Gnome for the Holiday! A Tutorial

 Gnomes or Tomte or Nisse.....Oh My!
Whatever name you give them, you have to admit they are awfully cute!

I guess I am a little "GNOME obsessed" this year. 

When you see how easy it is to make your own Tomten I am sure you will want to join in the fun!

Burlap Ribbon Wreath

This project is so simple.
All I did was take a grapevine wreath and loop some wired burlap ribbon all around it.  I did secure it in a few places with some hot glue.  Then I tucked (stuck) some artificial leaves and berries .

I would admit that this is hardly worth blogging about.....unless I had a tip to share!
AND....

Do I have a tip for you!
That tip is about where to buy your wired ribbon on the cheap!

Almost NO SEW Outdoor Box Cushion and Tablecloth

A trip to the fabric store is always one of the best ways for me to get inspired.

I found this fabric in the $5 a yard bin.

It has a monkey motif!

I love monkeys!

Since 2016 is the Year of the Monkey, it was the perfect fabric to inspire one of my "almost NO SEW" projects.

In fact, why stop at one project?

If one is good....two is better!




These two projects are the perfect color boost for the deck.
The furniture on the deck is pretty neutral....black and taupe.
The greenery is sometimes a little overwhelming.
The flowers this year are nice, but they need a punch of color.

Almost No Sew Weighted Tablecloth

 

The table has a glass top that always gets water spotted.

I cut the fabric one inch bigger than the glass.

Then I did a simple hem.

If you want to make this "totally" NO SEW, you could use fusible iron on webbing to secure the hem.

But here is the tricky little thing that makes the table cloth stay in place.

Every 6 inches there is a little washer sewn into the hem.

This keeps the cloth weighted enough to stay flat even on the windiest afternoon!

The total time for this....about 45 minutes!

 Almost NO SEW Box Cushion

Would you believe that this cushion was done in less than an hour?
(I had a piece of foam that needed an update, but you can have one cut at the fabric store to just the size you need)
Well, if you can wrap a gift box, you can cover a foam cushion!
I used the sewing machine to make a tube that was the exact width of the foam.
If you don't want to sew....you could even use your glue gun to close the long edge.




Then...
Just tuck the fabric in like you were wrapping a present....

I used a needle to hand sew these edges....but the glue gun or fusible web would work too.






Not bad for a couple of hours and less than $15 dollars.

If you want more complete directions and want some more inspiration, here are a couple of links to my tutorials for the no sew cushion technique.

NO SEW BOX CUSHIONS

NO SEW BOX CUSHIONS WITH A TRICK













If you are like I am....you don't want to spend buckets of money on custom cushions....
Outdoor cushions have a limited life span....and being able to change them in an inexpensive way just seems smart!

BESIDES....

Have a Wonderful Day!

Linking to:
Sunny Simple Life
Eclectic Red Barn   
Stone Cottage Adventures
Funky Polka Dot Giraffe 

Bar Table from a Wine Barrel

Today's post is brought to you by some dear "old" friends of ours.

You know those friends that you have and don't see often enough?

But. when you do see them....it is like you were still hanging out in the old neighborhood?

Well these are THOSE friends!

AND

Thank Goodness for Facebook to help us stay connected.

When our friends posted about a fabulous DIY project, I just knew I had to share it with you.

 Is that cool or what?

Even better....I asked for specifics and directions and my friend basically wrote the post for me!

Tutorial for Wine Cork Topped Bar Table

Acquire a wine barrel. 

Drink copious amounts of wine, reserving the corks. 

Purchase a glass top (we went to Pier 1). 

I organized the corks by length, although it's not necessary. 

Then by trial and error, place the corks on the barrel top creating your own design. 

Finally, place 8+ vinyl or silicon cabinet door stoppers on the barrel top. 

Put on the glass top. Super easy!

I feel a little embarrassed to show you the Sweetwater Wine Cork Projects.

They are pretty simplistic in comparison...

BUT...

The "drink copious amounts of wine" part holds true!

These trays or trivets are made by hot gluing corks into thrift store wood trays.

They come in very handy and save the surface of your table.

When I made this "manly bulletin board" for the ice fishing house....

Corks were the perfect border to hide the raw edge of the wool shirt!

So I challenge you to "drink copious amounts of wine" 

...

or make friends with a bartender and ask her to save you some...

And GET CREATIVE!

And to my old friends...thanks for sharing!

Wish the house that this bar is in wasn't so far away!

and remember....

 

Have A Wonderful Day!

Posh Velvet Pumpkins

 Alas....those Halloween Jack'os that looked so festive a week ago are starting to go into their decline.

Before you toss them.....be sure to "harvest" the stems.

WHY?

These stems can be used for some lovely posh velvet pumpkins for your Thanksgiving table.

Simply carve away any of the pumpkin to pull the stems out.
If you are lucky, there will be some wonderful curly vines left too.

Then....trim off as much of the pulp as you can and set them to dry.

Pop them in the oven at the lowest setting with the door open and let them dry out for a couple of hours.  They should be dry enough to use right away.






I won't be making any new velvet pumpkins this year....I already have these!



You don't need to limit yourself to velvet....the silk ones are pretty too!

You know how I hate writing tutorials.....so instead....I have found you a really well written set of directions for the project.   Check it out here.
STONE GABLE BLOG POSH PUMPKINS 

Aren't these gorgeous?

While I was researching for a good tutorial, I found the directions for making these cute little velvet acorns....so off I went to the Sweetwater woods to gather acorn tops.

I started to follow the directions.....
I made one....

And then.....I thought to myself.....what in the world will I ever do with these and they are taking a whole bunch of time....SO I QUIT!
HMMMMM....but if you want to make some....here is the link! 




So anyway....I hope you are reading this BEFORE you threw out your pumpkins!
I collected my stems and they will get packed away when they are dried.
Or...maybe I will make some little posh pumpkins for gifts.

And finally....


If you have kids....here is a wonderful book that shows the life cycle of a pumpkin.  A fun science project if you can get over the "ick" factor.










Have a Great Weekend!

Link Parties
Curly Crafty Mom  

A MANLY Bulletin Board for Mr. S.!

The NEVER ENDING Winter is certainly getting to me this year!

But it is a different story for Mr. S because he loves ice fishing!

Being the 21st Century kinda guy that he is....you won't see him out on the ice looking down a hole like this guy!

Nope.....he is the proud owner of an ICE PALACE!






Over the years.....the ice palace seems to be outfitted with all the necessary MAN CAVE accessories to make it a weekend get away supreme!

 


For heaven's sake it even has a bay window!


Now.....because this is such a MANLY sort of abode......I am not often asked to give input into the decor!

As long as I followed the dictum of "Nothing too FROU FROU"....I was allowed to create the custom window treatments and a bench seat cover a couple of years ago....I went with a VERY subdued blue and brown tweed....so it was acceptable!


So when Mr. S. asked me to find him a bulletin board to hang up some of the "trophy fish" photos....I was up to the challenge!

Fabric Covered Brick Doorstop Tutorial

It is necessary that we have an "Open Door Policy" here at Sweetwater!

The reason?

Marvin and Max have "issues" with any door that is closed!!!

That means almost every door in our house needs a doorstop!

There are lots of options for door stops out there!

I have always loved the Ballard Design rope knot, but never could figure out how to do a knock-off!

The favorite way to prop open the doors around here are fabric covered bricks!

They work well...

The heavy brick keeps the door open and the fabric cover keeps from won't scratching the floor.

And Lord knows there is lots of fabric to be found at Sweetwater!

This example has seen better days!

It really needed tan update!

I finally got around to it yesterday.

I thought you might like a little tutorial of the process.

I took the old fabric and fiberfill off the old one....so I could start with a "blank slate" or brick in this case.

Wrap a piece of batting around the brick the long way. Hot glue the edge to keep it tight.

Wrap another piece of batting around the other side so that the entire brick has a cushion.

I decided to use burlap for this one....and the "technique" is to just wrap it like a gift!

Use the iron to make good creases so the folds lie nice and flat.

Again....everything is attached with hot glue!

I was just going to tie a ribbon around this and call it a day.....

Then I remembered that I had some leftover pieces of the "french print" burlap from a project I did this Spring.

I cut a piece of this that was twice as wide as the brick and long enough to go around the long way.

The edges were turn in and press to make a a neatly finished strip.

The strip is glued around the brick...

Now....it was ready for the black grosgrain ribbon bow!

10 Minutes and Done!

Now....whether the door needs to be wide open.....

Or just propped open....

Marvin and Maxine can get to their litter box downstairs....

And it looks pretty too!

BTW....I found this wooden door stop in my image search....

I bet Mr. S and I could figure out how to make one of these...

We do have a router....but it will have to wait until the garage temp is ABOVE 0 degrees!

Have A Great Day....

Stay Warm....

Link Parties
Nifty Thrifty Things  Serenity You    
I am Only One Woman  

Cute and SImple Match Holder!

I came across this quote that is perfect for New Year's Eve Day!!!!

 It is sort of an all encompassing resolution!!

Strike the Match.... Take Action.... Be Extraordinary!

Alas....the rest of the post isn't nearly as inspirational....but hey....it's something!

 

 I saw this cute glass match holder in one of those magazine articles with clever gifts under $25

You can order one here 

Stripe Design Group for a mere $22!

Granted....the bottles are recycle apothecary jars...but hey....I figured I could do this cheaper!!

I bought a dozen 8 oz canning jars at the grocery store one day....

I had sand paper....

I had matches....well at least I thought I had matches....

and then I mentioned the project to Mr. S.....and he reminded me that I would need "strike anywhere" matches....who knew!?

The matches we have are Strike on the Box matches!

So the project was on hold until I could find "strike anywhere" matches....not so easy it seems.   Finally, I ordered 3 boxes for $5 from Amazon....with $4 shipping...don't you hate that!

In the meantime.....we were getting a little worried about an odd noise we kept hearing from the rear of our car....sort of an electronic pinging sound.....we couldn't figure it out....it didn't happen all the time....just once in a while!!!

Okay...you are probably wondering what this has to do with my match holder project?
I know I sometimes ramble on and on and on.....but this really is related to the project!!!

We finally figured out what the funny noise was.....I had left the canning jars on the floor of the back seat.....when the temperature in the car changed.....the pressure cap on the canning jars kept popping!!!!

Now back to the project!!!!

 

 The parts were all assembled....

matches

jars

sandpaper

Gorilla Glue

Circles of  sandpaper were easily attached them with some mounting adhesive.  

Using the "wrong" side of the lid made a nicer surface when it was glued to the screw top!

The Gorilla Glue didn't bond right....so out came the trusty glue gun! ....it worked perfectly....

The little gift tags are tied on with a bit of raffia.....and there you have it!!!!

10 bucks for 12 jars.....

9 bucks for matches....counting the shipping and handling....

Sandpaper....we had....but I suppose I used about a dollars worth....

So each one of the set me back about $2.....not bad....

And....

Figuring out what was making the funny noise in the car before we made an appointment at the repair shop.....saved us a boatload of money I am sure!!!

Now, when I go to the thrift store....I am going to keep an eye out for recycled apothecary jars....or something similar.......and I can replicate the match holder even more closely!!!

 

Have a Wonderful New Year's Eve.....

Link Parties

Blackberry Vine   Sugar Bee Crafts     
The Kurtz Corner   Southern Lovely 
Sugar and Dots  
Wallis Farms Daily Walk   Handyman Crafty Woman    DYI Dreamer