AMANDA'S BASKETS: Decorating with A Branch Tree and Fabric Eggs

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Decorating with A Branch Tree and Fabric Eggs

I guess the best I can say is that there was no snow today, but it sure was cool, windy and not very welcoming outdoors...well, the sun did come out late afternoon. Okay, I guess it is better than the northeast and midwest with their snow...

BRANCH TREE:
I wanted to make something that I could use to hang my swaps on as well as other things. So, I decided on a branch tree of sorts. First of all, let me tell you, there are not many usable branches around here but I did manage to find a few.

I used an entire small container of plaster of paris, a small white plastic container, water, an old wooden spoon, a large plastic bucket (the type used for kitty litter), some empty recycle items and old rags. A weird list, right?

First, I trimmed the branches to fit. Next I added water to the plaster of paris (in the container which I was going to use to hold the branches) and stirred until smooth. After realizing that the branches would not stay in place, I placed that bucket in the larger bucket and re-added the branches using the recycle items and old rags to hold the branches where I wanted them. This I let dry for several hours.

And this is what it looks like with the plaster of paris solid...

When the wind dies down, I will spray all the branches white. Also, I plan on decorating the bucket and adding natural items inside the bucket - like pinecones and rocks, etc. By the way, the bucket is heavy and will not tip over.

FABRIC EGGS:
In celebration of spring, I wanted to add some fabric eggs to my trees. First I cut out the pieces - four per egg...

Next, I machine sewed two pieces together in a long single line - the same way I sew quilt pieces together. Saves time. You do not have to start and stop, just add the pieces as you sew...

After they were all sewn together, I clipped the seam allowance about every half inch, turned and finger pressed the pieces...

I then sewed the two halves together on the machine on one side after which I clipped the seam and turned right side out.

I hand sewed the final seam, stopping about halfway and adding the fiberfill before completing the seam...

The fun part is next. Decorating with trim and flowers. I used both glue and needle and thread to attach the decorations. Here are the three I have finished...

Well, that's all for today...
Thanks for visiting...
See you tomorrow...

CRAFTING IDEAS

I am always looking for a small piece of paper to write down something which will later be disposed of. I decided to use some of the scrap paper of which I have a ton. I mostly use the paper for glueing projects. I decided to cut the paper into a small size. (Six pieces from a piece of copy paper.). But just having them sitting on my desk would get messy without a container. So, using a cardboard box, I cut it down to size and using a hot glue gun I glued the ends together. Using a picture from a magazine cut into pieces and stick craft glue, I glued the pieces to the box inside and out. I also used some decorative tape for the outside edges. And to finish the top corners which were not covered, I used straight pins with colorful tops. Looks nice and works well.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

So in looking over your habits what did you find? Some popular good habits folks have are: Meditation, exercise, journal writing, flossing, reading and walking up early. Some not so great habits included smoking, saying yes, swearing, tolerating folks, not sleeping enough, always complaining and constantly making excuses. Do you have more good habits or more bad habits? Is it time to change? If so, start with the easiest bad habit to change, not the hardest. This will give the best chance of success. Decide on the best way for you to change your habit. Worry too much? Set a time to worry and then stop. You may have to stop yourself several times at the beginning but keep it up and you will worry less. Or, alternatively, write the worry down as well as options to stop the problem. Just figure out which way to stop is best for you.