Category Archives: z-2014 Wreaths of the Month

May Wreath

By

02-IMG_0416For my Wreath of the Month for May, I decided not to do traditional flowers and fluff for this special month, I decided to give tribute to the creative side of Motherhood. Mom’s are the most creative people I know and I’m not talking just crafts either. As I’m the only Mom in this house, I chose some of my favorite stuff to put on my May wreath.

I sculpted the loom & loom hook and then made the little red toboggan on the loom (just to see if I could.)
My sister sort of stepped in the role of Mom after our Mother passed on. She’s spent alot of time and care on me and my family. She’s my Bff and responsible for introducing me to the addictive and enjoyable craft of looming.

I sculpted the crochet hook and it does work, but it’s close to an ‘I’ size, so I crocheted the little granny square with a metal size ‘G’ hook. The size ‘G’ hook was my Mom’s. I think of her every time I use it. I’m thankful she gifted me with the love of crochet.

0IMG_0389

click to read big size

.
I made the cell phone with plastic canvas. I hope it looks like a bit of Excessive Crafting like I really made a plastic canvas case for a cell phone. lol
I made the texting with my image program. The text advice is something I’ve shared many times with my family. Crafting to calm down is a pleasant and enjoyable way to relax.
My Bff has on more than one occasion echoed these words back at me when I get stressed.

.
.
I sculpted the spoon and fork in honor of all the meals and cooking that goes into raising a family. (and also for us old folks after the little birdies have left the nest.)

My embroidered red-work heart is for sewing. It makes me smile remembering all the buttons, costumes, clothes, toys and stuff that I’ve mended or made over the years. I’m so thankful that my Mom gifted me with the skill of sewing. She spent many an hour and many a day happily sewing away on apparel or quilts or toys. She was an amazing lady.
I think my mason jar ring worked out nicely for a frame for my embroidered heart.

I crocheted the 3 daisies awhile back, but I wasn’t sure what I wanted to use them on. I needed another something for the wreath and happily they fit okay.
Plus my Mom never met a flower that she didn’t like and pretty much I’m the same way. Gardening is a wonderful gift she passed on to me too.

The wreath base is made of newspaper and covered in knitted yarn blocks made on a cardboard loom.

I’m sorry I’m running so late on posting this. I’ve had a bit of a goofy week and can’t seem to get organized.

Wishing you all a Happy May!

t6202

~*~
Here’s why I’m making a ‘Wreath of the Month’ for every month of 2014.
~*~

0rangespacer2

April Wreath

By

easta1aI got a carried away with my April ‘Wreath of the Month‘
When I started making the wreath base by twisting newspapers and forming them into a circle it looked kind of oval shaped. Mmmm, Then inspiration took over and instead of fixing it and making it a nice and round, I kept it and finished making it into an egg shaped base. I really liked the way it looked.
I painted the base in light blue and light green to help give more color to the Easter grass and to hopefully lessen any gaps or thin spots the grass may have.

I had a great deal of fun making the pom-pom critters. It reminded of an Easter when my son was a toddler. I made pom-pom chicks for all my nieces and nephews. The kids really loved them.

I crocheted the little flowers and added a pearl bead for the center.

For the eggs, I had some left over plastic ones from years past. I thought they needed a bit of glam so I took some gold trim and hot glued it around them.

It was an easy choice to add a bow in yellow gingham. It’s kind of like the sun shining above the bunny & chick enjoying an Easter celebration.

This wreath is about 14 inches tall and bigger than my other wreaths.

My husband likes it alot. He says it looks like an Easter window display for a store.
My Bff loves the wreath and said, it’s the cutest wreath she’s ever seen.
I personally am pleased as peaches with it. 😉

What do you think? Is my wreath too busy or about right?

Wishing you all sunshine and joy all month long.
Happy April!
🙂

eastall

~*~
Here’s why I’m making a ‘Wreath of the Month’ for every month of 2014.
~*~
3-spcbg

Happy Spring!

By

IMG_8368a
Happy Spring!

Well we made it, finally the first day of Spring.
~happy dance~

In my first post about my making a ‘Wreath of the Month‘, I mentioned that some months may have more than one wreath, this month is one of those months. I made this wreath for the first day of Spring.

The sun is shining, it’s 60° and the wind is quite calm. The flora and fauna are waking up and it looks like winter is officially over both season-wise and weather wise. Okay I know we have a few heavy frost to go and some quite chilly weather, however snow and ice isn’t as big of a worry as it was. 😉

Wishing you all a glorious Spring,
filled with sunshine and joy.
🙂
IMG_83730One more thing…
I thought I’d give you all a side view of how the middle of the daffodil & jonquil blooms trumpet out.

3-spcbg

March Wreath

By

IMG_782512
Happy March 1st!  Goodness the first couple months of 2014 went by swiftly. Now on into the new month we go and you know what that means… it’s time for my new Wreath-of-the-Month.

I wanted to make something in honor of St. Patrick’s Day, but couldn’t get into the leprechaun theme for a wreath. Not that I have anything against leprechauns, matters-a-fact I could talk a blue-streak about them and other nature folks if the situation arises.
However, since leprechauns are just one of the many symbols of the celebration, I chose a simpler theme. After weeks of thinking about it, yesterday it all came together in my mind and on my kitchen table. The main trouble was all the greens seemed to clash. My final wreath is the fourth try and fourth style I’ve tried. Yep, my wits were almost at end before I finally got a handle on how I wanted to make it.

Okay, here’s the highlights…
I apologize for the photo. I tried 3 different cameras and 2 different editing programs but couldn’t get a good photo of it, The greens of the shamrocks wanted to dark out and the green stripe in the fabric would come out blue. This was the best version I could get. It’s not perfect, but maybe you’ll appreciate that I tried really hard to get a good photo. 😉

Since it’s March and Spring-cleaning comes to mind, that means throwing out old papers, magazines, newspapers and such as that. I decided to share my favorite wreath making secret with you to help make some use of them instead of trashing them or wasting gas taking them to a recycling center.
Use the papers to make wreath forms. It takes some work to get a nice firm wreath base, but it’s worth it.
IMG_7759
IMG_7764
I discovered this wreath base making trick a few years ago. I wanted to make some wreaths, but I didn’t have a desire to spend a lot of money on wreath bases. So I put on my thinking cap, went into my craft room and didn’t come out until I discovered a way to make a wreath base inexpensively and more eco friendly too.
IMG_7768It takes lots of old paper to make a wreath base and it’s a good way to recycle paper too.

After this month’s base was made, I added a layer of paper towels and lastly a fabric covering. The fabric is some I had from over a decade ago.

Feel free to physically laugh-out-loud at my wonky shamrocks. My husband tried to get me to go to the store and buy some decorating accents like ribbons and plants for my wreath. I thanked him and told him no. I wanted to use stuff I have on hand like I did with the wreath base and could recycle if possible.
I had crocheted some shamrocks last month, but they didn’t look right on the wreath. So, I went in my craft room and thought and thought until my thinker was sore and then I sat and thought some more. Upon going through buttons and bows and ribbons and lace and boxes of things I’d forgotten I had, I came across some old silk ivy. Mmm, I wished it were shamrocks instead of ivy… and then it occurred to me that in fact I could try and make the ivy leaves into shamrocks. My first few tries were not a great success and then I remembered that some folks draw 3 hearts together for shamrocks, so I started cutting the ivy leaves into triple leaf heart-like shapes. They’re far from perfect and wouldn’t win any prizes, but they are recycled silk ivy and that’s a good thing.  Plus in real life they look quite well on my March wreath. All-in-all I’m fairly satisfied with them.
IMG_7788

I sculpted the lady bugs out of polymer clay. I thought the wreath needed a splash of color.

And that’s all there is to this months wreaths and my wreathy thoughts.
Now I must go and start planning on how I want to make April’s wreath… wish me luck. 🙂

Wishing you all a month of good luck,
good friends & good weather.

🙂

~*~
Here’s why I’m making a ‘Wreath of the Month’ for every month of 2014.
~*~
3-spcbg

February Wreath

By

IMG_7229My ‘Wreath of the Month‘ for February,
is dressed up in traditional hearts and flowers
in red, pink and white in honor of Valentine’s Day.

Here’s wishing you all a wonderful February
filled with happiness and smiles.

Happy Early Valentine’s Day to you all.

🙂

.

IMG_7474
My February wreath, pictured at the top of this post, is made with Red Heart yarn on a Knifty Knitter cord loom and some flower looms that I don’t know what their brand is.
As extra decor, I crocheted the rose and the hearts.

.
.
Related posts:
January Wreath

~*~
Here’s why I’m making a ‘Wreath of the Month’ for every month of 2014.
~*~
spcr1

January Wreath

By

IMG_7482My blogging buddy Charlotte is an amazing talented lady. For the past few years she’s set up a challenge for the year to make a blog post about each month. In 2012 she posted gorgeous doll quilts, in 2013 she posted charming aprons. This year she’s chosen ‘Hope Chest’ as her theme. Each month she’ll post about an item or items that she adds to the chest. Charlotte’s first addition to the chest for this year is a set of Lovely Redwork Dishtowels. I highly recommend that you go and see her Redwork. It’s so neat and pretty. While you’re there, surf through her blog posts for a journey into wholesome farm life and also see her gorgeous quilts.

Charlotte’s idea of a challenge for a monthly post inspires me. I’ve decided to set a challenge for my self for the year. It took a bit of brain-storming to think of something, but I think I’ve came up with a fairly good idea. I enjoy making wreaths and have wanted to make some to change with the seasons, so it’s not that big a leap to make a wreath to celebrate each month. I look forward to making the wreaths and hopefully it’ll help keep my blog active after I finish my Redwork. Some month’s I may post more than one wreath.

My January wreath, pictured at the top of this post, is made with Red Heart yarn on a Knifty Knitter cord loom and some flower looms that I don’t know what their name is.
IMG_7474Several of my wreaths will be made using these looms. I really enjoy making the cords as time fillers and the flowers are just fun to make.

sewmiconThank you Charlotte for being my inspiration.

🙂

Wishing each month of this year to be a happy one for you all.
🙂
spcr1