Crepe Streamer Carrots

Are these crepe streamer carrots cute or what?  I got the idea from the latest Martha Stewart Living magazine.  She stuck little treats inside, but I didn't since these were just for decoration.  I probably will put a little treat in them, though, when I make them for my son's class Easter party.  They are really easy to make, and they don't have to be refrigerated (haha)! 

 I used three rolls of crepe paper streamers.  You could probably make about a thousand with this much because it only takes a small amount to make just one.

 For the leaves, I took about 4" of the green paper and folded it in half and cut some slits out. It doesn't have to be perfect at all.

Then you just squish up the bottom part.

 For the carrot, just start rolling up the paper.  It's that easy.  Roll it up according to the thickness and length of the carrot that you want.

 You can see that I'm still rolling it.  At this point, you could tuck in a small treat and then continue to wrap around it.

 When you've got the carrot to look the way you want, tear the paper and just tuck in the top all the way around. 

 Now put some hot glue right in the top, and stick in your leaves that you already squished up.

You may need to do a little more tucking if you glue spills over a little.  I pinched mine up a little at the top around the leaves.

How cute!  Perfect for Easter!

Thanks, Martha, for another great idea! 

(Like she actually reads my blog...what world am I in?)

I'm linking to these fabulous parties:



Blue Cricket Design

 

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Jacked Up Bracket!

Are everyone's brackets all jacked up from these crazy games? 

I know mine sure was right off the bat :(  Now that I'm sooo over it, though, I'm just embracing the tournament for what it is... college kids playing for their school and for the love of the game and not a huge salary (sorry NBA guys, but you know the money is a great incentive). 

I love it when "underdogs" beat the odds and show the world that you shouldn't put a label on anyone.  You just never know who's going to win.  "Top Seed" really means nothing when it comes to the NCAA Tournament.  It's all about who shows up to play on gameday.

Did any of your teams show up on gameday?  Is your team in the Final Four?  Tell me about it because my Cards sure aren't playing, and I'll help cheer for your team! 

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Wooden Spindle Dragonflies

I just stumbled across these super-cute dragonflies at Lucy Design and had to share them. Do you just adore them or what!  Check them out; they're pretty clever!  Lucy Designs: Dragonflies Part 2

 

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Guest-Posting Today at Keeping It Simple!

Hi, everyone!  Today I'm doing my very first guest post over at Keeping It Simple.  For the occasion, I posted a tutorial where I turned an ordinary cotton highchair seatcover into an oilcloth one!  Super-easy!  Go have a looksey on your Coke break today.



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Repurpose an Old Book into a Fabulous Wreath!

Don't you just love a bookpage wreath?  Back in the fall, my crafty BFF and I made these during our weekly playgroup.  She saw the tutorial for it at Jones Design Company.  We used an old dictionary from the Goodwill, and a styrofoam wreath form from Michael's.  It was an easy, albeit time-consuming, craft with an extraordinary outcome.  It's is, by far, my favorite wreath in my whole house.  Whenever we have people at our home, it is always a topic of conversation. How apropos is it that this gorgeous thing hangs above my desk!

I'm partying here:

                                     

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No-Bake Nests.

Are these the cutest little treats or what!?  I found them over at All Things Heart and Home.  They are no-bake cookies with little robbin's egg candies nestled in the middle.  I am definitely going to make these little nests for my kids!

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I Guess I'm Not ReMARTHAble With My Burlap Bag.

 

Does everybody know what I'm talking about when I say, "ReMARTHAble?"  If not, I'll tell ya.  It was the contest that Martha Stewart recently had where you could enter a project that you thought embodied what Martha Stewart does.  The 5 finalists get to go to NYC and be on her show, and the winner gets a BMW that she helped design.  So, I totally told my husband we'd need to make room in the garage for my new car.  He, he!  However, it turns out that we don't need the extra room for the fancy car after all. I did think that my bag was Martha-esque, though, because I think of Martha as the MacGyver of crafting.  You know what I'm talking about.  She could probably make anything with just a toothpick and a piece of thread.  Well, that's where I was going with this.  I wanted a new purse, and I thought, "Hey, you've got burlap and a sewing machine.  Make yourself one!"  So, I did.

Anyhow, I thought my burlap bag was reMARTHAble, but I guess it wasn't, because I'm not heading to NYC to be on the Martha Stewart show...lol, which is why I've been holding back this little masterpiece..lol. Plus, I guess I could have waited for a bigtime feature somewhere to show it off (again, lol), but who cares about fame and fortune and sponsors (again, lol) when it comes to blogging, right?  Just kidding, I'd love fame, fortune, and sponsors.  At least then I'd feel like my time blogging wasn't in vain.  But then I think about you guys who are reading this; you're just like me...you love new crafting ideas, and that, my friends, is why I share this stuff.  It's why you share your stuff.  What a wonderful blogworld we live in!  

So here it is.  I didn't measure anything because I just cut the burlap to be the size and shape that I wanted for my bag.  Go for it.  It's very liberating to just cut without measuring.  It's how I usually roll!

 

 Cut two pieces of burlap that are the size and shape you want your bag to be.

Fold over the top of each, pin it, and sew down to create a nice, finished top.   Make sure you're folding towards the inside of the burlap.

 

Set your sewing machine to a zigzag stitch with your regular stitch length of 1-2 and sew around the three sides of your bag.

 

Now turn your bag right-side out and take a look.  I originally thought I wanted a square "tote bag" look, but decided it was just too boxy.

 So I turned it inside-out again and rounded out the sides with the sewing machine and trimmed the edges.  Much nicer, I think.

 

Here's the part that's kind-of clever.  Because I'm an instant-gratification kind of girl when it comes to crafts, I make do with what I have sometimes just to get a project done.  Case in point.  I had no actual leather purse handles to use (which I would have preferred), so I made my own handles.  I just cut three strips of burlap that were just slightly longer than the straps I wanted.  Then I laid then on top of each other and sewed them together as seen above, again with the zigzag stitch.  I then braided them.  Do all of that again to make your second handle. 

Note: For added strength, you should sew up the sides of each strip (make them about 1" or more in width) before you sew them all together.  That way, your burlap won't fray to the point of ripping eventually after carrying around your purse contents because you know you've got a heavy purse.  I didn't do this, and my handles need some repair.

 

Once you've finished braiding your first handle, hold on to the end of it, and sew it to the other end of the same side of your purse.  Just eyeball it like I do or use a measuring tape for accurate placement.  Do the same for your other handle.

 

I like the frayed look, so I pulled some extra pieces out of the bottom of the straps below the stitching.

 If you want to make a flower just like the one shown, go here to view my tutorial for it, and just use burlap instead of felt. Now just hot glue your flower to the front (making sure not to glue it to the other side as well), and you're done.  You've made yourself a beautiful, new bag in about 30 minutes or less out of stuff you already had.

Well, done!

Time to watch Martha and have a Coke!

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