Flower Napkin Ring

Finally! It's Friday! It's been a long week for me with a bunch of assignments and a busy time at placement. I'm so glad it's finally Friday and that I have a whole weekend to look forward to. That is, after my first test today.
It's been a while since I've posted a craft for you to do with your kids. Here's a great idea I got from one of my classmates. Her daughter had made this beautiful craft for her for Mother's Day. I thought this would be great for a spring or summer table setting.

Here's what you need:

• Three different colours of felt
• Scissors
• Marker

First, you need to cut out a long piece of felt that looks like a bone. The age of your child depends on what he or she may be able to do. 

Next, you need to cut out two flowers, one smaller and one larger. Then, cut a small hole along the centre of both flower and on one side of the bone.

The last step it to piece it together. Fold the bone in half. Thread the two flowers onto it. Then stick the one side of the bone into the side that has the hole. 

You have just made a very easy, yet beautiful, napkin ring.

They look beautiful in a place setting. 

Now that I'm in school I have to share some knowledge with you. This craft will help your child's fine motor skill (cutting with scissors) and problem solving skills (figuring out how to put the napkin ring together). So why not do something fun with your child that can also help their development.

Enjoy your weekend and the beautiful weather we're having.

Happy Crafting,

PS: Here's where we link up.

DIY Monogram Napkins

Today's technology has made it so that anyone with a fancy sewing machine can do their own monograming on just about anything. But today I'm going back to basics with a simple needle and thread.

I decided to monogram my napkins. I had picked up this set of 4 white napkins for I think $7 (don't quote me on that) a while ago, and finally gotten around to monograming them.

The design that I monogramed on them was one I came up with in Illustrator. It is just a simple 'W' in a script font with a circle of dashed lines around it. After I came up with it I printed if off in a bunch of different sizes and chose to use the smallest one.

My next step was to tape the paper with the design on the window, and to hold the napkin on top of it.  Then I let the sun shine show the monogram through to the napkin and traced it out with a pencil.

After that all I had to do was stitch over the design. I did half of the napkins with blue and half in purple, and I can't decide which one I like most!

I love that anyone can monogram anything they want, it just doesn't stop at napkins. You can monogram pillowcases, sheets, table cloths... the list goes on and on.

Happy Crafting,
Courtney

PS: Look here to see where we link up.