I saw this over a year ago on the Elsie Marley blog and never did anything with it until now. I thought about embroidering something on it but just went with the fun fabric instead.

What a great way to recycle your cans.

I used this spray adhesive instead of the glue gun cause the adhesive makes the fabric lay flat.

I am not the best at sewing by hand.

I am storing my scraps of fabric in this but I think this would be a great alternative to a gift bag. You could even add a wire or ribbon handle.

For Elsie Marleys complete instructions click here.

I made my way to a Goodwill Outlet yesterday that was way out in the sticks but people have told me its the best one in the area so I finally got out there to check it out. They were right it was pretty good.

I found this amazing checked upholstery material. I also found a bolster pillow form. So you put the two together and what do you get?

Well I got this:

I found a cute shirt that matched the upholstry material and decided it would work great for ties.

I measured the material, making sure I didn't cut too much off, in case it didn't fit properly. I like to leave room for mistakes.

I sewed the ironed and sewed the ends. Then I sewed the material into a tube to fit around the bustle form.

I pulled the material onto the bustle and it fit perfectly.

I cut strips off the shirt, I didn't finish the edges, I didn't want this to be a long project and the frayed edges give it a relaxed look.

And this is how it turned out. I love the colors, perfect for spring!And it seems spring is coming sooner than it normally does.

In May my husband will graduate from Seminary and in June my daughter graduates from High School. The overwhelming responsibilities have been haunting me lately, I have thought about what I need to do so much that I am dreaming about it. Decorations, invitations, food, house space, redoing the yard, too many things to think about and really not a lot of time. Lately I have spent a lot of time looking at wedding sites and have come up with some great ideas on decorating and invitations and I am excited about those possibilities. I know they are wedding sites but you would be amazed at how just changing up one aspect of it or color and they can be used for any occasion.

Something cheap and sweet like these candy apples courtesy of My DIY Wedding Day.

These cute pom-poms in school colors would be great decorations, courtesy of My DIY Wedding Day.

And who wouldn't want to receive one of these Thank Yous? Courtesy of d. Sharp Journal.

How about you? Do you have any ideas for me? I would love to hear from you!

Ok I may be the only one that is excited about this but I found my very own sock monkey socks at the goodwill. Yep, they were brand new, never worn, ready to sew on a face and stuff to make it look like a sock monkey. I still need to find a pattern but am just so excited to get these started. Watch out my friends, one of these may be coming to you for your next birthday! I look at these socks and can just see the sock monkey smiling back at me.

My daughter came up with this idea to hang hearts from a doorway or ceiling like those funky 60's beads. We started cutting hearts and arranging them so that none of the hearts of the same size were next to each other. Here is what we came up with. We still haven't hung them from the doorway, they are currently draped over the ceiling fan that hangs over the kitchen table.

Instructions:

1. Cut as many hearts as you think necessary. in different sizes.

2. Arrange in varied order.

3. Start sewing together. Make sure and leave space between each heart.

I came home yesterday to find my daughter sitting at my sewing machine sewing some pillows for her friends. If you want to see me break down and cry, well thats all you have to do, sit down and tell me how much you like to sew. Ok maybe not just any ol' person can bring me to tears but to see how much my daughter loves sewing, well thats enough to put this mom over the edge. In fact the first words out of her mouth with a cute smile on her face were; "Mom, I don't care if its a little Barbie sewing machine, but I want a sewing machine".  Ok well I am not sure she will be getting a sewing machine anytime soon but she can definitely use mine.

Isn't she cute sitting at my very old sewing machine?

And of course her puppy sits and watches as she sews, I have to admit she is cute too!

This is the bag Emily made for me, with no help from me at all!

I love these cards. I saw an example on MADE and wanted to make some of my own. They turned out so cute and I think I am going to make a bunch more for Valentines day. These last few days my daughter has been wanting to make Valentines decorations so beware these next couple weeks will be full of hearts and love.

These are super simple to make. All you need is a sewing machine, fabric and note cards.

Instructions:

1. Cut out a heart from the fabric.
2. Sew the heart onto the note card.
3. Use design stitches if you would like.
4. Write Happy Valentines Day or I Love You inside along with a special note and your done! Easy as pie!

I found this new website and I am excited to share it with you, Made by Rae, she has some really great crafts and really cute kids. Anyhow last week she posted The Easiest Heart Garland. Evar. She used felt, but I was fresh out of felt so I, as always, used what I had, and made mine out of thick scrapbook paper. It worked and was so fun to make with my daughter.

1. Cute out as many hearts as you desire.

2. Sew them together in a pattern of colors or random, your choice.

3. Hang up and enjoy

So cute and super easy!

The other day I made a candle holder for my mom's birthday and told you I would give you the tutorial later, well today is the day. This was super easy, a little messy and a lot of fun. Keep in mind that I always try to recycle and use what I have. The jars are from old candles, the images are from magazines and ribbon and embellishments are things I had laying around the house. Be creative and make these your own.

1. I used old candle jars. Rinsed in hot water until the remnants of the old candle fell out.

2. Cut out images from magazines and Mod Podge them onto the glass.

3. Decorate with glitter paint. Stick a candle in it and your finished.

Another great idea is to add candy(such as conversation hearts if its for Valentines day) to the jar and put a candle in the middle of that.

Dang I totally thought I had already made my sister an apron and then I found out that she didn't ever get one for Christmas when all my other sisters did. Now how did I do that? Well I felt so bad I whipped a quick one up today for her. I sewed the one ruffle three times but they say the third times a charm, well not so for me, it was the forth time that did it. Anyhow I did it and its done. I love it! I found this tutorial over a year ago at Blissfully Domestic.

For the tutorial on how to make this very cute and most of the time very fast ruffle apron click here.