she said YES! ~ DIY Engagement Keepsake Ornaments

Come to find out, there would be more mini face mask ornaments in the works after Christmas. This time though, they would be extra special keepsake ornaments.  

After an exciting Christmas Day engagement announcement I decided to make one more 4" face mask ornament to mark the occasion. Instead of using Christmas fabric I chose snow motif fabrics from my stash and metallic elastic for the ear bands. Of course it needed to include the date of the proposal so that was added. Once the mask was assembled I decided to finish it off with a little bling and attached a party favor ring and snowflake charm to the elastic ear band with a jumper ring. Mission accomplished. Well, not quite. Another idea came to mind. 

The thought of wedding motif fabric danced in my head and that started a flurry of ideas and combinations. I was not sure if any of it would work however once I played around with it I found a few perfect prints. Of course it was more fun to make them all rather than decide on one, so 4 it was. 

They even include the sweet little filter pocket, with more snowflakes of course. 

So, that's a wrap for the 2020 mini face mask ornaments.

{ But never say never! } 

Happy Thursday!

DIY 2020 Christmas Ornaments: part 2

More fun Christmas ornaments. This has been a memorable year for many reasons and I have been sewing and creating Christmas tree ornaments to mark the occasions.

Most of the ornaments I have made have been 4" face masks. 

All but a few have included a cute little contrasting filter pocket as well.

About halfway through making all the mini face masks it occurred to me to add the date. I tried to buy dated ribbon however it was sold out so I made my own and attached some as a tag and others as a label.

Sometimes I made iron~on messages and included the date. This pleated face mask was very quick and easy.

The ear bands on the tiny masks are made out of elastic, ribbon, cording, or whatever I could find in my stash and matched the best.

The goal was to use what I had on hand which was a great challenge and ...

... I used up a lot of scraps.

Around this point I thought I was finished making ornaments for 2020 but the unexpected happened and I just had to make a few more crafty things to mark the occasion. Those will be coming soon!

Happy Wednesday!

DIY Birthday Card ~ with face mask

The theme for our Christmas tree this year was Covid Christmas and I made a lot of festive Christmas Face Masks , both regular size and mini,  which we hung on our tree. Then I decided to change gears and make a birthday card, which included a mask of course. 

It took a few tries to get the all the parts cut the right size and shape. Once I figured out how big I wanted the yellow circle for the Smily face I drew the mask and cut it out which formed the circle on the front of the card. 

The circle on the inside is just slightly larger and centered below the mask.  The faces were drawn on and then I added the fun embellishments. The card was finished and ready to go however we still needed a dessert and what better than fresh baked chocolate cupcakes.

As always, I like to make two of the same card while I am at it. 

The extra card can be given away and/or used as a template so that I do not have to start all over and recreate all the parts if I want to make another one. Simple and fun! 

Happy Tuesday!!

DIY 2020 Christmas Ornaments: part 1

This year we decided to order our Christmas tree online and have it delivered. We usually put up two fresh trees but of course this year is different than all others so we decided to go the “no contact” route and have an artificial Christmas tree delivered. It was not quite as easy as I had imagined due to website issues but with Miss E’s help it was here within an hour. We wasted no time putting it up, which was quick as a wink, and just as fast we realized that it was really too small for the space, however, we ended up keeping it. It took me a few days to come to terms with  our new “little” Christmas tree, as usually they are too big, but then I got an idea. I decided the tree needed a theme and what better suited for 2020 than a COVID Christmas Tree.

I had some extra face masks as well as my new Christmas faces masks so I hung those on the tree for fun but I was still a little unsure about the theme. Over the next few days the family warmed up to my idea which was somewhat of a surprise. That was about the time I was beginning to think the masks seemed a bit big and that there really weren’t enough to decorate the tree so I needed something else, but what? That’s when it occurred to me to try making mini face mask ornaments.

After making the first one I was hooked.  

They even have filter pockets!

Each one is only 4 inches long so they are truly itty bitty. 

It has been a fun way to use up those small scraps that really should have been thrown away but kept because you never know what great little project might come along that needs just a little piece of fabric.

Flannel worked great too. 

Not all prints worked, however, because the motif obviously had to be quite small to fit. 

This is just the beginning of my DIY Covid Christmas Ornament project. There are more mini face masks as well as some other new ornaments so I will be back soon to share what else I have been working on. 

Happy Monday!

Hand SANTA~tizer

So much to share, so little time. That is how it has been recently. The days seem to be flying by however I have been working on a few fun Christmas projects and found a little time to dress up our hand sanitizer. 

This simple hand sanitizer cover was made from supplies in my stash. It is sewn together in the back and slides on so it can be saved and reused. I could not find anything to use as a belt buckle so I made one from sparkly gold card stock and used black satin ribbon for the belt. The lace and ribbon are all sewn on the felt and the two buttons were attached with hot glue. Next I made a little tag which I tied on with red and white string. That’s it. Hopefully it will get everyone’s attention so they will remember to SANTA~tize!

Happy Saturday!

*new* Christmas Face Masks

'Tis the season for some festive face masks.

Thanksgiving weekend I made Miss E a fun Christmas face mask to take home and wear during the holiday season. Then, a few days later, I made myself one just like it although there was only enough fabric left with the candy cane border for one side on my mask. That is okay though because then we will be able to tell them apart if she brings hers when she comes to visit. 

The Holly Face Masks were so festive I decided to make a few more Christmas masks just for fun. 

You can never have too many face masks these days. 

It is also handy to keep an extra in the car.

Of course there is always one in my purse and 

another near the front door. 

DIY Christmas Face Masks to spread the joy but not the germs! 

Happy Thursday!

Removing Hard Water Window Spots in December

Deep cleaning before Easter and Thanksgiving is a bi~yearly routine here and windows are on the master list of chores, however, I usually do not fuss with the hard to remove exterior window stains in the late fall because it is usually wet and cold outside although last weekend was beautiful.

Instead of going out though to enjoy the sunny day I was busy inside putting away the last of the Thanksgiving dishes and decorations and setting up for Christmas. While I was in the dining room I noticed the sunlight coming in the window which naturally extenuated the water spots that had built up over the summer.  You might say I had a "squirrel" moment because from that point on I was completely distracted and off task. In fact, I was obsessed with washing the stains off the windows. 

Since I have never been able to completely remove the spots from the exterior of our windows on the back side of the house I decided to try something new.  This time I used a combination of Dawn dish soap, vinegar and a little lemon juice. 

Once it was mixed I put it in a spray bottle and thoroughly covered the windows with the solution. Then I let it sit for several minutes. 

Next I took a sponge with a soft scrubber on one side and gave the windows a good scrubbing. Once they felt smooth I used a hose to rinse them off  and a squeegee to remove the excess water.

The results were great and most of the stains are gone as you can see, at least for now. The rain will be back by tomorrow but it was so nice to have the sun shining through clean windows for a couple days.

Happy Monday!

Christmas Doodles

Have a Wonderful Sunday!

DIY bathroom fixer upper: Part 2

Two months ago we began a fixer upper project in the "kids" bathroom, which is really just a spare bathroom now that we are empty nesters but I still like to call it the kids bathroom. It began with new paint on the walls and an updated cabinet. Those two things really helped to give it a fresh new look however there were a couple more items on the to~do list which were put on the back burner until we had more free time. Two weeks later we found out we were having an overnight VIP guest { Miss E was coming } so the hubs got started right away on the new tub and shower faucets. What seemed like a straight forward installation though turned out to be a bit more work than expected. 

It actually turned into a plumbing project which required access to the water pipes. 

Naturally, to get to the pipes required removing the built in cabinets and desk on the other side of the wall which happens to be our home office and is in use daily but there was no other option.

It was a little overwhelming to see it torn up like this, at least to me, but the hubs said it would be a "piece of cake" as he always does, and proceeded to replace the old pipes with the new. This of course required a torch for welding and that was a bit worrisome to watch.

Once the welds were tested to be sure there were no leaks he patched up the wall and put the cabinet and desk back in place just as if they had never been detached and moved at all. The new faucets worked great so it was onto the DIY shelves which were next on the list. This bathroom had never had any shelves because he made a built~in medicine cabinet on the opposite wall which worked well for extra storage. That has since been removed because we decided it was time to do something different and put up shelves instead.

We agreed on industrial style shelving and determined that it was less expensive to make them so that is exactly what he did since this is only going to be a short term update. 

These shelves took minimal supplies and were fairly quick to make. 

The board was cut into two shelves, then sanded and stained. Once the right color was achieved he applied the varnish. After several hours they were ready to hang.

The DIY Bathroom Fixer Upper project is pretty much finished although I still need to figure out what I want to put on the shelves. I have not found quite what I am looking for however the bathroom is now ready for use. 

Happy Saturday!