My Newest Obsession...Moss

I have found an incredible medium that I absolutely love...moss!  I was browsing the isles at my local Dollar Tree store and I found myself looking at the floral/vase section.  They had a bag of what looked like moss covered stones.  I had been brainstorming to think of how I was going to decorate my cool re-claimed greenhouse  for all of the seasons of the year.  These green moss stones got the creative juices flowing.  I bought a few bags of the faux stones (for a whopping $1 a piece) and then my obsession began.

If you follow me on my Christmas blog (The Christmas Guy) then you know that I'm the king of making a wide variety of ornaments using the plain clear glass ornaments you can purchase at many craft stores.  My moss mission began with thoughts of covering those ornaments with the moss.

My search for moss ended at Hobby Lobby where I found moss in pre-packaged sheets.  These sheets have a webbed backing that makes it super easy to attach to things.  A package of this great stuff cost $6.99 but was a deal when I used my 40% off coupon (coupons for hobby lobby can be found online weekly at www.hobbylobby.com). 

I am in love with this product.  I have intentions "mossing" anything and everything that I can get my hands on.  What until you see some of the things I have done with this moss.  I don't have pics of these ornaments in action.  I'll post those after I get all of my spring decor put up in the living room.  Stay tuned!

NOTE: While these are very spring and summer friendly, they can also easily be used in your Christmas decor.  For instance, a garden themed tree or a tree that incorporates other natural dried elements.  Don't be surprised if you see these somewhere in my trees for Christmas 2012

Supplies
Ornaments (old or new)
Moss (I buy the sheets rather than a bag of just loose moss)
Scissors
Glue gun & glue

Instructions

• Start buy cutting some random pieces from your moss sheets.

• Carefully apply glue your moss pieces.

• Apply the pieces to your ornament.  You may need to do some creative folding but you'll find that these moss sheets are very forgiving.  You'll need to start cutting specific sized pieces to fill in holes as you work your way around your ornament.  The moss is very easy to use.

Gotta Love Pillows

I am usually game for some change and have been known to make changes all of the time in my decor.  In fact, I was repainting the rooms in my home on a very regular basis.  My friends and family were constantly giving me a hard time about the shrinking square footage of my home because of the many layers of paint I was adding.

I really dislike to paint and finally got to a place where I was content with my rooms as they were and put away my brushes.  Well...I'm beginning to get a little stir crazy and feeling like it's time for a change.  Because I'm not at all interested in painting my rooms, I've decided to mix things up in other ways.  I've got a new obsession...PILLOWS.

I've been making a lot of pillows lately (things that I'll eventually get posted and show them off).  Pillows can bring a new life into any room.  You can start with a new pillow...or two...or five and then re-accessorize your room around colors from the pillows.  I've put together a random mix of pillows below that I love.  Stay tuned for more pillows from me...both ones I've made and ones I'd love to purchase.

Pillow Obsession #1 by christmasguy on polyvore.com

My Own Magnets

I received inspiration for my magnet project from my sister-in-law.  She stopped me while I was visiting one day to show me the cutest little magnets that her and my neice had been making together.  They made them out of the flat marble-like pieces that she had purchased for $1.00 at the Dollar Tree in town.  As I stood there I was thinking to myself..."add this to your project list."  That's as far as it got.

A few weeks later I'm out shopping with a friend and she fell in love with the same type of magnets that had pieces of an atlas/map with city names under them.  She purchased them (even though they costs WAY too much) and it got me thinking.  I remembered the ones my sister-in-law made and I was determined to get busy on making my own.  LOL

There are a ton of variations you can do with these cool magnets.  For the ones I'm showing here I used pages from an old book, copies out of a hymnal and flower pictures I cut from a flower/bulb catalog.  You can layer your papers, add cut outs and use countless other things printed on paper. 

Supplies
Larger flat bottomed glass marble discs
Paper/Embelleshments of choice
Scissors
Glue (I used an amazing glue pen)
Fingernail polish
Magnets

Instructions

• Pick your first glass disc and trace around onto your paper choice.

• Cut out the object you traced.  Be sure to cut on the inside of the line slightly so that your paper piece is just a tad bit smaller than the space you traced.

• Add any layers you wish to the piece you just cut.  I had very tiny letters to attach.  I use an amazing glue pen that I purchased from the craft department at Walmart.  It's great for small projects like this.

• Prepare the back, flat part of your disc to adhere the paper piece.  I used the same glue pen for this part.  It has a narrow and wide end for versatile application.  I simply apply a complete layer of glue from the pen and then attached my paper piece, face down onto the disc.

• Line your piece up correctly onto the disc.  I turned my over on the counter and gave it a good squish to work out any bubbles in the glue.  Allow this to dry completely before moving on to the next step.
• I wanted to seal the back of the paper before applying the magnet.  To do so I simply painted a coat of clear fingernail polish onto the paper.  Be sure to get a little along the edges of your paper piece to seal it onto the disc.  Allow this to dry completely before moving on to the next step.

• Finally, using the same glue pen I applied a small spot of glue to the back of my disc and put on the magnet.  Allow this to dry and then you've got some really cute magnets.

Pillow Obsession #1

Pillow Obsession #1 by christmasguy on polyvore.com

Pier 1 Imports - Green Flounce Pillow
$30 - pier1.com

One Kings Lane - Downstairs - Taffeta Petal Pillow, Turquoise
onekingslane.com

One Kings Lane - The Bright Stuff - Kimoley Fretwork Pillow, Orange
onekingslane.com

Marimekko Unikko Red and White 24 Pillow
$99 - crateandbarrel.com

Fulton Pillow - Decorative Pillows - Home Accents - Home Decor |...
$44 - homedecorators.com

Amazon.com: Pillow Perfect Decorative Flocked Scroll Square Toss...
amazon.com

Mallory 18" Pillow in Decorative Pillows | Crate&Barrel
$40 - crateandbarrel.com

Rouge du Rhin Home 1 Cushion
$125 - yliving.com

15" Square Outdoor Throw Pillow - Outdoor Cushions - Accessories -...
$20 - homedecorators.com

Balanced Design - Mona Pillow
$245 - 2modern.com

One Kings Lane - The Bright Stuff - Kimoley Elephant Pillow, White
onekingslane.com

Marimekko Pieni Unikko Lime 20" Pillow in Pillows | Crate&Barrel
59,235 KRW - crateandbarrel.com

Natori Geisha Decorative Pillow, 18" x 18"
$225 - bloomingdales.com

Scrabble Piece Pillows

I've recently become addicted to the game WORDS WITH FRIENDS on my phone.  I had already seen an image where someone had cut large wood squares, painted them to look like Scrabble pieces and put them on the wall spelling out words.  I decided to make pillows. 

These can be made to spell words, initials, favorite numbers, etc..  Be creative with your choices in fabric as well as letters/numbers.  Remember, if you can't sew, find someone who can.  You can prep all the stuff (including the cutting and painting) and then pass them on to someone to finish them up. 

I have a five year old niece whom I adore.  Her name is Kylie, hence the reason so many of my trial projects have a "K" on them.  She gets lots of cool things after I've made and posted them online.  She's my little test market...LOL

These are super easy square pillows that I painted on using a stencil.  Of course I remembered having a Cricut cartridge that cuts out Scrabble like blocks...so I cheated and had the Cricut do my cutting.  You can easily make these by either purchasing some letter stencils or printing your own letters and numbers and cutting out your own paper stencil.

Supplies
Fabric
Pillow form or stuffing (I stuffed these)
Stencil (I cut mine on cardstock)
Tape
Paint (preferably fabric paint)
Brush
Sewing machine & tread (unless you're commissioning a friend to sew for you)

Instructions

• Cut two pieces of fabric to either fit the size of your pillow form or to the size of pillow you wish to stuff.
• Also prepare your stencil.  I cut my with the Cricut but you can easily purchase stencils or cut your own from a piece of cardstock
• Prepare for painting
• Tape one piece of your fabric (the front) to a stable surface
• Tape your stencil(s) to your fabric.  This will keep everything secure while painting.

• Carefully begin painting your pillow.  Do no use brush strokes as it may cause the fabric to stretch and pull from underneath the stencil.  Instead, lightly load your brush with paint and tap the surface.  Be careful not to use too much paint on your brush at one time.  You don't want the paint to soak into the fabric and spread under the stencil.

• Once you've applied a sufficient amount of paint, gently remove your stencil.

• Allow the paint to dry as instructed by the paint directions.
• Place the painted front piece facing towards the back piece and stitch around on a sewing machine.  Be sure to leave an sufficient opening at the bottom of you pillow to allow for stuffing.

• If you didn't cut rounded edges on your fabric, take your scissors and carefully round off the corners after the pieces have been stitched together.  this will take some of the bulkiness out when you turn the piece inside out.
• Turn the piece inside out and begin stuffing.
• Sew up the opening and your Scrabble Piece Pillow is complete.

Doily Light Garland

I have this great piece that I purchased last year at a garage sale.  It's a tabletop greenhouse that was made from old windows.  I really love it but now find that I need to decorate inside it as the seasons change.  It's been sitting empty since I packed up Christmas and I finally decided that it was time that I fill it with something new.  At christmas I had lights inside along with ornaments hanging from the top.  I liked having it lit up so I was on a quest to find a way to light it up again.

I had seen this idea online a while back and thought it may be the perfect thing to make for my greenhouse for Valentine's Day and possibly for spring. It's super easy and very cut.

Supplies
Small paper doilies
String of lights
Scissors (craft knife)
Hole punch
Glue stick

Instructions

• Cut a 1/4 piece off of the doily (just like cutting pie).  I used a straight edge and craft knife for assistance.  I'm not so good with cutting straight.

• Take the hole punch and punch a hole right at the center of the doily where the peak of your cuts are located.  This will give you added ease when wrapping it around the light/cord.

• Lightly apply glue to one cut edge of the doily.

• Wrap your doily (glue side down) around the base of a light on your strand.  You want to form a cone around the bulb and it's socket while leaving the cords coming out on the outside of the cone. 

• Overlap the two cut sides of the doily (glue side on top) and gently adhere them together with the glue.

• I didn't place a doily on every bulb.  The lights I purchased are not standard Christmas lights and the spacing in between bulbs is small.  I also knew how I was going to use the strand and doing every bulb would have been too much.