FUN on a Friday Afternoon ~ Making a Hat on National Hat Day!

Happy Friday Everyone!

Inspiration is spontaneous FUN!

Let's make a hat on National Hat Day!

Life is full of surprises!

I just bought a new skein of my favorite yarn without even knowing what today was! :)

Universal Yarn - Classic Shades - #743 Oasis

My parakeet Jimmie was all too happy to help me!

I used my favorite Fun & Easy Hat Pattern that you can try too!

Ta Da!

I just love how it turned out!

What a FUN way to end the day and start the weekend!

Have a super weekend everyone!

xoxoxo

Melissa, Archie & Jimmie

2015 ~ Wool Pug Fabric Collage #1

Happy Monday everyone!

I am so excited!

Spring has sprung and it is time to create new things!

I am pulling new projects to create.

They have been happily waiting in the wings all Winter, and now it is time to make them come to life!

This is my first of many Wool Pug Fabric Collage wall hangings that I have planned to make for my home!

If you remember, I made 4 last year that I hung in my kitchen and upstairs hallway...

2014 Fabric Pug Collages

Wool Pug Collage #1

Wool Pug Collage #2

Wool Pug Collage #3

Wool Pug Collage #4


This year I plan to make 6 more!

They are so FUN & easy and just crack me up with a big smile every time I look at them! :)

They combine all my favorite things...

Pugs
Wool Scraps
Collage
Vintage Placemats
and
Upcycling craft materials!

See how to make them too on this post we made for you to easily join in on the FUN. :)

They are so FUN & fast to make that you will have a work of art completed from one of your favorite pet photographs or drawings in no time at all!

The first 4 this year will all hang in our bedroom and then I will make 2 more for the Pug Cave!

At this rate, I will have one in every room of the house! :)

I took lots of photos to show you how he just popped to life with a few puggy shapes cut out of different scraps of felted wool, a vintage placemat and some glue!

Ta Da!

He is all done!

I just love how he turned out!

I will show you the others as I finish them, and then I will show you all of them hanging together as a set!


Please don't forget to see how to make them too on this post we made for you to easily join in on the FUN. :)

xoxoxo

Melissa & R-Chee

The Brave Heart ~ Our "Here HO" on a Snowy Day!

Happy Monday everyone!

Look who popped in to say "Hello" to all of us on our snowy weekend!

Meet Leo the Lion

~ our Hero ~ "Here HO"! :)

While a foot of snow falls outside and you are cooped up inside... 

What can you do for FUN?

Just pull out an advertising postcard out of the junk mail recycle pile, some gesso, crayola watercolor paints and some crayons!

Then create a background to play on by...

First applying a coat of gesso to your postcard for texture, 

then a light watercolor wash comes next to make blobs to find shapes to trace that look like a something to you,

and then color it in with crayons, markers or your favorite medium of choice!

You cannot do it wrong!

Remember... we are playing and having FUN!

When making mine, I left some of the postcard color and letters peek through to add to the design to play with and found letters to trace that said "HERO" to me in the postcard's original message of "Here's How". :)

To finish the message I heard him say, I pulled out some magazines and cut out letters and heart shapes to glue on "Brave Heart" as a collage.

Voila!

A snowy day becomes an unplanned playday!

What a good reminder that even when your plans are changed for you ... you can always choose to have FUN!

xoxoxox

Melissa & R-Chee

Introducing ~ "The Bear Bummlies" ~ A NEW Line of Toys for all of your 2 and 4 Footed Kiddos!

Guess what I got for Valentine's Day?

My mom just made me her brand Newest FUN creation!

Introducing her new line of  Lovable stuffies...

"The Bear Bummlies"!

Each one is handmade with LOVE!

Each Bear Bummlie says I LOVE YOU from both the front and the back!

Each one is lovingly handmade by me with the help of my skilled assistant... R-Chee!

Bear Bummlies make the perfect buddy for any of your 2 or 4 footed kids!

Each one is special and one of a kind just like your little ones!

Say I LOVE YOU today with a Bear Bummlie!

Now available in my Etsy Shop!

Come and see each one!

They cannot wait to meet you!

xoxoxo

Melissa and R-Chee

Create Your Own Coloring Book ~ Find Art in Everything You See!

Happy Monday Everyone!

I had so much FUN with my wonderful friend Linda O'Neill the other day!

She invited me over for the afternoon to play in her studio and have some tea together. :)

It was so much FUN!

When I arrived, I found an amazing art table set up with paints, brushes, pens, colored pencils, crayons & two pieces of white paper sitting across from each other waiting for us to fill them with color!

How exciting!

Making art can sometimes be a bit intimidating especially when you do not have a set idea in your head of what you want to do.

A blank piece of paper can make you want to stop even before you start so the best way to cure that feeling is to make a line, glue on a torn piece of paper or splash some ink or paint on it! :)

All of a sudden a place to begin has sprung and another mark and then another just flows one after the other.

I thought finger painting sounded like a good place to start so I smeared some mustard colored paint on the paper and blotted it a bit to make a bit more texture on the surface.

After I left it to dry for a couple of minutes while we made our tea, I came back with a pencil and started finding little creatures in the blobs in front of me.

I traced the outlines of them and then pulled out some crayons and markers and colored them in!

Ta da!

All of these little creatures began to pop of the page in just a matter of minutes!

I greeted each one with a smile and a big Hello!

You can see the pencil outlines of the ones I still get to work on at home!

I just received my delivery from Dick Blick of new art supplies that Linda was kind enough to introduce me to!

I cannot wait to use them!

As a kid I always loved to do word searches and color and I still do!

I find them both to be super relaxing and rewarding and basically just make me feel good.

There is no pressure to create... 

The hidden words & pictures to color are all there to find and color in.

There are no rules and you do not even have to stay within the lines. :)

Try creating your own coloring book page by smearing paint on some paper, blotting some of it away to create more texture and then searching for shapes that make you smile.

What a wonderful way to spend the afternoon with a special friend! :)

Thank you Linda for a wonderful day!

Please let me know if you make a coloring book page for yourself.

I would LOVE to see what you create!

xoxoxoox

Melissa & R-Chee

Let's Play Tag with Teddy!

Happy Wednesday everyone!

I have been having FUN today with scraps of fleece, my sewing machine and a little fabric glue!

Meet Teddy the Tag Doll I made for our adorable corgi cousin Teddy!

It is just like the real Teddy...

Super soft, cute & always ready to play! :)

It was so fast and easy to make!

I did not even mess with a pattern!

There is nothing exact about this project!

He does not even need any stuffing!

All I did to make him was cut out 2 matching sized peanut shaped forms from black fleece without a pattern.

Then I pulled out my scrap piece of white fleece and quickly free form cut a shoe shaped piece to create the white half of teddy's face that I pinned to the front of doll and sewed on with my sewing machine.

I cut and knotted recycled cotton fabric ribbon yarn to make the tag ears arms & legs and pinned them facing in on the front of the form and sewed them in place.

I learned this technique by making my pug doll with this easy bunny pattern from The Sewing Loft Blog.

When the white mask, ear loops and arms & legs are secure you are ready to finish him up by facing the right sides of the black peanut shapes together making sure the arms, legs and ears are tucked in and sewing around leaving an opening at the bottom to flip him right side out through.

The arms, legs and feet will now be all secure and dangling & ready to be chewed on.

The final steps are to hand sew him with a whip or ladder stitch along the bottom opening.

You can stuff yours but I chose not to as I think stuffing free toys are safer for sharp little puppy mouths to play with just in case they open up the toy. :)

I free hand cut some circles for the eyes and a nose shape and glued them on with fabric glue and Voila!

Will the real Teddy please stand up?

Tee Hee!

Archie and I are sooooo happy that Teddy loves his new toy because we LOVE him!

You can make this to look like any doggy just by changing the colors and shapes you cut for the face.

Any fabric ribbon or yarn will work perfectly for tags for your buddy to chew on for hours of FUN!

Please let me know if you make one too!

I would love to see!

xoxoxo

Melissa & Archie