Moss Balls

When I decorate my house, I am always looking for "space fillers". You know what I mean? It's not the focal point or anything I really want to stand out, it just needs to fill some empty space. Enter, moss balls.



For this you will need a styrofoam ball, some moss and some hot glue.


You will want to work in small sections at a time. Put a little hot glue on and then tear off some of your moss and stick it to it. This gets really messy. So definitely work somewhere where you can just sweep everything up when you are done.



Or you can have your three year old daughter mowe it for you.




When you get all of your moss on, (it will take a lot), then you just need to trim off all the crazy little pieces that stick out.

Then put it in a basket or bowl and look how fabulous it looks!!

Ruffled lamp shade

I've been wanting to do something to my boring lamp shade for a long time. Then the other day, it hit me, burlap ruffles!

So I started cutting my burlap into 3 inch strips.



Then I took my needle and thread and started making long stitches. When I got about 7 or 8 stitches in the burlap I would gently pull on the thread which would make it ruffle up.

I had to stop and take a picture of my little girl snuggling with the newest member of our family, Frank. We are crazy about this little guy.




Once you get all your ruffles done. You just start hot gluing them right to your lampshade. I just started from the top and worked my way down. When I would start on the next row, I kind of tucked the bottom row underneath the previous row a little bit, just so there wouldn't be definite lines.


It makes a huge difference, don't you think?

Homemade Laundry Soap

Yes, I make my own laundry soap. And I have for a long time. And I love it. It really isn't any cheaper than going to the store and buying some Tide or something like that. But, it is better. A lot better. Our clothes smell so good and I very rarely have to pre-treat any stains. So here is the recipe...



2 Cups Borax
2 Cups Arm and Hammer Washing Soda
1 bar Fels Naptha grated

Ok, so I searched around town forever to find all the ingredients, and the only place I have found that has all of them is Harmons.
Now, I've grated the bar by hand, and it is not fun. So I highly recommend using your food processor and just putting your grating attachment in. It is so fast and easy. I just use 2 tablespoons of the detergent for every load of laundry. And yes, I have a high efficiency front loader washer. It works, you should give it a try.

Cheese Cloche

These little buggers are hard to get your hands on, so if you are lucky enough to find one, don't let go. They are called cheese cloche's. I found one at the D.I. for 2.00. And I'll admit I screamed on the inside when I saw it.


So my cheese cloche came without the bottom. So I had to find a plate that would fit with it. I found this cool yellow plate at the D.I. for .75.


And I already had one of the candle stick holders from a previous craft. I think I paid 1.00 for it at the D.I.



I used my trusty E6000 glue. Thanks again Sherrie for this!



After you get the glue on and get everything put together, wait about 24 hours for it to completely dry. Then voile' a beautiful new piece of decor!

Easter Egg Art

How cute is this? I love it!


To begin you will need some of the plastic easter eggs from the dollar store. I looked around my craft room and found some sand paint stuff that I bought a long time ago. So I just put on some plastic gloves and smooshed the sand stuff all over the eggs and let them dry.




While they were drying I started to work on the frame. I took the glass out of the frame and then painted the frame and let that dry. When it was dry I sanded it a little to distress it.



Then I took the cardboard back of the frame and mod-podged scrapbook paper onto that.

Then I painted the eggs with basic acrylic paint.


When everything was dry, I got some ribbon and started to decorate the eggs. Then I glued them onto the cardboard. I got new glue, and it works fabulously!! So, I want to thank my friend Sherrie S. She told me to try it, and I am sooo glad she did. So, thank you Sherrie!!



Next, I cut some vinyl and stuck it on the cardboard as well. Then I just put the frame together. It looks fab!

Chalkboard Bottles

I was looking around the other day and didn't like the way all of my boring glass bottles looked.



So I got out my painters tape and chalkboard paint and got busy.


It takes about 3 coats of the paint to cover the bottles well.




After the paint is completely dry, just remove the tape. You will need to prime the chalkboard by using the side of your chalk and rubbing it all over the black. Just wipe off the chalk and you are ready to go!

Old Bottle Soap Pump

This was the easiest thing to make, ever! And I have had so many compliments on it.

I found this bottle at an antique sale awhile ago. I had forgotten about it until the other day when I ran across it again.


All I did was take the lid off and then take a screwdriver and a hammer and literally started pounding a hole in the middle of the lid.


Then I found one of my old soap dispensers and made sure the hole was big enough to hold the dispenser tightly. And that is it. Easy Peasy!

Pottery Barn Knock-off Easter Eggs

I don't totally love the way these turned out, but oh well. You can't win them all, right?

So to start out, you need to head to the dollar store and get you some easter eggs.



Then you will need to get some plastic spray paint from Krylon. It is about 3.25 a can at walmart.


Once, you gather your items. Start spray painting the eggs. It is kind of tricky because they roll all over the place. But eventually they will be covered, it just might take you a couple of days, if you are like me.

When you've painted your eggs and they are totally dry. You will need to get some sticker or some vinyl letters.


Then apply the vinyl to the eggs.


Next, you need to get some ribbon or string (I used hemp) to stick through the two little holes in the top of your egg. I made the lengths all different so they would hang differently.

I think when St. Patty's day is over I will take down the green decor off my branches and hang the eggs on them. Until then, they will hang on my lights in the kitchen.

Monogrammed Burlap Pillows

Now that the drawing is all over, it's time to get back to posting crafts! This is so easy to make, and it adds so much! I love to work with burlap. There is so much texture and it's just fun to look at.



Ok, for this craft you will need some old pillows and some burlap. Burlap is so inexpensive. I buy mine at walmart for less than 2.00 a yard. See how ugly that pillow is? It has been in the top of my closet for about 4 years. I didn't know what to do with it, but I didn't want to throw it away because I knew I could use it sometime. Well the time has come! You will simply lay out the burlap and then put your pillow on top, just cut around the pillow leaving approximately 1 inch on all sides around the pillow to allow for the seam.

Then you will just start sewing all the way around until you have just one side left. (I used the zig zag stitch to give it a little more strength.)



On the last side, I just folded the unfinished edges in and hot glued them. (I didn't feel like hand sewing that day.)



Next cut some vinyl (I have a vinyl plotter so this was easy for me). Take apart the vinyl and only save the outside of the letter. Then stick this on your pillow.




When you are all done painting, you can take the vinyl right off, you don't need to wait for it to dry.



Once your paint has completely dried, put the pillow(s) on your couch and stand back and enjoy! Ignore the dog, he wouldn't get out of the way. By the way, the "W" stands for my last name and the "8" is how many are in our family. In case you were wondering.