spring wreath 2.0

Last year I made a spring wreath. This year I changed the look slightly. 

I give you the Spring Wreath 2.0......

I posted about it last year when it looked like this.....

{click on photo to go to the original post}

This year I updated the look easily, by adding a couple of my felt flowers.

{see the tutorial for my Easy Felt Flowers}

It's been seriously cold here this past week, so I had plenty of time to dream about spring as we've been cooped up at home. (It's been as cold as -40 degrees Celsius with the windchill- FREEZING!)

So which version of the wreath do you like better?? 

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what I did with free printables PLUS ways to jazz up gift card giving

I printed off a copy of a couple of free printables from this site. And put them in some white frames......


The house rules print was just too pretty with the pink door as the background! I had a silver coloured frame that I spray-painted white and I love how it looks now!!

This purple print of the 13th Article of Faith (the youth theme for 2011) was just too perfect for my 14 year old sister that has a purple/pink/yellow room. I bought the plain white frame from Walmart and used my glue gun to add on the fabric flower. I also added the pink gem in the middle.






For her birthday I gave her a gift card to one of her favourite stores (what teenage girl doesn't love clothes AND shopping?!!). So I wrapped up this frame with her gift card like this:





I used ink on a plain chipboard tag and added on the letter "H" and a couple of purple gems to make this cute tag.






For my older brother who also had a birthday this month, I gave him a gift card to a clothes store along with a Kit Kat. I used a couple ribbons and some hot glue to make the gift look more fun....









It's all about the details!! :)

how to make tissue paper pom poms

If you've visited my blog lately, you may have noticed my banner advertising about "Birthday Party Week" from May 2nd- 6th. This is where I plan on devoting a week to sharing posts that are all about birthday parties that I have done so far for my kids, and sharing some great links to other birthday stuff in blog land. There will also be some giveaways!!

~Do YOU have a birthday party post that you want to see featured?? Just email me a link to your post!

~If you would like to sponsor a giveaway, please contact me via email. Thanks!

~And remember that YOU are invited to come to "Birthday party Week"! The party is here beginning May 2nd.

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Last week was my daughter's birthday. I had fun planning and preparing for her first birthday. I was pretty excited to finally do some girly party things, like making up some pom poms using coloured gift wrap tissue paper.


And hanging them in my dining room.......

Here's how I made mine:

I had been collecting different packages of tissue in her party colours: black, white, and PINK! I thought that the larger packages contained larger sheets of tissue, but didn't bother to read the dimensions on the package. (To those of you who know me personally & have met my dad, this is where he would be adding in some blonde joke....! LOL)

Anyways, I now have a really healthy supply of tissue for my daughter's birthday until she's about ten!



Back to the tutorial..... I used about 10 pieces of tissue for each pom pom.



Made sure the ends were still pretty lined up together, then started folding them....

.............folding them back & forth as though I was making a fan- in an accordion-like way until I got to the other end.

Then I gathered them together flat...

........and used scissors to made a rounded edge. I have seen people that make it pointy instead of rounded, which also looks really cool.

*** This is where I cut some length off the ends to make a smaller pom pom for one of mine.

Then I used white yarn to tie around the middle. (You can use string or ribbon or what ever you want to hang yours up with!)

I tied it somewhat snug, but not too tight.

Then doing one layer of tissue at a time, gently pull it back............

.......and keep doing that and watching your pom pom start to take shape.

Once you have it looking good, hang it up and make a bunch more!!

These are such an easy and dramatic way to reinforce a party colour scheme. I have also seen people that make these and hang them above their baby's crib instead of a mobile.

Either way, they cost so little to make & they look fabulous!

spring wreath

I made this spring time wreath this week:



It was oh so easy to put together. I bought the foam wreath from from Michael's, the butterflies from the dollar store, and I think the yarn came from Walmart.

I used a dab of hot glue to attach the end of the yarn, then just wrapped the yarn around until the wreath was all covered. I snipped the yarn and secured the end with another dab of hot glue.

I added the green butterfly, but I'm not sure if I will keep it, or if I will add some fabric rosettes instead. Because the butterfly has a clip on the back, I can change my mind easily!

All done and ready to hang up!