Really, How hard could it be?

Obviously harder then I remembered.

But this is my new motto!
And with that, I set forth with a new outlook!

See, I wanted to do a couple more Valentinesy crafts before I called it done and I had fond memories of making tissue paper carnations in grade school.
Something about folding tissue paper up accordion style and then it resembling a carnation.
Guess what? I tried it! It looked nothing like a carnation. Guess what? I tried it again. It still looked nothing like a carnation. Guess what? I went to the internet for help. Guess what? I was doing it wrong. Guess what? I found a better way of doing it and it came out really nice.
Wanna see? Say yes!
Okay, here is my bouquet of tissue paper Valentine never die carnations.Pretty tacky huh? Yup, I'm all about being tacky!
But I'm going to show you how to make them anyway at the end of this post if you want to stick around.

So after conquering the carnations I felt the need to do something just a tad more challenging. And wouldn't you know that my trip to Wal-Mart gave me just the inspiration I needed.
While I was perusing the hand bags I came across these beauties.
Are those cute or what? Valentine bandannas!
Since they were only a $1.00 a piece I bought 4 and decided to make Valentine pillows out of them.

Here's how it ended up looking.I have to admit, it came out pretty cute! Didn't it? And trust me, I am not a great seamstress so if I can do it, so can you.

Once again for those of you who are just doing a skim and don't have time to partake in anything that resembles a craft, you're free to move on to the next blog and thanks for stopping by!


But for those of you who appreciate ALL the TIME and EFFORT it takes to show you how I did this. (Because I know you care and want to know.) By all means stay and check it out and know that you are still my favorite people!

First we'll do the tissue paper carnations.
Grab your supplies:

Colored Tissue Paper of your choosing
Green Pipe Cleaners

Yeah, can you handle it?
First fold your tissue paper so it makes at least 6 layers, then cut about a 7 inch. square.

Then cut about a 6 inch circle from your square.

Now take your pipe cleaner and push it down and then back up.
So it ends up looking like this.

Then twist the small end of the pipe cleaner to the bigger end to make your flower stem.
Now turn it over and start making your carnation layers.
Simply scrunch layer after layer until all layers have been scrunched.
And when you're done it should look something like a carnation!
You're impressed I know, but try to hold you enthusiasm until you're done reading or you might miss something fascinating, because I'm all about being fascinating.... and tacky!

Next up is the Valentine's Bandanna Pillow!

First get your bandanna.
Now if you don't want to take the trouble to put the white heart on there as an accent, then skip the next couple of steps. But if you do, then let's move on.

Cut your heart out of whatever coordinating fabric you have. I choose some soft white fabric I had. Then cut the same shape, only slightly smaller, out of your fusible bond.
This is fusible bond. In case you've never seen it. You'll love this stuff.
Follow the instructions on the package and apply your heart to the front of your bandanna.
Now take your favorite stitch and stitch around it.
I chose a blanket stitch.

Then you are going to sew the front to the back (your other matching bandanna).
So match wrong sides together and what I did is I used the white border line going around the hearts in the middle and stitched along it. I didn't pin anything because this isn't supposed to be time consuming and hard. Just line up your pieces and let her rip. Just leave about a 7 inch opening so you can stuff it.
Once you have it stuffed to your liking, sew up the 7 inch gap you had.
And you should have something that looks like a won ton.
Now grab your scissors and start cutting about 3/4 inch wide strips around the whole pillow. Make sure you don't cut through your stitching. Come just short of that. Make sure you cut through both sides at the same time though.

When you're done cutting it should look like this.
Simply separate your layers and double tie each strip, all the way around the pillow.
And when you are completely done, it should look like this!
Now with anything, I would really like to know if you tried these and I would of course love to see your finished project!

BIG HUGS!

Linking this up to:

and