Marvelously Messy

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Straw Floral Wreath Repurpose

I found this wonderful floral wreath base at Goodwill for .99cents and I could immediately imagine some fun twists on all the awesome wreaths I have been seeing. First of all....I would display this wreath without any adornments. I *love* the look of bundled straw. Second of all, the blue "flowers" that you see in there are actually made out of heavy duty plastic tarp. Fun, huh?? I've been trying to think of a way to bring a tarp into my art. The other flowers are made of a strong canvas and the string is just a cotton yarn. This wreath should be ready to handle the spring weather!!

Here's the basic overview:

Wrap the wreath with your color choice of yarn. Bailing twine would be fun too....but you might want to do something different with the flowers if you go that route.

Make those lovely little twist flowers that you know you've been seeing EVERYWHERE. They are the cutest. Here's one tip: If you choose to use a tarp (it's an odd choice, I know) beware of the melting factor....the second that glue/metal tip touches the tarp it is **melting**. So, twist and place it fast!!

That's it!! Pretty easy, huh??

Here are some parties I linked up to, check them out....you will be inspired!!!!
Tip Me Tuesday
Making the World Cuter
Just Something I Whipped Up
Do It Yourself Day
Works For Me Wednesday
Show Us What You're Working With
Penny Pinching Party
Boardwalk Bragfest
Thrifty Thursday
Strut Your Stuff Thursday
Get Your Craft On Thursdays
Friday Favorites
Flaunt It Friday
Frugalicious Friday
Plant A Punkin Seed Party
Look At Me I'M So Crafty
Frugal Friday
Hodgepodge Friday
Weekend Wrap Up Party
Saturday Nite Special
Made It Monday
Just Something I Whipped Up
Making the World Cuter
Metamorphosis Monday
Made By You Monday
Market Yourself Monday
DIY Project Parade
Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays
Do It Yourself Day
Trash To Treasure
Take A Look Tuesday
Tip Me Tuesday
Get Your Craft On
Penny Pinching Party
Boardwalk Bragfest
Thrifty Thursday
Strut Your Stuff Thursday
Get Your Craft On Thursday
Flaunt It Friday
Frugalicious Friday
Look At Me I'm So Crafty
Favorite Things Friday
Under $100 Linky Party
Friday Favorites
It's Hodgepodge Friday

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Lilac Frolic

"Fairies, arouse!!

Mix with your song

Harplet and pipe,

Thrilling and clear,

Swarm on the boughs!

Chant in a throng!

Morning is ripe

Waiting to hear."

~William Allingham

As you can see, I've made the fairies to go with my Fairy Bower!! These cuties were extra simple. Here's what you need:

Clothes Pin (older style, no mechanism)
Small bit of Tarp
Extra Strength Glue
Bailing twine
Fabric paint (any color, you'll just need a dab)
Floral Wire
Acrylic Paint
Acrylic Clear Spray
White nylon

The first thing you do is take a dab of fabric paint and plop is where you want the nose to be. It takes a couple hours to dry enough so that you can paint it. It will be a little soft until the next day. Now, take your clothes pins and paint them. I chose peach skin tones. My Munchkin chose:

A fun variety of colors!! Once painted and dry you can start adding on the face paint in whatever style you'd like. Once the whole thing is completely dry, you can shape the wire to make arms and wings. I just used one extra long piece to do both at the same time.

Use the extra tough glue to attche the wire to the back somewhere. Then you get a length of tarp and trim some leaf shapes on one side. Make a little hole for the wings to get through in the back.

Attach the tarp to the torso of the fairy by threading the wings through the hole, and wrap around gluing occasionally. Use a rectangular shaped piece of white nylon, shape it to the wings you made and stitch around the edges, leaving a small hole to fit the wings through. Turn it inside out, fit it onto the wings and sew the small hole up. Then use a running stitch up and over the joining of the two wings to make them separate. Tighten and knot the thread and you're done with that part.
Use a small length of bailing twine and unravel it a bit and glue it to the top of that Fairy. It should be wild and crazy. :-)

Some Linky Parties I Joined....check them out and be inspired!!!!
Do It Yourself Day
Talented Tuesday
Take A Look Tuesday
DIY Project Parade
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Tip Me Tuesday
Get Your Craft On Tuesday
Metamorphosis Monday
Made It Monday
Made By You Monday
Just Something I Whipped Up
Making The World Cuter Monday
Works For Me Wednesday
Show Us What You're Working With
Penny Pinching Party
Boardwalk Bragfest
Strut Your Stuff Thursday
Get Your Craft On Thursday
Flaunt It Friday

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Fiddleheadin'

The best sign of spring in my neck of the woods is the harvesting of fiddleheads from the soft, muddy banks of rivers and streams where the high water has receded. They are picked in a two week time frame usually when "the leaves are as big as a mouse's ear". I grew up harvesting fiddleheads at my family's secret spot (for the real fiddleheaders will never reveal where they pick). This year, the Munchkin got to go. She was so thrilled. The woods this time of year are so youthful and mysterious....if you tilt your head to the ground and hold your breath you can almost hear the ferns unfurling towards the sky.

We tromped in knee high, fast moving water to reach the island while the tide was out. I carried a quietly curious Munchkin in my arms until we reached the bank. We were greeted by my father and his airdale, Harvey, who helps with the identification of fiddlehead bundles (and the snuffling of all small rodent burrows in the vicinity). Munchkin was taught to find and pick the right variety (for there are several and some can be toxic) of fern and we filled our buckets, wandering around the island for an hour. We splashed, slopped, and slipped and finally made our way across the stream and back to our car.
To clean fiddleheads, you need to get the brown flaky "skin" off from the outside. To do that, my father reccomends taking a sheet and laying it on the lawn and pour the fiddleheads out of the bucket and onto the sheet. As they fall the brown casing blows away in the wind. You do this a couple of times. Then, you take them inside and pop them into a pan and fill it with cold water, the brown casing will float up to the top and you can skim it off.

To cook fiddleheads, the simplest way is to boil them in a couple of inches of water for at least 10 minutes and then drain them, add salt and pepper and some cider vinegar. Delicious!! I have also been told that they make a great quiche....try following a recipe for asparagus quiche but omit the asparagus and add the fiddleheads. They actually taste quite a bit like asparagus, though there is a deeper woodsy, nutty flavor to the fiddlehead.

After I came back from fiddleheadin', it occured to me that the shape of the fern is actually quite a lot like the curled cloth flowers I see in so many blogs recently. So, I tried my hand at fiddlehead fronds.

Here's how you do it;

For the longer ferns you need two types of fabric, the outer stem and the inner fern (now, let us all reach deep inside ourselves and access out inner fern....oooommm............). You essentially fold the outer edges (which have been trimmed to be tapered to make it easier to curl) of the stem in and fit the ferny piece in the middle. I distressed the outer edge of my inner fern with scissors, but don't worry, its saw its counselor and is feeling much better today. ;-)

Start spiraling the whole thing up and pin it for a second while you get some matching thread and an embroidery needle and stitch it together to hold it.