WASHI TAPE NECKLACE

WHAT YOU NEED: 

(affiliate links)
–various rolls of Washi Tape
– glass beads 
–jewelry findings
– thin plastic cord (or thin metal chain)

STEP ONE:

Begin by stringing your necklace with beads. These pretty turquoise ones really caught my eye, and I loved how the color popped together with the red heart tape. Finish the ends with your jewelry findings. 

STEP TWO: 

After making a simple bead necklace, wrap your washi tape around the beads. I found it was easiest to lay a strip under the necklace, then pick it up and fold it over. Don’t worry if you don’t get it lined up perfectly the first try! Washi tape is easy to reposition, which is one of the reason that I love working with it. 

STEP THREE: 

After you get all of them taped (they don’t need to have equal lengths), cut a “template” banner and line it up with each of the banners on your necklace. Cut around it so that each banner looks uniform.

I also quickly made one using a thin chain instead of a line of beads, and it turned out adorable! It looks so cute on my neice.

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I hope you are all getting in the Halloween spirit! It’s one of my very favorite holidays so I get excited quite early. My husband laughs when I get the decor out in September. Plus, we recently moved to a house in a children-filled neighborhood, so I think we might have trick-or-treaters this year (that will be a new change for us!). I know, it’s a bit early BUT these DIY Carnivorous Plants are so easy to make and are a cute addition to your Halloween porch decor. So if you aren’t doing Halloween yet, put them on your to-make list!   

DIY CARNIVOROUS PLANTS

What you  need: (affiliate links)

• Assorted Foam Balls
• Precision Knife
• Medium Grit Sand Paper
• Needle-nosed Pliers
• Apple Barrel Multi-Surface Acrylic Paint
• Mod Podge
• Foam Brush
• Hot Glue
• 20 Gauge Floral Wire Stems
• Tooth Picks
• Existing potted house plant (or this one) 

I enjoyed making these biting heads so much! It was so fun to see them “come alive”, and they turned out better than I had expected, which is not something that happens too often (winning!). 

Start with your foam balls. Any size will work, but I got a pack of 6 with assorted sizes, and I like how the differences look. You will need a precision knife to carve them out.

Begin by carving the mouth. It’s not super precise and you don’t need a pattern. Shoot for a Pac-Man look and you will be fine. 
Once you have a smile line for the mouth, carve it out with your knife to make it larger and deeper. The more you carve out, the wider open the mouth will look. Be sure not to carve it out so much that it will be hard to insert the toothpicks later. 

Next, sand a bit off the top and the bottom to flatten the ball out a bit. You can leave them perfectly round it you prefer the shape. 

Before painting, cover the foam balls with a layer of Mod Podge. Using your foam brush, dab Mod Podge all over the surface.  It seals the foam before painting, so it doesn’t drink up the paint. 

Once it’s dry, you can start painting!
Apple Barrel has some super fun Halloween colors, I went with Clover Fields, Wild Grape and Black Apple Barrel Multi-Surface Acrylic Paint. This paint is perfect especially if you plan on putting your plant on the porch, it works great for outdoor use. 

Begin by dabbing on a full coat of paint with your foam brush. Once it’s dry completely, I mixed some Clover Fields with a drop or two of Black. Dab on the darker paint in a spotty coat, giving the color some depth and texture. You can dab on other colors for a more exotic look, I dabbed a bit of purple inside the mouths. Set them aside to dry completely. 

Next, heat up your glue gun and get ready to attach the toothpick teeth. You will need needle-nosed pliers.

Clip the ends off the tooth pick, leaving about 1/2″. Using your pliers, push the flat end of the toothpick in the mouth with the sharp end pointing out. If you find they aren’t staying well on their own, you can put a dab of hot glue on the end, and push it back into the hole you already made. Insert the teeth in an off-set pattern. 

Once the teeth are finished, you can attach the wire stem in the back. I put in right behind the mouth, instead of up from the bottom. Since the head is a bit heavy for the width of the wire stem, you will need to push it in to make a hole, then put a dab of hot glue on the end and glue it inside the hole. 
Repeat for each head. 

If you have an existing house plant, I think the heads will work for anything you have. A large broad-leaf plant will have an exotic jungle look, an aloe vera will be spikey and forbidding, a spider plant would look devilishly creepy… go with what you have! If you must go out and buy a plant, I suggest this wild-looking one. I picked up this tentacle-looking grass plant called a Corkscrew Rush. It was marked down to $3 at my local garden center, so it worked out perfectly. 

Next, if you would like to make a Beware sign, I took the liberty of making a graphic. I am not great at making them, I will not even tell you how long it took me to choose the fonts. Yikes. But if you want to use it, you can find it here. 
 
I made a simple wood sign with a few popsicle sticks. I clipped the ends with wire cutters for a rough-cut look, and hot glued two pieces on the back to hold it all together.

Mod podge the printable on the top by applying glue to both the paper and the wood. Be sure NOT to modpodge over the printable, the printer ink will smudge. 

Stick the heads and the sign in your plant, and you are done!

You now have a fabulously creepy carnivorous plant ready to bite anyone who dares come near! 
Mwahaha!

Happy crafting,

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What you need: (affiliate links)
–New or thrifted shadowbox 
-Old Map
–Pins
–Cork Board
-Paper Swallows (I cut mine on a cutting machine)

I found this cool old shadowbox at a thrift store a while back and have been hanging onto it for the perfect project idea. I haven’t found very many shadowboxes for $1!

For FREE local maps, hit up your city hall. You should be able to find some near the tourism pamphlets. Mine had quiet a few to choose from and I came home with more than I needed.

I’m not a hoarder, guys. I promise.

Begin by dismantling your frame. The back of mine was quite soft,  but a new one won’t be, so you will need to get a piece of cork board so your pins can stick into it easily.

Using your back as a guide, trace a line on your map.

From here, glue the map onto your cork board using some slightly watered-down school glue and a paint brush.

Next, get your swallows. I cut mine using this and this file on my Silhouette, and black cardstock.

Next, using your pins, push the swallows onto the ends and push the pins into your map cork board in a migration pattern. 

Once I pushed the swallows onto the pins,  they mostly stayed up near the head, but a few of them starting sliding down a bit.  I simply put a dab of white school glue at the top, under the head of the pin and glued the swallows up.

After all your pins are added, you can put your cork and backing in place on your frame.  

Isn’t it pretty?

Enjoy your new shadowbox
Happy crafting, friend!

originally posted at  PinkWhen

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This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of I Love To Create, Tulip Paints and Blueprint Social.  All opinions are 100% my own.

 Last month for our church girl’s camp, we tie-dyed bandanas for the girls to wear. We probably should have crocheted mittens because it snowed on us! Regardless, we have fun camping and we had fun tie-dyeing! I had completed forgotten how fun it is to tie dye. It’s also fun to try the dye on other mediums, besides shirts. At our house, we seem to have an extreme collection of random t-shirts, so I cut one of up and made this cute ombre tie-dye headband. 

This bright and fun project is simple and would be a great project for older kids.
It’s also a recycling project, which I love.  This mini tie-dye kit is perfect for little projects like this!

Start with a white, size L men’s t-shirt. You are just using the bottom, so it doesn’t need to be all white.
Cut off the hem, then cut a 4” strip. Don’t cut up the side, just cut straight across the bottom of your shirt.

Then, cut the end of your strip into smaller strips, about 1” apart. Don’t cut it all the way across, leave  a few inches, which will be where you sew on your buttons later.

Now comes the fun part: color!
Lay your head wrap on a piece of tarp or plastic. Make sure you are prepared for a mess (especially if you are crafting with little ones). I twisted each of my strands, because that is how I wanted to wear it when it was done.
Prepare a small bowl of water, a foam brush and your dye. Utilize the gloves that come with the kit.

To make the ombre coloring, start by dripping dye at the end of one of your strands.

Moisten your brush, then dab it on the painted part of your fabric, then moving up, continue to dab it to get the level of saturation that you would like.

Continue this technique for your other strands. I used turquoise for two, and lime green for the other two.

When you are done coloring, wrap up your project in plastic and let the dye set for about 8 hours.
Then, throw it in the washer (with like colors or by itself). I also machine dried it and it came out perfect. 

To finished up, fold the edges over the sew on two buttons (a bit lazy, I know! Feel free to machine sew your edge to give it a cleaner look).

For more creative inspiration, follow I Love To Create on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and on their Blog. 

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Happy crafting!

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I must say, this is one of those “fool-proof” projects. My very first try turned out beautiful and all the subsequent tries as well. I could probably hand a paintbrush to my 2 year-old, and hers would look just as lovely. Watercolors are wonderful that way. Easy projects are the best projects!

What you need: (affiliate links)
-Watercolor pad (similar)
-Watercolors (similar)
– Paint Brushes
– Painters Tape (similar) 
– Leaves

To begin, place a small roll of tape on several of the leaves. If they are all separate, be sure to place a piece on each one. 

Next, very gently press the leaves, tape-down into your watercolor paper. Do not press them too firmly or you will have a hard time removing them once you are finished painting. 

To paint, gingerly work from the stem outwards, being careful not to let the brush catch the leaf edges. 

Continue working all around the leaves, until a border is painted. 
Be careful to avoid filling your brush with too much water. If the paint/water pools on the paper, it will run under the leaves. 

Using only water, pull the paint from the edges of the leaves outward, filling the rest of the page. It will have a pretty ombre coloration. 

This is what happens when the water pools!

Despited the color-pool mistake, they turned out quite pretty! The fern-ish leaves look so lovely. This project took only a few minutes to complete with a very beautiful finished look. 

I have already lined Sis’s walls with several watercolor leaf print paintings. They look elegant and calming in her room. I love these so much that I have been out searching the yard for more leaves. Our front shrub has a maple-leaf shape, I think I will try those next. I am thinking things other than leaves would be pretty as well!

Give it a try  

Orignal published at Pink When

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Treat Jar Terrarium

What you need: (affiliate links)

• A Thrifted Candy Jar (or a couple)
  (you can also buy a new one here)
• Succulents
• River Rocks
• Potting Soil
• Plastic Critters (Optional)
• Spray Paint (Optional)

Start by putting a thin layer of rocks at the bottom of your candy jar. This allows the water to drain down and keeps mildew from setting in the soil. 

Next, add a thin layer of potting soil. Don’t over do it, you need to leave room for the potting soil that your plants are growing in. I had to take a bit of soil back out once I had put it in.

Next, using your fingers and working from back to front, dig a small hole in your dirt. Take your plant out of its plastic container, and gently place it in the small hole. Spread soil on top, and press it down.  Repeat for each plant.

If you chose a cactus, make sure to gently hold it with a paper towel to avoid pricking your fingers.

You can put your “wildlife” in as they are, but I liked them to look a bit like stone. 

Grab some spray paint and cover the animals completely. Let them dry before placing them in your terrarium.

I added a bit of sand to the top of my cactus terrarium, this little lizard looks perfect sitting beside the cactus.

I place a few frogs in the other one. It makes it look more interesting and fun. 

Make sure to place your terrariums in a bright, well-lit room, and read and follow the directions on the packaging for plant care. I am going to try really hard to keep these beauties alive. 

Wish me luck you guys. I’m gonna need it.

Originally posted at Pretty Providence 

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Is it really time to start thinking about back-to-school?  This year with be The Boy’s first real year of school: Kindergarten! I already enjoy shopping for school supplies, but this year will be even more fun. We love also doing paper crafts, painting, coloring, and drawing pictures, so it’s a great time to stock up on those items, even if your little ones are still home during the school year (am I the only one with a bucket full of crayons pieces?), Duck Tape is also a fun medium for making your things colorful and fun. This Cereal Box Embroidered Sketch Pad is a great way to recycle an old cereal box, and make your own customized notebook.

I absolutely love the look of embroidery. It always gives a very beautiful and handmade touch to an item, and because this sketchpad is bound with string, you can keep the sketchpad cover and refill it with paper when you need.

Cereal Box Embroidered Sketch Pad

What you need:(affiliates)

• Duck Tape in 2 colors (I used Yellow and Pineapple Delight)
• One Family-sized Cereal Box
• Several pieces of printer paper (or other paper you would like to use)
• Precision Knife
• Baker’s Twine or other string
• Sewing Needle
• Sharp Yarn Needle (or Large Tapestry Needle)
• Embroidery Floss
• Safety Pin
• Sticky-Back Hook and Loop Fasteners
• Hole Punch 

Start by cutting your cereal box. Cut off the front (or back), but leave the top flap attached.

Because the yellow-colored Duck Tape is slightly see-through, the brown cardboard back will be the front of your sketchpad. Start by covering it with strips of Duck Tape. Go over the sides a bit, then you can fold the tape over and have a nice edge. Cut the ends with your precision knife to get a clean cut.

Once the front is covered, turn it over and work on the back, which will be the inside of the notebook. This time, you will need to measure the pieces exactly. Working with your patterned Duck Tape, measure one piece and cut the rest of the pieces to the exact same length.

You will need 5 pieces. 
Next, use the pattern Duck Tape to tape the flap — the top edge that you left on when you cut your cereal box. Make sure to tape the outside and the inside.

Now, you need to work on your paper. Unless you have an awl, you can use a hold punch to make your holes. Divide your paper into a few piles, and fold them in half “hamburger style.” Take your hole punch and line it up so only half of the little circle of the punch covers the folded edge. Punch four holes along the paper’s edge.

To make sure your holes are lined up on all the paper, mark each space with a pen or marker, then punch the holes the same way. Repeat for each pile of paper you have.

Next, you can bind your sketchpad. Fold your cardboard piece in half (the flap doesn’t count as the length), so you have a book spine. I’ve taken pictures of each step so you can understand how it’s done. Unfold your papers, line them up in a nice pile, and then fold them in half all together. Get a long piece of string (I used baker’s twine), and thread it through your sharp yarn needle. Make your first stitch by going up through the back (you will be making holes in the cover, but going through the holes you made in the paper) through the 2nd hole up from the bottom. Follow the pattern shown in the pictures.
You should have two end coming out through the back. Tie a sturdy knot. You can either clip your ends, or tie a bow.  Now you can start on the embroidery. You can free-hand the design if you want. If not, you can make a simple pattern by printing off some words and poking holes with a pin.

Using your pin, poke small holes along the words. They shouldn’t go all the way through, they just need to make pattern for you to follow when you removed the paper.

Once you have transferred your pattern, you can start embroidering. It’s not super difficult to get the needle through the cardboard and Duck Tape, but it can wear on your fingers after a while, so I do recommend using a thimble.
 
To finish your sketchpad, apply the sticky hook and loop fasteners (I used industrial strength).

The easiest method is to peel and place the rough side on the notebook. Then, peel off the soft side and place it down (sticky side up) on top of the rough side, so the two pieces are fastened to each other. Close the notebook so the sticky back of the soft side sticks to the notebook. This insures that the hook and loops will line up perfectly.

I love my new sketchpad! It’s bright and fun. And I do love that pretty pineapple print, isn’t it fantastic?

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Floral Letter Trinket Dish

What you need:(affiliate links)

-Thrifted Soap dish or other shallow, flat-bottomed dish
–Plastic letters (I used fridge magnets)
-Scrapbook paper (similar)
–Decoupage Glue
–Super Glue
–Scissors
–Gold Paint Marker OR Gold Spray Paint

Yep, that is a super large tub of fridge magnets.  The Boy is starting to sound out words and has been having a blast playing with these, so it was a “two birds with one stone” kind of thing.

I found this soap dish at a thrift store for $.50. There were quite a few on the shelf, so I am pretty confident you can find one near you as well.

Start by cutting the paper to match your letters.  I had to trim the paper a bit after cutting it, because I couldn’t get the line perfectly flush. If you are handy with an X-acto knife, you can skip the pencil and directly cut them.

Next,  gild the edges of your letters with gold paint. I used the paint marker, which proved to be a tad tricky when I tried to get in the corners and insides, so I next time I make one of these dished, I intend to use gold spray paint. Easier and quicker.

When your paint is dry, glue the paper letters to the front of your plastic ones with decoupage glue. Make sure to apply glue to the paper as well as to the plastic for the best result. Finish off with a layer over the top of the paper and around the edges.

Once the glue is dry, attach them to the bottom of your dish with super gluing. I tried hot glue at first, but the letters popped off easily, so I would suggest super glue instead.

The floral letter trinket dish is so easy and so pretty!

Who will you gift yours too?

Happy sewing

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