Free nursery art

Of course... this project was free 'cause I had all the supplies, but it wouldn't be expensive anyway.

 

 

Take small wooden plaques and Mod Podge your paper on. I did a layer of cute brown paper and then a layer of a plain paper because I wanted my letters to stand out. I then Mod Podged over the paper again to make sure it was all sealed up.  I had to paint my chipboard letters white (they were blue) before I could glue them on. To make sure they stayed well I used E-6000 to glue on my letters.

Pick some ribbon.

Cut one end of your ribbon (it will hang down so make it cute!)

Again, I used E-6000, but you could use hot glue. 

I then glued the ribbon straight down the backs of my little plaques. I also took the top bit of ribbon and glued it into a loop for hanging.

Hang on your wall and voila: cute, cheap (or free) nursery wall art. I used the letter Q,R,S because I wanted to do something a little different than your typical A,B,C.

Copy-cat me makes a pendant light

;) so you all have such good ideas. I found this one and knew I HAD to make it for my buck-a-roo's room.
Remember his safari room? I just had to had to had to add this lamp.

What do you think?! Check that link above from where I got the idea and you can get the tutorial. Time consuming but easy project and I am in LOVE!

What's my style? The hyper chameleon.

I don't know about you, but I don't have a million dollars to hire a decorator or to go pick out everything coordinating from a store all at once to decorate my house; therefore I usually end up struggling to know what I want to do with my space or wondering if the new lovely bauble I found would really go. I also kinda struggle to know what my personal style is. Do you? Maybe you have it in your head and you know exactly what you like. Lucky. I am the same way with my clothing choices, by the way. Oh. and my make-up.
I tend to wear whatever strikes me and sometimes I am casual with a little 'bling' for fun and other times I do my best to dress like Penelope... I don't have that much in my closet that really goes because every time I go to the store I pick out what looks cute and then get it home and I have nothing that goes with it. Do you struggle with this kind of stuff????
I came across this kind of fun thing. Ethan Allen has a little style quiz on their web-site. You click the picture that sticks out to you first. Do this a couple of times and then they try to define your style and show you pieces that fit you. Kind of fun. click the 'style quiz' below to try it out.
What was your style? Was it accurate? Did it surprise you at all?

Style Quiz

4th of July wreath project

So. No. this is not a wreath. BUT. I have this fab wreath. Simple but perfect for spicing up for each holiday. Thought I needed something for the 4th. I don't have any decorations for this holiday. Considering I am up for a party any time and love holidays because they provide the opportunity to do just that... this is a weird thing!

I got this really awesome frame at the thrift store. Big, chunky, awesome. Ugly, too. That's where my plan began.

I bought some thin carboard at my local craft/school supply store and used their die cutting machine to cut out the star. I cut out two carboard stars so I could glue them together to make it more sturdy.

Using spray adhesive I glued the two cardboard stars together and then glued my paper on. I had traced my stars onto the paper and then cut them out. Had I been thinking I would have just die cutted my paper stars too. oh well, huh?

I sanded the edges where my paper hung off. If you die cut you can skip this part. I took barn red acrylic paint and just painted the edges of the star where you could see the cardboard.

I then had my ultra-strong hubby punch a hole through the star.

Mod Podged the whole thing front back AND edges/sides.

Spray the frame and the star with clear coat (I use matte) so it will hold up outside.

I used one pattern on one side and then another pattern on the other so I could have a more cute one and then a fancier one. I might layer a smaller star in the middle, add some glitter... but for now I wanted to put it up AND I thought it was pretty cute as is. Just hang the star by a thread so you can flip it if the mood strikes.

Have fun and happy Fourth.

clothespin wreath update

Here is a final picture of my clothespin wreath.  I finally got it up in my laundry room today. Woot!

In case you missed the project click here.

Makeover Monday

A little late, but technically it is still Monday! And that is good enough for me.

I will apologize in advance, bloggy friends for the disaster in the background. I dumped my craft tub looking for just the right embellishments. Another word for embelishments: additives. Isn't it funny that we really are quite against additives in our food as a general rule, but additives in crafts just make everything... more yummy?! They make food more yummy, but we know the down side to putting them  in our bodies. I don't think there is a down side to additives in our crafts! But I digress.

So. I found this cute sign and in reality was pretty fine on its own.

But we aren't satisfied with fine, are we ladies?!

So makeover Monday this Monday is making something new even better and more delicious with additives. We'll veer away from my traditional course of taking something old and making it better. We're going to personalize one of those cute, but run-of-the-mill signs we see everywhere so that it really is something special.

Using various sizes and textures of rick-rack and cloth ribbon I added some framing to the sign.

I used MIGHTYMENDIT! and glued the ribbons to the back of the sign on the top and bottom with a dot of MIGHTYMENDIT! in the middle too. I liked the contrast of the black and cream and I felt it really stood out from the dark  with dark lettering.

Then even though the sign came with hangers on the back I felt like it was just one more opportunity to add somet extra special. I found some cute cream with blak dots ribbon and tied it to the hangers. Then I tied little bows to the bottoms of each side to a.cover up the little tail of ribbon that hung off when I tied the ribbon to the sign and b. I thought it looked really cute.

Voila. You probably won't have the same sign as me, but I hope this inspires you to take something that was cute but generic and really make it your own. Happy Monday!

Romance your Home with Simpler Times

Lately I have been thinking that with a baby in the house the hubby and I need a little space just for us that is special and wonderful and romantic. I have done a number of small things but my most recent project that I feel really brings the whole thing together is this homemade, completely custom chandelier. Yes. YOU can make one too!

Start with a wire hanging basket. Spray it and its chain the color you choose. I used the color 'nutmeg' by Rustoleum. Buy 10 ft. of white 2 wire cord and a white plug. I got mine at Home Depot. They connected them for me so I had what is called a 'whip'.

Then purchase a lamp socket. Mine was black so I stuffed newspaper inside and spray painted it white. At Home Depot they will connect this for you as well.

I got lucky. The guy who helped me at Home Depot was SO helpful. He helped me find the pieces I needed and helped me customize anything that wasn't exactly right.

Buy a washer and some plastic connectors, too.

The guy at home depot filed the washer so it fit exactly inside the 'top' hole and then we super glued it in place. Make sure you do a line of super glue along the top and the inside. Once that is complete you can spray paint a touch up coat OR spray paint for the first time.

Strip the ends of your wire and stick inside the plastic connectors. Using a lighter melt the plastic until it is sealed. This will help it to be safer and keep the connectors on. Then unscrew the little screws on your socket, put the round ends of the connectors on the holes and then screw your screws back in. Don't forget to buy a light bulb making sure your wattage isn't too high. I went with 25 watts. Perfect for my project. Soft light that won't melt the plastic.

NOTE: I am NOT an electrician. I had the Home Depot electrical guy do everything so I wouldn't electrocute myself. Be careful!!!

Put the end of your socket up through the hole and then use the washer to keep it in place. The chain can be used to hang your chandelier. It is a good idea not to rely on the cord to hang your chandelier. It's better to use the chain and just drape the cord up over the ceiling hooks to get it out of the way. Doing this insures that your chandelier will hang level.

I couldn't find any 'crystals' at the craft stores so I bought a strip of trim that had them on it and just cut the bits I needed off. I kept the fabric of the trim for a little later in the project.

Using a cricut machine set on 3  and 3 1/2 (NOT real dial size) with the 'Wild Card' cartridge I cut birds from one side of the paper and the back side so I could have them double sided with the print of the paper I like showing on both sides.

Using various beads that coordinated I made three crystal hangers that I hung off the place the chain used to connect. I embellished my birds once they were cut out.

I also added a little 'bling' at the bottom of the string that I hung my birdies from. This weights it down and adds a little embellishment. With the birds 'open' put a glob of Tacky Glue and then stick your birds together over the thread. This seals the thread in and glues your two sides together.

Do as many on a string as you like/ as will fit. Mine each had four birds. I hung them from every-other curlicue so they wouldn't be too dense.

When I was done I felt it was a little plain so I glued (with tacky glue, I figured hot glue couldn't hold up to extended heat from the light bulb) some fringe around the bottom and around the socket (note: the fringe on the socket is the fringe leftover from where I got the crystals).

I added some tulle around the hook to disguise the hook a little.

And voila! Your own custom chandelier that adds a little romance to your home.

Re-vamping a lamp 3

I always loved this lamp I bought from Target. The shape was great but the colors I bought didn't ever go with anything I tried to design. Go figure. So I decided that I would help it along and make it fit into my new room idea.
Tutorial Here for re-vamping a lamp.
We'll do some quick steps here but for more in-depth steps click above.

Trace and cut from seam to seam. Spray adhesive and carefully wrap your old lampshade in your fabric of choice.

Cut slits in the fabric up to the shade. Hot glue or Tacky glue them under for a finished edge.
Take large rick rack and glue along the bottom and top. Leave it hanging on the bottom for a lacy feel. Fold over on the top for a finished look that doesn't look funky. I tried leaving the top but it looked REALLY weird so I folded it over, glued it and it looked a lot better.
Oh. At first I spray painted my lamp base heirloom white from Rustoleum. It used to have a dark bronze finish.

Voila. A plain, ill-fitting lamp to just what I needed to amp-up the romance and serenity of my room.

Spring Door Hanger

I saw this done with hearts for Valentine's Day, but by the time I was going to do it, V day was four days away so I thought I would do what I love to do best and take an idea I liked and make it one I loved.

This, of course, is the 'long-awaited project' that I posted about a while ago.

Warning: THIS TAKES A LONG TIME. The results are definiteyl worth it, but make sure you give your self multiple hours and if you have children... mutiple days!

You need:

1 24" by 12" (at least) piece of styrofoam. Don't use that funky floral foam that breaks apart and feels grainy. I used green styrofoam because it was less expensive than the white and I got more.

A couple of yards of fabric in whatever colors you like. I used five different yellows and 4 different whites.

Hot glue gun.

Shape you like.

Styrofoam half-balls

Ribbon or tulle to hang

Marker

I used a highlighter that my hubby had that hadfive different colors all around it and looked like a flower. I traced it onto a transparency and then projected it onto a 12 by 12 piece of paper. Traced that and then shrunk it and traced it again onto a new piece of paper. You could find a cut out you liked at a party store or even draw free-hand. It doesn't have to be perfect!
Once I had cut out my flowers I traced them using a permanent marker onto the styrofoam and then cut the flowers out with a serrated knife.
The two styrofoam half balls: I left one as is and the other I cut (as straight as possible) across to shrink it and then I shaved the sides a little too so it wasn't so round as the bigger one. I centered and then attached these on the flowers.

Tear and then cut some of your fabric into 2 (or 2.5) inch squares (DON'T need to be perfect) for the larger flower and 1.5" for the smaller flower.

I used a pen so I wouldn't burn my fingers with the hot glue. Fold your fabric over the pen, apply hot glue to the tip and then press and hold onto your styrofoam for a few seconds.

Should look like this. Cover the entire center with one color and then the rest of the flower with the other.

If you use tulle I suggest layerong one piece of fabric under a piece of tulle (the holes in the tulle assure that the glue gets on both pieces). This way you won't get hot glue everywhere!

Voila. You can trim any crazy bits that stick too far up. I also trimmed where the petals met eachother because I felt it needed more definition.

Repeat with the other flower and then attach ribbon or tulle to the backs of each to hang it from your door.

TA DA!

Make any shape you like. A shamrock done in various greens would be SO cute. And if you don't like the double you can always just do one and hang it alone or in the center of a simple wreath.

Oh.my.kismet.

ROSS. I went there today, you know. And browsing down the aisles I came upon the most spectacular find.
Remember how I did that safari/world traveler room? Well. I have a confession. The whole 'world traveler' part came about because I had an empty space on the wall and some nautical-themed wall hangings. Figured I wouldn't ever find something that I wanted for that space so I re-thought my original design.
Guess what.
Now I don't have to!

 

 

WONDROUS!!!!!!!!!!!!