It's an Obsession.

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Find more of my obsession here.

oh hey girlfriend!  

It is.  A straight-up obsession.  An addiction if you will (and I think you will....).  Hi, my name is Brandi and I'm a yarn-wreath-aholic.  Nice to meet cha.   

I made this pretty last night as a summer solution to my front door wreath from a willow/wicker/whatev wreath from the dollar store.  As much as I'll miss my spring green and blue YW, it's 90 degrees today and that warrants some orange on the front door.

dainty fabric flowers.  I love teaching myself new things!

That yarn is wrapped tight!

I just figure that I could have real problems, and if wreaths make me happy, well dammit, I'm gonna make them!  Heart!

Thanks for stopping by!

Big (yay, SUMMER) Smile,
B.Chen

How To: Up-cycle Shoes!

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So I was cruising along Pinterest (follow me!), you know, my crazy-kid obsession, and came across an image of these super cute, one-of-a-kind shoes.  As I looked closer, I noticed that the shoe was actually up-cycled with fabric and mod podge.  And, being the compulsive crafter that I am, I ran upstairs looking for my own cast-offs to revamp.  I found a pair of mauve--yes, MAUVE--pumps in the donation pile and I knew would be perfect.  I mean, why the hell did I even have MAUVE pumps to begin with?  They fit perfectly so it was clear that I was just over the country-pink color.

Henyways, the example that I was going by were of flats, so I WINGED followed the directions the best that I could using this tutorial from Makeit-Loveit.  I didn't know how to wrap the heels, so I picked a fabric with MAUVE in it so that I could keep the heels as is.  You may recognize the fabric from this article.  Maybe not.  :)

Total Cost for Me?  Oh, how bout $0.

Here are the sexy MAUVE pumps that I bought back in 2005 or so....

Here's my fabric that I choose to cover with:






And now.....the BIG TAH DAH!!!

It's a little rough....I couldn't find my exacto knife, and I'm not exacto patient, so I used scissors to cut the edges. I also added the felt flower to cover my botch job heel backs.  I do what I want.  ;)  Either way, I'm BEYOND pumped to rock my MAUVE pumps!

Thanks for stopping!

Please visit my Facebook Page.

Big (up-cycle) Smile,

B.Chen

Linked up to:  http://craftomaniac.blogspot.com/

FEATURED HERE!  :)

How-To: Ribbon Bangles and Cuffs.

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Heeeeyyyyyy!

You know what I like?  Making things.  And wearing things.  And wearing things I make. (which is why I don't make swimsuits...)  I like it lots!  I also like to share my "knowledge"with you because I'm a comment whore.

So here's something super easy and super cute!  Best of all, it's probably FREE. (it was for me!)




Supplies:
35 inches or so of ribbon
1 empty cardboard ribbon spool
hot glue (not pictured)










Step 1:  Remove top and bottom cardboard rounds from ribbon spool--this with be the bracelet base!  Discard rounds--OR keep them to trace circles for felt flowers!

Step 2:  Place a small dab of glue on the inside of the bracelet base.  Now start wrapping around and around the base like so:

Step 3:  Continue wrapping around base until totally covered.  Snip off any excess ribbon and add another dab of hot glue to the inside and secure ribbon end.

Step 4:  Rock it!  That's right, rock it!  Or, make a few more to go with your first guy, then rock it.

Optional Step 5:  I always have a supplies of rosettes on hand so I spruced this guy up a little, see?  -------->

*if you want to make a cuff instead of a bangle (maybe your base is too small to get on, maybe you just LOVE cuffs, whatev) just cut out a half inch or so of the base.  It will look like a tight "c".  Then, just follow the steps above!  


Thanks for stopping by!  Please visit my Facebook Page  :-)


Big (Bangle) Smile,
B.Chen

linked to:  http://todayscreativeblog.net/

I was FEATURED!!!!
@ i like big bows

How To: Turn placemats into a rug!

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Oh yeah, you read that right.  We're talking about turning table placemats into a rug.  Stay with me....


I've been having a really hard time with my own master bath mini revamp.  I added some new items over the last month or 2, but nothing seemed to be working for me.  Not even the super cute daffodil shower curtain or yellow rug from Urban Outfitters were doing it.  So anyway, I went looking for a new shower curtain, and I was lucky enough to find one I think I'm going to really like.  It carries my current favorite "not quite tiffany blue" color and I'm really excited to work with it.  


First things first, I knew that my current round orange rugs were not going to work in the space anymore (I moved the yellow rug to our basement bath, featured here).  First problem--rugs are expensive!  And since I'd already spent money on my first failed attempt, I have to get pretty crafty here.  


I bought these really cool felt placemats from TJ Maxx this time last year and haven't been able to figure out what to do with them.  They've since taken up under my bed--weird, right?  But as I was walking by tonight I noticed them and figured I might be able to repurpose them to make a rug.  Or hang them on the wall.  Either way, I was going to use them.


I decided on the rug, and this is how I did it:


Supplies:
3 rectangular felt placemats
Ribbon
Hot Glue
Scissors

Step 1:  Cut and Glue.   Place your mats side by side.  Add hot glue to connect edges and secure by adding small pieces of ribbon.  Continue until all edges are connected and secured.  Flip over!

Step 2:  Rock it! No really, that's it.  You're done.  Place your rug where you see fit and smile.  You made a rug.  Out of placemats.  Mmmm Hmmmm.

Thanks so much for stopping by!!!!


Big (Placemat) Smile,
B.Chen

How-To: Cute as a Button Hairband

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You probably have a pretty good idea about my love for buttons, espeically after this post.  I'm always looking for ways to incorporate them into designs, which really isn't as easy as one would think....BUT, I was messing around last night and an "um, DUH" moment hit me.  Why the hell haven't I been using them on hairbands?  Like really using them, not just adorning them on a fabric flower.  So, I went for it!  And you can to!  Check out my how-to below!

Supply List:

buttons!  

3 3-inch felt rounds

thread and needle

hot glue gun

elastic hairband

Step l.  Arrange your buttons on 1 of your felt circles to give you an idea of what you're looking for.  

Step 2.  Sew your buttons down on felt.  Once you're all set with that, flip over and glue another felt circle over the exposed threads.  

Step 3.  Glue down hairband to back of felt circle, then place last felt circle over exposed band.

Step 4.  Rock it Girl!

I made a bunch more!!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Big Smile,

B.Chen

Just can't get enough of Yarn Wreaths!

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No seriously, I make at least 2 of these a week.  Some to sell, some as presents, some for ME, etc....I just freaking LOVE them.  No two are ever the same and it's awesome to play around and try different color combos and decor pieces.

Here are a few that I've made recently.  Ok, you may have seen some before, but there's nothing wrong with a little YW Roundup!

*in case you've never made one yourself, here is an AWESOME tutorial seen at thirty handmade days.

new summer wreath for ME!

I love her.  

custom rustic yarn wreath

that pinecone was kind of a B, but I got it!

A custom beach-themed YW.

Love the way this turned out!

Yo, it's FINALLY spring in MI!

pretty in pink YW!

Perfectly Purple.  And Violet.

we're thinking spring over here!

This was made custom for my cube.

Blaise's Birthday YW.

This was made custom for my mini bath revamp.

I made this bad boy for my front door.  I'm so selfish.

This is a donation for a Make a Wish silent auction.

So there you go!  A couple newbies, a couple oldbies.  All awesomebies.

Big Smile!

B.Chen