DIY Clay Coasters

Hi Y'all!

So last year...I know "what do you mean last year?"...well I just never got around to posting this project.  But last year I was trying new things, and decided to make some coasters.  So while strolling through the store I managed to pick up those small clay bottoms to flower pots in the garden section, some Mod Podge Matte, small felt circles.  I also got some cute fabric remnants so that they don't look so boring.  I also wanted to paint so I mixed up some paint that I had lying around the house.  

And here is what I came up with: 

What you'll need:

Clay flower pot bottoms (small)

Pretty fabric

Scissors

Pen/pencil

Mod Podge Matte

small felt circles w/adhesive backs

Paint brushes

Also a can of acrylic sealer would be best to make these last.

To start, take your fabric and place it face down in your coaster to measure out a circle and trace it.  Or you can use paper to make a guide and then trace your fabric.

Next, paint your coaster in your desired color.  Let it dry, paint the bottom, then repeat to get a nice even coat of color.  You may want to let the paint set overnight and finish the rest the next day.  But I didn't because I'm impatient/anxious when it comes to my projects.  I just need to know how it will look!

But anyway, after the paint is dry take out the mod podge and coat the inside of  the coaster.  Then lay your fabric down and smooth out any bubbles.

 Let that dry completely, and then put a layer of mod podge over your fabric.  Let that dry and the repeat with another layer.

After everything is completely dry which could take a few hours, spray it with your acrylic spray and attach 4 of those little felt circles to the bottom.

Enjoy!

I have to say even though this project takes a little while to complete because of the air drying, it is worth it in the end.  We still use these around the house everyday.  Although, mine still show a ring when water sets inside of it as if there were glue there.  But it is not wet or sticky, it just shows up and leaves once the water is gone and it drys.  So maybe I didn't use enough sealer or something, but they still work great.

Let me know if you try it out, I'd love to see what you come up with.

Until next time...

DIY Paper Flower Decor

Hi y'all!

Being obsessed with Pinterest has once again inspired me to create another DIY project.  This one involves paper flowers that I've seen several times while pinning on Pinterest.  I love how simple paper flowers are, and how they can make a beautiful piece of art in your home.  The best part about them is that you can make them out of almost any type of paper.  After my brain was in flower overload, a light bulb went off in my head, and I came up with this fairly simple project.

What you'll need

Scissors

Floral tape

Colored cardstock or Paper

Pen & Green marker or sharpie

Paper Plate

Paper clips or Floral wire

Glue
A pin or something thin and sharp to make holes

Step 1

Make your flowers.  I found some great tutorials through pinterest!  The flowers that I made can be found here (rolled flowers), here (accordion flower), and here (parchment flower).  Even though I followed their directions, my flowers were no larger than three inches in diameter.

Flowers in grey, yellow, and black.

Black rolled flowers

Don't worry about the stems at the moment, just make the main flowers.  The rolled flower was fairly simple, and makes you feel really proud of yourself after you've finished it!  Okay, maybe that's just me...

The accordion flower was the one that took the most work.  For that flower I cut a one inch strip out of a 12" x 12" paper, and a one inch circle for the center.  I made the accordion folds and glued the two ends together.  After letting that dry I put glue on the circle, pushed the center together as shown in the directions, and placed it on top of the flower with a heavy can pushing it down.

The parchment flower was pretty easy as well, and would have been easier if I had used a lighter paper instead of cardstock.  So I recommend using something light for this flower.  For the center, I cut a circle and folded it just as I did the larger flower but I did not round off the edges.

Step 2

Now take your paper plate, you can cut a circle out of your plate or leave it as is.  I cut off just enough to take the lip off of the plate.  You can also cut a large circle out of heavy cardstock instead of the paper plate.

Step 3

Now it is time to take your floral wire or paper clips and make hook at one end.  For the paper clips make sure to straighten them out as much as possible.  I used color coated paper clips for this.  But if your wire or clips are not the color you like, just take some floral tape, place it over your hook, and twist it a little to secure.  Once you have a hook, carefully push the straight end of your wire through the center of your flowers.  You could also glue your flowers to the plate, but I used wire to get the flowers a cute center.

Step 4

Take your plate or cardstock circle and make small holes with your pin where you would like your flowers to be placed.  Push the wires through the holes and begin wrapping them in a spiral to secure them to the plate.  Repeat until you have placed all your flowers, then press each wire down so that they are as close to the plate as possible.  You could also tape them down if you wish.

Step 5

Draw stems on your plate with you green marker if you wish.  Or add other decorations to make it unique.

Step 6

Nail it to the wall, or place it anywhere you like and...

Enjoy!!!

You can make this project your own in many different ways.  Change the colors, types of flowers, fill the whole plate, or just use one simple flower.  This project can be customized very easily.

Have you made paper flowers before?  How did they turn out?  Let me know what you think, I love comments!

Until next time...

Pinteresting Wednesday!

Hi all!

I feel like I have been MIA in Pinterest land, but when I found my way back I more than made up for the time lost.  I've pinned a little bit of everything in the past couple of days, and I think I even fell asleep pinning from my phone last night.  That sort of makes me sound addicted, huh?  Oh well, there are tons of great things to find and I'm on a mission to discover them!  I hoped to make this another themed week like "Spaces" from last week, but this time it will be just a bit of everything.  And of course I'll be linking up to the wonderful "Oh, How Pinteresting" link up over at The Vintage Apple.  So let's get this party started!

Creative Clock

Say Whatt!?! Awesome idea!

I was never this creative with chalk

Perfect for a kid party

I'm usually shy, which is why I blog! lol

I must have this closet

And this bedroom, just more color!

So cute! A must try.

Don't forget to head over to The Vintage Apple and link up if you're on Pinterest!  If you're not, let me know in a comment (and make sure you enter your email in the box) and I'll send you an invite.  You can follow me here!  Let me know if you've pinned any of these as well, or what you've found that gave you some inspiration this week.
Until next time...

Guest Post: DIY Terrarium

Hi all!  Today I'll be sharing my first ever guest post.  It comes to you from Modern Buttercup, who I had the pleasure of meeting on etsy.  Over at her blog you can find several fun DIY projects (the fireworks in a jar is my favorite!).  And at the Modern Buttercup etsy shop you will find cute & quirky handmade jewelry.  So please welcome today's guest, and show some love.

Modern Buttercup

Hello! At my blog Modern Buttercup, I love to post about DIYs, handmade goodness, and inspiring photos.  Today we are doing an easy project that is fun to do, and can be easily personalized. This project is great for people with "black thumbs" and is easy to maintain. I present to you Moss Terrariums.

Before we start, you might want to get an idea of what these little gardens look like and get some inspiration:

I created this terrarium out of an old perfume bottle I had.
It's simple and pretty to look at.

Photo from: flickr.com

Photo from: poppytalk.blogspot.com

Now we begin our project. Here’s what you’ll need:

Materials

• Moss 
• Dirt 
• Glass Jar 
• Pebbles 
• Shovel
• Any little plants you'd like to include

Step 1: Put a thick layer of dirt about 1/3 full of the jar.

Step 2: Place your moss anywhere you want! In patches or in a full layer. You can also start placing little plants in your terrarium.

Step 3: Decorate your terrarium with any decorative rocks, figurines, or any other little items.

Step 4: Lightly mist your terrarium with water. Make sure not to over water though- too much water can cause mold AND algae, which is not a good combo.

Then you're done! Place your terrarium in a shady place with no direct sunlight or excessive heat. You can just sit back and enjoy your pretty little world in a jar.

I hope you enjoyed today's guest!  And don't forget to stop by and check out her blog and etsy shop!

Until next time...

DIY Home Decor: Paper Towel Edition

Hi All!

Woo hoo!  The weekend is almost here, and I know many of you may be excited about that.  Some of you may use the weekend to relax, but others use that time to do projects around the house.  The other day I had a light bulb go off in my head while changing out the paper towel roll.  I know, "a paper towel roll, really?"  Well it happened, and now I'm glad it did.  I hear about school teachers using the cardboard rolls for class craft projects often.  So I thought why not make a more adult project, and the best thing about it is...it's pretty CHEAP!  So today I'll be showing you how I made a simple L-O-V-E home decor sign , and hopefully give you inspiration for some future decor ideas.

What you'll need

1 Cardboard Paper Towel Roll (cut into 4 pieces)

Scissors

Tape

Pencil

Hole Puncher

White or Colored Paper

Spray Paint (your choice of color), only needed if you wish to paint them

Rubber Gloves (if you are painting the cardboard)

Step 1

You are going to want to make sure that you can get your hole punch to reach the middle of each cardboard cylinder.  Trim each of the four pieces down a little more if you need too.  With the pencil lightly draw each letter out.  For each piece you can make as many or as little punches as you like, but you can see how mine turned out below.

L- Four vertical punches, and two horizontal.

O- Six punches

V- Seven punches

E- 9 punches; the E was tricky because I realized that I could not reach the center to make the E look right.  I had to score it, and stick a screw driver in it instead.  So make sure you space the holes out before punching this one.

Step 2

Put your gloves on and start spraying!  Let them dry completely before moving on to the next step.

If you choose not to paint them, skip to Step 3.

Step 3

Cut strips of paper to fit inside each cylinder.

Secure them by taping them inside

Step 4

Place them anywhere you like and enjoy!

Some recommendations for this project would be to have the paper inside be a contrasting color.  So if you are going to keep it the plain cardboard, then have a bright color behind it.  If you decide to spray them, I'd suggest you wear gloves and keep a finger on them while you spray.  They move easily when you spray, and you don't want them to move around.  

That is all for today!  Let me know if you like it, I love comments!

Until next time...

DIY Scrabble Tiles

Hi All!

Lately it seems that tons of people are becoming addicted to using scrabble tiles for other uses than just the board game.  For all of the Pinterest addicts, if you do a search for scrabble you'll come up with many different results from Scrabble nails to Scrabble pillows.  If any of you have smart phones that allow you to purchase apps, I'm sure you have heard of "Words With Friends."  Basically it's another form of Scrabble.  My mother recently got an iPhone and she is addicted to it and even I have to admit that I find myself playing it more than I should.  So to go along with this scrabble craze I made a simple DIY Scrabble tile project.  Once you're done you'll have tiles that you can use for numerous projects.

To get started you'll need some kraft or tan colored cardstock paper (I used a 12 x 12 inch sheet, but 8.5 x 11 inch works fine), a paper cutter or ruler and scissors, and a thin sharpie or pen.

Step 1

Take your paper and cut off 1 inch strips, and then cut those strips into 1 inch squares.  Keep cutting until you have enough squares to make at least 2 of each letter.  Cut extra squares if you'd like more of each letter.

Step 2

Now it is time to begin labeling the squares with letters and their values.  I used a thin sharpie so that the letters would not be too thick, but I did go over each letter a second time to make it slightly thicker.  The letter values are as follows:

1 point - A, E, I, L, N, O, R, S, T, and U
2 points - D and G
3 points - B, C, M, and P
4 points - F, H, V, W, and Y
5 points - K
8 points - J and X
10 points - Q and Z

Once you reach Z, you're done!  Now you have Scrabble tiles that you can use however you like.  Try using them in a scrap booking project or attach a magnet strip to the back and place some words on your fridge.

What do you think?  Are you loving the different ways people are using the Scrabble theme?  Let me know, I love comments!

Until next time...

Handmade Summer Dress

So last week I was feeling a little antsy and I decided to do a "summer redo" on some old jeans and a maxi dress.  The jeans I hadn't worn in years, and the dress was a little small up top!  FYI- bandeau tops are not made for everyone.  

For this project I started by ripping jeans on the inside seams of both legs.  Then I ripped all the seams of the top part of the dress, so that I could use that as a guideline for the new top.  I decided that I wanted the top of the dress to be jean, so I took the top of the old dress and laid it on top of one of the jean legs.  From there I traced the outline of the top onto the jean, but since the top fit me small I made the outline about an inch bigger on each side.  I did the same for the back part of the top, and then got to work on pinning the edges to make a nice seam.  I took the bottom part of the dress and folded it to the desired length, ironed the fold, and cut.  Then, it was time to sew!

After I finished sewing the top, I pinned the bottom of the dress to the new jean top.  There was some extra fabric on the sides of the dress so I made some gathering stitches and pinned it.  I finished up sewing the top and bottom together, and sewed on some straps that also came from the old maxi dress.  And then...I was done!

Behold, a new summer dress!  Since I don't have a sewing machine I did this project at my moms, and during the process my father asked me "do you have a pattern for that, or is it in your head?"  At that point, I felt extra crafty telling him that I had no real pattern.  This project took me about 2.5-3 hours to do, because I had a few setbacks that I did not mention...haha...

So, have you ever done a "redo" on any of your old clothes?  Let me know what you think, I love comments!

Until next time...

A DIY Wedding Part 2

Hello again!

Time for part 2 of my DIY madness!  Last time I shared a little about how out of control weddings can be, but this time I thought I'd talk about how great they can be!  Getting married has always meant something special to me.  It's always been something I've dreamed of, and I believe it shows a bond between two people that is stronger than any other.  I've always felt that getting married means you have a partner in crime for life!  And that you have someone who is always there to pick you up, have fun with, and support you through life's obstacles.  I was blessed to have grown up with a great example marriage, My Parents!  Last Monday my parents celebrated their 47th wedding anniversary.  Yes, 47 years...with 4 children, 4 grandchildren, and more to come once the hubby and I have babies!  I pray that every day that my marriage is as long and as wonderful as my parents has been.

So enough of my rambling...time for the good stuff!  The rest of my projects included Decorations/Favors, my Hair Accessory, and my Guestbook.  *lots of pictures in this post*

The Decorations/Favors

Small cylinder vases

I really think that this was the favorite part of all of my projects.  I knew I'd be making decorations for my wedding, so I started planning those right away and I decided to do my centerpieces and backdrop.  We invited around 200 guests (I was freaking out at this number), but had 120 accept (was much happier with this!).  So for our 16 tables and long head table I bought a mixture of 23 vases from the Dollar Tree; larger vases that flared out slightly at the top, and small cylinder vases for all the guest tables.  I also bought floating candles online and along with the flowers I mentioned in Part 1, I also got stems of lily grass.  We filled the small vases with water, several stems of lily grass, and placed floating candles on top.  Those went on each table, one for our memory candle, and one on the cake table.  I used a couple of the larger vases on the head table and placed flowers in them.
Est. Time: Centerpieces- Vases w/candles 30-40 mins (depending on water pressure haha). 

Behind the head table we also had a backdrop, and this was my favorite project!  I searched online to find a tutorial on how to make your own backdrop.  I found one for a photographer backdrop, and just tweaked the measurements a little.  To make it I got 4- 1 in. x 10 ft. PVC pipes, several fittings, and then got to cutting.  It ended up being about 6.5 ft tall, and 10 ft wide.  For the the fabric, I got 4 sheer curtain panels, one long curtain scarf, and lots of tulle.  And the light were free, I just used my folks Christmas lights.  I had my aunt help me assemble the poles, and then I went to work on wrapping the side poles with tulle.  I put on the sheers and cut holes along the top in certain places to attach the lights to the pole.  You can sort of see why I wanted a backdrop, because there was a door behind us that led to a storage room.  So if you were looking at us from the front, which most of our guests were, I wanted the door to be gone!  Altogether, I think I spent about $40 on the whole backdrop.
Est. Time: Backdrop Cutting & Initial Assembly-1.5 hours; Event Day Assembly w/decorations-45 mins or less.  

Backdrop all lit up!

The Hair Accessory

After looking around for the perfect veil and finding out that it was going to cost me over $100.  I said "Umm, no!" and moved on.  The next thing I found was this beautiful hair piece that had crystals made to look like flowers, and it was just sparkly and gorgeous!  Still it was expensive, and I chose not to get it.  So I thought, "I'll make my own."  In the end I'm much happier that I did, because a veil would have been out of place.  The flower just went better with my dress and our setting, since we had our ceremony and reception in the same place.  I purchased ivory satin, a hair comb, and some faux crystals to make my flower.  In the end, I spent about $20 at the most on my hair flower. Est. Time: 2.5 hours.

The Guest Book

There were so many unique ideas I found for guest books, but I decided to stay somewhat traditional with our book.  I chose to do a photo guest book with pictures my best friend took of the hubby and I.  To make the book I tried out an online service called Picaboo.  I downloaded their program, inserted my pictures, added some pages for guest names, and put in some cute little quotes.  Loved it!  What's even better is that Picaboo now offers lay flat pages, wish they had them last year but oh well.  
Est. Time: All day haha...I'm a perfectionist so this one took me a while to get it right.  May take several hours, depending on the detail.

So those are basically all the projects I did for my wedding.  I thought I'd show you pictures of some other little projects, and our simple yet lovely cake (did not DIY the cake as planned, thank god!!).
Est. Time: Painted Initials-3 hours; Flower Girl Pom-2.5 hours.

hand painted initials

handmade flower girl pom

Hope you enjoyed my DIY wedding.  Did you have one of your own? Or would you like me to do a tutorial on a certain project? Let me know, I love comments!