Month

April 2015

DIY Felt Bloom Wreath

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My Mom always used to say that with little kids, “the days can drag, but the years fly.” I am starting to know what she means because lately, I cannot believe how quickly time is passing us by. In fact, I am flabbergasted that it is nearly May.

With that being said, I am finding it harder and harder to decorate my house for every single holiday that comes our way, so I have decided to kind of go with the seasons to save my sanity on time (and money.)
We are now in the midst of Spring and looking forward to Summer and this time of year, I think flowers. So, with a little help from Pinterest. I made my own felt blooms and created a wreath that should last me throughout the summer.
Using Pinterest for some tutorials, I decided to create a few different blooms in some various colors.
 
Materials
Grapevine Wreath (From the $1/$3 Spot at Target)
Various colors of felt (Hand Made Modern Multi Color Pack from Target)
Hot Glue Gun
Fabric Scissors

 

Making the Blooms: Most of the blooms can be made using a simple rolling technique. As you can see from my wreath, I have several “roses”, but because of the way I cut the felt, and the variation in color, they seem different.
     Simple Rose: Cut a circle of fabric. For smaller buds I traced around a CD, for larger buds I traced the lid of a Pyrex container. Then, cut the circle into a spiral (see below)
Starting on the outside of the circle, roll inwards toward the center of the circle.

Using your hot glue gun, carefully glue the middle to the bottom of your bloom.

Wavy Rose: You can find templates online, but I drew a wavy pattern like I would have for a plain rose. Then I cut it out.
I followed the same rolling style as I did above.
Pom Pom Flower: Cut a 3″ x 10″ strip of felt. Fold the strip in half length wise.

 

Fold the strip in half lengthwise. Then, very carefully, cutting from the folded edge to the open edge of the fold being sure not to cut all the way through, cut every 1/4″ or so.
Then roll this flower carefully, gluing along the way.
Petal Flowers: Trace and cut a flower shape.
Next, using hot glue in the center, pinch the center of the flower together.
I put a small piece of yellow felt in the center to help make it look more flower like.
 
Wreath Time: Once I had all the blooms I wanted, I decided how I wanted to place them on the wreath without glue. Then, using hot glue I carefully placed each flower on the wreath.
I cannot wait to hang this in my dining room for a little Spring/Summer color.
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You Say Staycation, We Say Best Spring Break Ever

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There was a glorious time in the human existence when there was no such word as staycation. Words like this put a cutesy bow on something that would otherwise be construed by the general population as boring. Therefore, we try and make chilling at home sound more extreme, than it is.

There are a whole host of these words, all of them causing me to judge millenials for having to make everything epic.

Snowmageddon. It’s a weather system.

Bromance. Two guys are friends.

RomCom. Gag me.

Glamping. Camping with all your shit. Otherwise known as camping with any sane person.

These cutesy combo words, I think get to me not only because they are so cutesy but because as a writer of words, I have a bit of angst about not inventing my own yet.

The kids and Brian were both off at the same time for Spring Break. This hardly ever happens. We probably should have gone somewhere, done something, planned an epic adventure (epventure?). We did think about it. We talked about tackling a big home project. We thought about maybe taking a few day trips or perhaps staying a few nights somewhere.

 

In the end, however, it just seemed better to relax in our home. So that is what we did.

This is something that I don’t think as a family we have ever done together for an extended period of time. I take that back, we did do that, but our kids don’t remember any part of it. It was like we were transported to the time when we had newborns in the house, and the only things on the agenda for the day were to shower, eat, and take care of the kids.

 

We were happy to just be present, in our home with no plans on the calendar, no alarm clocks, no schedules.

We ate out, played cards, went to the park, slept late, watched movies, took naps, put together puzzles, did crafts, read books, colored. The only thing that dictated what we did was the weather. Every minute of it was relaxing and glorious, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

 

The memories made, the conversations had, the laughs, the giggles, the snuggles were all moments I will hold onto forever. These kids aren’t getting any younger, and they aren’t going to want to hang out with Mom and Dad at home for much longer, either. So, I was grateful for this time spent altogether.

 

I am sure that it sounds pretty lame to people who spent their time away somewhere warm, or traveling seeing sights, or even organizing and executing some awesome project. However, to us it was just what we needed.

 

We aren’t ashamed of spending most of the last 10 days playing cards in our jammies.

You say Staycation, we say Best Spring Break ever.

If you like this post and would like to read more about all things domestic with a touch of humor, become a Home Everyday follower! For blog updates or to see other places I write such as ChicagoNow or Chicago Parent follow Home Everyday on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.