Tutorial: Chenille Stem Daffodils

March ends this weekend... and before it's all over,
I wanted to share ONE LAST DAFFODIL PROJECT with you!

About six years ago, I unearthed a bag of vintage yellow chenille stems at a thrift store.

They were the 'wavy' kind - like these (available HERE):

You know that the first thing I thought of when I saw them was daffodils, right?!

As I was playing with them, making daffodils, I came up with an improvement...

the center section became A CROWN.
... and VOILA! 'DIVAdils' were born!

I still have those same Divadils that I made all those years ago
and thought I'd share a quick tutorial for making them...

Please note that these do use PINS, so they are NOT a kid craft project

and are definitely not for kids to play with.

Whatcha' NEED:

 Materials:
'wavy' chenille stems or rope in yellow or white 

regular chenille stem in green + length of baling wire for stem

yellow or white paper . scissors . glue stick to make the paper crown

yellow or white pompom . 2 regular pins . 3 floral pins with pearl ends

Whatcha' DO:

1. starting at one end of chenille stem or rope, fold two 'wavy' sections together - 

and pinch the skinny section in the middle to make one petal. 

then wrap the end to the next skinny section to secure the petal in place.

2. move down the chenille stem and repeat -

 then wrap the next skinny section once around the petal base to secure it.

3. repeat petal process until you have 3 petals (using a chenille stem) or 6 petals (if using chenille rope).
if you have 3 petals, repeat and create another set of three.

4. if you have two sets of three petals, wrap the two remaining end sections together to attach.

with either method, leave an end section to attach the green stem to...

 5. take the green straight chenille stem and wrap it around the baling wire piece to cover it.

create a small hook at the top of the wire, and slip the remaining end section of wavy chenille through it

on the back side of the flower.

6. wrap the wavy chenille around the top 1/2 inch of the green stem to secure it.

 7. place the pom pom in the center of the front of the flower.

hold it in place using the three flower pins with pearl heads - 

stick them through the pom pom and into the chenille flower petals.
you can use hot glue if you want.

 8. cut a strip of paper @ 1" wide and 4" long.
on one side, cut out a crown shaped edge - basically really long, pointy triangles!
then use a pen or pencil to curl the edges of the points outward.
roll the paper into a tube with the points curling outward.

use a glue stick to secure it into a tube.

 9. slip the paper crown over the floral pins and pom pom.

 10. push the two regular pins into the crown (one on each side),

running them through the pom pom to secure the crown to the flower.

11. bend the tips of the petals into various curved shapes - some forward, some back. 

or close them in on themselves for a daffodil 'bud', as shown below...

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I also used the same method to create 

these holiday poinsettias from green vintage chenille stems!
[ the centers of these are metallic plastic mini ornaments ]

shared online:

One Project Closer | Creativity Unleashed

Cupcakes & Crinoline | Project Inspire{d}

Tin Can 'Painted Pails'

Last fall, I shared a project that was a 'flashback' to something I had made long ago:
[ like, ah, WAY back in the NINETIES! LOL ]

Painted tin cans - I call them little 'Painted Pails'. 

I just found more photos of that product that I created for different seasons ;)
and since 'tin can crafts' seem to be THE hot trend right now,  

I figure why not share more inspiration?!

The photo above shows the Valentine version,

where the wire handles were bent into a heart shape.

The labels evolved from the very first Painted Pails I made in the Spring of 1995,

which looked like garden seed packets and fruit pie filling labels:

I also made versions of Painted Pails for Holiday | Winter:

The Happy Snowman versions had wire handles bent into 'top hat' shapes,

and also stackable snowmen made from several sizes of cans.

I made Painted Pails in Spring, for Easter:

... and the wire handles were bent into 'floppy ear' shapes.

and of course, there were the Pumpkin Painted Pails

 that I shared last fall in my Tin Can Painted Pail Post
 click for my TUTORIAL!...

I also made Painted Pails that looked like crayons. And Leprechauns. And Firecrackers.
But I really don't think more photos are needed for you to get the general idea.
If I were to guess as to how many tin cans I painted back then,
over a five year period that I was selling them at street fairs and in my tiny store,

I'd have to say it was about 50 cans a week. Yes, really!

I tell ya', I was pretty sick of painted tin cans by the time I was done!!!

The various holiday versions of these came about because every holiday,

I would go overboard to create a fun breakfast table setting for my four young children...

Balloons, streamers, napkins, and centerpiece would decorate the dining room.
The food would even match the holiday: 

pink milk and pancakes for Valentine's Day, green for St. Patrick's Day, orange for Halloween.
 I didn't spend a lot (I bought most of the stuff at thrift shops)

but it was so much fun to decorate the table after they had gone to bed,

and then watch them get all excited the next morning!

And at each place setting, they'd find a Painted Pail -

filled to the brim with art supplies and candy and a little stuffed animal.

It was just a simple thing I could do to make them happy.
For me, that is always the best part of crafting & decorating...

shared online:

One Project Closer | Creativity Unleashed 

Cupcakes & Crinoline | Project Inspire{d}

Valentine's Day Post Roundup

Looking for sweet and love-ly ideas for February decor?
Check out my

Valentines Day post ROUND-UP!

View ALL of my Valentine's Day posts

.

shared online:

2016: yesterday on tuesday | project inspire{d}

Creative Winter White Decor

My recent 'Winter Whites Inspiration' post is BLOWING up my stats!
Since you liked that so much, I thought I'd share a little MORE on that subject...

featuring some of the current white decor in my office.

[some of it can't be revealed yet, as it is scheduled to appear in print soon!]

Before we focus on the decor, here's a little 'New Year' development:
I don't make resolutions. I choose a 'Word of the Year' instead...

it works much better for me to have a word as a 'touchstone' of sorts,

to help me stay on track with the goals and pursuits that are most important to me.
[While resolutions just seem to feel like never-achieved, guilt-inducing lists]

My Word of the Year for 2014 is CREATE.

Not just due to the long-overdue revelation that 'I can Create the Life I want to live',

but also the pursuit of FUN. 

As in, Creating just for FUN instead of always as content for publication or this blog.

My post about the mannequin form made from a tee shirt was part of that approach:
I just made it for ME and had fun in the process.
Then when it works, I can go ahead and share it here on the blog!

When I removed all of the holiday decor from my office last week,

I replaced it with vintage-inspired winter white decor, using things I had around the house:

 I enjoy creating seasonal tableaux on these small display shelves.

Let's take a look at the elements I used -

and I know it won't surprise you when you realize that you've seen MANY of these items before!

 On the top shelf shown up above, there are three photo frames...
You've seen the one on the far left in my post about framing a sweater remnant.
The large and small baroque frames holding my word 'Create' used to say 'Dream' -
 as they did in this post.
This is a great way to focus on my Word of the Year.

The two white ceramic Space Needle figurines are salt & pepper shakers - 

I bought them in a schlock-y souvenir shop on the Seattle Waterfront at Christmas,

because I wanted an ornament to commemorate this Christmas with my family.
Problem was, every ornament in the shop was just plain TACKY. Not my style at ALL.
These shakers fit right in with my white and neutral decor scheme for everyday enjoyment,

and will easily be made into tree ornaments next Christmas!

The white ironstone creamer and mug are among the last few remnants of a HUGE collection.
[ I shudder at the thought of how many pieces shattered when the new kitchen shelves fell off the wall.
Priceless, special sentimental pieces - gathered and given to me by friends.
I posted about that project on HOMEtalk.

Or how many pieces I gave away when I moved from Seattle to California.... ]
I snuggled a rhinestone crown around the mug, just to add some icy sparkle.

The NeSt is one I made myself from daylily foliage, shared in this post,

and the branches are the antique glass-glittered ones that mysteriously appeared on my front steps!

I've used them in this years' Christmas tree and tee shirt mannequin.

On the lower shelf, I assembled some small items...

The snowflake-pattern plate showed up in this post last Winter.
The little white truck is very close to the same truck style that my Grandpa Ward used to drive...

and even without tires, it takes me on many sentimental journeys.
That little truck has been around for a LOTTA' years...

The glittered 'D' and crown way up on top came from a Michael's Crafts bargain bin last year,

and the Monopoly playing pieces are just something I love to collect when I find them.

[ I love galvanized metal and these just fit right in with that! ]

On either side of the truck are two of my funny little JUNK Snowmen.

Sweet Sweater Snowmen are the new creation that I sold this past Holiday season.
Thankfully, I was smart enough to grab two of these for myself before they were all gone!
I have happy memories attached to the little tin cans they are made in,

as well as the Cliquot Club soda caps that adorn them.

So, anyway, you can see that very nearly everything I used in this vignette

is something I already had and love.
Actually the hardest part for me is editing, because I always unearth more stuff than I need!

But the point is that it doesn't cost me anything but time, 

and it's time spent creating and having fun.

Sounds like a great way to start the New Year to me!

So, what's YOUR word or resolution?
What decor projects are you planning for this new year?

 As you read this post today, 
I am busy taking a HUGE STEP forward in pursuit of a life-long dream...
please send good thoughts and prayers my way, won't you?
I'll share more as soon as I can!

UPDATE: I interviewed for a job that I have wanted for over 30 years.
and I GOT IT!

.... at Disneyland!

Dome for the Holidays....

As I was unpacking bins of Christmas decor a few weeks ago,

I discovered a small box holding some vintage-look bottlebrush trees

that I honestly didn't think I had anymore. I was VERY pleasantly surprised!

I love their creamy ivory color and subtle glitter-i-ness!
[these are relatively new trees, from the Department 56 collection]

 They needed more 'oomph', so I rounded up some containers to use as diminutive 'tree stands':
the one last remaining tin container that my 'Junk Snowmen' were made in,

and five silver vessels from my Mom's collection of family pieces.

I sat them on a silver tray (again, Mom's!) and added several of my own vintage ornaments.

To complete the display, I popped a wire dome made from a wire tomato cage on top of it all.
Some HUGE vintage chandelier crystals dangle from the dome and add sparkle...

You can find my tutorial for making the wire dome from a tomato cage HERE

This vignette in my office also includes several other domes...
One is an antique flower frog, made of curled wire that holds my white candy canes!

Another dome is simply a bare metal wire lampshade frame.
I love the sculptural lines and shape of these - I've had some very fanciful ones in the past,

and they add a finishing touch to any vignette.

Here, one of my NeSts made from daylily foliage holds vintage glass ornaments,

a german glass glittered crown cutout, and a crystal snowflake.
The box serving as a 'stand' used to hold Christmas light bulbs!

It's all just simple items, combined to tell a story ...

One more dome that I am using right now is the curliqued wire 'cagelet'
that I recently mentioned in this post.

It sits over a stack of my dishes and a white ironstone bowl that holds another NeSt

and one of my favorite flocked ornaments - new, not vintage.

[I found four sets of three of these at Ross a few years ago, and HAD to have them]

I love how the golden afternoon sunlight pours into the room and spills over these pieces.

 One Last Detail:
When I added the glass tree topper spire to the vignette,
I sat it in yet another silver vessel - a goblet.
The raised height lefts the spire up to make it more noticeable behind the domes...

You can also display tree spires on candlesticks:
Just insert a taper candle into the candlestick, 
then slide the tree spire over the candle for support.