A Grandma's spin on crafts, games, recipes & lifestyle

Category: Crafting With Adults

Mason Lid Fabric Flowers

These showy flowers have all the personality with all the ease in making them!  You can’t beat that!  The sky is the limit on color scheme and material to create your own Mason Lid Fabric Flowers.  Read on for easy to follow steps to create your own beauties!

This post is part of the monthly Sustainable Craft Challenge that I am so honored to be a part of.  Julie Nyano gives us a theme to work with each month and we need to use at least one element that is sustainable/eco friendly.  This month’s theme is flowers.  The mason jar lids are the main sustainable item in my craft.

While these sweet diy flowers have a rustic look to them, you can use various fabrics to work these into many different decorating themes.  They also would make gorgeous package toppers if you are one of those who loves to present a beautifully wrapped package.  Skip the stem and glue them on to the top!

Materials Needed ~

  • Fabric
  • Cotton Balls
  • Hot Glue Gun
  • Scissors
  • Mason Jar Lid & Ring
  • Drill or Sharp Object to Create Hole
  • Stem/Dowel Rod/Bamboo Skewer
  • Jute (optional)

Mason Lid Fabric Flower Instructions ~

The size of your Mason Jar lid and the thickness of your material will determine how many strips of material you will need to make your flower.  A rough guideline is as follows;

Small Mason Jar Lid ~

24 to 40 strips of fabric 1″ wide by 8″ long

Large Mason Jar Lid ~

35 to 50 strips of fabric 1″ wide by 9.5″ long

I realize this is a pretty large variance of strips needed for each size, but the thickness of your material will determine the exact amount.  As an example, I used cream denim material on one flower.  This took 28 strips.  For the green checked flower, I used a lightweight polyester material.  Forty strips were used to create this flower.

The fullness you desire also has a large impact on how many strips you will use.  I like a fuller effect, so I pushed each tied strip tightly together to get as many on the ring as I possibly could.

  1. Cut strips of material.
  2. Drill a hole in the ring.  Be careful to make the hole the same size as your stem.  Since the flower is sizable when done, you will need the stem to fit snugly in the ring in order to hold it up correctly.
  3. Tie the strips around the ring.  *It is helpful if you leave the stem in the hole as you are tying the material around the ring.  It is very easy to “lose” the hole once the flower starts getting full.
  4. Cut 2 circles from the material you want for the center of the flower.  They should be larger than the actual ring.  For the small size rings used in this post, I cut the circles 4″ big.  This ensures that they will fully cover the finished center piece.
  5. Glue 3 cotton balls to the top of the lid.
  6. Place one 4″ circle over the cotton balls.  It is helpful to put a dab of glue on top of the cotton for the material to stick to.  This helps the material from shifting as you are pressing it into the center of the ring.
  7. Press the covered lid into the ring.  It is a bit tight with the strips tied around the ring, so you have to use a bit of muscle power to push it snugly in.
  8. Glue the other 4″ circle to the back of the flower.  This gives it a finished look from both sides.
  9. If you have not yet done so, add the stem

Options ~

For the stems of my flowers, I used old artificial flower stems that I was no longer using.  As usual, I have a hard time throwing things away.  Flowers in arrangements need to be replaced over time.  I simply cut the flowers off and used the stems for this project.  If you like this look and don’t have any of these laying around, here are some ideas of ones you can purchase.

Dowel rods are another great idea.  They can be stained or wrapped in jute for a final touch.

DISCLOSURE: This site contains product affiliate links for Amazon and other companies. We may receive a commission if you make a purchase after clicking on one of these links.  Thank you for supporting my small business!

My flowers are displayed in an old bottle….yes, another thing that I couldn’t throw away. I wrapped thin jute around the top and then tied a bow over the jute.  I added spanish moss as a filler in the vase.

Sustainable Craft Challenge ~

Now, it is time to share the other amazing flower crafts created by my fellow bloggers.  You don’t want to miss out on any of these creative crafts!

Julie from Sum of their Stories created Recycled Mini Collage With Crochet Flower

Gail from Purple Hues and Me created Ironed Pressed Flowers Glass Vessel

Christine from Christine’s Crafts created Gorgeous Book Page Roses – Surprisingly Easy to Make

Mel from Decor Craft Design created DIY Flower Gift Bucket For Mom

Allyson from Southern Sunflowers created How to Update Thrift Store Find with Paper Flowers

Julie from Treasures Made From Yarn created Flora The Reversible Doll

Niki from Life as a LEO Wife created Floral Wood Letters With Free Rolled Flower Cut Files

Last month’s challenge was SOFT.  Be sure to check out this post to see all the fun ideas everyone created for this theme!  It is so much fun to see what everyone comes up with under the same theme!

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You can use the link below as well to go to all of the floral crafts listed above!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter


 

Happy Crafting Friends~

Mimi

 

DIY Sock Bunnies

It’s time for a little spring crafting and these adorable DIY sock bunnies are a perfect project to get you started!  This is one of those crafts that you probably have most (if not all) of the items needed laying around your house!  Another craft that you can get creative with on the embellishments.  Let’s have some bunny crafting fun!

You may remember that I am part of a monthly Sustainable Craft Challenge with several other very crafty women.  Julie Nyano gives us a theme to work with each month and we need to use at least one element that is sustainable/eco friendly.  January’s theme was WARM so I crafted a  DIY Snowy Luminary and February’s theme was LOVE, and I shared a DIY Valentine Branch Tree with you.  This month’s theme is SOFT!  Read on to see how to make sock bunnies as well as many other awesome soft crafts!

DON’T Throw Away Those Mismatched Socks!

What do you do with those poor lonely single socks that have lost their mate?  When my kids were young we would often make sock puppets or they made a great dusting “glove” for the kiddos.  My daughter, Karleigh, would just wear mismatched socks…she went through a period where that was cool! (It drove me bonkers!😜)  There are tons of great ideas out there to utilize those old socks that are never going to warm your little toesies again….the DIY sock bunnies are one of those great ideas!

Longer socks will work best for this project but you can complete these with almost any size sock.  Keep in mind that the smaller the sock, the smaller your embellishments will need to be and that gets a little tricky (especially if you have chunkier fingers like me!).  Once you start making these you will have a hard time stopping!

Items Needed ~

  • Sock
  • String
  • Rice
  • Hot Glue Gun & Glue Sticks – or Sewing Items
  • Ribbon
  • Embellishments
  • Scissors
  • Pinking Shears (optional)

Making The Body ~

Fill a sock with rice.  The amount of rice you will use will vary according to your desired final outcome.  Once you fill it about a quarter of the way start pinching where you think you should tie the string to form head and body.  If it doesn’t seem quite right, then add (or take away) rice to your liking.  Keep in mind that you want to have plenty of leftover at the top of the sock to create floppy ears.

Once you get it filled to your liking, tie some heavy type of string to form the body and then another piece to tie off the top of the head.

It’s Time For Those Bunny Ears ~

Pull the top part of the sock up in the air and cut down the middle of the sock.  Find the middle of the sock and start cutting down the middle to form the ears.

Continue cutting all the way down to the top of the head of the sock bunny.

It’s starting to look like a cute little bunny…am I right?  Now you need to fold the ears in length longways to create a finished ear.  Pull each ear up and round off the top of them.

Now you are ready to adhere the edges.  You have two options here:

  1. hot glue down the edges
  2. sew down the edges

Hot gluing is obviously the easiest and quickest method.  I actually love the finished look of both methods.  I did find that when I sewed them it gave the ears a more “ruffly” look.  You get to decide what look you like best!  Below is the bunny with the sewn ears.

DIY Sock Bunnies Embellishments ~

Now it is time for bows and scarves (or whatever you decide to embellilsh your baby with).  I have an assortment of wired ribbon that makes it easy, however, I found that I enjoyed cutting strips of material with my pinking shears too!  It is helpful to attach the bows first to see how much “face” space you have left for the eyes, nose and whiskers.  There is some trial and error here depending on the size of your sock bunny.

Playing around with some old scrap material can be fun to see what the finished look will be.  For me, it was helpful as I discovered that some materials I thought would be great didn’t give me the “look” that I was going for.  Trial and error at its finest!  You might even want to put some cute little flower bead or fun jewel at the center of the bow.

You can also cut off the cuff of extra socks to create a scarf type look.  Cut the entire cuff and then place it around the neck.

The Cute Little Nose & Whiskers ~

The sky is the limit with the objects you can use for the face embellishments.  Small wooden half balls came in very handy for the nose.  I also love the cute little pink bead for the nose!  For those of you who like to work with embroidery floss, it would be easy to do a few quick stitches to make a nose that way as well!

DISCLOSURE: This site contains product affiliate links for Amazon and other companies. We may receive a commission if you make a purchase after clicking on one of these links.  Thank you for supporting my small business!

Jute or hemp both have a great weight to them that works great for the whiskers.  It works best if you hot glue the whiskers first and then add an extra dollop of glue on top of the whiskers to place the nose.  It seems to secure the whiskers on much better.  A Cherry On Top Crafts is a great place to get new supplies if needed!

What About Those Eyes ~

Small flat back resin round crystal beads became eyes for mine.  I played around with buttons too but decided I like the soft shimmer of these resin crystal beads.

The striped bunny (isn’t she so cute?) ended up with the black stripe right where I needed the eyes to go.  I wanted the eyes to stand out more so I glued the black crystals on a white button to make them pop.  How does your sweet bunny look?

March Sustainable Craft Challenge ~

As I mentioned at the beginning of the post, this project is part of a very fun craft blog hop.  I hope you have as much fun as I did creating these “soft” and adorable bunnies.  Bonus…you get to also check out all of these other amazing “soft” crafts by my fellow bloggers.  You’re going to love them!  Check out each of their links in green below!

Julie ♥ Sum of their StoriesUpcycled Sweater Easter Gift Bags

Gail ♥ Purple Hues and MeLoopy Yarn Lamb Treat Jar

Christine ♥ Christine’s CraftsDIY Hair Towel Wrap

Marci ♥ Stone Cottage AdventuresDIY Cozy Weighted Warmer

Allyson ♥ Southern SunflowersNo Sew Drop Cloth Bunny Pillow

T’onna ♥ Sew Crafty CrochetCrochet Tabby Cat

Julie ♥ Treasures Made From YarnStash Buster Blanket

Mel ♥ Decor Craft DesignUpcycled Bottle Vases With Soft Spring Colors

Niki ♥ Life as a LEO WifeFarmhouse Chunky Yarn Wreath for Spring

Aren’t these all so fun?  This is my third month to participate in this Sustainable Craft Challenge and I just love everything about it.  I have found myself focusing on items I throw away and thinking about how I can use it for something else instead.  Last month’s challenge found me diving in very seriously to the other blogger’s posts and creating some very fun new crafts!

Happy Crafting My Friends !

Love Mimi

 

 

 

 

 

 

DIY Snowy Luminary

Christmas has come and gone and New Year’s Eve is upon us.  Have you taken your Christmas decor down yet or are you one of those (like me) who love a few extra days of festive glow.  There is just something special about the cozy feelings you get with the strings of lights and warm candles all around.  Well, winter is still here so let’s make a DIY snowy luminary to keep all the warm “feels” through the rest of the winter!

I belong to a Sustainable Craft Challenge Group that challenges us to use a pin we have saved and actually create the craft.  How many pins have you saved that you haven’t gotten back to????  We spend all of that time researching pins and then just let them sit there….so let’s get going!  We also have to use some items that are recyclable, unused, reduces waste, etc.  I don’t know about you but I have a collection of saved items to “use in a craft later.”  Let’s do this! Continue reading

DIY Pom Pom Gnomes & More!

While I have always thought gnomes to be cute, I have to say I have not been a gnome collector….until now!  Oh my goodness!  Whether it is because they are simply adorable or that making them has become quite theraputic, I am totally enjoying these DIY Pom Pom Gnomes and More!

A quick search on Pinterest will show you MANY ways of making yarn pom poms.   I have made pom poms over the years for various crafts, and I can honestly say I have tried MANY methods!  However, the one method I refuse to try is using a purchased pom pom maker.  I try to be as thrifty as I can so that is just not an option for me…and mine have still turned out fluffy and full!

Supplies Needed ~

  • yarn
  • scissors (sharp and with pointy tip)
  • serving fork, wooden fork, credit card, or cardboard cut about 1 1/4″ wide X 1 1/4″ wide
  • hot glue gun
  • embellishments for nose:  wooden ball, small stones, pearl balls, etc.
  • toilet paper roll(s)
  • tape (for incidentals)

First of all, you need to focus on your yarn.  Any yarn will work, and I mean ANY yarn.  So what is the difference between the $4.99 yarn and the $7.99 yarn?  There are many differences, but for these DIY pom pom gnomes, it is basically the thickness.  The thicker the yarn, the less it will take to create a full ball.

How to Make Yarn Pom Poms ~

My favorite method for making pom poms is with a large serving fork.  The fork I use is about 1 1/4″ wide.  Some other methods are using a credit card or cutting a piece of cardboard to the exact size you want.  There are truly so many items you can use for this project, this has just been the method I have found I really like.

  • Cut one piece of yarn about 6-7 inches.  Place the yarn as shown in the picture above.
  • Wrap your desired color of yarn around the fork until you get the desired size and thickness.  While you are wrapping, you will leave the one piece of yarn hanging down for later use.

  • I have included a picture to give you an idea of how the pom poms will turn out according to the number of times you wrap.  The smaller ball was wrapped around the serving fork 100 times and the bigger ball was wrapped around the serving fork 200 times.

Continue reading

Let the Crafting Begin!

Ok!  I realize that I am a little early.  Here it is September 11, and fall doesn’t officially begin until Tuesday, September 22.   But seriously, aren’t you ready for some fall fun?  Let’s start enjoying the wondrous blessings of the fall season.  I have started bringing out a few items of festive decor, and those warm colors of fall just make the house seem so much cozier.  Add a bit of spicy cinnamon to the candle warmer and voila…I have entered the happy

The fun craft ideas are certainly abundant–some old favorites as well as all of the new ones that people create every year.  So before we look at some of the fun craft ideas, I want to share with you a coupon code I for some crafting supplies that you need to be sure to have on hand.

COUPON CODES BELOW…………

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