Yarn Wreath - Chickaniddy Crafts + a Video

Hello and welcome to the fifth and final day of "Christmas Catch-up" here at Precocious Paper. I'm on my way to CHA, but I am also excited to share with you this yarn wreath embellished with Chickaniddy Crafts' Jolly Good embellishments.

I started with my usual straw wreath base, then wrapped the wreath form with yarn that I matched to the Jolly Good collection. I used several of the Jolly Good cardstock stickers to embellish the wreath, as well as handmade flowers and leaves.

Read more about the process of making this wreath on the Chickaniddy Crafts blog here. If you'd like to learn my technique for creating the large, two-toned felt roses, please enjoy my latest video tutorial:

I'm experiencing technical difficulties that I won't be able to resolve until I get back from CHA. I will update this post with the video when I get back on Monday.

Thanks for not minding that I stretched out the holidays a little farther into January. I hope you enjoyed my round-up of Christmas projects. I know I enjoyed creating them. If you missed any, be sure to check out...

*Pretty Little Studio December Mini Album Cover
*The Studio Challenges-inspired Company Holiday Party Layout
*Craftwell Gold Embossed Leaf Wreath
*Chickaniddy Crafts Jolly Good Mini Album

Be sure to leave a comment on the Craftwell wreath post if you'd like to win the Teresa Collins Woodgrain Embossing folding that I am giving away.

Enjoy your weekend! Tessa

Front Door Friday - Santa Wreath - Pretty Little Studio

Hello! I'm excited to share with you a new wreath, made with Pretty Little Studio paper ribbons:

I started by wrapping a wreath base with plain white yarn. Once completely covered, I wrapped fuzzy yarn every half inch or so around the wreath. Last, I crisscross wrapped a sparkly white yarn around the wreath. The effect is soft and the sparkle and texture are subtle.

The big impact comes from the red and white striped ribbon. I used this same ribbon for another project that I'll share later this month. It's my favorite at the moment :). It was a wired ribbon that I picked up on Black Friday for just a couple of dollars. I didn't need the wire, so I simply cut the ribbon to the length I wanted and then gently pulled the wires out. Pretty easy with a grosgrain ribbon like this.

The paper ribbons by Pretty Little Studio come from the Santa Claus line. That line, as well as all of Melissa's other holiday lines, are absolutely adorable! I'm making my December album with a mix of the collections and I can't wait to share.

You can find this project, as well as the photo that inspired it, at the Pretty Little Studio blog here.

Thanks for stopping by today and happy Friday! Tessa

Front Door Friday - Butterfly Wreath

Hello and happy Friday! Next week is supposed to be a string of 90-degree days, so my latest wreath is all about warm, summery colors:

When I first sat down to design this wreath, I chose my yarn colors: mustard, strawberry, burnt orange and raspberry. I thought it would be fun to kind of "ombre" the colors from dark to light. While my skeins of yarn and wreath base were sitting on the table, I unpacked some scrapbooking supplies I had just bought at JoAnn's. I set a package of chipboard butterflies near my wreath materials and it suddenly hit me - I want butterflies on this wreath! The chipboard ones I had just bought wouldn't work, so on my next trip to Michaels I picked up some feather butterflies that matched.

To make the wreath, I started by wrapping the yarn. When I was done wrapping the blocks of color, I took strands of the yarn and overlapped them onto the next color, trying to create a "fade" kind of effect. I like the way it looks and I'll keep playing to see if I can make it even more realistic.

The felt roses are all from my Etsy shop.

I've got several other butterfly wreaths pinned to my Wreaths Pinterest board. I don't think this is the last time I'll give butterflies a go. I'm already thinking of other color combinations, or even just an orange monarch butterfly wreath....

Thanks for stopping by today! Tessa

Front Door Friday - Raspberry, Yellow and Mint

Where I live, 90 degree days just suddenly appeared. Like, out of nowhere. My front door was feeling a little too spring-y for the temps, so I warmed it up with this pretty wreath in raspberry pink, yellow and mint:

Wrapped in yarn, this wreath features a combination of silk and handmade flowers. The white flowers are made of bleached muslin. I've had some requests for these in my shop and am thinking about adding them to my virtual shelves. What do you think? The little raspberry pink felt roses and minty green leaves are already in the shop.

The yellow and minty green flowers are silk, bought on sale or clearance at the end of Spring last year. The sprigs of yellow were also bought on clearance last year. I've got a box of floral supplies like that that I love to visit when planning a wreath :). The last little touch was the translucent white beads for a touch of sparkle.

If you want to give this color combination a go, here's another Pinterest-inspired inspiration board:

one - two - three

Thanks for joining me for another Front Door Friday! Have a great day! Tessa

Front Door Friday - Mint, Kelly Green Pink and Gold

I've been inspired by my Color Palettes Pinterest board once again! I fell in love with this pin, which led me to the others you see in my inspiration board.

one - two - three - four - five

With these images in hand, I went to the craft store and shopped for yarn, flowers, and trim. The result:

I think it is perfect for Spring. It makes me think of the pink roses growing in my yard, the green grass, and the fresh scent in the air. I used four yarns - two fairly standard yarns (pink and mint), a soft, fluffy yarn (kelly green) and a gold yarn by Martha Stewart that reminds me of fettuccine noodles. I love it, and love it even more because I got it on clearance for a steal :).

The gold yarn was not quite enough "bling" for this wreath, so I added some gold trim.

The flower embellishments on this wreath are a mix of store-bought and handmade. The large pink flowers are by Jolee's, found at both Michaels and JoAnn. The felt roses are handmade.

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you are enjoying my wreath series and will join me again next Friday. Have a good one! Tessa

Front Door Friday - Fabric, Yarn and Felt Spring Wreath

Welcome to the first Front Door Friday! You may or may not know, but I have a thing for wreaths. I love to make wreaths for family, friends, and of course, my front door. I especially love yarn wreaths, but I've been venturing out into other materials, too. And just about every wreath I make features some handmade flowers (usually available in my Etsy shop, Precocious Paper). To kick off this blog series, I thought I would share a wreath for Spring:

I was inspired by several pins from my Color Palettes Pinterest board:

one - two - three

I used fabric to wrap the entire wreath; a floral print for two thirds of the wreath, and a gray damask print for the rest. Incidentally, both of these fabrics are available in my shop as Ruffle Blossoms :).

I wrapped two colors of yarn around that, then embellished with silk flowers (Prima), mother of pearl buttons and handmade felt flowers.

I struggle with finding the perfect ribbon to hang my wreaths from (I don't like to hook the wreath directly to the door). This time, though, I just happened to have this gorgeous striped ribbon on hand and it was a great match.

I hope you'll join me every Friday for a new wreath or door decor project. In the meantime, you can see which wreaths are inspiring me by visiting my Wreaths Pinterest board. I've had several customers in the past few weeks purchase flowers for wreaths that they were making. Do you make your own wreaths? I'd love to see! And I'd love for you to visit my shop. Let me know if there is anything I can make for you :).

Happy Friday! Tessa

The Twinery and Epiphany Crafts - Blog Hop!

I was thrilled when I heard that Epiphany Crafts was teaming up with The Twinery for a week of crafty goodness. Afterall, I love twine and The Twinery's is fabulous! The fun started Monday, so if you haven't been following along, be sure to backtrack and catch what you missed (start HERE). If you've been hopping along all week so far, great! And welcome to my blog :).

I LOVE to make yarn wreaths. I made this particular one as decor for our Memorial Day celebration this past weekend. The denim-colored twine from The Twinery was a perfect accent to the yarn. To match the twine, I made a denim flower and topped it with an Epiphany Crafts round charm.

Would you like to make your own wreath? Here's a little tutorial for a basic yarn and twine wreath.

1. Gather your supplies: a wreath base, yarn, twine, scissors and embellishments.

2. Begin by wrapping the yarn around the wreath once, then tying a knot in the back. Continue wrapping the yarn around and around. You'll want to "layer" the yarn at least twice. Try patterns and different colors. Make sure your knots are secure.

3. Add twine to the wreath. Because the yarn is so much thicker than the twine, I suggest wrapping the twine over the yarn - otherwise you will need to use A LOT of twine.

4. Embellish your wreath with flowers, Epiphany Crafts charms or brads, and little twine bows.

You know what would look really cute draped across these wreaths? Little banners! And I know just the products to make them:

What do you know? These very same goodies are up for grabs! In order to win, you need to comment on all five hop stops every day this week. Your next stop on the hop is the lovely Tifany DeGough. And here's today's line-up, just in case you got lost :).

The Twinery
Epiphany Crafts
Nina Ostermann
Natalie Clause
* Me * Tessa Buys
Tifany DeGough
Jennifer Priest 

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day! Tessa

Welcome to the Nest

Hello! I wanted to share the wreath I made for my son's teacher today.

For this wreath, I started with a phrase - welcome to the nest. I knew I wanted a mama bird and an egg, all cuddled together in a little nest, perched in flowers. I wasn't sure which colors to use because they don't know if their baby is a boy or girl, and I didn't want to ask the nursery colors and give away the surprise of the gift. So, I found my bird and went from there. 

I added a bright spring green to lighten up the palette. I had to dye the egg to match the green yarn (alcohol inks were perfect for this). I made flowers from white and coral felt, then added a pair of silk green flowers. 

My favorite part is the banner. I hand cut the pennants from broadcloth and stamped the alphas with brown Staz-On ink. I hung the pieces on embroidery floss and finished the ends with sweet little bows.

Carson's teacher loved the wreath and come to find out, the nursery is brown and green! Now if it's a girl, the coral will be the perfect feminine touch :). And if not, well, good thing it wasn't pink ;).

I hope all is well for you! The baby and I (baby, he's almost three!) came down with the flu this past week. While Josh was out of town. And CHA assignments were coming in. Ack! So, if I'm a little quiet for awhile, just know I'm busy and will be sharing quite a bit soon. Have a wonderful day! Tessa

A little birdie told me...

...to buy her. And put her on my Christmas wreath:

I loved the glitter and long, long tail feathers. I think she looks happy nestled in the poinsettias and felt roses.

I enjoyed my feathered friend so much that I decided to add one to Colten's teacher's wreath:

Thank you for all the well-wishes! The pain has decreased significantly and I am taking just enough Vicodin to get by. The medicine is still making me a bit loopy, but I'd rather be somewhat productive and loopy than in pain and on the couch. This is a terrible time of year to be out of commission!

Be sure to stop by Sketchy Thursdays today for a new sketch (by the talented Heidi Myers!). Also, Scrapbook Circle has two challenges going on right now, with a fabulous Christmas kit up for grabs. Thanks for checking in and enjoy your day! Tessa

Attitude of Gratitude: Day 29

(click image to view larger)

I found this quote to be really interesting. I've learned that being grateful brings me more happiness, but I hadn't really thought about how my being grateful could bring others more happiness. I've been in the presence of humble, grateful people and felt that brightness. I hope one day to bring that brightness to the lives of others.

Today I am grateful for messages of preparedness. Our little family has been discussing emergency preparedness lately (via Emilie at A Year of Family Home Evenings), and last night we talked about setting up an emergency station. I just cleaned and organized our garage last weekend and Santa will be delivering some things to help us put this together. After our emergency this summer, we really felt the need to be more prepared, and I am grateful to Emilie and church and community leaders who have shared important information to help us be ready.

I thought I would share one more wreath today:

I made this one with the Mustard, Rust and Ivory Felt Roses and Leaves from my shop. It's a small one, perfect for a shelf, mantle, or wall display. You can find more photos here.

I'll be back tomorrow with details on how to enter to win a Precocious Paper prize for participating in Attitude of Gratitude. Have a wonderful day! Tessa