Happy Doilies

It seems like when it is the most inconvenient, I get the urge to craft. In this case, My hubby was working for 4 days in a row. It was just me and the kids for 4 whole days! Normally my mom would watch them at least one of those nights, but she had to work a ton too. My sis and I took the kids to the beach together which was tons of fun, but not really the ideal place to get crafty. Ha ha! Anyway, I managed to squeak out a craft that I think came out pretty cute. Wanna see??

O.k., I was debating between using white or beige linen-ish fabric. Ultimately I went with the beige. I cut my template out of card stock and got to work.

I traced my template on the fabric with pencil and used pinking shears to cut them out to eliminate fraying.

After my fabric pieces were cut, I gathered up my other supplies (iron, black fabric paint, foam brush, and paper doilies)

First step was to iron each piece so they were smooth.

Next, I folded down about an inch on the top and ironed it flat.

Now it was time to experiment with the paint. I have never done this before so I had no idea how it would turn out. I experimented with the placement of the doilies until I found out which placement I liked best. You just place the doily on the fabric, and dab on the paint using the foam brush. I also did a bit of paint outside the edge of the doily to get that cute lacey edge.





I let them sit over night and thought hard about what word I wanted my doilies to say. I plan on using this in my living room on my mantel so I wanted it to be meaningful. Hmmmmmmm. The next night (after the kids were in bed), round 2 of painting began.....while watching none other than Bachelor Pad. Awesome! I can feel my brain rotting as I watch it, but I don't care. I'm hooked!!!

As some of you know, I have recently started my adventures with sewing. Seriously people! Sewing.is.HARD!
Rebecca, if you are reading this, why does the backside of my fabric look like this?????????????

I originally wanted a red zig zag stitch across the top. I realized that I wanted to make sure I was sewing straight along the tab that I ironed flat so that I would have room to thread my twine through the top. Because of that, I decided to go with a straight stitch so I could sew it upside down. NOT!! (could you hear Wayne and Garth as I said that?). WHY DOES THE BACK SIDE OF MY STRAIGHT STITCH LOOK LIKE THAT??? WHY??? Arrrrrrg. Again, Sewing.is.HARD!

Plan B??? Hand stitch a running stitch with embroidery thread. Not my first vision, but I think it turned out alright. See!!

Here's a close-up for ya...

And the big picture :)

Cute?? Cute!!

When Josh works for multiple days in a row, I have a tendency to lose my patience with the kids a lot easier. I wanted this little bunting to remind me to be happy and really cherish the fact that my kids are happy, healthy, and full of energy. I know sometimes the 8 million questions Noah asks in a 20 minute period can seem exhausting. However, if I try to imagine what I might feel like if he wasn't able to ask them, my frustration instantly goes away. Perspective is the key. The key to being HAPPY! Every day is a gift and this bunting says it simply. HAPPY!