she wears flowers

Count Your Blessings

noreply@blogger.com (Tammy @ she wears flowers) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 16:10:00 +0000

I am so grateful for the blessings I enjoy in my life. I love this time of year because we have a definite reason to pause and think about the things we are grateful for—and there are lots! I made these for my children’s teachers to let them know how grateful we are for them.

The best part is that these go together pretty quickly. I actually had all of the materials on hand except orange paint. Since I had to look all over for the hooks last time I made this, I have seen them lots of places including my local grocery store. Said store also carries ribbon, jute, spray paint (better selection than certain home improvement stores) and staples for my staple gun. One stop shopping—especially if you need to run in for a forgotten food item. If you still need a quick hostess gift (or craft project for yourself!) this is a good one.

I made this the same way I made the St. Patrick’s Day gifts the past year. Go HERE to find the instructions and links. I only lightly sanded the edges and face of the large board to bring out the orange color. It is gorgeous although a little hard to see the orange in my pictures.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Featured Guest: Jaz from Flowers and Chocos

noreply@blogger.com (Tammy @ she wears flowers) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 15:28:00 +0000

I'm thrilled to have Jaz as a guest on my blog! When she contacted me about guest posting, she had 3 ideas for me to choose from for her guest post--wow! (I wish I was prepared like that!) I got to pick so I picked these beautiful tissue paper flowers. I've seen these around, but have never made any and was so excited to see how easy these are--I'm always a fan of quick and easy! Here's Jaz from Flowers and Chocos:

Tissue Paper Hibiscus Flowers

Flowers made of tissue have several uses. You can use this as an affordable party décor which is a great substitute to streamers or an ideal add-on to banners. They are extremely versatile since they are great for bridal and baby showers, fiestas, tea parties, children's parties and so on. Let your imagination flow, utilize one tissue paper shade or use many to give your flowers a multi-color look.

You can also easily make these flowers large or small depending on the tissue paper’s size. Moreover, you can make them fuller and ultimately provide the look of having extra petals just by adding more tissue paper layers. Be careful not to go overboard, though, or the thickness will make it difficult to open the center of the flower.

Now that you know the basics of making a tissue flower, here are some affordable and fast techniques on how to make tissue hibiscus flowers.

Materials:

scissors
twist tie or a flower wire
8 sheets of tissue paper
2 brown pipe cleaners

Procedures:

Stack Layers – unfold the tissue layers and stack eight layers of similar shades together.

Pleat – Pleat and fold the stack of layer tissues together from one side to another side in a shape like fan design. You can use your hand or fingernail to crease the edge to help the crease to stay in as you pleat.

Secure – Wrap a twist tie around the center. Insert the ends into the twisted section so they are not noticeable.

Cut – Use sharp scissors and cut the end corners off by cutting through all layers. If it is really thick, you can cut a few layers at a time. Just try to make the end appear rounded and nice.

Open up the flower petals – after you have finished cutting the sides, open the flower petals up. Open out each layer gently so that the individual tissue paper layers look like the flower petals.

Simple flower tissue – Now, you have a finished flower tissue. You can use this finished product to embellish party tables or as a chair decoration or just hang them in the clouds over the party table using clear fishing line. Read on to make a large hibiscus flower

Stamen – Get two brown pipe cleaners. Just twist the bottom jointly and twist the top of every pipe’s end cleaner making them look as stamens.

Join stamen – Bend the 2 pipe cleaners in a parallel line and put the middle of the flower tissue in the middle. Circle the pipe cleaners in the center of the flower and bend jointly securing the flower in position. Now the flower is sandwiched between the bottom and top of the stamen. Place the stamen so it is stretches out from the middle of the flower.

Your Yellow Hibiscus Flower Tissue is done. Fluff the flower layers to look beautiful and full.

Jaw Dropping and Heart Stopping…

noreply@blogger.com (Tammy @ she wears flowers) — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 15:24:00 +0000

I found a gorgeous craft area on Pinterest—I find a lot of gorgeous craft areas and other stuff on Pinterest. But this little one got me. I had to remember to close my mouth after my jaw dropped. It is so simple--pretty and bright and organized!

I wanted to know more so I sought out the original source (Etsy: The Storque) and found a wonderful article. This time, my heart almost stopped because I recognized myself so clearly in the author’s words. The article is short and worth the read.

I have felt guilty for a lot of things lately…not getting things done, having too many things to do, wanting to do everything myself, overwhelmed and crashing, and on and on. This article is not just for DIY-ing, it is a good philosophy for my life.

I know I have posted very little lately. I have been caught between wanting to do more and watching my audience grow and then wondering why it all matters. There are a ton of wonderful blogs, sites, and pin boards out there. My little blog is not the prettiest, craftiest, expert-est, or any other “est” around. But, it is my place to share. I guess I need to provide a disclaimer, though. I can’t let my blog or craft projects take over my whole life. I need time to live my real life and enjoy it while I am at it.

I will still post projects and tutorials from time to time, but I can’t promise when or with what frequency. I hope you will still follow along—who doesn’t like an audience? But, at least you know what’s going on. Thank you so much for the kind emails wondering what happened to me. I’m here, I’m fine, and I am really living my life--thanks!

Please tell me I am not the only who feels this way. And, don’t forget to read that article. It is a good reality check for anyone who likes to craft!

Guest Post on Snips and Spice

noreply@blogger.com (Tammy @ she wears flowers) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 01:19:00 +0000

(click picture to link to my post)

I got to guest post for the lovely Malory at Snips and Spice on her birthday (kind of ;) so I made her a treat!

I hope you will go check out my {Zero Calorie} Cupcakes!

(Yeah, there’s really no such thing as true “zero calorie” yummy-ness is there?)

noreply@blogger.com (Tammy @ she wears flowers) — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Guess where I am today?

Yep! I am participating in this series:

How fun, right?

I hope you hop over there, check out my project and leave me a little love!

Back in School and Back to the Blog!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Tammy @ she wears flowers) — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 09:10:00 +0000

OK, my older children are back in school today and I think I might be back! (I know, I know...the rest of you have been back for weeks, but I have hung on to every last bit of summer! We don't go back until the day after Labor Day every year so please forgive me for posting this so "late"--it's on time for us.

I shared this on The CSI project last week.)

I have learned a lot of stuff about myself this summer and one thing is that I enjoy my family more than I realized and that blogging takes me away from them. I don't want to give up blogging, but I have to say that I need to slow the pace a bit. Please hang in there with me and don't give up just because I am not pumping out as much stuff--hopefully you can still get lots of good ideas here!

Each year, I like to send my children to back to school with a small gift for the teacher. While I have pretty good children, it never hurts to make the first impression a good one! I try to send in gifts that the teacher can really use. This is one of my favorites!

And, of course, it’s as easy as 1-2-3!

Materials

4 inch wood post

(You will only use a few inches depending on how many note holders you want.)

brown and black paint

white paint pen

wood glue

mini clothespin (Regular sized work, too.)

Instructions

Yep, I told you it was easy! But, while it is very simple and practical, it’s a gift that won’t get tossed on a shelf.

Since I am sure absolutely everyone must be back in school by now, don't forget you can use this idea for Teacher Appreciation in the spring or as an End of the Year gift for your favorite teacher.

Featured Guest: Grey Luster Girl

noreply@blogger.com (Tammy @ she wears flowers) — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 09:06:00 +0000

Hello! It is great to be here on She Wears Flowers! Let me introduce myself...

My name is Lisa and I am the craziness behind the blog grey luster girl. I like to sew, plan parties, cook, craft... I love it all! One of my favorite things to do is to try my hand at new things. Today I wanted to share with you a new thing that I tried. So here it is. My tutorial on:

How To Make Your Own Abacus

What in the world is an abacus you say? It is basically an old school calculator. I had to watch a video on YouTube to see how it worked, but no matter. We won't really be using it for calculating. So what can you use it for? Decorating for one. Check out this oversized abacus from Potterybarn:

Source

Or if your house is anything like mine, the decorations double as play toys.

So let's get started!

First, gather your supplies.

I saw these wooden wheels at Hobby Lobby and they just looked perfect. Plus they were 50% off which is also perfect. If you wanted your abacus to be bigger, then bigger wheels would look great as well. My wheels were 3/4'' by 3/16. I bought 3 bags which game me a total of 48 wheels. I happened to have some skewers on hand that were just the right size to go through the holes. Lastly you need the wood for your frame. I bought mine at Lowes for $1.68. It says it is two inches wide but it was more like 1.5 inches wide.

First I spray painted my wheels. I used Rustoleum Oil Rubbed Bronze Spray Paint and it only took a couple of coats.

Next step is to cut your wood. I cut four 7 inch pieces of my wood to form the outer square and then an inner piece that was about 6.25 inches.

Measure and mark the spots were your holes are going to be. The interior piece of wood will have holes going all the way through. The top and bottom pieces will have holes going about half of the way through. My holes were marked 1 inch apart. I used 6 skewers so I made 6 holes.

Now drill. If you want to stain or paint your wood for the box, now would be a good time. Insert your skewers or dowels into the holes of the interior wood piece.

Add your wheels. I did 2 wheels on the top and 6 wheels on the bottom.

Now mark and drill your holes for the top and bottom. If you are going to offset the outside box like I did, then make sure you lay the square out like you would if it was all finished and align your marks for the holes with the existing skewers.

Using wood glue or a finishing gun, attach the side strips. I used wood glue.

You're done!

It was so fun being here and I hope that you will pop over to my blog grey luster girl and find some more new fun tutorials!

Featured Guest: Simple Simon and Company

noreply@blogger.com (Tammy @ she wears flowers) — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 08:41:00 +0000

Hi. My name is Elizabeth and I blog with my fabulously-creative sister-in-law, Liz. We are two stay at home mommas who love to sew, craft, and just all around stay in our pajamas all day. (If only I were kidding....) We blog at Simple Simon and Co where we like to sew from vintage patterns, hunt for vintage fabric, make crazy messes and see what we can come up with for our $5 Fridays.

Liz and I have been going fabric scrap crazy for the last little while. Liz made this darling shirt out of scraps that were cut and made into binding. And here is one more scrap fabric project that I have had on my brain....Fabric Scrap Bracelets.

The idea is not mine, I got it from this genius tutorial....which I love. The neckace looks like Wilma Flinstone to me and I think it is darling. I totally want to make one for myself.

For these bracelets I wanted to do them as a summer project with my girlie, so I had to figure out a different way than using the wire to hold them together.

Here's what I came up with....

You will need a long strip of fabric scraps. All of these were 2x 6 inch rectangles that were sewn together in one big long chain, but you could do the same technique out of all the same fabrics in long strips....or make your scrap fabric any size you want.

And here's how you do it.

Trust me when I say my almost-six-year-old loved it! She helped roll the balls, I hot glued them and she has been wearing it ever since. A good kid-friendly project that has a gajillion possibilities. A 4th of July one, larger-sized balls in an apothecary jar, made into a garland (I am totally doing that next....stay-tuned). Ok, you get the idea. Now, go get your scrap bin...and get rolling. It's kind of addicting.

Thanks for letting me guest post today...we love She Wears Flowers!

Win One of My Bags!!

noreply@blogger.com (Tammy @ she wears flowers) — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 20:11:00 +0000

Oh, how could I forget? Summer brains, I’ve got my summer brains right now—all fun and no work!

Wouldn’t you love to win one of these little sling bags for your daughter, niece or friend?

Jump over to Just Sew Sassy right away and enter the giveaway!

(click picture to go to giveaway)

I'm thrilled to be participating and would just love it if one of my loyal readers won this bag!

One lucky winner will receive this bag along with 2 interchangeable flowers to accessorize the bag.

Get over there quick and sign up to win!

Be sure to check out the other giveaways at Just Sew Sassy. Giveaways all month long--yay!

We Have a Winner!

noreply@blogger.com (Tammy @ she wears flowers) — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 13:18:00 +0000

I’m so excited to announce the winner of the One of a Kind Mosaics giveaway! I wish everyone could win so we could all have a gorgeous new painting to hang in our homes. Unfortunately, there’s just one winner, but coincidently—and what good fortune for those of us who didn’t win--Nathalie is participating in a deal site, heartsy, and you can get a huge discount if you hurry and purchase through that site.

The deal is $200 of store credit for $85 (regular members) and $210 of store credit for $85 (VIP members). There were only 30 vouchers left when I received this email, so hurry fast. I am not familiar with Heartsy, but I do know you will need to register first (you can login with your Facebook account) to be able to see and purchase the deals.

Okay, now down to business. The winner is...

Comment #23 is Summer who said:

“I love the abstract knife paintings. My fav is the turquoise and white.”

Yep, one of my faves, too. Congrats Summer!

(Summer, I'm sending an email, but be sure to contact me if you don't see my email.)

Featured Guest: Reasons to Skip the Housework

noreply@blogger.com (Tammy @ she wears flowers) — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 08:45:00 +0000

I'm Melanie - and I blog over at Reasons to Skip The Housework.

I also have an Etsy Shop - Tinker B Boutique

Come visit if you ever need a custom Scrabble Tile Pendant!

A bit about me...before becoming a SAHM last March, I was a 3rd grade teacher for 12 years. My hubby and I went to high school together here in AZ, but went our own ways in life, only to reconnect 17 years later and get married! We got married on 6-7-8, which I planned that way so that my husband wouldn't ever have the excuse to forget our anniversary!

I'm new to the blogging thing, but I'm completely hooked and I spend way... too... much...time searching out new ideas to inspire me. I'm also a total craft idea thief. Not in a copyrighting, stealing way. In an "I LOVE THAT....I HAVE TO MAKE IT" kind of way!

Pinterest is the worst thing for a craft-o-holic like me. I pin things all day long that I HAVE to make - and my TO DO list gets longer by the minute! One of the things I found while strolling Pinterest....a recipe for Stars and Stripes Cookies.

Couldn't be too hard....I mean, anyone can bake cookies from a package!

The #1 problem....

I never bake anything correctly and usually have to do things twice.

For this recipe, I DID have to do things twice, and they STILL didn't turn out like the NESTLE picture - but trust me, it's not because they're not super simple to do!

So, let my baking experience entertain you!

I used Cool Whip for a light frosting...the recipe calls for a cream cheese/granulated sugar frosting. That would be yummers too!

I also ended up using two different types of cookie dough.

I took a few rows of dough and rolled it out between two sheets of wax paper.

{Enter first screw up}

The first time I rolled them, they were too thin and once baked, they turned into crispy chocolate chip crackers. No bueno.

So, I rolled them a bit thicker the 2nd time around.

Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. I like a soft, chewy cookie, so I tend to purposely under cook them. I did 9 minutes for the 2nd batch.

{Enter second screw up:}

Here's what they look like while they're cooking up - um, nothing STAR LIKE about these cookies. Again, just a little bit of the continued challenges that I face when I bake!

{Enter third screw up:}

When they are done and you first take them out, you're supposed to re-shape them with a knife - which I did - but for some reason, I didn't think to make the ends into points...which would make sense...so my cookies were more like rounded daisy cookies...

Frost with frosting or Cool Whip. Slice the strawberries and add to the "points" of the stars. Add blueberries in the middle and jazz them up with chocolate sprinkles or mini chocolate chips.

I love my little "rounded edge" puffy stars!

They were delicious and just perfect!

Happy 4th of July!

One of a Kind Mosaics: $250 Giveaway! (Giveaway CLOSED)

noreply@blogger.com (Tammy @ she wears flowers) — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 08:59:00 +0000

I was so excited when Nathalie Van from One of a Kind Mosaics contacted me about a fabulous $250 giveaway from her One of a Kind Mosaics Etsy shop because I L.O.V.E. her gorgeous paintings! Nathalie is a contemporary artist and has so many beautiful paintings available.

Although I don’t know how I would ever choose just one, this grouping is definitely one of my favorites:

Many of the paintings are quite large—true statements on the wall! Isn’t this gorgeous?

Here’s another one I love…

(I think my style is pretty obvious!) There are so many modern paintings and Asian-style paintings available, though.

It’s difficult to choose!

You can visit Nathalie’s Etsy shop HERE to see more of what is available. Her shop is chock-full of amazing stuff! You can also visit Nathalie on her webiste HERE to learn a bit more about her and see the gallery of paintings she has sold. You can visit her Facebook page HERE.

Nathalie has generously offered one She Wears Flowers reader any item in her Etsy store valued up to $250 plus free shipping to Canada, the USA or $25 shipping credit to anywhere else in the world. WOW!

(If you choose something more than $250, you will receive a $250 credit towards the item.)

The winner may choose a ready-to-ship item or a custom painting. For custom paintings, colors can be customized at no extra charge and the custom painting will take one week to complete.

How to win this fabulous giveaway?

Required entry:

Visit Nathalie’s Etsy shop and pick your favorite item. Give it a heart in her store and then come back here and leave a comment telling me what item you marked as a favorite.

Would you like another chance?

For extra entries you can do any or all of the following:

(Leave a separate comment for each entry.)

Like Nathalie Van Fine Art on Facebook Page HERE, Leave me a comment telling me you did this.

Blog about this giveaway on your own blog. Leave a comment with a link to the post.

Share the giveaway on your Facebook Page. Leave a comment with a link to your page.

Tweet the giveaway and leave a comment telling me you did along with your Twitter name.

You must include a way to contact you in one of your entries—either an email address or a linked profile. If I cannot contact the winner or the winner doesn’t contact me within 3 days after being announced, I will choose a new winner.

Giveaway runs through Friday, June 24th at 11:59 p.m. EDT.

Winner will be announced on Saturday, June 25th.

Piece of Cake (Candy?)

noreply@blogger.com (Tammy @ she wears flowers) — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 02:46:00 +0000

I’ve been playing catch up…on my life! I love the blogging world, but my real life is the one I am living and I’ve been trying to live more of it recently! I wanted to share the easiest refashion ever with you, though! This skirt started out as a dress. And, not just any dress…this is one of my daughter’s all-time faves—the candy dress! It’s perfect for this child who loves candy more than almost anything else. She also wore this dress more than any other one. We got 2 years out of it, but we wanted more!

I prefer to donate clothes rather than upcycle or refashion, but I could not give this one up yet, so I gave it a new life instead. Would you like to see how easy it is? Of course you do! This would work for lots of styles, but you will see why it is so easy with this style—other styles might need a little more effort, but not much so try it out!

Instructions

Lay the dress out flat.

Place a skirt that is the right size on top of the dress to get an idea of proper length and waist measurements. This is a pretty loose measurement—just check it out so see if you can avoid hemming or any other unnecessary alterations!

Carefully cut the dress apart as close to the sleeves as possible and across the width. You want this cut to be the same distance from the waistband all of the way across. I won’t lie, though—I eyeballed it!

Mark the center of the back waistband with a pin or marking.

Fold the raw edge under 1/4 inch. Zig zag stitch this in place (I didn’t do this originally and realized I needed to do it to hold the knit in place—that stuff is so wiggly! You may notice I didn’t do it on the entire waistband—just ignore that and do it. Trust me!)

Fold the waistband over again so that it meets the top of the inside seam where the skirt was gathered to the waistband. Sew in place along the edge leaving an open space at the center back (marked) to feed the elastic through. (This picture shows the outside view—not sure why I didn’t get the inside view, too—sorry!)

Feed the elastic through the waistband casing using a safety pin.

Pull the ends out and sew together securely.

Ease elastic into space in casing. Insert a ribbon or tag to mark the back and sew the casing closed.

Voila! You are done and it probably only took about 15 minutes. I love this kind of project!

It’s a little long which is perfect because we can get at least 2 years out of it. When all is said and done, this one purchase will get 4 years or more of use—from the same child!

This skirt is comfortable for twirling, playing and just plain sittin’.

Whatever your little sassafras is doing, she will love doing it in this skirt!

Have you refashioned the perfect item?

Leave me a comment and tell me about it—this refashioning could get addicting!
(Linking to the link parties in my side bar and these:)

Featured Guest: Midwestern {Sewing} Girl

noreply@blogger.com (Tammy @ she wears flowers) — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 09:02:00 +0000

M{S}G

Oh my gosh! I can't tell you how excited I am to be here guest-posting today! She Wears Flowers was one of the first blogs I came across and I've been hooked since that day...I am in awe of Tammy's creativity, and she is one of the sweetest people I've ever "met"...one seriously darlin' girl, that Tammy...

Anyway, enough gushing...(although I could go on...)

Hi everybody! My name is Maggie & I write a little blog called Midwestern {Sewing} Girl...

M{S}G

I love DIY-ing (or would that be DIM-ing...doing it MYself...), reupholstering, sewing, cooking...basically any- & everything crafty or craft-related (although I'm not particularly fond of the word "craft" - can we come up with something else???)

Here's just a little something I brought to share today...

My super-easy, super-fast, ultra-customizable beach bag!

And here's all I used to make it:

TWO feedsack towels...available anywhere (like Wal-Mart, Target) for really cheap...

regular old craft paint & stamps...

PLUS, some cotton strap material I got from JO-ANN for $1.50...and my sewing machine...

Here's what I did:

*First I laid out one of my feedsack towels, and stamped it where I thought it needed to be stamped...

I applied the paint to the stamp with a brush so that it didn't get all clumpy...

these are some Martha Stewart stamps I had...

I stamped our last name (yes, my name is Maggie Massey...don't laugh...it's not that funny...) onto the towel...and then I added some flowers & butterflies...

Here's how the front looked when it was all done...

Next, I placed this towel on top of the other one and roughly stitched around the sides & bottom of the towels...I used a zig-zag stitch in a bright pink just to spice things up a bit...

Then I took the cotton strap, pinned it to the sides of the bag & stitched it in place...I used the walking foot on my machine and a heavy duty needle...I also stitched in numerous places just to make sure the handle doesn't tear off when the bag is full...

And, done! See, I told you it was super-easy & super-quick!

Now my family has a great, personalized, super-giant beach bag to carry all of our sand toys, flip-flops, towels, whatever!

...and it holds TONS!...

Thank you so so much for letting me share this project today, Tammy!!! You rock, girl.

I'd love to see you all again! Please feel free to stop by Midwestern {Sewing} Girl anytime! And for more updates, giveaways & fun projects, "like" M{S}G on FaceBook!

Sew With Me Saturdays #10

noreply@blogger.com (Tammy @ she wears flowers) — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 16:50:00 +0000

I’m sharing my Roll-It-All Cube on Not JUST a Housewife today.

I actually posted this long ago, so this is a re-post for my wonderful long-time followers. For all of my new friends, it’s “new”! I hope you will go check it out and leave me some comment love!

Featured Guest: Kidspired Creations

noreply@blogger.com (Tammy @ she wears flowers) — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 08:50:00 +0000

kidspiration-noun/kidspəˈrāSHən/
1. a child, group of children, or actions of a child/group of children that elicits actions or emotions or creativity in adults
2. an event or visual reminder that stimulates youthful creativity
3. a creation or action specifically designed for the purpose of entertaining and inspiring youth

Hello to all you wonderful crafters on the blog-o-sphere! I'm Casey, stay-at-home mommy and owner and artist at Kidspired Creations where I make affordable, customizable and kidspired art and room decor! I love to share my creating and painting process on my Kidspired Creations Blogoni Sandwich and have recently started sharing about the crazy ups and downs of raising my boys (ages 3 and 1) in My Kidspiration blog, "A Tale of Two Kiddies." A huge THANK YOU to She Wears Flowers for giving me an opportunity to be a featured guest! I am super pumped, so let's begin!

I want to share with you a "Trash to Treasure" project that I did to help organize all of my craft junk... yes, most of it is junk because I refuse to throw anything away, even the last 2 inches of the roll of ribbon because I may find use for it later!

My family recently moved to Cajun country in South Louisiana and the previous owner of my home left a whole bunch of "treasures," as I call them. My husband called them "trash," that is, until I got a hold of them!

My favorite finds were two wooden crates that were going to be my storage solution in my art studio! I have seen crates similar to these at antique and salvage stores, so I was super excited to stumble upon two of them for FREE! Well, I mean, we paid a lot of money for the house they were in, so not sure they were really "free."

I painted the outsides "Wintergreen Ash" by Valspar because I wanted a punch of color, but I left the insides unfinished because I love the rustic look about them.

My sister had recently gotten married and she used mason jars all throughout her outdoor reception. That means that everyone in my family has an abundance of mason jars and I finally had a need for them!

I took 4 of these mason jars, unscrewed the lids, and hammered a nail straight through them to attach them to the top of the crate.

I then flipped the crate over (so the lids were now attached to the top) and screwed the mason jars, now filled with lots of little art supplies, in to their lids. And that's it, folks!!!

Now, there were several supplies that didn't necessarily fit inside of my mason jars, such as my paintbrushes, pencils, etc. Most mason jar lids are actually in two parts... the outer rim, and the top. When screwed onto the jar, the rim holds the top in place. Well, to hold things that are taller than the jar, simply leave the top off and just screw the rim on. I then set these mason jars on the bottom of the crate.

Now what about that other crate? Well, now I needed paint and ribbon storage.

I bought a small tension rod for under $4 at Wal-Mart for the ribbon.

To store the paint, I used a foam board and cut out three 14" strips and three 8" strips, about 3"wide. For the three longer strips, I cut a 1 1/2 inch slit at 4", 7 1/2", and 11". For the 8" strips, I cut a 1 1/2 inch slit every 2 inches. The long strips then become the horizontal strips, and the short strips become the vertical ones. Match the slits up to make a grid and you get great storage for your 2 oz. bottles of paint.

See that awesome hairdryer from like the 1700s? $3 at an antique store and it inspired the scheme for my entire art studio! Plus, I use it to heat up price stickers so that they peel off easily without leaving that sticky residue.

These crates are REALLY heavy and I didn't trust a simple nail or screw to hold them up. I purchased two 8" ZBar Hangers that hold up to 100 lbs. That should do it!

My crates have given me the perfect storage solution for my paints, brushes, ribbons, pencils, markers, wooden shapes and letters, scrapbook supplies, clothes pins, glue and more! And what's great is that I made all of it for $5 (tension rod: <$4, foam board: <$1). Now, go out and buy yourself a house that has free crates inside and you're good to go! Or, just keep your eye out for a special piece of "trash" and think up a clever way to turn it into a treasure!

My collection of paint samples ;-)

Guess Where I Am?

noreply@blogger.com (Tammy @ she wears flowers) — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 13:57:00 +0000

{EEEEEKKK!} SO EXCITED! I love The Crafting Chicks—one of the first craft blogs I started reading. I admit, I am also insanely jealous to have such a great group of friends working together on a blog. So fun!

I am sharing a tutorial for my super easy summer picnic blanket. It involves sewing (a little) and recycled stuff (a lot). I hope you’ll go check it out and give me some blog love!

Featured Guest: Wayward Girls

noreply@blogger.com (Tammy @ she wears flowers) — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 08:48:00 +0000

Hey everyone! I'm Just Jaime from Wayward Girls' Crafts where I happily blog with my three sisters and mom. We just started our blog in April so we're a little new on the scene. I still get very excited over every comment and new follower =) Our interests include: knitting, sewing, decorating, upcycling, quilting, papercrafts, cooking and baking. We are known to bite off a bit more than we can chew crafting-wise, but we seem to be able to pull it off in the end.

So I've seen a lot of state-loving on Pinterest lately and the bug has bitten me! I love my home state, North Carolina, and am sad I can't live there right now. I thought a North Carolina print would be perfect for my home, but you can make State Canvas Art with any state or country. This is what I created:

First let's start with the materials:

1 Stretched Canvas (I used 11 x 14)
Three different colors of acrylic paint (red paint is not pictured)
Paint Brush
Scissors
Cardstock and Printer (not pictured)

I started by giving my canvas 2 coats of blue acrylic paint (Folk Art 2555 Deep Ocean Blue):

I tried to make sure the paint was even, especially in the middle where the state would be seen. The first coat I went across my canvas. For the second I went up and down.

Then this happened....I couldn't have done this if I tried! My scissors just landed this way!

Next I printed out a map of my state on cardstock. I measured it to make sure it would fit well on my canvas.

I took my scissors and got to cutting. I decided to skip trying to cut out the island chain on the coast of my state (The Outerbanks) and left them on there. I like the shape better. At this point I started remembering my 4th grade state project, where I used salt dough to make the Ol' North State. Good times. Back to the project!

I applied removable adhesive to the back of my cardstock and stuck it on my dry canvas (I let it dry overnight just to be sure).

I used a contrasting paint color (Folk Art 2561 Steel Gray) and started in the middle and painted OUT from my state. I didn't want to try to push the paint against the edges and have the cardstock curl or the paint get underneath.

I gave the canvas two coats but didn't wait until the second coat fully dried before removing the state.

I wanted to make sure it would come up easily. I used tweezers to pull the side up so I wouldn't hurt the paint. It looked AWESOME. So awesome I forgot to take a picture. But I decided to put the final touch, a little heart over my home town.

A Little Before and After

noreply@blogger.com (Tammy @ she wears flowers) — Mon, 30 May 2011 03:14:00 +0000

I’ve got great intentions, but…

If you know me well, you know I am not exactly organized. And my sewing area proves it! But, thanks to a lucky Goodwill find, my thread is a little more organized and I LOVE the result. I feel happy every time I look at my sewing table now. You can find my little transformation {that is making a huge difference} at a fun blog called Reasons to Skip the Housework.

Be sure to go see the before and after pics—pretty fun!

Sew with Me Saturdays #9

noreply@blogger.com (Tammy @ she wears flowers) — Sat, 28 May 2011 13:01:00 +0000

Every little girl’s dream right? I’m all about making those dreams come true—at least as much as I can for dress-up dreams!

I’m sharing a tutorial on Not JUST A Housewife today to make this easy dress-up wedding skirt.

Lots of layers and lots of twirl, but very easy to make!

Join me for Sew with Me Saturdays today to learn how to make this simple and quick dress-up wedding skirt without the usual hassles that you get when working with tulle.

Dress-Up Wedding Veil

noreply@blogger.com (Tammy @ she wears flowers) — Fri, 27 May 2011 11:00:00 +0000

Doesn’t every little girl dream of being a bride? Do you remember how many times you pulled your shirt over your head like a wedding veil? (Or was that just me??) I did that all of the time when I was a little girl!

My little girl loves to dress up so I made her a simple wedding veil that she can put on by herself and it actually stays on until she wants to take it off. It is almost no-sew and can be no-sew if you would like. Quick, easy and cheap—some of my favorite things!

You can find the full tutorial on I’m Topsy Turvy today where I am a guest.

Linking to Tatertots and Jello

Where is Summer?

noreply@blogger.com (Tammy @ she wears flowers) — Thu, 26 May 2011 17:29:00 +0000

It really isn’t summer yet--or even spring for that matter—but we are still wishing and hoping. On one of our weird warm and sunny days, we had the opportunity to play in this amazing homemade sprinkler. I know, I know—you can just buy one, right? Trust me, you cannot find one as wonderful and as inexpensive as this one. This is the absolute best sprinkler I have ever seen! And, I am not just saying that because I made it---it’s just amazing! So fun!

FYI—I also use it to water the lawn (when it isn’t pouring cats and dogs like it has been for the last 2 weeks!) because it has a large area of coverage and is super light to move around the lawn. You can’t beat a toy that doubles as a worker bee!

Are you ready to make one of your own?

Head over to HomeSpun Threads for the instructions.

Aimee is sharing an entire month of fun summer activities you can make or do with your children at her Summer Soiree. I’m hoping that we will actually have summer weather by the time the month is up.

I plan to try out a bunch of these great activities and projects!

Featured Guest: I'm Topsy Turvy

noreply@blogger.com (Tammy @ she wears flowers) — Wed, 25 May 2011 08:54:00 +0000

My name is Ashlee and I blog over at I'm Topsy Turvy. I craft, cook and decorate cakes. I am SO excited to be swaping with Tammy today!

I don't have an SLR, in fact I'm saving up for one, but I just raided the fund to get my silhouette, so it's going to be awhile. Anyway I don't have a big heavy camera hurting my neck, but I DO love dressing things up. And a camera strap is just that for me, dressing up my camera! And while there are a ton of amazing women out there making and selling camera straps I'm not one to pay for something I can make, call me crazy.

I love denim and I love red, so combining the two seemed like a happy place for me. It's not the fanciest of the camera straps I've seen out there, but I am SO in love with it, some ruffling, some color, denim... It doesn't get much better for me! And it took almost no time at all and I used fabric and supplies I had lying around! So it cost me nothing at all to make.

Supplies

2 types of fabric, one for the main body and shape and the other a thinner fabric for the ruffle

ribbon

matching thread

batting (optional)

ruffler foot (optional)

twin needles (optional)

This is a GREAT project to use some long scraps for, really! I cut 2 pieces of the denim (2.75" x 27") and 2 pieces of the red and white checked pattern (3" x 33"). For me I measured my camera strap and used that as my reference. I wish I'd got just a BIT wider, but I'll save that for the SLR when I get one.

Then I sewed the two cotton pieces together lengthwise to create one LONG piece, this will be my ruffle.

Now I invested in a good ruffler foot last year, I LOVE it and use it ALL the time. But you can use ANY method you like for ruffling this piece. Personally I like using the ruffler foot because I DON'T like sewing twice (to baste and ruffle, then to attach it) something I can sew just once! But it does take a bit of getting used to so you don't fall short of material or have too much. Play with your ruffler foot a lot to perfect the settings you like to use.

Anyway I used my ruffler foot to attach and ruffle the cotton on top of ONE of the strips of denim.

Next I ironed the ruffles. Now normally I skip this step, I don't even OWN an ironing board (I'm borrowing my mother-in-laws). I don't like to do things I don't HAVE to do, I like to cut corners where I can. But to get the right LOOK for this ironing it is important! I EVEN took the time to go upstairs, get the ironing board and bring it back down. That might not sound like much to you but I was in the beginning stages of morning sickness when I made this (and I'm JUST now making this tutorial). Of course looking at these pictures it's clear my next project should be a new COVER for the ironing board! HA!

Anyway, this will create creases in the ruffles that will help with the overall look of the strap as well as help the strap not look so poofy in the end.

Next I attached my ribbon down the center. My second favorite extra I like to use with my sewing machine (the first is the ruffler foot) is my twin needles. I LOVE the look a twin needle can make. And adding this ribbon was the perfect time to use it (and I only had to sew it once instead of twice, SCORE!). Sew your ribbon (or ribbons if you like the layered look) down the center covering your ruffling stitch!

Time to start laying. We're putting RIGHT sides together, so our ruffled layered strip is facing up and our extra denim strip is facing down and then then I added a strip of batting (this is optional- it just adds padding, but not all of us want the extra bulk). Sew down one side 1/4" in. Now if you happen to have a serger (I do, his name is Sergio!) a GREAT way to clean up the side is to use your serger on it. I am SO glad to finally have one!

Instead of sewing down the other side at this point you want to open up your camera strap and do our edging now. I serged the ends then hemmed them, but again this is totally optional. Hem BOTH ends. The reason for this is if your sewing machine is anything like mine if you sew BOTH sides THEN try to hem it your going to have troubles getting such a tight circle to hem. How do I know this? I've totally made that mistake MORE than once.

NOW refold your project, and sew down the final side (serging to clean it up if you have one)

NOW come the hardest part of the WHOLE project! Seriously. Turning it inside out. This is when I realized I MIGHT have gone a BIT to narrow. I think it's because I sew like I cut hair, I take just a BIT too much off. I THINK I'm only sewing 1/4 in seams, but really I'm sewing just a bit more, and then it's too tight. (joke: what's the difference between a good and bad haircut??? Answer: 2 weeks.- I've totally found that to be true, after 2 weeks the cut that was just a bit too short is now perfect, the cut you can't figure out how to style all of a sudden just works)

Anyway it worked out just fine, the strap works GREAT and now, thanks to an amazing friend, I even have a camera to use it on!

Get Your Vote On

noreply@blogger.com (Tammy @ she wears flowers) — Sat, 21 May 2011 02:17:00 +0000

I know, I know…contests, giveaways, so many different things that demand our action. But…I’d still love it if you headed over to Naptime Crafters HERE and vote for your favorite summer fun project. After mine (of course) I had a really hard time choosing 2 others. It gets harder and harder—such great ideas! I’d love it if you voted!

Voting is open through Sunday. Thanks!

My project is this juicy watermelon outfit. Yum! I love watermelon and it is so “summer” to me. I wasn’t sure how to put it to use for my project so I went with something I am most comfortable with—sewing. Actually, I made an entirely different project first, but I changed at the last minute. Once you put the word “competition” on your creativity, it is so stressful! In the end, I was so pleased with this outfit and so glad it is the project I submitted.

My only regret is that I didn’t make it in my size! {wink, wink!}

Featured Guest: iCandy Handmade

noreply@blogger.com (Tammy @ she wears flowers) — Wed, 18 May 2011 09:43:00 +0000

Hey guys! I'm Autie from over at iCandy handmade, and I am so honored to be asked to guest blog over here at She Wears Flowers today! If you haven't had a chance to check out our new-ish blog, I hope you hop on over there to check out some of the other projects we have done. I think we're pretty well-rounded and have many tutorials on everything from sewing to paper crafts to furniture refinishing...and everything in between.

I had a hard time deciding on what project to share over here today, but when a friend was giving away a pair of empty 16" x 20" frames, I knew what I wanted to do with them, and I thought you guys might like to know how EASY it is to do, as well.

I'm the mommy to 2 little kids, and with a pair of frames, I decided I needed to make them into our

Fine Art Gallery display frames.

I've seen a bunch of different ways to display children's art work, but this seemed like the best option for me in my space.

I didn't realize how simple this was going to be, and I imagine some of you haven't done this yet because you didn't know either!

I didn't take a picture of my frames before, but they were a rusty/barn red color, and were in very good condition, so all I had to do to was give them a coat or two of my favorite...spray paint (sigh)

I used Rustoleum's Eden (I've been using that can for several projects recently...love that 2x coverage!)

The only thing I had to purchase was this:

(A huge sheet of Galvanized Sheet Metal from Home Depot)

You can find this sucker in the Ducts aisle...and I brought a spare magnet with me, just to make sure it was stick-able.

So, all I had to do was use a pair of Tin Snips, and cut that huge sheet down to size (a little smaller than 16 x 20) to fit within my frame. I used a pair of gloves just in case I got a little crazy with the snips, and it was pretty slick.

After I cut the sheet metal, I fit it into the back of the frame, but just being held with the few staples that were originally in the frame ( to hold the picture in with) left a few gaping spaces when I flipped the frames over. So, I took some tiny wire hanging nails, and tapped them into place right against the sheet metal and into the side of the frame, as seen below (you can see the pre-existing staples, and then 2 of my nails.

When I finished tapping the nails in, in several places, I was happy with the backing, but for sure wanted to add my kids names...

I used my Cricut to cut my kids names with their white vinyl and stuck them on according to their instructions

I tied a couple of ribbons on to the clip magnets that I had from Wal-mart, and hung them up on our wall

I love our 'fine art gallery' and my kids love to be able to have their art work up for longer periods of time!

Thanks, She Wears Flowers for inviting me over to play today! I hope you all have a great day!

Now, get busy!