i felt like it

I love wool. Truly I do. It's one of those things that is so versatile that it belongs in every craft room.  Raw wool is known as roving and can be made into any shape the heart desires.  Felt comes in every color you can imagine.  It can be thick enough to use for making coats and hats and thin enough to make bookmarks.  Wool yarn makes the warmest sweaters and afghans, not to mention uber fluffy pom poms.

This holiday craft  idea was inspired by wool and it's many uses.  These Thanksgiving napkin rings double as wrist corsages.

Here's the how to:

Supplies needed:
felt
acorns
roving
ribbon
yarn
snaps
snap setter
hot glue

All supplies can be found at a craft store. You may have to hunt a little harder for roving but you can always find that online as well.  I happen to know of an oak tree where I collect my acorns but you can probably find them at a craft store as well.

Step one:
Cut your felt into 2 X 10" strips. I used thinner felt for this project and layered it with a contrasting color.  You can use pinking shears or hand cut a decorative edge. If you are using more than one color,  glue the pieces together.

Step two:

Use the yarn to create a pom pom. I use a pom pom maker but it isn't necessary. There are many online tutorials on how to make a pom poms with your fingers or piece of cardboard.

Step Three:

Pull off a piece of roving in your desired color and wrap it into a ball.  Over the sink or a dish, dip the wool into soapy water and start to roll it between your palms. Keep rising and rolling until all the soap is out and the wool has formed a tight ball.

Hot glue your felt ball into the top of an acorn.

Step Four:
Arrange your pom pom and acorns on the felt band.  Decide were you want your ribbon.  Tie bows or make loops.

Step Five:
Using hot glue, start to glue down all the components of the corsage.  Make sure each item is firmly affixed.

Step Six:
Make a mark where you want your snap to go. ( The  average size bracelet is 7 1/2 inches) Use your snap setter to set the snap and then trim off the rest of the excess felt to finish off the corsage. If you don't want to bother with snaps, you can always glue ribbon between your felt layers and the corsage can close with a tie.

You might want to make boutonnieres for your guests of the male persuasion. This is done by using an oval of felt instead of a strip.  Glue a pin back, (found in most craft stores) onto the back and pin it to a felt loop.

Expect your guests to be thrilled with an unexpected gift at their plate. When they thank you profusely just shrug your shoulders and say, "It's no big thing. I just felt like it."

Check out all of the fabulous holiday-themed projects, gift ideas, and more from our wonderful Blog Hop Contributors from around the world!

1. Art-Full Horizons http://art-fullhorizons.blogspot.com
2. Tammy Inman http://tammyi.com
3. Nan Paturzo http://scrappynan.blogspot.com
4. Robyn Weatherspoon http://herebygrace.typepad.com/
5. Mykle Parker http://scrapbohemia.blogspot.com
6. Sherry Mendoza http://sherryscreations.typepad.com/
7. Robin Redd http://robinredd.typepad.com
8. April Meeker www.suaviloquy.blogspot.com
9. Erin Bassett www.erinbassett.com
10. Jennifer Clark http://jenspartyof5.blogspot.com
11. Sweet Pete http://agirlnamedsweetpete.blogspot.com/
12. Jennifer Edwardson http://frommypapercraftstudio.blogspot.com/

toil and trouble

My good friend Margie Romney-Aslett is a designer who has her own line of products for paper crafting.  She also has a kit club that she runs with her daughters.  Every month The Girl's Loft sends out a kit full to the brim with fun crafting supplies.  The kit for October featured Margie's Halloween line "Toil and Trouble".  The girls sent me a kit to play with because they think I'm the shiz. That's what I like to think anyway.  I finally found a couple of hours when the babies were sleeping to dig into my goodies.

I made candy cones. Okay, they may not be original, but hey, who doesn't love a candy cone?  And candy cones made with Toil and Trouble products? Uh. That's a yes. Any day of the year.

And now, as if this post isn't festive enough, I get to give away an October Girl's Loft kit for you, yes you, if you be the winner.  Believe you me, it's a package of fun.

You can see all that the kit contains here.

You can enter to win said kit by leaving a comment.

You can have a second entry by tweeting this exact comment- @suaviloquy I really want to win @thegirlsloft kit because it rocks and so do you.

I really do love being Queen of this domain. Everyone should be the Queen somewhere.

As Queen I decree that a winner shall be chosen on Monday, October the twenty-fifth in the two hundredth and tenth year of our Lord.  Let it be written. Let it be done.