Must or Bust: Moss Topiary and Crayon Roll

I wish I had some cool excuse for being so behind on my "Must or Busts" like solving world hunger by flying to the moon and slicing into little bits of cheese; or cultivating my backyard into a wonderland of blessed shade. . . but it's more like wrangling a nearly 2-year old little girl {with much more than her fair share of sass} has taken up a lot of my time. And sanity.

Mostly sanity.

In fact, while I sit here pretending to have time to write this post before Hannah sticks her tongue in an outlet, I have next to me a freshly opened bag of "Mother's Double Fudge Cookies". It's just one of those days, ya'll. I won't tell you how many cookies are missing from said bag. 'Nuff said.

Moving on.

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DIY Moss Topiaries: Must 



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I fell in love with this idea found over at "Liz Marie Blog" HERE. Unfortunately for us, I did this project a long while ago and so I'm not sure how many tips I'll remember to pass on. I do distinctly remember, however, that the moss gets EVERY. WHERE so plan on having a mess to clean up. Also, don't worry if you're having a hard time magically cutting the sheet of moss in a way that it wraps around a circle and blends when you put two pieces together. You'll get the hang of it. Speaking of the sheets of moss, I purchased two packages for one topiary and had a little left over, but you'll definitely need more than one bag. I found all of my stuff at Hobby Lobby.

I escaped unburned from my hot glue gun, but I did almost run out of sticks. If my faulty memory serves, I think I used 4+ sticks on one topiary, so keep that in mind.

Okay, my friends. . . be gentle. Mine are far less cute than Liz's, but HEY.  I think it adds a little sumthin' to my entryway table and I like 'im. . . Despite his "special-ness". So there.




And lest you look at this and say, "Oooooh, how does she have time to do all this stuff? I could never do that. . . " and blah blah blah, just know that I say the same thing about some of the blogs I read. I don't want you to get the idea in your noggin that I'm perfect {or even crafty or skilled in the least}, so let me show you a little secret :

 

Yeah. See that? I totally forgot about the need for a pot, so my poor little topiary is just hangin' out all loosey-goosey. And no, I still haven't remembered to purchase one. And as far as having time for all this? I have one kid and a very supportive husband. Oh, and no job. That helps. :) 

So be patient with yourself and your goals, no matter where you are in life. Be happy with the little successes you have each day, like showering and putting on pants {all important things, to be sure}. Always remember that everyone, myself included, has some days that are better than others; hence the homemade topiary. Other days it's all I can do to read "Dancing Duck" one. more. time. without losing my mind.

. . . .


Crayon Roll: Must



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As with most of my sewing stuff, I found this wonderful tutorial over at "Make It and Love It" HERE. I have a niece with a birthday coming up this weekend, and I thought this might be a fun {and easy} project to make for her.







A few tips I'd like to pass on to you : if you want to have a little more crayon sticking out {for little fingers to grab}, I would suggest altering the original measurements for your smaller piece of fabric accordingly. One other thing: I cut my ribbon at 20" at it makes for an awfully short bow when it's all said and done. I have two crayons per pouch, so if I used less, I'm sure 20" would have been plenty. What I'm getting at here is that you may just want to measure your ribbon after stuffing your roll. Capeesh? 

When it came time to sew the lines for the crayon pouches, I used my ruler to make sure I was straight for each one and made a light marking with some pencil. Because, let's face it, as cool as I pretend I am with my sewing machine, I didn't trust myself to sew 13 perfectly straight lines by winging it. Just do what works for you!

. . . . .

Okay. I think I've imparted all the wisdom I can for right now. If I impart any more, my ears might start to touch. . . and I generally try to avoid that. Besides, Hannah has been busy while I've been typing.




And I must do some damage control.

Now go have some crafty fun, my friends! And remember-- perfection is boring. Just have fun and enjoy the finished product. :)