Paper Mache Centerpiece Bowl with Paper Balls

Man, it's been a long time since I did anything paper mache! I forgot how fun and easy it is, not to mention how many options there are.  I wanted to use the pages of a dollar store book that I never did read, nor did I think I would ever read, and here's what I came up with:

To start, I picked a big, cheap bowl that I had in the kitchen.  I used modge podge glue, watered down a smidge, and a foam brush.  I tore a bunch of pages to have them ready, but you could do it as you go along.

I laid out a garbage bag as my work surface, and turned the bowl upside down.  There was a dip at the bottom of the bowl, so I put a coaster in it to keep the surface level.  Then, I covered the whole bowl with Saran Wrap.

From there, its just a matter of patience.  I painted some modge podge onto the area that I would be working and then stuck a pieces of paper to the glue.  Then another layer of modge podge and another layer of paper.  The more layers of paper and glue, the stronger your bowl will be.

I wanted a deep bowl, so I went close to the brim, but if you want a shallow bowl, just stop whereever you want.  I tried to keep the edges relatively straight, but not perfect.

Let it dry overnight, take out the bowl, and pull out the Saran Wrap.

The bowl wasn't super sturdy, so I decided the filler needed to be made of paper.  I've had this tutorial pinned for a while, but I wasn't sure what to do with it.  Instead of using the paper balls as ornaments as the blogger suggested, I just left them as is and piled them into the bowl.  It takes a little practice to get the hang of making those balls, but I like the way it came out:

Now I just have to decide if I like it as a centerpiece on its own, or if I want to add something else around it on the table.  Any ideas?

Until next time, happy crafting!

Cardstock Box

I found this great tutorial on Pinterest reminding me how to make cardstock boxes, and I thought it was perfect to wrap a birthday present that I wasn't sure how to wrap.  I bought 5 charms for a charm bracelet, but them came loose in a store bag.  Not exactly the cute presentation I was hoping for.

Anyway, the tutorial used two different colors of cardstock, but I chose to use two pieces of the same pale yellow, glittered cardstock.  I thought using two of the same pieces made it look more like a box that you would get from a jewelry store.

Go check out the tutorial for the steps, but here is my finished box:

Again, I didn't want to just drop the charms in the box loose, so I put a little tissue paper in the bottom to raise the bottom surface.  Then, I cut a piece of cardstock the size of the base of the box and strung the charms on a piece of yarn. I taped the yarn to the back of the fake bottom, so it looked like a presentation you'd get from a nice store.  Here's my finished gift box:

There are so many uses for this small little box, and since it's made out of heavier cardstock, you could easily just make the bottom and use it for open storage in a drawer without worrying about the sides collapsing.

More to come soon.  For now, happy crafting!

Burlap Wreath with Monogram

Hello all!

I've been so busy crafting, I haven't had time to write about all the good stuff I am doing.  But, that changes today. :)

The first project I want to tell you about is the burlap wreath I made for my front door. All finished, it looked like this:

Truth be told, I would have preferred to make it without the bow at the top, but I ran out of burlap ribbon.  In the future, to make a wreath of this size, I would plan to use 1.5 rolls, rather than just one.  However, I  do like the way it came out.

To make this wreath, I used a wire wreath form from Michaels, a roll of burlap ribbon, a monogrammed plaque that I got on clearance, floral wire, hot glue gun/sticks, and black ribbon to finish the bow:

You'll notice the bag of silk flowers off to the left.  I had intended to tuck flowers in around the folds of the burlap, but as I moved forward, I didn't like that as much as I thought I would so I left them out.

To start, I wrapped one end of the burlap with wire to the wreath form. I bent and fluffed the burlap to make folds and volume to my taste.  In addition to wrapping with wire, I also added hot glue to help hold things the way I want them.

As I moved around the form, I made sure to cover the wire and glue with more folds.  Again, having another roll would have allowed for more fullness and being able to complete the form all the way around.

After I finished with the burlap, I hot glued the monogram plaque to the back of the form.  Sorry, no picture for that step.  At this point, you can personalize your wreath the way you'd like to.  Add flowers or a wooden monogram, etc.

All together, this wreath took me about 1.5 hours, and about $15 to make. Not too bad, if I do say so myself.

Happy crafting!

Halloween Wreath with Felt and Ribbon

Don't ask me why, but I was inspired to make a Halloween wreath in late Spring.  Chalk it up to Pinterest overload, I guess.  Side note: Pinterest has also given me a little craft ADD to the point where I have 3 or 4 projects going on at a time.  Anyway, this was one that I managed to complete (even though it took me a couple of days and a few projects later).

Here's my finished wreath:

Materials:

18" flat, round wreath form
1.5 sheets of felt in 4 colors
3 colors of ribbon
wooden letters
Lots of hot glue

First, I cut my felt into 5"x1" strips with my rotary cutter.  I cut 5" pieces of ribbon too.  I tied them into knots as I went, and placed them in a shoe box so they wouldn't get all over when I was working on other projects. :)

Then, I laid my form out and started hot gluing these knots on randomly. I just eyeballed it to find a "pattern" and thickness that I liked.

In the future, if I used this same technique on this same form, I would wrap the form with black (or whatever color was appropriate) ribbon to hide the form so I wouldn't have to worry about any showing through. 

I coninued the wreath in this way, all the way around.  And, here's what it looked like after gluing the pieces all over:

(Please ignore the messy background- that's a byproduct of my craft ADD).  If the form was smaller, like 12" or 14", I might have left it like this.  But, I felt like it was calling for something in the middle.  I brainstormed for a while, and decided to get some wooden letters spelling BOO. They came unfinished, so the first thing I did was paint them.  I used regular acrylic paint in purple, orange, and lime green.  Then, I added polka dots using the back of a dried pen in a contrasting color.

From here, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do.  I knew I wanted them in the center of the wreath, but they weren't big enough to stretch across on their own.  I decided to cut long strips of black felt and have the letters hang from the top of the wreath.  I doubled the strip over and knotted the loose ends. I wasn't worried about the knot showing, since thats how I made the rest of the wreath, so I hot glued the knotted end of the felt to the top of the letter, like this:

I attached the folded end of the strip to the back of the wreath form in varying lengths with more hot glue.  And here it is again:

I like the way it came out, even if it wasn't exactly what I had in mind when I started. This technique was so easy, and I think it lends itself well to other holidays/ occasions.  I have some other wreaths in mind in this style, but it'll have to wait until I try all the other ideas on my Pinterest craft board.  If you'd like to see what I have on my list to do, check out my Pinterest board DIY and Crafts- To Try.  Find it here:

http://pinterest.com/lalandry925/diy-crafts-to-try/

Fabric Pom Pom Flower

I'm back already! Even though I am having a boy, I have started dabbling in little girls' clips and headbands.  This is inspired by a tutorial I found on Pinterest (as most of my crafts are, in one way or another).  Here is how I made these sweet fabric pom pom flowers:

I'm not sure the pictures do it justice, but it's all I've got. I chose to make them in patriotic colors for 4th of July, but they look great in all colors, patterns or solids.

Materials:
-one strip of fabric about 18" long by 2.5" (it can be done with strips of different lengths and widths, it will just make the flowers bigger or smalled.)
-needle and thread
-hot glue gun and sticks

I used my new handy rotary cutter and mat to cut my strip, but scissors work just fine.  These aren't meant to be perfect, so I think it's okay if there is fraying.

After I cut my initial strip, I cut it again into two pieces.  One is about 11" long, and the other is about 7". The measurement is not too specific, you just need one strip a little longer than the other.

You will notice that I was lazy and did not iron the fabric before starting.  I didn't find it necessary, but if you want to, by all means do it.  My hat goes off to you for your patience. :)

Take the long strip and fold it lengthwise.  You can iron at this step to keep the fold sharp, but again, I didn't bother and I didn't find it to cause a problem.  While holding the folded edge, take your scissors and cut into the loose sides, going almost all the way to the fold.  Each cut is about 1/4 of an inch apart, but it doesn't need to be precise.  Continue cutting this way all the way to the end of the long strip.



Once you have it cut all the way, get your needle and thread ready.  Starting at one edge, do an in and out stitch, creating a messy accordian fold in your fabric, like this:

When you get to the other end, pull your string tight, until the fabric pulls into a circle:

Then, complete the circle and tie a knot, securing both sides of the fabric to each other.  Your knots and stitches will be hidden in the finished product, so I usually go a little over board.  This is what it should look like when finished:

This will be the base of your fabric flower. Next, you will use the smaller strip of fabric to create the center and give your flower some volume.  Fold the small strip in half lengthwise, and cut into the loose edges as you did with the long piece.  However, this time, instead of using needle and thread, we will use hot glue to bind it.  Keeping the strip folded lengthwise, start at one edge and roll.  Periodically, stop and add a dot of hot glue to keep the layers together.  Make sure you roll and glue on the folded/ non cut side.

When you get to the end of the roll, secure with hot glue.  And, now, you are almost done!

Finally, I glue it together by placing hot glue around the outside of the little roll and squeezing it into the center ring of the big piece.  I turn it over and put a layer of hot glue on the bottom for good measure.  Then you have a pom pom flower for a clip or headband, or whatever else your heart desires.

This tutorial seems long and like it will take a while to complete, but I can make one in about 15 minutes, start to finish.  Just takes a little practice.  Good luck and happy crafting!





Wreath with Monogram and Flowers

Wow. I thought it had been a while before my last post, but that was 3 months ago and I haven't had a spare second to write anything. With school finally out for summer, my creative juices have started flowing AND I actually have time to work on my crafts.  I wanted to share with you a spring/summer wreath I made for my mother-in-law's birthday that I made inspired by pins on Pinterest.

Here's what you need:
-1 wrapped grapevine wreath form (I got mine at Jo-Ann's for about $4. It's 18", but I think any size would work the same)
-several bunches of silk flowers in your desired color scheme/ seasonal inspiration. (the amount you need will vary based on the fullness and size of your wreath and the size of the flowers you choose. I bought about 5 small bunchs of flowers- on sale for $1 a piece at Michael's- and only used about half)
-a hot glue gun and lots of glue sticks
-a wood moonogram letter

I started by pulling the flowers and leaves off of the stems.  For the flowers, I left a couple of inches on the stem in case I needed the extra length for placement in the wreath.  But, if the wire in the stem was too hard to cut, I just pulled off the flower top.  That's all you really need.  I separated the leaves and the flowers into two separate containers so they would stay in place, even if I walked away from the project or worked on something else in between.

Then, I placed my wreath flat on my table and started laying out flowers in a way that I liked.  Since this was my first one, I placed them before gluing.  In the future, I think I could glue as I go and that would cut back on the time this project takes overall (for me, it was about an hour and a half- from cutting the flowers to finish). 



When I felt comfortable, I went back and started hot gluing the flowers done.  I made sure to get glue on the stem and grapevine so it was secure.  Be careful, the petals are so thin the hot glue can come through and burn you. I just kept fillining in and adding until I was happy with the outcome.  I glued the monogram on last.  Here's what mine looked like when it was finished:

I have also seen these wreaths with address numbers or whole last names on them, both of which are good options. All in all, since I only used half of the flowers, this project came in around $8! It looks a lot more expensive, and I am very happy with the outcome. 

I am planning on blogging  and crafting more frequently over the summer, and even adding an etsy shop! On top of that, I am getting ready for my baby's arrival in Septemeber, so this will be a busy summer. Luckily, I have no intention of going outside since I live in New Orleans and need the air conditioning! Enjoy your summer and happy crafting!



Circles on Canvas

Hello all!  Sorry its been so long since I've written.  I haven't done anything since I found out I was pregnant.  But, I am quickly approaching 12 weeks and am starting to get my energy back, so here we go.  I have been intending to make a big piece of artwork for the wall in my bedroom for almost a year, and today, I did it!

My materials were 6- 16x20 canvases, 3 pint size paint samples from Lowes to match my bedding, one small paintbrush, and cups and bottles.  I used the cups and bottles as stamps.

First, I painted all the canvases with a dark brown paint. I had to do about 2 coats. This is after the first coat.

I like to lay garbage bags out on my table to make for easy clean up.  After the base coat dried, I pushed the canvases together and laid out my "stamping" materials.

I put green and tan paint on different plates and just dipped the cups and bottles in the paint, and just put them on the canvases randomly.  I tried to overlap some of the circles to look like they are one canvas.

Once done, I will spread them out to take up more wall space, but here they are laying out to dry.

I'll add a picture when it finally gets hung on the wall.  We'll see how long that takes. :)

Flower Petal/ Sunburst on Canvas

Hello all!

Here's my latest project:

It was so simple! It was adapted from ideas I've seen on Pinterest.  First, I sorted through my paper scrap pile and picked several blue patterns that I liked.  Then, I cut them into petal shaped pieces in different sizes.  No need to be precise here, I freehanded everything.  As I was cutting, I loosely sorted the petals into piles by size to make placing them on the canvas:

I also cut a little circle on yellow patterned paper for the center.  Once I cut the pieces, I laid them out on the canvas the way I thought I'd like them:



I then used modge podge to glue down each piece.  I like to leave all the petals on the canvas and glue them one at a time so I have a good feel for the spacing and placement that I'd like, but if you are more free or trust yourself more to place them as you go, by all means, go for it.  Do what is comfortable for you.  I took care to glue the petals that went off the edges of the canvas down to make it look more finished.

And that's it!  Super simple, and very cheap.  Right up my alley.  I also think this would be adorable in pink patterned paper for a little girl's room or nursery.

**Edited on 6/8/12** I went ahead and made a yellow and pink canvas. It was the same process, but I used a 12x12 canvas and centered the burst. Here are the pictures from my new project:

**Look for these items coming soon to my etsy shop**

(back to original post)

I've been trying to figure out how to finish those one dollar, unfinished wood frames from Michaels for a while now, and here is one design I came up with:

I painted it espresso and cut out a couple flourishes with my cricut.  I put a thin layer of modge podge over the whole frame, and used that as glue to apply the flourishes.  This would look good with a monogram letter instead of a picture, or with several frames with slight variations as a collage on the wall.

Does anyone else have a good idea on how to finish these little frames?

Mini Dry Erase Boards

Hello everyone!

One of the things I have made that people seem to really like are these durable, mini dry erase boards, so I figured I would put up with a tutorial with step by step instructions and pictures so you can make your own.  This idea came from two ideas: the dry erase calendars floating all around Pinterest where I learned that glass is dry erasable, and a friend (who is also a teacher) commenting that she wouldn't hang picture frames in her class because they can shatter so easily.  One day, while getting lost at Lowe's, I found these different sized pieces of plastic sheeting.  The smallest size is 8x10, which is the one I get, and it costs about $2 a piece.  The go up greatly in size, with the prices for each piece increasing too.  The best part of this product (besides that its inexpensive) is that its durable! I beat one against my table a few times, and nothing.  Not even a scratch! So I feel comfortable bringing this into my classroom, or giving them as teacher gifts, etc.

Materials needed:
8x10 size plastic sheeting
12x12 piece of scrapbook paper (thin paper works better than cardstock)
Modge podge
Paint brush for modge podge (I catch the foam brushes on sale for 5/10 cents a piece so I can throw them away when I feel lazy)
Glitter (if desired)
Craft knife and cutting mat
Hot glue and hot glue gun
Ribbon or magnets (your choice)


So let's get started! They come with a protective film on both sides, so I just peel both sides off:

On one side, I spread a thin layer of modge podge:

Then you lay the paper face down on the modge podge and smooth it out.  I let it dry for about a minute, and then turn it over.  You will be able to see the pattern through the plastic:

The next step is to trim the excess with a craft knife:

This next step is optional.  I like to put a glitter trim around the edges of the dry erase board.  I free hand it using the same foam brush and modge podge.  I do one side at a time.  A friend at the last craft night suggested I could use double stick tape on the edges and then glitter it, which would certainly make it more precise and potentially easier.  But, I didn't have double stick tape, so I used modge podge:

Almost done.  I cut two pieces of ribbon.  One will become a loop and then other a ribbon to hang the dry erase board.  I hot glue the loop down first, and then the ribbon on top:

And voila! An alternative to hanging it with a bow would be to add magnets to the back so you can stick it to a file cabinet, or just leave it with no magnets or bow if you just want to leave it on or in a desk.

Here are my original ones:

So there you go.  Super easy, takes about 10-15 minutes start to finish, and very inexpensive.  Accounting for all materials used, it cost me about $3.25. 

I'd love to hear about and see any of your ideas for that plastic sheeting, so please share! Good luck and happy crafting!