DIY: Yarn Letter Ornaments

I love Anthropologie, but really....who doesn't? I rarely ever buy anything from there though, I have a really hard time justifying their hefty price tags! When I received the latest holiday catalog my heart skipped a beat.  I just fell in love with these little ornaments...

                                              

(source)

Well at $8 a pop, I couldn't possibly afford to add one to every gift that we give this year.  So the boy and I decided to make our own.  Here's how:

Step 1

Materials:

collected sticks and twigs

yarn, string, and ribbon

scissors

hot glue

Step 2 

To make this project a bit more educational, 

I had the boy first draw a picture of the letter that we were going to make.  

Then I would trim the twigs down to size,

 and have him arrange them as the needed to be.  

Then I hot glued them in place.

Step 2

Loop the ribbon around the top of the letter where you want it to hang.

Don't worry about how sloppy the knot or ends look, 

they will be wrapped and covered.

Step 3

With you choice of yarn/ribbon/string combo, 

start wrapping tightly around the sticks.

Don't forget to tuck your ends in so that they can be wrapped up.

This entire project cost me $5.  I was able to find all of my yarn at a local thrift store, and then pulled the rest of my string and ribbon from my scrap box.  While I am not doing the entire alphabet, I am making about 25 ornaments to use in gift wrapping.  Happy Crafting!

10 things i couldn't live without this week

1. this week i marched my butt into a gym and signed up for a membership.  i have been feeling fat and tired lately and there is not point in just sitting around in my misery.  gyms are really intimidating to me and especially now that i am older.  it seems that the older i get the more insecure about myself i am becoming.  walking into a gym to me is like that classic movies where girls are being hazed by their sorority sisters and they are circling all the fat on their bodies with markers. ugh.  all the hard bodied girls who wear makeup to exercise and have a more fashionable gym attire than my normal everyday wear. yikes. well i decided that i wasn't going to let any of it get to me. i was going to face my fears and insecurities and i was going to exercise. in a gym. with other people.
2. one of the best things about being a gym member is having access to group fitness classes! and i took the best yoga class this week.  i can't wait until wednesday so i can go back for more.
3. my crafting productivity has been at an all time high lately.  the hubs and i have been powering through some projects. keep your eyes peeled this week for my new jewelry hanger, magnetic make up frame, and next week i will share some goodies that i made for a friends baby.
4. i have been trying to cut back on my diet coke consumption. and surprisingly i am doing very well. i am down to one a day and killing it! and best thing about it....i am substituting all that diet coke with about 64 extra oz of water a day.
5. we have been having some crazy weather lately. i am not going to lie... i really love it. we went for a hand full of days with constant rain, then a few days of 90° blue skies and today we woke up to some very chilly 40°.  mother nature is keeping us on our toes down here in south florida.
6. we had a super family fun day saturday. we woke up early and headed to the city diner for breakfast, scooted over to bed bath and beyond, then decided that it was the perfect day for the beach.  we got home threw together a picnic and cruised down to the ocean.  this was the first time this year that the beach was genuinely packed with people. holes were dug, waves were rode, sandy sandwiches devoured.  a great day was had by all.
7. the hubs and i went on the best date night ever saturday! i think that we agreed that it really was the best date ever. we met up with some friends for dinner at an awesome burger joint, burgerfi. then we went to see the dropkick murphy's at the pompano beach amphitheater.  this was the first show the hubs had been to since before the boy was born. and boy we were going out in style.  my girlfriends, who are long time friends with the band, got us all access backstage passes. we were on stage, in the green room, and post show hanging out at the busses drinking the band beer. it was all a dream come true for the hubs and i was so happy that i could make it all happen for him! best date night ever!
8. oh and where was the boy this whole entire date night? at his first ever slumber party. my fantastic friend christine offered to take the boy. he proclaimed her little girl to be his girl friend. so cute! he spent the night with their family, partied it up, and from what i am told was an angle! he was so tuckered out the next day that he actually passed out on the sofa....so cute.
9. the boy and i had some serious luck garage sale-ing this weekend. he scooped up a hand full of matchbox helicopters and airplanes, and i found an adorable mid-century side table....for only $1. it needs some serious work, but for a dollar....i'll buy that project!
10. my friend christine passed me on some seriously amazing vintage fabric for my birthday! i am so excited of it's possibilities! and there is a lot of it too so i am thinking that there may be some larger projects in my future! can't wait to share them with you!
9.

DIY: craft desk

oh that hubs has been up to it again! blowing my mind with his craftsmanship! 

we started with this $10 thrifted desk. 

busted out the elbow grease and added some wood and screws and paint.  

now i have my very own custom craft desk.

my momma always said....

so i have been finding myself lately discovering that no matter how hard we try, eventually we turn into our parents. my mother has always been one to see something that she wants or needs and then figures out how to make it. i have been in the making mood lately. and i fell in love with a dress. and call me a megalomaniac, but i can't help but love that this etsy model looks like she could be me, weird.

as my mother once told me, "all crafting really is, is ripping off other peoples ideas and putting your own spin on it."

so i figured out how to make this dress.....

i am so in love with this dress. and i must admit, it didn't work out right the first time. i have a bad habit of rushing through projects that i am really excited about. i was really annoyed with the dress when i put it on for the first time and it was completely wrong, so i put it away for a few days. well i pulled it out yesterday, and i accidentally put it on backwards. well wouldn't you know if it wasn't a perfect fit. i also dropped the draw string in the waist down about 4" and through a belt around it. i can't say enough about how much i love this dress!

thanks mom for helping me work it out! love you.