LollyChops

Crafting with Lolly :: Kewl Cork Wreath

Firstly..  I have to tell you how utterly excited I am about all of the craft/studio/art rooms shares we are going to have for next week!  It's completely fantastic!  So many of you have sent me pics, links, and stories about your special spaces!  Keep 'em coming ladies!  We are going to have one heck of a post next Wednesday that's for sure!

Today I have a little tutorial on how to make a wine cork wreath!  I have been making these for a long long time...  and I thought you guys might like to take a stab at one too!

What you need!
10" straw wreath (wrapped in fishing line or some sort of twine).  Like this one HERE.
Glue gun (high temp for adults and low temp for kiddos).
Glue sticks (lots - I used 6 of the 10" long - high temp sticks).
Wine Corks (I used 180 for this project).  Look on ebay..  there are folks who sell them in bulk if you cannot find them locally.
Vacuum (cause you are gonna need to clean up all that straw)
Twine or floral wire.

Let's get started!
First..  remove the plastic from your wreath (not the string that's keeping everything together ok!!!).
I know I told you not to take off the plastic last week...  but that was only because I did not want you guys to have straw from one end of your house to the other before the big day!

NOW it's ok to unwrap it!  :D

 
Tie your twine or floral wire so that it wraps around the wreath but still has room for about 2 - 3 fingers to fit underneath.


You are going to want to cover the entire front of the wreath in corks laying side by side.
The best way to do this is with a long swath of hot glue down one side of the cork.


Line the corks up all nice and neat in a little row.
You are not going to want to go around the back side of the wreath - remember - it's going to be hanging on a wall so you want the backside to be flat.


You will get to a stubborn part where they do not line up like you want them to.
So you just have to tuck them in where you can...  still trying as hard as you can to stay flat for this first layer.


BUT..  you prolly won't be able to and that's totally ok!  hehehe.
What I am trying to demonstrate here is that you actually can go a little wild and crazy.  Your goal with the first layer is to cover up as much of the straw as possible.  Any way you can.


Here is some cork craziness.


...and here I am gluing the corks directly to the string I tied.
You do not need to do this...  it's just something that happens as you are hot gluing along.
Make sure you leave some slack twine in the back.
 

See how the first layer is all coming together!


Once you get the first layer of corks on, the long strip of glue is no longer going to cut the mustard.
You want to glue the corks at random angles so that basically means you need some random (a.k.a..."creative") glue placement.


See what I mean.  You want these little fellas staggered all over the place.


Here we are with a large dollop in the center so...


...we can balance that fella on top of one of the corks from the first layer.


I am just randomly placing the corks now.  I kinda got a little pattern going on the second layer by accident but I was able to break up the pattern with just a few randomly placed corks.


Close-up of the second layer.


and viola...a finished wreath!

That's pretty much all there is to this!  The more random the second layer is the better the wreath looks (there is no third layer)!  You hang it from the little twine or wire you placed around the base at the very beginning (so don't forget to do that step). 

What I usually do before I get started is pick out all my special corks (the ones with the pretty pictures and designs on them) and save them for the second layer.  If I have a lot of a particular kind of one cork - I usually use those as my base corks.

When you are placing that second layer - pay attention to where the pretty pictures and designs are on those special corks so you can make those face outward.  On this wreath I found a picture of some birds and also had another cork that said "pheasant" on it.  I made sure I placed those close together.

I made myself a large wreath that started with an 18" straw base.  It came out to be about 22' total.  I have that hanging in my kitchen (this picture here is of the small one I made for this tutorial).

I hope you enjoyed this little project share!!  If you get a chance to make a cork wreath - I would love to see a pic (and then share it with everyone else!!).

HUGS for a happy weekend you guys!


P.S.  If anyone lives in an area with birch trees and they happen to be trimming them or have some nice straight 1" limbs laying around (no longer than a foot)...  I need one and will pay you for it!  Just email me ok!

 

P.S.S.T.  ummmm guys.  The Butterfly Project was featured on Ali Edwards site today!  I am kinda sorta freaking out about it!!!!!  YAY!!!!!

Lolly's Craft Room :: Loads of Pics.. no really. Loads.

I am pretty darn excited to finally share pics of my redecorated craft spaces.  After much planning and organizing and reorganizing, I am finally ready!  I have lots of pics of my main craft room re-do plus never before seen pics of the new room - The Craft Room Annex!

My very first blog post contained a few pictures of my craft room (you can see that post HERE).  One of the main reasons I even considered starting a blog to begin with was because of so many of you guys out there... I had been looking for organization ideas and found all these amazing craft blogs with craft room pics, projects, tutorials and freebies (loads and gobs of fabulous freebies)!!!!

You see - I had been living in a cave called "Corporate America" up to that point...  (who am I kidding...  I still live there...  I just break out every now and then to play some).  This craft blog stuff was completely new to me ("Lame" might actually be my middle name after that confession) and I was seriously hooked after just a few hours of poking around (can you blame me...  I mean seriously).

I remember being so darn proud of that first post.  I felt like it was the perfect subject.  I of course had no clue what I was going to do for the second post...  but I had that first one nailed... hehehe! 

You guys all know where it's gone from there right???  The 12 days of Patterns, my obsession with buttons to cover, Embroidery Week and the soon to be unveiled - Big Time Bunny Week.  Sigh.  Who knew it could turn into this craziness right???  Just from a little ole craft room post.  So here I am 6 months later sharing yet more pics of my ever-so-special place... only now it's two places cause I just kinda went a little nutty and expanded things a tad.

Our house has a castle thing going in that we have two perfectly round rooms (it even has a pointy thing at the top).  See that picture way up there of the glass balls?  Until this past weekend the first floor circle room contained only these glass balls (not even kidding).  Nothing on the walls, nothing else in the room.  Just the glass balls.  It was like a special hide-out just for them (I seriously heart those little fellas).  Since it was just sitting there empty and it's right next door to my main craft room, I decided to make that another craft room.  I usually have about 4 projects going at once and my small table was not cutting the mustard.  I needed more space folks.  Seriously needed it!

So I'll stop talking and just get to the pics.  :)  The second pic from the top is from the Main Craft Room (here on out called MCR).  I have a little window seat and love to hang out and read (well not really but I would if I had the time...honest). 

That's where I take almost all of my pics actually.  The light is fabulous and I love to use the seat as a foundation (that's why you see blinds in so many of my pics...  sorry guys)! 

The third pic is of some of my rabbit collection.  I heart rabbits.  Like..  ummm  a lot...  and the 4th pic of all of the shelves... that's what you see when you walk in...  those are my new shelves that RonChops installed for Valentine's Day (thanks Bunny...  oops...I mean RonChops)!

Moving on....

I have another table in the MCR where I keep my paper cutter, cricut and photo/everything printer.
I also have a cork board there that's loaded with cards and pretty yummies that you guys have sent me!
I keep everything.  Every scrap.  Every card..  even some of the envelopes
(the pretty decorated ones are my favs).


Here is a close-up of my cork board.
Can you see all those buttons to cover thumb tacks!
YAY for buttons to cover!!!


This is the view from the window seat.


And the view of my main table.
The door on the right is the closet and the middle door is a bathroom
(for craft room potty emergencies - mainly from laughing so hard you... well you know...)


This is just another view of the other side of the room.
Nothing fancy over this way...that little bed there is where HarrietChops hangs out.


This is my small pittance of a sewing table...
can you even see it????


Some pics of my new shelves.  Packed to the gilders.


Some of my punches.
I keep them right behind me so I can get to them easy as pie.


Another view of the shelves.
I am almost ashamed of how much paper I have.
I had to split it up so I would not take the wall down.


...and this is a view out the door...
Do you can see The Craft Room Annex over there to the right?
Peep...  there it is!


Here she is.  The Craft Room Annex!
Since MCR is for bunnies...
I figured The Craft Room Annex would be dedicated to the birds...
...only I locked up a bunny in the bird cage to be crafty.


I had to keep my glass ballies in there...of course!
That's the kitchen off to the right.


Here is my photography light box in it's new home...
My beads to the right and my cricut cartridges
...and misc jewelry supplies to the left.


Close-up view.


Close-up view of my beads and my jewelry class tote.
Through the door is the front door and the MCR.


Here is another view.

And lastly...

A close-up of my bunny (I made him in ceramics) in his bunny/bird cage!

So there you have it.  The Craft Room Annex is mostly for jewelry making and photography.  The light in there is pretty fantastic.  I have not yet worked in there but I am going to this weekend!!

I would share pics of the closet... but how in the heck do you think I got things looking this clean for the photos???  I shoved everything into the closet (MomChops came over this past weekend and was cracking up when I opened the closet to get something...  I think the stacks of paper were literally cascading out of it)...  hehe...(true confessions right)...  I keep my fabric in there all organized by color on shelves RonChops made for me...  plus I have more paper and frames and all sorts of stuff I stash away to use in my projects.  If I feel brave and it looks clean enough I'll post a pic of it someday!

Share your space!!!
How much bribery am I gonna have to dole out to get you guys to share pics of your craft spaces?!?!?!  I would love to see them (it's a mini addiction of mine...  I still scour the internet for craft room/space/corner/couch/closet pics).  Pretty please send them my way and I'll post whatever I get next Wednesday ok!  If you do not want to send pics...  how about you leave me a comment with the place you craft in (is it a converted chicken coup or perhaps a corner of your bedroom)?  I will gather everything together and share your comments with any pics I get!?!?!  If I don't get any pics I might get sad and cry.  I am serious as a pack of peanuts ok.

Wednesday HUGS!

P.S.  Here is a pic of how my craft table REALLY looks most of the time.  I took this when I was creating the pattern for Wendy the Bird...  and working on some cards, and download and print freebies and evidently also making jewelry.  heh...  See what I mean?  If I can share this..  you can share your pics too right???



P.S.S.  C'mon you guys.  It'll be fun.  I swears!!!

I felt like making lemons but I should have made peaches...

I thought had this project all planned out...  I had mason jar metal bands, felt, thread, a pattern, paint, and a plan.

Ahhh yes...  The Plan...
Evidently my plan was a tad on the flawed side.  Note to self...  when making a themed project... make sure you have the necessary props to show off said project.  Creating a somewhat cute lemon felt topper means said topper should adorn jar with lemon product right????  Peaches might not work.  That's just me guessin'.

I saw a terrific project in one of my new Crewel books..  aptly titled "The New Crewel"...  I decided to do my own take on this project (I am all about getting inspiration from other people's brilliance you know!!)... I did not want to do plain crewel mason jar tops... (I mean it's crewel and all...  but I wanted something even creweler)...  hehehe (I had to use that horrific pun...  If I had not you would have all been disappointed in me and would have never ever come back).

I decided I wanted felt, crewel AND a colorful metal band top too (I have a can of green spray paint that calls to me every morning...  I no longer need an alarm clock...  that little can of bright green spray paint is making a ruckus in the craft room that could wake the dead)!

Firstly...  the metal band (no long hair required (groan...  so it's going to be one of THOSE posts))
I decided not to give you any instructions on painting the metal mason/kerr/ball jar bands.  Just spray paint them lightly (I did two coats) and they will come out just fine.  Make sure you let them get good and dry before you start to mess with them!

I used the lemon pattern from the Fresh Note Cards I featured this past Friday as a download and print freebie (you can go check those out HERE)!  I used a darker yellow felt as the main lemon part and a creamy beige felt as the pith.  I enlarged the lemon to be 1.5 inches wide (the pattern is below).

I cut out a yellow felt piece (using the paper pattern as a guide).
I attached it to some plain muslin using a chain stitch
(I caught the edge of the felt with the stitch to keep it tacked down).

 
Once I had it tacked down I cut out the smaller inner circle in beige felt
and centered it on top of the yellow circle.
I tacked it down with a simple single stitch.


Here they are together.


Next I had to decide how to make the triangle centers.
Originally I was going to just do a felt triangle tacked down with a single stitch...(like #3)
...but I wanted to get  F.A.N.C.Y.
I tested out a few different things till I found one I thought would make nice
center triangle pieces.
Click on the picture to get the blown-up view so you can see everything I came up with.
I decided to go with #4 (you might like one of the other ones better though).


Here are the outlines of the triangles in single stitch.


...and here they are all covered up with a single stitch.


I figured I needed a stiff backing to adhere the material to...
...so I used some scrap chip board I hung on to for just such a project.
I traced the outline of the metal band onto the chip board....


...and then cut the circle out 2/16th's of an inch SMALLER than the outline...
...did you guys just groan?
You need the extra room to get it shoved into the metal band.


Once I had my chip board circle piece...
...I also cut out a piece of white card stock to be the same size
(I used the chip board piece as my guide).
I glued them together with two sided tape.
The reason I did this is because you want a nice white background behind the material.


So now you need to glue your material to the stiff back you just made.
Do NOT put glue all over the white part of the stiff circle.  It will show through (trust Lolly).
Do a nice thin line (about 3/16 - 4/16th's of an inch)...
...did you guys just groan again???
Do this all along the edge of the circle.
You can barely see it but it's there.  I swears!!!


Center your fabric piece over the white part of the stiff circle with the glue around the edges
(glue facing up).
Smooth the edges as you are placing it so you do not get lumps.
You will prolly have some but they should be pretty minimal (see my minimal lumps below).


Flip the whole thing over and trim off the excess fabric.
It should look something like this.


Take your beautifully painted metal band and tuck your
felt/fabric/chip board combo into it.
It should fit snugly.  If you have excess around the edges pop it out and trim them up.
Note:  The reason this chip board is all yucky looking is cause it's literally scraps I kept from another project.


Sooo..  here we are.  If I had lemon something (curd for instance)...
...this would look so MUCH better!  Those dark looking fellas are peach preserves.  Nice right?

So there you have it...
Next I am going to make a peaches top pattern (crazy right...??)...  and strawberries, blackberries, pears, apricots, oranges and a fig (cause I make fig preserves every year too).  I was thinking tomatoes would be cute too.  I want to can tomatoes this year (first time ever).

Are you wondering if these are supposed to be insanely complicated gifts...or what?
Well... I like to display a few of my canned preserves on my counter.  I think they are beautiful.  I thought it would be nice to have some fancy toppers for these little fellas.  You could also make them as gifts but they are a tad time consuming (so they would be an extra special gift that can be used over and over)...  a set of preserves each with their own special (ahem...) coordinating topper would be an especially beautiful gift).

Below is the pattern for a 1.5 inch wide lemon.  I did two versions.  You have your simplified version (that I used for this project) and a more complex version (that you can use for something like...  oh I dunno....embroidery!!!!!)!

I'll share the patterns and toppers for all of the fruits I mentioned above over the next few weeks.  They are not exactly perfect...  but that's what I like about them best of all.  Sometimes the imperfections make things...  well... perfect!


Lemon Pattern

Monday HUGS to each and every single one of you!

P.S.  MomChops has requested that the lemon that's at the top of the PDF be made into a pattern as well... so I'll be doing that soon too!  xoxoxox

(P.S.S.T.  Today is my parents 29th Wedding Anniversary...  pretty please join me in wishing them a super terrific anniversary!!!)  I love you bunches and heaps MomChops and DadChops!!!!!!!!!!!

Sunday Guest Recipe :: Auntie Lynda’s Comfort Chicken Casserole

Hi everyone!  Today I have a family recipe to share from Michele of CalicoDaisy!  Michele has a terrific blog loaded with all sorts of sewing goodies (bring a drool cloth...  she's got a teeny pic of her sewing machine and it nearly made me pass out it's so cool)!  Make sure you go check her blog out when you are done reading here!

Let's get started with the interview so we can learn a little more about Michele before we dive into her casserole dish!

LollyChops: What's your favorite ingredient when cooking?
Michele: Toss up between chocolate when baking and garlic/pepper when cooking up dinner. 

LollyChops: What leftovers do you have lurking in your fridge right now?
Michele: Steak from Valentine's Eve Dinner, crockpot beef stew, and some things that haven't been uncovered for a while! 

LollyChops: What topping(s) do you like on your pizza?
Michele: Sausage 

LollyChops: What recipe do you cook best (the one you are known for or that all your friends always want you to make)?
Michele: This Auntie Lynda's Comfort Chicken Casserole and brownies. 

LollyChops: If you were a salad, which dressing would you pick?
Michele: Right now, I'm into French dressing. 

 LollyChops: What's your favorite ice cream flavor?
Michele: Coffee 
LollyChops: MINE TOO!!!!!!!! ...and Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey (I am allowed to have two right??)!

LollyChops: Butter cream frosting or whipped?
Michele: Buttercream!
LollyChops:  Note:  I added the "!" to her answer.  Butter cream ALWAYS deserves a "!" or "!!!"

LollyChops: What do you use to clean your dishes. Plain sponge, sponge with scrubber attached to one side, scrubber handle thing with soap refill, scrubber knob thing w/wo soap refill, kitchen towel, etc…
Michele: My husband loves using the sponge with scrubby on the back.  However, after watching a talk show once about how many germs are in the kitchen sink, I ALWAYS use a fresh dishcloth and nearly ALWAYS clean the sink with Comet before washing dishes. 

LollyChops: Who is your favorite celebrity chef?
Michele: Paula Deen for home cooking, and Guy Fieri for his show, Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.  My dad and I thought a great vacation would be to make a trail of diners and work our way through them.
LollyChops: I could not agree more!  That DOES sound like fun! 

LollyChops: If a recipe calls for a clove of garlic – how much do you really use?
Michele: Well, in the past, "more is more."  Now, though, in my middle-forties, horror of horrors, my cast iron tummy of my youth has rusted away a bit, and too much garlic really hurts me for hours!  I've never experienced that before the last year. 

When life gives you lemons...make note cards!

I think I might be getting ahead of myself a tad (as far as seasons go anyway)...  so many of you are buried in snow and it's freezing cold outside...  but I could not resist making up some little citrus note cards for you to download and print!  I hope these little fellas will brighter your blistery days just a little bit!

Crafting with Lolly?
Before I share the cards though, I want to invite you to craft with me next Friday (just in time for the weekend).  You'll need a few supplies so I wanted to tell you now so you had time to get everything together (if you are even interested that is)!!!! 

We are going to be making a cork wreath!  I have been making these for about 8 years now (I think I have literally made about 14 of them as gifts for friends and family).  RonChops and I do not drink wine so I have to be crafty in order to find enough corks to make one!  I usually hit up restaurants and ask the bartender if they will save them for me...  (the nicer the place the more you will get).  You can even find them on ebay for a good price too (search for "wine corks")!

You will also need a straw wreath.  I found this little one last weekend for .99 at a thrift store... so look there and at your local hobby shop too.  The one I have for my kitchen is about 22 inches wide (you need a LOT of corks for that sucker).  This little guy is only 12 inches wide and uses quite a few less.  How many you may ask...  I'll tell you when I finish next Friday....  oh and you will need a hot glue gun too (with LOADS of glue sticks).  Loads I tell ya.

O.M.T.  Do NOT take the plastic off of the wreath.  Trust me ok.  Just trust me. 

On to the sharsey!
For my post today I have some little download and print freebies to share!  I made these little note cards like my other ones.  You can see the other guys from my download and print freebies page HERE (I think I have some pears and trees out there).  I love these little note cards.  You can use them when you are sending your friends little gifts and goodies AND for all you gals out there who sell your crafty fabulousness...  feel free to use these note cards and mini tags when you send out your wares!  They make a nice little package even nicer.  Pretty soon I'll even have an Avery label template that matches with all of the note card sets I have made.  Me thinks it will really make a nice presentation!

Where has Lolly been?
You may have noticed that I did not post 5 days this week (then again you may have heaved a sigh of relief that I was not clogging your RSS reader with daily posts too)!

I have decided to change a few things around here.  I'll only be posting 4 days a week (3 times mon-fri + the sunday guest recipe)... and that's pretty much it.  Why?  Cause I have so many great things planned that I need time to get them all done!!!  I was running out of time and not putting my best stuff out there and I just cannot have that!  This extra time will give me more time to get ready for things like the NEXT "Embroidery Week" (in June) and better yet the "Love Some Bunnies Week" that's coming up (I can hardly wait for that one).  Lolly really loves her some bunnies...  so if you do not like rabbits...  you are prolly going to want to steer clear of LollyChops during that time. (don't worry...  I'll warn ya...I swears.)!

I hope everyone had a terrific week!  If you have made stuff from some of my tutorials and patterns, etc...  please feel free to send me pics and I'll post them for everyone to gaze upon!

LollyChops - Fresh Note Cards

Hugs for a happy weekend everyone!

P.S.W.A.P. (P.S. with a picture) In case you missed the freebie Cherry Blossom Recipe cards I made and posted on La Fuji Mama this past Monday...go check them out HERE (see a sample of one of the colorways below)...so pretty!  You know you want them!!!

P.S.S.T.  I have one more little sharesy.  I got this pic from Megan earlier this week.  She turned my tweet pattern into a little framed piece too!  Don't cha just love it!!!