Tag: DIY Crafts


Apr
2014

Time For a New Spring Wreath!

categories: Uncategorized

Although it is raining this morning, we have had a week of beautiful spring weather here in Ohio.

I started digging out all my outdoor items, cushions for my porch chairs, pots, a wind chime given to me from a dear friend at Christmas, and also my spring wreath for the front door.  Unfortunately, my last year’s wreath was in pretty bad shape, a little crushed from being stored all winter, and missing flowers.

Now that I am no longer working, money is tight! I need to live within my budget, so just running out and buying a beautiful new wreath was not an option.  Even using a coupon, or finding a sale, spending $25 is the going price.   So I looked at my “stash” of old grapevine wreaths in the garage and decided I could come up with something I could afford.

This is it!  I really love it, simple, lovely, and sweet.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

I took a plain grapevine wreath, and somewhat pulled it apart, so it was loose with lots of “twiggy” pieces sticking out.

Went to Micheal’s Crafts and bought a bunch of dogwood flowers on sale for 50% off, which came to $4.00.  I cut the stems off from the main piece, so I had individual stem pieces to work with, and then secured them around the grapevine.  That was it!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAOLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAYou can place the flowers all around the wreath as I did in the top photo, or only on half of the wreath as shown above.  You could add a ribbon but I like the simple “twiggy” look.

I love wreaths, especially on the front door, it is a way of saying “welcome”.  Hope this gives you an inexpensive way to add “welcome” to your front door.

Happy Spring!

 


Apr
2014

Bunny in a Pot for Easter!

categories: Easter

I have had these little bunnies for years and I thought how cute they would be in small clay pots with grass and some eggs. As you can see in the photo above, adding names made them really sweet table place settings.

Bunny in a small clay pot!

Simple, easy, and so cute on the dinner table.

I already had all the supplies, so nothing to buy.  Micheal’s Crafts does carry the small pots and the raffia type grass i used.

Simple Easter Place SettingI just added grass to the pot and secured with a little hot glue on the bottom and a little on the back of the bunny to secure to the side of the pot.  Using my computer I printed out the names on card stock, cut out with a scalloped paper punch, and glued to a toothpick and then glued to the inside of the pot.  That was it!

Oh, I forgot the eggs, they can be any kind.  I used some small wooden ones that I had but you actually could use foil covered eggs or jellybeans.

It makes all of us feel good to make something creative from our “stash” of supplies.

Hope you can use your “stash” this week before Easter!

Happy Easter Crafting!


Apr
2014

Kid’s Easy to Make Easter Favors!

categories: Easter

Today I will be sharing some kid’s Easter favors that were inexpensive and easy to make.

Kid's Easter FavorsThese cute chicks and bunny hand held masks are made of a thin wood which I purchased at Joann’s Fabric and Craft store for $1.00 each.

They were unpainted and were intended to be painted by kids with a pattern already stamped on the masks.  For my purpose it was better for me to paint them, since I wanted to add to the kid’s dinner table as favors.

Bunny Wood Mask

Here are the things you will need to make the masks:

– purchased wood masks (Joann’s Fabric and Crafts)

– acrylic paints

– sponge brush

– small stencil brush

– raffia or ribbon

– pen or marker

– stencil brush (optional)

I had to give the masks several coats of paint since I was covering up the stamped pattern.

I made a simple template from card stock and stenciled on the noses and used a permanent pen or marker to add other simple details like lines for whiskers and eye lashes.

I also stenciled blush cheeks on both the bunny and the chick using a small amount of acrylic paint dabbing the brush on a paper towel until almost dry before applying.

As a tip, adding cheek blush has always added the extra special touch when painting on wood or on paper when making cards or tags.

After the masks were dry and all the extra touches added, I tied green raffia around the chick and I glued a ribbon on the bunny.

So cute, and don’t you think they will add a bunch of fun to taking great Easter photos?

Enjoy!

 

 


Apr
2014

Easy Easter Table Place Cards!

categories: Easter

Easter will be here in less than two weeks!

If dinner is going to be at your home this year you might like these cute bunnies I found at Pier One Imports.  Not much time needed to add these to your dinner table, which is what we all need in our busy lives, and they will surely add fun to your Easter get together.

Bunny Place SettingThese small bunnies make great place cards just by adding names made from card stock and a toothpick.

They came with a bit fancier ribbon which I removed and instead added simple green raffia for the look that I wanted.

I printed the names on my computer using plain white card stock. Of course, they could be hand written.  I used a scalloped paper punch to cut out the names and then simply glued the names to a toothpick and stuck into the side of each bunny.  That was it!

The names can be removed easily without damage to the bunnies to be used again or given as favors.

Pier One also had carrot bunches which as you can see in the photo would also make cute place cards on each plate setting.

Carrot Place CardsI did the same to the carrot bunches as the bunnies, printed names, glued to toothpicks, and added to the carrots.

Simple, quick, sweet, and no fuss!

Happy Easter planning!