Featured at Knock Off Decor

Have you checked out Knock Off Decor, yet?  Knocking off someone's ideas is part of what crafting is all about!  Becky at Knock Off Decor features projects inspired by popular stores, catalogs, magazines and the like.  I'm so excited because Beckie is featuring my Poinsettia Tree Skirt.

Please take a look at the wonderful projects creative folks have done over at Knock Off Decor, you'll really be inspired!

Thanks Beckie for the feature!!!                                                           

Poinsettia Tree Skirt

I know it's a bit too early for Christmas, but you know when you see something that catches your eye and you can't seem to get it out of your mind and you just have to do something about it?  Well, that's what happened to me. Christmas is everywhere.  In the stores and online.  I was looking at Christmas decor on the Neiman Marcus website and came across a very expensive Floral Tree Skirt.

"Artisan" Overlapping Floral Tree Skirt

The skirt reminded me of a Christmas in July post by Yvonne of StoneGable in which she featured a beautiful white Poinsettia Christmas Stocking made out of felt.  I was truly inspired and pinned the stocking for future reference.  When I saw the Neiman Marcus tree skirt, I knew I could make one using Yvonne's tutorial for the poinsettia flower.  I also looked online for directions to make a tree skirt and found one I could make in ten minutes by Martha Stewart.

  
To make the skirt, you will 
Need:

Fleece  (I used Fleece which is much softer, instead of felt , 60 square inches)
1 bulldog clip
String
Pencil ( I used a pencil so I could see the lines on the white fleece) or Tailor's chalk
Scissors
Small plate

1. Fold the fleece or felt in half to create a triangle. Fold the triangle in half to create another smaller triangle.

 2. Use the bulldog clip to attach one end of a long string to the folded corner of the fabric. Tie the string to  the top of the pencil. Holding the string taut, swing your "compass" from edge to edge in a quarter-circle, drawing an arc with the pencil. Cut along the pencil marks.

 3. With the fabric still folded and using the small plate as a guide, trace an arc onto the folded, 90-degree corner of the felt. Leave it folded, and use scissors to cut along the trace marks.

4. Unfold the fleece halfway, and cut a slit along one of the folds from the edge of the circle cutout in the middle to the edge of the fleece.
5. Set the skirt aside while you make the poinsettia flowers.


I chose fleece for this project because the felt in the fabric stores near me looked awful and hard in comparison to the fleece which was much softer.  I was able to get it for 50 percent off, plus an additional "senior discount". The skirt is 60 inches in diameter and it needed forty-four poinsettia flowers (whew) to completely cover the edges of the skirt. I purchased a total of four yards of white fleece for both the skirt and flowers.


To make the poinsettia flower:
12 large leaves
12 medium  leaves
 6 small leaves
 1 3" circle
    Tacky fabric glue

Using Yvonne's tutorial as a guide, (I had to tweak her directions since I had to make so many poinsettias, and use every inch of fabric).  I needed a poinsettia pattern to follow because I can't draw or cut freehand.  I used the same pattern for all three of the leaf sizes and just adjusted them in Microsoft Word. 

To start,  I cut 3",  2 1/2", and 2" wide strips of folded fleece.

 Next I cut the 3" and 2" strips into 1 1/4 wide rectangles. The 2" strip, 1" wide rectangles. Once I had a rectangle for each size, I used that as a pattern and was able to quickly cut out all the rectangles. For each flower I made piles of twelve large rectangles, twelve medium rectangles and six small rectangles.

I then cut each rectangle using the leaf patterns.
I used a small 7oz. plastic cup to draw a 3" circle. I cut out 8 at a time.

Then I had to:

• Glue six large leaves to the circle
• Glue the next six large leaves between the first group of leaves
• Glue six medium leaves on top of and between the large leaves
• Glue six medium leaves on top of and between the first group of medium leaves
• Glue the six small leaves on top of and between the medium leaves
• Take the small tip of my finger and push down into the center of the poinsettia for additional stability and fluffiness

 To fill the bottom of the skirt, you'll need to make at least forty or more. I laid out the flowers just at the edge of the skirt and glued them down with fabric glue.  A sixty inch circle is rather large.   Cutting and putting the flowers together became very tedious for me. Some days I would just make a few, other days I would make more.  It seemed like I would never finish.  But I did.

And I love it!
Can't wait until I decorate for the holidays  .   .    .

Enjoy!

 

Dollar Store Crafting 3 - Mesh Pumpkin

I hope you enjoyed Part One, the dollar store leaf vase and Part Two, the dollar store napkin ring.  Of course I will be using the great orange pumpkin for my last dollar store project.  Where would all of us be without those little orange pumpkins for crafting this time of the year?  I painted, glittered, rhinestoned, mod podged, and bead seeded pumpkins til I literally ran out of ideas. One thing I didn't try was to use deco mesh on my pumpkin.
Wondering how that would look, I gave it a try.

Materials Used:

DollarTree Pumpkin
Olefin Mesh (15yd roll, Michaels)
Floral Pins









Starting at the top I used my thumb to make a loop of the mesh and gathered and pinned the bottom of the loop to the pumpkin.  I continued doing this around the entire pumpkin, looping and shaping the mesh. 

           I made sure to fold the sides in to avoid additional fraying.

  I started laughing at the way this looks.  Doesn't it remind you of roller hair  
 or something silly?

After finishing the loops, I rolled up a piece of mesh and pinned it to the top for a stem.

This mesh pumpkin is really cute and makes a unique addition to any place setting!  Especially one with other dollar store items!

My Dollar Store Place Setting

Enjoy!

Dollar Store Crafting - Part Two

I hope you enjoyed the dollar store leaf vase I created in Part One.  I came across some table scatter decorations I had gotten at the dollar store.  Previously, I had used some to decorate another little vase here.  The great thing about these table gems is that they have holes in them which allows usage in all sort of projects.  One of my favorite things to do is make napkin holder rings.  They can really give a tablescape that special wow factor or pop.  So, with some floral wire, carbone rings and the tablescatter decorations from the dollar store, I made what I think is a very cute napkin ring  .   .   .

 Just by wrapping floral wire around the carbone ring, threading and twisting two gems at a time with the wire until you're satisfied with the look.

This napkin ring looks really lovely on top of a dollar store plate!

Stay tune for my last dollar store craft (for now) in the   
following Part Three  .   .   .

Enjoy!

Dollar Store Crafting - Part One

If you're like me, when you go to the dollar store you end up picking items you don't have a clue as to what you might do with them.  You get them because they might come in handy, or, just in case or I'll make something out of this one day.  Well the day has come when I find myself needing to do something with some of the stuff I got from the dollar store and elsewhere, for fall, that I have left over.  Some of you might be saying, "save it for next year," but I need to do something right now.  I'm almost tapped out and bloggers are still calling for posts on "Fall" stuff. I am so in the Christmas mode.

Anyway, I wanted to share some things I did to "use" up my supplies.  As Danni from Silo Hill Farm would say, "I can always break things down and use them on other projects."

First, I decorated a little vase with fall leaves that I picked up at the Dollar Store.

 I soaked the leaves in Mod Podge and placed them on the bottom of the vase. After they dried, I cleaned up the dried excess glue with a damp paper towel and used a razor blade around the edges of the leaves to remove the film.

I love the way the leaves grip the glass and stand up.  It gives it a dimensional look. 

 

 

 This would look great at the dinner table filled with fall flowers!

Stay tune for Part Two of my Dollar Store Crafting  .   .   .

Enjoy!

Pineapple Angel Food Cake

I made it!  I really didn't believe it would work, but it did!  I made a delicious cake with only two ingredients:
                                        1 Box Angel Food Cake Mix
                                        1 20 oz. Can Crushed Pineapple


Directions:

All you do is put the dry cake mix in a large bowl (do not add anything else that's stated on the box). Add entire can of crushed pineapple with juice. Mix carefully until all dry mix is well blended. Pour into either a tube pan, 9x13 pan, bundt pan or cupcake pan with liners. (I lightly greased the bundt pan)  Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for time stated on box for size pan (around 30-40 minutes). Insert toothpick to check if cake is done.

Quick and easy!



 I served each slice with fresh cut pineapples and a scoop of cool whip or ice cream. Hmmmmmm!

 It's light, moist and amazingly, very delicious!!! 

Enjoy!