2012
Watercolor Easter Art
Looking for a simple Easter art project? This one can be done with supplies from the Dollar Store and it’s a great project to do with kids.
Supplies
You’ll need:
- watercolor paper
- watercolor paints and paintbrush
- white crayon
- glass filled with water
- pen and ruler
- frame
- tape and scissors
How To Do It
1. Split your watercolor paper into 9 sections using a pen and ruler. You want the sections to be taller than they are wide.
2. In each section, draw a pattern using your white crayon. It’ll be hard to see so use simple patterns or try to look at an angle in the light to see where you’ve drawn.
3. Wet your paintbrush and dip it in the paint until wet. Use one color per section of your grid and paint it up.
4. After the paint dries, draw a template of an egg and trace it onto each section. Cut out the egg shape.
5. Use your frame to determine how your eggs will be laid out. I had made 9 eggs but used my favorite 6 for my final design. When you find a layout you like, attach them to a background with an adhesive like mod podge or double-sided tape. Once you like the look, close up the frame and admire your work.
It’s not quite the watercolor masterpieces I showed off yesterday but it’s a simple way to add some color to your Easter decorations.
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2012
In like a lion
For my March centerpiece I wanted to imply some movement. The zig zag lollies in these centerpieces remind me of pinwheels and windy days. Missouri is really seeing March come in like a lion. Yesterday we had crazy storms, tornadoes to our south and east and the winds keep gusting between 50-60 miles an hour. I’m just thankful we’ve been safe so far and I hope the rest of spring isn’t had like last year.
To make this centerpieces I primed and painted some garden pots in silver. Michaels is having a sale on them this week if you want some of your own. I mixed and matched some papers leftover from my lollies and cut it to fit around the rim of each pot, applying it with mod podge. At the dollar store I found some floral foam and some marbles. I plopped the foam into each pot, added some spray painted kabob sticks attached to my lollies (instructions in yesterday’s post) and covered up the base with marbles.
It looks like spring to me! What have you been working on for March?
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Paper Lollies
Last week I showed you how to make some cute flower centerpieces. In one of the photos I had included a paper lolly in the centerpiece at a bridal shower. Today I’m here to show you how to make your own.
Supplies
- 1 piece of 12″ x 12″ paper
- 1 piece of contrasting 6″x6″ paper
- Paper cutter (I use this one by Cricut
)
- Paper scoring tools (I use the Scor-Pal
but Martha Stewart has one and a bone folder will work)
- Decoration for centerpiece (button, hole-punched circle)
- Double sided tape
- Hot glue
Start by cutting your 12″x12″ piece of paper into 4-6″x6″ pieces of paper with two cuts down the center of each side. Place one of the small pieces on the scoring board and evenly score your paper every 1/2 inch. Repeat with each piece until you have 4 scored pieces. Now zig-zag fold along the score marks.
Fold each piece in half and tape the two halves to each other, forming a fan. Repeat on all the pieces.
Now take 2 of the fans and open them up and tape the two halves together.
Reserve the other 2 6″x6″ pieces for another lolly or use them to make your current lolly two-sided.
Repeat this process using your contrasting 6″x6″ paper to form a middle piece for your lolly. You’ll want to start with 3″x3″ sections to score and attach 3 of those fans in a circle. Then hot glue the two layers on top of each other and add a decorative center piece.
You can see this lolly technique on the chicken wire frame I made or come back tomorrow to see how I used them in my March centerpiece.
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Doily Art
Remember last week’s contribution to the 1% {P}Inspiration challenge? Well, I’ve done it again.
Before I show you the piece that inspired my latest piece of art, I’d like to mention that the plea for one of my friends to have a baby boy in that post was clearly desperate. It also worked. One of my dearest friends from college put out the word that she’s expecting and it’s a boy, not 24 hours after I made my post. Since that was so successful you’ll be seeing more pleas in here that will surely be answered by the gods of blogging. I’d like a cruise around Europe and plenty of cash to pay for everything ever. Hello? Is it done yet? Well, I’ve got about 24 hours so moving on to that art that inspired this project.
I loved the art made by this etsy artist. You can’t see it in the photo but she attaches plexiglass to the doily art she makes and these are freestanding forms that you can use to decorate your home. I saw the bunny though and thought it would be better behind glass so I started on a little project.
I first cut out some shapes, one of a rabbit and one of some ducklings. I recycled a little from my trip to the DaVinci Exhibit in St. Louis. I had bought some cute cutout paper from JoAnn’s ($1.99) that worked in place of doilies. I placed the cutout reverse-side-down on the paper and taped down just the edges. Then I flipped over the lace paper and used matte tape to completely cover the stenciled area. The result you’re looking for is something like this once you do all your cutting.
See how you can still see the tape? That’s very important in holding these little guys together. I chose some spring colored paper ($1 at Michaels) and placed it in a $1 frame from the Dollar Store.
And here’s the bunny
All together these two pieces of Easter art cost me $5 or $2.50 per frame. They’re a cute way to decorate for spring and having an Easter bunny and ducklings look quite nice in my kitchen.
What signs of spring are hopping into your home?
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Baby Art
I made some baby blankets for my friend when she found out she was pregnant using some of the fabric Moda puts out each year. The fabrics I used were from their Pure line (you can still find it on Etsy) and when I had some leftover pieces I just knew I had to save them because of how adorable the fabrics were. See for yourself:
Well, her son just turned 1 and I realized I still hadn’t done anything with those scraps leftover from the Charm Pack I had bought for the quilt. Oops! Thankfully one of the bloggers I follow- Sara at Russet Street Reno came up with a challenge.
You can click the banner above for all the details but the basic idea is to get off your butt and make some piece of art with all that inspiration you’ve been pinning on pinterest. Since I’d bought the original materials for a baby, I decided to go the kids route with my DIY artwork. I don’t have kids of my own so I am sort of hoping one of my friends will say they’re expecting a boy and want it (anyone? where are all my pregnant people at, you can’t stop with just 1!) but in the mean time it was a cheap way to get out a burst of creativity.
My inspiration:
Source: flickr.com via Julie on Pinterest
I love the idea of animals made out of fabric and I happen to have fabric. I used 3 of the leftover charm pack pieces (a 5″x5″ square) and a $2 scrap of blue fabric from JoAnns. I also found having a fabric marker
For a more complicated piece like the paw print, after I cut out the individual toes I rebuilt the template so I could have even spacing in the frame, like so:
Then I attached the background fabric and sealed up the frame to reveal my handiwork.
This was a quick and simple project that used up some fabric scraps and cost me just $2 to make. Now I just need a friend to give them to. Anyone?
Update: this post got my friend pregnant! Okay, I’m exaggerating but shortly after this a friend announced she was having a boy so I give credit to the artwork.
2012
Tissue Paper Flowers
This handy little craft project came in useful when I was coming up with centerpieces for a bridal shower. I wanted spring colored flowers for blue mason jars without all the price. I had heard of tissue paper flowers but I wasn’t convinced how easy they would be but I was convinced I could do a decent job. Plus, I could get all my supplies from the Dollar Store so if I failed I wouldn’t be out a ton of money.
Supplies
- 3 packs of tissue paper – $1 each (I chose 2 in fuchsia and 1 in soft pink)
- 1 pack green pipe cleaners- $1 each
- Package of floral tape (optional)- $1
- Paperclips (optional)
- Scissors
- Vase or jars
- Total=$5 + jars
Prep Work
Before beginning, you’ll want to prep all your equipment. Line up 8 pieces of tissue paper of one color and tape together along the edges every few inches. Take a cup and draw a small circle on the top piece of tissue paper with a pen or a marker. I chose a 2 1/2″ wide cup to trace. I managed to get around a dozen circles onto the tissue paper. Then I cut through all 8 pieces of paper for each circle. A paperclip will be very handy to hold these circles together while you cut out all the pieces. Each vase will hold about 7 groups of those 8 circles so do some simple multiplication to see how many packs of tissue paper you’ll need and how many circles you’ll want to cut out.
Assembling the Flowers
Step 1: Make sure all your circles are cut and placed in stacks of 8.
Step 2: Use the metal part of the pipe cleaner to poke through the stack of tissue paper, just off-center. You’ll want about 1 1/2 inches to come through.
Step 3: Loop the pipe cleaner back through the tissue paper using the metal part and just off-center again. If the pipe cleaner has trouble ripping the paper use a needle to pierce the paper before putting the pipe cleaner through.
Step 4: Wrap the extra end of the pipe cleaner around itself.
Step 5: If you want a more flower-like look, wrap the pipe cleaner in floral tape. This is best if you are using a clear jar or vase. The floral tape sticks to itself so just wrap it tightly on an angle.
Step 6: Repeat on all the other circles and set aside till all are ready.
Shaping
Step 7: Crinkle the innermost layer of tissue paper up very tightly. Don’t worry about making it look perfect, just make sure it covers the green of your pipe cleaner. Repeat on layer 2.
Step 8: For layers 3-6 crinkle a little looser focusing more on making a puffy shape than a flower.
Step 9: For layers 7 and 8 you’ll just want to crinkle the tissue paper.
Step 10: Now starting from the outside in gently unfold the tissue paper layers and loosen them until they start looking like a flower.
Just plop 7 of these beauties in a jar and you’ll have a gorgeous centerpiece. Here I’m displaying mine in my votive holders that I’m using as a vase.
I think these would be beautiful with yellow and white or in a centerpiece for spring or Easter or you could use them for a bridal shower like I did. For less than 10 cents a stem this is an easy way to decorate without wasting your money.
How would you use these flowers?
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Put a Cactus in it
I love cacti. That is, I love every cactus because they are basically impossible to kill. Every one of those “impossible to kill” indoor plants like succulents or jade has always died on me but the cacti of the world are willing to live for me. I won’t admit which plants I originally created this project for but let’s just say they’ve gone off to plant heaven and a cactus has taken their place. Thankfully it’s a great fit.
To start off the project, I went to Home Goods and bought a candle lantern that was marked on clearance because the paint had been scraped off in a spot. This was perfect because I wanted a copper color anyway. Here’s the step-by-step changes.
Step 1: Buy an Awesome Lantern
Step 2: Take out all the glass and spray paint it
Step 3: Put glass back in, admire work
Step 4: Put a Cactus in It
So to give a few more details, I used Rustoleum Hammered Copper Spray Paint.
What projects have you been working on?
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Valentine’s Ideas
I went to Target over the weekend and went immediately to the Target Dollar Spot. I have a small problem with that section meaning I spend 1/4 of my life in it. I found some fun items I immediately thought would be perfect for a Valentine’s DIY project.
I saw this mug in Target’s Dollar Spot for $2.50. My mind immediately saw several cute projects I’ve seen pinned on Pinterest.
Source: designmom.com via Kristie on Pinterest
These mugs remind me of some I have from Anthropolgie. Just buy a Porcelaine Paint Marker
Source: grabsomethingblueandsayido.tumblr.com via Megan on Pinterest
Speaking of His & Her mugs, aren’t these cute? I’m a little over mustaches in art but these mugs would be cute for me and my husband since he actually has a mustache (and beard) going for him.
Other cute ideas I love include writing a favorite love quote, lyrics from a special song, or even drawing the skyline of the city you met on your mug. Stuff your mug full of gifts from someone you love or use it to serve up some breakfast in bed.
The other item that caught my eye in the Target Dollar Spot was this silicone tray. It’s also $2.50.
Target calls it a muffin tray so the obvious choice for it is making muffins. But I thought, why not pie?
Source: adventuressheart.com via Diane on Pinterest
Heart shaped pies? I’m there. You could even go savory and make mini-heart-shaped pizza pies. My favorite idea isn’t as edible.
Source: mudpiestudio.blogspot.com via Michelle on Pinterest
If you have kids, what better way to combine holidays and clean-up than with these recycled heart crayons? It’s so practical and you can make all those little pieces become new again.
I’m going cheap for Valentine’s this year so I was thrilled to see such cute finds. I still need to check out the local dollar store to see how well I can do there. Have you managed to dig up any finds in Target’s Dollar Spot or anywhere else thrifty lately?
2012
Warm Fuzzies Centerpiece
To go along with my warm candlelight from yesterday, I also wanted my centerpiece to have some warm fuzzies. I went to Michaels for their New Year’s sales and bought some styrofoam balls and some yarn. I don’t do any real crafting with yarn so I didn’t have any on hand but if you do you’ll want to use a wider strand for the best results. I also had much better luck with the acrylic fibers over those from an alpaca.
First up, you’ll want to grab some tacky glue and a foam brush. Coat one half of your styrofoam ball with tacky glue and brush it until it forms a thin coat. Then take your yarn and start winding. You’ll want to make small circles from the center of the top and just keep wrapping horizontally for the best effect. Nice and easy. When you finish the first half, give the glue some time to dry (I rotated 3 at a time so my warm fuzzies were always drying) and then repeat this method on the second half where you left off, holding onto the newly covered yarn side. When you get to the end just cut off the excess yarn and tuck the tail in.
I made 12 different yarn balls in 2 different sizes. 11 of them fit inside my apothecary jar for the centerpiece of the month. I have another space in the house where these will look pretty so I think I may make more. To do all 12 it took me 2 episodes of Downton Abbey (2 hours) and I still have 5 episodes to watch if I want to be caught up before Season 2 airs on PBS this Sunday.
Here’s the final effect:
Tomorrow I should FINALLY have up the dining room makeover. There have been some slight delays thanks to crazy circumstances but we’ve finally been able to eat in there this week so it feels like progress has been made. I can’t wait to show it off in its current state.
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Elegant Votive Candleholders
I’m decorating my house for January right now. When I think January I think cold so I want to keep my house cozy, with warm candlelight and soft materials. Phase 1 of this plan was making some winter candleholders for my amazon scented candles. I wanted a snowy white color with warm candlelight peeping through. I’ve seen this idea before so I decided to replicate it on my own.
You’ll need:
- 4 small vases (I used a 4-pack of cups from Target for $3)
- A pack of rubber bands
- white matte spray paint (spray on primer works great)
- 4 small candles
Clean your cups so there are no fingerprint smudges. Wrap rubber bands of various sizes around your glasses. I liked angling some and adding thicker widths in the middle. Then take your glasses to your spray painting zone, turn them top side down and go to town. Mine required two coats for maximum coverage.
Once you like your coverage, find a trash can and slowly begin removing the rubber bands. Make sure you’re wearing grubby clothes and in a messy space. Stretchy elastic + spray paint = tons of tiny little paint flakes flying everywhere. Learn from my mistakes.
Once you finish removing all the rubber bands, wipe down your glasses with a wet rag and set some candles inside. Now dim the lights and enjoy your simple yet beautiful creations. I’m feeling warmer already.
Tomorrow I’ll be back to show you what I decided to put inside that apothecary jar on my table.
Linking it up:
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