Fun with shaped Bokeh!

So I thought this was going to be super simple. Boy was I wrong. I think my first mistake was not using a tripod and having a subject that wouldn't stand still ( my little one). After an hour of playing around I finally found different subjects. Aren't they cute!!! I googled many tutorials and in the end made a template ( with my silhouette) for the actual circle and shapes. Her is the result:

Hey Ellie stole my model!!! Guess it was her toy to begin with.

Might try again with daylight instead of harsh indoor light. I'd like to get a few with colored lights also. Now I can check this off my photography bucket list. Thanks for looking!

Vinyl Ideas!

Here are a couple projects I did this month using my silhouette and vinyl. Super easy and fun to do.

First one is a photo ornament. I purchased glass ( you could do plastic) ornaments from Hobby Lobby. Cut out "photo love" with my Silhouette.

 Trace image... I used a sippy cup for my circle. ;-) Adhere vinyl to ornament with transfer tape.

Gently fold picture and drop in place. Give a wiggle to let the photo unfold. Plan to take 5 minutes or so to get it aligned and centered using tweezers. I shoved tinsel behind my pic so it would stay in place.

Perfect addition to the tree!

 The last idea is a bucket for the Child Watch at the Y. Those ladies are super nice and deserve a little treat. With my lovely friends help we fancied this $1 bucket ( you can find similar ones at the Dollar Tree) and filled it with goodies. 

Thanks for looking!

DIY Sock Ornaments

The tree is up! The glass ornament are not... So the crafty in me went on a search for soft baby proof ornaments. Luckily I already had a hand fool that I purchased from Target. They are all the rage, but at $3 bucks each I wasn't willing to buy a tree full. This is what I came up with... a sock ornament! After making these I googled more ideas and found these super cute ones. I kept mine simple since E was at my heels the entire time. ;-)

Supplies needed:

Styrofoam ball
One colorful sock
two small circles of felt and one strip if felt or yarn to hang

Cut the sock to fit. I trimmed a bit more off this one since the sock stretches. Take the sock off and turn inside out.

Stitch around the perimeter and pull tight. Place the sock over the foam ball and stitch the top shut. Hot glue one felt circle to the bottom and the other make a small slit in the middle. This is where you will place the felt or yarn hanging strip. Ta Da! Baby friendly ornament.

Here are some examples I found afterwards. 

 blog.craftsnthings.com

 snowman ornament

Have a CrAfTy day!!

Christmas in every corner...

So since the tree may or may not go up this year I decided to decorate areas I usually don't... like the Bathroom! Here is my attempt at a Pottery Barn look on a Dollar Tree budget.

-Half a strand of garland from DT
-Styrofoam balls covered in an old gray sock ( wanted to cover in a cable sweater but didn't have one that I wanted to destroy). Straight pins were used to finish the ends
-Vinyl cut from my Silhouette
-Scrap pieces of mesh
- Fabric trees were picked up on clearance two years ago at Target.

Used what I had on hand and made it look totally custom. Go me!

Little Man Wreath

After seeing this idea "Pinned" I had to try it. I used a straw wreath from Hobby Lobby, white button down from the thrift store, twine and a child size clip on tie. If I had more time I would have covered the wreath better with the twine. Hot glue was used to keep the collar and the button down strip in place. 

Pinterest

Another pin

True Story...

DIY Chalkboard Wall with PSE

Chalkboard is all the rage this season!!!! If my funds would allow me I'd purchase a gallon of the stuff and paint everything in sight. Maybe an entire wall in chalkboard would be nice, but lets be real. This fad is not going to last. So even though the wall full of doodles would look cool now in a few years I'd be regretting it. I even contemplated just buying a piece of wood and painting it for a simple photo prop. $$$Wood$$$Paint$$$. I had to get creative... flash back to one of my scrapbooking workshops where my teacher said it doesn't have to be functional just look like it is! Insert Bright Light Here. So I went to hobby lobby and purchased black foam core and began to experiment. Finally decided that black butcher paper would be easier and cover more space for less money.

 Before ( Still cute)

 After

All I did was overlaid a chalkboard background onto the photo and changed opacity a bit. A little merging and here is the result! I love PSE. TFL ;-)