Paper Hearts and Burlap Valentine's Wreath

 

Love day is right around the corner...time to pack away Christmas decorations and put up some pretty hearts. You might have seen this same wreath last month when I posted about my  Christmas Burlap and Pom Pom Wreath: I had cut long strips of a burlap coffee bag and followed this tutorial:

I liked the ruffled burlap base of this wreath so much I wanted to keep it up all year, removing and adding embellishments with the different seasons and holidays. So, in the spirit of repurposing, that's just what I did.

Here's how I transformed this Christmas Wreath into a Valentine's Wreath:

First, I removed the yarn and pom poms, and stored them away for another crafty day.

Then, I cut out simple white paper hearts out of watercolor paper, folding down the middle.

I used a hole punch to make a hole at the top of each heart.
Then, I wrapped craft wire through the hole and around the base of the wreath.This will make it easier to remove the hearts when I'm ready to decorate for spring.

My V day wreath was done-simple and pretty white, five hearts for the five people in our family.

The rest of my Valentines decorating is a lot like this wreath-simple, natural, lots of whites and tans. I will be posting a few pictures soon along with more kitchen progress...

 I hope you'll come by again to take a peek!

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Smart Simple & Green Boot Storage Tips

It's that time of year again-time to store away all the fall and winter clothes and boots and get out the sandals and flip-flops (and scrub those feet...paint those toenails pretty... )

If you have tall boots and want them to last long and keep their shape, don't just flop them down on the closet floor; try this quick trick: (and rescue some plastic from the recycling bin or trash can).

1. Grab two rinsed out empty two-liter bottles.

2. With the caps on tight, push them down into your boots to help them hold their shape.

3. Store away.

Ok, so that was the easiest and quickest tutorial I've ever shared-no skills required!
I really think this trick has helped my favorite boots last for years-now all I need to do for next season is polish them up.

Hope this tip was helpful and thanks for visiting ReMadeSimple! Looking forward to sharing more spring decorating and crafty ideas with you!

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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.

Milk Jug Vellum

So, my last post showed you how I repurposed milk jug plastic into pretty garland.

 And I promised, the milk jug fun wasn't over-it has only just begun!

Here's another use for all that translucent plastic-introducing "milk jug vellum". 

That's right. Vellum-the pretty see-through paper you see on wedding

 invitations and cards that you can now make yourself. 

And feel good about being a little more "green".

Check out this short video to see how I did it! 

So, if you watched my video, you'll have an idea of what to do:

Here are the materials I used:

card stock or index cards

blank paper card

scissors

small paper cutter

yarn

rectangles of milk jug plastic

Dremel or hole punch

opaque marker

yarn needle

glue gun

First, I cut out rectangles out of my washed and dried milk jug.

(I wasn't worried about them being perfect at this point because I knew

my paper cutter would do the trick with smoothly cutting the edges).

Here I am cutting the straight lines to form a plastic rectangle.

Then, I cut a heart out of a pink index card.

In the video above, you will see the that I used my 

Dremel to drill small holes along the edge of the plastic.
(but you could also use a sharp hole punch). 

Then, I threaded my yarn needle and wove the yarn

through each hole to create a pretty border.

After glueing my heart to the center of the card, 

I hot glued my vellum with a dot on the back of each corner and
placed over the top. I finished my card by writing my message in 

opaque marker. "Be Mine".Pretty sweet! 

So, what do you think? Inspired or at least amused? 

I know vellum isn't expensive to buy at the store, but why not "reduce, reuse, and recycle" whenever you can? And make something beautiful.

(That's what I'm all about here at ReMadeSimple)

 Thanks for visiting and come back again soon. I have many more ideas to share! 

Linking up with these and this party.

Stenciled Market Tote

A few weeks ago, Cutting Edge Stencils allowed me to
 choose one of their products to try out.

 I was excited because as crafty as I am,

 this was my first time stenciling.

 Somehow, I had it in my head that it would be
tedious and easy to mess up.
(I usually try to steer clear of fussy projects.) 

 But I started out trying a smaller craft size stencil

called Nagoya and it was surprisingly easier

than I expected. 

I was attracted to this stencil because it seemed so versatile;

 I could use it on fabric, furniture or a small section of a wall. 

I also liked that the design wasn't too girly.

(I am the only lady in the house and can't

have flowery things everywhere.) 

Nagoya medium craft stencil

So for my first try with stenciling, I did a canvas tote using fabric paint.

I figured if I messed this up, it wouldn't cause too much damage.

Plus, I could look cute at the farmer's market. 

(why not? it's much better and greener than carrying boring old plastic bags.)

my fabric paint colors and stenciling brush

I will admit, I did mess up a little bit in the beginning, in my eagerness to 

get started,  I used too much paint at first and it bled through.

 I learned that you need to dab off the paint onto a cloth until it's almost dry,

then apply to the fabric (or wall). Sometimes I have to learn the hard way...

Thankfully, I believe there are no mistakes in art and I was able to

 cover it up with the stripe you see at the top of the tote. 

And now that know that stenciling is fun and not fussy, 

I plan on doing a table top in the near future.

And speaking of furniture, stay tuned later this week to see my first
of a few painted furniture revamps I've been working on.

I have really been in the mood to change some colors around the house.
(I am really over reddish-orange.)
Can you guess what changes I made to this pie safe?

Thanks for reading!

Linking up with these and this party.

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
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