Felt Dessert Picks Tutorial

I recently saw some felt cupcake picks in a magazine. Unfortunately I can't remember which magazine it was. They were of the Halloween theme & the magazine suggested using them as party favors/pencil toppers after use as cupcake picks for a party. I thought that was an EXCELLENTLY clever idea. I'm all about useful crafts with a 2-fer-1 design purpose! I put a twist on the cupcake toppers & my versions follow.

You'll need various colors of felt & thread, needle, glue (not pictured), scissors & picks for your cupcakes (I purchased skewers used for shisk-a-bobs, cut in half. Lollipop sticks would work great too!). Optional supplies: decorative scissors & sewing machine.

Here's a peek at what my family sometimes goes through with my crafty stuff spread all over the dining table. They still love me though.

Decide what design you'd like your picks to be. I decided on owls, acorns, mushrooms & cupcakes. Cut out templates from scrap paper or cardboard.

Trace your template onto the felt. You'll need 2 pieces of each design, for the front AND back of your dessert pick. You really only need to trace ONE---you can then fold over the felt & cut out two.

FOR THE CUPCAKES:

I found these really cool felt cupcake pieces at JoAnne's. They were on clearance too!--A pack of 10 (2 of each color) for 25cents! All I had to do was cut out a bottom cupcake "liner" in an appropriate size.

To make the cupcakes, I created a decorative stitch with my sewing machine, to connect the bottom piece to the top piece. This can also be done by hand, or by gluing. (As an option, all of the picks shown in this tutorial can be done with the simple gluing method.)

And then, by hand, I stitched all around the "frosting" part with a matching color of thread & then the bottom part in a matching color. Remember to leave an opening wide enough at the bottom to fit the cupcake pick AND/OR a pencil.

FOR THE ACORN:

Put the two bottom pieces back-to-back & hand stitch (or glue!) them along the edge. Once again, remember to leave an opening at the bottom.

Then, sandwich the two top pieces of the acorn on top of the bottom part. Machine stitch using a straight stitch & just rotate the fabric as the stitches zig back & forth, creating the cross-hatch style pattern. That's it!

FOR THE OWL:

Hand stitch each side separately--the wings, the beak & the eyes--onto the body. Then, place the pieces back-to-back & stitch all along the edge.

I didn't have any cupcakes lying around, so I had to improvise with some Sunday morning donuts. The owlie, I think, is my favorite.

FOR THE MUSHROOM:

Make sure your white "bottom" pieces are a little smaller then the red mushroom caps that will be placed on top. That way, when you stitch (or glue!) around the edge it won't be very bulky & the white won't show through on the sides.

Glue the mushroom caps on.

Handstitch along the edge where the white part meets the red part.

Sandwich the pieces together & sew along the edge.

Glue on white dots cut out from felt.

The owl, acorn & mushroom make for a great woodland themed party. Oooh, picture them on German chocolate frosted cupcakes. MMMmmm....

The owl & acorn would also be special decorations for your Thanksgiving desserts!

I also thought these would make fun teachers gifts as pencil toppers---or sweet little presents for school mates.

SUPER DUPER SALE!

It's official!! WhiMSy love is having a sweet sale! Check out the section in my shop titled...."SUPER DUPER SALE!"

Prices slashed! Super bargains! Fab deals!

(I'll be reducing prices tonight & tomorrow morning---my sweet blogger friends get first dibs!)

Flatware Wind Chime Tutorial!

I've always wanted to make a wind chime from flatware. And, so I did!
As you will see later on, you can just make this wind chime smaller--with just 2 tiers, instead of all three. The bottom grouping has larger pieces---a pie server, over sized soup spoon, etc. & I like the "weight" of it.

So, the first thing you'll need to do is gather your supplies: vintage silver or silver plate flatware......For the one I made you'll need a total of 3 forks & then 8 other pieces of flatware. They could be spoons, butter knives, pie servers, etc. I just steered cleared from anything that could actually injure a passerby, or items that "never need sharpening".

The other supplies you need are: 30 lb. fishing line, a metal file, a ruler, a drill with a 3/32 drill bit, & NOT pictured but needed are pliers & scissors (to cut the fishing line).

I started out using a 1/16" drill bit. I broke it while trying to drill. So, I used the next size up--a 5/16" bit. I broke that too. So see, I'm sharing my boo-boo's so you can save time. I used the 3/32" bit & it was fine.

It took me a while to drill through the flatware. This is definitely not a quick project. It's an afternoon dealio. Drill through the "handle" or top part of each piece of flatware.

Drill through the part shown in the picture for each fork that will become the center structure.

After drilling, you'll notice really sharp edges. File those off until smooth with your metal file.

Now it's time for an Otter Pop break!! (And you can wipe the sweat off your brow too.) Man! It was a hot day. I'm pretty sure it was, like, a bajillion degrees.

Alright, back to work. The top fork, middle fork & bottom fork will need to be bent with the pliers in this way.

I had THIS fork already bent in my stash & I thought it looked cool, so I used it for the bottom fork. You can do that too if you want.

Then, bend up each prong with a twist up at the end....

...so it will look like this.

I took a picture of all the finished pieces but realized later that I left out a few spoons.

Now, tie a piece of fishing line onto the top fork as in the picture & leave about 5" between it & the middle fork.

Then, from each curly prong on the top fork, tie 4 of your random pieces of flatware until the broadest parts of each hang equal with the middle forks curly prongs. (This is so the flatware hits the middle fork prongs with a nice "clink" & "clang" sound.) You can stop here & be done & have a really cool wind chime, or you can continue to add the bottom level in the same way you just made the previous one: The middle fork (which is the fork in the bottom of the picture below) will have 4 other random pieces of flatware tied to its curly prongs & the bottom hole in that fork will have another fork tied to it, hanging below.

Here's the top of the wind chime....

...here's the middle bit.....

...& here's the bottom. I actually drilled a hole in the bottom of that fork in the last tier, so I think I may go back & add a decorative detail to the bottom---like a really ornate piece of flatware just hung there on its own.

Oh, & don't forget to tie some string to the very tippy-top of the top fork so you can hang it outside. I hope you have fun trying this out! The sound it makes is totally neato!! I LOVE it!!

Cheers to another "Summer Fun Idea"!!!!

Whimsical Children's Rooms Blog Party

Today is the party hosted by Laura Bray at katydiddys! As I was madly taking photos of my two wee one's rooms, I realized that they weren't up to showroom quality. I mean, who wants to see Tinkerbell undies strewn across the floor, or Barbie shoes sprinkled on the carpet? I decided that since the unmade beds & dollhouse debris wouldn't make for impressive snapshots, I would take pictures of special things in my girls room instead: close up shots that make you THINK the atmosphere is tidy.

We moved into our house 5 months ago & you'd think that would be enough time to get settled in. But, it's not. I'm not sure what the problem is, but my girls' rooms don't have that warmth & "homey" feel to them. They've shared a room for the past 2 years, so this is the first time they've had their own rooms. Maybe I just need to give them (& their rooms) some time to find their own decor identity. Anyway, I hope to get some ideas from other participants in this blog party on how to make their rooms more cozy & girly & less cold & uninspired.

The picture at the top is how I store my oldest daughter's dress-up attire. The large puffy dresses get hung right on the wall above her bed! It's artwork, it's a dress, it's artwork, it's a dress.

I painted the hangers to make it "extra special". And look! It's a cupcake! This was one of my very first cupcake paintings, about 5 years ago--long before I realized that I loved them so! I think I copied it right from a catalogue.

My daughter's pink bed is one of my favorite pieces. My mom picked it up at a garage sale for 3 bucks. I wish I had a "before" shot. It came with a headboard & footboard--but it belonged to a bunk bed. It was nasty looking. I sanded it, painted it, distressed it, waxed it, added finials to the posts & adorable white wood embellishments to each end. It was a lot of work, but well worth it. It was a surprise for her 2nd birthday---a big girl bed!

And I LOVE using mismatched linens--both old vintage & new vintage-looking. My oldest has pinks & blues & my youngest has yellows & greens.
I found this drawer to an old desk in someones trash! I added vintage kitty wrapping paper & hotglued buttons to the outside & now it hangs above my daughter's desk & holds her precious keepsakes. Free stuff rocks.

Hanging under the drawer is a banner I made. I found some vintage "ABC" clipart online & copied them, punched holes in them, strung some ribbon through, & swagged it above her desk. It's not only decorative--but useful: she refers to it often when stumped on her alphabet.

A trip to a nearby pottery painting studio resulted in this adorable hanging sign.

Artwork is very important to me & my kid's get to put theirs just about anywhere. Zoey decorates her door with loads of paintings & drawings.

I love the wooden letters you see at craft stores. And the wacky odd sized letters are right up my alley. I painted them out in different colors & hung them with that tacky putty stuff.

I also gave each of my girls a painting when they were born. Pazely has this above her desk.
Another cool find was this piece. I was told it is for holding patterns?? I use it to hold my girls magazines & coloring books. It sits in our living/dining room right next to a baker's rack which is FILLED with their art & creative supplies.

This is weird, but everywhere we have ever lived I have always had an obsession with making the girls bathroom cute. I love bathrooms! They are tiny & make-over pretty quickly.

The shower curtain rings were purchased from the Target $2.50 bin. I added the vintage buttons.

Above the girls towel rod is this vintage hand mirror that used to belong to my grandmother. I hung it on the wall at kidlet height so the girls can see themselves---you know, for that final check before heading out to play.

I love being "hands-on" in my girls' rooms. Most of their things have been thrifted or handmade. A lot of inspiration comes from books or magazines. Better Homes & Gardens puts out really cool Special Publications about "quick & easy decorating" or "kids' rooms". I snatch these up when I see them because they give SO many great ideas.

Now that you got a peek at MY children's rooms, go check out Laura's blog post (dated July 11 2008) to see links in the comment section & find other great children's rooms!! Party on!