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Tag Archives: diy
Upcycled Lightbulb Centerpiece
Buzzfeed recently asked me to participate in their DIY craft series. I was thrilled to be invited but also a bit intimidated. I’m crafty in a glitter and glue gun sort of way, but the theme was Lightbulbs. Eek. Luckily, my husband knows his way around Radio Shack and was willing to dedicate quite a bit of time to creating battery-powered lights to make my lightbulb centerpiece idea see the light of day. Thank you, Joe. I could never have done this one without you.
So check out 3 Things to Do with Old Lightbulbs for details on my project above, along with a few other crafty ideas for putting old lightbulbs to use.
Valentine’s Day Dominoes
My children don’t actually understand the rules of dominoes, but they love aligning the little pieces in all sorts of configurations and carefully stacking them sideways only to knock them down in a quick procession. This year, I made a set of Valentine’s themed dominoes using small rectangular pieces of wood purchased at the craft store and paper-punched heart shapes.
Golden Heart Planter DIY
This time of year, I always start to crave greenery. Winter has just taken hold in Texas, and I’m already wishing for Spring. My response is usually to buy indoor plants, something I’ve done in full force this year. I also added a new terra cotta planter to our growing collection of containers, and over the weekend I painted it white and added a large gold heart. Now I’m ready for Spring and Valentine’s Day.
P.S. Just one more scene of green from our house:
Design Your Own Dishes
I’ve been seeing all sorts of hand-drawn dishes popping up on Pinterest lately. Using no more than Sharpie markers and plain dinnerware, it seems you can create gorgeous designs. I love the look of these – and the idea of Jenna designing her own set of dishes – but was a little skeptical about how well the markers would work. We tried it out this weekend, and the results are pretty awesome. I think I might need to run to Ikea soon to buy more inexpensive china.
We started with a few of our plates, Sharpie oil markers in silver and gold, and a black porcelain marker.
We each drew our our designs on the plates. For me, it was a little intimidating to get started. I don’t draw very well and there’s little possibility for correction with the markers. I tried to wipe off an area that I wanted to redo, but the color didn’t budge. It seemed to dry immediately. I later discovered that the color doesn’t hold up very well in the dishwasher, so if you end up with a design you don’t like, just wash the dish in the dishwasher instead of baking it in the oven and it will likely come off entirely.
Once we were finished with our drawings, we baked the dishes in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes and let everything cool in the oven before removing.
This was a ton of fun for both Jenna and me and the markers worked really well. I’m not sure if they’re supposed to hold up in the dishwasher. I tried washing them in the dishwasher and the design of one plate was perfectly intact, while another disappeared entirely. For now, I’ll probably hand-wash them.
I think our designs are pretty adorable and would work great as teacher gifts and Valentine’s Day gifts. I also think I might try this as a children’s activity during our next dinner party.
Oh, and Jenna loves eating from her Jenna plate:
Honest to Nod: Dip Dyed Chairs
Last week I had the opportunity to work on a fun project with Land of Nod. They let me pick out my favorite chairs from their collection and show how I would make them my own. My approach – dip dye and dots! See more of the project here.
I Heart: A Crafty Halloween
Halloween Costume: Kitty Cat
Sources: Furry Vest / Kitty Ears / Leggings / Tail Tutorial / Make-up Whiskers / Slippers
Jenna is very specific about what she wants to be for Halloween this year. A Kitty. A White Kitty. With Whiskers.
I love homemade costumes. But since I don’t sew, ‘homemade’ mostly means ‘assembled.’ I’ve pretty much got Jenna’s costume nailed with the items above, two of which she already owns, but Jason’s costume will be more of a challenge. He’s decided on “Kai” from the Lego Ninjago video game. At first I thought this would be as simple as a trip to the party store. I’ve been to two so far, each time receiving blank stares from the staff when I describe the character: “It’s a ninja and a Lego …” Hmmm.
Polka Dot Glitter Shoes
Polka dots are popping up everywhere this fall, especially in children’s fashion. I love polka dots, but my daughter is more fond of pink and glittery, so I decided to make a pair of pink polka dot glitter shoes for her. What girl wouldn’t love that?
This project was surprisingly easy and cost around $20 to complete.
Materials
- Canvas Shoes (I purchased a pair of Mary Jane style shoes at a craft store)
- White fabric paint
- Glitter fabric paint
- Glitter
- Stencil brush (the round sponge brush was they key to making perfect circles)
Step 1: Paint the Shoes
I started by placing some white paint on a paper plate and adding a single row of three circles along the front of the shoe. I considered using a ruler, but decided that the placement didn’t need to be exact. Once I added the first row of dots, I continued to work in offset rows from the front of the shoe to the back. When the shoe was completely covered, I went back over very lightly with a second coat of white paint.
Step 2: Let Dry
Once the shoes were covered in dots, I let them dry for a couple of hours.
Step 3: Glitter the Shoes
I worked in small sections for this step. I added a couple of dots of glitter paint using the stencil brush and then lightly sprinkled the glitter over these dots. I shook the shoe a bit to get the wet glitter paint to pick up more of the glitter and then blew on the shoes to remove the excess glitter (and reposition it on the floor … who doesn’t appreciate a little extra sparkle?). I continued this process until the entire shoes were covered in sparkles.
All Done
I let the finished shoes dry overnight before letting my daughter wear them. According to the instructions, the paint is safe to wash after drying for a full 72 hours.
Happy Friday and Free Halloween Printables
Instead of my usual Friday Favorites today, I’m sharing some Halloween labels that I made this week. Yes, it’s not even October but the Halloween season is well underway at our house. If you ask Jenna what we’re doing this weekend, she’ll probably tell you ‘baking pumpkin cookies.’ And she’d probably be right.
Happy Weekend!
See below for the links to download this series of 4 label designs.
Files
