Red Neck Soda Can Ornaments { A Tutorial }

I just love homemade Christmas ornaments, each one seems to have a story behind it. Either a memory from a past Christmas, or the person who made it, or the little toddler who proudly stamped his hand or finger into a humble dough shape and mailed his grandparents. 
Homemade ornaments in our home are also where we like to use up bits and pieces of craft supplies, or in this case, our household recycling.

I started making these around 10 years ago and they've always been a hit and a fun conversation piece on our tree and have also made some really unique gift toppers and garlands. 

What started out as an experiment of doing haphazard origami on tin cans (a good cure for boredom on a long winter's evening) became these shiny, festive stars.

For years I sold these on etsy and in local shops, and they were even featured on HGTV and in a Christmas edition on People Magazine. 

This year though I decided it was high time to share the fun and offer a tutorial on how to make them yourself. (If you like!) 

You will need: 

A well rinsed Soda Can. (or Pop can, if the word "Soda" makes you cringe.)

A pair of scissors with a sharp tip. (Or a pair of blunt tipped scissors AND an utility knife.)

A cardboard circle cut about 2 inches in diameter (Or a two inch circular scrapbooking paper punch)

A piece of wire, or an ornament hook. 

After rinsing out your can, using either a utility knife or a pair of sharp tipped scissors, pierce the side of your can near the top and cut the top off. I try to keep the puncture area somewhere that I don't want to use for an ornament. Somewhere like the UPC symbol, or ingredients etc.

Cut straight down the side, and then cut remove the bottom.

Flatten out the can. Now you should have a rectangular piece. 

Position your cardboard circle (or paper punch) in the area of the can that you would like to use for your ornament. You will need to cut two circles, so decide before cutting where you'd like them. (Main Logos etc)

Now either trace around the circle with a marker before cutting, or cut around the circle. (Or punch it out with a punch.) Do this twice so that you have two circles.

Now it's time to fold your star:

A couple of last minute tips:

You can make these smaller, or larger. Just keep in mind, the smaller they get, the harder they are to fold.

On thinner cans, avoid pressing your creases too hard or you might get a split.

Have fun, and enjoy!!

{ yarn along }

I'm happy to say that this week I finished Lotte's little rag rug. She seemed to know it was hers right away when she crawled on to it and laid her head down, and gently pat the rug with her chubby hands.

I wanted to show you all some close ups of some of the feed sack fabrics that revealed themselves one print at a time as I made my way through each ball.
I really fell in love with the reds and blues...and especially when the ended up together.

I think that this will be a cozy little spot for her to go to when she's feeling tired, or a good place to park her bottom while she enjoys eating (reading) one of her little books.

I finally started my rae that I've been dying to try for a long time now. I picked a soft cotton and bamboo blend in chartreuse...I bought the last few skeins left so I got a really good deal. It feels too nice though for me to be using...I feel like I should still be *practicing* with acrylics.
One of Lotte's little tiny hair clips makes a perfect stitch marker, and I can easily move it up my work as I go, to count my increased rows.

and this folks, is my reading for the next month. Or at least until I get this task finished. 
I have years and years of one of my favorite magazines, Country Living, stored on a book case in my art studio.
And what's worse....I have both British and American issues. And they've gotten out of control. 

Hello, My Name is Corrie, and I am a Country Living Addict. There. I said it.

I've decided to do the unthinkable, and go through each one and rip (*gasp*) out my favorite recipes, articles, how to's and inspirations etc, and store them in a binder with plastic sleeves. 

I never thought that this day would come, but alas, it has. I want the space that they're taking up for things that just matter more. 

I thought it would be a dreadful task, but as I got going, I wondered why I hadn't done this ages ago. Now I'll be able to open up binders and immediately be able to see my favorite things without having to weed through the ads and articles that I don't care about. 
It's rather refreshing. I've gone through probably about 30 issues today, and already have condensed the space to about the size of two magazines. Incredible!

Playing with Ginny in yarn along.

Thrifty Thursday

I'm thrilled to be joining Lady Cordelia this week in *Thrifty Thursday*.
I'm a thrift/antique store junky, and love nothing more than to stumble upon little hidden, often overlooked treasures.
While visiting my family, my Aunt and I stopped in "Habitat Thrift Shop" in Marysville, Kansas, where I found all sorts of goodies. My favorites though were these three giant balls of fabric, all sewn up and ready for a rag rug. 
Just shy of the size of a volleyball, and marked down from $4 a piece to only $1, these were an amazing deal. I was beyond excited to find out that they're made of vintage feedsack fabrics.
These take so long to stitch up, I can hardly believe that they were only a dollar!

I've been meaning to make a rag rug for a while now, I just can't decide between the crochet route, or the old toothbrush method that my Great Grandmother used to do. I've never done the toothbrush method, but I just might have to try my hand at it. It seems simple enough based on the many online tutorials.
And if that fails, I can always rip it out and start with the crocheted version, right? Or leave them balled up and sitting out on display, they're so pretty just like this!

***

Whoopsie! I've been informed that Thrifty Thursday will now be hosted here, in case anyone else was interested in participating... Sorry for the confusion!

Mawesome Weekending

I know, I know, my title is pure fromage. I apologize...but not really.

I'm such a sucker for mossy covered ground ground, trees, fences, and any thing else that Moss happens to be growing on.  Including bathmats...

I'd absolutely love to have one of these, but Mark would probably have me committed. 

I've been known to make my children go out to the sidewalks and alleyways with paper bags and pick the green wonder out of sidewalk cracks and bring it home for reward money. 

I've also done this with acorns and maple keys... I have issues.

While out on our most recent walk, it took everything in my power to not pilfer just a little morsel of these beautiful growths that were bursting out on and between everything. But alas, we were in a conservation area where everything is "look but don't touch". That-and I had nothing to take any of it home with anyway.

I fully intend on taking the boys out for a walk in the woods after church tomorrow, weather permitting, and putting them to work.
I've been wanting to mossify (ok, now i'm just making things up) an area in our back yard, and our fence. (speaking of fences, click here for yet another super-duper idea.)

I've found several recipes, but the two that stick out the most are this one, and simply using yogurt pureed with some moss. I think i'll try both and see which one works better.

 

I can't wait to try this on my back fence that faces the alley-I'm just trying to think of something clever to write.

I don't have too many fantastic pictures of our weekend just yet, but hopefully after tomorrow I will. 

I'll leave you with this though. She just loves her evening baths in my old tupperware cake carrier.

Wires Wires, Go away {a little DIY love}

Sometimes, when I just can't get my brain to shut down, I lay awake at night thinking of things that I need to do around the house. Sometimes it's just ordinary housework, but sometimes it's random things that are bothering me that I can't seem to find the time to fix, or don't know exactly how to fix.

One of the things that had been stewing on my mind and driving me to decorator's insanity was our breakfast nook. Not the nook itself, but the massive, undeniable eyesore that hung before me, laughing at me daily. 

WIRES.

I can't stand having wires hanging down the walls of my kitchen-or anywhere for that matter. They're ugly, they're tangly (I now declare that to be a word) and they stand out like a sore thumb.

And not only were these wires hanging down the wall, but they were hanging all the way down to the floor. Something just had to be done. (Aside from moving the T.V.-I love not having a television in our living room.)

I've seen wire covers made exactly for this type of thing, but everything I've seen have been almost as ugly as the wires themselves.
I wanted something that looked intentional, decorative even. Something that didn't make me shudder a bit every time I walked into my kitchen.
So late one night I went to bed thinking about what I could possibly use to cover up that horrible, horrible mess.
I finally came to the conclusion that it must be pvc piping, and it must be painted very shiny red. Satisfied with my plans, I was able to fall asleep. (Does anyone else dream up home decorating/renovation plans while laying awake in bed??)

In the morning I told Mark of my desperate desire to do this. To my surprise, he liked the idea and set the plan into motion. He even thought of a way to hang it without any ugly and bulky brackets, and used a dremel tool to cut tabs at the ends of the pipes to screw into the wall. (see below.)

I may take it one step further and cover up the outlet as well. Just give me a few nights to think about it!

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DIY Royal Sprouter Tutorial

We've hit that dull point in the year where winter isn't quite over, and spring has yet to show any real promise that it's here to stay.
I start getting anxious about now for my garden. wishing that I could just go drop a few seeds in the earth, but I know much better than that.

One of the things that keeps me preoccupied during the winter months is sprouting seeds in my kitchen.
At first I was buying my sprouts at a local health food market because they're delicious...but then I realized how simple they must be to grow.

There are many methods for spouting, from canning jars to expensive sprouting systems, but I wanted something that looked pretty on the counter top in the kitchen, and I thought "what better than a fancy cake plate?"
Of course, you could keep them in any room in your house, but my kitchen happens to be where the most sunlight is.

To make a sprouter of your own, you only need a few simple things.

• A domed cake plate (and this won't damage it for other uses later.)
• Some stainless steel screening

(If you're planning on sprouting smaller seeds, a skillet splatter screen works wonderfully, as the mesh is finer. Just make sure to get stainless steel, otherwise it will rust. I wouldn't suggest getting the plastic/ synthetic screen as they're chemical coated. You probably won't want to be eating off of that!)

• Rubber/silicone chair leg pads
• heavy duty scissors
• ribbon (very optional. This just depends on how fancy you want to get!)

First take the chair pads, and stick them to the plate as far out as they'll go, or where ever the dome rests. The purpose of these is so that the dome doesn't close all the way down-the seeds need a bit of air circulation, otherwise they can mold.

Next, trace your dome onto your screening.

Now, with a strong pair or scissors, cut inside your trace mark by at a least a centimeter. You need it to be slightly smaller than your dome, so that it fits inside.

Once it's cut out, carefully bend the your screen edges up. This will provide a bit of an edge for your seeds, so they don't escape when you rinse them. Place the screening in your cake plate and close the dome, and you're set. 

You can trim the edge with ribbon if you don't want the screen to show. Once those sprouts start growing though, you'll hardly notice the screen. 

All there is left to do now is decide which seeds you'd like to sprout!

Depending on what you choose, you'll need to either soak your seeds before sprouting, or just give them a first rinse.

For sunflower seeds, I soak them for two hours, and then place them on the screen, trying to get them evenly separated. You don't want your screen packed with seeds, but you can get quite a few on.

Once they're on the screen and wet, you can put it back under the dome and leave them. 

Each day, they'll need rinsed twice. I rinse them around noon and again at night before I go to bed.

To rinse them, simply remove the screen,  hold it with both hands and run it under cool water, making sure that all the seeds get a good rinse. It doesn't matter if they shift around much, once they establish some roots they won't budge. Be careful though that your water pressure isn't so high that you blast them out of the screen. ( as I did once...)

Over the next few days you'll go from this...

to this!

We start snacking on ours once they're about 2 inches long (about 5 days sprouted.) You can let them get much longer though if you like. And remember, the entire sprout is edible, both the root and the shoot.

Ways to eat your sprouts (other than straight out of the sprouter)

salads, 

on top of soup

on pizza (really, this is delicious. Just don't bake it on the pizza, put them on after the pizza is baked,)

in wraps 

on sandwiches

Somewhat oddly, I like them as they are, along with a pear with some black pepper& balsamic vinegar.

I'd love to hear how your sprouter turns out!

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DIY Travel Tape Tutorial {Stash Bash}

For this week's stash bash (a challenge to use up what I've already got kickin' around my art studio) I decided to dive into the box of old maps that have been lurking for a few years now.

I just can't say no to paper, which leaves me with cuttings of various magazines, newspapers, wrapping paper, wall paper, and yes, my biggest downfall....Maps. Especially vintage maps. 

Who could possibly turn down those beautiful colours and fonts? Not I!

This was a quick, satisfying little project. I can't wait to make more from other paper scraps.

If you would like to create some of your own, here's what you need:

An old map

double sided tape

xacto knife or scissors

cutting mat and ruler (if you're using an xacto knife.)

I find that it's easier to work with the width of the map, rather than the length, but it's entirely up to you.

Take your double sided tape and peel it slightly off the roll. Stick it down on the wrong side of the map. (There really is no wrong side of the map, but pick a side you like best and make sure you don't stick the tape to that side!)
Slowly unroll the tape, sticking it down securely as you go. Try to keep it going in a straight line. You could use a guide, or draw a pencil line with a ruler if you like.  The wonderful things about maps though is that there are already all sorts of guidelines on the map to follow.

Once you've pressed all your tape down to cover the strip of map you want to cover, cut the tape off the roll. 

Now lay your map down, tape side up, on  your cutting mat, and gently cut down the sides of the double sided tape, creating your tape strip.
Don't peel the backing off! Roll your tape strip up around a spool, or secure it with a paper clip or clothes pin. When you go to use it, then you peel off the backing, and voila, Tape!

Places to use your fancy new tape:

Sealing Envelopes

Binder divider tabs

Tops of rolled up paper lunch bags

folded over to make flags for cupcake toppers

drink markers on the sides of paper cups 

labels

scrapbooking

So many possibilities..use your imagination!

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{Yarn Along}

Dad's poor scarf has been frogged, again. Let me explain...

First I was doing it in a garter stitch border and the rest in stockinette, but even with that gartered border, it was still curling horribly. It was also taking FOREVER.

did I mention that I'm a bit impatient?

So then I ripped it out, and began doing the entire thing in garter stitch, but it felt too mindless.

So I ripped it out one, self promised last time, doubled up the wool, and began a basket weave, which is working out fantastically. Not too boring, but not too tricky, and going much faster this time.

Lotte's little candy floss hat, finished up last week and it looks darling. I had to flip the edge up for it to fit her right now, but I figured I would. I made it large enough to fit a one year old because I wanted it to last a while.

Also, I think I've finally got the hang of double pointed needles, it's too early to say though if I prefer them to circular. It might just depend on which project I'm doing.
I've started on this, just as a little side project to keep working on with yarn scraps over time.

This is my first "hexipuff"-yup, I've got a loooong way to go.

I'm still not completely finished "Portrait of Van Gogh", but I'm near done.

I can't believe how much this poor artist went through to become what he did. He's often remembered as the artist who was "crazy" and the artist who "cut off his ear"...there's really so much more to his story than this.

He was eccentric, indeed.-However, he would tend to the homeless, weak, and the sick, giving them the clothes off of his own back, and it was more often than not, acts like these that earned him the reputation of being crazy.

Van Gogh was such a kind and generous person, living a chosen humble life, and looking out for his fellow man, which his paintings actually reflect.

Unlike other painters of his time who were painting the wealthy social scenes, Van Gogh was creating paintings like "the potato eaters" and scenes from low class pubs.

In the book are quotes from letters that he wrote to his brother, Theo, and this is one of my absolute favorites:

 "There may be a great fire in our soul, yet no one ever comes to warm himself at it, and the passers-by see only a wisp of smoke coming through the chimney."

                                                                                                                    -Letter to Theo, 1880



For more weekly yarn along stories, visit Ginny at Small Things!

Fort Wet Willies

While the little miss and I have been warm inside the house, the Men-folk around here have been busy outdoors with a project that has been dreamt about now 

for a long while.

 

"Plans" were drawn....

Materials were gathered...

Token awesome trap door installed in the floor....

Only a  few finishing touches left to be done, like paint, windows, doors, a tire swing etc.
I'm very proud of the Men folk around here for working together to build such an awesome fort!