(Fairy) Wands

This is a project that was really truly a complete joy to work on.  I found the idea here, on 'heartmade'.

I didn't add a pocket to my wands as they do in the tutorial. 

I started making just a few of these for Miss A's 6th birthday....but couldn't stop!  Here's when I knew I was in trouble...

"Oooooo they're so pretty!  And I have so much more felt...and so many more sequins.....I should just cut out a few more....."

And then there were the sticks (dowel rods).  I didn't have any glitter glue so I just combined a bunch of glitter to my Mod Podge and went to town.  It took about 3 coats to get them as sparkly as I wanted them.

And so, I ended up with SEVEN wands.  For 3 little girls.

And then you KNOW Miss A wanted to make a wand.  Since she has decided to be a 'rainbow flower fairy' for Halloween, we made hers a rainbow wand.  She sewed on the sequins and I sewed the layers together.

I did want to say, I loved the idea on the tutorial where they glued a bit of stuffing to the end of the dowel rod to keep it in place inside the star.  That worked great (I used hot glue).  But when I got all the way around the edge of the star, I found it easiest to use a dab of hot glue to keep the ribbons and star firmly in place around the dowel rods.  THEN I finished with the last few stitches to close the star completely around the dowel.  Sometimes I had to sew a few stitches through the hot glue....that's what thimbles are for, people.

Halloween Pirate

It's good to be a pirate for Halloween...

The hat was from Oriental Trading, and the sword is a Jake and the Neverland Pirates accessory.

His t-shirt was originally an adult size t-shirt that I cut zig-zag around the bottom.  And, bonus...when you cut it too short you can sew on an additional layer to lengthen it.  Also...if you sew up the sides on the OUTSIDE of the garment, well, you just use pinking sheers to cut off the excess and call it good.  Right?  Or maybe you should give up on sewing for the day...

The pants were old pants of his that were too short anyhow...cut a little zig-zag at the bottom of those as well.

The eye patch was actually from a tutorial over at MADE, here.

For the 'skull and crossbones' on his belt and eye patch, I simply printed off a picture onto iron-on transfer paper.  My little guy loves skulls and crossbones right now!

Potassium Nitrate (KNO3) hoodie from 21 Jump Street

My husband rarely asks me to sew something up for him, so when he asked for a Halloween costume this year I was pretty excited.  And with how easy this request was?  Please.

He wanted to be Potassium Nitrate (KNO3) - the molecule Channing Tatum did as part of Molecule Mondays on the movie 21 Jump Street.  If you search for it on youtube you can find a video clip of the rhyme pretty easily.

I had my husband go ahead and purchase the hoodie (why make it when Walmart sells it for $6??) and appliqued the rest!  The pictures were printed onto iron-on transfer paper and ironed onto the sweater.  Turned out WONDERFULLY!

The front....

The back...

One of the best things about this hoodie is that it's completely washable!  Happy Halloween!

Halloween Mason Jars

I love all the mason jar crafts out there!  Our Halloween "ghosts"...

Mod Podge, orange tissue paper, and black construction paper.  This was a fun one.  Plus, you have to love it when you're working on stuff like this and your table looks like THAT....

I used the instructions from Our Best Bites here.

Halloween Letters

So, a few years back I saw these string wrapped letters (I have no idea where, originally) and thought, "wow, that looks so cool!".  And then I tried it.  Halfway through realizing it was insanely annoying to try to push the ball of yarn through the teeeeeny, tiny hole in the letter 'P', I gave up.  For about 2 years.  And then I got tired of looking at it and actually got around to finishing it! 

There is a TON of hot glue on this baby, but it sure is cool!

First Day of School Bracelet

I recently saw this idea over at The 36th AVENUE, using cheap hardware washers to create some really pretty jewelry.  With my daughter's first day of Kindergarten on the horizon, I wanted to make her a little something she could take to school to remind her that I'm thinking about her....so I came up with this.

One side says 'LOVE', so she remembers I love her no matter what, all the time, every moment.

The other side says 'LEARN', so she remembers why she's at school.

Maybe not the most inspired words, but really, good enough for this overtired, overemotional Mama on Kindergarten-eve!

I used rainbow colors ('cuz, what 5 year old girl doesn't love rainbows?!?) and literally tied knots to keep the embroidery thread secure.  I used a screw-on clasp at the other end so she could take it on and off.  I did have a little trouble keeping the embroidery thread knotted so I added a bit of Aleene's Tacky Glue at the end knots and so far it is working perfectly.

She loved it.  She wore it for 2 days straight.

'Smile' Wall Art

I found this quote a few days ago on Pinterest and loved it.  Although I'm not great with lettering, I went ahead and tried it anyway, and actually really love how it turned out!  I hung it in my living room, next to my sewing desk.