Fall Leaves Garland

I am finally getting around to posting my fall decorations-and this year I actually have a sewing machine to piece together this colorful garland. I love garlands of all types all through the year.  It was so easy to trace leaves from my backyard and cut them out of the felt. I chose four different types of leaves and four bright colors.

I simply stitched a straight line through each leaf and before I got to the end I overlapped the edges  just enough to attach it to the next one. I attached ribbon to each end by sewing the ribbon through the backside of the end leaf. I added a few embellishments on some of the leaves using the decorative stitch setting in zig zag shapes. It took only one afternoon to make this pretty fall garland!

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Simple Thanksgiving Felt Garland

So, the holiday season is here again. You might have noticed, I haven't been posting as much as when I started this blog a year ago. I have been on a crafting/project marathon this past year-so many projects completed, so many new ideas and techniques I got to try! It's been a lot of fun sharing my ideas and "meeting" all of you! I have been overwhelmed with your nice comments and thrilled with being featured on bigger sites.

But I have decided to take it slow for the next few months. Anyone who blogs knows how time consuming it and even competitive it can be, especially during this season. But I just want to enjoy time with my family and friends. Yes, I do have a few Christmas ideas up my sleeve and I hope you get a chance to check out last year's ideas. I hope you will still stay with me. In the spirit of recycling I am reposting this Thanksgiving idea from last year: Simple Thanksgiving Felt Garland.

I love Thanksgiving--it is such a simple season of gratitude--I think it's important to remember the ways we are blessed. I always think it's a shame that this holiday often gets overlooked by the rushed Christmas season ahead.

This year, I decided to celebrate a little early and decorate with a simple reminder to "be thankful". I have been loving all the machine sewn together felt garland I've seen around different blogs and on Pinterest.

Since I don't have a sewing machine yet,  I decided to put an old-fashioned spin on designing my own by hand stitching the garland.  I was excited to find some recycled felt made from Eco-Fi-made from 100% post-consumer plastic bottles by the brand Creatology. Plastic bottles never felt so soft...

Here's what you'll need to make this project: 

Yarn needle

Felt in various colors

Fabric scissors

Yarn-I used two types of textures, but used the smooth kind for the lettering

Glue gun or tacky glue

Small circular containers in different sizes to trace-try a spice jar or medicine cup.

Pen or pencil 

First, I traced my circles around the containers-I alternated between two different sizes.

Then, I cut out each circle until I had enough to spell out my words. I used 11 circles.

Next, I threaded my yarn needle with the wavy yarn and stitched loosely through the center of the first circle.

I repeated the process, leaving about an inch between circles, until I ended up with a long chain of circles, like this:

To make the words, "be thankful" I cut small pieces of straight orange yarn and just looped and connected the pieces to form each letter. I then glued each letter to the center of the circle.

(keep in mind that I formed the letters first before trying to glue them!)





Are you ready to see the finished garland?  Here it is!

a shot from below, the garland is held in place by the gourds:

I love my colorful reminder to "be thankful"...

If you liked this idea, I hope you get inspired by checking out the rest of my holiday tutorials! And be blessed this season...

Thanks for visiting ReMadeSimple!

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DIY Birthday Pennant

This weekend we celebrated my youngest son's second birthday! Where has time gone?

It really is crazy to think that my little baby, who I thought at one time would never sleep through the night is now a big boy, running around, talking, laughing, getting into trouble every day!  

Anyway,  I've been working hard on an idea I thought up for a cloth birthday pennant that would last a lot longer (and look a lot cooler) than your typical paper store-bought decoration, for only a few dollars to make. 

I used a lot of different colors and textures to make it cheerful and interesting to look at, with yarn letters just for fun. 

And, here at ReMadeSimple I try to do most things with a "re"in there--so here you have a "reusable, recycled" no-sew birthday pennant! 

To make this you'll need:

several pieces of felt (I like Eco-fi because it's made from 100%recycled plastic bottles)

scrap pieces of fabric (I used a woven burlap type of fabric)

permanent marker or pen

yarn

glue gun

scissors

Here's how I made this pennant:

You'll basically cut out your triangles (13) as large as you want them to be. 

I measured and cut one, then traced the shape with permanent marker onto all of the other pieces of felt and cut those out.

Then, arrange them right next to each other on a table or floor and use their length to see how long you'll need your yarn to be. (I allowed for about two feet of extra yarn on each side).

Use your hot glue gun to glue the edge of each triangle to the yarn.

Next, trace and cut out 13 circles out of felt or fabric in whatever color you want.

Hot glue each one to the center of the triangle.

Finally, cut small strips of yarn and shape them into letters, glueing small pieces at a time.

 (It might help to shape the whole letter first to make sure it looks right.)

The finished pennant hanging in a window, so bright and cheery!

Making this pennant took me a few hours, but it now makes decorating for birthdays

and tearing down so much easier and quicker.

The pennant will just fold up and could be stored in a small pouch for next time. 

(Maybe I'll have to fashion one of those next!)

I purposefully used colors and style that I can use for our whole family for years to come,

 and I'm really happy with how it turned out. 

(It's so fun to see something you imagine turn out exactly how you want it to be.)

What do you think?

Thanks for visiting today! I hope you leave feeling inspired and took some time to snoop around at the rest of my projects and tutorials!

In my next post, I'll be bragging more about how cute my two-year old is with some photos of his birthday bash and the fun theme I chose for him.

Until next time, 

I regularly link up with these parties and this party.

5 DIY Whimsy Heart Dangles

Hi again everyone! Are you getting in the Valentine's Day spirit? I love that there is an excuse during the long winter to decorate again and celebrate love. I have a confession: I used to think of it as a "Hallmark Holiday" with too much pink everywhere, and I didn't really get into it.

But on a personal note, it is a special time for our family, because Feb.14th was the day last year that we adopted our youngest son! A significant reason to celebrate and remember our own "Love Day" every year from now on!

Ok, now onto the craft I want to show you:

You might remember seeing my "Whimsy Heartfelt Ornaments" from Christmastime.
 I had a lot of fun coming up with these and I decided to repost because they are so pretty to
display in my windows and on doorknobs for this season, too.

And, I made a few new ones in cream with vintage lace and different rolled felt designs, with yellow ribbon, for a twist on the traditional reds, pinks, and purples you usually see this time of year.

 So, are you curious? Want to see how I made them? Click Here

DIY Whimsy Heart Ornaments

Hi everyone! I'm so thrilled that Amy is featuring this project over at Mod Podge Rocks! If you are coming here from her site and you'd like to see my updated Valentine's post with a few new ornaments I made, please click here! 

I am so excited to share my craft experiment with you that actually turned out amazing! I have been fascinated with photos of paper quilling and got the idea to reproduce a similar visual effect using strips of felt. In my earlier tutorial about  DIY Felt Monogram Ornaments, I showed you how I stiffened felt circles using liquid starch. I wanted to experiment a little more with this process since  it turned out so well with the circles. 
Before you get started, you need to know that the starched hearts will take about a day to dry. Ok, now are you ready to see how I made these too- cute- to- put- away -after -Christmas ornaments? Here's what you'll need and the steps you'll need to take: 

I used a glue gun to carefully glue small sections of the delicate fabric together until it felt secure. I added a generous amount of glitter Mod Podge to help firm up the felt and add a little holiday sparkle!

I love the look of whimsical hearts so much, I plan on putting them somewhere in my house after Christmas so I can admire them beyond the season.
 If anyone decides to try and make these, I'd love to see what you come up with! Just send me a link below.

Thanks for reading!
-Kristina
Linking up with these parties and this party.

DIY Felt Monogram Ornament

Here's an idea I came up with that is also a nice gift you can easily send along with your Christmas cards because it is thin and lightweight. I sent one to my gift partner through Craftaholic Anonymous's  Handmade Gift Exchange.   I used my 100% recycled felt Eco Fi felt for this project. (you know I have to keep up my recycling/repurposing theme! ) Here's what you need to get started:

A cooling rack is a great tool to use to help your starched circles dry more quickly.

I used my glue gun for a quick bond, but you could also use tacky glue.

Just shape the yarn into your letter and add a little glue at a time.

Adding a touch of handmade whimsy to my Christmas tree!

 I can't wait to show you my next handmade ornament-stay tuned!
-Kristina

Linking this up here and here.