I thought it would be fun to count down my top 5 most popular posts from 2012. This past year was really my first offical year of blogging and I learned alot about the kinds of posts I like to write. The kinds of posts people like to read... well that's still a bit of a mystery to me. What I tried to do was write things that felt right and genuine to me. Some of them didn't work out, but a few did. And here they are!

DIY Wall Art: Bubbles
This was my first blog post that really took off and I give it credit for getting me excited about blogging. These little bubbly canvases are the kind of thing I'm always working on and I usually just throw them in the closet or give them away. Publishing this and having it take off made me think "Hey, people actually want to see the little projects I'm working on. This could be fun!"

Hand Embroidered Cards
I actually had made these cards a couple years before I wrote this post and tried to sell them in my failed Etsy shop. I assumed people hated them because there was very little interest, so when I wrote this post it was totally on a whim. It was meant to be a bit of a filler post because I had nothing else to say. What I thought was just filler has turned out to the bread and butter of my blog posts. It's been pinned thousands of times, I've seen the post all over the internet and translated into several languages. So if you have any draft posts growing mold somewhere, maybe you should clean them up and hit publish because you just never know.

DIY Wall Art: Dreamy Letters
After the success of my Bubbles Art post, I decided to try my hand at DIY art again. I had a lot of fun dreaming this one up and believe it or not, took weeks to get it right. This post ended up being published on the Ruche blog and I became a proud member of the Ruche Blogger Family.

How Not to Paint Ikea Furniture
To this day, this post is by far my most commented on. People love to point out my obvious mistakes and laugh at me. I didn't really want to publish this one at first because it's so dorky, but I'm glad I did. I was planning on just destroying the evidence and never speaking of it again, but I decided to share the story hoping nobody else would make my mistakes. Maybe you'll even have a little chuckle at my expense.

Fall Freebie
This post was the first in what I hope to be a continuing trend on my blog- giving away free digital bits. I figured an iPhone background is something a lot of people could use, and I've since expanded these posts to include a desktop background too. I'm really glad these freebie posts turned out to be so popular because I really enjoy making them! Don't worry, the January background is coming very soon!!

I was so happy with the way this DIY wall art project turned out, I decided I needed to try another variation on it.

This project is super easy to do and so inexpensive. I think I spent under $10 for all the supplies. The canvas is really the most expensive part, but if you look around or aren't too picky about the size you can usually find a good deal.

The supplies you'll need:

• canvas
• tissue paper
• glitter paper
• Mod Podge
• foam brush (or paint brush)
• white paint (optional)

The optional prep-step is to paint your canvas with a coat of white arcylic paint first. I had to do that last time I did this project because I felt my canvas was a little grey, but this one was nice and white so I skipped that step. Side note: I've stopped trying to get all the kitties out of my DIY photos. They just love getting involved! Especially Marshall, he was all up my business during this one.

First, cut out a bunch of circles from the tissue paper and glittery paper. You should be able to find glittery paper in any craft supply store in the scrapbooking section. I used a penny and nickel as a template for my circles. If you fold the paper over on itself several times, one cut will give you a bunch of circles.

Next, arrange the confetti on your canvas to get an idea of where you want it to go. I liked how it looked when I concentrated more of the confetti in one corner and had it spread out across the canvas.

Once you're happy with the placement, start gluing them down with the Mod Podge. It works best if you spread some on the canvas first, lay the circle on top of it, then add another layer of Mod Podge on top of that. When all the confetti is glued down, add another quick coat of Mod Podge to even it out.

I'm really happy with the way it turned out. I even unknowingly matched my nail polish to the design! Guess I had pink dots on the mind this week. This would look great in just about any colours though. I'd love to do dark blue tissue paper with gold glittery paper.

But pink really goes with Barney's fur.

Like I said at the beginning, this was based on a previous art project of mine, so if you like this one be sure to check out DIY Wall Art: Bubbles.

Note: My husband read this post and he wants you to know that we are aware of Barney's "weight issue". He's on a special diet and we try to get him to run around but he's just a big boy. Soon he'll have a whole house to run around in. And Barney would like to point out that this is a very unflattering angle.

Paper flowers are a fun little craft to decorate gifts, table tops, wedding favors, or make a whole bouquet. You can also string them up to make a garland.

There are tons of ways to make paper flowers, but this is my version. I used a slight variation of these on top of my wedding favors.

Supplies:

• tissue paper
• yellow or orange cardstock
• scissors
• tape
• pencil
  
  

1. Cut a strip of tisse paper about 9" x 26" and fold it in half lengthwise.

2. Draw a wavy line on the paper starting with big waves and gradually getting smaller and closer together.

3. Cut a small strip of cardstock about 2.5" x 0.5".

4. Make a series of small cuts into the paper that go almost to the bottom.

Fold the cardstock in half, then in half again and place it on the end of the tissue paper starting at the small waves. The small waves will be in the center of your flower.

Start scrunching the tisse paper around the cardstock stamen. Don't just roll it, scrunch. (That's the technical term.) It helps to have a kitty sit on one end, but it's not required.

Secure the paper with a bit of tape and trim off the excess on the end to make it look pretty.

Embroidery is one of the first crafts I learned. Like most girls, my mom taught me and her mom taught her.

I've always found it very relaxing and fun even though I've had to deal with my friends laughing about how I'm a 26 year old granny! I think part of the problem is that there are very few modern embroidery patterns. Sure, there are definitely a few designers that are leading the way, but I thought I would offer up my designs for you too.

I've got 3 more designs planned, all within the same color family, that I will offer up on my blog as I finish them. So download this and collect them all. I've designed them so they'll look great hanging together.

Included with the PDF pattern, you will find color suggestions. I used a split stitch with 3 strands of floss for the whole design and I'm planning on using the same stitch for the other designs. A straight stitch, back stitch or stem stich would also work well. My fabric is a fairly heavy heather grey cotton with a bit of stretch. So click here to download the free pattern. Hope you enjoy!