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!