Girly Rag Wreath (a.k.a. The Never Ending Project)

  Have you ever started a project thinking it would be pretty straightforward & relatively easy only to be proven so wrong? This wreath was that project for me. 

  Before Valentine's Day, I was going through my craft cache, determined to use up some of the supplies I had on hand before purchasing anything new. I had several fat quarters of fabric that I bought a couple years ago thinking I would make some fabric flowers & scrapbooking embellishments. I did make a few, but had lots of fabric left over... especially a lot of pink. Great for a Valentine's project, right?

  After seeing some pretty rag wreaths on Etsy, I figured I could make one fairly easily. 

  Easy? Yes. 

  Fast? No!

  A disclaimer: If I had a rotary fabric cutter & mat, that would have made a massive difference. Alas, I cut all these fabric strips with my craft scissors. I would definitely recommend using a rotary cutter.

Now, on to the tutorial. 

Supplies:

4 & 1/2 fat quarters of fabric

wire hanger

Tools:

Pliers

Ruler

Scissors or rotary cutter & mat

I used a wire coat hanger as the round form. Take the hanger & bend it into a circle. 

Using a pair of wire cutting pliers (lineman pliers, according to my husband), cut off the hook.

Form wire into a connecting hook.

Cut fabric into one inch wide strips, into a few different lengths. I did 4, 5, & 6 inches.

I wanted the fabric to have frayed edges, so after it was cut I washed it in the washing machine to achieve that. Then it needed to be ironed & the loose threads cut off. This took a few hours.  

At last! Ready to make the wreath. 

Start tying, alternating the fabrics & lengths. I just had my fabrics stacked randomly by pattern, as you can see in the photo above.

Finished! Ta-da!

I have it happily displayed in my craft room.

I love it even though it took so long to make.

Thanks for reading!

Enjoy your day!

Check out the great parties I link up to!

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Happy Valentine's Day!!

Happy Heart Day!

These love-inspired layouts are ones that I created last spring.
The sweet photos are from a Valentine's shoot my friend, Allison, did with my daughter, Audrey.

Paper from the Echo Park "Little Girl" Collection

Paper from the Echo Park "For The Record" Collection

Paper from the Echo Park "Be Mine" Collection

They still make me smile. :)

Enjoy your love-filled day!

Mocha Torte

Hello, friends! It's February & love is in the air! 

Are you planning a special meal with your sweetheart on Valentine's Day? 

Or are you making a delicious dessert for your family?

Yes...but you don't know what?

Then say hello to my little friend, The Mocha Torte...

Seriously, what says Valentine's Day dessert more than chocolate & red berries? Um... nothing comes to mind. :)

This cake is a chocolately, creamy, coffee concoction of yumminess.

Mocha Torte

cake:

1 - 6 oz. package semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup margarine or butter

2/3 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 cup buttermilk or sour milk

1) Preheat oven to 350º F.

2) Combine chocolate chips & water in a microwave safe bowl. Heat for 45 seconds. Remove from microwave & stir until smooth. 

3) Cream margarine & sugar until light & fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Beat in vanilla & melted chocolate. 

4) Sift flour, baking soda, & salt. Add to the chocolate mixture alternately with milk. 

5) Turn batter into 2 - 8 inch round cake pans greased & lined with a circle of waxed paper. Bake at 350º F for 25-30 minutes. Cool 5 minutes & turn out on wire racks. Cool completely. With serrated knife, split each layer in half to make 4 layers. 

mocha cream:

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 Tbsp. hot water

2 tsp. instant coffee powder

1/4 cup sugar

250 ml. whipping cream

Combine first 4 ingredients in a microwave safe bowl. Heat for 30 seconds. Remove from microwave & stir until smooth; cool. 

Whip cream until it starts to thicken; add chocolate mixture & whip until stiff. Spread between layers & on top of torte. Chill at least one hour. Sprinkle shaved chocolate over top.

tip: I threw a handful of chocolate chips into my mini food processor & pulsed several times to make the shaved chocolate.

another tip: Before placing the cake on your serving dish, place some strips of waxed paper around the edges. They will catch the crumbs or cream while you're assembling your cake. When you're done, simply pull out the strips gently. 

Make sure to share some with your Valentine! ;)

Thank you for reading & a HUGE WELCOME to all my new readers & friends!!!

Enjoy your day!

Valentine's Vignette

I have to tell you that I don't usually do any decorating for Valentine's Day. 

But this year I was feeling pretty inspired by all the pretty mantels I've been seeing. 

Small problem. I don't have a mantel. 

Bah! That can't stop me!

So I started looking around our house. When I got to the piano, I stopped. It's deeper than a mantel top, but our antique piano has plenty of space to do a vignette. 

Off I went.

Another problem. After looking around, I found almost nothing to use for my desired Valentine vignette. I had red books, a pink candle, & the felt "Love" sign I had purchased at a dollar store a couple of years ago.

I didn't want to spend a lot of money on this display since it's not up for very long, so I started to create. 

I went & bought some bulk Valentine candy & displayed them in clear jars.

The button stash came out & I made a little button heart, mounted it on some pink fabric, & displayed it in an embroidery hoop.

This old frame was hiding out under our guest bed. 

I painted it white with some craft paint to go with the Valentine theme.

This paper heart garland was so easy to make! Paper, a paper cutter, & a stapler is all you need! 

The idea came from The Wedding Chick's blog. Check out the link for the measurements & photo instructions.

My daughter is thrilled with this garland & is begging to have it in her room after Valentine's Day. :)

 So... do you decorate for Valentine's Day? Do you decorate differently each year or the same each year?

Love day is getting ever closer! But hey, don't wait... share some love today!

Enjoy your day!

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"Guess Hoo Loves You" Valentine Bag & Card

  

Guess hoo loves you? Me!! :) 

  It's been a while since I've made any papercrafts. I'm so happy to bring them back! 

If you know me, you know I have a crush on owls. So any excuse to make something owl-icious... I'm in!

I started with my Cricut & the Hoot 'n' Holler cartridge.

All these pieces were cut of with this cartridge 

(except the bag - those were purchased from the craft aisle at Wal-Mart).

The card was very simple. Just a sweet owl & a sentiment. 

Together they make a cute little owl duet. Happiness!

Enjoy your day! Thanks for reading, my friends!

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