Chevron Canvas

I am OBSESSED with chevron! So when I found this video that explained how to

make a chevron canvas, I could not resist the challenge.

 

Here is my final product.

 

This lighting in my living room is terrible, that is a dark purple. I followed the instructions on the video almost exactly. Instead of using a paint brush, I used spray paint. I did use painters tape and found that the color still ran under the tape. When the purple was dry, I took a ruler and touched up the edges, much like she did in the video.

 

I am thinking I may need to make another one soon.... stay tuned!! 

 

Spoon Ring

Let me preface this post by saying that if you want detailed instructions on how to do this,

please read the original blog post it came from. This was one of those projects t

hat did not turn out like I originally intended, so I do not want to steer

anyone down the wrong path!

 

 

 

This is the finished product that I created for my sister last Christmas. I found an old box of silverware from our parents wedding and I knew instantly that I needed to make her a spoon ring.

 

I read the instructions and thought it would be an easy project, boy was I wrong!! First of all, the spoon was stainless steel, not sterling silver. This meant that it would not bend as easily as I thought. Nor could I cut the end off of it like I thought. It is a good thing I have a husband that has access to metal bending tools because without him I would have been SCREWED!

 

My advice, make sure you know what your silverware is made of before you commit to the project! Make sure that you have more than one spoon because we wasted a good three spoons trying to get it right.

 

Good Luck!!  

 

 

Here is the original blog post!

 http://kirstenerickson.blogspot.com/2011/12/spoon-ring-tutorial.html

Dry Erase Calendar

Last year, I was on a mission to organize my home. My solution? Take to Pinterest and see what I can find. Though I never completely organized my home, I did find a project that I fell in love with! I took a few pictures of the steps since I made  the calendar, so please excuse the quality of the materials! They have been sitting around my house for a while.

 

 

This DIY dry erase calendar is one of my favorite projects in the house. It looks great, it is completely functional, and I always get compliments on it. The best part is you can make this match literally ANY room in your home.

 

What you will need:

 

14 paint swatches in any color

1 poster board (I used one that had faint gridlines to make it

easier to line everything up)

16x20 Picture frame

Paper cutter/scissors

Glue

Dry erase marker

 

Step 1: Cut your swatches down to size.

I used Valspar swatches that I found at Lowes and when I got them, they looked like this:

 

 

I chose these swatches because it would be easy to trim them and get rid of the writing on the side. Many of the other brands of swatches had writing across each color which ultimately means more cutting and trimming to get them perfect. I don't know about you, but I am all about easy and effective.

 

To cut them down, I cut right along the edge of the little square and the edge of the writing on the bottom left corner. If you are not using the swatches shown above, you will want to trim them down to about 2 inches wide.

 

Step 2: Trim down your poster board to fit your picture frame

 

Step 3: Arrange your swatches side by side, leaving about 1/4 inch between each one. Next, add a second row of swatches. You will want to leave about 1/8 inch to 1/4 inch space between them. I lined them up to make it look like on large  swatch, so I tried to keep the "white space" between the swatches equal to the white space on the swatch itself.

 

 

Step 4: Glue them down!

 

Step 5: Put the poster board in the frame.

 

Now you are ready to hang your calendar and write the date!!

 

I mounted my calendar to the wall using Command Picture Hanging Strips. These have held up incredibly well! I was very surprised because the frame is very heavy but it has been hanging up for a year with no problems.  



Invitation Ornament

Lets face it. We make fabulous invitations for weddings, birthdays, showers, and where do they end up? Typically at the bottom of someone's garbage can, right? I faced this truth after my wedding when I had several invitations left over and considered tossing them into the trash. The Pinterest Gods must have been smiling on me that week because I found this WONDERFUL idea.

 

 

 

Now, much like my previous post, I did this about a year ago and do not have step by step pictures. But this my friends is EASY,  you probably don't even need my help to figure it out (but I am going to tell you anyway)

 

 

What you will need:

 

Paper cutter/scissors

A pencil

One invitation

Ribbon

Clear plastic/glass ornament

 

Step 1: Cut your invitation into 1/4 inch strips

Step 2: Depending on how you want the pieces to look in your ornament,

you may want to vary this step. Take a pencil and wrap the paper around it.

 The paper should coil up and you can leave them in tight curls or pull them apart a bit.

For the ornament above, I did tight curls and stretched them out just a bit so

they took up a bit  more space.

Step 3: Carefully place your pieces inside the ornament. At this point you can decide if there are certain items that you want showing like names or dates and place them in.

Step 4: Tie your ribbon. I used the ribbon from my wedding invitation so I only had a short piece. If you are using a longer ribbon, you can use it to hang the ornament on your tree.

 

The ornament pictures above is the one I made with my own wedding invitation. I also made one for my sister in law after her wedding. With hers, I was a bit more creative and used some optional materials. She had red and gold confetti at her tables as well as fake flower petals. I snatched up some of those and put it in the ornament as well. If you have any of those items lying around that you want to keep, they will work great in this project. It worked out great in that case because it was a safe and contained way to hold onto those decorations without having them spill out all over your house.

Now, I cannot take all the credit for this one, so here is the link to the original post. http://christyrobbins.blogspot.com/2011/07/wedding-invitation-ornament.html

 



Custom Coasters

I completed this project last Christmas, so I apologize that there are not step by step pictures! I made these coasters for my friends because I needed a cheap but useful Christmas gift. I plan on making these again for myself so there will be more pictures to come soon!!

 

 

This simple DIY project was one of my first attempts at something I found on Pinterest and got me hooked on do it yourself crafts. To make these coasters you will need:

 

Assorted scrapbook paper

Plain 4.25" x 4.25" tiles (you can find these at Home Depot or Lowes and

usually only cost about 20 cents.)

Modge Podge

Scissors or Paper cutter

Ruler

Cheap paint brush

A can of Clear Acrylic Sealer (I used the Modge Podge brand)

Small pieces of felt of cork

 

Step 1: Cut your paper in 4x4 squares. I used a paper cutter for this step to make sure t

hat my squares were all even.

Step 2: Clean and dry your tiles. The first set of these that I made I did not take this step seriously but believe me it makes a huge difference!

Step 3: Apply a thin coat of Modge Podge to your tiles.

Step 4: Place your scrapbook paper on the tiles and be sure to smooth out the bubbles!

Step 5: Allow your tiles to dry for about 15 minutes then apply 2 coats of Modge Podge to your tiles. Be sure to wait about 15 minutes between coats.

Step 6: Spray your tiles with 2 coats of acrylic sealer. Be sure to do this in a well ventilated area or your loved one may not be very impressed with you.

 

*I allowed my tiles to dry over night and sprayed them with a few

extra coats of sealer just to be safe. This step is not necessary but I wanted to make

 sure that the paper was sealed in properly.*

 

Step 7: Apply felt or cork pads to the bottom of you coasters  and they are complete!!

 

For those of you interested in a price break down, this project only cost me about $5 because I had the Modge Podge and Sealer around the house from my infinite wedding projects.

 

8 Tiles @ $0.20 = $1.60

8 Sheets of Scrapbook paper @ $0.20 - $1.60

Felt pads $1.00 per package (found that the Christmas Tree Shop)

 

The most expensive part of this project is the Sealer and the Modge Podge which will run you about $5-$8 depending on where you purchase it. Walmart has been the cheapest place that I have found.

 

 Stay tuned for an update to this project when I attempt them again!