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.

Book page wreath... my version

I've seen a few different versions of book page wreaths around. This is my version.

I made this for an English teacher hence the 'Bibliophile'. You could do any number of things but the English Teacher is a guy and didn't want anything girlie (with good reason) as decoration. I also wanted to use book pages for as much as possible.

First I covered my foam wreath form with book pages torn in half length-wise. I then mod podged it (I needed it to hold up since it will be in a classroom).

Then I started at one corner of the a book page and rolled until I formed this. repeat, repeat, repeat.

I glued them down using Elmer's glue. I decided after that I should distress the edges with ink.

bad idea once they are all glued down. I used a cotton ball squished onto my ink pad and then distressed the edges that way. If you want to do this to yours I suggest distressing them the regulkar way BEFORE gluing!

Make your embellishments! I used 1, 2, 3, and 4 book pages (taped together) folded 3 times and then rolled around a skewer. I glued them with Elmer's glue at the end to keep from unrolling.

Paint your rolls any color(s) you like and once the paint is dry mod podge to seal.

Fold a book page a number of times until you end up with a triangle.  cut three points (kind of like making a paper snowflake) and unfold. I did four small and two large. I double them up and connected each burst with a brad. I carefully mod podged them so they'd hold up a little better. Keep them kinda squished up so they look more burst like.

Cut out letters with your electronic cutter or on a die dut machine that you can use at certain scrapbook stores (Archivers has a die cutter in the back).

Arrange all your embellishments, hot glue it all down, and then seal it all up with mod podge again.

There you go!

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.