Latest flower

Apricot Dahlia

The first flower made with the new felt!  

I love how soft and pretty it is!

Flowers and Stuff

It's Tuesday


E's school is having their "friendship feast" today.  I'm annoyed, the teachers are annoyed, half the parents are annoyed.  We were told that there would be no "FF" this year because there was no half day.  Then a few weeks ago, they announced that it would be today.  Why they don't think Thanksgiving is a Holiday, nobody knows.  Why they don't consider their own day of thanksgiving part of celebrating the Holidays...Nobody knows.  But here it is.  They are wasting most of a full day with their feast...oh and a kid in E's class has a birthday thing today....yeah, SO not wasting E's day by sending him.


It's after 9 and the kids are still asleep...Woohoo!  Today is the first day in a long time that I haven't woken up with atleast 1 if not 2 kids in my bed.  I think they wake up when the hubby leaves for work.  I think they were tired.  Especially E.  KennaKat slept through the entire meeting last night on my lap...I enjoyed it.  It's rare that I get to cuddle her for that long, as the kids get older, the cuddle time gets lower :(


So I'm trying to plan a few fun things to do with the kids while E is out of school.  So far I've only got Go to the Library for story time, and build terrariums out of these glass apple juice jars I thought were too awesome to throw away.  I tried to get the supplies yesterday at Lowes and a garden store down across from E's school, but so far my search has been in vane.  I want to get E cool plants like the venus fly trap and a pitcher plant, but so far, no go.  KennaKat wants a flower, any flower, the girl is not picky.  And I think I might get a mini orchid for myself.


Here are the results of my nonproductive Saturday.

These 2 (above and below) will be made into headbands for KennaKat

Don't forget to sign up for the giveaway!

It ends on Friday.

Also, search the web for cool ideas of something you'd like.

I'm always up for a challenge and new ideas!

Alrighty, if I don't go shower now, 

we'll never make it out of the house today.

Have  a lovely day everyone!!

Blogiversary Giveaway

Wow, in one week, I will have been blogging for a year! 
I never thought that I'd last a year.

I'll admit it, I've enjoyed the ride.

I like looking back at past posts, it's a nice reminder of what I've done.

{My online Diary if you will}

It surprises me how many things I've forgotten about.

{I'm glad I've recorded them somewhere.}

Good 'ole mommy brain at its finest.

I guess I could admit that I've sidetracked from my original purpose of this blog which was to catalog projects done with the kids.  In fact, I've gotten pretty lazy lately about posting kid related art.  I will try to get better about taking pictures and posting what we've done.  

This blog has become more of my online Diary, as I already stated.   But that's cool, it's my life journey, which includes a nice {odd} variety of topics.

In all honesty, sometimes I think about ending the blog.
For one, it's a time waster.
And I think 'Is it all for not?'
'Do I really want to let just anyone know what's going on in my life so easily?'

For now, I guess the answer is yes, or at least a shoulder shrug.

The plus sides are:
It makes it easy to share pictures of the kids and stuff with family and friends.
It encourages me to keep a journal of what our life has been.
{And I guess this poor memory needs to record things or else I could forget them into the deep abyss that is forever}
And the most enjoyable part is the comments and bits of encouragement from you guys!  {Even when you don't comment on here, but in person you've said, "Hey, I read your blog!" And I'm thinking "Really?  I can't believe people actually read my random rantings.  That's so awesome!" and I blush} Some days I'm having a really terrible, no good, very bad day and your kind words, your encouragement, your love, lift my spirits and make me feel good.  Like a virtual warm cup of chai tea with cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon good.
So thanks!  Thank you very much!


In case you are wondering, here are some of the stats that my blog has accumulated during it's first year:
7,087 pageviews
9 lovely official followers
153 posts {excluding this one, and some of the past that I deleted}
450 comments from you guys!
Top 10 countries who read my blog:
United States
United Kingdom
Russia
Chile
Germany
Latvia
Canada
Pakistan
Congo
Mexico

OK, enough of my ramblings... On to the good stuff!

As you already know, I've been really into flower making lately.

 I even posted a how-to so that you can make your very own.  So now, I'm offering to give you one to celebrate making it through a crazy blogging year together in one piece.  I'll even give you a color choice and a size choice and the choice to make it a brooch or a hair decoration.  We'll discuss all that good stuff after you win.  It's OK if I've already given one to you and it's OK if you've been making your own, free is free, and who's gonna pass on that? ;)

Here's how to enter:

Leave a comment.

Simple right?

Well, for some of you, probably not so much, so if you don't remember, here's how:

click on comment, add your comment, then below that, select to enter your name or be anonymous, just be sure to tell me who you are.

The giveaway will end on my blogiversary which is Friday, November 25th.
I'm excited to see who wins. :)

G'day mates!

More Dahlia's and a Tutorial

Last night I made a few more flowers while watching 

The Manhattan Murder Mystery

Some of you have asked how to make your own.

Well, I must start by saying that I did NOT invent this flower

Though I'd love to take credit.

Here is the girl who showed me how to make them.

I just tweaked it from there.

So you can either follow her tutorial, or mine, but hopefully,

 either way, you can create your own and enjoy!

How to make a Felt Dahlia:

Start by making a template for your petals.

I folded part of card stock paper in half and cut one side of a large petal.

My largest is 2 1/2 inches

The 2 1/2" petal base will make one right at 6 inches in diameter, 

That's one large flower :)

Taking my large petal, I traced it on card stock and kept the traced one for permanent use.

Taking the folded one, I refolded it and cut off one centimeter along the outside of the petal.

{Making it 2cm smaller than the other}

Then I traced it and kept the tracing.

Taking my folded one again, I refolded it and again, cut off 1 centimeter following the outline.

Each time I do this, I trace out the image so that I can have one for keeps.

Then I took off more...

And more...

And more...

And more.

Cut out all of your tracings and keep them for future projects.

I used card stock because it would hold up for multiple uses.

I might use stencil paper next time for longer lasting copies.

Now that we have our templates, lets get started!

For this flower, I used my small, xsmall, and xxsmall petals.

This will give me a flower that is just about 4 1/2 inches in Diameter.

Cut strips of felt the width of your petals.

I used a sheet of felt from the craft store that is 9x13" and cost 29 cents.

Each strip was 9"s long.

I cut 3 strips for my bottom petals using my small template.

{Turns out for this flower, I only needed 2 of the larger strips}

2 strips with my xs template

And 1 strip with my xxs template.

I then cut a circle 2" in diameter.

I like to stack all of my same-sized strips together, pin them to keep in place

and then cut them out.  It saves time :)

Apply a small dot of hot glue to the bottom corner of the petal.

{Sorry for the detailed, grody picture of my glue gun, she and I have come a long way together and she only cost a buck!}

Pinch the 2 bottom corners together...

Then quickly smoosh in the bottom, so that you have 3 points on the bottom.

You now have one petal.

Continue making the rest of them.

Now attach your petals to your circle.

Apply 1 dot of glue to the bottom back of your largest petal.

Stick the largest size petal to your circle, let if hang off your circle.

Only about 2 centimeters need to be on the circle.

Working around the circle, keep adding the petals.

I overlap the flat edges.

Be sure to angle a bit so you make a circle ;o)

This is what your first circle should look like:

{I used 13 petals for the largest row}

Now start your second row using the next size down petals.  Attach it the same way.  A little bit in from the larger row and work your way around again.

When I'm making small petals, instead of a dot of glue that usually gets messy

I'll do a thin smeared line of glue.

It's less visible at the end.

{And I burn my fingers less}

The second row of petals:

{9 petals for mine}

Add your smallest petals to the final row the same way you did the others.  Sometimes you have a small circle left in the middle, this time I didn't  It doesn't matter

{6 petals for my center, I normally have all odd numbered rows}

Now play around with ideas for the center...

{I wish I had a nice collection of vintage buttons to work with but I don't}

Once you have the look you like, hot-glue that baby to the middle!

Don't forget to add a brooch pin or hair clip to the back.

And there ya go, a 4 1/2 " dahlia made by YOU!

If you're wondering what they look like with just 2 rows of petals:

I made these 2 with my smallest sized petals

To make a rosette type center:

 Cut a long strip of felt

This one is 2 cm wide and 6 inches long

{Depending on the amount of space you have in the middle, you may want to make it longer or shorter}

Roll it into a circle,

Dab a large amount of hot-glue over the entire back

Then stick it in your flower's center while it's still hot.

Push down and your done!

I hope this tutorial was helpful!

Please show me your results if you decide to make your own.

Have a lovely day...

Well, it just started raining and it's chilly outside

Seems like the perfect time to make one with a good movie :)

Dahlia's Dahlia's Everywhere

Since I'm sick and closed in doors all weekend,
I've been on a Dahlia making kick.

Husband says I've made too many

Then I showed him my stack of felt and said

"I'm just getting started!"

Wahaha!

I LOVE making these!  

I've given 2 away
and I forgot to take pictures before I did.

I'm trying not to make that mistake again, but I'm sure I will.

KennaKat cuddled with me while I made these last night
and requested a pink one for herself.
 So this one is hers :)