Easter Decor

Last year before Easter I was reading the blog Crap I've Made and she talked about finding these cute little bunny floral picks at Pier 1.  I remember thinking, wow, those bunny things are really cute... I should stop at Pier 1 and get some.  But alas, I never did.

A few days ago I happened to be in Pier 1 looking for a birthday present for a friend, when low and behold what did I see... The very same bunny floral picks I saw a year before on Crap I've Made.  So I bought two without actually thinking about what I would do with them. 

I can't get over how cute they are!

Anyway, I decided that I was going to make something out of them using materials I already had on hand.  I was not going to buy anything new, so I dug out some fabric, ribbon, floral foam that I used to make the manly bouquet, the glue gun, and 2 mason jars.

I put a little hot glue in the bottom of the mason jar and then shoved a block of floral foam in.  I wrapped some fabric up and over the mason jar and tied it off with color coordinated ribbon.  I stuck the bunny pick in the floral foam and hot glued some fabric scraps over the top of the exposed foam to cover it up.  The results...  BUNNY TOPIARIES!!!!!! 

Upcycled Sweater Pillows

Every time I say "sweater pillows" out loud I giggle like a 10 year old girl because it sounds like some silly euphemism for breasts... but it is not... at lease in this case.

I actually took 2 sweaters that I was getting rid of, cut them up and made them into pillows.  This was a nap time project, which means that from start to finish it took me 1.5 hours.  If you want to make a few for yourself, here is what you need:

12" pillow form (or whatever size you want.  Just make sure that it is smaller than the sweater you are starting with)

Old sweater
button to be the center of the flower

1.  Since I bought a 12" pillow form, I marked and cut out 2 13" (12" plus .5" seam allowance all the way around) squares from my sweater.

2.  I pinned the squares together (right sides together) and sewed them with a .5" seam allowance.  I left about 3" at the bottom of the square open so that I could turn it right side out once it was sewed.

3.  I turned my pillow so that the right sides were out and shoved the pillow form inside. 

4.  Once the pillow form was inside, I whip-stitched the hole in the bottom closed.  (you can stop here if you want... you have a finished pillow)

5.  I decided to make flowers to embellish the pillow.  So I went back to my cut up sweater and cut the bottom ribbing off the body. 

6.  I ran a basting/gathering  stitch through the cut side of the ribbing.  I pulled the basting/gathering stitch and the ribbing gathered itself up.  I knotted the thread and cut off the excess.  I formed a flower shape that I deemed suitable and tacked it together with a few stitched. 

7.  I sewed the flower into the pillow and then sewed a button in the flower to form the center and to cover up the gathering and raw edges.

Spring Break Projects

This week was spring break which meant I had a few days off.  Unfortunately I was sick as a dog with the cold/virus from Hell, so the plans I had made got pushed aside for some slightly lower key options.

I organized and labeled some things in the linen closet.  I cleaned up my car and removed all the boogers (thanks Nate) from the window. I did laundry, cleaned the house, ran errands, played with Nate.  And finally, I finished hanging some floating shelves in the living room.

I had been looking for floating shelves for a while now.  Of course, I saw the ones that Pottery Barn had to offer, but they were very much out of my price range.  I found these at the Chirstmas Tree Shop and at $6.99 each, decided that they were the way to go.  I think they look great and hubby likes them too.  Here's hoping they don't take a tumble off the wall!

An Open Letter To All The Republican Politicians Who Think Women are Less Than

This is a rant.  Be warned.  I will use some VERY strong language and express my opinions.  If you do not like it stop reading now and come back tomorrow.

To all the Republican Politicians Who Think that Women are Less Than:

Who the FUCK do you think you are? 

I am going to follow that up with...

Have you lost your God Damned mind?  I have read and watched and listened to all the half-assed, backward, bullshit that is freely flowing from your mouth and I have had just about enough of it.  If I was your mama I would be shoving a bar of dial into your mouth right this very minute! You think that being a single mother is a type child abuse.  You think that women are like pigs and cows.  You think that women who use birth control are sluts.  You think that women should keep their knees together.  You think that unwanted pregnancies are something women actually do want.  Plain and simple, and you have probably come right out and said it, that women are stupid, inferior animals who do not deserve civil right or human dignity. 

What you are spewing is HATE speech, plain and simple.    

Do you even realize that?  HATE SPEECH.  H-A-T-E   S-P-E-E-C-H.

Do you know how I know that it is hate speech?  Well take any other group of people, lets say for instance... men... or Christians... or Jews... or Blonds... and put that group in where you have "women."  Would you say it then?  Would you compare Jews to cows and pigs?  I am betting you wouldn't lest you be compared to the last person who did... know who that was?  I'll give you a hint... it was HITLER!!!!

Seriously... do you actually believe the tremendous sewage that spills from your gullet?  Are you afraid of losing your invisible privilege (the article talks about white privilege, but there is male privilege too) that you will try and hold onto it but running into the ground the other half of the planet???

I want to ask you a very candid question, or a couple of candid questions...

Do you have a mama?  Do you have a wife?  Do you have daughters?  When you kiss your mama, when you lie down next to your wife at night, when you tell your daughters that you love them to do see them as human beings with brains and hearts deserving of civil rights, human rights, dignity and privacy or do you see that as live stock?  As cattle?  As chattel?

Think about that.  Thank about that... THINK ABOUT THAT.  Think about how you would feel if someone else took your words and aimed then at your mama, your wife, you daughter... how would that feel?

Then I want you to remember that I, that every woman, is somebody's mama, wife, daughter. 

And then I want you to remember that "If mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy."

Kitchen Organization the Cheater's Way

One of my favorite blogs for creative inspiration is Infarrantly Creative. Specifically, I am inspired by her post of organizing measuring cups and spoons which you can read about here.  I mean seriously, how great does the inside of this cabinet look?

Picture from: http://www.infarrantlycreative.net/2011/08/organizing-measuring-cups-and-spoons.html

I love how this looks, and more importantly how it functions, but I didn't really want to devote a whole lot of time to cutting, painting, screwing, labeling, etc.  So, I took the cheaters way out and bought some small Command Hooks at Target, plotted a few lines just to keep things straight, and stuck the hooks on the inside of a cabinet door.  Cost was about $6 and the time spent about 10 mintues.  And the result?

Not nearly as pretty as the Infarrantly Creative version, but just as functional.  And if I change my mind... I just pull the hooks off, no muss no fuss!

The Manly Bouquet

If you are on Pinterest, you have probably seen this:

Source: Uploaded by user via Molly on Pinterest

It is a bouquet for a man... consisting on booze and cigars.  and I think it is a pretty clever idea.  My friend Amy's husband turned 40 recently and I thought that something like this would be a great gift.  So after stopping at Walmart and the Wine and Spirit Shoppe (it's a PA thing), and raiding my crafting supplies this is what I ended up with.

I opted for candy instead of cigars, but either way I am delighted with the way it turned out.  I hope the birthday boy likes it just as much!