DIY: Acorn Garland

Hello there all,

I don't know if it is just me, but fall seems to inspire me so much. I'm not sure if it has to do with the fact that I need to be indoors more often, the fact that I am finally comfy heat wise, or the colors just inspire me. Ultimately, I have no idea what it is, but I have been over here creating like crazy.

On a walk recently, I found a bunch of acorns tops without the acorns attached (the squirrels have been very hungry). Being the forager that I am, I grabbed them because I knew that I could make something with them: a garland. I am always making garlands. What is it about them? They bring a sense of whimsy and celebration to everyday life.

Here's What You'll Need (Amounts and lengths are dependent on length of garland you want):

• String or twine
• Scissors
• Acorn tops
• Pom poms
• Strong adhesive (I used E6000)

Here's What To Do:

1.) Glue the pom poms to the acorn tops. At this step, I also kind of pinched the pom poms to make more of an acorn shape.

2) Soon you'll have a cute little fluffy/furry guy like this.

3.) Do this to many pom poms and acorns. Let the glue dry fully. I waited overnight to make sure that the bond was strong.

 4.) Next, Put glue on top of the acorn and place the string on top of the glue. After letting the glue dry a bit (does not have to be fully), put more glue on top of the string to seal the string to the acorn.  Let this dry over night.

5.) Hang your creation. Yes, it is a bit silly, but I love how it mixes nature with a bit of silliness of the colorful pom poms. They kind of remind me of what truffula acorns would look like.

 Also, it is such a fun thing for kids to do on a nature walk: scavenge acorn tops and bring them home to make this. I'm basically a child, so this is perfect for me.

Happy Fall Crafting,
Autumn

DIY: Rock gnomes

Hello there all,

It isn't really a secret that I love to paint/draw on rocks. I think it has to do with the fact that is an easy medium, and I don't feel like I am wasting anything if I mess up. The rock can just go right back in the dirt. It takes away some of that fear of failure.

Also, I have a love for gnomes. Yes, I think it is the granola/old lady gardener in me. After seeing, Jesiiii's brooch gnomes. I was inspired to make my own gnomes for plants around my house.

Here's What You'll Need

• clean rocks
• paint brush
• paint pen (optional)
• chalk
• dishwasher safe decoupage

Here's How to Make the Cuties

 

1.) Draw the rough outline of the gnome with chalk on the rock.

 

2.) Using a flesh tone, paint the face of your gnome. Let this dry, and if you need to do any more layers, make sure it dries before starting step 3.

3.) Paint the hat of you gnome. Let the paint dry. As you can tell by the next picture, I had some hat color issues arise.

4.) Paint the shirt of the gnome. Let dry.
5. Paint the beard/mustache. Let dry.

 6.) Outline any features that you want to stand out with black. I used a paint pen for this, but you could use a small paintbrush. Have fun and enjoy adding little details like buttons. Let this dry.

7.) Add white detailing to make the eyes pop. Let this dry.

 

8.) Add a layer of dishwasher safe decoupage. Let it dry and add a second layer of decoupage. Let it cure for 24 hours before putting it near a plant. If you just want to use this for decoration, you can skip this step, but I wanted the gnome to be waterproof for when I water plants.

 

 

9.) Make the gnome some gnomies, so he doesn't get lonely.

That's it!

 Also, this gnome is my favorite, so I wanted to show him off a bit more :).

Happy crafting,

Autumn

DIY: Lace covered planter

Hello there all, 

With it being Spring and every blogger posting a ridiculous number of planter revamps,  I have been jonesing to spruce up a planter of my own.  Recently,  I received some mail with some pretty lace in it.  I knew that I could find something to do with it,  so I hoarded it for just the right project.  (Someone please tell me that I'm not the only one that does this).  When The Mister and I were on one of our weekly Goodwill trips,  I ran into a set of cheap planters and POOF an idea was born!  Lace planters. 

Here is what you'll need:
Planter
Lace
Dishwasher safe Modge Podge
Paint brush
Paint
Scissors

Here's how to make something lovely:

1.) Paint the entire planter (inside and out).  Depending on the color,  you may need to paint more than one layer. I didn't care as much about painting multiple layers on the inside. Wait for the paint to completely dry before starting the next step. 

2.)  Cut the lace to the size of your planter. Then,  Using your paintbrush,  put some of the modge podge on the planter and then place the lace on top of the modge podge.  Wrap the lace around the planter and then cover the lace with more modge podge. While you are wrapping your lace,  you may need to fold some bits of the lace under the planter.

3.) Let the modge podge dry and put a second layer ontop of the lace.

4.) Wait 24 hours and clean up any bits that look a little "wonky"  with scissors or a utility knife. 

5.)Plant your plant.  I planted a little Aloe Vera plant which The Mister affectionately named Elvira the Aloe Vera. Too good. 

 

Happy planting,
Autumn

DIY: Pac-Man Bookmark

Hello there all,

Have you ever heard this song before? Well, I am sorry, but it is good to know that I'm not the only one that has heard that ridiculous song. It is kind of awesome though in a really bad way. So bad it is good kind of good stuff. I have to admit that I am guilty of having Pac-Man Fever. With the need of a better bookmark teamed up with my lurve for Pac-Man, I developed a pretty neat-o/nerd-o bookmark. For quite some time, I have been intending to make this bookmark. However, I decided to amp it up a bit and make something a little more me.

What You'll Need:

• Tacky Glue
• Darning needle/embroidery needle
• Embroidery thread
• Pen
• Dark blue sharpie
• Ruler
• Iron
• Scissors
• Felt pieces: pink, blue, red, yellow orange, yellow, black, and white

What to Do:

1.) Cut out a black rectangle measuring 4.5 inches x 4 inches. Fold the rectangle in half hot dog style (rectangle should appear to be 2 inches x 4.5 inches). Iron on the fold to seal the fold .

2.) On one of the 2 inch edges, complete a blanket stitch along the side with embroidery thread and a needle. Only complete this on one edge. You should be able to open it up slightly, so it looks like the above picture.

3.) Cut out 2 Pac-Man ghost shapes from the pink, yellow orange, blue, and red from their felt pieces. Cut 2 Pac-Man shapes from the yellow felt piece and 8 small round white pieces (for the ghost's eyes). Use the tacky glue to attach all of the pieces onto the front and back of the black felt. Glue each ghost piece (and their eyes) onto the felt and Pac-Man himself. After you glue the eyes onto the ghosts, you will need to use a blue sharpie to draw the pupils onto the ghotst's eyes.

4.) Read your heart out and mark the page with your nifty new bookmark. You place it on the corner of a page and wrap the page inside the bookmark by placing the page inside the flap of the bookmark.

Happy crafting,

Autumn

DIY: Photo Garland

Hello there all,

Awhile ago, I was inspired by this photo garland by Natalie of Natalie Creates, and as I have an incessant urge to turn everything into a garland. I mean everything. I have already posted this and this. Sad thing about this is that these are not the only garlands that I have made since I started this bloggy guy here. Why do I love garlands so much? I think that it adds a bit of playfulness and whimsy to your space. I pretty love whimsy.

Enough with the blabbing, let's do this!

This is our family/friends gallery wall. Now that I see it on here, I cringe because there totally needs to be a frame on the bottom left. Add it to the to-do list! However, you get an idea of the EPIC photo garland 

What you'll need:

• string
• decoupage
• scissors
• pen
• paintbrush
• ruler
• pretty paper
• fabric
• photos, postcards, etc.

Here's how to make the magic happen:

1.) Pick some badass paper, trace the shape of the clothespin on this badass paper x 2. Then cut out those shapes.

2.) Use your handy dandy paintbrush to apply some decoupage onto the clothespins, place one of the paper cutouts onto the clothespin and place some more decoupage on top of the paper cutouts. Do this to the front AND back of the clothespin. Sidenote: this alone is fun to do for magnets, chip clips, etc. Makes life a little brighter.

3.) Cut string the length that you want the garland and then cut 1.5 inch x 25 inches. Fold the strip in half (hamburger style) behind the string.

4.) Bring the two ends up over the string and through the loop that is created by the fold. It should look like a crazy bunny hat when your done. If it isn't bunny-ish, HOP to it and try again.

5.) Pull tight!

6.)  Alternate one of the fabric strips with the clothespins for the length of the garland and place your b-e-a-utiful pictures throughout the garland attached by the clothespins.

7.) Marinate on how awesome you are and how awesome life is.

Happy awesome making,

Autumn

DIY: toy earrings

Hello there all,

Sometimes, the best crafts are the easiest ones. Such is the case with these adorable toy earrings. I made a pair of dragon earrings a couple of months ago, and I always get compliments on them. When I tell people that I made them, they are always surprised. However, it is just about the easiest thing in the world.

What you'll need:

• Tiny toys. I got mine from here, and these toys are EVERYWHERE!
• Head pins
• Earring hooks
• Needle nose pliers
• Needle (optional)

What You Do:

1.) Take one of the head pins and press it into the underside of the toy. Make sure that the part that is puncturing the toy is not the head of the head pin. If it is difficult to puncture the toy with the head pin, you can try to use a needle first to create a hole for the head pin.

2.) Push the headpin through the toy, so it pops out through the top. You should press the head pin so far through the toy that the head of the pin lies parallel with the underside of the toy. This picture does not show the head pin going all the way through, but you should have no wire remaining underneath the toy and a lot above the toy. 

3.)Use the needle nose pliers to break off the leftover wire from the headpin. I did this by bending the wire where I want the cut to be made and just move the wire back and forth until the breaking occurs. When this happens, make a loop with the remaining wire. This loop is to connect to the earring hook, so put this loop through the loop on the earring hook.

4.) Now, you have the cutest and silliest earrings.

5.) Do this with every cute thing you find!

Happy earring making,

Autumn