Archive for the ‘getting crafty’ Category

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pinterest challenge: painted mason jars

Wednesday, July 11th, 2012

It’s that time again folks… Pinterest Challenge time! A “kick your butt into gear and stop pinning, start doing”.

Last time around I stenciled some curtains, and the time before that I whipped up a yarn wreath. For this summer version, I didn’t have too much time on my hands so I thought I would check off one of those projects I have been meaning to do for ages: spray-painted mason jars. You can see the pink ones I pinned here.

I had some of the big mason jars leftover from our wedding last year and some blue spray paint kicking around, so this was a zero-dolla no-trip-to-the-store kind of project. The perfect kind of project, if you ask me.

I started out with a light coat of primer (Tremclad’s gray primer).

Then some fun preppy blue in a satin finish. I didn’t want anything too glossy, since I wanted these little guys to look sort of aged and chalky. You know what I mean, right? I think I did about 4 really light coats – just misting basically. Any little drip would be super noticeable, so I tried to be really careful.

And here they are all done! I love them. So cheerful and sweet.

I didn’t have any flowers on hand for these photos, so I just used some grasses (arghm… weeds?!) from the lawn. Just try to imagine how cute they would be with a few white flowers.

There you have it! A super-simple project you can do in an afternoon. I still have to spray a coat of clear sealer on the jars (so that they don’t chip), but I can’t wait to dot them around the house with some fresh flowers.

Now go check out the rest of the pinterest challenge entries over at Young House Love, Bower Power, Centsational Girl, and Ten June. Have fun!

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Posted in DIY projects, getting crafty | 22 Comments »

the DIY files: a paint chip mobile

Monday, July 9th, 2012

One of my latest design projects is a nursery room. Two of our BFFs are expecting a little guy this fall so I’m helping them get the room all ready for the new little dude in their life. I love doing kids rooms – you can have so much more fun with colour and pattern, and people are usually way more up for out-of-the-box stuff!

Anyway, I’m chipping away at the room and so won’t have any big before + after’s for you for a while, but I thought I’d share this little mobile project I whipped up recently. I have a weird addiction of collecting paint chips, so I’m always looking for fun projects to use them on (case in point: my wedding seating chart, and art project). I saw a couple of paint chip mobiles on Pinterest and fell in love with the idea.

First up I gathered up all of my blues/turquiose chips (the colours for the room are lime green and turquoise). Then I pulled out my hole punch and punched out a ton of circles. You can get shaped punches like this at any craft store.

Then I used the same technique that I had used in my faux capiz shell chandelier: I pre-cut pieces of string, put little dots of hot glue on each of the paint chips, and then stuck the string down in place. I then put on some more glue and pressed a second paint chip on to cover up the string and the back of the other chip. Make sense? I ended up with a dozen or so strings of circles.

Once I had all my strings done I needed to figure out how I was actually going to hang them. I needed something rounded, so when I spotted this embroidery hoop, I knew it was just the thing. I had one in my craft closet already, but these things will run you no more than a buck or two.

I wanted to gussy it up a little so grabbed an old pot of a turquoise test paint and slapped it on.

Then it was just a matter of tying each string to the hoop. I triple-knotted it so that everything would be super secure.

I also tied four strings that come to a point at the top to make it easy to hang. The hubby was a smarty pants and grabbed a washer which we tied the four strings to – now it’s just a matter of slipping the washer onto a hook in the ceiling.

And here it is! I love how the blues are all a bit different. It’s like a pretty ocean wave.

I think it’s really fun to look up to. We’re going to hang it in the corner above the crib, so the little guy will be able to stare up at the twinkling circles.

The budget breakdown was a nice big zero, but if you didn’t have any of the supplies it might run you $10-$20 or so for the supplies (hot glue, string, embroidery hoop, circle punch, and some stealthy paint chip hoarding like yours truly).

Fun, right? Any of you guys been up to any paint chip projects lately? Or any other DIY mobiles out there that have been easy and inexpensive to make? I’d love to hear about them! 

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Posted in baby + kid rooms, DIY projects, getting crafty | 4 Comments »

party decor: getting crafty

Thursday, June 14th, 2012

I was recently asked by a fabulous not-for-profit organization I used to work for (PPO) to do the decor for a big 30th anniversary gala they were hosting. My answer was a very quick yes, and I happily got to work on crafting a few things for the big ‘do. There was a very limited budget to be spent on the decor, so I had to get clever about getting big impact on small bucks.

The venue was a room in City Hall that had soaring ceilings and huge windows. This meant that there wasn’t much we could do in terms of lighting or draping, so I wanted to get creative about the the table decor. There were going to be cocktail tables, long tables with silent auction prizes, and buffet tables. Fresh flowers was going to blow the budget and I wanted something with a pop of colour, so I ended up with tissue pouf centerpieces. Sounds weird, but stay with me for a sec and I’ll explain.

First I started out with the base. I grabbed a bunch of terra cotta pots and painted them turquoise, some wooden dowels, floral foam, and white gravel rocks (all items purchased from my local dollar store).

I cut the foam into pieces and stuck them into the base of the pots. This would be what the dowel would stick into, and covered up by the white rocks.

To put together the tissue poufs, I used this tutorial. It has super clear instructions, and the whole process was a lot easier than I imagined (tissue paper and wire are the only things you need). Once I had the poufs ready, I just wound the wire around the top of the dowel, and voila! Some cheerful and ultra-cute table toppers.

Since I was doing all of my decor shopping at the Dollar store, when I came across these little glass spice shakers, I couldn’t resist. They were 3 for a $1 and I knew would make cute little vases. By taking off the shaker top and cutting up a $1 fake flower bouquet (another dollar store special!), we ended up with some sweet little buds to dot around the room.

A paper bunting with patterned paper was another easy little craft project. Just like this one I made for valentine’s day.

We also threw in a photobooth for good measure. Who doesn’t like to goof around with their pals in front of the camera? Some hanging fabric and colourful balloons are all you need for this crowd pleaser.

The whole evening went off without a hitch. The mood was fun, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, there was some fierce silent auction competition, and money was raised for a great cause.

What about you guys? Helped out with any party decor lately? Any good budget-friendly or DIY tips to share? 

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Posted in around ottawa, DIY projects, getting crafty | 10 Comments »

getting crafty: a wedding card booklet

Wednesday, March 21st, 2012

So if you’ve gotten married, had a big birthday, or celebrated any other type of occasion, you’ll know that you can end up with a stack of cards after the fact. Since we got married last August (you can check out all the details of the day here), I have been keeping all of our cards in a drawer. In a big messy drawer, and it just wasn’t cutting it. The cards are lovely and have such sweet messages, so I wanted to make sure I did something with them so they didn’t get lost of damaged over time.

I wanted to do something simple, so I decided on just binding the cards together. The first step (not pictured since I didn’t have enough hands..) was to 2 hole-punch all of the cards on their “spine” end (so that you can still flip through them). To do this I used my 3-hole punch, but just made sure to use only 2 of the holes (none of the cards would have been big enough to hit all 3 anyway).

I grabbed these book rings from Staples for about $5. It was a mixed pack since I wasn’t sure what size we would need (I ended up needing the biggest ones). Then I just threaded all of the cards onto two rings.

I realized I wanted a front and back cover to make sure the cards were protected, so I grabbed some white foam board from the dollar store and cut two pieces to size (one for the front and one for the back).

Then I hole-punched the covers to match up with the rest of the booklet. The foam board was too thick to get into my 3-hole punch so I had to use my single one and just made sure to mark the spots first.

Then I grabbed some gift wrap I had and covered the two pieces. I wrapped them just like a present and used some double-sided tape on the front so that the paper would really stay in tact.

Then I re-hole punched (to make holes in the paper I just wrapped), threaded the two new pieces on to the binder rings, and added a little title place card. The end result is actually pretty cute!

What’s nice is that it’s super easy to flip through all the cards. That way, 20 years down the road, the hubs and I can still flip through for a little trip down memory lane.

And that’s it, folks! Just an easy little craft project for your Wednesday afternoon… and only 7 months overdue (we got married in August – eek!).

What about you guys? Done any crafting lately? Had any brilliant ideas about organizing your cards? Do tell. 

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Posted in DIY projects, getting crafty, wedding | 12 Comments »

the DIY files: bunting love

Monday, February 13th, 2012

To celebrate valentine’s day this week, I thought I would add a little touch of love to our living room with a sweet little bunting (remember this burlap one I made for our wedding?).

I grabbed an old music book from the thrift store for 50 cents and then had the rest of the supplies on hand (scissors, cardboard template, hole punch, coloured paper, glue, and string).

I cut out eight triangles of the sheet music (based on my cardboard template) and hole punched in the two top corners of each. Oh I also cut out eight small hearts (four in pink and four in pistachio green).

Then I just glued the hearts on and strung some jute through each triangle.

..and ta-dah! A sweet little bit of looooove.

Sweet, right?

This took all of 20 minutes… so if you want to add a little festivity for your love day tomorrow, throw one of these together. Instead of sheet music, you could use newspaper or any other decorative paper you have lying around.

 

Oh, and congrats to Jenny who won our stella + dot giveaway. Hope you enjoy those lovely Chantilly Lace earrings, Jenny!

 

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Posted in DIY projects, getting crafty, holiday decor | 2 Comments »

gettin’ spicy

Monday, January 16th, 2012

Last week I posted about a little message centre we put together for our previously cluttered kitchen (check that out here). You may have noticed we also added a little wall-mounted spice rack at the same time, so here’s the scoop.

Firstly, let me back up and show you our pathetic spice “rack” (ie. various spice shakers shoved in a corner of a cabinet):

Not pretty. It also made all of our travel mugs taste slightly spicy. Ick.

So, when I spotted the magnetic ‘Grundtal‘ tins at IKEA, I figured that they would be the perfect solution. I grabbed a couple packages of them ($9.99/3 pack) and the white magnetic board IKEA sells (called the ‘Spontan‘ for $14.99).

I wanted to label the tins, so I got out a roll of adhesive blackboard that I had sitting in our closet (originally purchased for a buck at the dollar store).

I cut the blackboard adhesive into small labels, and wrote the names of each spice with a white gel pen. Then it was just a matter of filling up the jars and sticking them onto the magnetic board. Easy, peasy.

Not only has it freed up some space in our cabinet, but we’ve also been finding that it’s good to have the spices out on display because we use them more that way.

So there is it. What about you guys? Done any kitchen organizing lately? DIYed a spice rack? Speaking of spices, any amazing recipes you’ve tried recently? Do tell. 

 

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Posted in getting crafty, kitchens, our digs | 5 Comments »

the DIY files: a message centre

Friday, January 13th, 2012

Our kitchen (which we haven’t done anything to since we moved in – you can check it out on the home tour here) was starting to get seriously cluttered. We didn’t have any kind of message board or system of organizing cut-outs, coupons or other small papers, so we inevitably ended up with a stack of junk lying on top of the microwave, or lists galore taped up on the fridge. It just wasn’t working. So I figured it would be good to spend a little time creating a little message board area. We decided it would be most useful to have a bulletin board to keep all of those coupons, lists and cut-outs in one spot, and then have a writing board (either chalk or white board) to do our weekly meal planning. So when I spotted a cork board and an old framed whiteboard — both around the same size — at the thrift store for a buck a pop, I snagged em and got to work.

First up was the cork board. The frame was pine, so I gave sprayed it with a high gloss white paint.

I had a scrap bit of fabric leftover from an old project, so I decided to cover the board with it (which would also add a pop of colour and pattern to the pretty boring white wall). Since I wanted the white frame to show, I tucked the fabric under the frame instead of carrying it over to the back, like I did in the jewelry board project a few months ago (see that here). I cut my piece of fabric to size, applied some spray adhesive to the board, lined the fabric up, and then tucked it under the frame. I used a knife to really get the fabric to go smoothly underneath. You want to make sure that there aren’t any wrinkles in the fabric, so you have to pull it pretty tight.

I wanted to make sure the fabric was really going to stay put, so I decided to add in some decorative push pins around the border. I didn’t have a ton of pins (and didn’t want to go out and have to buy any), so I made sure to space them out evenly before pushing them in. Once they were in, here’s how she was looking…

Not too shabby.

Next up was the chalkboard. I got out the frame/whiteboard that I had grabbed and decided to pry off the white plastic part. It was pretty badly dented, which I knew a layer of chalkboard paint wouldn’t cover.

After prying, I was left with the hard backing of the frame (it’s some sort of pressed wood).

And two coats of chalkboard paint later, this puppy was ready for some meal planning. When you are painting a chalkboard, you need to prime it for chalk when you are finished. This means taking a piece of chalk, rubbing the side all along the new board (covering the whole surface), and then wiping down with a damp cloth. Then it’s ready to go!

Here’s how things were looking after hanging them up in our kitchen.

 

It’s become a super-functional space in our kitchen. Oh and I’ll give you the scoop on those tins in the pic above shortly. Stay tuned!

Psssst — Our giveaway to Easy Canvas Prints closed last night. Congratulations to Joanne (comment #3), who is going to use the free 8×10 canvas for a photo she took along the great ocean road in Australia. Sounds amazing!

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Posted in DIY projects, getting crafty, organization ideas and tips | 1 Comment »

the DIY files: a chevron canvas

Friday, December 23rd, 2011

I’m always on the hunt for some new DIY artwork ideas, so when I got my hands on a big canvas recently I perused pinterest for some inspiration. I came across one of my favourite ombre dresser (I have had this dresser DIY in the back of my mind for months..) and the ever popular chevron trend (check out the original sources here and here):

So I decided to combine these two trends on my canvas, which I picked up for about $15 from my local art supply shop.

I cut out a chevron template out of cardboard (a leftover cereal box), which I used to pencil the pattern onto the canvas. Then it was just a matter of taping out the lines with painter’s tape.

The tape actually didn’t stick very well (I’m guessing it probably would’ve been better to use masking tape instead of painter’s tape?!), so I knew that the paint would bleed through a bit. Not a big deal since I was planning on filling in with white paint anyway.

I wanted a browny gray, so I grabbed both colours in acrylic paint from the dollar store, along with some white and black to lighten or darken as necessary.

After a bunch of mixing and painting, here’s how things were looking pre-tape peeling…

And as expected, some bleedthrough…

But once I did my bit of filling in with white, the final product was pretty sweet n’ punchy.

Kinda fun, right?!

So total cost was less than $20 (about $15 for the canvas and $1/bottle for the paint). Not bad for a big fun piece of original artwork for your pad. And even if you don’t think you’re an artsy person, this is a totally easy-peasy project.

What about you folks? Done any painting or other art-ing lately? Don’t you like to have a mixture of photographs, paintings and prints in your pad? I definitely do. 

 

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Posted in artwork, DIY projects, getting crafty | 15 Comments »

DIY gift idea: cute coasters

Tuesday, December 13th, 2011

A handful of years ago Christmasses started to get out of control in my family (6 siblings + 13 nieces and nephews + grandparents + partners = a loooong “to buy for” gift list). So everyone agreed that making gifts was the way to go – more heartfelt and easier on the purse strings. Not only is this totally up my alley, but it’s also so much fun to see what people come up with. A few of my faves from Christmasses past have been monogrammed bath mats, mix n’ match cloth napkins in fun fabrics, monogrammed glasses (etched with our initials), and painted terra cotta planters.

I browsed around for inspiration for my presents this year, and ultimately decided to do some coasters. I wanted something pretty, relatively simple, and seriously budget friendly (you know, since we’re still paying for that not-so-cheap year we just spent in England).

WARNING: Family members of mine – please close browser. Stat.

The first step was to gather up the materials. I grabbed about 40 square white ceramic tiles from the Home Depot (about 40 cents a piece), a bunch of decorative paper from Michael’s (some was new, some I already had lying around), some Modge Podge, and a clear top coat finishing spray (also from Michael’s).

It’s really pretty easy. You just cut your paper to tile size, apply a thin layer of modge podge to the back of the paper, smooth it down (I used a library card to get rid of any bubbles), then add another layer of modge podge over top. In the end I did 3 layers of modge podge just to ensure everything was really well sealed. I also threw on a top finishing coat (an acrylic spray) to be extra sure.

After everything has dried and cured, I attached some felt to the bottom of the tiles so that they are nice and smooth sliding around a table. I just grabbed some furniture felt from the dollar store since they are super sticky and the perfect size.

Attach one to each corner, and you’re in business.

Here is the finished product. I kinda loved having them all laid out on our dining room table. So much fun pattern and colour!

The other nice thing about this gift idea is that you can customize them for the recipient. For example, I knew my Mum would like pinks and greens in stripes and florals, but that my brother and sister-in-law would prefer a darker palette, so I just chose the paper accordingly. Some sets are the same paper and some are mix n’ match.

The budget breakdown (per set of 4)?

  • Tiles: $1.50
  • Paper: $1 (based on one sheet per set)
  • Modge Podge: $0 (already owned; but you can get a big bottle of it for around $10)
  • Top Coat: $0 (already owned; but you can get a can for about $5)
  • Felt: $1.30 ($1 for a package of 12, which does 3 coasters)

Grand total? $3.80 per set. Not too shabby.

Now they are just happily waiting under the Christmas tree…

What about you guys? DIYing any gifts this year? Any faves that you have done in years past? Do tell. 

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Posted in DIY projects, getting crafty, gift guides | 2 Comments »

ikea hacker inspiration: the stefan chair

Thursday, December 1st, 2011

A while back I hit up the Home & Design show here in Ottawa. It was a great girls day out for my Mum and I — coffee in hand, browsing the different booths — fun, fun. Unfortunately there wasn’t too much that was super exciting, except for an IKEA hacker competition by some local design students that totally caught my eye. They were tasked with taking the Stefan chair, a basic $25 wood chair, and turning it into something completely different.

Of the ten or twelve entries that were there, there were two super cute ideas.

The first was a dollhouse. I loved that they took such a basic chair and transformed it into a sweet dollhouse. Literally everything in the house was re-purposed from the original chair. See the mini furniture? Yep, most of that was made out of the packaging (cardboard, etc) from the chair. Amazing. Don’t you love the cool vibe of the house?

The second chair transformation was into an art easel. They created a spot to rest your canvas, drilled holes for all of those pencils and paintbrushes, and even a spot to put extra supplies in the front. How great would this be for a kids’ room? So fun.

Don’t you kinda want to go and take apart one of your chairs right now? I know I do. Any other good IKEA hacks you’ve seen out there recently? Do tell.

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Posted in getting crafty | No Comments »

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