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...

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...