It's Autumn!! Let's Craft to Celebrate!

Sorry I have been MIA for a few months.  We moved across the country and it's been a tad hectic!  On that note - today's post is a nod to the coming of AUTUMN!  I absolutely love this time of year.  The warmth of colors and the depth of beauty in the changing of the leaves and the way the cool breeze starts to calm the hot summer nights...breathtaking!

This craft idea comes from the amazing creators of Midwest Living and it's all about making decorations for the autumn holiday.  They have 32 awesome ideas that are easy and cheap to do!

This is our favorite of the bunch - ghostly gourds!  How adorable are these guys???  Great for the little ones, too!

Grab some fun looking gourds from the grocery store, some white and black paint, and perhaps some twine for hanging these bad boys (or set them on your mantel - no twine required)!

You have the idea - so go and do!  Send me pics of your ghostly adventures!  I plan to do this tutorial on my YouTube channel, so if you want to watch head on over that way here in the next week or so and the video should be up and running.

DIY: "Love" Yarn Letters

Thanks to My Sister's Suitcase we now have a new yarn letter DIY to add to our list!  This is a great tutorial that really shows you how to go above and beyond with letter wrapping so that each side looks perfect and the yarn is going in the right directions from every view line.

Be sure to check out their blog for more fun ideas!

Thanks for all your sweet comments on my Valentine's Day Mantel! I'm back today to share my tutorial for the LOVE yarn letters I created. I had never tried wrapping anything in yarn {other than a wreath}, so I had a few trial and errors along the way :) I'm going to share the technique that ended up working the best and fastest for me.
Start with your letters... mine are 8" hollow cardboard letters. I found them at JoAnn's for $1.99 each, but I'm sure you could find something similar at any craft store. I used 3 different colors of yarn because I wanted to create an "ombre" effect, but I think they would look just as cute in one color if you have some yarn you need to use up :) {I will say, after using a pretty thin yarn I think next time I would try something a little thicker. It would take less wrapping and might give it a more textured look.}
The trick to wrapping these letters is the number of surfaces that have to be covered. You can't simply wrap in one direction and cover the front, back, and all the edges. On a few of my edges {ends of the letters} I ended up using a technique where I glued the yarn instead of wrapping. I tried both ways, and this ended up being much faster. You need to figure out which edges need the "glue" method and do those first. Here's how I did it:

1. E was the hardest letter so I figured I'd show you that one :)
2. Loop your yarn into 2" segments, then cut the loops with scissors to create several small pieces of yarn.
3. Take 6-8 pieces of yarn at a time and group them together. {Make sure your glue gun is ready!}
4. Apply a generous amount of hot glue on the edge of you letter - enough to cover the width of your 8 pieces of yarn - a little less than 1 inch. Place the yarn on the glue and press down quickly. Make sure the pieces are nice and snuggled together so you get a tightly wrapped look :)
5. Once the top has been glued down, the ends of the yarn will be sticking out. Just trim them evenly, leaving enough room to glue them down on the sides.
6. You only need to cover the edge to the point where the actual wrapping will begin. {See, I only went about 2 inches in on the top and bottom of the E.} Here's a view of the top:

Now you are going to start wrapping!

7. For the letter E, you will need to wrap each of the 3 "arms" first, in a vertical direction. Wrap each section separately, and secure the ends of the yarn on the back of the letter with a drop of hot glue {or tape, if you don't want to burn your fingers like I did!}
8. Once all 3 sections have been wrapped vertically, you will start at the top of the letter and wrap in the other direction - horizontally :) Do you like my arrows? This will cover the long section of the E, as well as the remaining exposed edges. Just make sure if you are using different colors that you switch your yarn accordingly :)
9. Finally you're done! I'm going to be honest, it probably took me at least an hour to complete each letter. I'm not exactly sure because I was working on them random times during the day and night {whenever my kids let me!} So I dragged out the process for several days before I finished :) But if you had one night to completely devote to the project, you could definitely bang it out.
Here is how I made the transition between colors to create the "ombre" effect:

DIY: Valentine Sweet Bags!

She's Kinda Crafty is a way fun blog that has some cute sweet bag DIYs.  There are two fun downloads you can use from her blog as well - so be sure to go check it out!

DIY: T-Shirt Bracelet Makeover

Here is another option for t-shirt upcycling into jewelry that we think just couldn't be easier to do.  This is from Family Chic's blog and there are plenty more tutorials on there, so be sure to pop over and check 'em out!  

These would be great bracelets to make out of the sleeves of your t-shirts that you may have used for other DIY t-shirt projects...

For this project you will need some old t-shirts and a bunch of bangle bracelets. Try using old bangles that you already own, check thrift stores or pick up some up for a few dollars at Target, Walmart – or even the sale bins at Old Navy.

Cut t-shirt in 1/2" to 1" wide strips. Depending on the thickness of the bangle – a thick bracelet will need thicker strips.

Loosely tie one end of the t-shirt strip to the bangle and start wrapping fabric around bracelet – the tighter the better.

Wrap fabric all the way around until you meet the first knot – untie the knot and tie both ends together to close. Make a double knot, pull it tight and make sure the knot is positioned on the inside of the bracelet. Trim ends with scissors.

I found this technique worked well for us – but you could also use a glue gun to secure ends.

DIY: Dandelion Blowing Shirt

This is another wonderful dollar store craft project.  We look forward to making this and wearing it in the very near future!

Be sure to check out their blog to get more!

 

Project Materials:

• T-shirt, on hand or $1 and up
• Piece of recycled cardboard, on hand
• White, Black, and Green Acrylic or Fabric paint, on hand or $1 each
• (Optional) Fabric Medium for acrylic paint, about $3
• Shower pouf, $1
• Thin-tipped paint brush, on hand
• Paper plate for a paint palette, on hand

Total: $1 and up

About the supplies:

T-shirt: any color but white is fine, so choose what you like (reclaimed from your closet, purchased on clearance or even Goodwill like mine was).

Cardboard: Flat piece of cardboard large enough to fill the inside of your shirt (cereal boxes work perfectly)

Paint: White, black and green paint (fabric paint is great, but you can add Martha Stewart’s Fabric Medium to any acrylic paint to keep it from being stiff and un-wearable)*

Shower pouf: You can get these at the dollar store, or pretty much any other store for $1 or less. I got 2 for $1 at Wal-Mart.

Paint Pallet: I used a left over paper plate or two, but if you don't have one, you can use a piece of recycled cardboard (the rest of your cereal box?).

*Note: Be sure you are using paints with the same curing process.

How to Make a Dandelion Shirt:

1. The first step is to put the cardboard inside the shirt, to keep paint from seeping through to the back, which is not attractive.

2. Next, you want to squirt a generous amount of the white paint on to the plate. If you are using regular acrylic paint and fabric medium, follow the directions for mixing on the bottle. As you can see, I added some glitter paint, but it didn’t give it noticeable sparkle, so I don’t recommend the extra step.

3. Then comes the fun part – pounce the shower poof up and down in the paint and then gently pat it on the shirt where you want the head of the flower to go. I recommend starting with as little paint as possible, gently tapping most of it off on a scrap paper towel before you touch it to your shirt. You can always add more.

4. Next, squirt a bit of the green paint on your plate and using the thin brush, paint your stem. Perhaps you want to give it a slight curve so it looks like it is bending in the direction of the wind.

5. Next, we added some seeds to look like they were being scattered by the wind. We used two methods with the same white paint mixture:

1. Ever so lightly sweep the poof out and up from the head of the flower, or
2. Paint each individual seed with the thin paint brush, making little crosses. Then rinse the brush and dip it in the black paint to put a tiny stem on each seed.

Either method seems produces pleasing results, it is just a matter of whether you want fast and abstract or painstakingly real. After much deliberation, we decided that the seed band started at the same width as the head of the flower and then scattered and broadened as it moved upward. I think a few blowing over your shoulder and onto your back would be fun, too.

Now you just have to be patient while your creation dries (generally for 24 hours), heat set with an iron as directed (mine was 3 minutes on as hot a setting as the shirt fabric allows), wash and wear!

DIY: Giant Paper Sunflower

Aunt Peaches' Blog has this excellent tutorial on a giant paper sunflower that we could see hanging on our door in the near future...check out her page for more DIY!

Materials

• Thick brown craft paper
• Multiple colors of latex paint (leftover house paint does just fine)
• Hot Glue Gun
• One platter size lightweight/paper plate
• One dinner size  lightweight/paper plate

Start by painting the craft paper –make it good and thick. For a flower this size you will want to paint at least three large sheets about the size of your dining room table. Make them nice and colorful and enjoy the painting process. You can smear down a decent base coat with a cheap sponge or roller. Go out of your way to be messy. Eat some chocolate while you are at it. I painted my petals shades of yellow pus some brown scraps to insert in the middle, but you could do any color. Or all colors. Oh please, somebody hurry up already and make a giant rainbow sunflower and send me a picture.

The amount of craft paper you will need depends on how many petals you want--I estimate I covered my dining room table with painted craft paper three times for this project.

For the center of the flower, cut three circles with painted edges. Again, no template here. Just cut the edges nice and jagged then fringe the perimeter. Do this on each circle, fold up the edges, then stack them inside of each other. This could be a small flower all by itself.



For the center, cut a small circle of a lighter color, fringe the perimeter, and fold all the petals  in on each other.

Assembly
The critical base of this whole project is a lightweight bamboo/wicker/basket platter thing from the thrift store. If you have ever had cause to order catered food, chances are the food came delivered on one of these, but if you do not have one laying around in your garage already, I guarantee you, every thrift store in the country has a lightweight platter basket laying around on a shelf for 99cents or less. Yes, you could substitute with a big circle of cardboard but then you won’t get the lip around the edge that helps the petals curve inward a bit like a real flower.


For the bottom tier, adhere half the petals to the platter with hot glue. Now that I think about it, staples might work as well.



For the  second tier, glue the remaining half of the petals to a reasonably sturdy paper plate and then glue the back of the paper plate to the center of the first tier.


For the center of the flower, stack the three brown circles, hot glue, then fluff the fringe to your heart's desire. Finish off with that fringy thing you made seven steps ago. Tada!

DIY: Party Animal Necklace

These are whimsical, creative, and we adore Flamingo Toes blog for putting them together!  What do you think?  Do you love them like we do??  We must find an occasion to wear one of these bad boys...

Here is what you’ll need:

• Animals (I got these at Michael’s – and I think they are the same animals they used. They were in a tube – take your 40% off coupon)
• Beads, chain, ribbon, fabric, rhinestones, wire, etc for embellishment
• 22″ chain and closure findings for necklace
• bails (to make the animals into pendants)
• Glue (I used E-6000)

We’re going to start with the elephant so you can see what I did, then I’ll show you closeups of all of them.
The beauty of these though is that you can dress them up any way you want!

Start by gluing a rhinestone spacer to the top of the elephant’s head.

Add a colorful bead on top of that.

I think he likes his hat. :)

Cut a piece of ribbon for his blanket.
(I got this gorgeous jacquard ribbon from my lovely sponsor, The Ribbon Retreat. I have a nifty project planned with it but this little scrap made a perfect blanket piece.)

Glue to the back of the elephant.

Trim the blanket with a small piece of chain.

Add a strip of rhinestones between the blanket and the tail.

Wrap a bit of wire around each foot.

Glue a bail to the elephant’s back, towards the top.

Let everything dry thoroughly before you add your chain.

Cut a piece of chain the length you want your necklace to be (I cut mine 22″).
Feed the chain through the bail.

Add the closure pieces to the ends of the chain. I used a lobster clasp on one side and a jump ring on the other.

Now you have a super cute Party Animal Necklace!!

Here are some shots of the others so you can see how they’re dressed up.

Our zebra has a crown (lucky him!) and a fabric blanket.

Our giraffe likes rhinestones and sequins. Snazzzzy.

Our tiger is wearing a pompom collar (all the cool tigers do) and some chain around his middle. He has a flat bail, which was easy to cover with the chain.
Here’s a pic before I wrapped it.

Aren’t they fun??

DIY: Upcycle Glass Vases

What a great and inexpensive way to upcycle a glass vase!  We love this idea from Starshine using just some glass vases and a touch of cheap paint from the local craft store.  We are sure you can find vases in pretty much any Goodwill in your area!  So, go grab one and jazz up your living room on the cheap!

I picked up 3 clear glass vases from my local thrift store for 50 cents each.

Then I bought the cheapest craft paint from Michael's. This was 59 cents a bottle. I got Robin's Egg Blue.
Squirt some paint inside the bottle & keep turning the bottle until the inside is coated with paint. Just squirt a little bit of paint at a time. You don't want to use too much or you'll have a ton at the bottom. I did turn upside down & poured out the extra paint. Be sure to wipe the paint off the lip of the vase. And no, this is not my hand. I had hubby demonstrate while I took the photo.

After each vase was coated with the paint, I placed on their side to dry. I kept turning them every 5 minutes or so for an hour. You don't want them to lay on one side for very long or all the paint will go to that one side. Darn that gravity. Keep turning them every few minutes. After an hour or so I felt it was dry enough to stand up.