4th of July Wreath

We normally don't decorate for Independence Day.
Yes, I feel a bit guilty about not flying the red, white and blue.

But I have been loving all of the amazing decor I've been seeing on

blogland and pinterest.

There was a 5 Below store right next to the restaurant where we were having dinner last night.

Outside was a huge bin of pool noodles marked $1 each.

Didn't I see some cool, pool noodle wreath tutorials?

I can give it a try for $1.

So after dinner, we headed over and I picked up a few noodles and 

some amazing decorative duct tape.

(for my next project)

After reviewing my pins and doing a few google searches,

I put this little number together this afternoon,

 I am really digging it.

And it was so easy to make!

and literally cost me $1!!

(insert happy dance)

What do you need to make your own wreath:

Pool Noodle

Packing Tape

Blue and White paper

Scissors

Hot Glue Gun

Spray Paint - Optional

Ribbon - Optional

I angled the ends of my pool noodle slightly

so it would make a perfect circle.

Once I got the right fit, tape it up.

You have my heart

I had such a fun time making the origami flower in THIS post,

I wanted to try origami again.

After a bit of internet research, I came across this SITE with both

written and video tutorial on the beauty above.

They suggested making the heart from money to gift.

Now, that is what I call a good gift.  :)

I was totally inspired and off I went to find some paper.

I ended up choosing 3 different colors,

as I wanted to make 3 different size hearts.

The cast of characters:

Paper

Paper Cutter or Scissors

Embellishments

Ribbon

I cut my paper as follows:

Pink - Same size as a money bill ($1 I'm a big spender)

Purple - Sheet of 8.5X11 cut on the short side

Red - Sheet of 8.5X11 cut on the long side

Here are the steps.

It seems like a lot, but one heart takes about 3 minutes total.

Take your paper and fold both ends in a 45 degree angle down

Flatten back down and repeat the 45 degree angles up.

In my pic, I flipped by sheet of paper and did a down fold again.

Same difference. :)

See the cool-criss cross you got going on?

Take one side of the folds and bring both ends to meet.

This will create a triangle to your right.

Press down on the triangle.

Repeat on the other side.

Once you have both ends completed, take the right side 

and fold it over the left.

Fold over both corners on the right in 45 degree angles.

Take that same half and fold back over the 2 small,

45 degree angles.

Now you will have a diamond shape, made up of 2 triangles.

Take each leg of the triangles and fold up so it meets the point 

of the triangle.

Repeat for each of the 4 legs.

Open the middle and press the tip of the folded legs to middle of the diamond

Repeat for each leg.

This will leave you with for small diamonds

Take the  sides of the diamonds and fold them in

toward the middle of the small diamond.

It will leave you with a kite shape.

Now take each of those folds, open the middle and press the tip

towards the middle of the diamond.

Repeat for each side of the diamond, 8 folds.

You are now finished with the front!

Turn the heart around and take the top piece of paper

and fold it down to the tip of the heart.

Fold over the tips of of the side of the heart to finish the look.

Here is the finished product, without and extras.

Then with a sparkly jewel set in the middle.

Since I was not using money for this origami,

I whipped out the glue gun and added the jewel.

I also glued down the side folds of the heart in the back.

I then added a ribbon for hanging.

Here are my completely finished hearts!

The bottom of the hearts are open so you can attach them to anything.

I added on to the frame above.

Gratuitous Plug: How cute is my 3 month old little man in that pic. I just want to eat him up  

You could also add them to a card or use as a bookmark.

The ribboned hearts can be gift tags, or stand alone ornaments.

I really loved making these and think the bling gives them a little sumpin' sumpin'

Happy Valentines Day!

XOXO

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Linking up to these great parties:

Monday - Craftomaniac * Kristens Junk Drawer * Sarahndipities *  Skip to my Lou * Mad in Crafts * Keeping It Simple * Sumo's Sweet Stuff * C.R.A.F.T. * Making The World Cuter * Alderberry Hill * So Very Creative * Singing Three Little Birds *Ask Anna * Get Outta My Head Please * Three Mango Seeds * Lisa's Craft Blog * Polly Want a Crafter * DIY Home Sweet Home * Sew Can Do * Debbie-Debbiedoos * Cooking with Karyn * An Original Belle
Tuesday - Tip Junkie * Sugarbee Crafts * Funky Polkadot Giraffe * My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia * Crafty Confessions * Home Stories A to Z * Homework * Not Just a Housewife * Project Queen *A Diamond in the Stuff * Cherished Bliss * Blackberry Vine * Uncommon * The Southern Product Queen

Wednesday - Someday Crafts *Sew Much Ado * Tea Rose Home *A Little Tipsy * The Thrifty Home * Fireflies and Jellybeans * My Girlish Whims * Gingersnap Crafts *  Raegun Wear * The CSI Project* The Stuff of Success * Lil' Luna * The Sasse Life

Thursday - Somewhat Simple * The Shabbycreek Cottage * The 36th Avenue * Thrifty 101 * A Creative Princess * House of Hepworths * The Artsy Girl Connection * Katie's Nesting Spot * Between U and Me * A Glimpse Inside * Christina's Adventures * Made in a Day * Adventures in Dinner * 52 Mantels

Friday - Thirty Handmade Days * Romantic Home *Tatertots and Jello* Simply Designing * Creation Corner * Blissful and Domestic * Young and Crafty * Delicate Construction * Happy Hour Projects * Sassy Sites * A Blonde's DIY Life * Whipperberry * Little Inspiration * Serenity Now * Here Comes The Sun * Tidy Mom * Raising Oranges * Happy Go Lucky * The Grant Life * Toys in the Dryer * Fingerprints on the Fridge * Bacon Time

Saturday - Positively Splendid.com * Be Different Act Normal * Family Ever After *Lovely Crafty Home * Lollyjane * Funky Junk Interiors * Too Much Time On My Hands * Six Sisters Stuff * Country Momma Cooks

Sunday - The Girl Creative *The DIY Showoff * Nifty Thrifty Things *Petite Hermine * I Heart Naptime * Flamingo Toes * Cherished Treasures *My 1929 Charmer * Embellishing Life Everyday * Sunday Social * The Foley Fam

Origami Flower Ornament

Isn't it pretty????

I had such a great time making this ornament. 

There is something very soothing about folding paper this way,

I don't know why, but it really was nice and calming. 

I had originally found my inspiration picture on Pinterest months ago
and knew I wanted to try this out.  

As I was doing more research on the picture, I found out this ornament is
kusudama origami.   I found lots of how-to videos on You Tube, and wanted to put together a
tutorial on how I made my

 Kusudama Origami Flower Ornament.

Here are the cast of characters:

Paper - I used my $.50 Goodwill Book (this makes crafts number 4 & 5 from this baby)

Hot Glue and Gun or Regular Glue

Scissors

Fishing Line or Ribbon