no-cost gift bow tutorial

once i saw how easy these bows are, i thought, "i am NEVER paying for a gift ow again! tutorial on the lovely blog How About Orange.

start by taking a magazine picture and cutting it into 9 strips of 3/4 inch width paper.

leave 3 full size, cut one an inch off of three of them, and two inches off of 2 of them. then 1 of them should be 3 1/2 inches long.

the next step is to make loops with the strips and staple the ends in the center. the one short piece just makes a little circle.

very important: make sure your loops are at an angle where there's more space in the middle. where the tips get more pointy. i made the mistake of not putting enough space in mine and they wouldn't fit together. had to take them apart and redo them. :(

next, put them together with glue dots. start with the bigger ones and the little circle piece goes in the center. BEAUTIFUL! 

you can use any kind of paper for this really. ive seen it done with old maps and i think that looks really cool. :D if anyone tries this project on their own, please show me! i would love to see. :]

moss and magnolias wreath

i have a habit of getting a little side-tracked. and i also have a bad habit of adding to my to-do list before i scratch things off. oh well. :]

today i made this.

i already had the wreath form and it was already covered in moss green yarn. it was left over from this project i did back in the spring. i did this after reading Elsie's DIY here on A Beautiful Mess.

the butterflies had faded and fallen apart, so i ripped them off and kept the form for future projects.

i wont get into the instructions for wrapping the wreath form; if you really want to know, click the link above. its just cutting your yarn into 2ft segments (to make it easier) and hot glueing it to the back of the wreath.

to make my "moss and magnolias" wreath, i first cut out the magnolia petals. i used an ivory colored cotton fabric, and made little ovals. the size ranging from silver dollar to quarter.

then, to give it a little personality, i painted the edges of the petals with brown water-color paint. it just gives it a subtle, antique-style stain.

after the water color had dried, i hot glued them together, largest on the bottom, then put button centers on.

then i made little fabric roses, in this context i guess they're more like moss patches. all i did was take three strips of fabric, braid them, then hot glue them into a spiral shape. (if you want to make these roses into brooches or hair things, i would hand sew them into a spiral, rather than use the glue gun)

then i (quickly) made a gypsy moth out of craft cardstock. i used a photo from google images as a reference.

i also used a faux fern that i had gotten at hobby lobby on clearance for 9 cents. it was one of those things where i bought it saying "i don't know if i'll ever use this for anything, but hey, for 9 cents? i can't go wrong.."

i positioned all the parts on the wreath where i wanted them, then glued them down.
i felt like it was missing something, so i added some real moss. reindeer moss, to be exact.

and some ribbons to hang it.
pretty cute, right?? :D i'm pretty happy with how it turned out. <3

not eating meat, and loving it

my whole life, ive had a real soft spot for animals. like really. understatement.
so it was always hard for me to understand why in our culture, eating cute fuzzy cats, or dogs, or cockatoos is unacceptable, but eating cute fuzzy cows, or piggies, or chickens is acceptable? and expected? never got that. i remember being in 1st or 2nd grade, in the cafeteria at school, and saying, "you know, i reeeally love animals, but i just dont think i could live without pepperoni or salami."

in 7th grade, i decided to live without pepperoni and salami. and without hot dogs, or burgers, or steak. (ive actually never had steak) for a few years, i kept eating chicken and turkey, only because, well, living in the country in the state of ohio, theres not much else to eat besides salad and grilled cheese. but two years ago, i cut that out too. animals are my friends, and i didnt want to be responsible for any pain or suffering brought upon them.

heres some good news:

now i dont have to live without it anymore.

enter: morningstar farms

morningstar farms sells meat. except its not meat, its veggies. but it looks, and smells, and tastes like meat. my cat even liked it. ive tried most of the products morning star farms sells. i litterally eat them every day. i love meat. i love it. i missed it. and now i dont have to. morningstar farms makes everything from bacon, to burgers, to buffalo wings. and they are AMAZING! i cant sing their praises enough. and ill be honest, the texture isnt spot-on; its a tad more crumbly. but the flavor is perfect, for just about everything ive tried. (the hot dogs arent my favorite, but the corn dogs are mind-blowing)

i think my favorite is the buffalo wings. and the grilled chicken. and the sausage links. if you have ever wanted to cut back on meat, for the animals sake, your healths sake, or the planet's sake, try morningstar farms. here are a few recipes from their site:

and just so you know, im not, like, stuck up about this subject. i only  have 1 other veg friend, and 1 veg acquaintance. i dont tell people what to eat, i dont lecture them. (you catch more flies with honey) i dont even get upset when people (who dont know im veg) talk bad about vegetarians. im just sayin, dont hate.

i write this post for the sole purpose of testifying that: MORNINGSTAR FARMS IS GREAT!

trees, grass, books, and the future

today in my drawing class we went out to an area by the woods that i didnt know existed. it was so super pretty, that i really want to go back. next time i think ill bring a bunch of blankets so i can stretch out, and my book, Eat Pray Love. i never liked reading in the past- i thought it was a waste of time, like video games- but for christmas last year a good friend gave me a book about an owl and i loved it. i had never read a book for mysef before, i mean, not a book for school. today at target i walked through the book section and wanted one of everything. but i decided to wait until i finish Eat Pray Love before i buy another. there are 2 points to this rambling story of mine: 1) i cant wait to go read in this pretty patch of trees, 2) i've changed a lot in the past few months. im starting to find out who i am and what im all about. im also starting to live the life ive wanted. yay. :)




oh, and in class, i sat next to a groundhog hole. he came out and saw us and made this ear-splitting whistle. it was cool. :] but i felt bad that i didnt have any snacks to leave him.

spring decorating- a little late

lately its been hard for me to get motivated to do stuff. like decorating. usually, id be all excited about it and usually i decorate for the changing seasons early (thats what happens when you work retail, and you always have next season's merchandise out now) anyway i was a little late with the spring decorating. i think i got in the mood to switch up the top of my craft cabinets (something ive been meaning to do for a while) after i went to meijer and saw these ADORABLE succulent plants! arent they cute?? ive been wanting succulents forever, since i was inspired by a picture in the anthropologie catalog for march, of a girl in a fancy cream dress tending to her houseplants. and i think i may go back and get some more cacti. they were pretty cute. (this one came from ikea for $3.99 like a year ago and the succulents from meijer were $2.25 and i bought 4) at school today, i walked by the greenhouse and saw cacti, and i squeeled out loud and ran up and basically pressed my face to the window. yeah, i think i have a crush on cacti.