Gourd Monsters

Fall is by far my favorite season, so (as you may have noticed) I go a little nutty with my classroom crafts at that time! One of my classroom aides brought in a bunch of gourds she had picked from her garden, in the hopes that the students could do something with them. Enter GOURD MONSTERS! Using a variety of art materials, we let the students take the lead in designing their monsters. They started by painting them using whatever colors their little hearts desired and, before the paint dried, added googly eyes and pompoms. After the paint had dried and all other items had adhered, we allowed some of the students to stick pipe cleaners into the gourds and bend and curl them for added pizazz!!! Tah-Dah...a quick and easy fall craft that the kiddos will LOVE!

Thrift Store Table Revamped

In my attempt to begin sitting on my front porch and getting to know my neighbors better (I have a fully fenced-in backyard that I consider my happy place, so I typically spend my summers there), I thought I would redec a thrift store table I had recently picked up, in the hopes that it would become my morning coffee-sipping space. I started by unscrewing each of the table legs from the tabletop and spray painting them with two coats ofoff-white using Krylon indoor/outdoor paint. I then spray painted the tabletop hunter green.

After the tabletop was completely dry, I placed pieces of painters tape from one end of the tabletop to another and continued to overlap them randomly. Using the same off-white, spray paint as on the table legs, I painted two coats over the tape. Once the tabletop had dried, I removed the painter's tape to reveal a pretty nifty design. After some brief touch ups to areas that looked a litte funky, I reconnected the legs to the tabletop and Voila...I present you my morning coffee spot!

Table similar to the one I bought at my local thrift store

I really should've taken more "before" shots (ahhh, hindsight...), but here is a picture of the tabletop covered with painter's tape and two coats of off-white, paint

Completed project

Coffee corner

Chevron Painted Children's Stool

One of the (many...just ask my husband) gifts we gave Claire for her birthday was a wooden stool. While she probably can't use it the way it is meant to be used just yet, I could not pull myself away from buying it when I saw it at the craft store (story of my life)! Do you ever start thinking  about the endless amount of possibilities there are to decorate something and then get so overwhelmed that you have to put the project away and give it a few days (or weeks, or months...) before actually picking it up again and making it happen? Yeah, me neither ;) After thoughtful contemplation for longer than I care to admit, I decided on the pattern and color-scheme I wanted and got to work.

 Here's what... 

 Materials needed: 

 -acrylic paint (I used a light purple and a light blue for my color scheme) 

-foam paint brush or roller

-painter's tape 

-vinyl, adhesive letters -sealant spray 

 Instructions: 

 1. Paint the stool with two coats of acrylic paint in the color chosen as the base.

 2. After paint is completely dry, place painter's tape across the seat of the stool in a chevron pattern. 

     My pattern is, in no way, even, but I think its got character!

 3. Paint two coats of second color over the seat of the stool.

 4. Once the paint is completely dry, carefully peel off the painter's tape. Touch up any spots that may 

     have bled.

 5. Adhere vinyl letters to the seat of the stool. 

 6. Spray two coats of sealant on the stool. 

While it is not perfect, and I can see the lines I should've made straighter and marks of paint I could've made cleaner, I look forward to watching her use it to brush her teeth on her own or to sit on to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse in the morning and to hopefully keep for years and years to come because mommy made it for her! In my book, there is no greater reason to craft than that!

Dream Fairies Wooden Plaque

On my most recent trip to Hobby Lobby (an AWESOME craft store that just arrived in Pittsburgh...Woot!), I found the most adorable item. In the wooden items section of the store, I came across a wooden plaque decorated to look like the entrance to a fairy castle and meant to hang in a room (and, in my case, my own future baby girl's nursery) for fairies to enter the room. Does it get cuter than that?



Plaque as sold at Hobby Lobby



Using colors similar to those that will be used in the baby's room, I used acrylic paints to decorate the plaque. I then used scrapbooking letter stickers to create the words "Dream Fairies Enter Here" surrounding the plaque. Finally, I sprayed the entire plaque with acrylic sealant and Wah-lah!!! More pictures to come when the nursery is completed, so STAY TUNED...







Fairy entrance for baby's room



Hand Painted Oil Bottle

Although I'm not a big user of oil dressings or the use of oil for a whole lot in general, I love the look of oil bottles...and I loved this one in particular even more when I found it for a dollar at my local craft store! To decorate it, I simply chose four colors of acrylic paint that I thought would complement each other, in this case black, white, light blue, and red. Beginning with the lightest color (white), I used the tip of a Q-tip, dabbed it into the paint and created small dots around the entire bottle. I then repeated the same process with the light blue, followed by the red, and finally the black, until the bottle appeared completely covered in dots. After the paint dried, I sprayed a clear sealant all over the bottle to keep it protected from chipping. Although it sounds like a lot of monotony, it really is a very quick project and creates a really neat effect!

How To: Family Keys Holder

Here is another cute and easy idea for a personalized gift:

Materials:
-unfinished, plaque with hangers
-black, acrylic paint
-silver paint marker
-acrylic sealer

Steps:

1. Cover the hangers with tape to avoid getting paint on them

2. Using a foam, paint brush, paint at least two coats of black, acrylic paint onto the unfinished wood

3. Use the silver paint marker to label each key hook (in my case, I labeled three of the four with the names of the people in my brother's family; Camdyn is only one, so I also added some "keys" for her to use for the next fifteen years! And the other key hook could've been labeled "guest," but I figured I would save a spot for their next child, whenever he or she comes along).

4. Spray two coats of acrylic sealer over the entire plaque and let dry.

Easy peasy, lemon squeezy!!!

Initial Vase

Bridesmaid gift from my sister

This next set of props goes out to my little sister, Kyra (who, if I haven’t mentioned it a million times already, is expecting her first baby, a little boy, in September). For her wedding, she made each of her six bridesmaids vases in her wedding colors (purple and green) using glass blocks (which you can do a GILLION things with, by the way). She sponge-painted the outsides of each vase with a light purple, acrylic paint. After the paint dried, she then stenciled our respective first initials onto the vases in a darker purple, tied a green ribbon in a small bow on the bottom of the vase, and placed a lime green, gerber daisy into it. It is currently sitting on my night stand, and I intend to keep it around for a very long time to come. Thanks again, sissybabes!!!



The options for these things are limitless and they come in all shapes and sizes

 

Another view of the super cute vase



My sister, Kyra---looking adorable and ready to POP!!!



Wooden Name Nursery Decor

As soon as my brother and sister-in-law decided on a name for their baby-to-be, we took a little trip to Pat Catan’s, our local craft store here in Pittsburgh (which, I might add, is the BEST!) and immediately bought 4” letters to spell “CAMDYN.” Knowing that the baby’s room would be pink and green, we alternated pastel pink and green paint on each of the letters and created polka dots in the opposing colors then glued ribbon to the backs of each letter to hang on Camdyn’s wall.

Note: There are some AWESOME circular sponge brushes at most craft stores that are FABULOUS for polka dots and such (especially for people like me who can't draw a symmetrical shape of ANY sort on my own)!

What kind of aunt would I be without posting a pic of my fave lil' cutie pie?!?!?!



Laundry Room Sign

Before moving into our new house, I used my spring break to binge on craft projects. Using the Cricut machine (which I ADORE) I got for Christmas, I cut letters to spell the word “LAUNDRY” and placed them the way I wanted them on a blank sign I purchased at a dollar store years ago and painted white using two coats of acrylic paint. In retrospect, I would NOT have glued the letters onto the sign using scrapbooking tape as I did, because it was a HUGE pain to take the letters off after painting over them. I would suggest using simple Scotch tape rolled up and placed on the backs of each of the letters as “flatly” as possible. Paint over the letters (carefully) and sign completely using 2 coats of another color acrylic paint (I used a mint green) and let dry. Once dry, carefully peel off the letters to reveal the color underneath of the top coats. Using a glue gun, place three clothespins (I painted mine white, but you wouldn’t necessarily need to do the same) along the bottom of the sign to use for un-matched socks or to hold dryer sheets. Spray a clear acrylic lacquer over the entire sign and clothespins and let dry. Using a 24” ribbon, thread each side of the ribbon into the holes in the sign and tie bows on each side for hanging.