Popsicle Stick Bracelets So I was looking through my vintage craft book collection and ran across a 1970 Pack O’ Fun magazine. They had instructions on how to take a simple popsicle stick and turn it into a bracelet. I’m always happy to try and take a good idea and run with it. Well, I’m certainly on board for that. The thought of being able to make wood pliable put all kinds of ideas in my head. But we’ll start with the project at hand which happened to be bracelets. Are you new to the Sitcom? For this project I used: Popsicle sticks (bought the industrial strength size bag from Walmart because this project might go in future directions)Drinking glass (for forming- use a glass with a top opening that is slightly smaller than you want your bracelet to end up)Emory board or sand paperAcrylic paintStick on jewels (for bling)Mod Podge The instructions in the magazine called for allowing the popsicle sticks to sit in water overnight. Now for the fun part!! A simple craft with cute results! Signing you up!
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. 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!!
Simple Ear Cuff Tutorial What you've all be waiting for... an ear cuff tutorial! I've been making ear cuffs for over a year, but unfortunately haven't had the time to make some of the insanely complicated designs I've dreamed up. This, however, is a very simple ear cuff that takes only a few minutes to master! Ear cuffs (also known as ear clips, cartiliage cuffs, ear vines, and more) are fabulous for people who don't have pierced ears-- or pair them with other earrings for a "double piercing" look. All you need is pliers and some wire (the pictured wires are 20ga blue silver plated copper and 20ga enameled copper in various colors). Begin with 3 inches of wire. Fold at one inch. Fold again, creating a little zigzag. Twist the ends into swirls and pinch the swirls until they touch the center wire. You will need a mandel to form the ear cuff correctly. Push the ends down... The tips of the ends will still be straight. Tada! This brown ear cuff fits both ears. This ear cuff is for the left ear.
10 Chalkboard Paint Ideas and Recipe Posted by: Cathy on Jun 18, 2011 Tagged in: Untagged I've been seeing some gorgeous ideas with chalkboard paint so I decided to go out and buy some. I was quite surprised at the cost of it so perhaps you would like to make your own. There's a simple recipe here. So now we have our paint, what shall we do with it? Painting plant pots to easily label them would be a great idea, especially when I'm bringing on my seedlings. Labeling all the jars and pots in the pantry would sure help me to find things quickly. Having a chalkboard on the pantry door is a great place to write your shopping list. A wonderful way to recycle some bottles. A chalkboard heart would be lovely to send your loved one little messages. A great way to label boxes and know what's inside. Stones are cheap and I sooooo need these reminders! Painting up an old globe, would make a great gift for the man in your life. Of course paintboard paint does not have to be black! For tutorials on how to market yourself online, go here.
DIY Painted Feathers I’ve always loved the idea of painting fake feathers, and with festival season underway it seemed like the perfect time to do it. I originally thought of these purely as decorations but then it occurred to me that they’d be a great finishing touch for a festival outfit. This is a great activity to do outside on a warm sunny day, and once you start it’s slightly addicting! What you need: fake feathers, paint (I used acrylic paint), and a paint brush. I got this paint from Utrecht and I love it. I added a little bit of water to the paint before applying to the feathers, and they absorbed the paint almost like watercolor. After the entire feather was covered I added some dots and lines with white paint. Get as creative and colorful as you want with the feathers! I wanted to add in some of the smaller brown feathers to my arrangement, so for those I kept it simple and painted them in colorful ombre shades. Arrange your feathers on a wall as beautiful spring artwork! Photos by Julia & Brigette.
spraupaint Friendship Bracelets Macraméd friendship bracelets were all the rage when I was growing up in the eighties. All the girls at my school would obsessively make them for one another in a dizzying variety of colors, widths, and patterns. It's amazing, thinking back, that such young girls could make such beautifully intricate accessories. I, of course, tried my hand at making them as well. I would ride my bike down to the five-and-dime store and pick out the most sophisticated color combinations of embroidery floss I could find, but when it came to the actual macramé I never got beyond plain stripes. There was nothing wrong with plain stripes, except that the other girls seemed so much more advanced with their diamonds and chevrons. Fast forward 20 years: Purl Soho started carrying DMC Cotton Embroidery Floss in every conceivable color (including fluorescents! Making friendship bracelets is a surprisingly easy craft, and best of all, in the end you'll have a bunch of cute summer bracelets to give to your pals.
"Summer Social" Guest Project -- Make DIY Concrete Countertops!! {tutorial} <div class="greet_block wpgb_cornered wpgb_shadowed"><div class="greet_text"><div class="greet_image"><img class="enable-pib-img-under" src=" alt="WP Greet Box icon" data-recalc-dims="1"/></div>Thanks for coming by! I try to feature a new creative tutorial every day -- and I'd love to have you follow along: <a href=" rel="nofollow"><strong>subscribe to my email updates</strong></a> or <a href=" rel="nofollow">come follow along on Facebook</a>.<div style="clear:both"></div></div></div> I am thrilled to be guest posting here today and sharing a tutorial on our new concrete countertops! The all important before and after has to come first:) Here is what our kitchen looked like when we bought our house two years ago: And here it is today {with our shiny new counters}: Step 1: Build forms. Lucky for us, we know some people with some big tools.