Doily Flowers + Yarn Wreath

 Happy Sunday to you!

Was your weekend a good one? I hope it was!

I want first to thank you for your comments on my last post~ they each meant so much to me! They truly did motivate me this weekend, and we got a lot done on the master bedroom. I feel so much better now, even about the plank ceiling! Somehow, it looks better to my eyes than it did before! So thank you for the extra push in the right direction! :)

Secondly...



Since I am finally in the mood to finish up projects, {wink} I decided I might as well finish this little project, too...Something else I'd started weeks ago, and not finished...

Partly because I am a perfectionist,

{I hear you say, "No,really!?"}


and partly because I wanted to get the doily flowers right... 



{pearl corsage pins hold the first two miniature doilies in place; they were put in an angle to avoid any sharp points poking out!}



{one doily flower}



 {a straight pin pushed down in the center of the "flower" holds it firmly in place, and a corsage pin was used next as functional decoration}



 

To start, I just used a white styrofoam wreath form, and wrapped the yarn around and around until it was covered...just as you would with any yarn wreath. :)





{I realized this would be a good thing to do when watching a movie...}


I decided where the lace that would hang the wreath would go...hot glue works great for this!




 And also decided I wanted my "flowers" off center on both sides.

Something about the warmness and sturdiness of the yarn with the delicate crocheted pieces just complemented each other...

Now I must confess...after repainting our living room last winter, I am still in the process of decorating the walls/deciding what I want! SO...I cheated a little here by only really showing the wreath by itself. This room is definitely a work in progress!



I will be back tomorrow with a little tutorial on making the doily flowers, just in case any one would like to make one!

{I am linking this to:

The Sunday Showcase Party at Under the Table and Dreaming 
Air Your Laundry textile party at Freckled Laundry
The Weekend Wrap Up Party at Tatertots and Jello 
Frugal Friday at The Shabby Nest


I hope you have a wonderful night, and a lovely Monday! :)


Thank you for stopping by~

Jenni

Winter Snowflake Garland {with miniature doilies}

Hi friends! I hope this Tuesday finds you doing well! I just love this between Christmas and New Year's~ how about you?

Well now, ever since finding these miniature doilies at JoAnn's this past November, I have been almost obsessed with them.

{Well, okay, maybe not obsessed. But definitely loving them!}

These sweet little doilies caught my eye because they reminded me of the little crocheted snowflakes my grandma would make and then starch. She gave some as a gift to us, and my mom used little clear suction cups to hang them here and there on the front window...I remember thinking as a child that there was nothing more beautiful!

{I also wanted to show you this: these miniature doilies come in both ivory and white.}

When I bought these doilies, I wasn't exactly sure what I would use them for, but found one use a couple of days later...

{When folded, they made little wings for the paper birds I was working on.}

But as I was working on the paper birds, I began to think of how cute these would be as a garland...

To make this, I decided about how many doilies I wanted to use/ how long I wanted the garland to be, and added these little metal adhesive embellishments:

I first imagined using twine for this project, but it didn't look quite right. The snowflakes needed something fuller to weave through them, and this sheer ribbon was just right. A little slippery to work with, but so worth it!

I wasn't sure how long I would need the ribbon to be, so I didn't cut it at first. I just looped the ribbon through the little doilies as I added them, making small spaces between each one.

When I'd added all of the doilies and had the right spaces between them, and I liked the amount of ribbon I had to work with on each side of the garland, I knew I could safely cut the ribbon off from the roll.

Lay your garland out and, in the middle of each space between each of the doilies, tie a small piece of matching ribbon around the ribbon connecting the doilies...

Don't make a tight knot until you have it ready to hang up, though, just in case you will need to adjust things...

{ahem...I did this, and it was really difficult to undo it...}

And once you have a tie between each doily, your garland is ready to hang up!

In the kitchen, I used mini clothespins sprayed white to hang each side up. I just hung it beneath my curtain, about half way up the window.

{I didn't want to remove the kitchen valance, as it is the only curtain we have in any of our main rooms at present, due to all of our renovating...}

In the living room, I hung it a little differently:

I tied it up each side and in the middle, and added bows to each part I tied up for a little extra oomph...

Now I was wavering on starching them, but decided not to. Most of the ones I was using were thicker and firmer, and I liked them better unstarched. {Personal preference.} However, I was at the bottom of the barrel by the time I was finishing the garland for the living room, and had to use a couple of more flimsy ones, and can see why you would want to starch them if this was the way they all were! And it isn't hard at all to use the starch, if you should decide to do this. Just a few mists of the spray starch, and you let it dry! :)

I admit I thought of these as my Christmas garlands, but realized they can really be used all winter long...

At least I hope they can, because I plan on doing it! ;)

So...what do you think?

Well, I hope you have a wonderful night! :)

Blessings~

Jenni

{I am linking this to Freckled Laundry and Under the Table and Dreaming.}

Another Doily Garland~ Adding Nostalgia

{Treasuring the past and seeing my loved ones in a different light}

SO...I have been tweaking my doily garland. I thought it would be fun to try making a doily banner, using tea-dyed clothespins...

My sister {Belle} told me she saw this idea of "antiquing" clothespins at Nancy's Tidbits. What a fantastic idea! I hadn't ever heard of doing this before!

I used mini clothespins and essentially just gave them a hot tea bath overnight. :) I was just kind of experimenting, so whether this is the correct way to do it or not, I don't know...but I like them!

Then I decided to make it like it was before~ more "garland" and less "banner"~ I put all of the other doilies back on but kept the clothespins...

(How it looked before)

I had an idea...Decorating with my grandma's doilies was making me feel very nostalgic. I brought out the pictures from my mom's side of the family, adding them to my little garland...

Photos of my grandma~ one pictures her with my grandpa, as newlyweds...

And my parents as children...I had to put them together on the garland, of course!

And here's the thing: even if you don't have old photos (or copies of old photos like these are) you can use any pictures, really. I think I will try mixing a few of these with some of my children when they were smaller...

I smile every time I pass by this display. And I feel just a little closer to my grandma.

{I miss her.}

*************

I hope you all have a beautiful weekend. :) Thank you so much for coming by!

blessings,

Jenni

I am linking this to:

The Shabby Nest

Tatertots and Jello

Just a Girl

Freckled Laundry

Funky Junk Interiors