Cotton Garland

Yesterday while at JoAnn's (a very dangerous store for me), I found some really cute stuff on clearance (75% off...booyah!) which prompted an idea--a garland! It took awhile and I ended up covered in glitter, but in the end it turned out super cute.

All of the supplies I started with.

I really loved the cotton, so I knew I had to do something with it.

First, I took it all apart and manipulated the cotton to look like this, almost like branches.

I wrapped the "branches" so they all connected.

This is when they are all connected, making a long garland-style base.

I punched these leaves out beforehand and attached them with hot glue.

I also added a little sparkle with this cute ribbon.

A rough idea of what each section will look like with the leaves and ribbon.

I did buy some tulle that was not on clearance, but I had a 50% off coupon, I layered six layers of the tulle and used the ribbon to form a bow.

I also glued these one every few feet.

I repeated every section with the bows until the garland was finished.

The finished product.

Autumn Craft...just a little late

So while I was taking a forestry class a few months ago we did something that I thought was pretty cool. We took leaves that had changed color (but had not fallen off the trees yet) along with from pine or cedar, layered them and transferred the color onto cloth. The image below is how mine turned out and the instructions along with what you will need are below that.

To complete this project you will need the following: cotton cloth (a clean, white flat sheet that is cut up works wonderfully and is easy on the budget), a hammer, wax paper, a piece of cardboard, the leaves/greenery along with a hard surface (we did this on a sidewalk).

Step 1: Layer the items as follow from the hard surface up (in other words from bottom to top):
-cardboard
-leaves/greenery
-cloth
-wax paper

Step 2: Using the hammer and some caution for your phalanges, smash the crap out of the leaves/greenery. Make sure you don't use the edge of the hammer or hit the hammer to the hard surface. This process takes several minutes and could be easily classified as a mini-workout. Make sure to get all of the surfaces of the leaves/greenery for the full effect.

Step 3: Check to make sure you got the image you wanted, if you want to add more then go right ahead. When you carefully peel the cloth away from the leaves/greenery you will see that what you have left is pretty banged up and you might need some "fresh" leaves/greenery.

Step 4: Lay on flat surface to allow the material to dry overnight and either hang up or frame. DO NOT WASH unless you plan on starting over!

So, what is happening here and why does this work so well? The science is basic, the leaves and greenery are an organic matter meaning they're made of cells. As the chlorophyll in the cells begins to break down we see these wonderful changes in color that makes fall so beautiful. As you smash the leaves/greenery, you are smashing the cells into the cloth which is what causes the color transfer. Pretty cool, huh? Keep in mind since you are handling organic matter, the color pigmentation will change with time, but still look pretty cool. Oh, and if you use pine or cedar, you will also transfer the oils from the needles onto the cloth causing it to smell of their parent cell.

Introductions...who has time for that?

Apparently I do on a Tuesday night after 11 pm. I'm going to keep this short and sweet. I will be blogging about crafts, card-making/stamping, cooking, baking, and other items that I find useful. I am a teacher, and as such I am limited on time, but with a desperate desire to constantly teach (it is basically an illness--hahahaha). If you ever find you have questions, or want to make a request, feel free to do so!