TOTW - Yarn Sweet Yarn

Don't you just love to snuggle up in a warm blanket this time of year? With a pair of cozy slippers and a hot cup of tea? I know I love it...and you're probably wondering where I'm going with this!? Well, when I think "warm and cozy" I think of yarn &, wool. There's something so comforting about a knitted sweater or a homemade afghan blanket. And while I am not a knitter (I can cast on, knit and purl, but not in a straight line and I drop as many stitches as I make), I sure do appreciate a bright skein of wool!


So my technique this week is using wool on a scrapbook layout! It was easier than you might expect.

On this first example I braided three strands of wool to use as an embellishment on my layout. Here's a tip to make it a little easier to braid the strands without them winding back on each other. Tie the three strands in a know, then pin a safety pin through the knot and into something sturdy and close by, like the ball of yarn or your pant leg.


Or you could always stick something heavy on top of it...like a coffee mug!

Since I was using very long pieces of yarn for this project, I tried to keep the ends in a bunch so they wouldn't get all tangled up together as I braided.
I used liquid glue and staples to attach my little braid to my layout. Play around with the placement of the braid before you glue it down, and you could put a little curl into it!

In this second example, I thread the yarn right through my paper!

First, pull out your Crop-A-Dile or Big Bite and punch some holes. I just eyeballed where they would go, but you could mark them first with a pencil.

The Big Bite is nice because you can reach in to all areas of your layout. If you don't have a Big Bite, you can use a paper piercer or one of those old-school hammer powered hole punches. You just need to make sure your holes are big enough to fit a giant strand of yarn through!

Then coming up from underneath, start threading your yarn through the holes. You can tape down that loose end...or you could start from the top and tie a knot for a little extra flair.

Keep going until you've reached your last hole. Finish underneath and tape that loose end down as well.

Shazam!

Take it a step farther and use different kind of textiles on your layout, like leftover fabric from a sewing or quilting project, ribbon or lace, felt or felted wool. You could also carry the theme into other embellishments and use buttons, zippers, pins or any other sewing notions.

Enjoy...and try to stay warm out there! I'm so looking forward to the high of -30 we're getting today! Yippee!