Saint Patrick's Day Crafts We already had a Saint Patrick's Day birthday party last weekend, but the Irish fun isn't over yet. I have been looking for a few fun and simple ways to celebrate Saint Patrick's Day with my family. Here are my top picks for Saint Patty crafts, activities, and snacks! Saint Patrick's Day Crafts Shamrock Wreath ♣ The House the Lars BuiltShamrock Barrette ♣ Paper & InkShamrock Pinwheel ♣ The Mother Huddle Saint Patrick's Day Snacks Key Lime Pie Cream ♣ Chocolate-Covered KatieMint Lime Cupcakes ♣ Some the WiserParty Popcorn ♣ My Baking Addiction, via She Wears Many Hats Saint Patrick's Day Activities Saint Patrick's Day Reading List ♣ Good Life EatsSaint Patrick's Day Printables ♣ Family FunShamrock Name Fishing Game ♣ B Inspired Mama How are you celebrating Saint Patrick's Day?
How to Make Inspirational 'Stones' Here's an easy way to make inspirational 'stones'. To make them, you'll need: Flat 20mm (or about 3/4") marbles--colored might work, but clear seems the best choiceInspirational words printed on regular old printer paper in an appropriate-sized font3/4" paper punch, optional but it makes things MUCH easierModge Podge & small paint brush First punch (or cut) your words from the paper. Brush a coat of Modge Podge on the flat bottoms of the marbles. Fix the circles to the bottoms of the marbles--words up, of course. After they've dried completely, put another coat or two of Podge over the backside of the circles. I think these would look lovely scattered on tables at a wedding dinner or reception. Tagged : inspirational, inspirational-messages, marbles, words
DIY Art with Acrylic Paint and Letters | * View Along the Way * This is a fact: there is something magical about craft stores. Like, fairy dust magical. I know this because the minute I step inside one, suddenly I believe I’m capable of completing all kinds of art projects I have no business touching, and suddenly I’m buying the necessary supplies to knit a designer dress (yes, out of yarn) or bake a cake shaped like a rocketship or something. Welp, they got me again. I saw this art on Pinterest: It’s a pricey little piece you can pick up here for £195. I knew I could recreate the look with a few chipboard letters on a solid-painted canvas – and a few other bloggers have done just that. Suddenly I was PICASSO! I picked up some paints, a pack of chipboard letters and a canvas and headed home, all inspired and high off their secret craft-store air. I decided to use words from this Bible verse: “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” And that’s my little pinterest-inspired art project.
Quiling I can't get over how amazing these are. I wouldn't be surprised if Yulia invented quilling. She is a 28 year old artist from Moscow who creates beautiful designs from vertical pieces of thin paper and her website is full of inspiration in color, line, shadow and technique. You don't have to be a fellow quiller to wish you were like this great lady. Even though her pieces would be amazing if they were drawn, it was the fact that they are 3d that caught my attention. I imagine one of her expert pieces would take hours, which I do not have... When my husband and I were engaged, I bought wooden letters to spell out 'save the date' and covered them with different patterned paper. (I couldn't resist showing our cute picture) The letters were already covered (I know, I didn't post a diy... I picked out 4 colors of paper that went with the colors in the pattern and had them cut into 1/2" strips. In hindsight, I would choose a letter that had a meaning. I only have an h.
want to learn to make a foam stamp? I love the look of hand printed textiles! I recently shared how I make my own adhesive stencils. Stamping is another fun way to create your own print. In this post I'll share how to make a basic shape stamp and use to to create a pretty pattern. I stamped this fabric covered journal! To make your stamp you'll need... craft foam, wood blocks, a permenant marker and wood glue. Here's how to make your stamp... 1. Pretty soon you'll be stamping everything!
Upcycled Mason Jar Lights from Boots N Gus Wow. I was just blown away when I came across Boots N Gus! I mean, how completely awesome are their collection of upcycled mason jar lights and chandeliers? …so, what did you think? Of course, my eternal problem reigns supreme – just which one would I choose? Oh, and make sure to check out the rest of Jeff and Marks’ creations – they use vintage cookware in their light-making adventures, too. Wall Flowers I bet you guys thought the color today was gonna be Tampico Punch Orange! You are shocked beyond all belief that it's TEAL right!?!? Frankly, I was a little surprised myself. So here we go! Today's Color: Teal (Hello teal, this is Lolly... I'll be right over for my daily dose of cupcakes and sunshine!) Today's Featured tutorials:Julie - Inkcredible Stamping - Felt FlowerMake It. Let's get started with the felt flowers from Julie...This is what we call a curve ball. Without moving my computer even... If you don't have a Sizzix or this particular die... the size of the circles you need are as follows: 2 inch, 1.5 inch and a 1 inch. 5 of each one. As my finishing center, I cut a 1 inch circle, beaded around the outside of it and glued two buttons (one on top of the other)... and KABOOM! Helloooo Dolly! sighI love it.Just make one flower. So for the next tutorial we are going to do quick and easy wire ribbon flowers! You roll up the gathered side and sew as you go... There ya have it! P.S.
Easiest Design Transfer Method You’ll Ever Find In the middle of a new project that I was working on, I realized that I had a problem. I needed to transfer a very large design (think 4 feet by 4 feet!) than I want to paint onto a primed piece of wood, and I couldn’t figure out how to do it. I laid the printed design out on the wood and thought I could just trace the design on the paper with firm pressure and a little impression line would be left on the wood that I could just go back and trace. Um, nope. Then, I tried a ballpoint pin. I was getting pretty desperate at this point. Then a light bulb went off in my head: Newsprint! This technique will be especially helpful if you have a very intricate design, a very large design, or you just don’t want to take the time to cut out your design and trace like a stencil. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Try this technique the next time you want to transfer a pattern or stencil a word onto a piece of wood.
Tubular Friendship Bracelets My line-up of DIY projects was put on hold last week when a friend’s grandfather passed away. She asked if I could make her and her family a series of red, tubular embroidery thread bracelets to wear during the mourning period. And so back into the friendship-making mindset I went! Given that this woman not only threw me a whale of a baby shower, sewed the cover for the girls’ loveseat, knit Sunny the most adorable sock monkey stuffed animal, and hemmed fabric for a project I will unveil in the coming weeks, I dove right in. Since I spend up to four hours a day breastfeeding Courtland, I was fortunate to have a pattern in mind that was easy to do with baby strapped to boob. I used only red thread, but you could easily mix it up with an array of multi-colored strands for an interesting effect. While certainly a sad reason to engage in this project, I am happy that a little tutorial could come from it. To learn how to tie a sliding knot, refer to this video tutorial.
Tutorial: Quilled Monogram Letter If you haven't checked out the work of Yulia Brodskaya, which I first saw on Cake Wrecks, click this link NOW. Seriously, you will want to look for hours. I was so inspired by her, I knew I wanted to create a monogram, ala Yulia's amazing work. This is my end result: I'm thrilled with it. Ok, supplies needed: Frame Colored Paper (I used scrapbook paper because it's what I had on hand, but quilling actually works much better with non-textured paper) Print Out of Outline of Letter Craft Knife Mod Podge Scrapbook Paper Backing Medium Painter's Brush Step One: Print out an outline for your monogram. Step Two: Pick a color to go around your letter and cut out 1/4" strips of paper. Step Three: Start measuring and folding your paper, using your print out as a guide. It's important to be completely accurate. Keep checking as you go to make sure you're getting the turns right, but don't glue until you finish a whole strip of paper. Oh yeah, another tip. The basis of quilling is making paper rolls.
Painted Wall Art for Non-Artists Some people think that if you're crafty, you're also an artist--and vice versa. That's not totally true, however. In fact, neither Sharon nor myself consider ourselves artists, but we still pretend every now and then. This is not an original Tristin idea. Pretty, huh? I did. Here's what you'll need: A canvas in the size of your choice (I chose 16x20) Cream colored paint (I used spray paint since I already had it) Brown acrylic paint pen Acrylic paint in colors of your choice Round sponge brushes used for stenciling First, of all, I spray painted the canvas with cream spray paint because the canvas was too stark as it came in the package. Don't be scared, but it's time to start the "real" artsy stuff. Once you're happy with your branches, it's time to bust out your palette, a.k.a. a paper plate with globs of paint. The next picture is primarily for showing you the sponge brushes I used. As I added color to the painting, I felt the need for some extra branches. Boo-yah artists.
lor Me Katie: Marshmallows Is there anything more fun than marshmallows? Why yes, marshmallows with food colored faces! And is there anything more fun than marshmallows with faces? marshmallows with stylish icing hairdos! They're super easy and fun to make. Silhouette Chalkboard Tutorial The result is just adorable! I've never met a mom who isn't in love with her child's silhouette. I know I love Paige's! That little nose just kills me. (I love that kid!) You wanna make one?? 1. 2. 3. (Good grief, she's cute-I'm going to just go snuggle her after I'm done with this post...) 4. 5. 6. 6. Create the cutest grocery or t-do list your eyes have ever beheld! You could just set it on the kitchen counter, or add a picture hanger, or little screw-in hooks.... And attach some ribbon! I really meant for this to be a Mother's Day gift idea, but it's getting a little close for that! Now be sure to go see what Dana's up to!
Halo Chandelier "I love this chandelier! It is really unique and I love the exposed bulbs. Although it definitely has a very industrial aesthetic, you can dress it up however you want to achieve the look you desire. That's what drew me to this fixture, I knew I would have lots of fun decorating it for different occasions, hanging things on it, weaving fabric around it, whatever strikes my fancy! My only caveat is that six exposed bulbs are intense, so you'll definitely need either a dimmer or to go with a much lower wattage. Also, I hardwired it myself and was a little thrown that the wires are not well marked (they are both black but one had a sticker with a plus sign that fell off immediately).