A Crafty Christmas: Kids' Felt Christmas Tree (no-sew!)

     This was such a fun project! I saw the idea on Pinterest, looking at different DIY Christmas decorations, and immediately I thought, "I have to make this!" This felt tree has felt decorations that stick to the tree, so that it can be decorated and re-decorated throughout the holiday season. It is perfect for little kiddos who want to mess with the real tree decorations, which may or may not be something you want them to do. 

Now, I do not have any children. And despite the fact that my husband and I act like children half the time (examples: please note in these photos the Ikea "kids' track start line" rug which this crafting took place upon), I could not justify making this to put up in my own house. However! I am a teacher and therefore work with many people who have young'n of their own. My co-teacher and I got to work one afternoon making the trees and ornaments for our other co-workers. We gifted them just before our Thanksgiving break so that their cuties could decorate their own tree to start the holiday season! 

Photos

LEFT: The finished project, up on the wall and decorated 

RIGHT: A few ornaments. Some were plain cut outs (we used cookie cutters - heart, circle, bell, stars- to create patterns to cut out) 

  LEFT: We sewed glittery Christmas colored pom-poms on some of the ornaments. You could also sew on riff-raff (the zig-zag ribbon), ribbon, or other felt shapes if you wish. I recommend sewing instead of gluing, especially with the pom-poms, because those could be swallowed if they fall off!

RIGHT: Some glitter glue was fun for making the ornaments sparkle, and add personality. 

LEFT: The star atop the tree! 

RIGHT: How I hung the tree on the wall in a secure fashion that was also removable when Christmas is over. See the description below of how I used velcro and command strips to make sure the tree stays up!

Products

(for 1 tree)

~ 1/2 yard green felt (use the weekly coupon at a store like Joann's to save a bit on this!)

~ 1 package multi-colored felt

~ glitter glue (red, silver, gold)

~ spray adhesive

~ velcro sticky back squares

~ command velcro strips (refill pack)

~ glitter pom-poms

~ needle and thread, if attaching pom-poms or other decoration

~ hot glue and glue gun

~ newspaper or old cardboard (to put things on when you're spraying them with adhesive)

Process

1. Cut out the tree first. This way you know how to size your ornaments afterwards!

     Pro Tip:  Fold your fabric in half, and draw a tree outline on the fold. I did this by hand without a template, but you could search for a template to use if you needed one! Cut out the outline and open it up- voila! A tree!

2. Cut out a trunk for your tree from brown felt. I used the fold method again, so it would be symmetrical. But you don't have to be that attentive to detail...

3. Attach the trunk to the tree with hot glue and let it cool. 

4. Make your ornaments! Cut out various shapes in different colors, then decorate them with felt cut-outs and hot glue, pom-poms, or glitter glue! This is the fun part. Here is also where I sewed on the pom-poms. 

5. When your glitter glue is dry and you are waiting impatiently to be able to practice decorating, find some newspaper, old cardboard, or a concrete patio outside (but NOT on a windy day). Lay your ornaments pretty side downward on the work surface, and follow the directions on your spray adhesive for a "temporary adhesive." For mine, this meant spraying from a distances of 10 inches away and letting it dry completely before moving it. 

6. Spray the backs of the soft sided velcro squares and attach them to your tree. 

     Pro Tip: Place these at the top of the tree and then on the edges of the branches so the branches don't droop in once you place ornaments on them.

7. Once they are completely dry, place the command strips on the velcro squares so they attach, and then place the whole thing on your wall. Now you have a tree that will be easily removed when you want it to be (just peel it off of the command strips) and take the command strips off the wall. 

A Crafty Christmas: The Overview

I'm terrible at picking out presents. Terrible, I tell you! I always think that it's good fun to go and buy presents, but I am LAME at picking out good ones. Don't believe me? I'll put some embarrassing examples after the DIY list I'm sharing.

In the next few weeks I'll update this post to include some DIY gifts I'm doing that are a) not sugar scrubs, b) not junk food, and c) fairly simple to make (hopefully). I've got a few started, and one post ready to write, so here's the list.
(If the tutorial is another blog post, I'll link it as "tutorial." The project title will be my outcomes as they are completed.)

~ Birthday Calendars (Tutorial is already made but I'll link the new one I'm making)
~ Decorative Letters
~ Make-up Bags
~ Pencil Holder
~ Kid's Felt Wall Christmas Tree
~ Reversible Shoulder Bag
* edit: The strikethroughs are projects I had planned but just didn't have time for this year. Reminder: Start earlier next year!

And now, let me prove how embarrassingly bad I am at this gift giving game:

Example 1: When I was a kid, we used to pick names of our immediate family members at Christmas, and whoever you picked, you got a nice gift for them, so you didn't have to pick out something good for everyone. One year, when I was around 15, my giftee was my older brother. Slogan t-shirts were in, and claiming your inner video game nerd was starting to become popular, so I went to the nearest Hot Topic store and bought him a bunch of video game t-shirts I thought were cool. I specifically picked out this Mario shirt, with him hitting the mushroom (to grow, in case you don't know what I mean by "hitting the mushroom," obviously), and a caption that said "Size DOES matter." I thought it was a great Mario shirt! I was SO proud of choosing this shirt because you could dominate on the game when you were big Mario. I'm serious, I thought "Jackpot! I am going to win the gift giver of the year award for this." When he opened the shirt on Christmas day he kind of laughed and looked at my mom and was like "I'm NEVER going to wear this...who would even pick this out? I can't believe how awful this shirt is." I was horrified. Mortified. The innuendo of the slogan did not even occur to me in the slightest until he opened it. I had gotten my older brother a t-shirt with a penis joke adorning the front. I probably cried, I don't remember. It was terrible. (I most likely cried. Did I say that already?)

Example 2: One month into being married was my husband's birthday. I thought I was SO smart for having remembered something he liked and getting it for him. It was this Star Wars comic book. At least, that's how I thought of it. It's about what life would have been like for Luke and Leia if Darth Vader had been a real dad. I didn't know there were two of them, I just thought it was the one book. He had pointed it out months earlier and when I was thinking of what to get him, I thought, Oh! That book! What a great idea. He'll be so surprised that I remembered. The name of the book? "Darth Vader and Son." He opened it and looked at me- his face turned white- and he said "Uh..thanks. But you're not trying to tell me anything, right?" Once I realized that he thought I was trying to tell him I was pregnant, I was, again, mortified, and tried to defend it being a good gift still, even though I knew I had lost.

I know it's trendy to "DIY" your Christmas gifts, but making gifts has always been a much better option for me than choosing crappy gifts. It just feels better all around. Here's to the next several weeks being full of crafting while watching Christmas classics, or the West Wing (our current Monogamous Netflix relationship).

A Star Wars Birthday

     When my older brother turned 26, my younger brother and I baked him sugar cookies, cut them out in weird shapes, and decorated them with dinosaur sprinkles. We were so very pleased with ourselves- there's nothing like celebrating youth, right? Well, my husband turns 26 tomorrow and after seeing a friend throw a themed party for her boyfriend's 26th, I told my husband he was having a themed birthday party. His response? "Uh, okay. Sounds good." My response? "Yay! Planning a party!!"

The decal was a gift Hubs
received at the party

     So, I set to work. We own a ton of Star Wars stuff, so choosing a theme was a no brainer. I didn't want to have to go out and get a bunch of themed items for a party, so I worked with what we already had. Which happens to include: 2 Star Wars cookbooks, pillows I made when we got married, Star Wars trivia and books, some "art" my husband had made for a contest in his chemistry lab (photos of nanowires that he had colored to look like scenes from Star Wars), 3 sets of Star Wars pancake molds and a set of Star Wars cookie cutters/presses. Clearly, we were set. I spent about $5 at WalMart to grab a black vinyl tablecloth and some glowsticks and balloons, and called it a day for decorating.

     For inspiration, I (of course) turned to Pinterest. Good news? Pinterest is full of Star Wars party ideas. Bad news? They are all posts with titles like "For your 5 year old's birthday party!" and when I thought about how much work would go into some of the decorating ideas, for just a few hours of entertaining mid-20's PhD students, I had to turn away from Pinterest. I only took away one idea: I'd seen a "Pin the lightsaber on Yoda" game, and thought that would be fun, especially after some guests had enjoyed a drink or two. I was little bit over the lightsaber hype after my Pinterst excursion though, and wanted to change it up, so things got a little nerdy. I had to ask the hubs for clarification on vocabulary before I decided on the exact title, and we settled on "Pin the Superlaser Cannon on the Death Star." Also, a Death Star is easier to draw out on posterboard than Yoda, for sure.

The Spread.

     My next focus was obviously planning the food. We were having a later party so I just wanted to prep some snacks. I picked out of the cookbooks a few dips and a cookie recipe. The dips were fairly tasty, and I really liked the "Darth Maul Dip" which was actually roasted red peppers, garlic, and cream cheese all food processed. You then, of course, sprinkle poppy seeds on top over the mold of Darth Maul's face and add pearl onions broccoli stem slices for the eyes.

Wookiee Cookies and cupcakes. From this party,
I learned that Wookiee is, in fact, spelled with
two "e"s at the end. Who know? 

     I had planned two cookie recipes, but Joe said he wanted cupcakes instead of sugar cookies. Bummed about not getting to use the cookie press/cutters, I got a little crafty with the cupcakes and made fondant cutouts with the cookie cutters. And then...I painted them! It was the most fun I've had decorating cupcakes. I definitely needed a smaller brush. The irony is that I thought about painting the fondant and how I already had brushes and gel food coloring, but I'd forgotten that almost all of my paintbrushes have been used on ACTUAL PAINT. Oil and acrylic. Probably not good to use them on food after that? Nope. I did have a few brushes that hadn't been used yet, and I chose the smallest one to use on the fondant, however it was not quite small enough for the detail in the cookie press design.

Phone picture of the painting setup. You add vodka to the food coloring/gel, so that it dries faster when you paint it
on the fondant. Just a little goes a long way! Other than that, it's just like painting with watercolors. 

Close up of the Yoda cupcake; I'm shamelessly proud of mixing the perfect Yoda-green on the first attempt. 

     Lastly, I made some "Yoda Soda" which is actually one of my favorite party recipes. Even for actual grown-up events like bridal and baby showers, jewelry parties, etc., you can make this soda. So I will end with that recipe and instructions! Happy Birthday Hubs!

Adding a striped paper straw
when serving is a way to make
this a fancier drink!

"Yoda Soda," or, the tastiest party drink

Ingredients:
- 1/2 Gallon of Lime Sherbet
- 2 Liters of Sprite

Directions: 
Scoop out the lime sherbet into a pitcher or punch bowl. Fill the pitcher or bowl 1/4 to 1/2 full with scoops, not packing the scoops or trying to save space. You will need room at the top of your pitcher. Then pour Sprite over top. As you do, the soda will foam up. Pour the Sprite until the foam reaches just under the top of your pitcher or bowl. When the foam dies down, add a few more scoops of sherbet, and repeat adding Sprite and sherbet until you've mixed your desired amount of punch. Pour into glasses (or scoop out of punch bowl with a ladle) to serve.

T-Shirt quilt: Finally complete! (picture heavy post)

Here's a secret: I actually finished my T-Shirt quilt over a month ago. I've even used it twice since then. Sorry, y'all.

Yes, that is a Harry Potter pillowcase in the background. 

This is a special post- this blanket has been something I've wanted to complete for several years! I kept getting side-tracked, starting it then stopping, then starting again but forgetting what I was going to do, then having to redo things and oof! It was a very time consuming project. Every single step of it. I don't want to dissuade anyone from undertaking their own t-shirt quilt, but I will say this was a heifer of a project to undertake.

Back of the quilt. The square in the middle was not a
smart move, sewing wise. 

Things I learned 
Or, how to avoid a disaster


1. I am not a quilter. Nope.

Front of the quilt! Yay!

2. I rush through planning projects sometimes. This is not one of those things you can rush through! I learned that the hard way, more than once. Yikes.
3. Have a plan that you know you can follow. And keep it nearby for handy reference. I really should have printed out a plan at the start.
4. I have more skills than I thought when it comes to sewing! I also have fewer skills than I thought, as I learned from a few different points where I actually thought "UH. What is this tutorial even asking me to do?!" Oops.
5. Even if there are flaws, it still looks impressive once it's finished. People do NOT notice the things I do, like the lack of straight stitching, the pen marks I can still spot on some of the shirt fronts, my terribly tied knots between the layers...people only see this massive quilt and the shirts which make it up!

Close up of the backing fabrics. Totally wrinkly. Sorry, guys. 

     Resources for the T-Shirt-Quilt-Project(-That-Lasted-Forever-Because-of-Poor-Planning):

This is resting on a full size bed (ha, get it, resting?).

~Here is the website I should have followed the whole time. I found it AFTER I had already (poorly) cut my shirts and attached fusible. Most Unfortunate for me, but fortunately for you, I can save you that anguish.
        Some Notes: 
        ~ If you are a first timer, absolutely go with the "blanket as the batting, sheet as a back" suggestion. And if you are not a first timer, definitely do NOT try to put a square in the middle of the back of your quilt, even if the fabric is beautiful and you only have a square of it. It is not worth the trouble it takes to try and sew in a square between two single pieces of fabric and also be precise. Nope.
         ~Where the tutorial tells you to iron, don't think "Awwww heck, this fabric seems fine. Plus I hate ironing, so I'll just skip that step." It will not turn out well for you.
         ~You do use a lot of thread, but JoAnn Fabrics typically has spools (decently sized) of "quilting thread" that are 99 cents. I found the quality to be fairly sturdy!
         ~TAKE YOUR TIME doing the "math" parts. As a good friend's dad says, "Measure twice, cut once," or as I have adapted it "Measure quickly then cut once, and then do an hour of extra work for each hasty cut because you forgot about x, y, or z, ya dumb dumb."
 
Here are a few other tutorials which are thorough:
~ Cheap Chic Home
~ Sew Caroline (Part 1, there are 2 parts total)
~ Almost Casual
~ The Dixie Chicken (Part 1, there are 3 parts total)



I used some extra interfacing I had laying around, and unfortunately, it wrinkled in the dryer after I washed the quilt. You can see in the picture to the left how it has wrinkled; basically the interfacing disconnected from the shirt and bunched up underneath. When it is hot out of the dryer, I can sort of stretch it back out, but it stays pretty wrinkled. I have a few shirt backs like this. I didn't know that interfacing adhesive could go bad, but I suppose it did!

For the edge, I folded it all over twice and sewed to keep it in place. Not fancy, but also not super difficult!

Video I used for the edge of the quilt (I did not do as much ironing/gluing, hence my non-straight lines)

More of the edge of the quilt

You can sort of see the tiny yellow blob there, left of center in the picture to the left. That's one of the ties on the quilt, to hold the front and back together in the middle spaces of the quilt, so that it doesn't "bubble" out. These took a painstakingly long time, because I did them at/near each corner seam. I am not patient enough nor advanced enough to sew a quilting design into the quilt, so I went with the ties as a more practical option. I think it looks great, actually, and they are small enough that the bad ones are relatively hidden anyway. Wink!


Ta-da! What do you think? Is this a project you'd undertake? Or do you have a project that you've been putting off because you know it will take a lot of time?

I seriously love this pattern. 

Species Being

Post, Part 1: This gif of a dog getting a crazy birthday surprise! Had to share that today.

Post, Part 2: Some philosophy

I have a sore throat today, so I'm ending my day with my home-remedy for sore throats: Whiskey tea. The recipe is easy- put Jack Daniels in your lemon tea. Boom. As I sit and sip my tea, I'm reflecting on my day. Today made me remember some readings I did in college. I was a Sociology major and obviously we read a lot of Marx, Weber, etc. I remember, while reading a series of selections written by Karl Marx, that there was one philosophy of his that really resonated with me: the idea of "species being" or, what it really means to be a human. I think that reading was paired with several readings about labor and social classes, etc., but what I really took away from that particular set of readings is that being human is really about what you DO with your human-ness.

Before I get too crazy over here, I'll just paraphrase: I interpreted the readings to mean that we feel human when we do things that make us feel human. To each their own, here, because some people feel the need to create; others feel a need to serve, some to think and expand their thinking, some to love and be engrossed in social activity, and still others feel myriad other needs in order to feel human. I am a "create" person- I really like producing things which make me feel my time was well spent. I specifically enjoy producing things that give off positive aesthetic vibes, such as baked goods and useful crafts (hence the darn quilt I've been trying to finish forever...). I feel VALUE in the time spent on those activities, and the finished products give me something to feel positive about. I also feel human in service, which is why I teach, but that's for another day.

The point of this post is really that I am VERY much enjoying my summer schedule, where I can impact a child's education...for a half day, and then go home and craft. Or nap. Or blog. Or whatever I put on my to-do list in the morning. It's been a rather immensely relaxing 2 weeks off school so far, and I'm making the most of it!

Here's to being human! *clinks whiskey tea cup with empty water glass nearby*

One Month Later...

Whelp. I knew it would happen. This is why I have never really been a "blogger!" Life gets in the way people!

Top 10 things that have contributed to the large gap between posts: 

1. Work. Last week I was at school every day until 6:30 or 7. Possibly the week before as well. Ew. Gross. Ugh. 

2. HOCKEY PLAYOFFS. I'm a bit of a fanatic. Let's go Caps!! (obligatory #CAPSLOCK @washcaps)

3. Our outdoor soccer league is finally getting to regular schedule (rain kept us from playing the first several weeks)

4. Weekends away/with visitors. Springtime apparently = ALL the visits. 

5. More work. Writing IEPs, doing transition meetings, lesson planning...not enough time in the day!

6. Procrastination

7. Third Rock from the Sun is on Netflix! Game of Thrones is back!

8. We decided we are going to move this summer! Which led to apartment hunting and.. 

9. Cleaning out closets/stuff around the house (still need to work on this)

10. Warmer weather has meant we've been outside a lot more! At the outdoor bars, taking a walk, grilling dinner, etc. 

I started to try and type an actual post but all of those things in the above list (particularly #1 and #5) have made me what we (in college) call "cracked out." I'm so tired but I'm giddy but mostly tired but also not in a bad mood just really really really REALLY in need of bedtime happening soon. And I don't write as well. But it's more entertaining, from what I hear.

So, to make it up to you, here's some lovely pictures to show what I've been up to: 

--> Going to Williamsburg, VA to visit the ol' collegiate stomping grounds/spend time with friends who are moving halfway across the country in a few weeks. We had an enjoyable time wandering campus on my spring break, and pointing and laughing at the students who had classes/exams. We didn't actually do that. We just talked about doing that.

 <--  Enjoying the pleasant spring (less so enjoying the pollen that accumulates everywhere) by taking some walks and hanging out on the back patio*.

*This is actually not from my back patio.








 <-- Baking lots of things for Easter and in general. Easter was entertaining because I got my cousins to show my mom how to video chat me, and she took pictures of me (on her computer) video chatting with them, on her camera.

--> Spending time with friends on nice evenings! This is a picture of one of the games at our favorite local hangout. We call it "Barcade" because we never remember the real name. They have a bunch of old school video games and you can play any of them for 25 cents. It definitely brings back old memories!



 <-- My Easter Peep wreath from my grandma. She made this for me one year as a Christmas gift, and it is awesome! She also got me the peep basket and cover. Last week, my mom gave me some greeting cards and the front is a peep with the phrase "Inside, we're all the same." Can you tell my family likes Peeps? It's actually part of an Easter tradition I started where we roast the peeps like marshmallows.

DONUTS. DONUTS. I MADE THESE. TASTE SO GOOD. DONUTS.

Okay I think we need to end there today. I have some interesting baking challenges coming up and a few pre-summer crafts/activities I want to accomplish. Which means I'll be rearin' to go with material and clearly should not take another month to post. Clearly. Obviously. (Donuts?)

But seriously...

Time for a little inspiration!!

     Sometimes, I get crafty. And sometimes when I get crafty I think, "This craft needs to be meaningful and worth my time, and not just frivolous." Trying not to be wasteful, I decided I'd make something inspiring and do a little recycling at the same time.

     I have several blank canvases laying around but the one I wanted to use most was actually a misprinted photo canvas I got in the mail last year. After contacting the company about the canvas, they of course sent a new one, but I was left with the crappy looking one! So, I brought it to my table and sat to work covering up the previous photo with white acrylic paint. Then, added a background color.

This is actually upside down from my viewpoint
whilst taking the picture. Huh. 

     Now, when I saw this color I was very pleased because this is my favorite color. A sort of cobalt, cerulean blue. Always has been and always will be! And then I started planning the rest of the canvas and realized that there are few colors that show up really well on top of this color. Oops.

     Inspiration for this canvas actually came to me several months ago. When Maya Angelou passed away, everrryyyone was posting their favorite Angelou quote on every social media outlet possible. I had absolutely no problem with this; I really enjoyed having a day where scrolling through media meant that I was enlightened by her wisdom, inspired by her triumph, and smiling at her happiness. However, a friend of mine posted one that made me give a resounding "Amen" aloud to myself as I read it. "You may not control all of the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them"

     To me, this is a excellent hard truth with which I feel everyone must come to terms. Our choices define us and we are all prone to those unfortunate choices. As a special education teacher, to me this quote also inspires the thought that decisions have different weight for each individual. Choosing what to eat for dinner is a difficult decision to someone dedicated to losing weight, but an easy one for others; deciding what to do with your life can be an easy choice for those passionate about a particular profession,

                             Dat glare, tho                                     but an excruciating one for those whose talents                                                                                         may not be easily quantified. 

     This is a conversation I hoped to inspire in my 6th grade classroom with this canvas. The finished product is sitting on my dry erase marker tray at the moment, directly underneath each day's agenda. I have to admit I haven't had that conversation I've been awaiting, but there's a lot of time left this school year for that. 

Finished product! Off center image. A little pixillated.