YouTube Subscribers on PattieWackDesigns Channel - Now 6,999!

Be the 7,000th YouTube Subscriber and 

WIN a Complete PattieWack Tool Kit worth $50!

Can you believe it?  You guys have bumped up the number of subscribers on the PattieWack Designs YouTube channel to 6,999!  Scott pointed it out to me a few minutes ago and I freaked!  

I knew it was growing, but wow!

Here it is the last day of Year 2013 and I feel like I'm going out with a bang.  

This year has been huge for me at PattieWack Desgins.  

I am launching our NEW PattieWack.com website and we completely 

revamped the PattieWack Blog to match the new website.  

It took several months to make it happen, but I'm finally ready to reveal it.  

I'm also on the verge of hitting 

1.5 MILLION VIEWS 

on the YouTube Magazine Roll-ups Video!

 

And it's all because of YOU that I can share what I love, and keep the projects and videos coming!

So, if you haven't already, SUBSCRIBE to the YouTube PattieWack Designs channel 

by simply clicking on the 'subscribe' button while watching ANY VIDEO.  

We'll get a notice that you're #7,000 and you'll receive a complete set of Pattiewack Tools!

Go to the PattieWack Designs Channel:

 http://www.youtube.com/user/PattieWackDesigns?feature=watch

Click on the box: SUBSCRIBE

That's all there is to it.

Good Luck & HAPPY NEW YEAR!

DIY Leopard Print Heels

Here's a cool sparkly pair of kicks to enjoy for New Year's that I literally whipped up in under 30 minutes!  They are such a cool way to make a statement with that little black dress at your party and what girl doesn't love a little bling to ring in the new year?

Love those Pompoms!

My JoAnn flier has the cutest pompom flowers and garland today.  

The flowers in the can look super simple to make on yarn covered wires. 

The pompom garland is great! It looks like a long braid with pompoms attached. 

Plus they're having a sale on yarn at 25% off.  

My yarn stash is getting low, so I might have to go and stock up. 

If you're lookng for a really easy way to make pompoms in several sizes, and with only one tool, I think you'll love my Pattiewack Pompom Tools. 

I'm an Independent Seller and would love for you to spread the pompom and tassel love. 

Find the tools and how-to videos at 

www.pattiewack.com

Ugly Sweater DIY with Christmas Neck Ties

This month in our design studio, we had an Ugly Sweater design-off!  I had no clue what I was going to do at first, but got inspired after a trip to the thrift store.  I think my sweater turned out so ugly, that it's actually cute and Chloe is adorable modeling it for the photos.  Let me show you how this project came together...

Pattie Wilkinson shared an Instagram photo with you

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Pattie Wilkinson just shared an Instagram photo with you:

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"A banner of hope that I made for CHA says it all... #crafts #banner #chevron #affirmations @ilovetocreate #cre8time"
(taken at iLoveToCreate)

Thanks,
The Instagram Team

Pompom Headbands How-To:

Pompom Ears!

My daughter Stacey and grandaughter Lala love, love, love their pompom headbands. So easy peasy. All you need is a head band and then make 2 Pattiewack pompoms, attach with wire and then cover the whole thing with wound yarn. 

How To Make A Christmas Tree Mannequin - Video Tutorial

Christmas Princess

I love to make alternative fashion art with mannequins, so when we decided not to put up a Christmas tree this year, I thought about how I could turn a mannequin into a Christmas tree.  I mean, why not?

Scott agreed to capture it all on video, and cut evergreens from the trees in our backyard, so all I had to do was start gathering the materials and get creative. This was going to be so much fun!

Christmas Tree Skirt

As you'll see when you watch the video tutorial, we used 3 different kinds of greenery; pine, cedar, and nandinas with red berries.  The Christmas lights are LED so that they won't dry out the fresh branches.

Christmas Mannequin Lace Collar

One of my favorite things is collecting bits of lace and doilies and vintage crochet pieces.  I was so excited when I found this handmade lace collar in my stash along with several other pieces I had grabbed in estate sales, thrift stores and garage sales over the years.  I just can't pass them up!

Christmas Mannequin Pompom Belt

To cover up the ends of the branches from the skirt, I made a pompom and doily belt to tie around the mannequin's waist.  The tutorial is below for making the belt and the lacey collar.

How To Make Pattiewack Pompoms

For the belt and large pompoms I used Redheart Sashay Yarn.  For the other pompoms I used from my stash of Coats & Clark yarns.  The more organic yarns with bits of sparkle seems to fit naturally.

Just in case you haven't seen the Pattiewack Pompom making tools, here's a little tutorial.  You can watch a full video on my website, too.  Step 1 is to wind the yarn around the tool until it is super thick so that you'll have a really nice and full pompom. For this pompom I wound the yarn on the 4-inch section of the Pattiewack Pompom tool because I wanted it to be the accent at her waist.

 

Step 2 is to wind heavy wire around the center very tightly.  Step 3 is to cut both sides of the pompom.

 

That's it!  You can trim the pompom if you like, but that's all there is to it.

How To Make Lace Collar Collage

It was super simple to make the collage of lace by starting out with the vintage collar as my base.

 

Next, I laid out my bits of old lace that had been cut from old garments, and tea stained doilies.

 

I found this bridal lace with sequins on it to brighten it up, and a feather tassel.  It was easy to put it all together by intertwining sparkly yarn in and out by hand for a temporary hold until after Christmas.

 

The last step was to tie the feather tassel onto the shoulder of the collar.

How To Make Christmas Tiara

Check out the video to see the tutorial on assembling the wintry crown of evergreens and pompoms.

I hope you love it as much as I do!  The studio looks so pretty with my little Christmas Princess, and it took the place of a Christmas Tree this year.  

Scott and I will be out of town for Christmas, so we'll be taking our mini aluminum trees with us to spruce up our room.  I'll be sure and post it when we get there. Let me know what you think about my Christmas Mannequin, and tell me what crazy things you're making for your decorations this year...... 

Merry Christmas Everyone!

PattieWack

How To Make Pompom Pens!

Pompom Pens are the perfect idea for Christmas gifts, and I've been working like crazy on pompom goodies to sell in our iLoveToCreate Christmas boutique next week.  My stash of yarn has been so great for all of these projects since they don't need to match each other, but they are so pretty with mixed bits of yarn in coordinating colors, don't you think?

These are super quick to make and would be just the ticket for office gifts or stocking stuffers.  It only takes about 15 to 20 minutes to make one, and nobody will walk away from your desk with these pens without anyone noticing, right?  

My daughter Stacey and I did a bouquet of pens to take to the treasurer's office where she works, and she is hoping that they'll add a little pizzzaz to the boring counter.

Here's what you'll need:

• 2 Skeins of contrasting yarn
• 22 Gauge Wire
• Wire Cutters
• Aleene's® Fabric Fusion® Peel & Stick Tape™
• Simple Pens with no caps
• Scissors
• Pattiewack Pompom Tool

Steps:

1. Make a 2-inch pompom on the Pattiewack Pompom Tool, ending the last 10 winds with contrasting yarn. (Watch the video here for pompom how-to.)
2. Tape pompom wires to end of pen with tape, continuing the tape all the way to the tip. 
3. Peel off backing from tape to expose adhesive.
4. Starting at the tip of the pen, wind yarn around pen to cover the adhesive, all the way to the top.  Tie off the end of the yarn to finish.

Now if I don't sell all my pens at the boutique, I'm ready to write in my bunny journal, sign Christmas cards, or give away my pens for gifts!  Let me know what you're making for Christmas this year....

Merry Christmas Everyone!

PattieWack

Happy Birthday Board...

Every month a designer in our creative department draws the birthday board and this month Suzie Shinseki did it.

I can't believe how amazing she is, and her talent blows me away!

She did this whole thing in about 30 minutes!

I'm a lucky December birthday, and I absolutely LOVE it!!! 

Thanks Suzie!!! 

Christmas DIY.......working on something NEW...stay tuned!

How To Make Fluffy Pompom Slippers

Don't you love waking up on Christmas morning and putting your feet into some fluffy slippers before they hit the cold floor?  Me too!  And if you're looking for a way to add a personal touch to a gift this Christmas, I think these would be so much fun to give or to get.  

All you need to do purchase a pair of slippers and make matching pompoms.  Of course if you are a knitter or love to crochet, you'll be making your own slippers. (insert happy face) I attached my pompoms with big safety pins so that I can take the pompoms off when I toss the slippers in the washing machine.  

If you're shopping on a budget, it's a good idea to buy several pairs for your friends and family in the same color so that you can create a little assembly line of the same color of pompoms.  

That way you can get by with just 2 skeins of yarn for several presents.  Right?  

I hope you like them, and spread the fluffy love with fluffy pompom slippers for everyone!

You’ll need:  

Purchased or handmade slippers 

Large size Pattiewack™ Pompom Tool

2 Large safety pins

Yarn that I used to match my raspberry red slippers :

MODA DEA™Cheerio: 1 Ball No. 8778 Ruby

MODA DEA™Cartwheel: 1 Ball No. 9745 Raspberries

Steps:

Wind both colors of yarn at one time onto the pompom tool at the 4” step, and wind 25 times.

Tie the center of the pompom tightly with 12” length of yarn.

Cut the pompom away from the tool.

Pin the pompom to the toe of the slipper with a large safety pin.

Repeat for the other slipper.

Happy Holidays!

PattieWack

Pompom Cupcake Garland - I'm in Love!

I love looking at everyone else's pompom and tassel projects, and this one made me fall in love all over again!   On Cupcake Wishes & Birthday Dreams, she has the cutest little cupcake liners filled with pompoms and strung together to make a garland for any fun event, (and she has an Etsy shop, too).

Don't you just LOVE it?

PattieWack

How To make Pompom Christmas Trees

Cute little felt and pompom Christmas trees are fast, fun and easy to make.

I made these in about 1 to 2 hours and now I have them to use for decorating my house for years and years!  These are only 12 inches tall, so they'll sit nice on the mantle or as a kitschy centerpiece.

First I drew up a simple pattern which is easy to print out or draw on a piece of standard size printing paper.  I cut out two trees at a time with pinking shears so they match perfectly.  I also cut out the circles so that the tree tops were a little more significant. Then I sewed them together on the sewing machine.  You could sew them by hand if you prefer.  I left the bottom open and stuffed them with some batting from my stash.  I placed a dowel rod up the center and glued the bottom closed around the dowel rod.  Then I drilled a shallow hole in a piece of balsa wood, glued the dowel into the hole with Aleene's Tacky Glue.  (I did paint mine before I assembled it, but you might like it with the unfinished wood.)

Then the fun began!  I made 1-inch pompoms with the Pattiewack Pompom Tool in red, greens and a shaggy white yarn.  I glued them on, holding in place with a pin until the glue dried.  I also glued some little buttons on to add a little extra zing.

I love how they turned out!  I think they would be cute no matter where I decide to put them. 

Pompom Christmas Trees

How To Make Leather Bound Metal Journals

Journaling is by far one of my favorite things!  

I've got nooks and crannies, boxes and drawers filled with my journals of notes, drawings, thoughts, sketches, lists, ideas, and hosts of other random brain droppings.  But I have to say that I also love making journals.  These are probably the most outrageous ones I've made, and the idea came to me when I was walking through the home improvement store.  Scott and I love going there and brainstorming about the different things we can make with all the extremely cool stuff.

When I saw the aluminum flashing in rolls, I knew that I had to have a roll!  Then I took it home and flattened it so that it didn't curl anymore.  

The next step is the most fun of all.  Take acrylic paints in your favorite colors, and drop onto the metal flashing.  While it's wet, pick up the metal and make the paint run from side to side. Keep playing with it until you just love it!  Let it dry completely.

You're ready to cut it with metal snips. You must wear heavy gloves for this, and have fine grit sandpaper to soften the edges after cutting it into matching rectangles.  Next, cut a 1-inch tab across the left edge of the rectangles. Don't forget to sand the edges so that they're not sharp anymore.

Now punch holes and attach grommets 2 or 3 inches apart along the center of the tabs, and along the edge of the rectangles to line up with the holes in the tabs.  If you've never made grommets, simply follow the steps on the packaging and you'll be a pro.

Grab some leather lacing at the craft store and punch holes in paper to match up with the grommets, and tie through the metal and through the paper to bind the journals.  Wow, you'll love it!

These would be perfect gifts for anyone, but I especially think they would be great for the guys in your life, too!

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my blog, and I hope you'll find lots of cool crafts to make for yourself, your friends, and your family.

Happy Crafting!

Pompom Challenge!

Do you love pompoms?  

Do you love to make pompoms?

Do you love to help others?

Then you'll love this challenge!

The good folks over at sense.org are challenging the world of creative and helpful people like yourself to make pompoms for a good cause.... to increase awareness of people who have difficulty with both sight and hearing.  And all you have to do is make pompoms!

For more info, go to http://www.sense.org.uk/whypompoms and you'll be making pompoms that will make a difference and connect with people all over the world in this excellent effort.

Do it, and have fun with it!

How-To Make Expired Gift Card Earrings

What do you do with those gift cards when you use them up?

There are some really pretty cards out there.  I know Target has the cutest ones!  Well, here's an idea for you.  Punch or cut out the card to make two matching circles.  You can go as big as you want, but these worked out great for the flowers in a 1 inch circle. If the edges are a bit rough, you can use a nail file to make them perfect.

Then push a straight pin through the tops of the punched circles. Add a jump ring, then thread beads onto an eye-pin between the circles and fish hooks, and you've got yourself some snazzy earrings on the cheap.  Adding beads that match or contrast with the colors in the card really add pizzaz and will kick up your ensemble when you wear them!

Pompom Turkey Favors

These little pompoms will make everyone smile on Thanksgiving!

 When I think of Thanksgiving, I think of Scott and I waking up and

having a lazy breakfast before the dinner prep begins.

So, I thought a cute little pompom turkey sitting on top of upside

down coffee cups at our table would be just the

perfect favor to start the day!

Here's my crafty supplies:

Yarn, Aleene's Tacky Glue, Polka Dot Papers, and a PattieWack Pompom Tool.

 First Step:

Make a pompom

 Second Step:

Cut out 3 tail feathers and 1 circle.

Third Step:

Fan-fold the tail feathers and glue the papers into place to make your cute pompom turkey.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Pattiewack