I’ve been wanting a pretty wreath for my front door, but the prices are often dauntingly high. There’s also the problem that I’m not a huge fan of fake flowers. They so often scream tacky/funeral arrangement/old lady with plastic furniture covers, at least to me. I have flashbacks to a house I used to pass on my way to school. It was two doors down from a graveyard…and every inch of available space was “planted” with fake plastic flowers still clinging to the grave dirt they’d very obviously been plucked from. So maybe I just have stolen zombie grave flower PTSD.

Anyway! The best remedy, as always, seems to be making my own. I decided my first wreath should be based on one of my favorite flowers- the ranunculus. Perhaps a strangely named, old-fashioned choice but they are quite beautiful.

Materials needed:

• 18″ wire wreath form
• Glue gun and sticks
• Small bird nest
• Paper mache egg
• Acrylic paints: Dark pink, light pink, golden yellow
• Paintbrushes
• Green floral tape
• Light pink tulle
• An assortment of large silk ranunculus blooms, smaller blooms and accent flowers
• Scissors

The supplies you find will likely not be exactly the same. I’m all about using or reusing what you have on hand so feel free to improvise. The main thing is to make something you find appealing and to have fun doing so! First I took three of the ranunculus blooms with stems still attached and wove them through the wire wreath form at about even intervals. These will be your anchor flowers. I left the wider space open on one side because I knew my bow would go there.

Next I removed the rest of my blooms and leaves from their stems. I laid my wreath form flat and began placing leaves and blooms around the form, playing with placement until everything looked balanced. In the picture below, nothing is attached. At this stage you are merely deciding where everything will go.

Now you can begin attaching items. Use the green floral tape and wrap securely. Start with background items like leaves, then move on to your smaller filler flowers. Your large blooms should be attached last. Carefully use your glue gun to adhere the blooms, nestling them in securely among the leaves. Remove any strings of glue. Give the wreath a few gentle shakes to make sure nothing needs extra securing.

To paint the egg, I first gave it an over-all coat with the light pink. After drying I decided to do a textured look to make it more interesting. Pour small amounts of all three of your paint colors onto a palette or small dish. Using a swirling, stabbing motion and a medium sized brush, alternately apply each of the colors.

Let the egg dry. Glue it securely into the nest. Cut a few yards of your pink tulle and form it into a bow. Glue the bow onto your wreath. Glue the nest directly on top of the bow.

As promised, today I’m bringing you instructions for how to make your own patriotic USA pillow as featured in my Fabulous Fourth Table Setting. This is a quick and simple project, you could easily make several to toss around as accents at your 4th of July festivities.

I used a plain denim tote bag as my inspiration for this project. Between contests and shopping, I seem to have about a million tote bags lying around- far more than I could ever use. I thought “Ah-ha!” What an easy way to save sewing time and use up a plentiful resource by turning something I don’t really need into something useful and pretty!

Supplies:

One lightweight denim 13″x 13″ tote bag
Lightweight red canvas fabric
About 2 ft of 1-1/2″ wide dark blue satin ribbon
Sheet of flocked white 1-1/2″ high iron-on block letters
One 1-1/2 inch dark blue iron-on star and two 1-inch dark blue iron-on stars
Two 1-inch red buttons
Fiberfill stuffing
Dark blue and red thread
Sewing machine (optional)
Hand sewing needle
Scissors
Iron
Straight pins
Tape measure

Instructions:

1. Begin by carefully cutting the handles off of your tote bag. Discard them or save them for another project.  Measure and cut a 12″ x 12″ square of red canvas fabric. Choose a side of the tote bag to be the front of your pillow. On this side, center the red canvas square on top of your denim tote bag. Temporarily pin in the center to hold it in place as you work. Carefully fold each  raw edge of the red canvas under 1/2″, pinning as you go. Make sure the pins are only going through the canvas and the top layer of your tote bag. You will need to open the bag later to sew.

2. Cut two 12″ lengths  of blue satin ribbon.  Lay one length of ribbon horizontally  across red canvas square, 1-1/4″ up from the bottom of the canvas.  Carefully pin the ribbon in place, once again making sure the pins only go through the top layer of denim tote. Fold 1/2″ of ribbon under the canvas on each side and pin. Repeat this process with your second length of ribbon, measuring 1-14″ up from the top of the first ribbon. laying the second ribbon horizontally and pinning in place to form your stripes.

3. Using a straight stitch, 1/8″ from outer edge, topstitch with red thread all around the canvas square, removing pins as you go. I chose to use red thread for the ribbons too, because I liked the contrast, but you can switch to blue if you prefer. Stitch the ribbons into place, removing pins as you sew.

4. Press entire front of tote with warm iron. Cut excess backing paper away from your letters and position them on the top left side of your red canvas square. Follow package instructions to heat transfer your letters onto the fabric, making sure to let paper cool completely before removing.

5. Repeat process with the stars, positioning them to the top right of your canvas square and following package instructions to attach them to your pillow.

6. Stuff the tote firmly- but not until it’s overstuffed -with fiberfill. Now use a whipstich or invisible stitch to close the top of your pillow. Sew one red button at each top corner.

Options: For a no-sew pillow, you could use fusible webbing and an iron to secure your fabric layers.

I’m so excited to bring you this giveaway! What a fun prize for parents, caregivers and homeschoolers. The summer seems like a perfect time to explore everything Peekapak has to offer!

This is a companion craft that can be made along with my Carrot Candy Cone & Easter Puppets. You’re really just making an enlarged version of the bunny head puppet. This is a quick and easy project for kids of all ages, and the place holders make a cute addition to any Easter table! If you need any help or clarification, please feel free to ask.

Skill level: Easy/Beginner

Supplies:

White light-weight cardstock
Pencil
Scissors
Fine-point black Sharpie pen
Acrylic paint: I used DecoArt Americana in Electric Pink and Avocado
Pink micro-glitter
Pink ribbon
Paintbrush
Popsicle sticks or small twigs
Tape

Instructions:

1.Print out the bunny head template below. You can either print as many as you’ll need directly onto the cardstock or you can print one sample bunny and trace it onto cardstock with your pencil. You can adjust the print-out to any size you’d like.

2. Cut out each bunny head. I chose to cut slightly outside of the outlines for a more defined look. Trace over the printed or pencil-traced features of the bunny with your Sharpie to give them a crisp, clean look. Along the outer curve of each ear, write the name of one of your guests.

3. Paint the inner ears, nose, mouth and eyelids pink. I also made a heart by each guest name and painted them pink. Apply glitter while paint is still wet, tapping excess off onto a piece of scrap paper. Let dry.

4. Paint the sticks green and let dry.

5. Tape sticks securely on backs of bunny heads, about two inches from one end of each stick. Cut lengths of ribbon and tie onto sticks directly below bunny heads, making each one into a bow.

Variations: You could also enlarge the chicks template from the puppet project to make chick place holders. You could use the same pattern to make a paper garland of bunnies or chicks!

All instructions, patterns and photos © Jenna Osborne. You have permission to print this project for personal or classroom use only. I would love to see your completed projects!

This fun and easy painting craft for Easter has many possibilities! Even preschoolers should be able to help with the painting, while older kids can accomplish this project on their own. The puppets can be used just for decoration, or to tell a cute Easter story. You can use Popsicle sticks or small twigs for the puppet sticks. I recycled those reed diffuser sticks that come with bottles of air freshener oil! You could also just make the carrot cones by themselves to hold sweet treats. If you have any questions or need clarification, don’t be shy- just ask!

Skill level: Easy/beginner

Supplies:

White lightweight cardstock
Scissors
Pencil
Black fine-point Sharpie pen
Sticks or twigs
Acrylic paint- I used DecoArt Americana Electric Pink, Avocado, Bright Orange, Bright Yellow, and Royal Fuchsia
Paintbrushes
Orange microglitter
Green ribbon
Tape
Glue
Hole punch
Tissue paper and candy (optional)

Instructions:

1. Take an 8×11 piece of cardstock and roll it into a cone. Glue or tape the exposed edge into place. Trim off the excess paper so the top is rounded.

2. Paint entire outside and a few inches from the top of the inside of the cone orange. While still wet, sprinkle all over with orange glitter, tapping off excess onto a piece of scrap paper. Let dry.

3. Print out the bunny and chick templates below. You can either print them directly onto cardstock or print one example on regular paper and then trace them onto cardstock. Print or trace as many of each as you’d like to make.  You can adjust the size of the printout to suit you. You can also cut out oval shapes for eggs.

4. Cut out each character. I chose to cut slightly outside of the outlines for a more defined look. Trace over the printed or pencil-traced features of the bunny with your Sharpie to give them a crisp, clean look.

5. Paint the inner ears, nose, eyelids and mouth of the bunny pink. Paint the chick yellow and the feet and beak orange. Paint the eggs any way you’d like. I used fuchsia, pink and yellow. Let dry.

6. Paint sticks green and let dry.

7. Tape sticks securely on backs of each character, about two inches from one end of each stick.

8. Use holepunch to put a hole in each side of the carrot cone, about two inches down from the top. Thread one end of ribbon through each hole, leaving plenty of ribbon in the center for a carrying strap. Knot the ribbon on both sides, leaving short tails and trim off any excess.

9. Stuff the carrots with tissue paper and candy, then arrange the puppets so they fan out from the top and the green sticks resemble the top of a carrot.

All instructions, patterns and photos © Jenna Osborne. You have permission to print this project for personal or classroom use only. I would love to see your completed projects!