I Still love Owls

On my trip to Home Goods this week I was hunting for Valentine's decor. I came up empty on that end, but I did find something I'm in love with. I got this totally adorable owl necklace tree. It's so cute on my dresser.  Don't you love? The owl trend is alive and strong at the Loop house.

Flower Study Part 8: Pinecone Flowers

All of the flowers I have shown so far have been fabric. Amie over at Kitty Cats and Airplanes has a great tutorial for pine cone flowers. These would be so cute in the winter. Plus they are free! Check out her tute!

Let's Be BFF's on Pinterest

I know I am so slow on this on the blogging game. I've been on Pinterest for a while. I've just never really promoted it on my blog. I'd love to see what you've pinned so leave your link for me to follow you and check me out if you like.

I had to Share This

I'm totally in love with this chair redo over at Kojo Designs. 

Beachy Button Art

I've been seeing button art all over blogland for forever now. Weirdly, my main reason for not trying it is because I didn't really have any cute buttons. Have you noticed buttons never go on sale and if they do they aren't the cute ones?

I broke down and bought a bag of buttons from Hobby Lobby this past week. Then Amie came over and brought her expansive stash. She also brought her Silouette and I showed her how to cut vinyl. We each cut out a letter and placed it on some scrapbooking paper. Then we started gluing away.

I really wanted more of a teal look, but the buttons I liked best were all more of a baby blue. It turned out super cute. Luckily we are planning on doing a nautical theme in our basement so it will fit right in.

I found this other super cute example of button art over at Mod Podge Rocks. 

 

My Crafty To- Do List

After buying a fixer upper house it seems like my list of to-do's never ends. Not only do we still need to do some major renos (hello bathroom!), but I am definitely still working on making it cuter. Here are a few projects that I have already bought all the supplies for and are just waiting foe me to find some time.

Painted Rug at The Idea Room

Washer and Dryer Pedestals from Ana White

Amy Butler Gumdrop Pillows

Tinted Mason Jars from Momtastic

Flower Study Part 7: Pinwheel Flowers

I'm so excited with all the new flower techniques we have been discovering over the past week. There are so many creative ideas out there. I came across another super cute one for you. It looks like these Pinwheel Flowers may require a little more sewing skills that some of the others. These look like they will take a bit of patience, but I like that they are made from separate pieces of fabric that you could mix and match. Check out this tutorial over at Crafting and Creativity.

Flower Study Part 6: Hair Fluffs aka Flowers

I just came across a new flower tutorial today. They look very fancy and the tute says they are for your hair, but I think they would also work for a classy holiday wreath. Check out my bloggy friend Camille's tutorial.

Super Cute Giveaway Over at The Idea Room

The Idea Room is hosting a giveaway from Nest of Posies for an adorable Posey Cluster. I actually discovered these last week and have been drooling over them ever since. Enter now!

Flower Study Part 5: Felted Roses Like You Have Never Seen

Just when I think I have mastered the felt rose, I realize I'm an idiot. The Shabby Creek has an amazing flower tutorial. I love this version because it plays into my OCD desires. They look perfect!

Flower Study Part 4: Fabric Yo-Yo Flowers

These are super cute and simple. They would be a great wretah embellishment. I'm not sure how an entire wreath would look with these on it, or how my little fingers would feel trying to hand sew these babies. I think the fact that you could make them any size you want would also be a plus. Maybe a teeny tiny one for a card would be sweet.

Checkout Crafting and Creativity for the tutorial.

I Can Sew! (Kinda)

There's no denying my blogging has been scarce the past few months, but I swear I have actually been crafting. I have been working really hard learning to sew. I had pretty low expectations for my skills and I am pumped I was able to make my first table runner. It's very very far from perfect, but I think it's a good first try.

Amie helped me as usual and we did our best to make it Valentine's-ish with fabric from our stash.

At first you may think I made it too short. Au contraire mon amie. I made it a shorty on purpose so the puppies wouldn't try and pull it off the table.

Also, how do you like my super lazy Valentine's Day Centerpiece? I kept my usual pinecone filled hurricane and just threw in some felt hearts. It's kinda cute in an uber lazy way. 

Flower Study Part 3: Felt Roses

Dianna pointed me in the direction of this felted rose tutorial over at Positively Splendid . It seems like it would take a bit longer than the method that I use, but the roses definitely seem to have more dimension this way. If you are making a wreath with fewwer flowers like her this would probably be worth it.

Flower Study Part 2: Wrinkled Roses

As the quest to increase my flower making skills continues I wanted to introduce you all to a tutorial I have used many times. Check out this tute for making roses from inexpensive crepe paper over at House of Smiths. These are time consuming, but they actually look awesome when they are done. Plus they are much cheaper than using fabric.

Remember to email me your flower making ideas so I can share them with everyong :-)

In Case You Were Wondering

I have a few random crafts I haven't shared. My biggest weakness in blogging is to get up and take actual photos of the process. I'm so lazy! Ok that's not true. I am kind of a machine in real life. I still hate photo editing though.

Lucky for me I have Caroline who takes the pictures for me when I craft at her house.

Here is a super creepy picture of me holding the first bag I ever made. I was shocked I was able to do it in one day. Granted Caroline is like a sewing drill sergeant in an awesome way and she always gets me to finish my projects.

Two weeks ago Amie, Caroline, and I got together for a craft day and we decided to switch it up and do jewlery. By "we" I mean Amie and Caroline since I haven't made any jewelry since I was 8. Amie and Caroline are much more advanced. I like jewelry making, but I don't think it will become my passion. It's just good to broaden my craft horizons.

Above you can see our creations. Mine is on the lower left. I made some pink beaded bracelets with heart embellishments. I'll try and take a better photo soon, but dang jewelry is hard to photograph.

Valentine's Banner

A while back Amie and I found this cool burlap with vintage keys printed on it. I have been hanging on to it for the right project and I thought of "The Key to My Heart" banner. Isn't is gorgeous?

Here is my in progress mantle for Valentine's Day. I have filled in the middle since then, but I need something on the left. Any ideas? I'm thinking a vase?