DIY Our First Christmas Tree Ornament

In a budding relationship, there are so many important little moments to remember: the first date, the first dance, the first holiday. In all the hustle and bustle of such life-changing events, I love finding little momentos to cherish and save the story behind the memories.

On our first Christmas as a married couple, my husband and I joined my parents and my brother's family for a tractor ride out to Strathmeyer farms, braced against the cold with the comfort of free apples, to search for our first Christmas tree. We made our cuts and waited for the tractor's return to carry our trees back, as my little nephew helped by carrying his own little evergreen branch. My husband marked the trunk with his initials, now a part of my initials, so that our tree would not be lost among the others on the back of the wagon. When my husband trimmed off the bottom of the trunk, I saved the little disc with his initials and turned it into a Christmas tree ornament to commemorate our first tree.

DIY Stuffed Hobbes: The Rebirth of A Childhood Friend

How ever were children of the 80's and 90's to learn a good dose of fantasy, sarcasm, and an impressive vocabulary without the stories of Calvin and Hobbes?

Hobbes was a part of so many of our lives growing up, and that homocidal psycho jungle cat is just as cool now as he ever was.

As children, my brother collected all of the books, and together we mourned the tragedy of the comic's discontinuation from the local funny papers.

Now that my brother has little sons of his own, I felt the time had come for them to have their own adventures with dinosaur-flying spaceships and suicidal snowman while accompanied by their new best friend Hobbes.

However Bill Watterson, the creator of Calvin and Hobbes, chose not to license his characters for distribution, so you won't find a Hobbes doll sitting on the shelf at your local toy store. So the best option is to make your own*.

Raven Feather Halloween Decoration

Hello all of you lovely people! Time certainly flies when you're having fun.

What holiday is it anyway? If the freezing weather or the Christmas displays outside of Lowes are to be believed, we must be in December. But according to the calender, Halloween is just around the corner.

I wanted to bring a touch of macabre to the house with a little Halloween display. Enter this simple decoration. An old black wicker basket, a few black feathers from Jo-Ann Fabric, some fabric flowers, and a pumpkin turned my bookshelf instantly spooky.

This is a super simple DIY that doesn't even require glue. Simply stuff the feathers and flowers into some stuffing or foam inside the basket and tuck it around until it looks just right to you.

What decorations are haunting your home for Halloween?

Linking at: Chic on a Shoestring, Give Me The Goods,

DIY Dining Chair Makeover

The garbage, it's not just for raccoons and feral cats anymore.

Let's face it. It's generally easier to throw out furniture and decorations when they go out of style rather than renovate it or even bother to sell it. Most sane people just don't want to be bothered with all of that work.

But there is a lot of hidden potential hiding in yesterday's decoration.

All it takes is a little creativity to take curbside rejects and turn them into something brand new and beautiful.

Visiting Tried & Twisted today is my talented mom, "The MommaBar", who recently put a little time and effort into a lucky roadside find to make a spectacular new chair for her sunroom.

DIY Antique Framed Memo Board

A lot of great creative projects start with a challenge. And my challenge — how to hide that hideous phone jack on my kitchen wall?

Due to the limitations of living in a rental, I couldn't tear the jack out, so I resorted to hide and seek. What do you think of my solution? The phone jack hasn't been found since!

DIY Custom Etched Glass Gift: Invite Design to Wedding Gift

Creating Unique & Personalized Wedding Gifts Thru Etched Glass: Part Two

Yesterday, I shared how my friend Suzanne introduced me to DIY etched glass gifts with a unique twist. For a more traditional wedding gift, the bride and groom's name and wedding date are often etched into glass.

To make the gift even more special, why not incorporate elements of design from the wedding invitation? The bride and groom put in a lot of effort picking out the invite or designing it themselves, so it deserves to be commemorated and, luckily, you already know it is an embellishment they'll like!

DIY Custom Etched Glass Gift: The Baron Samedi Rum Bottle

Creating Unique & Personalized Wedding Gifts Thru Etched Glass: Part One

April showers bring May flowers and wedding season! If you're an average twenty-to-thirty-something woman and not a hermit hiding in a mountain cave, then chances are that you know someone getting married this year. The odds are in your favor.

Searching registries for the best gift becomes second nature, but after a while, all the matching towel sets and Pyrex blur together and I become bored with my own gift. Which is a sad predicament, indeed, because I want to give something that screams my enthusiasm for their important day, rather than yawning like a pair of Christmas gift underwear. 

So I'm often torn between my desire to give the bride and groom something practical that they need, but also to give them something memorable, so they can laugh at our inside jokes and know that we cared to add a special touch just for them.

Lately, my solution to this dilemma has been custom etched glass gifts. I was introduced to this craft on Make It & Love It. By adding a creative element to a practical gift, no piece of glass is safe! Any bottle, vase, or Pyrex can become classy or hilarious in less than half an hour.

DIY Flower Pot Wreath

Last month's feature series was all about baking macarons and, after so many recipes, I nearly forgot that I also share crafts here on Tried & Twisted. It was my ambition to have a grand craft ready to share with you all today.

But as is often the case here on T&T, expectations don't always work according to plan. Some technical difficulties arose after dropping my camera in batter. Oh, the troubles of a food blogger! My latest craft is now locked in limbo, like jpegs in purgatory.

Wait, don't leave yet! I have a volunteer from the audience. Today's craft comes from Faye, my Momma and crafting sensei. She just finished a new wreath for her front door which is perfect for springtime and surprisingly easy. Let's take a look!

St. Pattys' Four-Leaf Clover

St. Patty' Day, the day when everyone is just a bit more Irish!

In recent years, St. Patrick's day has been all about sitting down with a tall dark stout at a local microbrewery, like the Appalachian Brewing Company, or sitting back and listening to some good Celtic music at a fair or concert for Gaelic Storm or The Hooligans. So, I was having trouble thinking of St. Patrick's Day as a craft-project inspiring event.

For inspiration for this holiday craft, I joined up with my friend Ali to create St. Patty's decoration ideas for her friend's bridal shower.

Letters of Love Take Flight

Valentine's Day has come and gone. Can you feel the love?

Since I share my birthday with the annual commemorations for the St Valentine, the holiday has always had a special place in my heart. The day of whimsical love always served as a reminder to me growing up of the love for all the people I care about, friends and family.

Now for seven years, this holiday has been even more special as I spend them with the man of my life. But the holiday isn't about Hallmark cards and pre-packaged candies for us, so we almost always create something personal for each other to truly express our love.

Update: The full length video seems to have been removed from YouTube, so here's the Trailer version.

Recently, my fella shared this adorable video with me. This short from Disney is about a man who falls in love at first sight with a woman he passes at the train station. He sees her again in the building across the way, so he tries to get her attention with one paper airplane after another. The ending is magical, so I won't spoil it for you. This video inspired me for this year's Valentine's Day love note. Care to see how I made it?

Pop-up Valentine's Day Card

If you are a devoted follower of Pinterest, like myself, then perhaps you have often seen the same DIY craft repeated over and over again. Sure it sounds like a good idea, which is why it's so popular. But who has actually tried this craft?

Well, part of my mission here on Tried&Twisted is to try out these popular posts to see if the results are just as stunning as the professional's. Is it easier or harder than they said? Can I add my own twist to the design?

Today, I'll share my experiences with making the popular I <3 U pop-up card for Valentine's Day. Homemade cards have so much charm and personal care. What better way to show that you love and care for someone than to take the extra time to create a love note just for your fella?

DIY Celtic Knot Heart Pillow

With Valentine's Day on its way, it's time to deck the home with an ode to love. In a quest for unique and cozy Valentine's decor, I created this lovely Celtic knot heart pillow. Made of comfy knit jersey, this Celtic knot pillow makes a statement in the room while also providing a cozy place to snuggle up during the holiday of love.

Celtic knots are a design that are near and dear to my man due to his part-Irish ancestry. My search for a new way to use the Celtic knot pattern, led me to Cut Out and Keep's tutorial featuring the idea to twist a long rope-like pillow into a Celtic knot pattern. I love the idea because it is unlike any pillow I've seen at the average department store.

Ready to give it a try?

DIY Bird Nest Necklace With a Twist

Sometimes the simplest design can look so classy! Today I'll share my twist to the popular bird nest necklace that has been appearing at craft fairs, Etsy, and blogs since birds came into fashion.

I learned this technique from the Sarah Ortega blog for my Christmas Craft & Cookie party, and all of the girls loved this DIY: so simple to make and so beautiful to wear. It's a versatile gift fit for Christmas, Valentine's Day, or Mother's Day since birthstones could easily be used for the "eggs" in the nest.

To any Crafting Studs out there -- this is a great gift idea for your lady! Jewelry is always a plus, but when you tell her you made it for her with love? Instant swoon!

Well, that's the sort of thing that would work for me anyway.

DIY Fleece Ear Warmers

Baby, it's cold outside! As our rather large families gathered together for Christmas by the fire, the time came to watch White Christmas, drink hot cocoa, and stuff those stockings with gifts. One easy, fashionable, and useful DIY gift that snowy day was this fleece ear warmer headband.

A thick ear warmer headband with rosettes or floral details can be so stylish and chic. Variations of this tutorial have been floating around Pinterest and I traced the directions back to Delia Creates. So what if I haven't used a sewing machine since middle school home ec class? How hard could it be, right? Well, it turns out you do have to be able to sew a straight line for her tutorial, so I made a few adjustments to the original design via trial and error to find an easier way to make the same look, even without perfect hems.

How to Make Sew Only Rosettes

Have you noticed that Crafting 101 demands you know how to make rosette flowers? So many tutorials mention adding pizzazz and upscaling sweaters, bookmarks, ear warmers, or dog collars with the addition of a rosette. And why not? They're simple to make and the result is classy and chic!

Most tutorials suggest hot glue to bind the stripes of cloth together into a rosette, but hot glue can break down over time and won't last in the washer. So here's my personal twist: how to make rosettes entirely with only a needle and thread.

Start with long strips of fleece fabric between 1/2 inch to 2 inches wide. You can use strips that are all the exact same width or varying width. Since I want my rosettes to emulate nature and nature is so diverse and unique, I preferred to use strips of varying width.