Last Minute Gift Idea...Swiss Roll Towels

It's crunch time!! Christmas is just days away. If you are looking for a hostess gift, party favor, teacher gift or just a little gift to tuck in with something else, I have a quick project for you!!

I made these Christmas Swiss Rolls as party favors for my Christmas party I had last weekend. They were a BIG hit!!  It's something that everyone can use, because they are made from towels!!

Christmas Swiss Rolls...

They look good enough to eat, lol or at least clean up after yourself when you eat!!

Come on in to see how easy they are to make!

Book Page Flower Tutorial...

Hi everyone! A couple weeks ago I shared a tutorial on how to make a wreath made from book pages (I used an old, falling apart dictionary).  Click here for the instructions. I finally hung it up where I wanted it for the holidays on a chalkboard frame with a big Merry Christmas bow. ( I bought that ribbon at TJMaxx last year)

I also wanted to make a whole tree made with book page ornaments and handmade things to go with the wreath. Here's my attempt at a book page flower and I love them!!

Here it is nestled in the tree!!

Pop in to see the full tutorial...

How to Make a Book Page Wreath...

Hi everyone! I've been busy getting ready for the holidays. Christmas starts early for me, because I have a very big party in early December and the house is decorated from top to bottom. I have 12-13 decorated trees up...one in every room in the house. I've already started in the bedrooms upstairs, because the kids are gone and no one will see it and think I'm crazy!! Downs stairs has to stay decorated for autumn, because we also host Thanksgiving for both sides of the family.

There is one exception this year. Our big family tree is already up in the family room. Our daughter Kelsie moved to Florida 2 weeks ago. She was away for all the holidays last year for a Disney internship and I couldn't have another holiday without her here to celebrate. The weekend before they left, we had an ALL holiday celebration. All four kids had Halloween trick or treat bags and carved pumpkins, we had a big Thanksgiving dinner, we decorated the big family Christmas tree and opened stockings and presents. We also had Easter baskets! Each room in the house was decorated for each holiday including Valentine's Day! I think I have a few pictures that I can share later.

Right now, I wanted to share a wreath I made for one of the rooms.

Book Page Wreath...

I've always wanted to make a wreath from old book pages and was inspired by this post from the blog Knick of Time.

Here's my version.

I just love the texture and the color!

I even made a little bow from the pages.

Come on in to see how easy. It does take some time, but it's worth it!!

Graduation Tassel Ornament...

Hi everyone! It's that time of year again...graduation time. Whether it's high school graduation, college graduation or even your little kindergartner's special moment, it's a memorable time for everyone! Let's capture those memories in a little ornament that you can bring out each year at Christmas time.

I started making these ornaments 2 years ago when our daughter Courtney graduated from Roger Williams University here in Rhode Island and then continued making them when our daughter Kelsie graduated the following year from the same school. I loved them so much, I dug through memory boxes and pulled out their high school tassels and all the tassels from both my husband and myself. Our tree is now dotted with wonderful memories of the past.

Here is the picture from the original post. I wanted to share this again, especially this time of year, so you can make them too!!

Click HERE for the post and all the instructions.

Here they are on this past year's Christmas tree!!

I hope you can capture all the special memories from this time of year for your family too!!

Thanks for stopping by,
~Karen~

DIY Disney Princess Party Favor Bags...

My family loves Disney World! It has been a special place to visit since my husband and I were first married 28 years ago. We have vacationed there many times since our daughters were little. It really is a magical place to visit.

Our daughter, Kelsie, has a special bond with Disney since she graduated from college last May. She worked there this past year with the Disney college internship program. She absolutely LOVED IT!! When she returned home this past January, she had lots of goodies that she bought for some of her friends who are still in school. This past weekend, there was a performance at the university and Kelsie wanted to give all the girls their Disney gifts. Kelsie wanted a special bag for all the presents and looked for inspiration on Pinterest. Here's our version made from felt and a Disney poster!!!

Disney Princess Gift Bags...

Come in to see how quick and easy they are to make. You could really adapt this to any theme for any party or occasion.

Faux Fur Rug for Under $30...

Hi everyone! I have a fast and easy project for a faux fur area rug that is no sew and under $30!! Our oldest daughter Courtney moved into her own apartment last year and our other daughter Kelsie decided last week to move into Courtney's old room as a change of pace.

We moved some furniture around and it looked great except it needed an area rug. I didn't want to spend a lot of money, but even the cheapest area rug in Walmart was over $75. She wanted a white faux fur rug and those over $100, so I thought why not buy faux fur in a fabric store!! Here's how it turned out!!

Kelsie's "new" room...

Pop in to see the easy steps to make your own...

How to Make Paper Pinwheels...

Springtime, Easter, birthday parties or any party for that matter, pinwheels are the perfect decoration and oh so easy to make!!!

In just a matter of minutes, you can make these little cuties...

Pop in to see how easy...

Easter Ideas...

I can't believe Easter is next week, because it's snowing right now here in Rhode Island. Spring will get here soon...I hope!! I was looking through my previous posts on Easter projects and wanted to share them again for all my new readers who may have missed them.

My daughters Courtney and Kelsie are 23 and 22 years old and long past Easter egg hunts, but this first idea was very popular in our family. We always had a very large Easter Egg Hunts with at least 15 nieces and nephews from both sides of the family. The eggs were always filled with dollar bills (that my mom and dad supplied) and candy. To keep it fair and square, I color coded the eggs to match each child's Easter bucket so that they only looked for their colored egg. I used all the colors of the rainbow and then used polka dot, stripes, sports themed egg etc.

Click HERE to see how to make your color coded Easter Egg Hunt.

The little girl who had purple could only pick up purple eggs!!

No stress or tears from the little ones who couldn't keep up with the bigger kids.

Another Easter idea is too turn something drab into something fab!!! Here are some examples of what a difference a little spray paint makes.

This poor bunny is a perfect example...drab.

To fab!! Looks like a big chocolate bunny!!! Click HERE to see all the details.

You can click HERE and HERE for more posts on painting plastic Easter eggs.

Eggs are great to hold money treats for older kids and candy too.

One giant egg is great for decorating.

This little Easter basket was made from a place mat. You can also use it for a little girl's Easter purse.

You can click HERE to see how.

This is a cute little place card for Easter dinner made from a  recycled keurig cup. You can click HERE to see how to make them!!

I just shared this Easter gift wrap idea this week, but I wanted to add it to this list. Click HERE to see it if you missed it.

The egg, in a little nest, holds Easter money!!

I hope you like all these Easter ideas and can share them with your family too!!

Thanks for stopping by,
~Karen~

How to Make a Circle Garland...for any Party or Occasion

We have a new dentist who works in our office and she and I bonded right away with crafting and sewing!! Her son is turning one year old in a few weeks and she wanted to make a fabric garland for the party. She doesn't have a sewing machine, so I happily volunteered to make one. It was so easy and fun to make!!

Here it is hanging in my house...ready to go to the party!!

She also cut circles in burlap. Great combination!!

This project is fast and easy...come on in and see!!!

How to Turn a Potholder into a Sewing Kit...

Hi everyone! I came across a set of cute little potholders and, "thinking outside the box", I immediately thought of a sewing kit. Depending on the potholder you find, there will be little to no sewing to make a kit for yourself.

Here is the before potholders...

They are called Claw Mitts.

The smaller type of potholder that your thumb goes in one side and your four fingers in the other side.

So let me show you how easy it is to make a sewing kit for yourself!!

This particular potholder already came with the left hand pocket sewn into individual slots. You can add that to yours with 2 lines of sewing if it doesn't come with it.

This is the finished folded kit.

and all opened up, filled and ready to go!!!

The individual pockets hold a seam ripper (my best friend lately), small scissors and a leather thimble.

You can always add your favorite tools and thread.

The right pocket holds my English Paper Piecing projects (hand sewn hexagons). The fabric of the pocket is for pins, needles and safety pins.

 The potholder comes with a loop so you can hang it up. I'm using the loop for a thread dispenser.

I used a hinged key ring and looped a bobbin of thread on it. I also use a tiny hair elastic to cover the bobbin when I'm traveling with it, so the thread doesn't unwind.

I came up with a super easy closure. I used a jewelry jump ring, piece of tape measure and some velcro.

Sew the jump ring to the right side of the potholder.

Cut your tape measure or piece of ribbon.

You can sew the ribbon to the left side. I hot glued the plastic tape measure on.

This is where you'll attach it.

I cut little adhesive dots of velcro to fit the width of the tape measure.

Then just stuck it on each end.

Loop it through the ring and fold it over to the front.

All closed up and a little snippet of a ruler for you to use too!!

Potholder for a Sewing Kit vs Potholder for Cooking...hmmm. Sewing, but if there is a sheet of hot cookies coming out of the oven? Oh, wait these potholders came in a set of 2.

Sewing hexies and eating hot chocolate chip cookies right out of the oven. Perfection!

If you've ever wanted to sew hexagons with the English Paper Piecing method, I did a post 6 years ago if you'd like to take a look. There are other post on my side bar too!! Click HERE for the original post.

Thanks for stopping by,
~Karen~