Fourth of July Star Wands

It's almost time for the Fourth of July, so if you've already made your

Fourth of July Pinwheel Headband, then now it's time to make Fourth of July

Star Wands for your Littles to wave at the city parade.

These are so fun and simple, your kids can help design and make them

with you for a fun afternoon craft.

SUPPLIES:

*wooden dowels or sticks

*washi tape

*felt

*star die

*ribbon

*glitter pom poms

*hot glue gun

I used my Evolution machine from Lifestyle Crafts paired with the star nesting dies

to cut my stars from felt, using the same method I used when I made the Fourth of July

Pinwheel Headband. Then I covered a couple of dowels in cute washi tape.

I sandwiched the dowels between the largest star shapes and hot glued

them into place and then layered the smaller stars on top in different red, white,

and blue color combinations.

Next I tied some grosgrain and sheer ribbon around the dowel to make

some fun tassels and pump up the fun of the wand waving.

Isabella wanted some sparkly pom poms attached to her ribbon tassels,

so I obliged and glue some to hers and it turned out super cute.

I loved this project because it was quick and it was something the kids could

help me with to get ready for the Fourth of July.
Be sure to grab your supplies and whip up some fun star wands with your
kids to wave at the Fourth of July parades this week!

I have a discount coupon code for my fun readers to use when shopping

at We R Memory Keepers/Lifestyle Craft!

Use the discount code FUNKY for 20% off your purchase!

Fourth of July Flower Pinwheel Headband

A few weeks ago, I ordered some adorable Jelly the Pug dresses from Zulily
for the girls for the Fourth of July. They came this week and they are totes adorbs!
(Sorry, I had to do it, because I think it's so funny!)
However, they were just screaming for a cute hair accessory, so I decided to use
the new Flower Pinwheel QuicKutz die I ordered from Lifestyle Crafts.

SUPPLIES:

*Evolution by Lifestyle Crafts

*Flower Pinwheel QuicKutz die by Lifestyle Crafts

*Felt (wool blend felt works best)

*Glue Gun

*Button

*Headband

STEP ONE

Cut a piece of felt the size of your cutting die.

Create a cutting die sandwich by layering: platform, die, cardboard shim, and

then the cutting ma.

If you use acrylic felt - like I did here - then it probably won't cut all the way

through the felt and you'll have to finishing cutting it with your fabric scissors.

STEP TWO

Take your cute little flower octopus and put tiny dabs of hot glue in the middle

and tack down all the arms of the pinwheel flower into the middle. 

STEP THREE 

Choose a button and a cute headband that coordinates with your flower.
I let Isabella choose the headband since it is for her to wear. She chose red.
Glue the button to the flower pinwheel.

STEP FOUR

 Put the headband on your little model and figure out where you'd like the

pinwheel to sit on the headband. Then once you've chosen the perfect spot,

hot glue the flower to the headband.

I also put a little circle of fabric on the underside of the headband to

keep the flower more secure.

Done! Now you have a cute hair accessory to match

the great Fourth of July dresses you bought.

 

I have a discount coupon code for my fun readers to use when shopping

at We R Memory Keepers/Lifestyle Craft!

Use the discount code FUNKY for 20% off your purchase!

Tutorial: Twin Heart Baby Onesies (and hairbow)

I feel like there is a deluge of twins being born into my life.
I have three friends having/had twins recently and my awesome younger brother
and his wife (who are BOTH twins themselves) just announced that they are having
twins this Fall!!!!!
So, when I saw a cute photo shoot of twins with adorable heart Onesies, I knew
that I needed to step outside of the box of my usual baby gift ideas, and make a set for the babies being born in a couple of months to a girl at church.


SUPPLIES:
*Wonder Under or other fusible web
* 2 baby Onesies or t-shirts
* Red fabric
* Heart shape template or Lifestyle Crafts Heart Nesting Dies
* Sewing machine
* Iron






STEP ONE
Following the package directions of your fusible web, adhere to a piece of fabric
that will fit your heart shaped template or the Evolution Die Cutting Machine.
(Remember when cutting fabric to use a cardboard shim.)
Cut TWO hearts that are backed with the fusible web.

My heart die didn't cut all the way through in a couple of places, so I just

went around and snipped with my scissors.

STEP TWO

Remove the paper backing from the fusible web, and line up the middle of the hearts 

with the side seams of the Onesies.

I dropped the middle dip of the heart 1.5" down from the armpit joint of the Onesie.

Iron the hearts onto the Onesies following the directions for the fusible web.

STEP THREE

You can skip this step if you'd like, but I did a zig zag stitch around the

edge of the hearts just because I thought it was cute.

This set of twins is a boy and girl combination, so I had to make a matching

bow and headband for the little girl.

I used the bow from the Knotty Gift Set to cut the bow and I paired it with my

no-ribbon loop interchangeable nylon headband and it was perfect!

I have a discount coupon code for my fun readers to use when shopping
at We R Memory Keepers/Lifestyle Craft!
Use the discount code FUNKY for 20% off your purchase!

LUCKY St. Patrick's Day Felt Bunting Tutorial

Can you believe that St. Patrick's Day is just around the corner?

I am finally getting my Christmas (for shame) decorations taken down, and

we're jumping right into St. Patrick's Day!!!!

I'm a bunting/banner/garland lover and so I wanted to make a new bunting

to add to my St. Patrick's Day decor before the baby comes.

This is a simple bunting you could make in mass and share with friends!

SUPPLIES:

* Evolution Die-cutting Machine

* Pennant Die Cut

* Heart Die Cut

* Crop-a-Dile

* Pink Bakers Twine

* Sewing machine

* LUCKY letter templates

* Wool Blend Felt in dark green, green, white and pink

STEP ONE

BUY WOOL BLEND FELT! :) I tried with regular craft felt that is $2.99/yd

at JoAnn and it wouldn't cut all the way through and I got so frustrated.

So, I consulted with my other craft Lifestyle Crafts Creative Team members,

and they said that wool blend felt is the ticket. So, I bought a 20/80 blend from JoAnn

and BINGO!!!! it cut like a charm. You'll also want to cut a shim from a cereal box or use a

piece of cardstock. Then layer it platform, shim, die, felt, cutting mat "A".

BAM! Cuts like a dream!

You'll need five large pennants pieces and 5 slightly smaller pennant pieces.

STEP TWO

Using the LUCKY letter template, cut one letter each out of white felt.

STEP THREE

Cut four little pink hearts. They didn't have a wool blend felt at JoAnn in this color,

so I just used the craft felt I had on hand. It did not cut all the way through,

and I had to cut around the impression it left.

My Lifestyle Crafts team member - Benzie Design - has a great Etsy shop

that sells wool blend felt in a plethora of fantastic colors.

STEP FOUR

Use you Crop-a-Dile to punch holes in the top sides of your hearts.

Just like with the dies, laying the felt on top of a piece of cardboard makes the

punching work like a dream!

STEP FIVE

Using a decorative stitch - I chose zig zag - stitch the letters you hand cut

to the light green pennant pieces and then sew the light green pennant to a larger

dark green pennant pieces.

 

STEP SIX
Carefully thread your bakers twine through the holes in each pennant and heart.
How easy was that?!
No you have an adorable bunting to add some LUCKY St. Patrick's Day happiness
to your home decor.

If you like this and want more St. Patrick's Days ideas, you can find them here!

I have a discount coupon code for my fun readers to use when shopping
at We R Memory Keepers/Lifestyle Craft!
Use the discount code FUNKY for 20% off your purchase!

Easy Valentine's Day Sweetheart Countdown

Disclosure: I am a part of the WeRMemoryKeepers Design Team and was provided product for this post.

I've wanted to make Valentine's Day Countdown for a few years now and once I
saw the adorable Nesting Lace Heart Dies from Lifestyle Crafts and We R Memory Keepers,
I knew just what I wanted to do.
Since we don't have a lot of space in the house, I wanted something compact
and easy to store when Valentine's Day was over.



So I grabbed an 8x10 blank canvas I had and got to work.
If you'd like to make one you'll need:

SUPPLIES
8x10 canvas
Lifestyle Studios Nesting Lace Dies 
Lifestyle Studios Nesting Tags (coming soon!!!!)
Aqua Baker's Twine 
Sticky Thumb Adhesive Runner
Cardstock
Tissue paper
Glitter
Decoupage glue
Mini clothespins
Black Sharpie

 Although you don't need it, if you have any of the metal nesting dies from
Lifestyle Studios, then you need some of the magnetic storage books.
They are so cool and keep your dies all nice and neat and easy to find.


 FIRST
I cut out all my little tags in red cardstock and my tiny hearts in white cardstock.
Then using the Sticky Thumb Adhesive Runner, I put them together.



SECOND
I cut out the bigger hearts in tissue paper and used the decoupage glue to

adhere the hearts to the canvas. I also glittered it a bit (or a lot) to add

some sparkle and spunk to the project.

 

 

 

 THIRD
After the decoupage glue dried, I tied the baker's twine in three different

rows to the canvas. It helped to get it tight by having my son stick his thumb 

in the middle so I could pull and get a good, tight bow. Then I used my glue gun

to tack the twine to the canvas to make sure it didn't slip or move.

FOURTH

Then I used the teeny, tiny clothespins to clip the countdown tags to the twine.

 

The kids are excited to countdown to Valentine's Day with this fun little chart.

It fits perfectly on the shelf and Isabella loves the glitter.