Wall Art from TP rolls

OK Crafters, sing this next part to the tune of Queen's Princes of the Universe. 

Here we are, 

stuck in our house with no craft supplies. 

Born to be Queens of craftiness, 

We've been here too long.

Fighting to survive the darkness of boredom. 

Ok, so maybe that is a little too dramatic and all but in the times of COVid19 we have to take our fun where we can get it. So we are going to hit up the recycle bin again for some materials. You need TP rolls and any other round cardboard food containers you can find. 

You will also need scissors (and possibly a fine hand saw if your cardboard tube is really thick), hot glue gun, primer spray paint and spray paint. 

Step 1: Cut your recycled containers into strips. A TP role can be cut into six segments. Use a hand saw or something for really sturdy containers like a peanut container. 

Step 2: Use the hot glue gun to glue them into flower and leaf shapes.

Step 3: Arrange them into larger configurations.
Step 4: Spray with Primer.
Step 5: Spray with color of your choice. Metallics or black wrought iron for a classic look or fun colors for a cheerful decor.

Hang on your wall using small brads or even tacks. The completed project is very light but may need several placed in strategic locations. Send Pics! I'd love to see them!

Modge Podge Madness

I hate throwing away little pictures of my children even if they are just the proof image on a photo order, so I've solved my problem and made some fun things along the way.

Project 1

Instead of tossing the little 1x1.5" proof image that came with my daughter's school pictures, I modge  podged it onto a wooden cube.

After it had dried, I hot glued a few ribbon pieces* for a present shaped ornament for the tree. 

Project 2

'Tis the time of year for photobooks and there is usually an invoice with a small image of the cover of your book on it. Cut out small faces and modge podge them to a flat clear marble. 

After they dry, glue a magnet to the back and you have fridge magnets with faces***. 

Project 3 

Save the Christmas cards from friends that include photos of their family and children. Next year you can make a gift tag/ornament for their family with those photos and a little modgepodge, paper and ribbon. 

Happy Holidays!!!

#modgepodge #ornaments #fridgemagnets

*Tip - Seal the ends of cut nylon ribbon with flame**.

** Tip - Use your fire over a sink in case you start a larger fire than intended.

***Warning -  Keep small magnets away from babies and toddlers. Internal injury is a possibility if swallowed. 

Fall Wreath

I've been wanting to make a fall wreath using natural materials from around the neighborhood for a few years now and here is the result. I like it, but I'll probably make another in the future just because there are so many possibilities.

Milk Jug Ghosts!

Make these cute ghosts for your trees with milk jugs.

 

 

Supplies: Clean Milk Jugs, White Plastic Bags, Scissors, Permanent Markers, Twine, Glue Sticks

Cut your plastic into large circles to cover your milk jugs.

Color faces in the appropriate places.

Add some water to the jug to give it some weight.

Drape your plastic over the jug and pierce holes so you can tie the twine to the handle. Smear a little glue on the jugs to keep the plastic in place, but not too much so the plastic can still flutter in the wind. 

Hang in the trees. Add more faces if you want and peel up plastic to save for next year, while emptying the jugs and recycling them. Happy Halloween!!

Sewing for the mini-people

I've been doing a bit of sewing over the last few months and here are a few projects. This is an apron I made for my daughter from the kitchen towels that matched my apron. 

Here is a project I made for a friend's future baby. It has several functions, I hope. Here it is a car seat cover. The denim is from old blue jeans.

Flip it over and it is a play mat with loops for toys or a diaper changing pad

Button it up and it is a pouch for stuffed toys, towels, clothes, diapers or what ever for outings. Hope my friend gets some use out of it. 

Finally a super girlie table cloth and napkins for tea party time!

Next up, I will be sewing some stuff for the little guy that will be joining our family in July!

Easter Door Wreath

Decided to make a wreath rather than spend a lot of money on a pre-made one. Probably would have worked out if I had been more savvy about buying the ribbon. As it is, I probably spent as much or more on the homemade wreath. Here it is and some pictures as to how I accomplished it.

To loop the ribbon in these loops, I thought of tying a shoe. I passed a loop of ribbon under the wire and then tied it to the ribbon strand. I used more ribbon than I thought I would, hence the unanticipated cost. For this 10-12" wreath I needed about 10-12 yards of ribbon per row of loops. There are three rows of loops on the finished wreath.

To make the wreath look fuller and finished in the inside edge, I crocheted the ribbon around the inner wire.

Here is the wreath after all the ribbon is looped. 

Finally, I hot glued the eggs in place. 

What I would do differently: Find a cheap source of ribbon or make rag ribbons from an old sheet. I think the rag ribbons would look really cool, so if some one tries it, please send me a pic. I use real eggs with the rag ribbons and dye them with natural dyes. They should come out looking very antique and would go well with rag ribbon. 

With this wreath, I should have glued velcro patches in the wreath and on the eggs, Then when Easter passed, I could have swapped the eggs out for flowers and kept it up a little longer. 

All it all it was a fun project!

Onion Skin Flower

Turn an onion skin into a flower. I can't wait to see what a red onion would look like.

Cut the petal so the curve of the onion stalk would be will be where the petal attaches to the wire.

The onion skin was pretty tough and as long as I wasn't too rough on them, the petals didn't tear.