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mossy spring wreath … ♥


it’s really anything but spring in upstate NY
but a girl can hope can’t she??
maybe if i do something way out of character
and put my Easter wreath up waaaaay before Easter
spring will come early
cause i’ll be ready
then maybe spring will be ready…
see…
it’s all in the mind.
(heehee 🙂

so remember this neutral fall wreath i made last year?




well i made a spring version!
for directions, see my original post here
this time i wrapped the styrofoam shape with moss
actually moss on a roll! i found it in the floral department at Joann’s

first i covered the shape with green felt, so the white of the styrofoam wouldn’t show through
i cut moss strips to size and glued them down with hot glue
making sure to cover all the empty spaces with little pieces here and there

(i didn’t wind it around the back, since this stuff was pricey 
and i was trying to not have to run back to the store for more!)






once done, i hot glued some wide grosgrain ribbon to the back of the top and 
then hot glued the frame (5×7) to the ribbon tails that hung down in the center

(yeah … um… this took a ton of hot glue)

the simple, to the point printable is from Kelsey @ Tattered & Inked
and it comes in a few different colors too 🙂





add some butterflies or flowers!
i love white anything
(which is weird, since i love everything in color)
but these butters were from Joanns as well 
(floral dept.)

hope you like this spring version of my crazy shaped wreath 🙂
still organizing by the way … will i ever be done?

:/

much loves ♥
sweet parties here:

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butterfly art … ♥


i hope to get back to some house purging & organizing next week
orders from my etsy shop have been keeping me busy 🙂

last weekend we went to an engagement party … so i thought i’d share a gift idea
not exclusive to wedding-ish stuff
this could be for anything! would be cute in a little girls room with some added pops of color





i used Martha Stewart’s butterfly punch and a regular heart punch 
then just wrote down their names and wedding date 






the neat thing about this shadow box is it has a opening in the top 
… so they can add momentos, or movie tickets as time goes by 






i also bought them this book to go along with it
it was so pretty with a gray soft leather cover
 i wanted one for me & the hubs 🙂






i had these tags listed in the shop, but sold out of them…
they’re on my to-do list
(which is really long)





happy weekend everyone!
let’s organize next week!
(i hope)
(i really really want to)
(but there’s always something more fun to do)

loves ♥

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sweet Valentine's Day gift & a free printable … ♥



i’m so thankful for all your sweet comments on Friday!
i’m kinda smitten with the new garlands
so i’m super glad you like them too

so on to the winners!!
the random generator thingy randomly selected …

comment #3 … Lisa Burger
comment #21 … TexasNeals
comment #45 … Judith

yay guys! if that’s you please jot me an email 
with your address so i can send these out to you!
{raisinguprubies@gmail.com}

now even if the random generator thingy was not you friend today 😦
i have a super sweet printable that you can take with you anyway 🙂

along with a super simple Valentine’s Day gift idea
cause i wish everyone could win
and cause i love ya ♥




i picked up a few things at Michaels the other day 
to put this gift together for a sweet friend at my church … 
the heart paint bucket was only 1.99 on clearance 
and the frame was in the $2 bins … 
i love this frame! and they had some in a pretty teal color & white 
(i may or may not have come home with some of those too)






i used PicMonkey to create an image for the frame
i was having to much fun with their new Valentines options … 
so i made three different versions 🙂 filled the bucket with chocolates 
and tied the frame to the top with some pretty ribbon 
… add a tag and that’s it!





so go! get some of those cute frames!
and use one of these images to bring some last minute sunshine to someone you love 🙂
(just right click on the image and save to your computer ♥)



happy week everyone! enjoy ♥
much love…


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cupcake paper flowers … ♥




i’ve had a few inquiries about the paper flowers 
that were on my craft table in the Better Homes & Gardens feature 🙂 
i originally got the idea from Martha here and just tweaked it a little 
by using the natural brown color floral wire 
(i liked that idea better than using the green floral tape)

so thought i’d share! come on, let’s make some stuff ♥






gather up your glue gun, the floral wire & some cupcake papers
these colors were inspired by that jar of conversation hearts i have sitting on my craft table 🙂







it’s simple really, and the pictures will walk you through it … 
poke wire through paper, hot glue near the middle and pinch around the wire
(don’t burn yourself!!)






repeat 3 times, or more, depending how puffy you want your flowers













ta-da! see?





what the bottom looks like 🙂






these would be a sweet Valentines Day gift
find a can or glass jar, wrap some ribbon or kraft paper around it and deliver 🙂
it’ll be loved … promise.





my craft room is happy it’s Valentines Day too …
(heehee)










short & sweet ♥
make lots 🙂
happy crafting! 

sweet parties here ♥

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valentine ballerina pinwheels … ♥ with fptfy!



i feel so blessed
by all your words of encouragement to me last week
and all the congratulations you gave me
♥ 
i can’t say thanks enough
for reading, following, and for … well …
lovin’ this little blog here
🙂
i appreciate you all so much

enough with the mushy
another Valentines day project comin’ you way today!
teamin’ up with my bloggy bestie
♥ Keren from Free Pretty Things for You ♥

Click HERE to download the image for this project!

Keren’s pretty little vintage ballerina image is cuter than cuteness
it had to be used for something Valentines-ish
i can’t say it enough … Heart Day crafts are just my favorite!
come on, let’s make some stuff ♥


print, cut, then gather some supplies:
scrapbook paper, white tulle, paperclips and some ribbon 
(last two are not pictured)
i cut a small piece of tulle and scrunched it up 
then put it through the sewing machine to give the tutu a little dimension 🙂 
(hot glue would work too)
one. ♥ for the pinwheels, start by cutting your paper down to 8.5 x 8.5
two. ♥ cut that piece into four even sections
three. ♥ fold each piece into four sections (like a fan) 
then fold the whole thing in half, and paperclip the two sides together
four. ♥ do it for all four of the square pieces, 
using the paperclips to connect them together
(i used two paperclips to secure the middle as well)




flip it over and glue the ballerina to the front


punch a hole in the top to thread some ribbon through
lastly … make more!
are you having a Valentines Day party? or a little girl’s birthday party?
simple & fast party decor … and cute to boot 🙂
thanks again to lovely, sweet Keren, for providing the vintage image!


happy crafting ♥
sweet parties here ♥

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Pretty Valentines Day Bunting … ♥




This little project is really nothing new …
just a different spin on an already popular idea 🙂




i looooooooooooove Valentines Day
all the pink-ness, heart-ness, pink-ness, and heart-ness
{did i mention i love the pink & the hearts?}
i found these shabby cupcake papers and the butterfly in the dollar bins at Michaels
{score!}
gather up some doilies, beads and cording of any sort 




i threaded all the beads on first so i could start sewing the twine into the paper 
without having to re-thread my needle a bunch of times
fold the doilies & cupcake papers in half





then take your sewing machine cover off … and find a little deer 🙂
my littlest little left this here ♥
{she later asked me if i found my “surprise” … she’s so funny ♥}
ok, so put a clothespin on the end your starting with 
to keep the first bead from falling off






fold the papers over the twine and sew
placing the beads in between each doily as you go




stitch right underneath the twine, being careful not to catch it 
if you want to be able to adjust the spacing later when it’s hanging





hot glue the butterfly wherever your little heart desires
tie a loop on each end and you’re done ♥



happy Valentines Day crafting 🙂
and i have one more quick post about my kitchen org coming up soon 🙂
with gladness in my heart ♥ psalm. four. seven.
sharing here ♥
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tea party mat for Two ♥ {with free pretty things for you!}



just poppin’ in real quick today! 
tons & tons to do with just a little time before Christmas day 🙂
wanted to share this little tea mat i made with another 

… from my bloggy bestie 
when i saw this graphic in her shop this idea popped in my head 🙂
(a small problem i have)

this little tea mat was for my girlfriend’s daughter a few weeks ago, for Christmas 
i think she loved it … i think i love it too! anyone wanna have a tea party??
(i may have secretly played with it before i packed it up in the basket)
there are no directions since it’s easy enough to do with basic sewing knowledge 
or even hot glue, felt and some pinking shears!




i used some leftover felt and pink gingham i had, and cut them to equal sizes 
quickly stitched the two long sides together and added ricrac to the two short ends to cover the raw edge
(forgot to get a close up of this, but you can see it in the picture at the bottom of the post)




use iron-on transfer sheets to transfer the image onto a small piece of white fabric
same directions as the vintage inspired message board here
then used a zigzag stitch to sew the image to the mat




the rolled felt flowers are the same as the ones i made for the 
add some embellishment and you are done!



now it’s time to play 🙂

oh, and if you want to make some felt tea bags, 
cut two small squares of white felt with pinking shears
then cut a piece of brown felt small enough to fit in between the two white ones
sew them together and insert a piece of cording into the top before stitching it completely closed … cut two hearts from some more felt and glue them together at the other end of the cord. 












this was a fun Christmas gift! what about for a little girl’s birthday?
the tea set and cupcakes were store bought and the picnic basket was from a garage sale
fun!
Merry Christmas everyone!
♥ 
sweet parties here:
Free Pretty Things for You! ♥ Whatever You Want Wednesday
live laugh Rowe ♥ live laugh linky
the 36th Avenue ♥ Party Time!

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joy to the world ~ wood slice project ♥

Christmas is next week!
these past few weeks flew by …
i just wanted to say thank you thank you thank you … for the love & support given to my blog and my shop ♥ it puts so much gladness in my heart to hear that God is encouraging you through this little place here in bloggy land, and i really appreciate all of you so much!

i spent some time last week putting up a few new Christmas decorations
and this wood slice art is one of  the things i wanted to try … so here it is!


the wood slice is from AC Moore
the wooden letters are from Michael’s
i found a huge box of maps at a rummage sale,  and i bought the whole thing for $7!
( i ♥ rummage sales with big boxes of maps)
i mod podged the map onto the wood, 
when it was dry, went over the top with two more coats for a shiny finish


once you cut the twine to fit, string the letters and wrap the ends around to the back of the wood … just a little dab of hot glue and some felt will hold it like Fort Knox


super easy project with just a few supplies … i love the simplicity of it
hope to be back this week with a few pictures of my craft room … Christmas style 🙂
much love & happy crafting ♥

sweet parties here ♥

Free Pretty Things for You ♥ Whatever you want Wednesday! 
Live Laugh Rowe ♥ Live Laugh Linky 
Yesterday on Tuesday ♥ a Crafty Soiree
the 36th Avenue ♥ Party Time!
Tip Junkie ♥ Tip me Tuesday
Tatertots & Jello ♥ Weekend Wrap up Party
Funky Junk Interiors ♥ Saturday Nite Special
i {heart} naptime ♥ Sundae Scoop
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simple packaging ideas ~ gift wrap garland … ♥



if you’re looking for a really quick & easy way to spruce up a gift
with just a few basic supplies you probably already have hanging around …
(hello run on sentence)
(let’s be friends)
you’ve hit the jack pot!
this is a really fun garland that is made with just basics
and it only takes a few minutes 🙂

click here for the full post over at Everything Etsy
and by the way … did you know Kim carries the prettiest, softest wool felt in her store?


she sent some happy mail to my little mailbox last week


i fell in love … the colors fit perfectly into a project i was working on too, thanks Kim!
much love ♥
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elegant holiday hoop wreath … ♥



i mentioned before that i’m really not a traditionalist when it comes to decorating for the holidays 🙂  i really like to think outside the box, while trying to make seasonal items blend in with my everyday … i think it takes the stress out of decorating as well
 since you can use bits and pieces of what you already have on hand




to make this hoop wreath i bought a large oval embroidery hoop at Joanns in the quilting section for seven dollars or so … some floral stems that i just fell in love with were also from there at 60% off right now 🙂 birds that were packaged together
some pretty ribbon, lace & muslin

… some additional supplies i used were white felt, chipboard (cardboard or heavy card-stock will work) scrapbook paper and some adhesive glitter letters i found at Michaels




fit the muslin and lace into the hoop making sure it’s taught, then tighten the hoop




cut the excess off and fold the material towards the back
using hot glue on the inside of the rim




arrange the floral stems and hot glue them down as well




i cut a tag shape out of chipboard then cut scrapbook paper to fit and glued them together
punch a hole in the middle for the ribbon




the glitter letters have a sticky back, arrange to your heart’s content 🙂




i made felt flowers just like the ones on my craft room drum shades the tutorial is here
for the final touches … hot glue the tags, birds and felt flowers onto the hoop and you’re done!






stand back and admire it’s prettiness ♥
i love non-traditional stuff … don’t you?
workin’ on some Christmas gifts this weekend … be back soon
linking up here ♥

Tatertots & Jello ♥ Weekend Wrap up Party
Funky Junk Interiors ♥ SNS Party 
i {heart} naptime ♥ Sundae Scoop Linky Party
the 36th Avenue ~ Party Time!
Tip Junkie ~ Tip me Tuesday
Live Laugh Rowe ♥ Live Laugh Linky 
Yesterday on Tuesday ♥ a Crafty Soiree