Pennant Wreath

I wanted something cheery to put on my door for spring.  This is what I came up with.  Wanna make one?
You will need:

• foam wreath
• burlap
• fabric scraps
• ric rac
• ribbon

Take your boring ole’ foam wreath and cover it in strips of burlap (or whatever fabric you want really).  I wanted something that would add lots of texture but keep things simple enough that the pennants would still be the star of the show. 

I secured each strip of burlap with a pin.  You could glue it too, I suppose, but I pinned mine because it was fastest/easiest. 

Break out your scrap fabric stash. 

Cut your pennants.

Stitch your pennants together with ric rac. 

Pin them to the wreath.  Again, you could glue them, but this way you can change them out if you like. 

You’re done! 

How To Take Silhouette Shots

We live in a somewhat brown little town in Texas.  I love where we live, but sometimes the scenery around me isn’t very inspiring.  It isn’t the most photogenic place.  But, we do have GORGEOUS sunsets, so I find myself taking lots of pictures of the sky.  Hence, my love for silhouette photography. 
Taking silhouette photos is really pretty easy actually.  You really only need three things: a well lit background, a subject, and a camera.  You don’t even have to have an expensive camera, pretty much any camera will take these kinds of pictures. 
First step: turn your flash off. 
Second step: frame your shot.  This means making sure your subject is as back-lit as possible by placing them directly in front of a bright light source (the best time for these photos is sunrise or sunset). 
Third step: focus your camera on the brightest light source in the shot (but don’t blind yourself looking at the sun through your lens okay?).  Then, shift your camera slightly so that the subject is framed in the shot just how you want it.  Point and shoot camera’s usually have an auto-focus which allows you to focus your shot by holding the shutter-button half down.
Fourth step: take the picture. 
It might take a bit of practice.  If your subject isn’t dark enough in the photo, no worries!  You can always adjust the exposure later while editing. 

Silhouettes are some of my favorite pictures to edit because the simplicity of the subject allows you to play with all kinds of fun backgrounds without distracting too much from the focus of the shot.

 

Something to keep in mind: silhouettes obviously don’t pick up on the detail that normal shots do, so you want to make sure that your subject is recognizable.  For example, a silhouette of boy hugging a tree might just look like a shapeless blob.  Just thought I’d throw that out there for all you folks who like to take pictures of people hugging trees.  I know it sounds simple, but sometimes poses that really work for a regular shot, will not work as silhouettes. 
That being said, there are lots of poses that work especially well for silhouette shots.  I like photos that capture movement and energy.  These kind of shots are especially dramatic when you can only see the outline of your subject. 
In an attempt to get a more interesting shot, I told Spencer to do something dramatic with his arms.  This is what he came up with:

See?  The YMCA is INFINTELY more dramatic when captured in silhouette form right? 
Happy snapping!

Shabby Rose Necklace

I did this tutorial a really long time ago for another project, but decided to post it on here to to try and archive all of my projects in the same place. So, here it is:


You could spend $50-$100 on a rose necklace like this one, or you could make your own.  I'll show you in a few simple steps. Let's start by making a rose, shall we. I'll show you how I made one of the above flowers, and then you can make as many as you prefer in as many different colors and textures as you would like.

Step 1: Cut a strip of fabric that is about 1" to 1 1/2" wide. Don't worry if it's not perfect, it doesn't have to be!
Step 2: Tie a knot at one end of the strip of fabric.
Step 3: Now comes the fun part. Start wrapping the tail of the fabric around the end of the knot. Wrap tightly and secure every loop or two around the knot with a drop of glue.

Step 4: As you wrap, occasionally twist the fabric so that the raw edges are exposed at the top of the flower. (Here's a side view to illustrate what i am talking about). The edges will kind of fray (especially if you are using satin as I did) but that's a good thing! Embrace messy.
Step 5: As you get closer to the end of the strip, wind the fabric a little bit looser so that it falls a bit softer around the edges. Still glue just as often though, so the whole thing doesn't unwind.
Step 6: When you have just an inch or two left of the tail end, wrap it around behind the rose and glue it firmly to the back (this will further ensure that your flower won't unwind).
The behind:
The front: TA DA!
Step 7: Once you have mastered the art of making roses, and you have created several in a variety of different colors, you can glue them next to each other forming a slight arch.
Step 8: All that remains is to attach the ribbon and bows! I just glued the pom pom trim to one side and a strip of grosgrain ribbon to the other (each piece was about 12" long). Just glue it to the back of the necklace. It won't be pretty, but hey, who's gonna see it?

Step 9: Finally, I glued the jewelry latches on. Yep, glued them. I could have stitched them but I already had the glue gun out and wanted to make this as easy as possible for you. I put a drop of glue on the ribbon and attached it to one side of the clasp. Then, I put a drop of glue on the trim and wrapped it around the other side of the clasp.
You will notice that I also glued a bow on mine, just for fun! Please refer back to the ribbon tutorial here, if you need a refresher course on your bows.

Last step: Wear your necklace every chance you get!


Shopping List:

• glue gun
• glue sticks
• fabric (I used 8 different colors: 6 satin, 2 cotton)
  
• ribbon (1 1/2" for bow and 1/4" for necklace portion)
• pom pom trim
• necklace clasp

Cool Flowy Vest Thingy

I actually don’t know what these vest things are actually called.  Maybe just vests?  But I have seen them a lot lately, and think that they are really cute.  But not $15 cute, so I just made my own out of an oversized black PJ shirt. 
 

Just cut it like so, and stitch a seam around the edge.  I also did Some shirring on the back so it wasn’t so loose back there.  Hmmm… not the best shot of the back (especially since my hair is covering what I was trying to show you) but maybe you kind of get the idea. 

NOTE: The little fuzzy dog bum is not actually necessary to complete step 5.

Cupcake Candle Holder

I don’t post tutorials very often, but here’s one I did for a project a while back.  Enjoy! 
 
Step 1: Create the base of the cupcake. Just mold the clay into a cylinder shape. It doesn't have to be fancy, because in the end you are going to cover it up with the cupcake wrapper anyway.

Step 2: Now we will be making the cupcake top. First, roll your clay into a long snake shape. Make sure that it gets more slender towards the end and is pointed at the tip.
 
Step 3: Coil the snake around itself.  Make sure you wind loosely, so there is room for the candle to fit into a hole in the top.  Also, be sure to end with the pointed tail up. 

Step 4: Now we're going to make some little rose embellishments. Roll another coil much smaller than the first one, perhaps about as wide as a toothpick. Then flatten the whole piece. Coil the piece around itself. As you go wider, wind loser so that the rose is tighter in the center and loser towards the outside edges.
 
Step 5: Now we are going to make the wrapper for the cupcake. Cut a piece of paper about 1 1/4" by 10". Then fold it every 1/4" accordion style. Glue the end pieces together, forming a ring to fit around the cupcake base.

Step 6: Bake your cupcake. Once it has cooled, I painted a layer of glaze over the frosting top. I also tied a bow around the paper as a finishing touch. Simple but beautiful!