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!

Linking up with these parties:

Fabric Acorns (No-Sew!)

Well, after a busy and fun summer filled with big, big painting projects I worked on a teeny, tiny fall project that I love and was so easy to make--adorable fabric acorns. The best part is the ones I made are no-sew! (and no worm...real acorns are filled with them!)

I first saw this idea in BHG from Sweet Paul. The ones he made were velvetey fabric, which looked amazing...but a weird fact about me is I can't stand the feel of it...so I made mine with soft, silky touchable  fabric scraps in some of my favorite colors, finishing them off with a tiny bead on the end. These are so easy a kid could make them! So, if you want to get started...

Trash To Treasure Gallery Wall

This summer I worked on remodeling my bathroom by adding a fresh coat of paint, a new mirror, lighting and as a finishing touch, a colorful gallery wall. Can you believe everything I used came from thrift store junk? I choose the pieces that had an interesting shape and the potential for prettiness-because I know what paint can do!

Below is everything I used to create the look above: 
Stainless steel platters, outdated Avon recipe plates, cast iron owl trivets...stuff you might just throw away, or transform like I did!

Here's what I did to create my gallery wall: