yarn Pom Pom flowers

I really enjoy decorating for the holidays. I do not however enjoy the price of holiday decor. This means that i use a lot of hand-me-down decorations or handmade items.  I was noticing , this year, as I was putting out me decorations that they are starting to not suite MY style. That’s when I decided to make these whimsical Lorax inspired “flowers”. They are so easy and quick and I kind of want to put them everywhere.

Here is what you need:

*yarn (red)

*sparkly pipe cleaners (green)

*scissors

Here is what you will do: 

1. There is not a picture of this, but cut one piece of yarn about 8 inches long for tying your pom pom. Then hold one end of your longer yarn with your thumb and begin wrapping it around your pointer and middle fingers until you have a nice “forkful of  spaghetti”

2. This is your “forkful of spaghetti”

3.Take the 8″ piece of yarn you cut and stick it through your two fingers and back around the other side and tie a loop in the middle of your “spaghetti”

4.Place one of your pipe cleaners about an inch into your middle string. Pull tight and tie a knot.

5.Fold down the end of your pipe cleaner and wrap it around itself tightly.

6. Cut your loops so that it forms a shaggy ball.

7. Trim your shaggy ball . The closer you get to the middle, the neater the ball will look. It is ok to leave it shaggy if you prefer that look. *hint- to trim all of the loose ends -fluff the ball in your palm a few times while trimming.

8. Voila! you have a fun little yarn pom pom flower! Now make more and stick them in vases all around your house!

We find all kinds of things buried in our yard and laying around the woods on our property. I guess it comes with owning a house that is almost a century old.  But I’m not complaining. I love the excitement of finding old items and figuring our ways to display them around the house and yard. This spring I found an old skate . It’s pretty small, so it probably belonged to a child. For some reason , I instantly found myself forming an attachment to it and thought ” This will make a very interesting planter.” I mean, what else would one do with an old found skate?? I planted some ice plant in it, because they grow well on walls and are very drought tolerant. I think it’s quite lovely.

Oh, how I adore a good bargain! I stumbled upon these little beautiful planter pots yesterday at the Dollar Tree(where everything is $1)  while out shopping with my mom. We were both really excited. They go with the decor of both of our homes perfectly. (and there where only 6 left on the shelf , so we each bought 3)  They are made by Better Homes and Gardens and similar pots were selling for about $7 in other stores.

I bought ties at the thrift store for $1 each. You can usually find the tag that says what they are made of inside of the small end of the tie. Make sure they are 100% silk or All Silk.

Cut pieces large enough to cover the eggs. Wrap the eggs as tight as you can with the bright side of the fabric on the inside, touching the egg. Use a twist tie to secure the fabric, then repeat the process with a lightweight whitish fabric. I used an old pillow case.

Once all of your eggs are covered, place in a pot and cover with water and about 1/4 cup vinegar. Bring to a boil and cook for about 20 minutes. Remove the eggs, let cool BEFORE you unwrap them.

I gathered my family around the table  so we could all see the results. They weren’t at my house when my husband and I wrapped them so their curiosity made it even more exciting!  This is definitely a project I will do again! 

Our gate space was bigger so it is a double and I don’t have those     amazing flowers growing over it .. YET!… and the hardware is what what we had laying around , so it is temporary. But i am just as in love with the one  in my yard , or maybe more in love with it, because it was made especially for me.    

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Once again, my husband has impressed me with his abilities. To go along with the decor of the candle holders, he is also making these GORGEOUS cheese/ cutting boards. It all started when one of our land lords decided to ” prune”  a black walnut in the yard of the rental house( although, I’d say he did a little more than prune the poor tree). We noticed how truly amazing this wood was with the beautiful contrast of dark on light  and hated to see it go to waste, so we gathered what we could and let it “season” .Then we waited. When the wood was ready, he cut them , sanded them and treated them with 100% beeswax and mineral oil.  Now, he’s addicted to making them. And I am happy to admit that I am addicted to using them. Once again a job well done!

for more info, pricing,  or to order one, please contact us at  ohhellohandmade@gmail.com

My husband is super talented. He actually amazes me with all of the things he can do. I think he spoils me with it too. It  is very rare that we have to have someone else fix anything because he can fix almost everything! Also, he has a great sense of style which is apparent in the candle holders he has been making from our local black walnut trees. The wood is so beautiful and he coats in with mineral oil to bring out all the lovely natural details. You can snatch one of these up by contacting me through email …… ohhellohandmade@gmail.com . We will be posting more lovliness on our oh! hello….handmade facebook page. Don’t forget to like us, please!!!

Ingredients:

2 cans beans ( your choice, I often use kidney. even better, use organic)

2 eggs, beaten

a good pinch of sea salt

a good pinch of black pepper

dry oatmeal (about a cup )

1 cup fresh spinach

olive oil

what you will do:

1.preheat oven to 375

2. drain and rinse beans

3. mash beans… you can do this by hand, or in a food processor. If using a food processor, add a little olive oil and a splash of water to help out!

4. Mix remaining ingredients together with the beans. The mixture should be wet, but not runny. If it seems too wet, add more oatmeal.

5. Now , here is the messy part! Using your hands make patties … the size is really a personal preference, but thinner patties cook faster and stay together better…..

6. Place patties on cookie sheet and lightly coat the top with olive oil. sprinkle lightly with sea salt

7. Place patties in oven. Cooking time will vary , depending on the patty size, but for me it is about 45 minutes. When the patties begin to look crisp on the outside, carefully flip over and coat the other side with olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt, place back in oven until crisp.

Ta-da! you just made veggie burgers!!!  Now you can add other ingredients to the mix!

suggestions and some of my favorites:

diced mushrooms, feta cheese, garlic, fresh rosemary, onions, chopped black olives,  shredded carrots, water chestnuts….

We came up with a few ideas and changed our minds a few times… but we knew we wanted something kind of vintage and rustic looking. farmhouse style? maybe… Then I found this photo on Pinterest.com. TABLE INSPIRATION!!

After I decided that this was the perfect inspiration for what I wanted , I showed it to my husband who incorporated his ideas as well. He used some decorative table legs from an old table that we had  that was in the last of it’s life (but the legs are still very sturdy!)  He beat up some wood that we bought brand new at the hardware store to make it look old, and attached all of it together. Then handed it over to me so I could paint it. I blended two of the colors that i had used on the walls in the house ( a skyish blue and a light pine tree color) and came up with what is now my most favorite shade of aqua/ teal. It has a very vintage/European feel to it. Here is the final project ( well, almost final. I think I have decided that I want to varnish the top)