BASH-O Roundup

The end of the month, and thus the end of the BASH-O game, is tomorrow. While I have made good progress on a few more layouts, I'm not going to finish them in time to enter. We have a construction crew in the house working on major renovations in a bathroom and minor renovations in the kitchen, which has significantly impacted my routine, access to my stuff, and ability to get things done. On top of that, I've been deep into trip preparation. The timing has worked out so that we'll be traveling during two of the weeks that the crew is in the house, but that means boarding Trouble, which has added another bunch of items to my to-do list. 

I fell short of my goal to earn three BASH-Os, as I actually earned two. But I made nine layouts, stretched myself creatively, and had a lot of fun. Nothing wrong with that!

The stars mark the layouts I made.  

No major surprises. Most of my layouts were from the Photos category, with two each from Shapes and Tools, and one from Themes. Many of my pages could have fit into multiple categories, but I chose the ones I did in order to complete the BASH-Os. For example, the page I made for In the Garden has three photos, but placing it where I did gave me the prize entry. 

There's a lot more fun coming up at Bash Your Scrapbook Stash! They've recently announced the games for the rest of the year and I'm excited to play along with as many as I can. 

I'm really eager to learn more about each challenge and look forward to more scrapping throughout 2022. 

I'm taking a few days off from blogging and will be back on July 5th with an art project that is completely unlike anything I've ever done before! Wishing you all a safe and sane Independence Day. 

Trevor at 16

I can't believe I'm the mom of a 16-year old. Trevor is as wonderful a son as I could possibly want. As noted on my 'Trevor at 16' layout, he is creative, smart, trustworthy, talented, reserved, generous, kind, cautious, and responsible. And a whole lot of other great things. 

 

Trevor at 16 (affiliate link)

While I am really happy with this page, I am not at all happy with how it scanned. The background paper, which has a diagonal stripe, adds so much to the page. Only a tiny bit of it scanned correctly, just under Trevor's photo. The adjectives are on strips of paper glued on top of each circle; the little bit of dimension didn't scan well either. The title is glittery, but it doesn't look that way in the scan. 

After some debate, I used this page for the Circles space on my BASH-O card. It would have worked for Stars or Glitter. 

18th Anniversary

Today's scrapbook page is about the Folsom getaway we took for our 18th anniversary. I did a couple of things on this layout that I've never done before. First, I desaturated the focal photo, almost to the point of it being black and white. The lighting in our hotel room was terrible and I tried everything I could to color-correct, but the only thing that made it look ok was taking away most of the color. 

Second, I adhered my three photo collages (4 photos grouped together, then printed at 4"x6") directly to the page instead of cutting them apart. I've always cut them apart before so that I could play with the arrangement. This time, I just glued them down. So much faster! I actually added a piece of grey cardstock on top of the photo in the lower right because it was a duplicate that I hadn't noticed. 

18th Anniversary (affiliate link)

I'm using this layout for the Hearts square on my BASH-O card. And with that, I have my second BASH-O!

The Estajonesiers

When I was a teenager, our family went on a cruise with two other families: the Thackers and the Pedriolis. Rather than being known as the Jones-Thacker-Pedrioli party, we shortened our group name to Jokeroli (pronouced like ravioli, but with joker at the front). It suited us well. 

When my sister became Kari Estabrook and I became Cindy deRosier, we needed a portmanteau for our family. We became the Estajonesiers. Not quite as catchy or succinct as Jokeroli, but it does the job. We even have a theme song, as the Estajonesiers fits perfectly into the chorus of Ta-Ra-Ra-Boom-De-Ay. (I would have sworn it was Tra-La-La not Tra-Ra-Ra, but apparently I'm mixing it up with the Banana Splits theme song.)

Anyway, I don't think I've ever used Estajoniers on a layout, so I used it as the title for a page about our time visiting my family in Idaho last summer. 

Estajonesiers (affiliate link)

The glittery letters on this page made it tempting to use it for the Glitter square on my BASH-O card, since I don't use a lot of glitter. But I don't have other photos printed that work so well for Family. So that's the square I'm using. One more page until my second BASH-O!

Last Day of 10th Grade

Trevor wrapped up his sophomore year of high school on June 9. I used these custom papers to make this page showing Trevor on his first day (shorts and t-shirt) and last day (jeans and sweatshirt) of 10th grade. I left plenty of space for journaling to record some of the things I most want to remember from this year - like his GPA, the fact that 340 high schoolers essentially had the entire community college campus to themselves, and that California offered free breakfast and lunch to all students for the first time.    

Last Day of 10th Grade (affiliate link)

I used this page for the 2-photo square on my BASH-O card. My first win!

In the Garden: Bloom

When I put "In the Garden" on my BASH-O card back in May, I was imagining a scrapbook layout with photos of our bountiful vegetable harvest. I've done a lot of those garden pages over the years. What I didn't consider is that most of those photos I've scrapped in the past have been taken in July, August, and September when the garden goes crazy. Not at lot was ripe on June 1 when I needed to place my photo order. 

So instead of scrapping about our edible garden, I focused on flowers instead. Year-round, there's always something blooming in our yard. I took a few quick snapshots of the hydrangea, calla, and artichoke and added them to my photo order. 

Bloom (affiliate link)

I love this page because I told a story I've never told before, that we have flowers blooming in our yard twelve month a year. Now, I'm inspired to take photos every month for a year and turn that into a page. This is what I love the most about scrapbook challenges like BASH-O. I never would have thought to make this page or tell this story without the prompt. 

BASH-O progress: 

And yes, I do plan to make a 2-photo layout next!

Can You Put These Iconic Art Supplies in Chronological Order?

When we were at the Folsom History Museum, Steve and I played a really fun game based on putting technological advances in chronological order. This got me thinking. It would be fun to pick 10 classic craft materials and guess the order in which they were invented. The game we played at the museum had cards and rules, but you can just write your guess down on paper. Speaking of which, the exact date paper was invented is unknown, but it is thought to have been on or before 105 CE.  

Put the following art materials in chronological order, starting with the earliest. 

• Elmer's Glue
• Crayola Crayons
• glass beads
• Mod Podge
• clay
• sidewalk chalk
• plastic-handled scissors
• artist-grade colored pencils
• Play-Doh
• pipe cleaners

For an extra challenge, write down your best guess of what date each was invented. When you're done, read on to see if you are right! 

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I've added an affiliate link to the name of each craft material. As always, thanks for supporting this site.

1. Clay 

Technically, clay wasn't invented, it was discovered. But there's no question that it's the earliest. People have been using clay as a craft material since approximately 14,000 BCE. 

2. Glass Beads

It's impossible to know the exact date, but glass beads were probably first made around 2000 BCE. Handmade beads were developed around 4000 BCE and glass was invented about 2000 years later. 

3. Sidewalk Chalk

Chalk has been used by humans for a really long time, but it wasn't until the 1500's that artists started using chalk specifically on sidewalks to earn a living. 

4. Crayola Crayons

Crayola Crayons were invented in 1902 and first sold in 1903. Alice Binney came up with the name Crayola, which joined the French word "craie" (stick of chalk) and "ola" from "oleaginous" (oily). Now, Crayola makes over 3 billion oily sticks of chalk each year in 152 colors, including metallic and glitter crayons. 

5. Colored Pencils

Once again, there is no clear-cut answer to when colored pencils used for mark making were invented. But we do know that the first artist-grade colored pencils were made by Faber-Castell in 1908. 

6. Pipe Cleaners

Chenille stem pipe cleaners were invented in the 1910's (no exact date known, but the inventor died in 1922, so it's before then). Fun fact: He also invented the streetcar transfer ticket. 

7. Elmer's Glue

The first multipurpose white glue, then known as Elmer's Glue-All, was introduced in 1947. (The innovative twistable orange cap didn't come until 1962.)

8. Play-Doh

Play-Doh was born in 1955 and first demonstrated at an educational conference in 1956. The substance was a based on a wallpaper cleaner from the 1930's.  

9. Fiskars Plastic-Handled Scissors

Fiskars introduced plastic-handled scissors to the world in 1967. These ergonomic scissors are the most popular product made by the 373 year old company. It's a lucky accident that they are orange. 

10. Mod Podge

Mod Podge (short for Modern Decoupage) was invented in 1967 and introduced commercially soon after. There are now 17 varieties of this beloved all-in-one, glue, sealer, and finish.

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How did you do? What surprised you? Let me know in the comments!

South Carolina 2022

We loved our time in Columbia, South Carolina! 

South Carolina Adventures (affiliate link)

We packed a lot into our visit and I packed a lot of photos onto this layout. 12, to be exact. I used this layout for the Travel square on my BASH-O card. Here's my progress so far: 

Georgia 2022

Our time in Atlanta can be summed up with a haiku:

First day: sweat and crowds.

Second day, it rained. I fell. 

Third day? Freezing cold.

Despite the crazy weather and equally crazy crowds, we really enjoyed the places we visited. We also ate some great food. For the layout, I built the page around my favorite photo from our time in Atlanta, Trevor in front of a giant tank at the Georgia Aquarium. That drove my color and design choices. The other pictures show most of the other attractions we loved. I intentionally left out any photos with crowds or sweat or falling, because that's not what I want to remember most from the trip. 

Georgia 2022 (affiliate link)

When I started this page, I intended to use it for the Travel square on my BASH-O card. But I changed my mind when I realized that deco-edge scissors would give my layout a bit more interest without taking any attention away from the photos. It's simple and I like it. 

BASH-O Progress: 

Playing BASH-O

I first discovered the Bash Your Scrapbook Stash group in January, just in time to participate in the 2022 BYSS Super Bash Bowl. It was great fun, I got a lot pages made, and it stretched me creatively. I celebrated National Scrapbook Day with BYSS challenges and now I'm involved with their June game, BASH-O. 

BASH-O is like BINGO. At the end of May, we were given a list of 36 requirements, divided into six different categories. We had to choose 24 to place on our BASH-O cards. I've marked the ones I chose with a green circle and the ones I didn't with red. 

Obviously, I chose the items that would be the easiest for me. It's no surprise that the textures and mixed media categories would be my least favorite, or that I would prefer the shapes and photos. Looking back at this, I'm not sure why I chose spray mist or watercolors over acrylic paint, which I use fairly regularly on cardstock stickers and on chipboard. But overall, the rest of my choices make sense. Here's how I arranged them on my playing card: 

I put the easiest ones along the diagonals and along the top row. My goal for the month is to complete three BASH-Os (and thus earn three prize entries), which requires a minimum of 11 layouts. So how's it going? Well, I already wish I'd arranged the card differently based on what photos I have available, but I'm doing what I can and I'm having fun. 

The first page I made, Easter 2022, uses five photos. So that's the first square I marked off. My March in Rolling Hills layout could have fit in a couple of different categories, but I opted to count it for punches. I used three different punches on the page - a circle and a banner punch to make the sun, plus a scalloped border punch. With those two pages and the free space in the center, I'm on my way to a diagonal BASH-O. 

Pasta Happy Face

Edible crafts don't have to be unhealthy. I turned a well-balanced weeknight pasta dinner into a smily face. It didn't take any extra time, beyond the 1 or 2 minutes arranging things on the plate. Give it a try!

 

I started by making tomato sauce, boiling mezzi rigatoni* (affiliate link here and below), and steaming broccoli. I cut slices of a baguette in half. 

To assemble, I spread hot pasta sauce onto a white plate, then sprinkled a generous amount of parmesan cheese on top. I arranged the rigatoni to make the smily face, added the baguette ears, and topped it off with broccoli hair. Quick, cute, and delicious!

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*I dyed the pasta using a mix of green and brown food dye, because after painting my coral snake,  I wanted to see if it would work to dye a bunch of cooked pasta at the same time. I put some pasta water in a container with a lid, added a little bit of green and brown dye, and shook until it was combined. Then I added the drained pasta and shook again. It came out beautifully colored. 

March in Rolling Hills

I love where we live. Our neighborhood backs to beautiful hills, which are never prettier than during the spring. I couldn't resist taking photos of our hills, covered in wildflowers and under a brilliantly blue sky, during early March. 

March in Rolling Hills (affiliate link)

It is these same hills that put us at risk during fire season and led to our evacuation in August 2020. I wish our hills would stay green all year, but they don't call California the Golden State for nothing! OK, so that's not the actual reason for the nickname, but I do have a fondness for our golden hills and for the many animals that live there. 

Money Gift Inspired by Guy's Grocery Games

You might remember a post from a few years ago in which our family played a version of Guy's Grocery Games that we called Trevor's Tasty Tournament. In it, we recreated three of the wacky games that the contestants on the show face. It was a really fun challenge and we had a delicious 3-course meal. We did not include the money round at the end, where the winning contestant races around Flavortown Market finding five grocery items based on clues. But that's exactly what I used to give Trevor money for his 16th birthday. 

On the show, players compete for up to $20,000 in cash by shopping Flavortown Market. Obviously, we weren't giving Trevor that much money and we don't have access to the market. Instead, Trevor unwrapped this: 

I explained that there were 5 clues on the dining room table, each worth 4000 cents (aka, $40). His job was to read a clue out loud, then race into the kitchen and bring back the correct item. 

Here is each card, in case you'd like to test yourself before I give the answers away. 

      

Trevor read the first clue and was back with the Cheerios within seconds. He read the next and returned quickly with the mustard. 

It took him a bit longer to find the cinnamon and he struggled trying to figure out the baking soda. He didn't know the answer to the Mac n Cheese, so he just brought back every blue box he could find. In the end, he earned his 20,000 cents. 

This was so much more fun than just handing him money would have been, and it only took me about 20 minutes of work to design the the clue on PicMonkey and print them out. It was well worth it. It was a lot of fun watching him race around the kitchen in a panic, playing a game he'd watched so many times on TV. 

If you're looking for more creative ways to give cash, check out my Money Gifts page. You'll find over 30 fun ideas. 

Groovy Glow-in-the-Dark Tape Resist (Inspired by 1970's Roller Rink Carpet)

I LOVED roller skating when I was a kid. Roller skating on the sidewalk was ok, but the roller rink was my true love. My friends and I spent many happy hours at our local rink, Roller King. General Skate was great, but I especially loved the contests, particularly Shoot the Duck, Lucky Dice, and Limbo. My days as a limbo champ are way behind me, but few things in life beat the thrill of knocking out the competition and claiming your free concession vouchers at the DJ booth. Ah, memories!

Two of the defining characteristics of a 1970's roller rinks include blacklight and wildly-patterned industrial carpet, which went up the walls and covered the benches. I loved both of these. I always made sure to wear clothes that would look awesome under the blacklight when I skated. I loved trying to follow the patterns on the carpet. Today's project is an ode to the roller rink of my youth. Affiliate links below.     

Groovy Glowing Tape Resist Art

Materials: 

• white cardstock
• circle punches
• acrylic or watercolor paper
• 1/4" painter's tape
• Folk Art Glow paint (yellow and pink)
• Folk Art paint (blue and black)
• craft glue

Steps: 

Punch 20+ cardstock circles in a variety of sizes. Divide them into four piles for the four paint colors you'll be using. 

Cover your desktop with a piece of cardboard that is larger than the paper you'll be using for the project. Add strips of tape to the paper, all going horizontally. Each piece should extend off the edge of the paper onto the cardboard. (This is important for removing the tape later.) Paint over the entire paper yellow. Then paint one set of cardstock circles. Let both dry completely.  

Add vertical strips of tape on top of the yellow. Again, make sure the ends of the tape extend beyond the edge of the paper. Paint a set of cardstock circles in pink. Let the paint dry completely. 

 

This is a case of "do as I say, not as I did." I didn't let the pink paint dry fully before adding diagonal strips of tape and painting over them in blue. As soon as I did it, I knew I'd messed up. The tape curled in the center (where the paint was still a little moist), as you can see below. 

Not only did that allow blue paint to get underneath and cover up the pink I was trying to preserve, but when the tape stayed curled when I added the final diagonal layer on top. I couldn't get those last pieces to stick well in the center. I did the best I could, then added a layer of black. Then I painted the last of the cardstock circles. 

I let everything dry really well. The next day, I slowly and carefully peeled up the tape, starting with the top layer of diagonals, then working down to the other diagonals, then the verticals, then the horizontals. This is what I revealed (rotated 90° in the photo).  

As you can see, I didn't get perfectly clean lines, particularly in the center where the blue covered the pink. There are other places where I apparently didn't press the tape down enough, but that's ok. You can touch up any small mess-ups, or not. If you place your painted circles strategically, they can hide mistakes. 

I had a lot of fun making this and reminiscing about the good ole days at Roller King. 

State Capitol Trivia

Awhile back, I shared State Capital Trivia. That covered state capitals-with-an-A, not capitols-with-an-O. As a reminder, when you spell capital with an A, you are referring to the city. Capitol with an O refers to a building. Today's questions are all about those buildings that house state government. 

State Capitol Trivia

1. Most states use "Capitol" for their seat of government, but others use "Statehouse" or "State House" or "Legislative Hall." How many of the 50 states have a "Capitol" building?

2. What is the tallest capitol building? 

3. What is the shortest capitol building?

4. What is the oldest capitol building?

5. What is the newest capitol building?

6. What is the largest capitol building?

7. What is the only round capitol building?

8. What is the most common street name for a capitol building's address? 

9. Most people picture a dome when they think of a capitol building. How many capitols do not have a dome? 

10. What state's capitol has the 2nd largest self-supporting marble dome in the world, second only to St. Peter's Basilica in Rome?

11. Of the capitols that have domes, which is most common: copper clad, gilded, or stone?

12. While there are at least 19 states who have had a capitol building burn down, only one was set on fire by an invading army. Which is it? 

13. One of the worst tragedies to occur at a capitol happened in 1870, when a large crowd gathered on the second floor of the Capitol for a hearing. The gallery gave way and fell to the courtroom floor, which caused the entire courtroom floor to fall 40 feet. 62 people were killed and 251 injured. In what state did this happen? 

14. William Goebel is the only state governor to have ever been assassinated while in office. He was shot in front of his Capitol. In what state did this happen?

15. How many capitol buildings are designated as a National Historic Landmark? 

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Bonus points: Name the four capitols pictured in my graphic above. Then go ahead and pin the graphic or share the post on social media or email it to a friend for an extra 100 points. 

1. Two states use "Statehouse" and eight use "State House." Delaware uses "Legislative Hall." That leaves 39 states with a "Capitol."

2. At 450 feet, the 34-story Louisiana State Capitol is the tallest. 

3. At 35 feet, the New Mexico State Capitol is the shortest. 

4. The Maryland State House was completed in 1797 and has been in continual use ever since. 

5. I would have guessed that the answer was Hawaii since it's the newest state, but its Capitol was built in 1969, eight years before the Florida State Capitol was built in 1977. 

6. The Texas State Capitol is not the tallest, but it's the biggest.  

7. The New Mexico State Capitol is round.  

8. It's a tie! There are six capitols found on "Capitol" (Street, Avenue, Court, etc) and six found on "State." In third place, "Washington." 

9. There are 12 capitol buildings without a dome (A few of those have cupolas.) 

10. The Minnesota State Capitol has the 2nd largest self-supporting marble dome in the world. 

11. There are 10 gilded domes and 9 copper clad domes. There are 7 made of stone. 

12. The Capitol of South Carolina, which had seceded from the US, was burned by the Yankees under the direction of General Sherman. 

13. The 1870 tragedy took place in Virginia. 

14. Goebel was the governor of Kentucky for four days in 1900 before he died from a gunshot wound.

15. There are 19 capitol buildings designated as a National Historic Landmark. 42 of the capitols are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. (Obviously, some capitols are both a NHL and on the NRHP.)

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Bonus: The four capitols pictured in the top row of the graphic are Baton Rouge (Louisiana) and Atlanta (Georgia). The bottom row is Sacramento (California) and Nashville (Tennessee). Thanks for sharing!

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I had a lot of fun researching this trivia. If you would like to learn more, I recommend the following sites. I've added my guide to visiting state capitols to the list as well. 

• The Fun Guide to US State Capitols
• The 50 State Capitol Buildings
• Capitol Domes
• List of Territorial and State Capitols
• Helpful Tips for Visiting State Capitols

Have you visited any state capitols? Let me know in the comments!

Ice Cream Chicago Dog

Beloved in the Windy City, a proper Chicago dog starts with an all-beef frank in a poppyseed bun. It is topped with yellow mustard, chopped white onions, neon green pickle relish, tomato slices, a dill pickle spear, pickled sport peppers, and a dash of celery salt. It looks like this: 

How to Draw a Chicago Dog

Imagine my surprise when I opened a press release from the Museum of Ice Cream (which is not actually a museum, but rather an "Instagram-ready art attraction") and saw they were promoting their new Chicago Ice Cream Dog: 

I'm all about trying new-to-me foods, but this is ridiculous. "Hot dog flavored" and "soft serve" do not belong in the same sentence. Yellow mustard on ice cream? I seriously checked the date on the email to confirm that it wasn't some sort of April Fool's prank two months late. It seems to be legit, but I'm holding out hope that it is not. 

Aside from the taste, which I can only assume is awful, it doesn't look much like a Chicago dog. There's mustard, sure. (Why is there mustard on ice cream?!?!) But it's missing everything else that defines Chicago's beloved food. The ice cream isn't even shaped like a hot dog.   

I'm a huge fan of food that looks like one thing, but is actually something else. So while ice cream flavored like a hot dog and topped with mustard does not appeal to me in the slightest, pale chocolate ice cream shaped like a hot dog and topped with a thick mango puree sounds delightful. Put it in a bun made from pound cake or a sliced donut. Pile on some chopped green jello bits as relish, add slices of strawberry cut to look like tomatoes, and sprinkle on some marshmallow bits to mimic the onion. Delicious! And a lot of fun to try and make. 

I was all set to construct my ice cream version of a Chicago dog, but decided to do a quick Google search to make sure I wasn't reinventing the wheel. Sure enough, HellthyJunkFood and the Greenery Creamery beat me to it. 

 

Their version differs from my (as-of-yet theoretical) version. The way they did the hot dog is genius, and the brioche and the buttercream are great choices. Of course, theirs isn't a Chicago dog, since they added (faux) ketchup. I can be easily convinced to try making my Chicago-style version if you think the world needs it. Thoughts? 

Easter 2022

After two pandemic Easters, it was nice to return to in-person church (and the pancake breakfast) and to enjoy Easter dinner with Steve's family. We squeezed in a backyard egg hunt between church and family, because you're never too old to enjoy finding eggs filled with candy and money. 

 

Easter 2022 (affiliate link)

Speaking of old, today is Trevor's 16th birthday! It seems so hard to believe time has passed since that wonderful, life-changing day. Happy birthday, Trevor! I love you the whole world. 

Patriotic Denim Heart

When I get a hole in the knee of my jeans, I move them from my Wear-in-Public pile to my Only-While-Gardening pile. When I get a hole anywhere north of the knee, I see what I can salvage for a craft. Today's project, a flag-inspired stuffed heart, uses a leg. 

I worked on this for a few minutes here and there over about a week, never spending more than 10 minutes at a time. While it's not my usual style, I like the rustic, handmade look for this project. Embrace imperfection, right?! Affiliate links below. 

Patriotic Denim Heart

Materials:

• denim
• embroidery floss (red, white, and blue)
• embroidery needle
• Wonder Clips
• fiber fill

Steps: 

Make a heart pattern on scratch paper. When you are happy with your pattern, pin it directly to a pant leg, making sure the side seam is out of the way. Cut out the heart. You will have two identical pieces with their right sides already facing out. Do not separate the pieces. Add Wonder Clips around the outside so that they don't shift. 

Cut the hem off the denim pant leg and set it aside. 

Thread a needle with all six strands of red embroidery floss. Remove the clips closest to the point of the heart, leaving the ones nearer the top in place. Flip the back piece of denim backward so it is out of the way. Starting at the point of the heart, use a backstitch to sew a horizontal stripe through ONE piece of denim. Leave a tiny seam allowance on each side of the stripe. Continue moving up the heart until you have red stripes that go from one side to the other on the bottom half of the heart. I have four stripes, but the number you have will depend on the size of your heart and how close together you sew them. If you want it to be flag-accurate, make three stripes. I was winging it; if you want to plan ahead or don't trust that you can sew in a straight-ish line, you can use tailor's chalk pencils to draw guidelines.  

 Here, I'm finishing up my final full-length red stripe. 

Start the next red stripe in the middle of the heart and continue to the right edge. Do the same for the remaining red stripes. As you can see, I left clips on the upper left. You can also see the hem that I cut to length. I eventually pulled out the gold thread since it didn't go with my project. 

Next, using all six strands of white embroidery floss, sew a white stripe between each pair of red stripes. 

Move the clips to the right side. Still using all six strands of the white embroidery floss, sew French knots in the blue field. I ended up with 18 instead of the actual 50 on the flag. (Fun fact: The 18th state is Louisiana, which we visited in 2019.) 

Move the clips back to the left. Fold the hanger (hem) in half and place it at the top between the layers. Thread the needle with blue, then backstitch through all the layers to secure it in place. When the hanger is secure, switch to a whip stitch and sew clockwise around the edge of the heart. Stop at the top row of white stars. Stuff the heart with fiber fill, pushing it into the point.  

Sew the opening closed by continuing the whip stitch until you reach the hanger. Switch back to the backstitch and sew across the hanger once more to reinforce it. 

The edges of the heart will naturally fray. If it's unevenly frayed, you can trim the too-frayed areas or scratch at the not-frayed-enough areas. Have fun sewing!