Today I'm the guest blogger at Rachel Denbow's Smile and Wave.

Want to learn how to turn all of these things into a super fun holiday wreath?  Head on over, say hello, and be sure to link up some of your favorite wreath inspiration!

Edited on 7/15/2011 to add details below:

Supplies:
– 1 knit sweater or Tshirt (I used a waffle striped T.)
– 1 wreath form (You can find junky old wreaths at the thrift store and strip them for your purposes.)
– A bunch of batting (I gutted an old ugly pillow I had.)
– Fabric flowers, buttons, or anything pretty you have laying around the house

Tools:
– Pinking sheers
– Thread
– Needle

Step One:
Cut the arms and side off of the shirt so that you have two even strips of fabric.  One from the front, and one from the back of the shirt.  The width of your strips will depend on how fat you want your wreath to be in the end.

Step Two:
Stitch your fabric together at the ends so that it is one long strip.  I found that one shirt was long enough to wrap an entire wreath after the length was doubled by stitching the two lengths together.  The nice thing about knit fabric is that it will stretch.  This helps limit the lumpiness of the wreath in the end.

Step Three:
Surround a small portion of your foam wreath form with batting.  Then, begin stitching the fabric closed around the batting and the foam.  This is a long and tedious process, but it's worth the effort!

As you continue along the wreath, add more stuffing to the areas that have been stitched.  The more stuffing you add, the less lumpy your wreath will be.

Step Four:
When you come to the end of the wreath, close the ends the same way you closed the entire length of the fabric.  But be sure to leave an opening long enough to add the last bit of stuffing to even out the wreath. Then, when you're done stuffing it, completely close opening.

If your hands are anything like mine, your fingers will be a bit soar by this point!  But you still have work to do.  Your wreath is probably very lumpy.  But it's okay, because the next few minutes or so will be spent massaging the lumps out of the wreath.  It helps to have knit fabric that will move about with your fingers so you can maneuver the batting more easily.

Step Five:
Now delve into your collection of pretty things and stitch or glue them onto your finished plush wreath.  I actually didn't stitch or glue my items.  I used straight pins, so that I can easily remove them and repurpose everything after the season is over. 

Step Six:
Use leftover fabric or a piece of ribbon to hang your wreath.  You can use any method to attach it to the back of your wreath:  stitching, staples, pins? whatever holds it in place.  Unless you're hanging the wreath on a glass door, nobody will see the back.  Once it's hung, massage the last few lumps from the wreath, and step back to enjoy what you've created!

This is the first time I've ever made a plush wreath. During this process, I discovered a few things I will do differently next time.
Next time I will cut the knit fabric a bit smaller than it needs to be.  When it stretches out, I think it will help smooth out the lumps.  The second thing I will do differently is before wrapping the batting and fabric around the wreath, I will sew a loose stitch along the length of the fabric.  Then, after the wreath is wrapped, I will pull the threads of the loose stitch to gather the center of the wreath.  I think this will accomplish a more even gathering of the stripes at the center, and a more tailored look to the entire wreath.

This wreath was definitely a learning experience for me, and I hope you've been inspired by the process!  If you've made any holiday wreaths recently, be sure to link them up in the comments section so that all of us can see!

They are swell to make. And even more so to look at! I have just decided that mobiles should become a seasonal decoration in my home. Does anyone else think it is just absolutely depressing to take down Christmas decorations? The house always looks so bare. This year, I decided to keep up some wintery decorations, and even make a few just for fun! This mobile I made was for the latest prompt at The Art is Found. Patty asked me to do a craft tutorial for her blog, so, I’ll share with you an easy little tutorial on how to make your own snowflake mobile in a frame.

All you need to complete this project is an empty frame, some colorful magazine clippings (which I always have on hand, stored in a manilla envelope), twine (or ribbon, string, or fishing wire), tape (any kind will do!), and scissors.

I picked out some of the most graphic and colorful pieces from my magazine clippings stash, and cut them into circular shapes. If I didn’t like the back of a page, I glued it together with a page I did like. Then, I simply folded the circular cut-out a few times so that I could cut designs into it, just like when I was a kid and made paper snowflakes at school.

I cut each snowflake into different sizes and patterns, to add some variety. I gotta admit, it’s kind of thrilling unfolding the paper to see what shape you will find! :)

After making several paper snowflakes (the number depending on the size of the snowflakes and your frame) I tied them onto strings of twine, sometimes two snowflakes to a string.

Next, I flipped over my frame and began to decide where to put each string of snowflakes, and how long each one should hang. There’s definitely no science to this, just pick something and go with it! Then I taped the strings to the top of the back of the frame, so that when winter is over, I can use the frame for something else.

I love the simplicity of this project, how easy it is to use scraps that you can find around the house, and the limitless possibilities. I placed my frame by a window, because I like the way the light filters through the snowflakes. To bad the breeze is so cold this time of year, or it might be nice to see them flutter around! :)

New post at The Art is Found! And here’s what I did.

Since we’re in a new house this year, it’s been taking me a while to figure out solutions for holiday decorations. By the time I’m done with everything, Christmas will be over! But it’s okay, because I love the process. One of the issues with the new house, is that traditionally, the stockings would be hung on the mantel… except we have no mantel! So, I decided to find a solution that would be a bit modern, and a bit quirky. I’m not even sure how my progression of thoughts turned into this. But here we have it! Our stocking tree!

I applied wood grain contact paper to a sheet of posterboard. Then, I drew out the outline of the tree and cut it out. To apply it to the wall, I used rubber cement. It dries quickly (but I secured it with painters tape while it dried) and peels off easily. After Christmas, I will take down the stockings, and leave the wall decal for part of my winter decorating. When it comes time to take down the decal for Spring, the rubber cement rubs right off and leaves no residue. It’s amazing, really. I use it for everything….

I also made the stockings. No, I didn’t knit them. I just went to the thrift store and bought some sweaters I liked. Cut them up. And made these! :) The stocking tree is one of the few decorating choices I’ve made that I think looks a lot better in person. It’s so hard to get photos of our front door because there is only a few feet in between that wall and the other wall. It’s our entry area, and on the wall across from the front door is our Christmas tree. I figured, that way, Santa will be able to easily spot the stockings. :)

Which… I’ve been wanting to share my feelings of Santa and Christmas. I think I will save that for another post.

Because I also wanted to share with you something I did with the scraps from the posterboard.

I always wanted to decorate the panels on the old doors in our house… so I thought little leaf-less trees would be perfect for this time of year! I think they look really sweet.

So there’s a few ideas for ya! I think it’s so easy to make wall decals… I don’t know why I’ve never done it before!