DIY Mobile (From Pinterest!)

Much like most women I know, I've been addicted to Pinterest for quite some time now. I have found countless recipes and craft projects that have made me exclaim, "I'm doing that!" as I repin again and again. Unfortunately, it's not often that one can actually find the time to do these projects. However! I recently buckled down and spent the past few days working on a project from Pinterest that I was very excited about. (Thank goodness for summer free time!) Here's the website that the pin was linked to - I have to give credit where credit is due!

Here's my version of the finished project:

I'm planning on hanging them from the ceiling in more of a clump in my new room back at school. I used various materials to create them, and ribbon, yarn, and lace ribbon to hang them. I found all of the items at Hobby Lobby. I'm sure they can all be found at a simple craft store.

Here's how I did it! 

Materials: The overall materials I used were

- 4 Styrofoam balls (of varying sizes)

- Strips of fabric/cloth

- Tulle 

- Tissue Paper 

- Tissue streamers

- Dress-making pins

- Hot glue

- Ribbon/yarn (to hang them with)

As for the individual projects....

Fabric flower ball:

To create this ball, you will need:

- 1 styrofoam ball

- many 1-inch-thick strips of fabric that are 24 inches long

- dress-making pins

This ball was the first one I dove into, and it was also the most tedious one. I started by tying a knot at the end of a strip of the fabric I was working with, then I stuck a pin through the knot and into the styrofoam ball, attaching the fabric to the ball. From there, I wrapped the rest of the fabric strip around the knot until it looked like a little cloth rose. I pinned the end of the strip into the ball and used several extra pins to attach it in areas that were a little less secure. 

I only used three different fabric patterns, although feel free to use as many as you'd like! This ball required a TON of pins. I had a little box of 750 dress-making pins, which was obviously plenty more than I needed. Just don't expect to be able to make this one with a small handful of extra pins from your sewing kit. Also, I used a fairly large ball, so if you use a smaller ball, obviously you'll use less fabric. 

Streamer flower ball: 

This ball is similar to the first one I made; however, I used different materials and a different process to create it. 

Materials used:

- 1 styrofoam ball

- tissue party streamers (1 roll was enough for me)

- hot glue

I started by tearing strips of the streamers that were a little over a foot long. The length can be determined by you - try experimenting with a few different lengths to see which flower size you like best. Next, I crinkled the streamers up so they were more "distressed" and easier to roll up. I found that the quickest and easiest way to wrap them was around my finger. There's a hole when you remove it from your finger, but it is easily covered by moving the inner part around until it no longer shows.

Next, I used hot glue to secure the last bit of the strip to the bottom of the flower. Once I had several flowers made, I started glueing them to the styrofoam ball. With the fabric ball, it was easy to pin the cloth where I wanted it in order to hide the styrofoam underneath. But with this ball, that was harder to do. Instead, I used small chunks of the streamers to fill in little holes where the ball showed through once I was finished.

Tulle ball:

This ball ended up looking like something I'd use in the shower... but it's cute with everything else! To create it I used:

- 1 styrofoam ball

- An entire roll of 25-yard-long tulle, about 5-6 inches wide (again, depending on the size of the ball you use, it could be much less)

- Lots of dress-making pins!

The first step for this ball was cutting out circles of tulle. To speed up the process, I cut a long strip (probably over a yard - I didn't measure) and folded it over and over again making a bundle that looked like this image on the right. Once I had done that, I folded it over hamburger style, if you know what I mean, and cut a half circle on the closed side - giving me lots of circles in one cut! I layered about three circles since tulle is very thin and I wanted to both hide the styrofoam and create a pretty layered look. 

Once I had layered three circles, I either folded them in half, or crumpled them to look a little different and pinned them into the ball to give it more life. This ball was also very time consuming, because you end up having to clump a lot of it together and it doesn't spread out very fast. Just be patient though - it turns out very pretty!

Tissue paper ball:

This ball is by far the most delicate of the four. If you let it sit on a surface for too long once it's finished, the tissue gets all crumpled up and doesn't look as nice, so try to hang it as soon as you can. Here are the materials I needed for this ball:

-1 styrofoam ball

- 7 sheets of regular, gift-wrapping tissue paper (this was one of the larger balls I used, so if you use a smaller one, you'll need less)

- dress-making pins

The first step for this ball was again to cut the circles. I folded the paper in half, then following the same fold direction, I folded the two edges in towards the center line. Then I folded it in half on the center line. From here, I cut half-circles all the way along the edge, giving me a lot of circles to work with. Experiment with how large you'd like the circles and see how it turns out - it's all about your own preference! 

I chose to layer two pieces of tissue circles on top of one another when I pinned them. Like I did with the tulle ball, I either folded them in half, or folded/crumpled them several times (like in the image to the left) and then pinned them into the ball. This one was also pretty tedious, but even with a larger ball, it went faster than the tulle ball.

For the yarn and ribbon, I cut different lengths to stagger the height of each ball. I used quite a few extra pins to attach the yarn and/or ribbon to the ball, but it wasn't quite enough to hold on its own, so I added a bunch of hot glue as well. After that, they seemed to stay put just fine!

And that's how I created my first real Pinterest project! It took me several afternoons and a lot of Netflix to get me through it, but it was well worth it. Let me know if you try to create it too!

Summer Project #1

If you don't count traveling across the world from Wisconsin to China as a summer project, then this would be my first! :) Today I made a terrarium! 

I've been trying to think of cheap, fun projects to do this summer since a) I have no money, and b) I get bored easily. I especially like crafty projects where I can create something to keep in my home in Madison when I go back to school. One project I stumbled across was creating my own terrarium! A terrarium is a transparent, often times sealed, container in which small plants are grown - an easy alternative to regular plants which need a lot of care. 

I found plenty of tutorials on how to make your own terrarium. But once I figured out the basic idea, I decided to improvise and sort of make my own. The items I used were all found in my home or my backyard, so it was cost free! Here's how I made my very own terrarium:

1) I gathered my items first. I used an old pickle jar as my container. Outside, I found a rock with a semi-thick layer of moss and scraped off a large handful of the moss. Next, I dug up a few little plants, keeping their roots in tact. I also grabbed a handful of soil in a bag to place beneath the moss. My last items were small pieces of rounded glass that I found on a beach in China - an extra touch that I used to make my terrarium a little more unique.

2) My next step was prepping the jar. I washed it out and dried it thoroughly. Next I soaked it in water for several minutes to remove the label. 

3) Next, I placed the moist soil on the lid of the jar, mounding it a little bit and keeping it towards the center. Place the moss on top of the soil, rounding it into a mound as well by cupping your hands around it. I ripped small holes in the moss where I wanted to place my little plants. Make sure to let the roots reach down to the soil. I placed my glass pieces on top of the mound to get them inside the jar.

4) I watered the plants lightly before placing the jar carefully over the lid and screwing it on. It took a little bit of patience to fit it without damaging the moss too much. Then I shook it gently to scatter the glass pieces. Done!

Several sites explain that the terrarium is pretty capable of maintaining itself without too much work. But many suggest watering it lightly if it begins to look dry. We'll see how long mine can go without any maintenance. I can't wait to make more and experiment with different containers and materials!

Trip Update!

Possibly going to Korea for a few days as well? If so, we'll be stopping in Seoul and Jeju Island! More updates coming soon!!!

This summer, I'm going to China for a few weeks. I've been given an incredible opportunity to travel to the other side of the world with a personal tour guide and experience another culture like I never have before.

Having never stepped foot out of the states, no

t even to Canada, this is quite a big first step out of my comfort zone. I'm terrified of flying, I don't speak Chinese, and I'll be submerged in a culture completely different from my own.

But I couldn't be more excited about it.

We're still planning the schedule for the trip, but so far we have our main destinations decided. Of course we'll be going to Dalian, Xuechen's hometown. I want to meet his family and see where he grew up.

He's told me so much about it already, and I can't wait to actually see it in person. It sounds beautiful. We're also planning on seeing the big tourist spots, especially in Beijing. The Great Wall, The Forbidden City, The Bird's Nest from the 2008 Olympic Games.

We've decided to go to Shanghai as well. A lot of his friends are from there, so I'm sure we'll get to see them when we visit. I'm excited to see the city because I've heard there's just something special about it that you have to experience.

I can't wait for this trip. As of now, it's about 2 months away. That seems so far away yet so close!

Update: Unfortunately, because I just had wishful thinking and I actually am not rich, I had to scrap Shanghai from the list of destinations. I just didn't have the money or time to afford that in my plans. But we're still set on Dalian and Beijing, so I still feel incredibly lucky and blessed to have parents willing to put up with me for asking for so much from them.

I'm so grateful to them. Love you, mom and dad. xoxo

Memories

Today, before I left home, I sat and looked through a lot of old family photos. I found so many of my favorite pictures from when I was growing up. Some of them have been my favorites since long ago, while others I saw for the first time today. Either way, these images capture my childhood in a way that nothing else could

I love my family.

March Snow

I came back home to Kaukauna for the weekend because for the past week, I've had an awful cold and I figured I could use a little break to recover. It's always nice being back here for a little bit and letting my mom take care of me and make her amazing chicken noodle soup for me.

On Friday, the day I came back, a huge snowfall hit a big part of Wisconsin, and the entire drive home was terrifying. There were parts where we couldn't even see the road in front of us. (On the highway!) But my dad is one of the best drivers I know, so even though it was scary, I felt safe with him driving us back.

With such a huge and powerful snowfall, there's always a sense of peace and calm the day after. While sitting in bed today, I kept glancing out the window and admiring the beautiful blanket of snow that covered everything in sight. So I decided to go for a little walk in my own backyard and take some pictures of it all.

Perfect. Pristine. Peaceful.

It's March 3rd, but here in Wisconsin we still have at least a month of winter!

Madison, WI

My Home.