I also used Chantal's idea. It's quick and easy. I think I'll be using some extra fabric to make some for Halloween and Christmas!

First start with a Styrofoam wreath like this one. If you prefer you can use a wooden "O" from the wood craft section of your local craft store.
Get several different Valentine's Day fabrics and cut out 1 1/2" - 3" strips. Organize the fabrics in the order you like. (Instead of measure twice, cut once; arrange twice, glue once.)Apply a liberal amount of Mod Podge the size of your fabric strip. Press the fabric down well, making sure to get rid of any air bubbles. Allow the MP to dry, and then apply another coat over the top if desired. (I applied another coat so that the wreath would be more weather-proof.)

After the top coat of MP dries, select several ribbons and/or rickrack. Measure and cut to the necessary length. Use craft glue to adhere to the wreath where the fabrics meet. Make sure the ends are glued down well.

To embellish a little more I got a couple of Styrofoam balls, and covered them with fabric. Then I wrapped ribbons around them and tied them to the wreath. Hang it on your door and enjoy!

Valentine's Crafts Heart Table Runner

I will be upfront and admit that I shamelessly stole these ideas from Chantal, Charmaine's sister. (Charmaine is a contributor on this blog.) Chantal did several crafts for Halloween, that I decided to convert to Valentine's ideas because I have very few Valentine's decorations.

This first project is the heart table runner. I have stopped here because I can't decide how to embellish these without making them look overdone. So for this year this is how they will look. If you have any ideas on how to make them cuter please comment!

First cut out a template. I used my Cricut and cut out a large and a medium heart. I traced the large heart on the red felt, and the medium heart on the pink felt.I cut out a total of 10 red and 10 pink hearts.Next I sewed them together using a zig zag stitch with about a 1/4" border.Lastly I sewed the hearts together, alternating right-side-up and upside down hearts.

This is the finished runner. It looks okay, but I'd like to make it pop. Any suggestions?

Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween and Valentine's Crafts

This is the first LOVE board I made. I wanted it to be in pinks and browns. Not the greatest exposure, but there is a ton of Diamond Dust all over it so it would shimmer in the light.

This is the second LOVE board I made. My sister Christine wanted one for her daughter's room. This is what I came up with for hers. This is my ho, ho, ho board. It hands in my hallway. The kids love the white boa and Santa costume on it. I also have fake snow on top of each board to make it more realistic. The "snow" glistens because I mixed Diamond Dust in it.
This is my take on Pottery Barn's Christmas advent calendar. I decided not to put our last name on it because if my daughter wants it after she gets married she may not have the same last name.

This is the Pottery Barn Christmas advent calendar that I used for inspiration. I changed a few things, but tried to keep the colors close to the same. BTW, the pockets take FOREVER to line up straight and to keep totally even. That was one of the hardest parts of making this project. This is my Thanksgiving decoration. I haven't yet done an advent for Thanksgiving. Maybe next year. For now this will have to do.

Here is my Halloween advent calendar. Again inspired by the one Pottery Barn was selling. I didn't really care for the burnt orange color they used so I made mine using purple and bright orange pockets. The ric rac they used didn't do it for me either so my ribbon has little witches hats and pumpkins. The ghosts near the top are actually little bells. This is the Pottery Barn Halloween advent calendar that I used for inspiration. Cute idea, but I just don't really like the colors they used. These are my BOO blocks. (Don't say it out loud in front of people unless/until you've practiced saying it alone. You'll understand when people around you start snickering.)

Katie's crafts

I copied these from Katie's blog. She's been busy crafting lately. I think she's caught the crafting bug!
Here is the Santa and Reindeer lanterns she and John made for Melia and Sydney. Here's Katie's snow house. I'm surprised the lights actually made it on there. Melia really wanted to make them into a necklace.