A Day at the Park

When I was a kid, my family moved around a lot. I was born in Atlanta, moved to Orlando when I was 4, Philadelphia when I was 11, Charlotte when I was 15, and then I went to college in Texas and Northern California.

When we graduated college and started planning our wedding, Grant and I decided to move back to Orlando for a number of reasons. Of all of the places I lived growing up, Orlando feels the most like home. This is where I have so many of my best childhood memories.

One of the best part of having kids is the joy of reliving your favorite memories from something as simple as Play-doh to something as exciting as going to Disney. Raising my own kids here in Orlando has been so special to me. I love taking Benjamin and Lyla on walks in my old neighborhood or going to the mall I went to growing up.

Lately we have started taking Benjamin and Lyla to my favorite park as a kid. We called it the Castle Park. Fortunately, they love this park as much as my brother and I did. 

(I love this beautiful purple shirt from the GAP outlet)

Over Thanksgiving, my mom, my only brother Jared, and I all took Benjamin and Lyla to the Castle Park for the first time.

Uncle Jared helped Benjamin get over his fear of slides. He still won't go on any large slide by himself, but now he LOVES going down with someone, especially his uncle.

I especially love these wooden cars at the park. They bounce a little bit, and they are perfect for an almost-walking baby like Lyla.

(On a side note... on a day when I quickly pulled my hair back and didn't have time to put on make-up, I end up in so many pictures. Then a couple weeks ago, I went to a wedding, got all dressed up and pretty, and didn't end up in a single picture. Oh well... I guess this is one of the many sides of motherhood.)

One Two Three Four Tutorial Tuesday #4

Today's theme is tape

Homemade Japanese Washi Tape from A Spoonful of Sugar

Decorating with masking tape from How About Orange

Washi tape magnets from Twirling Betty

Paper Plate Basket Tutorial from Sarah Hearts

The Cure for the Common Monday #19

Welcome to...

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Features

1. The Lazy Hobbyhopper - Salt Dough Christmas Ornaments

2. Alderberry Hill - Birch Bark Christmas Trees

3. The Inspired Collection - Wine Cork Magnets

4. The Creative Imperative - Yarn Wrapped Ornament Jingle Bell Wreath

5. Twigg Studios - Book Page Flower Wreath

6. Pitter and Glink - Embroidery Hoop Snowman

7. Becoming the Barrs - DIY Fringe Scarf Tutorial

Share what you have been working on lately. It can be a tutorial, craft, recipe, tip or idea, activity, etc... I look forward to seeing everything that you all link up.

There are three simple rules.

1. Follow Lines Across My Face (I also will be sharing some of my favorites throughout the week through Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest).
2. Post the Cure for the Common Monday button somewhere on your blog (or link back to Lines Across My Face).
3. Visit and comment on at least one link for every post you share.

Felt Christmas Trees

Felt Christmas Trees

I wanted to make four felt Christmas trees, one for each member of our family. These trees are very easy to make and cost about 30 cents each. They are also so much fun because you can make many different versions and you can even let your kids help you decorate them.

These are generally based off of this pom pom felt flower that I love to make.

First you need to make cardboard cones. You could also buy cones from the craft store or the dollar store. I used cardboard from cereal boxes which I rolled into cones, glued with a hot glue gun, and secured (at first) with rubber bands. I found that they were very sturdy, especially once they were covered with felt. Keep in mind that some of the cereal box could show through.

Next, you need to make a lot of felt "leaves" (like the pom pom flowers). For my first tree, I cut strips of felt that were about 2.5 inches wide. Then I folded over the strips and glued the edges together with a hot glue gun. (If you use too much glue, the strips will harden and become difficult to work with). Next, I cut notches across the strips, about 1 cm wide, making sure to not cut through the glued edges. You can play around with different size strips and cuts, but I found that it looks best to be consistent with each tree.

Now, you start gluing the felt strips around the cardboard. I made a lot of different rings. When I got to the end of the circle, I cut the felt strip and then used it to start the next layer. I also added a small cardboard circle to the base of the tree for support.

I made 4 different trees for each of the members of my family. If your kids are a little older, they can have a lot of fun helping to decorate their own tree.

My tree

I made the cone a little bit thinner than the kids' trees. I cut the strips at 2 inches wide and the notches at about 1/3 inch wide.

I added a felt bow to the top. I also cut out three felt triangles, glued on the letters J-O-Y, and quickly sewed them together into a mini bunting.

I alternated the shades of green felt for each layer. I also added a plain brown strip of felt around the bottom to look like the stump.


Grant {my husband}'s tree

I made Grant a Dallas Cowboys mini Christmas tree. I topped it with a silver star and used alternating blue and silver rows of felt leaves.

Felt football garland: I cut out brown football shapes, stitched them together, and wrapped them around the tree.


Benjamin's tree

Benjamin's tree was the simplest. I just glued buttons (which he LOVES) to the different leaves around the tree.


Lyla's tree


Lyla's tree is the fun kid tree. I glued on pom poms, snowflakes, etc. I also tied little beads along a piece of embroidery floss and wrapped it around the tree like little lights.

(I also used bamboo skewers for grilling to hold up the stars. They are much cheaper than anything you would find at the craft store.)

This was originally posted at Design Dazzle.

#13 - The Kurtz Corner {The 13 Crafts of Christmas}

Hi there! I'm Audra, from The Kurtz Corner! A little bit about me before we start, I'm a newlywed living in Dallas, TX. I'm a glitter addicted, cupcake baking, self proclaimed do it yourself-er with a passion for all things crafty. Please stop by and visit me any time, I'd love to have you!

It's is my absolute favorite time of the year! Time to dust off your jingle bells, pour yourself some peppermint hot coco and make something for Christmas! I always loved making Christmas ornaments as a kid, and well, I still do! I love putting up the tree with my family and looking back at all of the ornaments I made as a kid. So many wonderful memories. I can't wait to make more of those memories with my kids someday! Every so often I like to switch up Christmas tree themes and this year I want a sweets tree decked out in candies and cupcakes! To start off the new theme I've created these cute little pink iced cupcakes. I think they turned out cute, what do you think? Want to make some of your own? Keep reading!

Cupcake Supplies:

1. Plastic ornaments (I used white)

2. Glitter!

3. Cupcake liners

4. Mod Podge

5. Hot glue

6. Red sparkle balls (Christmas section of Hobby Lobby)

Step 1

Remove the ornament hanger

Step 2

Hot glue your ornament into the cupcake liner, top side down

Step 3

Hot glue all around so that the liner is secure

Step 4

Create a Mod Podge/glitter mixture and paint onto your ornament

Step 5

Sprinkle on some dry glitter and tap off any excess

Step 6

Insert your ornament hanger into your "cherry" (Styrofoam works best)

Step 7

Allow your ornament to fully dry and then hot glue on your "cherry"

You're done!

These are really fun and easy to make! They would be a great craft for kids as well. Just remember, parents handle the hot glue, we don't want to burn the kiddos! Here are a few shots of my finished cupcakes, enjoy!

{Cupcake tower tutorial coming soon!}