DIY: "Spring" Letters

So spring is just around the corner and we cannot wait.  Hoosier Homemade's blog has just the DIY project to get us going on spring related projects so we can be ready to roll!

This one is a "Spring" decor idea that brings color and happiness to any room!  Be sure to check out their blog for more DIY.

I just love how it turned out! Doug did an AMAZING job on it…don’t you think?

The concept for the scrapbook paper being applied to the wood is similar to the St. Patrick’s Day Door Hanging we made, but the letters were a little curved on the edge, so Doug had to cut out the paper before applying it to the wood. It was a little more time consuming, but well worth it.

And we couldn’t help but take pictures outside in the beautiful Spring weather we have!

Let’s gather our supplies…

Spring Craft Supplies:

• Wood – We used a piece of baseboard from our local molding outlet (length will depend on how many letters)
• Letters
• Scrapbook paper
• White paint for the edges of the letters
• Pre-stain and stain for the wood
• Spray adhesive to apply paper {not pictured}

Wood Preparation:

1. Cut your wood to length. Doug cut this piece, 5 inches longer than what we needed, leaving 2 1/2 inches on each end.
2. Using a rag, apply the pre-stain. Pre-stain is needed when staining soft or porous types of wood to prevent the finish from being blotchy.
3. Let sit 15-20 minutes to allow to soak in, wipe off any excess.
4. Apply stain evenly with a foam brush and allow to sit for 5-10 minutes depending how dark you want the final product to be, carefully wipe and excess stain off. {We used a combination stain/polyurethane product to speed up the process}

Letter Preparation:

1. Slightly sand the edges of the letters with 180 grit or finer sand paper. {the higher the number the finer the grit}
2. Paint the edges (2 coats) we used a satin latex that we had on our shelf {the washers are just to keep the letters up off the drop cloth}
3. Glue a small block of wood to the back side of the letters to give more area to glue to base.
4. Trace the letter onto the back of the scrapbook paper and cut out

Decorating the Letters:

• Spray the back side of the paper with adhesive and carefully adhere to the wood letters
• To attach the letters to the wood, use a hot glue gun {note: Doug tried wood glue and even super glue, but the glue gun worked the best}

DIY: Free Printables (Chevrons)

Who doesn't love free stuff?  Who doesn't love free printable / customizable stuff?  That's what we thought.  ;)

So, we are happy to share HGTV's wonderful (and FREE) printable chevron invitations and favors in 6 different color choices.  You.  Are.  Welcome.

I was recently asked to design a few all occasion invitations and favor ideas for the entertaining section of HGTV’s website. Both stories just went live, so you can download these fun, easy printables for any event! Available in pink, orange, lemon, lime, aqua or black. The invitations for free download are fill-in invitations. If you would like the text customized, they will be available in our shop!

I designed coordinating favor tags in two shapes. Our regular party circle size, as well a rectangular version.

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: New Year's Eve Confetti!

Head on over to "Homework: Today's Assignment: Be Inspired"'s website for this awesome DIY New Year's Eve confetti!  This is so easy to whip up and would make for a great last minute party idea.  The only problem?  Vacuuming it all up!

DIY: Gold Dipped Glasses

Having a New Year's Eve party?  These gold dipped glasses would make the perfect edition to any party night!  These come to you from Momtastics' blog - so go check her out! 

Supplies:

• Mettalic gold spray paint
• Masking tape
• Newspaper
• Wine glasses

Wash wine glasses thoroughly. Wrap tape around the base of the wine glass leaving the area exposed you want to paint gold. Cover the rest of the glass with paper

I taped up the sides too to be extra cautious

Spray from a good distance, at least 1 1/2 feet to get a nice even coat.

Do the same with the other glasses in your set.

DIY: Black and Gold New Years Eve Party Hats

We love these party hats from Studio DIY's website, especially since they are black and gold (UCF colors - and we have knights in the family)!  They look so simple, it's kinda ridiculous and marvelous all at the same time!!  So, get on it.  ;)

Supply List:

Paper Mache Cone  

Gold Spray Paint

Black Tissue Paper
Black Tape
Hot Glue
Black Cardstock
Black Fringe Trim
Headband
Gold Filler Balls or Other Trimming (Optional)

To Make:

Spray paint your paper mache cone gold and let dry. Meanwhile, cut your tissue paper into five inch squares. You’ll need two for each party hat. Grab one square in the middle and pinch it, then twist so it keeps its shape slightly. Repeat with a second square.

Hold your two squares together at the twisted bases and wrap black tape around them to secure.

 

Hot glue your tissue poof to your paper mache cone. Add some fringe trim around the bottom of the cone, covering the base of your poof you just added.

 

Cut out two circles from your cardstock the width of your cone’s base. Hot glue one to the base of the hat. Now sandwich your headband in between the cone and the other cardstock circle and secure with hot glue.

 

Add some fun gold fillers or beads if you’d like, or leave it plain. As you can see, I did both!

DIY: Glittered Chain-Link Holiday Garland

HGTV has a simple, but wonderful idea for those last minute holiday decorations!  We love this easy to make and inexpensive garland idea! 

 

Materials Needed:

• 12x12 sheet of gold scrapbook paper (enough for 3 feet of chain)
• mint-green acrylic paint
• small bowl for paint
• 1" Paint Brush
• pencil or pen

• Ruler
• 1"-wide blue painter's tape
• X-Acto knife
• hot glue gun and glue sticks

Paint Back of Paper Then Mark Chain Links

Completely cover non-glitter side of gold scrapbook paper with mint acrylic paint. Once paint has fully dried, make inch marks on both edges of paper. Connect marks to create 1-inch stripes.

+

Score Then Bend Paper

Using an X-Acto knife, carefully score (but don't cut) along marks. Make sure not to cut all the way through; cut the paper just enough to make it easy to tear later. Flip paper over and slightly crease at score marks to make them more visible.

+

Tape Off Then Paint Strips

On paper's glittered side, place painter's tape along the center of each scored line (Image 1). Paint exposed paper with mint-green paint. Once paint has dried, carefully remove tape to reveal tone-on-tone pattern (Image 2).

• 
• 

DIY: Kraft Wrapping Paper Stamping

Sugar Bee Crafts has a TON of wonderful ways to wrap up all those Christmas gifts you have been buying up for family and friends.  If you want a wonderful and unique way to wrap up your stuff - check them out!!

We especially LOVE this stamping on kraft paper idea!!

DIY: Cone Santa Hats

Thrifty Decor Chick took her Stein Mart inspiration to a whole new level!  These wonderful Santa hats look just like the ones from the store and we think they'd look awesome in our foyer...hmmm!

I saw some cute Santa hat/suit decor things in Stein Mart a couple months ago and Tweeted about them, saying I could totally make them for cheaper. Well, I decided to go for it, yes. I. did. I started with three foam cones, in different sizes:

I got them all for about $10. I think I used a coupon on the largest. If you can catch them on sale, you could spend even less!

I found red velvet at Hob Lob for less than $5 – I only got 22 inches (the width is 54”) and didn’t even use all of that. I figured out the size by rolling the cones and then cutting the fabric:

I hot glued the fabric down the back and then on the bottom and top to secure the ends:

I almost used sparkly red felt, but went with the velvet to the get look I really wanted. Either would be adorable and the felt would be even cheaper!

Then, I got four inches of vinyl (that looks like leather) to make the “belt.” This was less than $2 and I didn’t even need four inches…I only ended up making it 2.5 inches wide:

Again, just with some hot glue, I wrapped it around and secured it. Then, the fun part – the fur. I got some fluffy stuff in the ribbon section at Joann’s to use for this:

Isn’t it adorable? It looks like Santa’s beard! I’m dying.

For the buckle, I found a package of little square crystals. This package had 52 and I used most of them. I figured out the size and shape I wanted before I hot glued them on:

A fluffy puff ball on top, and it was done. And I squealed! I did!:

I wasn’t happy with the old Christmas candles I had in this tray (which was a $1.99 tray I got at Goodwill and spray painted white) and I hadn’t even spray painted the bottom of it well enough yet, so I just filled it in with some Dollar Store ornaments:

My favorite part is the blingy buckle!:

What do you think? The Stein Mart version is on the left, mine on the right:

(Mine are looking a little pink in this pic, but they are a deep red.)

Stein Mart had three sizes – I think about $9, $15 and $20 each. My three cost about $25 total. (And I had fun making them!)