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Weathered Beach Signs | Crafts by Amanda. Spring break has come and gone and many people hit the beach during this time of year. We come back home with a bag of seashells, the sound of the ocean waves crashing in our ears, and the smell of warm, summery air in our nostrils. Bring a little of that beachy feeling home even farther by making some rustic looking beach signs to dress up your home. Ideal for bathroom decor! These signs are just simple slats of wood you can buy at the craft store.

I originally made this project for JoAnn Fabrics via DecoArt. First I gave them all a coat of Cool White and let them dry. Then I painted each one with the different colors noted above. I used Word to create the words surf, relax, beach and sand. Use a ball point pen, or a stylus if you have one, to trace around the words, pressing firmly to create indentations in the wood below. This makes it a lot easier to paint your letters! Use a liner brush to fill in the letters with Cool White.

Dry brush some streaks across the surface. What you need: Hand Stitching, part 1 - LA. One of my favorite crafts is hand stitching-- it's fun, addictive, expressive and relaxing :) Over the next few weeks, I'm going to share easy ways to make your own patterns for hand stitching along with some tips and ideas :) These are some samples of my past projects-- I like to draw patterns freehand and use my handwriting. However, sometimes I adapt clipart type images to make a more complicated pattern, like the sewing machine or I just stitch the outline of an image I love, like the Goonies "Hey You Guys" silhouette :) I use a Back Stitch for all my hand stitching because it's very versatile and I like the look but you can use any combination of stitches for your projects... there's lots of fun ones!

Today, we're going to start with handwriting & transferring your pattern :) You will Need: - Card-stock or Thick Paper (I cut a piece of 6x8" card-stock & folded it in half to create a greeting card) - Needle & Scissors - Embroidery Thread - Scrap Paper & Pen - Thumbtack or Piercing Tool. How To Mix Chalkboard Paint in Any Color. We love using chalkboards as backdrops for displays and parties (like this one here!).

So we were super excited to learn that you can create your own custom colors-and it's really easy! We first learned how from Martha Stewart whose tutorial you can read here. She recommends that you use latex paint, but we tried it out with acrylic paints with much success. Here's how you too can create your own chalkboard paint... Supplies: 1/2 cup acrylic paint (choose any color you like, or mix colors together to make the perfect shade!) 1. 2. Once your chalkboard has fully dried be sure to slate the surface before using it for the first time.

Have fun creating any color combination you like!! Turn Photo Negatives Into Artsy, Personalized Lamps. Soap Making Instructions | Soap Making Recipes and Tutorials | Teach Soap. How to make gift bags from newspaper | How About Orange - StumbleUpon. When I bought something at a store recently, the clerk handed me my purchase in a bag made from a newspaper. I liked it very much and had to make some more—thus today's DIY recycled newspaper project: gift bags made from the Wall Street Journal. You can vary the dimensions, of course, but here's what I used to create a bag that's 5" tall, 4.5" wide, and 3" deep. Stack two sheets of newspaper on top of each other. This will be a two-ply bag for extra sturdiness. Cut out a rectangle that's 15.5" wide and 8.25" tall. If your paper already has a fold in it, align the existing fold with one of the fold lines in the diagram below, unless you don't mind an extra fold appearing somewhere on your bag.

Fold a flap 1.25" down from the top. Cut two pieces of cardstock or chipboard to 4.25" x 1", then glue them on the widest two panels just under the top fold. Upend the bag so the 2" flap is now up. Put glue on both flaps and fold them inward to form the bottom of the bag. How to Make Leaf Skeletons - The Idea Room - StumbleUpon. I wanted to share with you a project from one of my readers who shares with us how to make leaf skeletons. I LOVE this! I have several leafs in various forms displayed in my home and knew I needed to make some of her leaf skeletons to add to my decor. I love how a pattern of leaves can enhance the beauty in your home. So I asked Heather if she would mind sharing her project with you. You can find more great projects from Heather at her blog The Other White House.

I have spent hours and tried various ways of making these. Kailey did these last year in her botany class with our homeschool group. You need washing soda, not baking soda! Gather your leaves. Washing soda is a strong base so you may want to wear gloves when handling the leaves. You will add 3/4 cup of washing soda and 4 cups of water to your pot of leaves. Keep going, you will need to add more water so your pan doesn’t dry out. When 1.75 hours are up fill a glass baking dish with cool water. 37.1Kstumbleupon. 25 Clever Ideas to Make Life Easier - StumbleUpon. Here are clever ideas to make life easier. To see the complete list of 25 go here.

You can pin the pics directly to Pinterest by hovering your mouse over the pic then clicking the “pin it”! Via: amy-newnostalgia.blogspot.com Why didn’t I think of that?! We guarantee you’ll be uttering those words more than once at these ingenious little tips, tricks and ideas that solve everyday problems … some you never knew you had! Via: apartmenttherapy.com Rubbing a walnut over scratches in your furniture will disguise dings and scrapes. Via: unplggd.com Supposedly you can remove crayon masterpieces from your TV, computer screen, or walls with WD40 – I’m not going to try it though! Via: athomewithrealfood.blogspot.com Stop cut apples browning in your child’s lunch box by securing with a rubber band. Via: marthastewart.com Overhaul your linen cupboard – store bed linen sets inside one of their own pillowcases and there will be no more hunting through piles for a match.

Via: iheartnaptime.net Via: realsimple.com. I Could Do That - StumbleUpon. Tutorial: Homemade Sidewalk Chalk | oh my! handmade goodness - StumbleUpon. By Michelle Vackar, Modern Handmade Child One of our favorite outside activities at our home is drawing with chalk on the driveway. You can play hopscotch, four-square, and of course draw and create silly stories. My daughters and I were talking one day as we played hopscotch about how to make chalk and I thought to myself, let’s try it! It ended up being quite a lot of fun. What you will need: • Toilet paper or paper towel tubes • Scissors • Duct tape • Wax paper • Small bucket or disposable container to make the recipe • ¾ cup of warm water • 1 ½ cups Plaster of Paris • 2-3 tablespoons of tempera paint • Paper bag or a “mess mat” ** we made six tubes of chalk – we simply doubled the above recipe Step 1: If you are using paper towel tubes, cut each tube in half, so it is roughly the length of a toilet paper roll tube.

Step 2: Cover one end of each tube with duct table to hold the contents within. Step 3: Cut as many pieces of wax paper as you have tubes. Most Popular Repurposing Tricks of 2011 - StumbleUpon. Furoshiki Gift Wrapping. Holder for Charging Cell Phone (made from lotion bottle) | Make It and Love It - StumbleUpon. My husband and I both have cell phones. And both of us have phone chargers. And that means lots of obnoxious cords. You never know when one of us may be moving phone cords around, to give our phones an extra charge while we’re chatting away……… or trying to charge our phones up before running errands or something. Needless to say, those phone cords seem to be everywhere…..and are generally in the way and hanging all over the floor.

(Okay, and how about when you’re in a hotel or visiting family/friends. There’s never a perfect place to rest your phone while it’s charging.) I was looking around on the internet for a solution and found this. It made the perfect little holder for my cell phone while it’s being charged. Holder for Charging Cell Phone And no more phone hanging down from the outlet while in this room or that room……..the cord and phone are now up off the ground, and tucked away into the little holder, while the phone drinks up a full charge. And turns out, it’s pretty useful.

Your source of daily updated funny pictures and gifs. - StumbleUpon. Stuffed animal - Wall to Watch - StumbleUpon. This is actually quite a good idea! Make a Lunch Box from a Milk Jug - StumbleUpon. Gifts to Make for Your Man.