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Fabric Pumpkin Home Decor Tutorial #craft

October 29, 2013 by Melissa

Festive table-scapes are fun ways to incorporate decoration into the home. Our dining table is the usual catch-all of school papers, sunglasses, the day’s craft leftovers and water glasses so creating something decorative pushes us to clean up our messes. An for some reason I’m obsessed with pumpkins this year!

These decorative pumpkins can be found in favorite shops for hefty price tags. I’ve seen a gorgeous velvet ruby red variety for upwards of $30. I’m not one to spend that kind of money for decorations. I’m the kind of person to make my own. Using scrap fabrics I created some pumpkins of my own to decorate for years to come.

Materials

Fabrics of your choice
sewing machine or needle and thread
embroidery thread, raffia, ribbon
batting
stem, real or made from fabric
glue gun

Instructions

Create a pouch from your fabric. The length and width of your tube will change the shape of your pumpkin so experiment to see what you prefer.

Fully stuff the tube leaving a couple inches at the top. Loosely fold in the top to cover stuffing.

At the top of your pumpkin start wrapping your twine, raffia, thread or ribbon to create the indentations of your pumpkin. Finish by tying your thread tightly at the top. Arrange your threads to achieve the pumpkin look you want, fluff with your fingers and hands.

Add a touch of glue to your stem and shove through the top of your pumpkin into the batting and adjust till it sits how you like it. Arrange on table or shelf to decorate for the holidays.

DIY Framed Yarn Spider Web #halloween #craft

October 16, 2013 by Melissa

I love decorating for the holidays, all of the holidays. Fall and Halloween themed decor is something I’m still building because I feel like I don’t have enough. Creating my own decor is always fun.

This spider web was created quickly and easily and CHEAPLY. From start to finish this took 1 hour including glue drying time.

Materials Needed

large picture frame ($1, dollar store)
black embroidery floss or yarn
plastic spider
clear, white or silver glitter glue
tape
glue

Instructions
Start with removing the glass and backing from your frame. If you prefer to paint it a different now is the time.

Create your base web by simply crisscrossing from corner to corner and side to side pulling the strings firm but not super tight. Tape them firmly to the back of the frame. I looped my threads around the intersection to give it some strength and bulk.

Once you are happy with your straight webbing the circular webbing can start.Gather a LARGE length of thread/yarn (5-6 ft), double it and start from the outside with a single loop knot. Start going around your web. I looped around every other thread. Continue going around until you run out of thread or you are happy with your web.

To finish the web I used a small piece of tape to secure it in place and glued the spider in place to cover that spot. Using my fingers I pulled the web open to make sure the loops were tight and the web was taut. I pulled the straight webs tighter if they needed to be, retaping and cutting as I needed.

To give it a little more visual interest I haphazardly added glitter glue in various spots on the web.

The kids loved it as soon as they walked in.

Decoupage Makeover Wall Art #upcycle #bird

September 25, 2013 by Melissa

This project came about because we were forced to change the entire look of a room.

What started out as a mini project of new end tables turned into a whole bedroom makeover. I had these grand plans of doing an Ikea Hack of mini dressers but like usual with Ikea, the plans didn’t go our way. But then these adorable cabinets appeared in another display and immediately became our new end tables.

What we didn’t think through was the rest of the room. Our furniture didn’t match our new cute end tables or our bed. The drapes were horrendous and the bedding was too dark and heavy overall. The next couple of days we spent shopping for new dressers, rearranging art and photos and thinking up new design elements for the room.

I found this odd art piece at the Goodwill outlet. It had a good shape and even though I knew the eye chart design wasn’t my style I liked it. It cost just a couple dollars so the investment was a easy YES.

It lingered in the garage for a couple of weeks while I thought about how to upcycle it and that’s when I knew it should be used for the bedroom makeover for it. I settled on a simple bird silhouette found on Google images.

To start Rob sanded the eye chart off and left me with a smooth finish. It was just a simple box someone had made and nailed together but it was very sturdy and straight. Next he painted the top with a couple light coats of white and the outside edges a chalky black. The same color as my paper wreath covered shutters.

Then it was time to decoupage the image onto the wood. Arranging the image was the hardest part. I purposely overlapped some of the pages and left space between others. I was not going for a perfectly smooth finish.

I applied 3 thin layers of decoupage medium (letting them each dry inbetween) then went for a unique step by adding color. As you can see it just took a couple drops in a small amount of decoupage and a couple stirs for an uneven blend. Using a dry brush method I gently applied the tint randomly over the art. I again let each color dry completely.

One final layer of decoupage then a polyurethane finish and it went on the wall. I love the texture and layered colors. It reminds me of leather.

There’s still work to be done in the bedroom but this really is a lovely handmade touch. Best of all this cost me less than $10 for the entire project.

How to Dry Herbs from the Garden

August 27, 2013 by Melissa

Herbs are some of the easiest things to grow in a garden, in a flower box or even on your window sill. For the most part they need little maintenance to thrive. This year was my hardiest crop of herbs ever. I did a tiny bit of research to find out what I had to do to keep my basil going for an entire season and it worked. The trick was to prune back as it flowered up top. Check YouTube, it’s a wealth of information for us common folk.

As the season was coming to an end I hated the thought of losing all the great herbs I’ve been growing. I did a little more research and figured I’d give drying my own herbs a try.

SIMPLE

All you need is parchment paper, an oven and some containers to hold your dried herbs.

Trimming off your herbs is the first step. First morning is usually not the best time as they might still be damp. Give it a few hours then go ahead and snip. Cut more than you think you’ll need especially thing like thyme, rosemary, oregano and parsley. Basil is a little trickier. Once a stem has started to flower or the leaves have started to lose their flavor. Try to stay away from these.

I give all of my stems a firm shake and run through my fingers. Since my herbs are in flower pots I don’t have to worry about too much dirt or problem from the dogs. Shaking them vigorously gets rid of not only dirt but bugs and dead leaves. No need to be really gently.

For the Basil pluck each leaf leaving as much stem as possible. Everything else can stay on its stems. Place your herbs (one type at a time) on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Pile it on.

Preheat your oven as low as it will go. Let it come to temperature then place your herb filled cookie sheet in the oven and turn off the heat. Set a timer for 30-40 minutes.

Check your herbs. If they are still pliable give them another round in the oven.

Let them cool then remove the leaves. Run your fingertips along the stems and gently scrape them off. Sometimes you are left with tiny “twigs”, please remove as much of them as possible.

Once your leaves are sorted tranfer them to a tight lidded container for use. Hold onto the sheet of parchment for the next batch and keep reusing. Try stacking multiple cookie sheets in the oven to dry more at one time.

My oven goes down to 170°F so it never got too hot to scorch the herbs. If you find your oven doesn’t get below 200°F let it cool an extra couple minutes after turning it off and then placing your cookie sheet inside.
Don’t crush your dried herbs when your picking them or transferring them. Crush them as you use them.

I’ve done several batches of Thyme, Basil and Oregano. These are the herbs I use the most. Don’t let this stop you from drying whatever it is you are growing.

Painted Wooden Tray #upcycled #craft

June 4, 2013 by Melissa

I’m the kind of person that sees something that goes in the trash and wonders “Can that be reused or re purposed?”. This happens with toilet paper rolls, milk jugs and CoffeeMate creamer bottles. The problem with wanting to “re purpose” everything is having a place for the final project. Things headed for the trash usually end up there unless I have an idea for it.

For Christmas Shae received a few Melissa and Doug bead kits. I love Melissa and Doug toys because they are wood and non-toxic and last forever. I especially love the bead kits because they come in this simple wood trays that DON’T have lids. Not having a lid usually isn’t something I would applaud but that just meant I could dump the beads together in a box and set the tray aside for something prettier.

This is my something prettier. My make-up collection is getting out of hand. The vanity drawer that is dedicated to brushes has to make way for real cosmetics. I figured I could make a pretty-fied tray to sit on my vanity to house the brushes and fragrances and it would still look organized.

The tray ended up looking nicer than anticipated and is now sitting in the coffee table with my grandmother’s handmade doily and treasured milk glass. I’m not sure if this is its final resting place but for now it works to showcase these things that mean a lot to me.

The tray is a simple, lightweight, pine tray. There was nothing special about it except it was a blank canvas for so many ideas.

Supplies

Wooden tray
Acrylic Metallic Blue Paint
Waterbased Walnut Wood Stain
Polyurethane Spray
Painters Tape
Foam brushes
Paper plates or palettes to hold paint
Decorative details, optional

Instructions

I prepped my tray by vigorously wiping with a dry microfiber towel, being sure to remove any adhesives. My tray had a mark in the shape of a strip of tape but I wiped until it wasn’t sticky. I then taped off top edges to keep the paint off. I applied 3 coats of Metallic paint in order to get the shiny finish.

After a couple hours I removed the tape and applied new painters tape on top of the blue so the stain didn’t drip onto the tray. As you can see the Melissa and Doug logo is still there, I thought about sanding it off but ended up leaving it.

I applied 3 coats of stain, letting each one dry in between. I wanted a deep brown color but still wanted to see the wood grain.

The next day and day after I sprayed thin but thorough coats of Polyurethane to protect against scratches and nicks. I made sure to get all sides, inside and out.
The tray ended up with a slight gloss but still looks like wood where it should. The tray was no additional cost, the paint and stain cost me less than $3 and the clear coat is something I always have on hand for projects. This thrifty little project makes me smile.
An old frame would work well for a tray too. A couple coats of paint can transform almost anything.

Creating a Memo Board with Cork Tiles #craft

May 29, 2013 by Melissa

I was compensated for this post but all opinions and experiences are my own.

For the last 3 years I’ve made good strides in making changes in our home to add my touch. We’ve purchased new furniture, hung extraordinary artwork, created statement pieces and painted walls. Each project is important to me and serves a purpose even if the purpose is strictly to beautify.

Joann’s Fabric and Craft Stores asked me to create my interpretation of a craft found in their Spring Cape Discovery catalog. Armed with the catalog and a head full of ideas I made my way to my local store to shop.My first trip produced things that ended up getting returned because my measurements were wrong and because my vision changed.

I used this ribbon memo board as my inspiration. The one found in the catalog had a beach theme with shells, starfish and a fishing net. At purchased my own accessories but ended up going with a more modern look in the end. Supplies

Black Grosgrain Ribbon
12 X 12 Cork Tiles
Textured Scrapbook Paper
Adhesives

The project was simple but the planning took the most work. i wanted to make sure my ribbons were not only useful but pretty. Each tile is draped with ribbon in different but complementary directions and decorated with quilled paper roses. Each flower was cut and twisted by hand. All I needed was 1 sheet of paper.

The tiles are now taking up residence next to my small desk in the living room. It’s pretty enough that it doesn’t take away from the rest of the decor but it’s also very useful. My next step is to decorate some thumbtacks with black buttons, a nicer tough than plain silver.

Thanks to Joanns for giving me the inspiration to add this touch to my work space. Don’t forget to check out their extensive project ideas when in need of your own inspiration and sign up as a preferred customer to receive notice of great sales and money-saving coupons.

A Crafty Night with #ACMooreGNO

May 9, 2013 by Melissa

Last week I was joined by 8 other bloggers for a crafty night of fun. This was the inaugural A.C. Moore Girls Night Out.

A couple of months back I pitched AC Moore in a selfish attempt to let me and my friends use one of their rooms to get together for a night of laughs and crafts. Get this, they fell for it. In fact they came through with such an awesome event that I’m hoping to help them organize more for other bloggers.

We were joined by A.C. Moore’s Director or Education, Marketing Manager and Activity Coordinator, A.C. Moore’s PR Rep and a brand representative from Beacon Adhesives. Stepping into that room I knew they meant business. We were set up with complete stations with everything we needed to create 2 fun projects that fit our skill levels. Within the group we had some crafty mavens and some crafty hesitant but the steps of each craft were laid out clearly and there were plenty examples given from our leader Robin.

The night was filled laughs and information about products and inspiration and crafting stories from the pros and the bloggers.

Here is what we worked on.

The Quilled Roses Mini Wreath was my favorite. It did take the longest since I had to finish my roses and assembly at home.

The first craft we did was this Patchwork Paper Composition Book.

All the pretty squares were provided along with adhesives and the notebook. I’m using mine for the next conference I attend. I plan on making a couple more of these with different themed paper for different personalities.

Check out your local A.C. Moore location from Maine down to Florida or online for project ideas and top crafting brands.

Book Page Wreath Tutorial

February 14, 2013 by Melissa

Back in the Fall I stumbled onto a blog post that featured this beautiful book page wreath over shutters. I’m not one to copy a design but I was completely in love with it. I bookmarked it, showed it to Rob and made it my mission to get that look in my house.

I knew where I wanted it, I knew what I wanted to go along with it and that was it, my mind was made up. I found someone selling 20 year old louvered doors for $15. I got those and Rob and I worked on stripping layer upon layer of paint off of them. It wasn’t working so well so it was decided to clean them up as best as we could and just paint over the half done shutters. Honestly I loved the look. They look old. That was the point. This process took the longest. Months to be honest thanks to an early winter.

Rob did an amazing job finishing them and hanging them, surprising me one day while I was out. Next step was to get that wreath done. I knew it would be tedious but didn’t expect it to take the 4-5 hours it did. Was it worth it? Yes. I love it that much.

For the whole look you need 2 shutters, painted in the color you choose. We chose a Stealth Jet, not quite black but close; think wet chalkboard. Rob hung them with simple D rings and picture anchors. He also attached them together with 2 T shaped brackets. Hanging on the wall by itself, it looked GOOD.

The paper wreath takes more creativity. You have to decide what you want to use for paper. I thought sheet music would look good but didn’t know where to get any really cheap. I went for a novel that was stuffed in a swag bag from an event. It wasn’t a book I was ever going to read so I didn’t feel that bad. I did get an old atlas from the thrift store and thought that might work but the more I looked at paper crafts using maps the more I realized that wasn’t the look I wanted.

Supplies
6-8 inch round cardboard circle
Book, atlas or music sheets (thrift store find would be great here)
box cutter
Hot glue gun & lots of glue sticks
Wide Ribbon of choice to hang wreath, 18-24″
decorative flower, brooch or other ornament to place in center of wreath

Directions
I started with taking a damp tea bag and lightly rubbing the sides of the book. I wanted a very light color variation, not vintage but just a touch of contrast. A marker would work too.

Break the binding of the book as much as you can. Taking a sharp box cutter or exacto knife cut out the sheets as cleanly as possible. I used about 80-90 sheets for the wreath but had many mess ups so I cut out about 125.

Determine the direction you will be rolling and the direction of your paper. This was my biggest mistake in the beginning and led to lots of paper in the recycling bin. I used the bottom right corner as my point and the top right corner ended on top of the cone. Doing this every time gave me a more uniform look even though they weren’t all perfect.

I rolled and rolled and rolled for 2-3 hours, hot gluing each sheet closed. Tape would work but would show. School glue would work but takes too long to set. The hot glue dries fast and holds tight.

Before you start gluing your cones take your cardboard circle make an inner circle about halfway from the center. This line gives you a guide as to where to start your 1st layer of paper cones. Then attach your ribbon with staples or hot glue. I didn’t do this before glue and had a mini disaster on my hands.

When it’s time to start gluing your 1st layer start in small sections so you get good spacing. If you try to focus on getting all the points together you’ll end up with a lopsided wreath. The focus should be getting good even coverage on the part that is showing. The second layer is the same as the first just this time you at gluing the points closer to the center of the circle.

When it’s completed pick it up and shake to find loose cones.

At this point attach your centerpiece. I made a flower from black linen; 8-10 circles in varying sizes, sewn together in a haphazard way with some tucks and a tiny middle embellishment.

I then stapled the ribbon to the back of the shutter and it was done. Attach your ribbon before glueing the paper cones on your cardboard Again, I truly love this and thank Denise of The Painted Home for the inspiration.

Toilet Paper Roll Gift Box #craft

January 11, 2013 by Melissa

There is never a shortage of toilet paper rolls in this house. 5 people, 3 bathrooms there is always a holder that needs to be filled. I’m usually the one replacing them so imagine how a crafty mom’s mind does flips when she’s holding this simple cardboard tube that’s begging for some flair. If you’re looking for ideas to put into your gift box, check out Gift Glide.

This Toilet Paper Roll Gift Boxes are perfect for candies, play jewelry or other small gifts. Valentine’s Day is right around the corner and I thought I would put some of my stash to good use.

Supplies
toilet paper rolls, cleaned of all tissue pieces
paper, paint, ribbon, glue, glitter, buttons, paper or foam shapes, raffia, the list goes on and on

Red Gift Box
Using poster paint I applied an even coat and set it aside to dry for 2 hours. I circled double-sided tape around the tube once. Then, over a paper towel (or sheet of paper) I sprinkled silver glitter on the tape, tapping it on every once in a while. This is much easier and less messy than glue. Using this awesome bow tying fork technique I made a tiny bow from a thin organza ribbon, adhered it with glue and the box was done.

Ribbon Gift Box
Even simpler. I left the tube naked, and neatly wrapped ribbon around it and tied it in a nice bow. I tucked a note under the ribbon and it’s ready to give as a gift.

Each tube held about 6-8 starburst candies but hershey kisses or sweetheart candies would be very appropriate too.

Covering in a pretty lightweight scrapbook paper is a great way to personalize and customize for any holiday or occasion. I wouldn’t recommend heavyweight cardstock though.

Letting a child decorate their own gift box is an adventure. Break out the stickers, paints, markers and everything else you can find to let them be as creative as possible. Don’t have any stickers? Why not make a sticker using this site?

Fabric Flower Headband Tutorial

October 5, 2012 by Melissa

Ever since school started Shae has been sporting headbands. Since her hair is still short it doesn’t hold a ponytail and she hates barrettes. I did the simple route and glued some fabric flowers to existing headbands but wanted to do something special, more elaborate to dress up her everyday outfits. I took to Pinterest and found a few ideas and tutorials.

Polka Dot Fabric Flower Headband

Supplies
7- 3 1/2 inch circles (sheer polka dot fabric)
4- 2 1/2 inch circles (sheer black fabric)
1- 1 1/2 inch circle (white felt)
hot glue
coordinating button, rhinestone, bauble of choice (if desired)
black headband

Directions
I’ve been holding onto a shirt that used to be Sabreena’s. It’s about 5 years old but it was so pretty I knew I could use it for something. Shae used it for dress up for a while but this was it’s perfect new life.

All measurements are approximate. I cut all the circles using a random cup. Since the fabric was very stretchy I was careful not to pull. Don’t worry about the uneven edges, they won’t be seen.

Start by placing your white felt circle in front of you. Following the step by step instructions below, fold your circles in half then in thirds.

Glue the seam side down onto your white felt, halfway across. Go all the way around, alternating fabrics/designs. The end result should be 8 glued circles, each color/design making an X pattern.

Let this dry thoroughly then glue the remaining 3 circles in top of the already constructed base. This gives a bit of height and fluffiness.

Add your center button or bauble is desired. Glue the felt bottomed fabric flower directly to the headband, off center. Done.

I’m doing these flowers with all types of fabric scraps I have tucked away. Quarter Flats are a great way to get multiple headbands made for a very very cheap price. These can go on sale for as low as $1.

*If your fabric has a right and wrong side you might have to fold them a specific way. The bottom base should be folded with the right side inside the flower. The top layer should be folded with the right side showing outside.

SIMPLE

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