Au Revoir Graphic Tee

I am loving the graphic tees that are so popular right now. When you can make them yourself it's even more fun because the possibilities are endless.

One of the advantages of being crafty is that when I see something I like I can make it. And usually I can make it for a fraction of the price. As I took my daily stroll through the photos on People.com I saw this t-shirt worn by Kate Bekinsale and my daily mantra of "I can make that!" ran through my head. The shirt she has on is $78. I made mine for less than $5!

Source: People.com

Wild Graphic Tanks

I recently worked on a tie-dye graphic shirt project for Rit Dye. I ended up with 6 designs but only needed 2. I loved all the designs so I am slowly using all of them on various projects.

I have a good blogger friend who volunteered to edit my wordier posts. As a thank you I created these shirts for 2 of his daughters. I let them pick the design and colors they liked best.

Kid's Art Display Center

 

My friend recently asked me to design an art display center for her boys. I came up with a couple projects and then some fun decorative pieces to help pull it all together. We went shopping at Michael's for all of the materials and then I had some very special helpers for the projects.

Painted Flag T-Shirt

I really wish I had a funny story or words of wisdom to add to this post. But I got nuthin'... SO you get boring old Cheryl. 

This flag shirt came together in less than an hour which is my favorite kind of project. I wasn't going for precision. I wanted it to have a bit of a worn, rustic look. Probably because I was watching Junk Gypsies while making it!!

Materials: Cotton T-shirt // Rit Color Perfect Dye // Painter's Tape // Foam Stars

All the materials except the dye came from Michael's.

Perfect Summer Tote

Meet my new love: Heat Transfer Vinyl (HTV). HTV may seem a little intimidating but, let me tell you, it's a cinch!

I worked with Expressions Vinyl to create this Perfect Summer Tote using the Pacific Ocean HTV Pack. It's the perfect mix of blues and just encompasses summer to me.

Materials: HTV Pack c/o Expressions Vinyl // Liquid Rit Dye in Lemon Yellow and Kelly Green // Canvas Tote via Michael's Stores.

Kids Craft: Red, White, & Blue Flower Headband

One of my favorite things to do with my nieces is crafts. It's a love we have in common and a special way to bond. We had a craft day while I was home visiting for Father's Day and made these adorable Red, White, & Blue Felt Flower Headbands.

As always, I try to keep my projects budget-friendly. We were able to make 4 headbands for less than $10.

Materials:
1 sheet each of red, white, and blue felt (only .29 cents at Michael's!!)
Clear Gemstones
Elastic Headband
Craft Glue
White Foam Sheet (Optional)

Reflect Your Style with One Kings Lane

1. Line Mirror // 2. Preserved Hydrangea in Vase // 3. Gold-Plated Leaf & Aqua Quartz Necklace // 4. Decorative Geometric Glass Box // 5. Wooden Cottage Tray // 6. Nantucket Lanterns // 7.Ceramic Temple Jar // 8. Crystal Lotus Flower Bracelet

 

 

I get a lot of my inspiration for crafts and decorating by browsing online home and decor websites. One of my favorites is One Kings Lane so when they contacted me about participating in their Reflect Your Style campaign it was a no-brainer. I was in!

Silhouette Sketching

 

Today is a blah, headachy kind of day for me. You know that kind of day, right? I'm totally unmotivated to do even the smallest things. So rather than a tutorial, I thought I would just share with you a few sketches I have done while playing around with my Silhouette Cameo.

While I consider myself creative, I am not particularly artistic. My drawing abilities are along the lines of a preschooler. To have the ability to "draw" whatever I want using the Silhouette makes me supremely happy.

Coffee Filter Flower Topiary

Having a craft blog is expensive! I try to keep all of my projects budget-friendly but, even so, it still takes a big chunk of change to post 3 projects a week. This is why I love projects like this topiary. The entire project cost less than $10 to make. Really, probably less than $5 considering I could make multiple topiaries with the materials.

To make the ball I used coffee filters, liquid Rit Dye in Scarlet, a paper lantern, hot glue, and a stapler. The coffee filters and stapler are from Dollar Tree; the lantern and glue are from Michael's; and the dye is c/o Rit Dye.

First, I dyed the filters. This is a super-easy process. I mixed 1/8 cup of liquid dye with 1 cup hot water in a small container. Next, I folded the filters into quarters and dip-dyed them. I did bunches of 10 or so and line-dried them in my shower overnight. I ended up using almost 150 filters.

Wrapped Bangle Bracelets

I have a lot of jewelry. It really borders on the ridiculous, but that never seems to stop me from buying more. I also have a love of color. I was searching through my jewelry chest looking for some colorful bracelets when I came across a large stack of thin metal bangles. Since I have about 30 of them I decided to change a few of them up and create something new.

These bangles are so easy to make. All I needed were bangles (you can use any size and type), embroidery thread (which I already had in my stash from Michael's), and craft glue. And of course a good movie to watch while you make them!

Mixed-Media Collage & Embellished Candle

 

Tonight is one of those nights when everything has gone wrong. I spent 2 hours working on a project I was really excited about only to realize the spacing was off. This, of course, put me in panic-mode and made me very grumpy.

But that just goes to show how quickly a project like this can be put together. From start to finish, both pieces were done in an hour.

I put together this mixed-media collage from some items I had in my crafting stash. I found the keys on clearance for $1 at Michael's. Major score in my opinion! The wording is part of a stamp set and I always have one or two of these burlap panels laying around. The doily came from an antique mall I visited a while back.

First, I glued the doily on the panel. Then I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut a simple label shape out of card stock and added the stamp in the center. Next, I glued on the two keys. I used Weldbond glue for all of this since it works on all mediums.

White-Washed Memo Board

My weekend was full of projects. Some were a success and some weren't (yet!!) This project I consider a success.

This is a simple project with big results. I created a shabby-chic display to organize all those little notes and receipts we all have lying around. Also perfect for displaying photos or cards!

 I was originally going to use chalk paint on the board, but after seeing a project by Gina at Shabby Creek Cottage, I decided to try white-wash instead.