The Capriel Felt Flower- Tutorial

 I can't help but love colorful polka dots. The second I saw this fun printed felt, I knew it was coming home with me. I have a weakness for felt and fun fabrics, much to my husband's dismay. This whimsical flower, named for my darling niece, came together quickly, using hot glue and is the perfect place to use your printed felt.

You will need:
Felt, cute of course
hot glue
scissors
a center jewel or button

The first thing you need to do it cut two flowers out of the felt. Think little clouds as you make the petal. Make one of them larger and the other small.After you have the large flower, cut the center out of it. This center circle will be the base of your flower. Cutting it out of the middle saves some felt, looking at us being all thrifty.

Next take your hot glue and gather the flower, glue it to itself every half inch or so to create petals. Glue this to your center circle. Repeat with the smaller flower. Then glue the small flower on top of the bigger flower.

Glue your center onto the flower and add a hair clip or pin to the back of it. Wear your cute flower everywhere, because it why wouldn't you? :)

Letters to My World: Wonder Pets and Regina Spektor

Baby Gorillas and M&M + link up your favorite shots

I am getting into a rhythm with my 365. Feel free to link up any shots you have posted from the last week.

January 20th- My daughter colored on her foot with pen, purple marker and decided M&Ms went between her toes all on the same morning.

January 21st- a cool little crocodile at the zoo.

January 22nd- My dying little aloe plant. I am nursing it back to health. Does anybody else have a black thumb like me?

January 23rd- I love felt. Felt and I are secret friends. Don't tell my husband.

January 24th- A scuba diver at Bass Pro Shops. This led to a conversation with my father who wants my husband to get certified so they can go scuba diving together. They both think this is a great idea...

January 25- A mamma gorilla and her baby at our zoo. Yes, we really like the zoo.

What is your favorite shot from the week?

WoW: Digital Exfoliation

Welcome to another Wednesday! How did your exfoliation go? I hope yours was fantastic because...

...mine was AWESOME. (That is 4 boxes and a garbage bag, stuffed full of things to get rid of - not pictured are the 4 big loads of trash and recycling!)

I had gotten far too used to the odds and ends of clutter that had accumulated on just about every horizontal surface in our home, and it makes me SO happy to have (most of it) gone. It's like a breath of fresh air!

I exfoliated waaay more than just 50 things, but I desperately needed it. And, thanks to Freecycle, people are stopping by my house to take my junk off my hands... can't beat that!

So, now that we've exfoliated in real life... let's exfoliate digitally:

That's the challenge for this week: get rid of 50 things from your digital life that you no longer need, use, or love. You could....

• clean up your desktop, or wherever your dump your digital junk
• go through your photos and get rid of all the blurry ones that you've held onto for some crazy reason
• unfriend (or just hide) friends on Facebook (you know which ones...)
• trim down the blogs in your blog reader
• uninstall the software programs you no longer use
• unsubscribe from the emails newsletters that you never read anyway

Happy exfoliating!

Lu (or Lorene if you prefer) is the mom of two sweet little things (except on the days that they aren't) and the wife of a singing and dancing elementary teacher. She is the proud author of this weekly Wednesdays on (or off) the Web (WotW) segment here on Housewife Eclectic and spends the other days of the week blogging about life and crafts and whatever else comes up at just Lu.

Camri Flower- a felt flower tutorial

This delightful felt flower, named for my niece, looks complete and intricate but is actually simple to pull together. I love this flower on a clip for my daughter to wear in her hair. I used blue and purple, because we never seem to have a blue hair clip when we need one, but this flower would be pretty in so many color combination, yellow and orange, pink and white. The possibilities are fabulously endless.

You will need:
Felt in two coordinating colors
scissors
hot glue
a center for your flower, I used a pearl button.

The first thing you need to do is cut your circles. You will need five of each color. You will cut your largest and smallest circles from the same color. My large circles are an inch in diameter and my small ones are a quarter of an inch in diameter. I cut one circle of each size and then used it as the pattern for the other four.

You will also need SIX circles of the middle size in another color. My middles are a half inch in diameter. You need five to be middles and the sixth to be the circle that you glue your petals to.

Glue your middles to the bottom edge of the largest circles. Then glue your smallest circle on top, also to that same bottom edge. Repeat for all five petals.

Pinch your petals together at the bottom where the circles meet and hot glue to keep them that way.
Glue all five petals onto the last felt circle you have remaining.

Add your favorite center to the middle of the flower, whether it be a pearl, button or rhinestone. Then glue your flower to a headband, or pin and you have a gorgeous way to complete an outfit! What would you use this flower for?

Letters To My World, Panties and Sushi

The Amy Flower- A felt flower tutorial

This beautiful, full flower, named after my baby sister, is one of my absolute favorite felt flowers. It is easy to put together, but it looks exquisite. With three simple supplies, you can make as many of these statement flowers are you want.

You will need:
A least a sheet of felt in one color
hot glue
scissors

The first thing you need to do for this flower is make your center. You do this by taking a strip that is about a half inch wide and a couple inches long and folding it on itself. After you glue the fold to itself, roll the rest of the strip around the fold to create your center.

After you have your center created, you will need to cut your base and petal. Cut a medium sized circle, an inch or two in diameter. This circle will be what you glue all of your petals to.

You will need eight petals to create this flower. Four big ones and four small ones. There is not a pattern for the petals, rather just create small curvy clouds. The large ones should be 2-3 inches across and the small ones 1-2. 

After you have cut your curvy clouds, fold them in on themselves and glue, like in the photo above. You will then layer them on the felt circle. Glue the large petals about the circle and then glue the small petals on top of the large petals. Finish my glue your center to the middle of the small petals. 

Complete your flower anyway you want, with a hair clip, pin or head band glued to the back. This finished flower is larger, about 4 inches across and so it makes quite the statement!