Craft and Garden Update

I've had a crafty few weeks. Here are some things I've made!

Because I seem to need front-door decor for every month of the year, I made this cute semi-patriotic wreath based on this tutorial. The wreath in the original post is burlap wrapped around a foam or straw core. However, on the day I made this, I didn't have time to go to multiple stores. So you're looking at a twig wreath form wrapped in burlap-look upholstery fabric from the Garden Ridge $1.50 remnant bin. I wrapped it around and secured it with hot glue. It's not as picture-perfect as the original, but it works for me!

If you just want to learn how to make the felt hydrangeas, that tutorial is here. Felt flowers have become my go-to. They aren't trying (and failing) to look like real flowers, and they're cute, cheap, and easy to make.

Since I got my sewing machine, most of my projects have proceeded as follows:

- Pin a bunch of tutorials for what I want to make
- Settle on one; buy and prepare supplies
- Read tutorial thoroughly and discover that it's too confusing or labor-intensive; try another
- Repeat several times
- Panic because I don't have adequate supplies for other tutorials
- Finally, choose whatever I can understand that won't require me to go back to the store

Making a new table runner for the console table in my living room was no different. I had pictured something more complicated, with a border, but ended up using this Simple Table Runner Tutorial from Cloud 9 Fabrics. It's a clean, basic reversible design – all you have to do is sew with wrong sides together, pull right side out, and topstitch it. Very manageable! Even so, it took me at least two hours to create this large rectangle. I'm ready for my McCall's Sewer of the Year award now.

My old table runner was brown, and too dark once I got hardwood floors. So it makes me happy to see this cheery design. The fabric is from the outdoor section at Hancock. I topstitched with blue thread to make it more interesting.

Finally, here are my tomatoes after TWO WEEKS:

Again: TWO WEEKS. I even checked the calendar to make sure it hadn't been longer since planting day… and it was a late planting at that. Wholly Cow indeed!! The tomatoes aren't the only plants taking off. I can practically see the cucumber vines growing, and something has shot up next to them that's not a cucumber. Possibly one of my watermelons from last year! It's all very exciting… for me and my dad.  :)  Looks like I need to learn to can for real!

My battle with birdseed-thieving squirrels has been well documented on this blog. Yesterday my dad provided me with a new weapon that may end the backyard war forever:

This feeder is weight calibrated for birds, so if squirrels land on the ledge, it closes. It has a secure top that even my dexterous local squirrels can't take off. I should have gotten one of these years ago, instead of spending literally hundreds of dollars (over time) on birdseed that never made it to the birds. Victory! (I hope.)