Disappointment turned around!

I was perusing Pinterest yesterday and came across a blog with an awesome (and simple) way to transfer letters printed from a printer onto painted wood.  I did not have any success with this method despite multiple attempts :(  Here is the link if you would like to try this for yourself.  Please, if you do, let me know how it goes... I would  still love to have success!!

 Vintage Painted Signs by Diddle Dumpling

Once I realized this was NOT going to work for me, I decided I would try something different, and a little less awesome :(  Sad evening....  Anywho... I still used the same idea, and mirror printed letters, I just traced the letters onto the wood and painted them.  While this sounds easy, it was actually pretty difficult.

I got to use some of my wood from that Home Depot gold mine I found about a month ago!

That made me happy!  I knew I wanted a vintage look so I painted the wood black first.  I diluted my paint down quite a bit for the entire project FYI...  Once that dried, I painted over it with a dark brown which actually brought back the grainy texture of the wood! :)  Next, I painted a small area of the front a light, off white color so my red lettering would pop.  The off-white color was diluted down with more water than paint.  I had to actually use a dry sponge brush to move it around after I applied it.... use your own technique for different looks!

I let the paint set for a while while I printed out the lettering I wanted.  ***Remember when you print the letters to make them mirror images if you are going to try the original project idea!***  If you are doing it my way, either way works.  Since I already printed mine out backwards I just went with it.  I laid the paper flat onto my wood, and went over the lines HARD with my pen.  I learned quickly that I needed to do it to the point that my pen went through the paper and marked on the wood. (Just the indention was too hard to see)  I then mixed up the color paint I wanted and began to paint my outlines.  Voila!

Now I have something else to display in the new house!! Fingers crossed... we will be owners in A MONTH!!!  EEEEKKKKK

Holiday Wreath :)

So, I have made my first Christmas season wreath!  It is quite simple actually, but holds lots of meaning for me!

The lighting is a little dark :(  But i promise it looks adorable!!  The reason it seems so simple to you, yet so sentimental to me is the source of the materials!  The pine cones were collected when we went to Red River, NM.  Jarrod and I found them across the stream from the cabin we were staying in :)  I know, I know.. gag, right? LOL!  For a wreath that looks so simple, it actually took me a while to make.

Step 1:  I painted the edges of my pine cones red and green to give them more of a holiday feel.

(yes I use postal service boxes as my work space for now, don't judge)

Step 2:

Once you get them painted to your satisfaction, which is much harder than you would anticipate, you are ready to start with your hanger.  I used burlap and hot glue (go figure).

I folded the edges over to keep them from fraying because burlap is difficult to work with if you use rough edges!  Then I wrapped it around the wreath and hot glued the seam together.  I centered it a little to the back so you wouldn't be able to see it while it was hanging.  

Step 3:

You are ready to start gluing your pine cones on.  Since I only used 3 colors (I left some pine cones natural) I had to be careful when placing them so there wasn't a cluster of green or red together.  

**Remember, here you can alter your pine cones... there were quite a few that I cut the bottoms off of so they would not stick out too far!

 You can see the green one sticking out in the picture (above). I cut this one shorter before I hung it

the same with the red on at 5:00 here

Just keep gluing and working them into each other and eventually you will get there!  It seems to take forever, and if you sit in the floor like I did, you will DEFINITELY have a back ache :(

Once I got all my pine cones onto my wreath, I decided it was too plain and painted a decorative "B" for Brainard on my burlap hanger.  Get creative here folks!  It really is more fun!

Once everything looks the way you want, you are ready to hang your masterpiece and start preparing for the holiday season!

(I am not quite ready to put up the Christmas tree like some folks, but a little cheer this early never hurt anyone) ;)

Happy Crafting,

Shaunda

 *Side note:  While creating this post I have realized my phone takes much better photos up close!* Mental note!

Ahhh, Holiday Season :)

I am so glad holiday season is here!  Since I lost all of my holiday decorations I am getting to start from scratch.  To some, that may sound daunting, but to me that sounds like opportunity!  With the idea of buying a new house that is much bigger than the one we are in now, I have developed so many ideas.  Holding myself back is proving extremely difficult!  I just keep crafting!! Plus, it doesn't help when you make OUTRAGEOUS finds at the local Home Depot.  I scored a basket full of what they called "trash".  When they trim the wood for other customers, they throw the scraps away! HOW DARE THEY!! Don't they know I can use them?! Well, they learned... I bought the entire cart of wood for $4... that is right $4!

 Have I mentioned that I will have an actual craft ROOM in the new house? :)  Can you tell I'm excited? Ha... understatement!  I will no longer have to work around dogs and kids and Jarrod!  Nor will I have to vacuum up all my craft dust every night!! Woo Hoo!

Anywho, here is what I worked on last night until midnight!

It turned out much different than I had originally planned, but I like it!  It was so simple, and I got everything for 50% off at my favorite local store :)  Hobby Lobby!  I took a thin wooden letter and decoupaged it with torn pages from a book. (yes I actually destroyed a book, ahhh!)  I made a little bow with burlap, a flower out of a book page, and then glued the leather rope around the edges...  Really was simple!  Jarrod even helped with the hot glue gun!  

Do not fret my fellow crafters, I am working on lots of fall/Halloween/Thanksgiving projects right now, I just have yet to finish them!  As you can see, I get distracted :)  I will have them up in plenty of time for you to copy them if you would like! 

Happy Crafting!

DIY Headbands

I saw these headbands on Pinterest the other day and got really excited!  I have an odd size head so store bought headbands rarely fit :(  I realized if I make my own they are guaranteed to fit! (As long as I don't goof them up)

When I first saw the picture it looked a little intimidating but it really was simple once you figure out what you're doing!  Plus, you probably have everything you need just sitting around the house!!

All you really need:

A t-shirt (logos are fine, they will add character)

Some fabric scissors (regular scissors will work)

Needle and thread, or hot glue

Take your t-shirt and cut up one side of it (probably under the armpit of the shirt is best)

Lay it flat and mark your lines if you are like me and feel like you can't cut a straight line without a guide :)

*remember the thicker the strips, the thicker the headband and vice versa*

(make sure you cut the hem off first... oops)

I cut all the way across the shirt because you can always make them shorter if you need to!

Once you have your strips cut, stack all five strips on top of each other and sew one end. (I used hot glue because I didn't want the seams to show in my finished product)  

Pull on all of the strands to make the pieces curl up a little.  Once you do that, you are going to braid all five strands!!  It is not as hard as you think...

Split the strainds with three on the left and two on the right.  We are only going to deal with the set of three for the instructions! (#1) Take the far left strand and(#2) place it in the middle. (#3) Now take the far right strand and(#4) place it in the middle. (#5) Now take the middle of all five straps and move it over to the right side. (#6) Now you should have two strips on the left and three on the right.

Do the exact same thing on the right now, just mirror it!

(#1) Take the far right strand and(#2) place it in the middle. (#3) Now take the far left strand and(#4) place it in the middle. (#5) Now take the middle of all five straps and move it over to the left side. (#6) Now you should have two strips on the right and three on the left.

Start again on the left side, then move to the right.  Continue braiding... the trick is to keep the tension the same all the way down.

Once you get to the desired length, sew (or glue) the ends together. 

Overlap the ends together... now sew (or glue) them to one another.  Try to keep the ends as close together as possible.

Now, cut a square piece of the shirt.  Make sure it is wider than the overlapped ends of the headband.  You want to fold the sides in and attach it to what will be the inside of your headband. 

Fold the raw end over itself to create a finished look, then fold it onto the headband and stitch (or glue) into place.  Voila! You have a handmade headband!

Once you do the first one they get much easier, and you get much faster!  I have not tried this yet, but I am sure you could embellish these by adding beads or flowers.  Whatever you desire!  

*As you can tell I did not take these picture.... I hoisted them from another blog!  I am not trying to take credit for them, but I thought she did a MUCH better job of showing the steps through pictures for those of you who need visuals :)   Don't worry, I have asked for a new Nikon for Christmas!

ENJOY!

DIY Family wall decor

I have been realizing just how boring the walls are at my house lately.  Last night I decided to take a trip to Hobby Lobby! (Always a good/bad idea)  I found a few things that inspired me to get crafty, so here we go!

I made a hanging wall decoration with the word FAMILY.  You can buy something like this at the store for significantly more than it cost me to make it!  Everything is always 50% off at HL!

I will walk you through it step by step.  They are pretty simple, but you need patience!  

Step 1.  

You will need to purchase the wood pieces ($.99) for your words, or you can make your own  Obviously, I purchased 6.They are pretty simple, look like this:

Step 2:

I painted the edges of my blocks with a dark brown acrylic paint.  I am in the process of changing my colors to brown and light blue.  Choose any color you want!  I used two coats, letting the first one dry completely before I applied the second. *I painted a little onto the face of the block because I plan on sanding down the edges for a rustic feel*

Step 3: 

Measure and cut out the scrap book paper for your backgrounds ($.59, and 50% off at HL).  Be creative!  I used 6 different pieces!  You then place a thin layer of modge podge (homemade for me... 1/2 Elmer's glue and 1/2 water) onto your block.  Let it dry for a few seconds then center your cut paper into the face.  (I used my Kroger card to smooth out the bubbles)

Step 4:

Here is where the patience comes in... If you have a cricut or something like it you may want to use it now.  I however, do not (yet)!  I downloaded an outline font on the computer and printed out the letters.  Don't be afraid to alter your font... I changed the "F" up a little because I thought part of it was too skinny.  You're being creative, don't forget!  I had to sit and carefully cut out all of my letters, but I think they turned out well! ('Tis a little blurry)

Step 5: 

Now, as I said before I wanted to sand down the edges for a more "rustic" feel.  I started with a 600 grit sand paper, which really did nothing to the edges so I switched to a 150 grit.  Try it out and decide which one is best for your taste.  Remember, the lower the number the rougher the sand paper.  Once you sand the edges, paint a layer of modge podge over the entire face of the block.  Let dry and continue.  Here is a before & after:

Step 6:

Now, use ribbon (50% off rolls of ribbon at HL) to create a loop for hanging.  I hot glued mine to the back, but I am sure a staple gun would work just as well.  Make sure they are centered and all are the same length.  I used to different lengths, but make sure the one that need to match do, other wise, your finished product will look crooked.  Once your ribbon has dried completely you are ready to string them onto your rod.  I used an extra curtain rod we had at home, but use whatever you want... I am thinking of using a branch next time!

Step 7:

Once my letters were strung, we placed the end back on the rod and hung it on the wall.  We used two nails and a level (trust me you need one).   We took a step back and this is what we saw.  

The first time I did the ribbons I did long, short, long, short, etc... When we hung it and looked at it, it looked crooked because the F was long and the Y was short.  I made a few adjustments and voila!  I think the entire project cost me about $9.00.  Granted, if you don't have some of the stuff it may be a little more, but...  I have seen stuff like this selling for $20-$30 in the store!!  

Happy crafting :)