Put A Pin In It - Christmas Ornaments

And, the ornament making continues.  This round of ornaments were all inspired by pinterest.

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me, a partridge in a pear tree...felt ornament.  Lil fish studios has the PDF pattern for this adorable felt pear {and apple} for $3.  This embroidered felt pear took about 30 minutes to complete.

Last year, thanks to Zakka Life, I was able to create this sweet little bird who lives in a stylish embroidered felt bird cage ornament.

My favorite ornaments from last year and this year are these monogrammed felt ornaments, tutorial provided from Made.  Not only have I used them as ornaments, I also add them to presents as gift tags. 

I entered not 1 but 4 ornament exchanges this year {what was I thinking?}.  Thanks to Better Homes and Gardens I was able to make a felt poinsettia ornament for one of my ornament exchange buddies who claimed to love poinsettias.

Elsie Marley helped me make this half eaten felt gingerbread man ornament...who looks so delicious, someone took a few bites out of him. 

I made this dove, last year, from a Purl Bee turorial, though, it seems they are now charging for the pattern. However, they do have a similar fabric bird ornament available as a free tutorial.

*The next two ornaments were inspired by things I saw on pinterest before I blogged.  I can't seem to find the source from which my inspiration was drawn.  If you know the source, please let me know.

Two years ago, Grace asked for a cat for Christmas, but we have Riley so instead of getting her a real cat, I made her a cat ornament.

And, no tree is complete without a Volkswagen van.  The license plate was the perfect place to add some personalization.

I'm always looking for ornament ideas, if you have one you think I would like, let me know in the comments.  Maybe next year you'll be in my 'put a pin in it - Christmas ornaments' post. 

Pillow Talk

Even though my week has admittedly not been cushy, all of my projects have been.

I finally got around to whipping up a few new pillows {I used my unusual piping technique to make them}. I made the two blue pillows. I've had the fabric since February SO now I can finally check that off my to do list.

For my birthday I got a state throw pillow from Red Envelope. I am usually a DIYer for projects like this but the quality and design were absolutely flawless from Red Envelope {and they were half off at the time}. Not to disappoint, I did add a DIY touch, I embroidered a heart to mark our fair city.

What happened to the freezer stencil pillows that had been on this sofa before? Well, I moved them to the bedroom. Can you guess what side of the bed is mine :)

Riley didn't seem to care that I switched out the pillows. Apparently, these are just as comfortable.

And, in preparation for my meeting with the children's boutique, I have been whipping up tooth fairy pillows.

The teeth came marching in two by two, hurrah, hurrah.

This tooth has a cavity aka seam that still needs to be closed.

Cushy projects or not, I am glad to wrap up this week and enjoy the weekend.

Let the pillow fight commence:
 

Ballard Design Inspired Wooden Letters Tutorial

I am obsessed with letters and monograms. For me, they represent a clean and classic look. So, when I saw Ballard Designs was selling a set of 3 typesetter plaques, I was smitten.

The only problem, the price...$75. I don't have $75 to spend on a couple of letters. What I do have is scrap wood, a band saw and a vision.

To the computer I went, searching for fonts and deciding on sizes. When I found what I liked, I printed it out and used it as a template to make my own letters.

After tracing my letter onto a piece of scrap wood, to the band saw I went. I've been known to work the band saw once or twice...OK, so it was only once. That's me making an A. I classify my one attempt at the band saw as a success simply because I finished with all my fingers still intact.

My husband, nervous I might maim myself, took over the process. He enjoyed my project enough that he may have gotten a little carried away.

With your letters cut, there are only a few steps left. First, you'll want to sand any rough edges to give it a more polished look. Next, you'll want to select a color to finish it in. For mine, I used white spray paint from Home Depot. Home Depot has the best prices on spray paint, $3 a can. Just be prepared, they will card you, so be on your best behavior!

The final step, decide where to display them. I decided, to show off my monograms by my wedding pictures. Transforming my wall from this...

To this..Tada!

If you are inspired to make your own monograms, I hope this tutorial helps saves you some money and doesn't cost you any fingers.