More doorhangers!

I am particularly proud of the cupcake - it was made just in time for a special birthday at our house. 

There is a technique to making these:
1. Make them outside! Burlap is soooo messy.
2. Acrylic paint is the way to go; buy more than you think you need.
3. Think about your shape.  The flower got tricky because it was a lot harder to cut out. (There's a pretty big error on one of the flower petals; you can see it if you are looking.  Oh well.)  The cupcake was the easiest shape I've made yet.

King Derwin

I'm so grateful when small things come together.  When a good idea comes and it does not involve a trip to the Walmarts for supplies. 

Little Pickelo is to dress up as his favorite storybook character tomorrow for school.  Totally NOT a big deal (they're only 4).  But these things mean a lot to me and I try to make them into fun, interactive experiences.  And helloooo, I am a librarian! So this is serious!  It was decided last week that Calvin would be King Derwin, of the Kingdom of Didd {The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins by Dr. Seuss}.

I tossed a few ideas around that would be low maintenance, but nothing stuck, and we don't have dress up clothes for a King anywhere.  Then today, while unpacking a box at work, I came upon some stiff but flexible white cardboard.  Took that home.  On the way home I thought about my fabrics and the idea came to simple cut a neck hole in a piece folded over and make a King's Robe, of sorts.

It took 5 minutes to make and I'm quite pleased with my little King Derwin.  A great deal of fun was had decorating the crown.  We talked about patterns and how good hot glue smells, and we decked it out! A crafter after my own heart.

Burlap Door Hanger, part duex

My burlap door hanger skills have evolved!  {see the original Valentine door hanger here.} As it turns out, spray paint is not the best mechanism for painting your burlap.  Plain ol' acrylic paint is far better and gets you a sturdier, thicker, better end result.

• Cut whatever shape you want out of burlap.
• Paint the burlap with whatever details needed. Do you want to paint the back a solid color?  Totally up to you. Since my front door is glass, I typically do one or two quick coats on the back of my design.  If I had a wood door with no glass, I wouldn't be going to such trouble.
• Cut some wire and arch it so that you have that ready for the "hanger" part.
• After all paint is dry, stuff your design with plastic grocery bags and glue your design shut as you stuff.  I recommend doing this outside since hot glue can get everywhere and burlap dust can also get everywhere. Don't overstuff - it doesn't need to be too bulgy.
• Go slowly around your whole object and make sure you are glueing each seam nicely.
• At the top of your object, put some extra glue on there for the wire and then glue shut. 

Be careful of ears.  Like those bunny ears you see there?  Well, they ended up being a bit too top heavy for my sweet bunny.  This maybe could have been fixed with internal wires, but I think they are too tall to stand up on their own.  You can't see this, but I strung some fishing line through the tops of those ears and it is taped, ever so discreetly, to the top of my door frame. 

Next up on the burlap door hanger list?  A cupcake, for sure, for birthdays.  But other things, I cannot even say!  It is going to be so adorable you might fall out of your chair.