Glitter Felt Halloween Wreath

Hello again! I have a more exciting post to share with you today—this one is actually fun to do, unlike cleaning. I was at Joann the other day (which, by the way, I hate just saying Joann, I always call it Joann’s because it just sounds better) buying fabric and what not. When I took my ticket for the cutting counter, I noticed they were on number 3, and my number was 17…so I had some waiting to do. Which could be good or bad at Joann. Joann’s. Joann Fabrics? So I started walking around the aisles that were close by the cutting counter, and came across some glitter felt by-the-yard. I immediately knew I wanted to get some—not sure what I would use it for, but knew I would put it to use somehow. I grabbed some in white and black, but I have a feeling I’ll be going back before Saturday (because it’s 40% off till then!) to get some more colors.

Then, a few days ago, I saw this cute little wreath from the crafty Jen at Tatertots & Jello: 

I loved the scallop idea and remembered my glitter felt I had just bought, and couldn’t wait to get started!

If you happen to want to make an exact replica of this wreath, here is what you’ll need:

Supplies

16 inch Styrofoam wreath (mine has the squared edges)

¼ yard each-black glitter & white glitter felt (but you might as well get the whole yard!)

3 sheets of orange felt

Black satin ribbon—1 ½ inch wide, about 24 inches long

Black twine, about 8 inches long

Printable scallop pattern from Tatertots & Jello LINK HERE 

Hot glue gun

Scissors

Sewing pins

I first printed the scallop pattern on cardstock and cut all three of them out. Then get your pretty black glitter felt out 

and lay it out so you can pin the three scallops to it. I doubled up the felt to make the cutting process faster. 

 I started cutting the felt in one continuous strip because at first I was only going to use the black felt, but then decided I wanted orange and white too so I cut the strip so there were four scallops in each strip, just like the pattern. On my wreath I used 14 strips of each color, with 4 scallops in each strip. Repeat with the orange and white felt. (For the orange felt sheets, I stacked all three pieces together and cut the scallops across the width—from one long end to the other. The scallops were a little bigger than the sheet but it still worked.) Then start wrapping each piece of felt around the wreath, 

and glue them in the back.

Continue this pattern all the way around the wreath.

At this point I wasn’t sure what I wanted to add to it. Then I came across this picture: 

BHG wreath

I liked the idea but wanted a cuter spider. I like Halloween, but not the gory, spooky, scary stuff—I like the cutesie, fun stuff. So I pulled up my handy Silhouette Studio and found a spider shape that I liked, and made it as big as the page. 

After cutting the spider out of paper I pinned it to the black felt 

and cut it out with the extra felt for the legs to attach to the wreath. 

Then I cut the eyes out of the white felt, and the little eyeballs from the black and glued them onto the spider. I placed the spider face up on my table and the wreath face up over it to get an idea of the placement of the spider. Then I took the wreath off and carefully added some hot glue to the ends of the legs and placed the wreath back on top to attach it. A view from the back 

and a view from the front

Next wrap your ribbon around the top of the wreath. I glued a little piece to the wreath itself so it would stay, then glued the ends together at the top. Then carefully glue the piece of twine to the back of the ribbon and the spider.

Then for the bow tie for the top of the ribbon, I cut 2 pieces of the white felt, one is 3”x9”, the other is 1”x4”. Fold each of the short ends of the 3x9 piece 2 inches to the back and glue down. 

Then pinch it in the middle and fold down the long ends to make it look like a bow.

I put little dabs of glue in between the folds to hold the shape. Then wrap the 1x4 piece around the middle and secure in the back with glue. 

Cut a small slit in the top of your ribbon, about 1 ½ inches from the top—this is where the wreath holder will go through. If you’re not using a wreath holder just skip this step! Glue the bow tie right underneath the slit. 

Then attach to your wreath holder and you’re done!

-Jackie


Linking up with
Talent Tuesday @ Vintage WannaBee
Craftastic Monday @ Sew Can Do
Made By Me @ JAQS Studio
Wow Me Wednesday @ Ginger Snap Crafts

Organizing Tips from a Not-So-Organized Girl

I am thrilled to introduce to you my dear cousin Jackie! You'll be seeing some posts from her on the blog along with my posts and we have some really fun things planned. She has some really good tips on getting organized. She's an amazing mom and is such a wonderful person. 

Enjoy her post on organizing!

Hello! I’m Jackie, Dresden’s cousin from sunny southern Arizona. I am a wife to a ropin’-lovin’ husband, and mom to two, soon to be three little stinkers (that I love immensely). I enjoy crafting and sewing, but lately I’ve been trying to get organized and on top of things. (Because then I’ll have more time to craft and sew, right???) Is there anybody out there who has this down?? I struggle with this, especially with kids now. I definitely appreciate a clean, organized home, but I’m not OCD about it and sometimes the messes stay for…well, longer than they should. So in my quest to be more organized, I have determined two things:

1—Everything needs a place, and

2—I need a routine.

I enjoy being a mother and I enjoy being able to stay home with my kids, but maintaining a household is not easy or always enjoyable. I’ll admit it, it’s a lot of work, more than I realized. My goal is to not try to fit into the perfect wife/mom/homemaker stereotype, my goal is to just do what I feel good about, what works for me, and what makes my family happy. I realize the tips I share with you today may be something you have already been doing for years, something you would maybe take into consideration, or something that wouldn’t even work for you. And I’m okay with that. But hopefully it gives you some insight or inspiration, if you’re needing it.

So, as I mentioned before, I have determined that a big key to an organized home is having a place for everything. There are so many books and magazines, blogs and Pinterest that have tips to help you declutter and get organized. I don’t really have anything magical, new, or earth-shattering to say about this, but my focus right now is to live more simply. There is a book out there titled “Organized Simplicity”. That is how I want my home to be. It’s not there yet, but that’s my goal. I wish I was Mary Poppins and could just snap my fingers to get the job done, but alas, it just doesn’t work. Work is what you have to go. And what it really comes down to is going through each room and area in the house, getting rid of things you don’t use or need (trash, donate or yard sale) then finding a place for everything that’s left. Easier. Said. Than. Done. Yes, it’s not fun work, but it is rewarding once it’s done.

While I’m still working on that, I have tried to also figure out a routine that works for me, mainly when it comes to cleaning. How many of you have had that unexpected visitor show up at your door, or guests that ask to stay at your house the night before they are to show up, putting you into overdrive trying to get things cleaned and looking nice? Um…not me… Well, to avoid that craziness, I try to keep things clean by having a routine each day. And thanks to Pinterest, I finally found something that has helped me:

This is my version of a cleaning schedule that I saw here http://littlegreennotebook.blogspot.com/2012/03/my-cleaning-process-and-500-give-away.html

I’ve been trying to do this for a long time, but now that I finally have it on paper I’ve been so much better at it. I think it’s pretty self-explanatory, but I basically have morning and evening chores that I try to do every day, as well as a room or rooms to be cleaned each day. I have a basic three-bedroom house, so this is what works for me. Or, that I’m trying to make work. I live in the desert where it’s always dusty, and the living room is the main area that we do things in, so that’s why I do it twice a week. Usually Friday is a quick wipe down/vacuum though, and on Tuesdays I put a little more work into it. Each area/room gets a deep clean once a month to get the areas that get overlooked—fans and light fixtures, blinds, baseboards, top of fridge, etc. Close friends and relatives that are reading this are probably laughing right now because they’ve seen how disastrous my house can be, but I will admit I’m not perfect at following my routine. Life is crazy and busy and sometimes I just don’t want to do anything! Please, somebody empathize with me here. But I really am trying to make this work, and hopefully I’m not the only one that struggles with this.

This is just a start, and I hope it was helpful to you in some way or another. If there’s anybody out there that’s not perfect at this, it’s me. So please know that while I have an organized system, I’m by no means completely organized. I do believe as my dad always said that “cleanliness is next to Godliness”, but at the same time I don’t beat myself up if I don’t get everything checked off. There really are things that are better than a spotless home, and no reason to stress over a mess, at least in my opinion. I hope to be able to share some more tips about organization in the near future (as soon as I fine-tune them!) and well as more exciting things like holiday crafts! Thanks for letting me stop by!