Felt Fish

I recently made this felt butterfly for my daughter upon her request.

I knew it wouldn't be long before my son asked for a felt animal of his own.  Within a day, he came up with this sketch:

Of course, it couldn't be just a few colors, he had to have every color of the rainbow.  I ended up taking two pieces of felt to make the top and bottom of the fish.  Then I cut the colored strips and hot glued them on top.  Finally, I stitched around the edge of the fish.  Let me tell you...that was no easy task.  The hot glue had dried and gotten hard and it was very difficult to get the needle through the felt and glue (that's why the stitching is a bit sloppy.)

Thursday Thoughts

Ten Thoughts This Thursday

1.  I wish...I could be a fly on the wall.

2.  I want...a flip cam to use at my kids' sports games.

3.  I think...Tivo is one of the greatest inventions.

4.  I appreciate...the cooler temps for the next few days.

5.  I look forward...to working in Rose's classroom today.

6.  I struggle...with packing creative lunches for my kids.

7.  I feel...like many of my students need me as a role model.

8.  I hope...to get some new flowers planted in the front yard.

9.  I am listening...to David Guetta's new CD.

10.  I am lucky...to have some great friends in my life.

Something I Whipped Up: Felt Butterfly

I've recently been having fun creating things with felt.  In fact, I've got two projects I am currently working on that I can't wait to show you.  Anyway, a while back I did a post about this owl I made:

Rose has become very fond of the owl.  She keeps it in her room, carries it around with her, and will make beds for it with small blankets.  She asked me last week if I could make her a butterfly.  

But of course...

Stay tuned, because as soon as Nolan finds out I made something for Rose, he'll be making his request.

Wine Cork Monogram

I originally saw this wine cork idea here.  I thought it would be perfect for the outdoor shelf I built a couple of months ago. There aren't many materials needed for this project:  wine corks, a wooden letter,  and a glue gun.  However, it took quite a while to collect all the corks I needed. 

I found the wooden W letter at Michael's.

After giving it a light sanding job, I spray painted it dark brown.

I started by arranging the corks over the entire letter, making sure I spaced out the plain corks and the stained corks.  Once I had them in place, I hot glued them one at a time.  Totally easy!

Thursday Thoughts

Ten Thoughts This Thursday

1.  I wish...the weather would cool down a bit.

2.  I want...to go to Disneyland, as we did last September. 

3.  I think..."Dance Moms" (on Lifetime) is an amusing show.

4.  I look forward...to decorating my mantel for fall.

5.  I appreciate...Nolan's hard-working baseball coaches.

6.  I enjoy...finding and downloading new music.

7.  I struggle...with putting the laundry away after it's been washed.

8.  I feel...like staying in my pajamas and catching up on my Tivo'd shows.

9.  I hope...my students are less talkative today.

10.  I'm looking forward...to a sports-filled weekend.

Felt Owls

Owls seem to be the current trend.  They're all around.  I have grown to like them as they have a lot of character.  A while back I posted about 3 owls I had found in thrift stores and revamped with a bit of spray paint.  In my recent visits to other blogs I have come across felt owls that look easy enough to make...and don't require spray paint.  I decided that it was time I put down the spray paint can and pick up a needle and thread.  I went to Joann's to pick up all of my materials.

The first step was to create some patterns.  I have owls pinned on my Pinterest board that I went back and studied.  I took some ideas from them and created my own owl.

For this owl I used dark brown, olive green, off-white, and yellow felt.  I used my pattern pieces and traced them on the felt.  When all the pieces were cut out I hot glued most them into place.  I had to wait on the wings though and stitch them first.

Then, using a large needle and the embroidery thread, I added the detail around some parts of the owl.  I also added 2 buttons for eyes.  When the owl was almost stitched up I put the stuffing inside.

The finished product.  I plan to incorporate him with the fall decorations that are soon to be up on the mantle.  

Cost Breakdown

3 felt squares (@ 35¢ each) = $1.05

embroidery tread = 30¢

stuffing = $3.50

buttons = free (I had them on hand)

Total Cost = $4.85 + tax

Spiffy Spray Job

Last month while I was sprucing up our backyard for company I noticed that the small table by the pool was in dire need of a revamp.  It wasn't a revamp that would require a lot of work, but a revamp that would involve a bit of sanding, some spray paint, and a coat of polyurethane gloss (all of which I had on hand.)  And you know what that means?  This revamp was free, baby!

"Before" pictures

The only area I bothered to sand was the top and of course, I used the orbital sander.  I then added two coats of spray paint.  Then I dug out a can of clear gloss and added that on top with an old paintbrush. 

"After" pictures

So the next time you see a piece of furniture that needs a little love...give it a second thought.