Two new obsessions

So, if you know me even at all, you know I sometimes get "obsessed" with things. Yep, obsessed. And, right now, I am obsessed with two things; my new iPhone and twine. The first being a gift I bought myself after a two-year self-imposed restriction on all smart phones. I had a dumb little flip phone that I kept breaking....so, I decided if I could keep the little flippy safe for two years, I deserved an iPhone. AND, iPhone, you have completed me.

My second obsession is twine. Recently, I created yarn letters (read previous entries), which are indeed fantastic. HOWEVER, I then tried twine cover letters...even more amazing (I'll show you pictures soon). So, I have been hearing all the craze about yarn balloons, where someone blows up a balloon, covers it in glue-soaked yarn, lets it dry for a day, then pops the balloon. That's all fine and dandy, but I didn't want a balloon-shaped hanging thing. I wanted a circle and I wanted it covered in twine....

Behold and see what I have created!!! With inspiration of course from the many balloon yarn balls and such I have seen on pinterest (I stayed away for awhile, but I can't anymore...this is due mostly to my iPhone). Anyway, the twine balls await you...seriously, they are AMAZING!!!! (read on to see how they are made...amazing)

This is the completed twine ball. I will eventually hang this up from the ceiling with clear fishing line.
Probably a cluster of twine balls will hang from my ceiling!!

The bouncy children's ball covered with glue-coated twine.

The magic that holds this project together!!!

The children's ball (deflated to remove from the twine ball) with the magic pump!

Okay, so how this project was made. I went to the store and bought a children's play ball (about $3), a roll of twine (about $5) and a tube of tacky glue (under $2). I drew a circle on the top of the ball with magic marker...this was a two part plan. First, I thought I might someday add a light bulb into the twine ball and needed ample room for the fixture. Second, I needed enough room to defeat my ball and remove it. Anyway, after the circle was drawn on the ball, I went to town!! I set out a trash bag, poured a lot of glue into a little bowl (it was easier than constantly pouring out more glue, trust me!). I covered my fingers in glue and went over every inch of twine as I was winding it around the ball. I tried to make the twine go every which way and fill the space equally. You will use an entire ball of twine and an entire tube of tacky glue (small size...not mini, but small). You can pretty much tell how it'll look as you're going. I was then out of twine and my ball looked great. I sat it down and let it dry for 24 hours. I then deflated my children's ball and removed it from the twine ball.....it held it's form perfectly and I love it!!!

This is something you must try, as it's so easy, so fun and looks so original. ALSO, you can reuse the children's ball again and again!!! Good luck! Stay tuned for my other fun twine creations! :)

All you need is LOVE

Happy New Year everyone!! Ah, I just wanted to share a quick little update about how I completed my yarn letter project. The "V" was bought, covered and now proudly sits displayed in my hallway. Moral of the story: At least start a project...you are more likely to finish it than if you never start at all. Amen!

My LOVE is done!!

L.O....E. Wait a minute....

I am blonde. I am constantly multitasking. I am sometimes preoccupied with other things than the task at hand. I am daydreaming about something much bigger than myself that is out there for me! I am getting older every single day. I am a woman. Whatever the reasons are, I am forgetting everything lately!! Anyway...the lesson for this blog is: if you at least start something, you are more likely to finish it than if you never start it at all.

Hmmmm, let me explain that whole first paragraph and introduce ya'll to some yarn art!! Let me take you back to last Friday. It was a rainy little day and I had nothing in the world to accomplish except some errands. Since we live in a smaller town, my errands consisted of an hour-long drive to the 'bigger' town down the road. I adore these days. I cherish my alone time on the way up there and just love looking around all day at some of my favorite stores.

I was in Hobby Lobby (sigh of contentment!) and I had been inspired recently to cover some chipboard letters with yarn. Standing in front of the letters, I was trying to think of what word would look good. "EAT" in the kitchen...hmm, no good...I don't need a reminder to do that. "ALEXANDER" in the hallway...hmm, too long of last name. "SLEEP" above our bed all cutesy-like....nah. "JOY" somewhere in my house....no, this wonderful word reminds me too much of someone I used to know named Joy. "LOVE"....this word can never be overdone. It's perfect! So, I grabbed my chipboard letters and then scooted over to the yarn aisle to buy four of my most favorite colors of blue and green to cover my letters.

I arrived home, got out my recently purchased supplies to start making my project. OH HEAVENS!!! In front of me lay an: L, O and E. I messed up and forgot my V. You can NOT have LOVE without the V!!! I went through the whole array of emotions in literally two seconds (from frustration to humor) and started to work. Part of me wanted to just wait until I had my "V" in hand, because I wanted a finished project. However, I knew that I had the time, energy and gusto to work on my little yarn letters right then, SO I DID.

Have I made it back up to Hobby Lobby yet? No. Did I put up the "LOE" in my hallway already? Yes. Did I have lots of people over to my house to see the "LOE" in my hallway? Ha, yes, I did! But, I figure that if I walk by it everyday, I won't forget to finish this very fun project. So, people, start something, even if you don't have all the stuff to finish it right there!!

Lastly, here's how you do this quick little masterpiece. Buy letters, cut them out yourselves, whatever you would like to do...then get some yarn and just tie a knot in the back to start it and then start wrapping. It takes a few minutes, but it's easy and oh so cute!!!

A closer look at these letters wrapped in yarn...sorry for the HORRIBLE lighting!

I have the letters sitting on a small shelf in my hallway that is surrounded by pictures. The "V" will be a darker teal than the "L" and it will make a lovely little "LOVE." Until then, "LOE" your neighbors!!

Good luck my friends and Merry Christmas!!!

Give me an "A"...or an "a"

Hello blogging world (all sevenish of my friends and family that I encourage to read my blog)....I have been MIA for a bit due to an abundance of projects taking all my time. I was actually going to wait a few more weeks before I started sharing all these ideas again, but I can't wait!! I have the cutest little idea that would be criminal for me NOT to share! AND, my sweet husband often times doesn't notice when I put something new up in the house (because it's an ongoing process that doesn't end)...HOWEVER, he noticed what I'm getting to share with you! This morning when he came to say bye to me at 4-something am, his words were, "I really like that thing you made in the hallway." Me, jumping up that he noticed, instantly awake "Really? What do you like about it?! I like it too...Ooooh, I'm glad you like it." Looking back now, I can see why maybe he doesn't compliment all my projects, ha! SORRY, I digress! Back to this oh-so-fun project!

So, I saw a picture recently of something similar to this (it's not my very own idea, sorry!), and LOVED it. They made a "k" out of all the same exact color of orange buttons and it was super cute. I realized that I should of course make an "a" for our awesomeness and our last name is Alexander...but when exploring my button collection yesterday, I realized all my buttons were different! So, all different buttons (which turned out fabulous I think) is what I used for this little project!!

How I did it: I had an old 8x10 frame that I no longer used, I covered it in batting and then fabric. They didn't have the exact type of fabric I wanted in my small little town, so I cut up an old shirt for the fabric! I got out my staple gun and went to work!! Once the fabric was secured, I just starting putting buttons in the shape of an a. You could draw it out beforehand if you desired, but I didn't. If you were really ambitious, you probably could actually sew any button on. Ummm,I used my handy dandy hot-glue gun! Once I glued them on, I got some white ribbon (I will probably just use solid color light teal ribbon when I buy some) and attached it to the back and hung it up with an over sized push-pin!!

Ahhhh! I just hung it up and just stared at it last night, feeling all creative! It's a quick project that is inexpensive (if you have the buttons). I always see jars of buttons at garage sales for cheap and I always buy those bad boys up! Anyway, I am back little blogging world....be prepared!!

Hanging up in our hallway for all to see.

A close-up view of all my random buttons.

My favorite thing about this button project is the texture of all these BUTTONS!!!

I will return!

I am busy with so many holiday parties, to-dos and this and that...I will return to my blogging world after Christmas!! :) I promise...until then, craft on sweet friends!!

If you're going to eat it...make it look good at least!

Hello world!!!! This is still my blog...don't let the following entry about food fool you. I am still here tearing apart furniture and messing with paper. I just side-stepped into the world of food for a minute...anyway, here we go:

The one thing that I am an advocate of more than almost anything else is design. The world is just a happier place when things look aesthetically pleasing. Food for instance. It may taste good, but if does not look good, no one is going to eat it. Case in point: we dye nearly every processed food we eat to make it look 'better.' I have been the host to a number of small little parties lately, from celebrating Air Force milestones to baby showers. I am not the best cook in the world (far from it) and when food needs to be made for these celebrations, I panic!! However, using some shot glasses, I have found a creative way to make food look better...therefore hopefully making it taste even better!!! :)

If you have small containers or votive candle holders or shot glasses, this type of layering dessert/food will work perfectly! You will need mini spoons to fit in these containers, which you can order online (I ordered espresso spoons) or find in a speciality shoppe.

The picture below is of a recent baby shower (where my friend Meredith...the AMAZING cook filled these, so not only where they pretty, but they tasted good too!!) with a line of delicious yogurt layered parfaits. I have used these shot glasses over and over, so they really are a wise investment!

For parties in the past, these shot glasses were used with such foods as: banana pudding (pudding, vanilla wafers and fresh banana layers), turtles (brownies, pecans and caramel), chocolate raspberry heaven (chocolate pudding, fresh raspberries and brownie chunks) and angel food cake (chunks of cake, fresh strawberries and blueberries and whip cream). The possibilities are endless!!

I just wanted to quickly highlight a way to make even average food look amazing!! PLUS, these little shot glass desserts are a hit at parties. Good luck friends!!!

Simple and Cheap...

Hello world...I have been MIA, because I have had some fun-crazy stuff happening lately....SO here I am!! Anyway, now to the blog: When living in an apartment (and NOT allowed to paint the walls), one must come up with creative ways to fill the wall space. It must be simple, cheap and most importantly fill a lot of this empty space on the wall!!!

Low and behold...the project below for under $20!! (the stuff on the wall...please ignore the stuff on the table).

I high-lighted this briefly before, but people have requested I give a quick how-to.

I bought six random size frames at my favorite local thrift store, went to Lowes and bought those itty bitty sample paints (I bought them in two colors, one light aqua and one dark aqua. They are behind the paint counter and around $2 a piece) and then I bought four peacock feathers from a craft store. I took the glass out of the frames, sanded them down lightly (so the paint sticks better), then painted them random shades between my light aqua and dark aqua. I hung them on the wall (a level is key here, unless you have a perfect eye!)...and then added the peacock feathers afterwards...I just added them by taping them to the back edge of the frames. KEY: I laid this little collage out on the floor first to figure out where I wanted each frame to save my wall from multiple holes.

Lastly, you can use anything...not just peacock feathers.

Good luck and hopefully you have a bare little wall, this might be an idea for you!!

This is in my dinning room and adds the perfect detail to an otherwise blank wall.