Cozy Flower Pillows

Flowers are such a huge trend right now.  Seems that lately I have been seeing flower pillows on all the awesome blogs I follow.  Here are some of my favorites.  Most of these are quick and easy tutorials to make your own. 

These flower petal pillows  just use scraps of fleece...  Fleece is so inexpensive and cozy and doesn't fray, so you don't have to worry about the edges unreveling.

This Ruffled Rosette Pillow might require some sewing... but I bet I could glue it together.  The end result is great and vibrant.

This shaggy ruffled pillow also uses up a lot of fabric scraps and has more of an earthy feel to it.  I like projects like these, where you don't have to be perfect because its imperfection also happens to be its beauty.

These pillows are made with the Oh So Yummy Amy Butler fabric.  I just love Amy Butler's style and vibrant colors.  Always a great pick-me-up for me.

And last but not least, here is a video, where Kim and Kris of the "DIY Dish" share how to create fabric Yo-Yos.  Those are very popular these days as well.  Click here to view more items they have made with these fabulous flowers.

Savvy Cat Sign and Sunflower Saturday

I am loving my new Cricut Expressions.  This past week I purchased a software called Sure Cuts A Lot, which allows me to cut out images that I create on my own.  I have been playing with Adobe Illustrator, coming up with all kinds of ideas.  Here is a sunflower I made today.  I designed it in Illustrator and then used my new SCAL software to cut it out on the Cricut.  Then inked and curled the edges and glued all the pieces together.  This one measures about 3 inches around.

I am also in the process of making a wooden sign that says Savvy Cat.  Cricut has been a big part of this project as well.  I got some wooden flower shapes at the dollar store the other day...  a whole package of 10 was $1!!!  And for some reason I had 11 in mine, but I won't complain.  Painted them green (of course).  This paint is really cool.  It's metalic.  I also painted the edges with another green paint that's super glittery.  Then I added letters, which I cut out using my Cricut (love this machine!) in the middle and Mod Podged over the whole thing several times.  I am so happy with the way this project is turning out so far.  Hopefully I will have more time to play with it tomorrow...  teal and brown are the plan for the background.

The Walrus aka Chloe's new toy

I have made these toys for Chloe several times, and she absolutely loves them.  They are quick and easy to make and are pretty much free.  First, let me explain why we call it "the walrus".  Well, I will let the pictures speak for themselves:

And as I was looking for a picture of a walrus on the Internet, I also came across this one:

Pretty disturbing, huh?  Someone took the time to Photoshop this poor puppy's face on the walrus' body.  Reminds me of a certain dog that lives in my house.  Anyway... back to the toy.

I got this really cool stash of shirts from my niece today.  I have been looking for some pink, since it's Chloe's favorite color (at least I think so)... so thank you Grace for your donation.

Here is how you can make your own "Walrus" toy:

Supplies you will need - t-shirt and scissors.  Yup, simple as that.

First disassemble your shirt.  Because mine was a smaller size I needed to find the biggest piece I could work with.  You want a nice solid piece with no seams.

Lay your fabric piece flat and cut it into as many wide strips as you can.  I made mine about 2.5" - 3" wide and ended up with 8 strips that were about 15" long.  You can use more strips, it will make your toy fuller.  Less strips will make it kind of flimsy. 

Then stack your strips and tie a knot in the middle.

Now take each strip and cut it into thinner stips toward the knot.  I made mine about 1" wide.

Once all your strips are cut, take each one and stretch it out.  They will form these cool tubes.

And once that's done...  you have yourself your very own Walrus Toy. 
Tah - Dah!!!

I also used some of the same fabric to make this really cute headband for my niece as a Thank You for parting with her old clothing items... and allowing me to cut them up. 

One of my headbands... on a beautiful baby girl. Makes me smile!

Once again, I have to give credit for a beautiful photo to my friend Sharon Korsu for capturing such a precious moment.

Bird Cage Tutorial



I saw a simiar project online and just had to recreate it.  I really like birdies this time of year.

First I cut 6 strips of printed paper measuring .5"x12"

Then I stacked all 6 strips on top on one another.  Using a ruler I found the center and punched a hole.  Then I used a brad to attach the strips together.



For the base I used the lid from a Nutella jar.  Althought I don't have any idea why, but I have had it saved for a while now and was so happy to finally utilize it.  Then I measured the rim of the lid so I could cut an additional strip to cover it.  Mine measured .75" x 12" (I didn't quite need 12" but it's always better to have more than not enough)



Next I addred Sticky Strip (or you can use another very strong adhesive) around the lid.
In the background you can see that I spread the strips to form a sunburst sort of a shape.



To assemble the cage I started attaching the strips to the adhesive on the lid, one by one.  Make sure to leave an opening so you can more easily add the spanish moss and your birdie inside the cage.

One of the things I would do differently next time is attach the bird to the inside of the cage before attaching the top to the base.  It would make things much easier.  What I did this time, was punch two bird shapes (using my awesome Stampin' UP! punch) and sandwiched a string between them.  I used a silver cord, but a clear thread would look more like the bird is flying.  Then I tied the other end of the cord to the base of the brad (on top on of the cage), so my bird hangs in the center. 

Then I attached the last of the top to the base and covered the bottom with the strip I precut earlier. 

I also added a few flowers to the cage for an extra little touch.

Here are the latest "birdie" projects I created. 

2010 Family Mini Album

Here is a mini scrapbook I made to capture some memories from 2010.  This was inspired by a tri fold card that I saw somewhere around Christmas time.  Definitely will be doing one of these projects at one of my classes. 

The band that holds it all together features one of the flowers I will be teaching how to make next week. 

Beautiful family picture taken by the very talented Sharon Korsu of Creative Images 4. 
Check out her work at http://www.korsuphotography.com/

Looks like I need a new camera... but at least this gives you an idea of what the album looks like open.

Just a little peek...

Here is a little sneak peek at one of the flowers we will make at my first class.  They are about 3" in diameter.  Super cute and shabby... and oh so easy to make.

Flower Headbands

Some of the flowers I created the other day have made their way on some stretchy headbands.

Most of the flowers were made from "upcycled" items.  I am all about being thrifty and have gotten donations from friends, who have daughters and actually own PINK things. 

Top left is made from a dress.  Top right is just satin fabric I had.
Bottom - these three flowers were made out of a man's button up shirt.

Top two were made from fabric scraps I had around and the bottom flower

is made out of cashmere sweaters.  It is SUPER soft!

Left flower is made from a dress.

Right flower is made from flower petals found in the clearence

section of the wedding isle at Michaels.  I LOVE beautiful bargains.

Flower Fun

Here are some "springy" flowers I created on this dreary and wet morning.  I had so much fun playing with them.  Now to decide where their home will be.

Women's Retreat Project

Just came up with the project for the ladies to make at our church retreat that's coming up in a few weeks.  These flowers are so easy to make... and not only are they cute, they are also functional.  They have little clips that hold photos, notes or what have you.