DIY hanging picture frames

This might be one of the easiest projects I have ever done, and maybe one of my favorites. I've made these frames several times, each time evolving it a little more and I think it is now perfected.
I used
6 unfinished frames (4x6)
1 spool Satin ribbon
1/2 yard fabric
Tacky glue
Sissors
Staple gun
Picture hangers of your choice
Foam brush


I started out by painting the entire front, sides and inside of the frame with tacky glue and then cut off the extra. I pulled the fabric over the frame tight, the glue drys fast on a unfinished frame because it soaks into the wood fast. Once you have the fabric in the right place, poke a hole in the center of the picture frame cut a 'X' to the inside edges --just where the picture would be. Add more glue if needed, and push the fabric flaps into the frame and cut off the access. Repeat for the rest of the frames.

Follow the purple lines to cut fabric to inside of the frame

I spaced my frames out, about 6" inches apart from each other on my ribbon and marked on the back with pencil where I wanted them. I used a staple gun, however I think hot glue would work just fine, to secure my frames. At the top I used a half-circle fastener as my hanger, but there are a tons of decorative options available of you would like something a little more fancy.

As you can see from the picture of the back, I did not use fancy or nice picture frames. I got mine from Ikea, 3 for $2. If you want to use finished wooden frames make sure to sand them first!
I'd love to see pictures of you try these!

Happy crafting!

DIY Valentine's day wreath

My free time has been a little lacking lately, so when I had a free day I went to the fabric store and picked up some supplies to make a valentines day wreath.

My supplies I used were:

1/4 yard red felt
1/4 yard light pink felt
White patterned quilt square
Pink patterned quilt square
Fabric stiffener
Pearl embellishments
Hot glue gun
Scissors
Wreath

I started by cutting my felt length wise in about a 2.5" strip. This did not cover my wreath completely, so I aded a red strip at the top to cover it and I liked the look. Depending on the size wreath you want you may need to cut more than one strip of each. I started wrapping my strips together and adding hot glue after every 2-3 times around--always at the back. Once I had my wreath covered cut a small skinny strip of each color, twisted, then hot glued to the back. If I had a third color, I think it would have looked cute braided.
The flowers were the most difficult and time consuming part of this project. I used my Cricut and the Flower Shoppe cartridge to cut them out. If you do not have a Cricut, there are tons of cute flowers available at craft stores, and you would not need the quilt squares or the Pearl embellishments.

I started out by applying  fabric stiffener to my fabric. I like to apply it then microwave it for 30-60 seconds to help it dry, I have also heard of people using a blow dryer to speed up the process. Once it is completely dry, I put it on my mat. Now if you are having problems making your fabric stick you can use masking tape or painters tape on the entire surface or the edges  to help it stay in place. Set your depth to 6, your speed to 1 and your pressure to 6. Cut away! You may need to cut parts that did not cut completely from the Cricut.  I alternated colors but my biggest flower is 3" and they decrease in size by .5" and stop at 1.5" at the center. I assembled my flowers with hot glue and added a pearl embellishment in the center.
I positioned my flowers where I wanted and hot glued them on and my wreath was finished!

DIY baby onesie vest

I recently had oral surgery, so on my down time I've been practicing my sewing. My first project I did was a onesie vest and tie combo for a friends baby. As I've said before--I'm new to sewing so if I can do this, so can you! Although I will tell you, this was my most challenging project to date.
I found the tutorial from this website (Onsie vest tutorial.)

Mine is a little different, I wanted my vest to go all the way to the top of the onesie and I added a tie from ribbon.

I made the inside and outside of my vest from old men's shirts I found at a local Good Will (each $2.99)
The tie I folded into a point at the bottom and ran a stitch, and pinched at the top to create a ''tie" look. I then put a stitch in to hold the tie part and ran a stitch across the top.

As a beginner sewer, I will say that I had the hardest part with all the corners in the vest, if you are a regular sewer than this will be a breeze for you!

Happy sewing!

DIY: Make your own buttons!

I found this idea, and let me tell you; it blew my mind! I love buttons, and the idea of making my own, as I wanted them...perfect! Instead of posting how I make them or giving my own instructions I'm posting a link to where I found it. This woman does a fantastic job of explaining how she does it and has pictures of her steps. I'd love to see pictures of your buttons if you try this!
Happy crafting!!


http://scissorspaperwok.com/2011/07/18/how-to-make-clothing-buttons-from-shrink-plastic/

DIY purse notebook

I always like to have something in my purse to write notes or to keep track of things when I'm out. I think post-it's are great, but they get messy in a purse or bag getting bounced around so I covered some up with some card stock, added a monogram, and decoupaged a pen to match. Now I have a personalized notepad exactly the way I want it!

For this project I used:
Patterned cardstock
Pattern sissors
"W" cutout
Circle cutout
Pen
Post it's
Hot glue
Mod podge
Velcro dots

The first thing I did was cut my  cardstock down to size, this will be different depending on what paper you buy. For my post it's, I needed to cut mine to be 3.5" X 8. Place the post it with about 3.5" from the bottom and fold up and over from both ends. Make sure to make a crisp fold at each corner of your notepad.

 

Add a Velcro dot to the center and seal to adhere. As shown, I have a picture of a pen to match. I cut cardstock to match and covered the paper and pen with a thin layer of mod podge. This took some time to adhere. I rolled the pen to make the ends lay flat and applied a coat of mod podge to protect the paper. You may need to make your pen cap bigger to accommodate the paper, I did so using pliers. Below is a picture with no monogram, just to show that it looks nice without embellishment.

 

 

 I have seen something like this given out as a favor for a baby shower or a wedding shower with a rubber duck, rattles, or campaign glasses on the front. These are super easy and quick to make. A great idea for last minute Christmas gifts!

Happy crafting!!

DIY Small gift box

This weekend we wrapped all of our presents at our house, and late Sunday night I realized I forgot to wrap my work secret Santa gift. I looked through all our leftover bags, and found nothing useful, aand my gift was too small to wrap. So I decided to make my own gift box!

I used an almost empty cold pill box, covered it with a thin layer of decoupage glue, and cut scrap wrapping paper to fit!

This ended up being the perfect size for what I needed. I work with kids and am perpetually fighting off a cold, so I have an infinite supply of boxes! These would be perfect for gift cards, jewellery, or other small gifts!

Happy crafting!

Christmas stocking hangers DIY

I have been looking for ways to hang my Christmas stocking without damaging my walls, and I didn't want to use the command hooks. I came up with the idea of using door knobs! I went to Home Depot to look at knobs and not knowing if I want to keep the knobs up as picture hangers later, I was not looking to spend a fortune. I ended up with plain wooden door knobs that look like this:

I painted them black then applied a opalescent coat over the top and applied a small gem in the center. This is the finished product!

I fastened them to the wall with the smallest command strips! To make your own stocking hanger you need:
Wooden door knobs
Craft paint
Small gem or embelishment
Paintbrush

This project took minutes to complete, but I think looks so nice with our color scheme. Best of all, it cost under $4!

Happy crafting!

DIY Cricut and thrift store coat rack!

My husband recently sent me in search of a coat rack. My first thought was that Target or Bed, Bath, and Beyond would have one; but I pass a "new uses" store on my way to work and I figured before spending $40 on one I'd hit the thrift store.
I walked around for a while letting all the possibilities set in. I picked up a few items including a mirror for $7 (blog to come) and a lamp base which I havent decided if I want to leave alone or decorate a lamp shade. The best find might be the coat rack for $3-all of the needed hardware included.

Before! I got a little excited and started to paint before taking a full picture, this is still a good idea of what the entire rack looked like.

Now by looking at the picture you can see why this was only $3, but like me you can probably see potential! I know my husband thought I was crazy when I pulled this out of the bag, but with some paint, a few letter, and some decoupage; my thrift store coat rack turned into one of the favorite parts of my entryways!

 For this project I used:
Sand paper
Letters
Black paint
paint brush (2)
Decoupage

I first sanded the entire piece, I found that on the areas I didn't sand well the paint didn't stick. I applied several coats of black paint. I used black craft paint, the kind they always have on sale at Michael's for around $0.50. I let this dry for about 30-45 minutes, this paint does dry fast. Using spray paint could work nicely too.
I used my Cricut to cut out the letters and phrases, however finding letters and/or phrases at craft stores is a good option. Because I used my Cricut to cut my letters/phrases out I could play with what size worked and the layout.
After I had all my letters cut out and the paint was dry I used my homemade decoupage to add my letters. I also gave the entire coat rack 2 coats to keep the letters secure and from scratches.

In total this project cost around $6! I think that is so awesome with Christmas right around the corner and Holiday travels too!
$3 coat rack
$0.20 decoupage
$0.50 Paint
$1 2 foam brishes
$1 2 sheets scrapbook paper (8"X11")

I also plan on making something like this for my wall as just a plaque, no knobs. You can purchase wood at a Home Depot or most craft stores. The possibilities for modifying this craft are endless!
Have fun and happy crafting!

How to: DIY Decoupage

Now if you follow my blog, you know how much I love Mod Modge. And if you have ever purchased Mod Podge, you know it can be expensive. So you can imagine how excited I was when I found a DIY recipe for decoupage, and it only has two ingredients!  
You need:
1 bottle of glue
equal parts water
1 jar +lid

Empty the entire bottle of glue into your jar, I used an empty salsa jar, but a mason jar or a spaghetti jar will do just fine. Fill your glue bottle with water, and empty into your jar. The first time I made this I emptied the entire bottle of water and I found my decoupage to be runny. I found it best to add about 3/4 of the water, put the lid on (tight) and shake. Add the rest of the water accordingly.
The last time I bought a bottle of Mod Podge it was about six dollars and it was a small bottle. When I made my decoupage, I bought a bottle of glue for twenty cents!

Super easy and cheap wall art!

This is an idea I got off another blog ( http://salvagedior.blogspot.com) that I fell in love with! It is so simple and cheap, but has such a nice finished look.
What you need:
1 rubber floor mat
1 can cream spray paint
1 can primer

When I made this I used krylon spray paint (color: Champagne Nouveau). They have a ton of color choices, and even have good project ideas on their website (http://www.krylon.com/projects/index.jsp).
I first sprayed my mat with primer just so my mat had a more even coverage. I'm sure this is optional, but I just wanted to be sure. I waited 30 minutes for my primer to dry then sprayed my top coat. 

These pictures are not from my home, only because my house is not this accessorized! I hope you love this idea as much as I did!