Spring Wreath

I found the idea for this wreath on pinterest.  This wreath is easy to make, tho a bit time consuming.  What I like about it is that you can make the base wreath (green grass), and redecorate it easily however you'd like year after year, or even day after day. 

So, here's how I made this wreath.

Materials:

- Lion Brand Yarn 320-194A Fun Fur Yarn, Lime

- foam wreath

- craft glue (optional)

- round head pins

- silk flowers (got these from the dollar tree store)

- ribbon to hang wreath

How to:


1.  Take the individual flowers off the silk flower stems, and set aside.
2.  Use a pin to attach one end of the fun fur yarn to the foam wreath.  You can also add a dab of glue.  (I put way too much glue in the picture.  A pin and a small dab will work great -- or even just the pin.)
3.  Wrap the yarn around the foam wreath until the wreath is completely covered. (This is the time consuming part.)  For a 12 inch wreath, I was able to cover everything with 2 skeins of fun fur (just barely.  I pinned the last end of the yarn to the beginning of the first skein of yarn, then slowly spread the yarn so it covered the foam wreath evenly.)
4.  Put a pin thru the center of the silk flower and stick the pin into the wreath in random places. Repeat for as many flowers as you'd like to use.
5.  Attach a ribbon.

Kissing Balls

Thought I'd share with you my first attempt to making silk flower kissing balls, also known as pomanders.   I plan on using these to decorate the aisle for the ceremony.

Materials:
- foam ball (whatever size you want to use.  The one pictured is 4 inches)
- silk flowers (lots)
- low temp glue gun and low temp glue sticks.
- ribbon to hang up the kissing ball.

Adding ribbon:
1.  Using an exacto knife cut a small slit (about the width of the ribbon) on the foam ball.
2.  Using a screwdriver, or something flat, wedge the two ends of the ribbon into the slit.  In this case, I used two ribbons together.
3.  Using glue gun, put glue around the slit and ribbon to help secure the ribbon into the slit.

Assembly:
1.  Prepare the silk flowers.  We'll only use the buds, so just remove the buds from the rest of the greenery.
2.  Heat up your glue gun.
3.  Put a little glue in the bottom tip (where the greenery was) of your silk flower bud, and stick it in the foam ball.
4.  Continue sticking buds in til you can't see the foam ball.

Tips:
1.  It may be helpful to draw lines that you can follow on the foam ball, particularly if you want to mix up flowers and be symmetric about it.
2.  Get more silk flowers than you think you'll need (like double the amount).  I'd check the dollar tree store, or online for the best deals.

Pledging Beanies - Year 2 Final Counts

I know it's been over a whole month since the Pledging Beanies are finished.  I'm finally getting around to posting the results.  For those who follow Rad Linc Crafts on facebook, you know of some of those results already.

Here are the final numbers, with some pictures. :)

Me --->  10 beanies.  My goal was 12, so I fell short a bit.  I just have to try harder next year. I did, however, sell 2 beanies to my friend, of which the money will be going to headhuggers.

My mom and sister ---> A whopping 15 from them.  Awesome job to the both of them.

Elaine --->  When my friend from my crochet group heard that I was making beanies for HeadHuggers, she decided to crochet this lovely slouch hat for me to donate.  Excellent job on the hat.  It's just beautiful, and I'm sure someone will love it and appreciate it greatly.

Alicia --->  My friend and co-conspirator from last year's pledging of beanies, joined me again this year.  She did a wonderful job finishing 10 beanies.  Picture to come soon.

That brings us to an astounding 36 hats for HeadHuggers.  I'm so amazed at this outcome.  Thanks to everyone who's joined along with this year's Pledging Beanies campaign.

By the way.... Happy National Craft Month!  More posts coming up soon. :)