Wednesday, November 21, 2018

Cute and Clever Photo Cubes Apothecary Jar

Here is a quick and clever project you can make for home decor or better yet, to give as a gift.
I made these photo blocks and stacked them in a thrift store jar
 for one of the best gifts ever this last Christmas.


I'm kind of a sucker for apothecary jars. Or footed jars. Or jars on a base with a fancy lid.
These are just a few I have on my craft room shelves. None of them cost over $1.

I will even use E6000 jewelry glue to put a cool looking jar on a Dollar Store candle stick.


I saw these wooden blocks at the Dollar Store and my brain went "ding!"
These are the perfect size for photo cubes.

I painted the blocks with white craft paint until the dye of the printing quit bleeding through. Three coats, I believe. Possibly white spray paint will also do the trick. Let the paint dry and make sure that the color of the printed letters is not coming thru before going on to the next step.




I printed dozens of family photos in black and white. I made sure to size them for the blocks so I did not have to trim them. On two sides of each block I added damask print paper.


I just LOVE the cool vintage vibe of these black and white photos, 
especially after I sanded all the edges!


Choose good closeups of family faces since the display area is less than 2" square.


Stack them in a "fancy" jar of your choice. You can embellish the neck with family initials, jingle bells and twine or even a special tag.

There you go, a neat and personalized gift that is perfect for Christmas, 
or a wedding, or an anniversary or even a birthday.

So, thrift store jars about $1 each.
Dollar Store blocks $1 for 9.
Family photo blocks in an apothecary jar PRICELESS.

Next up, how to use these same photo blocks for Christmas tree decor!

Sunday, October 28, 2018

VHS Tapes Make Wonderful Creepy Halloween Streamers

The year we decorated our porch with strips of Dollar Store plastic tablecloths 
I loved the way the streamers draped and flounced and flared in the wind. 
The trick or treaters loved walking through the "curtains" too, 
except for one little girl who refused to even step into our yard. lol
I made the floating flying bats out of painted foam meat trays and curly wire.

So this year when we decorated the back deck with lights we wanted to add 
streamers but didn't want to fiddle around with cutting plastic tablecloths into strips.


Then we remembered that we'd used old VHS tapes 
to make a huge spider web in the yard. 


Off we go to the thrift store where we picked up this tape for a quarter. 
So, faster than you can say, "You're a streamer, Harry!" 
we had totally awesome, easy and thrifty Halloween decor
 that looks creepy and cool!


It was so EASY. 
We tied random lengths of tape to the strung lights around our deck 
and we LOVE the way it came out. A cloudy sky and little breeze 
made the shiny tape streamers look crazy spooky!







The tapes looked so cool that now we're discussing using them
 for some creepy costume ideas.Think how awesome a witch outfit would look 
with dozens of these tape streamers flowing around it?
Or a Dementor from the Harry Potter movies?
Or a Nazgul from Lord of the Rings?

Just picture this with MUCH MORE tattered streamer action!

This could be so much fun!

Grab yourself some old VHS tapes and 
go wild with your Halloween decorating!

Sunday, October 7, 2018

Book Page Leaf Garlands and Decor

I admit I am a color junky, but I've also have a serious love of books, and I hate to get rid of them. When they are beyond their useful life I use as many as I can in my projects
including recycling old book pages for all sorts of crafts and decor. 

Here's my latest...a garland made of book pages and I am smitten once again!


The Welding Man built me a wonderful bakers rack to hold my blue glassware, 
but that collection has grown quite large and moved to the kitchen bay windows
 So I decorate my backers rack seasonally with different looks. 

I am loving this combo of galvanized metals, grey barn "boards," natural wood tones 
and white pottery. I gathered a bunch of my book page projects and set them up.

But the leaf garlands really pulls everything together.


Yup, I will pretty much cover anything with old book pages to see how it looks. LOL.
My kids tell The Welding Man not to sit in one place too long because...wink wink nod...
Mom will cover you with book pages.

So far he hasn't sat still long enough. Just sayin'.


Thrift store vases...check.
Old Christmas balls...check.
Plastic clock...check.
Paper mache birds...check.
Cardboard letters...check.
Book page leaves on painted branches...check.
Pizza cardboard book page wreath?...check check check.


In my NEXT post I will show you how to make this very simple, very appealing garland. 
Stay tuned!I'll post a link at the bottom when that DIY post is active.

Thanks for stopping by. Please leave a comment, if you would. 
I enjoy reading what you have to say!




Monday, August 27, 2018

DIY Slipcover...Worth The Hassle? Absolutely!


I scored this settee at a local yard sale after checking it out thoroughly. The frame is solid and it has good lines tho the very pretty brocade fabric is just shattered. I put it on the back deck and deep deep cleaned and sanitized it to a fare thee well. 

Slipcover time!


I totally scored a pair of lined canvas drapes at the thrift store. After deconstructing them and laundering I started draping and dinking around with the fabric. I ended up with about 10 yards of canvas plus the same amount of the softer lining fabric. The best part? Total fabric cost $5.00!


I cut rectangles roughly the size of each area and started pin fitting each piece. There are countless tutorials online on the pin fitting technique and I read lots of them before diving into this project. I marked the actual seam lines with pencil then pinned each piece. Then I trimmed the seams leaving a generous seam allowance. This sounds harder than it is, trust me!


Smooth your fabric and pin pin pin along the seams. Clip your curves to make fitting easier and don't stint on the pins.


This is before I trimmed the seams on this side. Start with plenty of fabric, you can always trim it down. If you don't start with enough material your project is screwed! Don't ask me how I know. 

Ahem.

Three hours in I knew this cover was going to look AWESOME. So before I even sewed it together, I did this....


Because that is what I do! I get excited as a project comes together and leap ahead to the logical end use...settee as photo prop!! I LOVE how all the textures and pale colors of the pillows from my Etsy shop look against the canvas cover.


LOVE THIS!  I'm sewing the seams this morning and adding a pleated flounce to the bottom
 so  my daughter can use it in a family photo shoot. 


I still have to add the flounce and sew it together so I'll have about 6 hours into this project. 
So worth it to me! This does not include the time it took to clean and sanitize the settee and deconstruct the drapes and launder the fabric. Even buying a new drop
 cloth instead would still make this an affordable project.



And here she is ready for a photo shoot. 

GORGEOUS!

I'm so enthused that I still have over 6 yards of canvas left. I scored a large throne chair 
for cheap and it's gorgeous and sturdy and stylish and it's PINK. But my 
living room is brown, red and turquoise.So guess what 
gets the next canvas slipcover?


Make Faux Moss Decor Balls

I saw these natural moss decor balls used in a wedding centerpiece and
 I wanted some for my own home decorating. Ballard has 6" diameter balls for $8 but
 I figured out a way to make fake ones of my own for much much less.


I made a trip to the Dollar Store and found everything I needed.
I grabbed an oversize Christmas ornament ball and a few packages of their faux moss rocks. 
Then I painted the big ornament brown.


At first I thought I'd cut the moss rocks in half and glue them to the ornament but it looked bad. Trust me on this. Then my grandson showed me how to peel the mossy covering loose.
Brainstorm!!


Using hot glue I attached the moss scraps to the big ball and held them tight while the glue cooled.
I liked the way each piece made the ball a bit uneven looking, just like moss growing in the wild. Already this looks so cool!


Are you starting to get the idea yet?


Ooh ahh!
I made several in different sizes in less than an hour.


LOVE these! Especially in the winter when everything outside is grey and dark and damp.
 I arranged them with natural rocks and driftwood and tiny spruce cones
 in an old wooden bowl. Everything about this arrangement 
says "Oregon springtime" to me.


And here's the kicker. 
When my sister got married we used these same faux moss balls and Dollar Store rocks 
for her table decor. The fake succulents and a mix of moss, twig balls, 
stones, glassware, driftwood, ceramics and lady tablecloths made her tables look great.

I just love the way these came out and besides the ease and low cost 
to make them, they look so very real. 

That's a win win in my book!


Sunday, July 15, 2018

DIY Twig Wreath


This pile of needlepoint ivy trimmings gave me the spark of an idea.

Why not make a twig wreath for my front porch?


Did you know you can still buy metal coat hangers?  
Yup! These "new" ones are plastic coated and still perfect for wire projects, 
like forming the base of my wreath.



I wrapped and tucked and wrapped and tucked all the way around.
 I didn't have to use the wire at all. After a few days
 drying time I retucked the loose ends.


 This ferny garland cost about $7 using a coupon at Michael's.
I also used a few Dollar Store bunches to fill it in.




Oooh aaaaah!


  Now comes the fun part; hanging it on the porch and taking photos! I LOVE the way it looks so real even compared to the ivy tower and other plants close by!





Well now, that was fun and easy and CHEAP.
Okay, thrifty and money saving.
Projects like this boost my mood immediately!

Sunday, June 3, 2018

Faux Wood Grain Glass Table Top Turned Out Great!

We have this corner on our front deck that needed a convenient table 
and I also wanted it to be pretty. Here is what we came up with and 
made it in one afternoon and, as usual, we did it without 
spending a ton of money. 

In fact, we already had everything we needed
 on hand so it was basically FREE.

Confetti goes here!


Ooh ahh! It turned out even better than I pictured!

Here is the DIY for this fun project...


A friend had given me two round patio table replacement glass circles. 
This is the bigger one at 36" diameter.

For the base we used a nursery tree pot 24" in diameter given to us by our neighbors.

I scrubbed the glass and the pot with a soap pad and rinsed them thoroughly.
I spray painted the planter with flat black spray paint.


I gathered our supplies which included various colors of acrylic latex paint, 
including our house trim paint in the big can. The wood grain tool 
I used is right front and I also used a pair of gardening gloves to protect my hands.


I painted a turquoise stripe and right away before it dried, 
used the wood grain tool to make the design in the wet paint. 
It is so exciting to see the texture appear like magic. 
When I didn't like the way the grain looked
 I simply wiped it off of the glass and redid it.
 It was so very simple and came out so very pretty!


Once the "boards" were completely dry (about an hour in the sunshine) I spray painted 
over the whole BACK surface with flat black spray paint, right over the painted boards.
The black paint made the wood grain pop and made the glass round opaque
 so the planter underneath is not visible.

We put three globs of silicone glue on the rim of the black planter and then
 we flipped the  round  over so the boards showed through
 the glass and centered it on the black planter. 


I LOVE how the glass protects the bright colors and wood grain of the boards.
It is the perfect size and the perfect height for the seating on our deck.
We could not be more pleased with this project, not just because it was free
 but because it came out so amazingly great looking.

And guess what? I still have another glass round in my
 stash so we can make another table. Now that's something 
to look forward to!

Friday, May 4, 2018

DIY Butterfly Wind Chime Dollar Store Crafts

For Mother's Day this year I went shopping for a wind chime for my mom's deck. 
Guess what, you guys? Nice wind chimes can be expensive if 
you want one in a larger size or theme!


Off I went to the Dollar Store. 
I knew there had to be something there I could use to MAKE a pretty 
wind chime that wouldn't break my budget. I bought...

five filigree metal butterflies with colored marble accents. 
The pretty colors seem to be powder coated 
and they are brushed with a coppery paint finish. 

A small silvery wind chime with purple plastic gems with a light tinkling sound.

A hanging planter basket so that I could use the light weight chains.
The hanging planter had 36" of chain, just the amount I needed!


 I grabbed a few things from my stash I thought would be useful but 
in the end didn't use much more than what I'd bought. 
I used some recycled wind chime parts and
 lightweight split rings in the end. 
Easy peasy!

The ring at the top is salvaged from an old metal planter 
and is far heavier than the rest of the components put together. 
It will last for years!


It is 30" long from top to bottom.
Oooh aaah!

Originally I added way more embellishments in the way of beads and 
bangles but it was way too confusing to the eye. So busy.


At least in this case, less is more. 
I dry brushed some copper Patio Paint over all the dark metal areas and it looks great.
                              I could not be happier with the way this wind chime turned out!





This special project for my mom cost less than $10 and a couple of hours of my time, most of that spent hanging things on and taking them off til I was finished. 

The tools I used were a pair of needle nose pliers and a pair of wire cutters. 

Next, I'm thinking of making some driftwood themed wind chimes using 
the bamboo wind chimes from...The Dollar Store!
Stay tuned for that blog post!


Book Page Christmas DIY

Most of you have figured out I am a color freak with an obsession  for turquoise, red and cobalt blue.  However, I also obsess about ...