Weekend Warriors

One thing we know how to do here at our house is fully take advantage of a rainy weekend. And for those of you who thought our craft studio was gonna be just another pretty place to sit, I give you felted flower pins!!!! The girls and I trudged into Goodwill in the pouring rain and bought every cute wool sweater (make sure they're 95-100% wool---or they won't felt) we could find, promptly washed them in hot water (which shrinks them and turns them into felt), and commenced the flower 'arranging'. We printed some templates from here and then just added our own personal embellishments.

I made this gargantuan black 'rose' and could barely move my left arm without hitting it---but it's so darn cute and very anthropologie-esk. I made the middle portion of the flower by cutting about a 1/2 inch end of the cuff of the sweater (so that you have a small little circle of fabric) and then make a cut so that it forms a single length of fabric and then roll that little piece 'on' itself and glue as you go. I used the macdaddy of all craft glues: E6000---which will make your room smell like you're making something industrial---but it works like a charm. BTW, that cute shirt that I wore under my black dress to church----Goodwill---$1.50! I know, I know! That's the bonus of 1/2 price Saturday at Goodwill.

Elea (my 7yo) made her own flower and wore it Sunday as well. She was beaming with pride.

And one thing's for sure about making flowers this way; the felt is just dreamy. It's thick and hold's it's shape but is just moldable enough. I used fabric scissors to make my cuts but a rotary cutter would work fine, as long as its very sharp. If you're house is like mine, there's 72 pairs of scissors and only one that really cuts anything.

I cut the templates out first and then pinned them to the felt to make the cuts in the felt. My cutting skills weren't perfect but after you add several layers to the flower, the imperfections seem to disappear.

And after we'd 'felted' till our hearts were content, we switched gears to needle point. For those of you who love numbers, I re-threaded the needles 427 times. Or so.

Our precious little Studio 8 took a beating. There was floss and wool and thread , and chocolate chip cookie crumbs everywhere.

A bright spot in the room--despite the explosion of crafty-wooly goodness-- was the 'heather' in the window sill.

When our little fingers were tired and aching, we switched to reading. May I recommend Glen Beck's new book (which to my delight contains Thomas Paine's Common Sense in the back)? I love the subtitle: The Case Against an Out of Control Government. Amen to that.

Don't worry, there was plenty of football too. Did you happen to see the most awesome play by Brett Favre at the end of the Vikings game? It was the perfect ending to a wonderful, somewhat lazy, very crafty weekend.

Oh and pretty please, will you come visit me tomorrow? I'm traveling to a wonderful friend's blog site to do a guest post and I'd love it if you'd be so kind to say hello to her---she has some delightful ideas for being a gracious hostess----and to say hello to me---'cause I'll be a little nervous--hoping to be a gracious guest!! I'll be at Sandy's from FourReluctantEntertainers, whom I met her in real life last year at Blissdom. She is as beautiful, talented, and friendly in real life as she appears on her blog. You're gonna love her too.

Love to you all and thank you from the bottom of my heart for meeting me here every day. You inspire and encourage me in ways you'll never know. Hugs to you and blessings to your family!

I'm joining Kimba's DIY day so click here for more fabulous projects!