DIY - Necklace Hanger

What girl doesn’t love a necklace to match every outfit (or almost every outfit)? As my collection of necklaces has grown I had to find somewhere to hang them while being easy to access those mornings I’m flying through my closet to get ready for work. To remedy this problem I decided to create this necklace hanger using a cabinet door and drawer pulls.

This is how the project looked before.

I started by adding two coats of Martha Stewart Beetle Black. The stencil is also from the Martha Stewart collection using the Metallic Sterling paint. This is how it looked after completing these two steps.

It seemed to need something else and with the black paint I lost the pretty details of the cabinet door so I decided to add a line of the metallic paint around the edge to add more detail.

I purchased drawer pulls from Hobby Lobby to use as the hanger for my necklaces. When purchasing these make sure the back of the pull is not too long for the thickness of the wood you are using or it will not lay flat after you hang it. After looking at the plain black pulls I decided they needed a little more detail as well. I decided to add the metallic paint but immediately wiped the paint off so it would only remain in the details of the pull instead of them being completely metallic.

Before

After

Once the paint has dried, determine where you want to place your drawer pulls and drill holes. Attach your desired hanging accessory to the back of the necklace hanger and there you have it a decorative and accessible way to hang all the necklaces you have made or purchased.

Tracey

DIY: Burlap Wreath

 

Welcome to November everyone! It is so hard to believe it is November, Thanksgiving is only three weeks away, and before we know it Christmas will be here.

I needed a new wreath for fall that would get me through Thanksgiving and I have been eyeing all the wonderful burlap wreaths on Pinterest. When I purchased the burlap for my Table Runner I purchased extra to take a stab at creating a wreath.

For this project you will need a styrofoam wreath (I used a 12” wreath), burlap, and lots of pins.  

I also used a roll of burlap I had previously purchased to wrap my wreath but this step can be skipped if your wreath is hanging on a door and if you use enough burlap to cover the front.

Next comes the fun and messy part - cutting out 4” by 4” squares. To make this process a little quicker I cut a large strip that was 4” wide then used by rotary cutter to cut my squares.

Once all of your squares are cut then you start folding and pinning them onto your wreath. Jennifer at Oh My Owls has a great tutorial on how to fold your squares. The best way to ensure you have a full wreath is to pin the next square so that it covers the pin of the previous square. I had to cut additional squares as I went along so I do not know exactly how many squares I have but I did use over 100 pins. This is what it should look like when you are finished.

I wanted my wreath to reflect fall so I created some flowers using canvas, burlap, and muslin and added cranberry wood beads. I had purchased a leaf garland at the dollar store so I cut it into individual leaves, placed them on my wreath and added my flowers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To hang the wreath I attached a strip of burlap to the back of the wreath, created a bow from the roll of burlap and stitched it to the top of my burlap strip to finish off my wreath.

Now I just have a couple more fall projects to finish up then I will start on Christmas!

I link to these parties and

My Repurposed Life

 

Happy Crafting!

 

Tracey

DIY - Cabinet Door to Wall Decor

I hope everyone had a great weekend and a good start to your week! This weekend we headed out to our county fair to spend some time with our grandkids on Friday night and Saturday Shane and I just walked around enjoying the sights and food!

Today I want to share with you how you can turn cabinet doors to wall décor! My mom is redecorating a section of our church and I wanted to create some wall décor that would match the area with a positive message.

I found these cabinet doors at our local Rebuild store that supports Habitat for Humanity and only paid $2 each for them.

I then enlisted my Dad to remove the outer edges. Since they were bound with glue he cut along each end and was then able to remove the edging.

This left me with the inner section of the cabinets to create my décor. I then sanded them to make the edges smooth and so the paint would adhere

I knew I wanted to give them a distressed look so I started with two coats of Martha Stewart Greek Tile paint.

Once they were dry I then painted them with Martha Stewart Vanilla Bean.

Then came the fun part of sanding and distressing.

Using my Silhouette and cream vinyl I selected the font and size I wanted to add a positive message reminding everyone we are to “Love One Another”.

You can really use your CreativiT to use different colors to match your décor and add designs or phrases. The next time I do this project I think I will try using the entire cabinet.

So what do you think?

I link to these parties! 

Tracey

DIY – Tipsy Stackable Pot Planter

About two or three years ago I saw a stackable planter in one of my Mom’s garden magazines and we worked to recreate one for my garden. After seeing some really cute painted terracotta pots I decided it was time to remake my tipsy stackable pot planter. As you will see in the before picture some of my pots were broken and needed replacing. This is a really fun project and adds a focal point in your garden so I thought I would give you a tutorial. This is a project you can make all your own depending on the colors you want to use and you can even make this on a smaller scale depending on the size of your garden.

What you will need:

1 - Rebar or any strong metal rod that is small enough for the hole in bottom of the pot

1- 14” terracotta pot

5 - 10” terracotta pots

Polyurethane

Martha Stewart Multi-Surface Paint – I used Pool and Green Curry

Martha Stewart foam Pouncers for the polka dots

1 can of Valspar Interior/Exterior Clear Sealer – I used Satin finish

How to make it:
·         First you will want to apply polyurethane to the inside of the pots to help protect them.
·         Apply your base color to all of your pots. I painted the inside rim of my pots about 1” inside the pot since the top of the pot is visible and I also painted the bottom of my 10” pots because you can see them as well.

o   I thought it would be smart to put a “primer” on my pots since I had read that terracotta soaks in paint – depending on the color you use I would skip this step. My pots have a “primer” color and three coats of Pool paint. Had I not used a lighter color “primer” I could have probably painted just two coats.

·         Once the base color has dried have fun adding polka dots or whatever design you decide to paint. I used the largest pouncer for the 14” pot and the next size down for my 10” pots.
·         After your pots have tried spray at least two coats of the Valspar sealer – remember to spray the rim, the inside where you painted and the bottom of your pots as this helps to seal the pot and protect your paint.

Now it is time to assemble your tipsy stackable planter:

·         You will want to drive your rebar or metal rod into the ground so it is sturdy

·         Slide the 14” pot over the rod using the precut hole in the bottom of the pot

o   Make sure the pot is level as this pot holds the weight of the remaining pots

·         Fill the pot with dirt and make sure to pack the dirt because your next pot will sink into the dirt
·         Slide a 10” pot over the metal rod and lean the top of the pot against the rod and the bottom of the pot on side of the base pot – fill the pot with dirt and desired plant
·         Slide your next 10” pot and lean it in the opposite direction – it will be supported by the previous pot and make sure the top of the pot is resting on the metal rod. Fill the pot with dirt and your desired plant. Continue this step alternating sides until you reach the top.

You now have a unique and cute tipsy stackable planter that is one of kind. J

Here are the  before and after pictures – as you can see I needed new pots and I love the extra color in my garden.

This was my weekend project – what did you work on or plan to make this weekend?

 

Happy Crafting!

Tracey

Pincushion and Pencil Holder

I wanted to share a couple of fun projects with you that I recently completed. The first is the pincushion I made that was inspired by the one Michele from The Scrap Shoppe created.

I started with a frame I purchased at Hobby Lobby and fabric to match my room. I lined up the fabric so the flower pattern would be in the center. Once I had it all assembled I thought it needed a little extra touch so I decided to paint in the grooves of the frame to add a little extra color. Now when I am doing a project and need pins it is so much quicker than trying to dig them out of the pin container and it looks better as well.  

I have several containers I use around my craft area for pens, markers, etc. but I kept noticing all the writing utensils around the computer were scattered everywhere so I decided to fix the problem by recycling a Pringles can. I cut a piece of paper that would wrap around the can and then dressed it up with a little lace and ribbon. Now everything has its place around the computer as well.

Now I have my pins and pens organized. J

Happy Crafting!

Tracey

DIY: Embossed Tissue Paper

Recently HSN aired several scrapbooking episodes and I always like to DVR them so I can watch for any ideas they might share. Some of the airings have the same projects but you can get lucky to get a new tip and see what is new in the crafty world. While watching one of the episodes they shared a great tip on embossing tissue paper I thought I would share.

Start with one piece of tissue paper folded to fit into your embossing folder.

Use the appropriate plates for your die cutting/embossing machine and run it through once. I have a Cuttlebug and because of the thickness of the tissue being folded I had to use a smaller plate than usual.

Open your embossing folder to reveal your new tissue paper. Carefully unfold the paper to ensure it does not rip. People will wonder how much you spent on embossed tissue paper when it only takes a couple of minutes to fold the paper and run it through your machine.

Have fun creating tissue paper to match any event!

Tracey