Chevron and Burlap

I had a few pieces of scrap wood ,

some adorable new chevron paper,

and two friends who needed special gifts...

 After a quick spray of Heirloom White,

I used modge podge to cover the front side of the blocks.

For the frame block, I attached the Tim Holtz clips

with E-6000 and added a burlap bow.

For the monogram block,

I used the cricut to cut the letter and decoupaged it on.

I just tied the burlap in a simple knot to top it off.

I love when two for my biggest crushes collide...

chevron and burlap!

Such a fun personalized gift,

I made myself one!

Pin It

How to make a Silouette

You might remember some of my silhouette projects

 I made for Mother's Day last year.

Recently, I have had a few readers ask

for a tutorial on how to make them...

and since I too, have another silhouette project in the works

I thought I would post a tutorial!

This one is a small wall hanging is

on a dollar store wooden plaque,

 scrapbook paper, and modge podge!

First, take a profile photo of your subject in a bright window.

It is kinda hard to get the kids to look directly ahead...

well, my kids anyway!   Lollipops help!

Then, closely crop and convert the picture to black and white. 

Print out the photo the size you want your silhouette to be...

for my plaque I did 4x6ish, for my cards 2x3 ish,

and for my up coming pillow project, I did a full 8x10. 

After the picture is printed, take a dark sharpie

and trace the edge of the profile then careful cute it out. 

Now you have a template...

you can also use the copier to make the pattern

 larger or smaller.  Ta-Da!

 A few hints... consider the hair style...

 a pony tail will change the look of the silhouette drastically!

Also, if it is time for a bang trim- it will show! lol

Make sure to use your best paper scissors for the detail work...

every nick and curve will show!  Even eyelashes!

Thanks, Jamie for the tutorial request!

PS. Check out all Jamie's cute cards HERE!!

Pin It

Canvas Wall Quote Tutorial

I kinda wanted to call this subway art, but not sure it fits exactly that title. However, you could surely make it more "subway-ish" ...or do many different things with this technique for that matter. My inspiration came from Urban Soul.

The song of Ruth is very special to Adam and I. We used in our wedding vows weeks before he left for Afghanistan and he even have in engraved on his wedding band. Even now, after the long move we have endured it still remains a sort of mantra for our family.

So, what you need is a canvas or two (mine were 12x12) a ruler, pencil, vinyl, and good scissors or a cricut, and two paint colors. First, paint and prime the canvas with the color you want your words to be (mine are cream). Next, either trace and cut your words or use your die-cut machine to cut words from vinyl (or contact paper it is cheaper!). You could also use stickers. (mine was a combo of the first two). HINT: It really helped that I was almost exactly copying the already made print. You may want to find something to copy to save on time!

Use a ruler to mark straight lines. You will paint over the so do not worry if they don't erase! Go over the words with a bone folder or a credit card to press down the words smooth and firm.

Paint a good thick coat of your background color right over the words and the edges of your canvas.

Do not let dry completely... just let it get tacky not wet and lift your letters up. HINT: tweezers worked well as my fingers caused a little smudging! Now, let it dry completely and hang it up.

After hanging mine up, I decided to go back and distress it a bit with black ink and some sandpaper. This project did cost more then I expected at $26. I bought nice quality canvases from Hob Lob and used an entire package of vinyl, but I was thrilled with the results and am currently working on a playroom and laundry room version!

If you wanna see my gallery wall in process check it out HERE!

Scrappy Hair Clip

I saw these fabric hair clips somewhere on-line, but could not find a tutorial... so, what is a mom to do?... figure it out... Here is how I did it...

First, I used my piking shears to cut many, many strips of fabric. These are about 1/2 an inch wide and four inches long.

The more you cute the fuller it looks. I tried washing one to see if fraying them would make them fuller ... nope.

Next, stack all the strips in random order, right side up. Make sure to spread them out like this... you can do this after you thread it, but it is easier this way.

I used three ply matching thread and tied my knot about three inches from the end, so that I would have plenty of thread to tie my finishing knot later.

So thread each strip onto your needle. It will not be exact center of each strip, but that is fine... hmmm, better even!

And again, stick the needle back through all the strips making about a 1/4 of an inch stitch.

Using the tail tie it all off. Next, pinch the center where your knot is to create a 'base'.

Stitch through the base several times and again knot it off. This is where you can hot glue or sew on a clip or pin. When you turn it over it looks like this... fun, huh? Addy sure thinks so! Maybe I should call them the Happy Scrappy Hair Bow!

More Mother's Day Silhouettes

Like I said I am really into silhouettes right now!

I made this wall plaque for my very best friend (Jen) for mother's day...

and she would be so proud to know I made for less that $2! The wooden plaque came from Michael's for .99 cents!

and the paper I had, as wells as my jar of good ole Modge Podge.

Here is the world's easiest paper flower

(my tutorial HERE)

with a little tulle and a button makes it a bit more girly.

See told ya... .99 cents!

and check out my recycled picture hook!

The pop top from a Diet Coke can,

with a dab of hot glue does the trick.

And yes, it HAS to be DIET (wink).

Here is a more traditional silhouette

I made for Nana Sue (Jen's mom).

This plaque was $1 from the The Dollar Tree.

So now, I need to settle on some color choices

for our new house, so I can make two just for me!

Tulle Pom-Pom Clippies

I have been playing around with fabric, ribbon, and tulle a bit here.

In that process I made some pretty cute tulle pom-poms. They look extra cute with piggy tails and are easy to make. And since tulle is one of my very favorite party decorations, gift wrap embellishments, and I have made a couple of tu-tus it is pretty assessable. They even have it a Wal-mart for less that three dollars for a big roll. To start you will want to cut a cardboard template. Mine was 3 inches by 4 inches. The length would stay the same for any size pom pom, but I would adjust the width for a larger one. Cut off 12 inches off tulle and then cut that piece in half length wise. So you end up with two strips that are 12 inches long and 3 inches wide. Now stack these evenly (ish) on top of each other. Next evenly (ish) wrap the strips around your template.

Use a clip or clothes pin to hold the tulle in place

and gently slide it off the template.

Using double ply thread in a matching color

stitch up the center of the tulle

with about 1/4 of an inch stitches.

Leave the thread and needle dangling as you cut the folded edges loose...

now you should no folded edges.

Make 1/4 of an inch snips with your scissors down the edge...

as if you were making fringe or bangs.

Repeat on both sides.

This is my favorite part.... tug on the thread and watch the tulle gather up at one end.

Pinch all the fluffy, snipped tulle to one side and leaving a kind of base.

Wrap the thread the around the bottom of the base to the other side.

Sew it through the bottom of all the layers and pull it through.

Give it a tug and tie it off.

It should make it into more of a knob...

rather than flat base now.

Flip it over and separate the pieces from each other.

Just play with it 'till it looks good and fluffy!

Sew on the pom-pom... no real trick here,

just make sure to get on good and tie it off.

Ta-Da! How cute are these?

Hmmm... maybe I need to try to make some mommy sized!