Wool Wrapped Trees

These little guys did not cost me one single penny to make!

I bought a box of various craft supplies at an auction for $1 and these paper mache trees were part of the deal.  I shoulda taken a before pic, but I didn’t…sorry bout that!

I cut 1.5 inch wide strips of wool from a green wool shirt that I found at the Salvation Army.  It had lots of holes in it so it was quite cheap. I washed it in hot water several times, so the wool was pretty thick.

I used hot glue and just spiraled the strips around upward.  Here you see my assistant stealing helping me show how the strips unroll from the neat bundles I had made.

Here the little thief assistant takes one of the strips and unrolls it completely.

Anyway, who needs extra strips…I only had five trees to cover!  You could use styrofoam trees instead of the paper mache ones, although the paper mache trees have some kind of weight in the bottom so they are difficult to knock over.  My clumsy pug assistant showed me proof of that.

And here the weasel assistant takes the last roll of wool…

But like I said, I don’t really need them anyway!

Stinker!

Love how they look on top of my quilt cabinet…

I may be linking to these great parties!

Recycled glass and driftwood mobile

Don’t you just love driftwood?  I made this mobile from a great piece of twisty river driftwood, straight out of the Missouri River, and a collection of glass pieces from old broken mobiles.  Three old mobiles to be exact…plus some oval and rectangular chunks of colored glass and a few flat marbles. 

The mobile was my first official project in my new garage work space.

I used fishing line to hang the glass pieces and made double knots to keep the pieces secure.  Then to make sure that the knots didn’t loosen up I used a drop of super glue on each knot. 

The glass makes a very nice tinkling when the wind blows…

The colors are mostly blues, with some clear and some frosted glass…

I drilled seven holes in the driftwood and tied knots around the ovalish shapes to keep the knots from pulling back through the wood.

The mobile isn’t entirely symmetrical but I like that part of it.  It balances well and hangs nicely. 

The mobile got two paws up from Baby Kitty…so I guess it’s OK!

I might be linking up to these great parties!

Summer fun

Summer is here, no doubt about it!

This is just a random post of pics…and some of my favorite people!

Coonskin caps are back in style…did you realize that? 

My SIL Roxanne and her two girls Molly and Maggie came up with mom for the weekend.  Jess and Kate and my great nephew Brady and Josh and Liz and my two great nieces came for a nice long visit.

Brady is 1 and he is learning to walk…

He has a great fake cry…doesn’t work to get him what he wants though!

He’s a busy little guy!

Happy boy who just goes with the flow…

Elena and her stuffed hippo…

The sparkler sisters!!

Uncle Charlie with his first nephew! 

And what post would be complete without a Puggles picture?

Brady and Kate and Jess came to my house one afternoon and we let Brady splash around in Milo’s pool.  Milo was curious, but he was courteous.  I was afraid he would try to get in there with Brady, but he maintained his cool.

He did keep a close eye on Brady though…just in case!

Me and Brady boy…he is the cutest boy!

Here’s Brady and his mama Jess.

Milo checking out Kate or Kate checking out Milo, not sure which…

Frogs…one in a flower, the other one on the window, picture taken from inside!  Sure sign of summer!

Milo playing in his pool…

Happy dog!

And this is me after I finished a taped interview with Paul Pepper along with the MD I work with.  Not my thing, but it wasn’t too bad!

Placemat Pillow

I was at Pier 1 eyeing these cool metal stools…

They are lightweight yet sturdy…and come in black and avocado green.

Then I saw these blue/green dishes…

And then I saw these turquoise striped placemats. So, I made this great pillow from two of the placemats.

I sewed along the previous stitching and just left the outside edges unattached.  I used a travel pillow I found at a yard sale still in the package for $1, it fit perfectly!

It’s soft and cushy and the perfect size!

Milo sat on it and smiled, so I guess he loves it as much as I do!

I am linking to these great parties!