DIY Q-Tip Pussy Willow Branches For Centerpieces

I don't know how this idea came into my

head, but so excited it did! And, I did a

search on the net to see if anyone has

ever done this before and found nothing!

Cool beans!

It all came about when I was taking a

break from a sweater pumpkin I was

making. I went online just to free my

mind as I was stuck on how I wanted to

finish it. My inspiration had just died with

it... does that happen to you too? Normally

when that happens I just stare at it for a

few days and then bam... something hits

me and then, I can tear into it until it's done.

(My vases look a little dwarfed here on this

antique desk I set them on. Have to find a

new spot for them durn it.)

So, as I was taking my break on blog land,

I came across this sweater vase. I have

seen many before but this one just struck

me to want to do one. I liked it and, I had

just come across my poor beautiful lambs

wool sweater jacket with fur on the inside

of the hood that I just loved! It had

accidentally got thrown in the wash and,

well lets just say, a small child could wear

it now...so sad! It had shrunk so small that

when I cut the sleeves off, and just slid them

over the vases I was using, they barley fit!

The positive in that was, they were good

and snug so that was all I had to do. No

glue, no nothing, and they were done. The

last thing I did was cut off three of the

buttons from the sweater and hot glued

them on the front of the larger vase for

some nice decoration. Just right!

 

 

Displayed in this vase was some faux pussy

willows. I loved the look and wanted some for

my vases. I didn't want to go shopping to try

to find some, even I could find them, and I

didn't want to spend any money either.

 

And then all of a sudden I got a slap in the head idea! As I was looking at the pussy willows my mind did a flip and I saw q-tips! Well they do look like q-tips don't ya think!? And then...the world of nature kicked in. I wasn't going to have to spend a dime or go anywhere! Except for the woods next to me to find some branches....so I did! I will make my own pussy willows!

My silly hubby saw me out there in the

woods picking up sticks from his office

window and walking back with a bunch

of dead branches and hollers down from

his office upstairs asking "what are

you doing now?" I went upstairs telling

him I'm taking your box of q-tips. He says,

"Oh this ought to be good...sticks and

q-tips!!? And I got that look, but with a bit

of bewilderment added. Then he says, "I

won't even ask!" I said, "just wait and see!"

So I went back downstairs and started to

work....and it worked! I got my pussy willow

branches done a few hours and about five

hundred or close q-tips later! I was so

stinkin excited when it was done! I showed

them to hubby and he said, "Oh wow

sweetie, that is awesome! They look real!"

Gives a nice winters feel too I think!

And honestly, you can't really tell they

aren't real unless you get super close to

look! I am totally happy happy with them!

Everyone that has come to the house has

gone nuts over them....and when I tell them

they are q-tips, they don't believe me until

they get super close up to them. They never

would have known until I told them.

To do these yourself all you need is:

 a box of q-tips - 500 ct. would be best

some sticks or branches dead or alive

(less than I used would be better lol,

took forever! I'm not good at projects

like that!) I get impatient to get done!

scissors - I used hubbys kitchen scissors

(You should have seen his face when he

saw me cutting the q-tips with his precious

and expensive kitchen utensils!) If he can

cut up a chicken with them, then it

certainly won't hurt them to cut a q-tip!

I just rolled my eyes right back at him!

glue gun and glue sticks

and I recommend a deep bowl - why?

Because when I was clipping the tips off

the q (sticks), they were flying all over the

place! Once I got the bowl I pointed the end

I was cutting downward into the bowl, and

the high sides of the bowl made them

ricochet off the bowl walls, but fall into the

bowl. No more getting up and chasing

those suckers everywhere they landed!

And some time and patience!

Take your q-tips and start by clipping off

both ends right at where the cotton ends

on the stick or just a little above it until

you have a lot!  And I mean ALOT! I did

cut some a little closer to the tip for use

on the thicker branches.

I then set my branches in the vase and

even glued them together in places so they

wouldn't move from how I had put them. I

even clipped some smaller branches off

some others I didn't use, and glued them on

my branches in the vase where there

was gaps, and to have a couple fall over the

sides of the vase. Once my branches were

set, I took the glue gun and the tips I had cut

and squeezed just a tiny bit of glue on the

clipped end and just placed them on the

branches where there had been a leaf or

mark in the stem where another branch

had once been. Then I filled the stems with

the tips where I thought a pussy willow

would have bloomed.

It was really easy adhering them....most I

just set on the branch and that was it. On

the teeny tiny thin stems of the stick, I

sometimes held them in place for just a

couple of seconds very gently.

My branches were found from limbs that

had fallen off the trees so they were pretty

brittle so I had to be ever so careful not to

have them break off while I was placing the

cotton tips on them. And that is it! You got

pussy willows!

One suggestion I'll share. When applying

the glue on the tips,  just do a small dab and

when you are pulling the glue gun away,

kind of do a wrap around before, so you

don't get those glue strings. I only had a

couple doing it that way and when I was

finished I took my tiny embroidery shears

and clipped them off!

Who would have thunk? Not me, but I

did! I kept wondering all day if it was

my mom giving me a nudge to use my

noggin from heaven...I'm not that smart!

Well there you have it! Have fun and enjoy

if you happen to make some yourself! I

really really Love Love mine!

The photo that inspired my vases and the

faux pussy willows that inspired the idea

to make my own pussy willows!

And below the real deals!

First beginning to bloom Photo Courtsey

Photo Courtsey

Giant White Pussy Willows (Salix chaenomeloides)

Beginning to bloom Photo Courtesy

I love pussy willows...don't you!?

I'm not to far off! Maybe one day I will add a bit of

watered down light grey craft paint, or roll them in

some grey eye shadow to tint them for a more natural look

in color. Right now I like them white like the second photo

of real white pussy willows above. And....if you get your

mind away from q-tips....you can see pussy willows!

  

Thanks for spending your time with me!

TaTa Till Later!

With Sincere Appreciation I Would To Thank The

Following For The Feature Of My Pussy Willows

Hometalk

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Thank You So Much!

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Sweet And Chic Embellished Sweater Pumpkins

 Vintage Victorian Inspired Embellished Sweater Pumpkin

Don't you just love to recycle things?  I do too! With ideas

of my own or being inspired by other things people do. I

have pumpkins on the brain and I decided this is the time

to finally get done what I have been meaning to do in

forever. I made a bunch of them out of several different

type of materials and fabrics, but I wanted to take it up

a notch and make some dainty special ones. And, I knew

just the stuff to make them with.

I have a box of sweaters I had been saving that, let's

just say had shrunk in size on me hoping that one day

they might shrink up to the size I'm wearing now! Well,

that hasn't happened in two years so, I decided they

would make pretty pumpkins. I finally got inspired

to create with them, although it killed me to cut them

up. They were all in really good shape so what am

I thinking!

This WAS a beautiful cashmere sweater in a taupe

color...a good fall color and so soft, so this was my

first pick to work with.

My hubby starting choking when he saw me taking

the scissors to this one asking "what the heck are

you doing!?" I said, "Making a sweater pumpkin!"

LoL! Then I got that look...you know the one that

if there were words printed on his face would say,

"have you lost your ever loving mind again woman!"

He seems to say that quite often to me lately.

Then he left the room saying, "I can't watch this

slaughter!"

I have to admit, I had to turn my head while I put

the first cut into it cringing at the same time! Gosh

that was hard to do! Oh well can't turn back now!

I had some sweet vintage crocheted lace, a bit stained

up but I liked it just the way it was, and knew I wanted

to use it along with something sparkley. I had victorian

on my mind but that was about it on where it was going

to go from there.

I got the pumpkin made and added the lace. I decided

I wanted to cover the twine that was wrapped around

the top of the sweater to create the stem, so I cut a piece

of the cuff off the sweater sleeve and wrapped it around

the stem, and rolled over the top of it just a little bit. I

wanted to cover the top of the stem so I took a strand

of rhinestones and did a wrap around and ended by

putting a larger square rhinestone right in the middle.

It doesn't show up well in the pictures. Then I wrapped

some more of the rhinestone strand just under where

I rolled the sweater down to on the top of the stem.

Next I clipped four little rhinestones off the chain

of a necklace I had used when making my

"Pink Parfait Chenille Pumpkins"and set them each

in the centers of the flowers in the crocheted lace. It

still needed something. On that same necklace there

was a silver teardrop that I loved that was next to the

clasp, so I took the rest of the silver chain I had left over

from that necklace and redid it to create the little necklace

here on this pumpkin. That was just what it needed! Now

I was satisfied. My four-o-clock in the morning creation.

I get those alot. Might be why I drag all day!

Her name is "Victoria" of course!

I really loved her when she was all done and even

my hubby was amazed how sweet it turn out too!

See I'm not out of my mind yet! Next up.....my

Dainty Creamy White Pearly Feathered and

Vintage Lace Sweater Pumpkin

  

Now I'm really getting inspired! Next I take another

sweater that I loved in a creamy off white. Again I

wanted to use another lace doilie I had that was a bit

whiter than the sweater. I love different shades of white

together. I wanted to do something with pearls on this

one. I had this idea and set out to do it, but it came out

far different from what I had planned! I had planned

on sewing little pearls throughout the entire pumpkin,

but once I got the pumpkin itself made, I was trying to

figure out how I wanted the stem on this one. Just

fiddleing around, I wrapped the pearls around the stem

and that was it! I finished the top off that way too with

one single pearl set on top of the wrap in the middle. I

added my lace....put some single pearls in places around

the lace and then decided to add some feathers. I loved

it but it needed something for sparkle. I just can't get

away from sparkle! In my stash I found this oval

rhinestone that already had some feathers of another

kind glued to it from when I made lace crowns last

year. I set it on the pumpkin and that was it! Now I

was happy with her. When looking at the finished

pumpkin I envisioned wedding...so her name became

"Purity"....well we are supposed to be pure at that time.

I have lots more left of this sweater and the taupe one to

create more pumpkins another day. The inspiration to them

will come when another vision gets in my head. Could be

soon or next year. I got some ideas swimming around in

my brain for the white sweater with Christmas in mind.

We'll see if those pan out!

Next is my......

Creamy Sweet & Chic Sweater Pumpkins With Bling

The last sweater I wanted to use was more of a bulky

type knit sweater in a soft cream color. Cream is a great

fall color too, don't you think?

I got six pumpkins out of one sweater with no

sewing involved. The largest is from the lower

body of the sweater, all the small ones are from

the sleeves of the sweater. I still have the chest part

of the sweater left to make one more if I sew the

sides together to create a tube, or use the front and

back separately by cutting large circles and laying

some pillow stuffing in the middle. Then gather up

the edges to tie off with a rubber band or tie it off

with twine, and continue wrapping the gathered

edges with the twine to create the stem. To get the

sculptured look I can take six strands of the twine

and starting at the bottom underneath the pumpkin,

lay them out evenly spaced with the center of each

strand centered under the pumpkin, take a hold of

both ends, pull it up the sides tightly, then wrap

the ends of the twine around the stem. Once done

with all the strands you get the sculptured look.

Glue the ends in place and trim off the sweater

edges to get the flat look at the top. Then I would

have eight pumpkins...I'll do that later, I'm finally

getting pumpkined out!

I have a pack of pumpkins coming on my next post

made of chenilles, drop cloth, gingham, and checks

to share. I have been on pumpkin overload this year!

It's all the pumpkins I had planned on making for the

last couple years and never got around to it. Nothing

like doing them all in three weeks, but I'm finally getting

them done and out of my system....maybe lol.

I got a pretty good amount of  pumpkins out of one

sweater though....now what to do with all these pumpkins!

I cut leaf shapes out of painters drop cloth for the leaves.

I creased them down the middle, pinched the bottoms

together and then just stuck them under the twine strip

that creates the sculptured look around the sides.

The largest of the pumpkins is made from the bottom

half of the body of the sweater. Below all the little

pumpkins made with the sleeves of the sweater and

each are embellished with different rhinestone jewels.

My two favorites.....The little bitty....this was wrapped

in yarn then I decided to go with twine on the rest. I

think I liked the twine best. It looks rustic but dainty.

Maybe I'll redo her so she doesn't look like the odd man out.

And the.....itty bitty!

and lastly the chenille princess pumpkins my

granddaughter and I did posted here. These aren't

made from sweaters, but they are part of the "Up A

Notch" pumpkins with being dazzled and jeweled

and just sweeter as far as pumpkins go!

The Pink Princess Parfait Collection

Well that's it on my fancy smacy embellished pumpkin

kick. Not sure that I am done, but for now yes. I think

that's enough for one day!

Thank you for sharing your time here today!

TaTa For Now!

With a grateful heart and sincere appreciation,

I would like to thank the following for featuring

my embellished pumpkins. You are so kind!

Craft Gossip And Also Facebook Craft Gossip

Oh My Heartsie Girl ~ Friday Features

Between Naps On The Porch 

  

Thank you so much!

Sharing here:

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