Spring Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to our Spring Blog Hop!  If you're following along, you should have come from the talented Lisa at A Mermaid's Crafts.  If you are just joining us, head over to the beginning and visit Jill at Every Day is an Occasion.

Today I am sharing a piece of Springtime decor that I made for our fireplace mantel:

 
If you're thinking "wow, she has cement blocks behind her fireplace mantel?", I do not.  Because of the terrible lighting in the house, I attempted to take some good shots outside.  The bitter cold wind didn't help much (come on Indiana, it's SPRING now!) so I found refuge in the open spot behind the barn.  That being said, excuse the lighting in these pictures.

For the base, I cut a block of wood, painted it dark green and hot glued some homemade pom poms on top.  I used the "fork technique" (you can find dozens of tutorials on pinterest).  I tried to make it look like a field of green grass with some white and orange flowers popping up!  What do you think?

Then I added some skewers to hold up my pendant and used twine to string it across.  I am so into the pendants right now, I had to use them here!

It is finished off by setting a sweet bunny on top.  This little guy is actually part of a salt & pepper set that I bought at Cracker Barrel!  Darling, isn't he?

{My husband thinks it's strange that they made a "green" bunny.  I think he's adorable!}

Here's what it looks like against the brick on our mantel (see... bad lighting!)

 

{That's it!}

Sorry no blog candy today.  I just got back from vacation and it completely slipped my mind!  Next time I will make it extra good- deal?

If you enjoyed your stay, don't forget to Follow Us on Facebook and join our page!  As always, your comments are more than appreciated- whether you have something to say or just want to say "hi", we love to hear from you!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Your next stop is the insanely creative Missy from Quick Chick Designs.

In case you get lost, here is the line-up:

Jill- Every Day is an Occasion

Holly- Ribbons & Glue

Arin- A Piece of Life's Pie

Lisa- A Mermaid's Crafts

Kelsie Ann- Cut Craft Create

Missy- Quick Chick Designs

Court- Court's Craft Corner

Heather- The Hunny Pot

Shelly- My Paper Love

Jamie- So Much Better With Age

Happy Crafting,
Kelsie Ann

A Lovely Blog Hop {Heart Shaped Pincushion}

Hello!  Welcome to A Lovely Blog Hop! If you have just stumbled upon this blog hop, then you are in for a treat!  To start at the beginning, head over to Every Day is an Occasion (don't worry, you'll be coming back here). If you have been following along you should have come from My Paper Love.

The idea behind this blog hop is to make something Valentine's themed.  I decided to make a heart shaped pincushion.  The perfect way to steal the heart of your crafty friends!

It's actually really easy to make.  Since you have places to go (there's lots of talented bloggers ahead!) I will make my directions quick.  If you have any questions, just ask!

Here's what you will need:

- Small flat wood heart (found in the wood section of craft stores)

- Fabric
- Batting

- Felt

- Ribbon/Trim

To begin, lay your fabric face down then lay the batting on top of it.  Place the wood heart on top of that.  Begin on a side of the heart and pull the fabric to the backside of the heart, sticking it down with hot glue.  Continue this process all the way around the heart, making sure to stuff the batting in enough to make the center plump.  You also want to make sure that the middle of the heart (where it dips down) is nice and tight so that the shape of the heart shows.

When you have it all glued down, cut a piece of felt in a heart shape, just slightly smaller than your wood piece.  Place this over the back where your rough edges of fabric are glued.  This makes the back look more finished.

The last step is to glue the ribbon along the edge.  I would suggest finding a trim like the one pictured above.  It fit perfectly along the edges and really made the shape of the heart stand out.  The perfect "final touch"!

Here's a view from the top:

Want to know who I made it for?  My very favorite crafty person in the world... the person who is responsible for my craftiness... my mom!  She LOVES birds, so when I saw this bird/heart fabric, I knew it was perfect!

I hope you have enjoyed today's craft and are having a fun time with the blog hop.  Thanks so much for following along!  Did I mention that I am doing a giveaway for today?  Here's what you can win:

1- Shrink Film.  Laurie (the sponsor for these prizes) has made some really neat stuff from this.  Check out the necklaces she made during a guest blog she did for us.  I love those!

2- Three (3) Mini Spools of Ribbon- Exact ones pictured.  Aren't those darling?

3- Dimensional "To/From" Stickers- Exact ones pictured.  Beautiful detail along the edges.

4- Two (2) Love Themed Stamps- Exact ones pictured.  Perfect for those last minute Valentine projects!

Thanks again Laurie for donating these awesome items!

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You have THREE ways to enter (and you can enter for each of the three)...here's how:

Earn 1 entry for commenting on this post.  Let me know what you like, what you don't, or any thoughts.  Really, share anything for this one!  Limit is one entry per person.

Earn another (1) entry if you LIKE us on Facebook AND comment on our wall.  Again, say anything you would like, we just love to hear from you.  Limit is one entry per person.

Earn one (1) more entry if you SHARE this post on facebook.  Make sure that you share the picture from our facebook page, so that we know who has done this one (I'll make it clear which one it is).  Limit is one entry per person.

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Easy right?  The contest will end on Tuesday, February 12 at 9:00 AM EST.  The winner will be announced that afternoon at 3:00 EST.  The contest is open to everyone and the winner will be chosen by a random drawing.

Ready to move on to the next blog?  Head on over to A Piece of Life's Pie and see what Arin has to share!

Happy Crafting,
Kelsie Ann

Ring in the New Year BLOG HOP!

Hello and Happy New Year!  I can feel it already, 2013 is going to be a good one.  For starters, let's welcome you to the Ring in the New Year Blog Hop, where myself and eight other bloggers are teaming up to share some awesome crafts with you.  If you have just stumbled upon this blog hop you can follow along by starting at Ribbon's and Glue. If you have been following along you should have come from My Paper Love.  Isn't this fun?

The idea behind this blog hop is to use something "new" that we got for Christmas.  I decided to make a piece of metal stamped jewelry with my new metal stamping kit and supplies!  I am already addicted to this fun, fun craft.

Only a few supplies are needed to make this:

{Santa knew exactly what I wanted this year}

My mom even bought me this "mini mannequin" jewelry holder for Christmas- what a perfect way to display my new necklace!

Those are my initials stamped into the necklace.  I still get giddy when I put an "S" on the end of my name. (For those of you new to the blog, I just got married this summer, so I've got a new last name!)  I also forgot to pick up head pins or something to hang the beads from so I simply tied them on- and it looks great!

Thanks so much for following along!  There is a lot more creativity ahead, so keep checking out the other blogs in the hop...

Your next stop is A Piece of Life's Pie.

The next blog post will be up on Friday, January 4.

Happy Crafting,
Kelsie Ann

LINK LOVE! Linked up to: Every Day is an Occasion
 

One More Thing: Did you notice the blog has received a makeover?  What are your thoughts on it?  We are trying to make it as user friendly as possible, so please give me honest feedback on what you like or don't like.  We are also on FACEBOOK now too, so check it out and "like" us!