Tag: crafts

Happy Fall Blocks with a Winter Twist

Happy Fall Blocks with a Winter Twist

fall blocks

Wow, summer decided it was not going quietly this weekend as we posted temps in the 90s here in the Midwest. My son got out of school three hours early on the first day of fall last Friday, so we headed to the zoo. . . let me just say I’m awfully thankful for the indoor penguin exhibit!! Tonight promises rain and much cooler temps, so it should finally start feeling like autumn, at least for several days.

zoo penguins

Okay, so I just had to share a fun penguin pic with you from our summer-feeling fall day at the zoo. We pretty much had the place to ourselves.

As I have been slowly pulling out my autumn décor, I came across this fun little fall blocks project I made at one of our awesome MOMS Club® events. My friend, Stephanie, did all the legwork for this one, so all we had to do was ink, paste and Mod Podge. That’s about as easy as it gets for such a cute little craft. Thanks, Stephanie! Today, I’m going to share the process with all of you so that you can assemble your own at home, but there will be some sawing involved, because I’m afraid Stephanie doesn’t come with the directions.

Supplies Needed:

  • 1 2×4 piece of wood (one 8 ft length will make several of these projects)
  • 1 2×2 piece of wood (one 8 ft length will make several of these projects)
  • Coarse sandpaper, with or without an electric sander.
  • Letters (you can buy them precut, use a Cricut machine or even store-bought stickers) — You will need an F and two Ls. You will also need the word “happy” or enough small letters to spell out the word.
  • Paper leaf (you can buy this precut, use a Cricut machine or even store-bought stickers)
  • Coordinating background paper
  • Mod Podge
  • paintbrush for applying Mod Podge

Directions:

  1. The first step is to cut the pieces of wood down to the correct size. Cut the 2×4 down to the following sizes: two pieces 2 3/4″ wide, two pieces 2 1/4″ wide and 2 3/4″ tall. Note: these were sizes for the letters and leaf we used, so you can measure your letters and cut accordingly, if you choose.
  2. Next, cut the 2×2 to size. Our piece was about 4 1/2″ long, but measure the distance of your other blocks pushed together and check your measurement before cutting. Naturally, if you cut your 2×4 blocks different sizes, this block will also be a different size.
  3. Once you have all your blocks cut to size, use your sander/sand paper to round off all the edges and corners for a smooth finished look.
  4. This step is optional, but I like to ink all my edges for a bit more interest with a coordinating color. Do this before you start pasting down things, because you won’t have any luck after.
  5. Now it’s time to start assembling your blocks. We used Mod Podge on the backside of our paper, letters and leaf as an adhesive. Once everything is pasted down, put a nice coat of Mod Podge on top of everything. This will make sure all your elements stay put and add some protection.
  6. After everything dries, you are ready to welcome autumn with your cute handmade blocks!

Okay, so here’s the winter twist I promised for this project. If you want your blocks to pull double duty, simply add a backside that nods to cooler weather. Use coordinating papers and letters and add a little snowflake to welcome winter with just a simple flip.

blocks

 

One (Very Cute) Photo Trashed My Craft Room

One (Very Cute) Photo Trashed My Craft Room

trashed my craft room

Okay, I had so much fun with the Scrap Our Stash layout challenge that I decided to jump right into their Tic Tac Toe challenge for this wonderful month of May. I used the row across the middle which consisted of the color yellow, clouds and a paper clip. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy. . . or not so much. I spent hours on this freestyle layering technique (something I haven’t done much of) and completely trashed my craft room to create this one little scrapbook page. While it may be just one picture and one page, it’s one that will warm my mama heart for years to come.

I’m still cropping the year 2011, so my now six-year-old son was just three months old in this picture. Wasn’t he (and still is) precious!! Surrounding the photo are several layers of paper from Authentique’s Be(you)tiful 6×6 bundle (absolutely one of my favorite collections) and a plethora of embellishments from stamped tickets, washi tape, misted clouds, twine, a tab, buttons, a big old yellow sun and of course a paper clip. All this fun stuff is mounted onto a backdrop of cloud paper from DCWV‘s Sky’s The Limit stack. The two separate paper clouds on the bottom right and the one up top weren’t originally intended, but as I was putting the finishing touches on this labor intensive layout I discovered that I had unknowingly sliced open my pinky finger and left bright red drops of DNA as proof that I had put at least my blood and tears into this one little page (there might have been a little bit of love in there also).

Black Tutu Easy Halloween Wreath

Black Tutu Easy Halloween Wreath

Halloween wreath

Recently I posted some great Halloween wreath ideas hoping to spark my own creativity in the matter, and I’m happy to report that I actually picked my poison (don’t mind my Halloween reference) and put together my new favorite (and only) Halloween wreath.

I love this simple black tutu wreath with the pop of orange ribbon and discovered that it was super easy to complete. It only took three ingredients, a pair of scissors and a few hours in front of the TV to make this fun project, and I am super happy with the result.

Halloween wreath

Materials:

  • 9.8 inch wreath form (or similar size)
  • 100 yards of black tulle (probably won’t use all of it)
  • orange ribbon
  • scissors

Directions:

  • Cut tulle in 18-20 inches long strips.
  • Layer two strips together and tie tightly in a knot around the wreath form. The double layer of tulle helps camouflage the color of the wreath form.
  • Continue to tie the strips around the wreath until the entire form is covered. As you tie on new strips, push the knots together so that the gaps between the knotted strips disappear.
  • When the entire form is covered, add a strip of ribbon to hang the wreath.
  • With the wreath hanging, you can fluff out all the pieces of tulle and trim any long or unruly pieces.

Yes, it’s that easy! I sat on the couch a couple of evenings and completed my cute little tutu wreath while watching football and Mission Impossible with my husband. It really is a no-brainer (the project, not my husband).

Halloween wreath

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