Monday, November 28, 2011

Lots To Come!!!

I haven't had time to post anything for a couple of weeks.  Busy crafting my fingers to the bones.  Not kidding!  I have burns all over my hands from the glue gun!  I've been prepping for a holiday sale that takes place tomorrow night.  But watch out!  I'll have lots of posts coming with some great handmade gift ideas!

Until then...happy crafting!!

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Paint Your Twine


Lots of holiday projects involve twine.  My next project was going to be the Twine Christmas Trees I saw at Lemon Tree Creations (thanks, Erin).  Those trees were in a dark brown twine, which I loved.  Very organic looking.  I set out yesterday to pick up my supplies, and could NOT find anything except a sorta "blondish" color.  I may try a project in the original color, but for the purposes of my trees, I wanted darker.  I figured paint would work somehow, and it did.  I learned a few tips & tricks as I experimented.
















Experiment #1:  I poured an small amount of craft paint (approx 1 tbl) onto a piece of tin foil.  I took a length of twine (6-7 ft) in my left hand, and used my right index finger & thumb as my paint brush.  Stick your index finger into the paint, rub it against your thumb (now you have two painted fingers).  Starting at one end of the twine, put it between your messy fingers and twist back & forth.  As you're twisting, start sliding your fingers down the twine. TIP:  Go with the grain of the twine, or the direction of the wrap.  I could get about 10-12" down before stopping to "re-load".  When you reach the end, set your painted twine aside to dry.

Experiment #2:  I was using my twine with a stiffener, so I added the paint directly to the stiffener and mixed it well.  I submerged the twine in the mixture and squished it around (that's a technical term, btw).  As I pulled it out I used my fingers to squeegee the excess.  This put a more even colortone on the twine.  It wasn't what I was looking for in my tree project, but it worked well.  It also eliminated a step because I could put it directly on my molding form, rather than wait for the color to dry before adding the stiffener.

That's it, folks!  Now you can do a twine project in any color you want!!  I found some gold & bronze craft paint in my stash, so will be experimenting with those too in the next few days.  Right now I have piles of twine drying in my kitchen, and two trees wrapped and drying.  When they're done, I'll post about my experiences with that.  

Monday, November 14, 2011

Twine Christmas Trees

I love Christmas trees, especially of I don't have to decorate them.  Here's one you can make for your mantle.  Or make a set of them - that's what I'm gonna do!


Erin at LemonTreeCreations provides a complete tutorial.  Pay attention to her tips & tricks!  Thanks, Erin!

Another "So Easy" Holiday Ornament

Oh my, oh my.  This look REALLY appeals to me.  So does the apparent easiness of the project.  It looks like the hardest part is going shopping for the styrofoam.  And if you have a dollar store in your neighborhood, start there.  Lord knows I have LOTS of tissue paper in my wrapping supplies!

See the full tutorial at Spunky Junky.  Thank you, Halsey!  (pronounced "Halllll-zeee").

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Ruffly...something!!

So I headed to the dollar store today - I keep hearing they've got tons of crafting supplies.  I didn't do so well.  No styrofoam wreath or tree forms.  What I DID find were styrofoam balls - about the size of a large tree ornament.  I stood looking at them while my brain went in to overdrive.  Could the ruffle technique be used on a ball?  I decided, why not?  So I picked up a couple and came home to try it out.  Before I invest in felt, I decided to go through my fabric stash.  I came up with several possibilities, and am going to give it a whirl.

My plans for tonight, you ask?  Cutting circles!!  If it works, I'll post some pics later.  If you don't see any pics, well then, it didn't work.  Sometimes my brain is more creative than my hands!

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Wreath of Ruffles






Love this look, and I can really see it in white, with some bright red glass Christmas ornaments for accents.  Or silver...oooh!  This is going to be my next project.  I know that styrofoam wreath forms can be pricey, but I saw a tip on Pinterest about using some sort of foam tubing from a hardware store instead. I'm not sure how that would work with this project since it has to hold pins.  I'll check it out..





Find the full tutorial at http://www.designsponge.com/2009/12/diy-project-kristens-ruffly-felt-wreath.html.



Another T-Shirt Project. This Time A Fringe Scarf...


I just love what I'm seeing people (all creative geniuses I guess) do with a plain old t-shirt!


I made this one yesterday.  I actually made two.  One because I like the look, and the second one because it was so easy, and sooo fast!  The first one took 15 min (I really took my time) and the second one took less than 10 min.  I'm going to have to find some more t-shirts so I can make myself one.  The first two turned out so great, I'm going to use them as Christmas gifts!


Check this out...


Fringe Scarf


Find great step-by-step instructions at


http://www.lakelandlocal.com/2011/08/diy-fringe-scarf/

Up-Cycle Those T-Shirts!

I'm amazed at what people can do!  Here's a pencil skirt made from two t-shirts!!  I want the skirt...does the body come with it?







T-Shirt Pencil Skirt