better at projects than posts...that should count

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Then there was the pillow for Piper.

I used some fabric samples that Holli had given to me from when she worked for an Interior Designer. {I'm on a mission to USE those fabric samples and not just collect them!}

I began by cutting squares and rectangles out of the samples and sewed them together. As I got closer to the overall pillow size I had to sort of work it like a puzzle.

there really is no front and back

The pillow insert is a very used insert from a chair. That's what led me to make this in the first place. My favorite chair and a half had lousy pillow inserts. I finally purchased some great feather inserts. I couldn't just toss the old ones!

They looked sort of flat and even split in the center But, for some reason it just looked like a comfy doggie pillow to me! Look at those sad pillow inserts.

One happy Piper!

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Next up the paper poms • Oh, the paper poms!

Who knew the paper poms would be tricky to make? certainly not I. I had this great idea to make paper poms for decorations for a Bridal shower I was hosting for my dear friend Alison. My friends and co-hosts Becca and Libby got in on the fun.

My first shock was that the flowers would turn out so large! For some reason, I thought they were going to be these small little flowers that would turn into a garland. They could have been, but as we tried them we found out that the smaller the flower the harder it was to work.

First you cut a width of tissue paper about the same size as what you want the finished diameter of your pom to be. Libby had just folded her purple paper accordion style and was adding the floral wire. We followed the directions on Martha Stewart.com

I worked on the green poms. We rounded some of the ends as shown on Martha Stewart. Some of them we trimmed to a point.

 Becca worked on an orange one with rounded ends, carefully pulling layers of tissue out from each end.

The funny thing is that we thought our poms were awful at the time! Looking at these photos now... they were actually some pretty great poms!

No one can see the torn pieces here and there!

We made these poms before Christmas so that we would be ready for the early January bridal shower. When the time came, our original plan of a garland was replaced with this awesome bunch of flowers hanging from a light fixture. Cheers for Libby for that idea! If you look closely you will see additional flower poms made of tulle. They were made on the spot out of lots of loops. It was the perfect filler.

I know that I learned more than just a new craft with this little project. Three capable artists thought they could whip through this little project. When the tissue paper started tearing, the frustration level starting growing. We expected perfection from the start. But, after a few hours and a lot of laughs, it turned out we made some pretty nice tissue paper poms!

Thanks Becca and Libby for the memory!

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And finally, the sweetest project of all...

Footprint pictures with "the greats". I like to call my great nieces and nephew "the greats". After all, they are pretty G R E A T!!!

We spent part of the holidays with family in Des Moines this year. That gave us the priceless opportunity to hang out with the greats! We searched Pinterest for a project idea and made a few creative additions of our own.

And here is how it went.

Camryn sat perfectly still, not one bit ticklish. While Gage was SUPER ticklish!

Hayden was another ticklish one.

It was a challenge to keep those toes out of the green paint!

And for our crafty addition to these mini masterpieces. Holli added the stars, trunk and song lyrics. {this is Camryn's on the left and Gage's on the right.