Crafty Stuff

Last week, when I was driving home from Baby Bean's swimming lesson (which are going swimmingly, I might add), I heard an interview with the author of "The Happiness Project". It really grabbed me. Of course, as a Christian, I know that deep contentment and joy comes from faith. On the other hand, I also believe that we have to do things to promote our own happiness and that God gives us the chance to enjoy many blessings. I don't always take advantage of the things that are around me and that's been on my mind, especially in the middle of January (a month that I loathe). The author talked a great deal about figuring out what actually makes us happy as opposed to what we feel should make us happy and she stated that we need to make for time for the things that actually make us happy. That got me pondering. What does actually make me happy?

One thing I truly love is crafting and that takes many forms. I love to knit (that's another post - I recently made a local friend who is an avid knitter and she has inspired me and we are planning to do some knit-along projects together). I dabble in quilting but since I hand quilt, it takes ages. One goal down the road is to buy a good sewing machine and take lessons. I used to cross stitch and I do a bit of scrapbooking. I'd like to branch out a bit.

The first craft project I am going to share today grew out of killing time at the grocery store. Pk takes highland dance each Monday and Baby Bean and I need to use up 45 minutes in a town too far from home to come back here. This town doesn't have much to do so as often as not, we hang out in a really great grocery store. A few weeks ago, I was browsing the Valentine stuff and saw a really cute felt heart garland. It was expensive and not long enough for what I wanted but I thought I could make some myself. I searched online and found this example. I modified a bit and came up with what you see in the pictures myself. It was fun to make and nicely mindless. Pk loved it, too, and I had to cut her quite a few felt hearts.
I ended up making two strings, one for over the big living room window that you see here and one to hang on the sideboard in the dining room. I love it! The colours are bright and cheerful and there is something about felt that just makes me feel happy. It didn't take long, another bonus.

The other craft is something that Pk and I did this morning. I saw the idea on a blog - Frugal Family Fun. Pk is really into flowers (fake or real, doesn't matter) and I am into things that can be made from dollar store supplies. We used $5 worth of dollar store flowers, $1 of moss, $1 of basket and a block of floral foam (that cost more since it had to come from Michaels and don't get me going on how ridiculously overpriced most of their stuff is...) Anyway, Pk LOVED, LOVED, LOVED doing this and really, while it isn't something I would feature in a magazine, I was impressed with the finished product. Definitely a nice way to bring a breath of spring into the house.

I'm on the lookout for a few other simple Valentine's Day crafts and I'll share if I find anything good.