Happy Together

A DIY craft blog

Propagation Wall Vase DIY

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It’s the time of year where my two daughters have their birthdays. I always like to think of unique gifts to give them and this is what I happened to come up with for my oldest. She loves house plants and has really developed an interest in learning about taking care of and propagating them. She doesn’t have a special vase for propagation, so this will be just that. A scrap piece of baseboard was my main inspiration to make this propagation wall vase. It obviously came from an old home and I love the chunky paint layers on it, especially the pink color on top. Since it was an older piece, I did cover it with many coats of sealer to keep the paint in place and protect it from water.

Supply List:

  • Wood Block (I used an old baseboard piece that measured 4.5″ x 9.5″)
  • Test Tube (found mine in dollar section at Michaels)
  • 1″ x 4″ piece of leather (or other durable material, ex: vinyl)
  • 2 Black Cut Tacks (these are the ones I used)
  • Sawtooth Hanger (or other hanging hardware)
  • Glue Gun/Glue
  • Hammer
  • Ruler (if needed)

Heat up the glue gun and determine where you want the tube to sit. I used a ruler to make sure it was centered on mine. Then use the glue gun to tack the leather strip on each side where it sits on the wood. You want it to be snug around the tube that it won’t fall but not so tight that it can’t be removed.

Remove the tube and then hammer in a cut tack on each side. This will secure it very well and looks nice.

Use the hammer to add a sawtooth hanger on the back or add some other type of hanging hardware.

Now it’s all ready to go on the wall. Once hung, you can add water to the tube and put it in place on the board. I added a plant cutting to this one for my daughter to be able to experiment with plant propagation. I can’t wait to see how this works for her.

Snowman Lantern DIY

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We had our very first snow day this winter today! It was so fun. My girls were up really early and were more excited than they were on Christmas morning hahaha. Since it is still very much winter here, we are still making winter crafts. This is one I had shared on instagram, but decided to give it a home here on the blog too. It’s not a super specific tutorial, but it’s enough to help you create one of your own.

I’m always looking for ways to add some extra light to the winter darkness so I was immediately drawn to winter craft lanterns I had seen on Pinterest. The only thing was is they were all made with glass jars. I wanted something I could make with my youngest (and niece and nephew) that would be more kid friendly. I found a great alternative one day when I was at Michaels. I saw these plastic snow globes and knew we could create our very own kid friendly snowman lantern. (These were a seasonal item at Michaels so you might be able to find them in the clearance section, but you can also find them online from other places.)

Besides a plastic snow globe (or some kind of plastic jar), all you need is a few simple crafting supplies:

  • Plastic snow globe/jar
  • Mod Podge
  • White Tissue Paper (cut up into small pieces)
  • Foam/Paint Brush
  • Black and Orange Piece of Felt
  • Felt Color of Choice for Scarf
  • Pipe Cleaner
  • Pom poms (I actually had cut off small ones from some yarn I had)
  • Glue Gun and Glue Sticks
  • Battery Operated Candle that fits in plastic container (I picked one that flickered)

To begin, I had the kids cover the globe with mod podge and stick on the pieces of tissue paper. Then they did a layer of mod podge on top of tissue paper. To make it simpler, I had already cut out the eyes, mouth, and a nose from felt for them to glue on using a glue gun. You could use regular glue too. I dabbed on the glue and they placed the felt in the right spot. Then since it was a bit trickier, I glued the pipe cleaner in place and the pom poms on top of the ends so it looked like ear muffs. The pipe cleaner even acts as a handle if you leave enough room.

I let them decide on the scarf color and then cut that out and glued it on. I had to cut two long pieces for it to be long enough to fit around the “neck”. The seam is in the back middle. Then once it’s all dry you can place the candle inside. The fact that it flickered added a bit more magic to the finished product. You can be creative and make other winter themed lanterns too…. like a reindeer, the Grinch, Santa, an ornament…. just change out the color of tissue paper and accessories and there you go!

The Scrappy Bee Pattern Now Available For Free

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I have noticed that there has been quite a bit more activity over here on the blog than normal due to everyone doing their part and staying at home during this time. I decided I would release The Scrappy Bee Pattern for free to download and print to add to your sewing possibilities right now. I created it about ten years ago (crazy, right?), but I still think it’s really cute. In fact, my girls still have the bees I made them. They don’t get played with anymore but you can tell how they are worn a bit with all the loving they received over the years.

I also thought that these cute bees would be adorable in an Easter basket (and Easter is next Sunday!). They are a fairly simple sewing project and you can be so creative them. You can use different materials in so many ways to create a one of a kind whimsical bee. If you go all the way back to this original post, you can see some of the original bees in action along with pattern testers bees. All the information you need is in the two links below. The first includes the instructions and the second is the pattern pieces. If you have any problems with these, send me a message with your email and I can email it to you.

You can click here to view/save/print The Scrappy Bee Instructions.

You can click here to view/save/print The Scrappy Bee Pattern Pieces.

As always, I would love to see what you make! Tag me on social media or use #happytogetherbyjess to share your scrappy bee with me and others. Happy sewing! -jess

Headbands with Buttons for Face Masks

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One of my most popular patterns on my blog, the double sided headband pattern, is now being used in such a great way! I was first made aware of this project by Stephanie of Steph Jacobson Designs (see the headband she made here). With the spread of COVID-19 there are many who have to use a face mask constantly and the masks with ear elastics can really irritate the skin when worn so much. These headbands are helping provide relief from this. I have added these pictures and more to the original post (linked above) so you can have an idea of where to attach the buttons if you would like to make some for those who could use something like this. If you are not a sewer, you can attach buttons to already made headbands as well.

Thank you to everyone who is doing what they can to help out during this time. No act is too small! We are all in this together and you are all in my prayers. -jess

Rainbow Earrings Tutorial

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Rainbows are so beautiful and I have been loving all the different rainbow trends that have been popular lately. In fact, it inspired me to create these textured earrings a few months ago and I’m happy to share how I made them now. Read on to learn how to make your own with this rainbow earrings tutorial.

To make your own pair you will need:

  • Embroidery Thread
  • Yarn, Fabric, etc. for wrapping
  • Earwires (Earring Findings)
  • 26 gauge wire
  • Scissors
  • Hot Glue Gun
  • Ruler
  • Jewelry Pliers

You will want to start by cutting the embroidery thread and wire piece a bit longer than you plan on it being so it can be trimmed at the end. Cut one wire piece and six lengths of embroidery thread (you can just cut six individual pieces, but I looped it) at 7.5″ long.

Cut wire and thread for two more the same way. I played around with the length when figuring out how to make these and while you can shorten each layer some at this point (as you can see I did in my photos), you might as well do them the same since the wrapping will be where the final length is really decided. Keep it easy as possible I say hahaha.

Twist the wire around the embroidery thread like in the above picture. This allows for it to stay together without adding extra glue which would add to the chunkiness of the finished product.

Now you can prepare for the wrapping. You can use yarn, fabric, maybe even try ribbons or leather? I like how you can use different materials to add different textures. I stuck with yarn and fabric, but that doesn’t mean you have to.

You will want to begin gluing with at least one inch of wire and thread left unwrapped on one end. Then as you wrap, add dabs of hot glue to keep it in place. Try not to make the glue dabs really thick so it doesn’t squish out or make a big bump. Each layer will need to be wrapped a little shorter than the previous one. The longest one will be the top layer and the shortest will be the inside layer. You can see in the pictures below the wrapping lengths I chose.

For the big rainbows: Top layer is wrapped about 3.25″, the middle is wrapped about 3″, and the bottom layer is wrapped about 2.75″.

For the shorter rainbows: Top layer is wrapped about 2.5″, middle layer is wrapped about 2.25″, and bottom is wrapped about 2″.

Next you will glue the layers together. I start with the bottom (shortest) and middle layers first. Bend the bottom layer into a rainbow shape and bend the middle layer over it to make sure they will match up nicely. Match the wrapped ends on one side and begin gluing together while shaping the middle layer to the bottom one. You will have some flexibility with the shaping even after they are glued, you just want to make sure that the wrapped ends meet on each side when curved.

Glue on the top layer the same way.

Cut off the extra length of wires as close as you can to the wrapped area.

Then trim the embroidery thread ends to your liking. Mine are all around a .5″ length.

Use jewelry pliers to open up the loop on the earrings.

Hook the earring into the top middle of each rainbow and then use pliers to close up the loop a bit. They stay on very well and I felt no need for any glue at this point.

Another option would be to use a jump ring and turn this into a necklace if you want. It’s a very versatile pile you can have lots of fun being creative with. I hope you enjoyed this rainbow earring tutorial and find it useful Please share your creations on social media and tag it with #happytogetherbyjess or send me a pic. I love seeing what y’all make!