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I was recently invited to join the Rit Dyesigner Network. This was really exciting for me because it means I learn about the new products coming out more quickly and I'm able to experiment with them. It also means I get to share these fun and new products with you. Win-win!!

Rit Dye can be used for much more than just fabric. One of my favorite uses for it is as a stain for wood. It adds gorgeous color while still allowing the natural beauty of the wood grain to show through.

For this project I used a 12x12 pressed cardboard plaque, a 12x12 piece of glittered scrapbook paper, a scrolled laser-cut plaque, a tiny clothespin, Aqua Blue craft paint, and Kelly Green and Lemon Yellow Liquid Rit Dye. I always find the most beautiful paper from Michael's!!

Easy Stenciled Burlap Place Mats

Still looking for a fun Mother's Day gift? These place mats are a quick and easy project that would make a perfect gift.

I found this laminated burlap a while back at Michael's. I knew it was a cool product but wasn't really sure what to use it for. Then I found one of their free project sheets with a tutorial for the place mats. I had to try it!

Hand-painted Tote Bag

Now that Easter has come and gone I've been focusing on Mother's Day gifts. As always, I'm looking for ways to save money and stay budget-conscious, even in my gift-giving. While poking around Pinterest I saw some adorable totes that would be perfect as gifts EXCEPT for the $150 price tag!!! I knew I could create something very similar at a much better price.

I found this tote at Through the Country Door online. They have some really cute home decor and home living items!! I got this tote on sale for $10! The paint and brushes, which I already had, came from Michael's and I used my Silhouette Cameo to create a template for the design.

Last-minute Easter Decorations

What??!! Easter is THIS Sunday? Don't worry. I have some easy, last-minute decorations you can make using items you may already have around the house.

Bunny Silhouette:

Remember this Applique Bunny project? I still had the stencil I used to cut the felt. With a bright green chevron piece of cardstock layered underneath and a burlap canvas from the Spring Chicks project it's a quick and easy piece of artwork. I added a matching green polka-dot bow and it was perfect.

DIY Burlap Initial

I have never considered myself creative. I am re-creative! I've gotten pretty good at taking a project or object and recreating it with my own spin.

Today is my friend, Corrie's, birthday!! I wanted to make her something special to celebrate the day. When I saw this project from At the Picket Fence I knew I wanted to try it for her.

As usual, I hit up Michael's for my materials:

1. Wooden Initial

2. Grosgrain Ribbon

3. Burlap Panel

4. Wrapping Paper

5. Craft Glue

Valentine's Day Display

The big reveal is here! I had a lot of fun creating all the pieces to this display. 

I guess you can see there is an obvious LOVE theme going on here. I like the way everything came together.

1. DIY Button Heart Collage 

2. Etched Bird Mason Jar (gift)

3. Pottery Barn Inspired Love Sign

4. DIY Valentine Garland

5. Conversation Heart Votive

6. Peony Love Photo via Raising Mavericks

7. DIY Love Birds

8. DIY Valentine Hair Clips

9. Twine-Wrapped Bottles

10. Twine-Wrapped Wired Love 

I liked some of these pieces so much that they will become a part of my everyday decor. Do you have any favorites?

 

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Easy Valentine Decorations

I'm getting close to the big reveal of my Valentine's Day Vignette. Today I'm sharing the "filler" pieces. These are not major projects I did but are just as important.

Love Birds
 

These started out as 2 ordinary Dollar Tree knick-knacks. I was needing something small to tie in with the white frame and buttons in the DIY Button Heart Collage; and the white in the DIY Love Sign so I decided to spray paint the birds white. Since there were so many nooks and crannies it took several coats (and a lot of patience) but I finally got them evenly covered.

Conversation Heart Votive

Can this even really be considered a project??!! I'm going to say yes. There are all levels of them right? I simply filled a large votive holder from Michael's with fun conversation heart candy to add some whimsy and color.



Gold-framed Peony Photo
 

This piece is pretty special!!! My friend, Jacki, gave me this gorgeous photo for Christmas. I love the quote and the romantic, ethereal quality it has. She is super-talented so make sure you stop by her shop on Etsy, Raising Mavericks, and stop by her Facebook page to say hi.

For the frame, I again pulled out the spray paint from Michael's (the same I used on the DIY Love Sign letters).



DIY Button Heart Collage

It's time for Tried-it Tuesday. I fell in love with this Button Heart from the Crafty Texas Girls blog. A couple months ago I won a Rit Dye starter kit. Let me tell you, this kit rocks!!! It has 8 or so full-size liquid Rit dyes, a scarf, some fabric squares, rubber-bands, and a big package of buttons. (Did you know that buttons were dyeable??!!) Those button immediately came to mind when I saw this project.

Materials:
Buttons  - all shapes and sizes, but flat-backed will work best
Craft Glue
Glitter
Canvas or scrapbook paper
Picture Frame

I cut a piece of scrapbook paper to fit the 5x7 frame I was going to use. Then I free-handed (OBVIOUSLY) a heart and the word "Love". I wasn't too worried about perfection because both would be covered up by the materials.

Next I covered the heart with craft glue and started gluing the buttons, working from the middle to the edges.

I layered the buttons until there was no more paper showing within the heart. Then I traced the wording with glue and sprinkled with glitter.

 

After everything was completely dry I removed the glass from my frame and added the collage.

This is piece one of my Valentine's Day vignette I am creating. I have several other projects I will adding along the way. Watch for the tutorials!!

DIY Gemstone Statement Necklace

These last few days at work have been crazy and stressful. After a particularly trying day, I headed to Michael's to find a project. In the past I would deal with my stress by a good junk food binge. Since I can't do that anymore I've starting finding projects to relax me. (Along with buying a new pair of heels. That ALWAYS helps too!!)

I have seen several different versions of this statement necklace project on Pinterest and ended up using a idea from each one to create my own.

Materials:

• Felt
• Plastic Canvas
• Gemstones
• Ribbon
• Craft Glue

First, I cut the plastic canvas into a crescent-style shape. (You can create any shape you like, the possibilities are endless here)

I ended up changing the shape of the necklace at the end...

Next, I cut the felt to match and glued them together.

The next step was to determine what pattern I wanted to create with the gemstones. As I mentioned above, I changed the shape of necklace at this point. I didn't like the full crescent shape so I trimmed it to a semi-circle. I experimented with a few designs and finally decided on covering the entire area with the gems.

Next, I glued the stones to the backing by applying a drop of craft glue to the back of each gem and placing it back in position on the felt. (This was a fairly tedious process but thankfully, I had a good episode of NCIS to watch while I worked.)

The last step was to attach a length of ribbon to the outer corners of the backing after the gems had dried overnight. I attached with craft glue but also added a couples stitches to make sure everything was secure.

I really love how this turned out. And you get such bang for your buck! Excluding the craft glue, I only spent $5 for all the materials. I used half of the gems and have enough felt and backing to make at least four more necklaces.

I want to try this project again with jewel-colored stones of varied sizes. Maybe this weekend!!

DIY Valentine Hair Clips

I'm always looking for fun projects I can do as surprises for my nieces. For Valentine's Day I wanted to make them some cute heart hair clips. This is another super-simple, 5 minute project but the result is adorable. And the sky is the limit when it comes to decorating the clips.

Materials:
Felt hearts (varied sizes and colors)
Ribbon-covered hair clips
Craft glue

I started out by creating a few designs. I wanted to combine different sizes and colors.

After that, I was ready to glue the pieces to the clip. I started with a strip of craft glue down along the ribbon, then glued down the foundation piece of the design.

Next I added the finishing pieces.

After drying, the clips are ready to wear.

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DIY Flip-flop Wreath

My sister, the craft-goddess, is really talented. She is a mom of two super-awesome girls (I'm not the least bit prejudiced!!) and a teacher, so her creative juices are constantly flowing. A while back she made some wreaths out of flip-flops, silk flowers, and a large wooden letter. Of course, when I saw them I went crazy over them and knew I had to share what she had done.

Here is the one she made for her house:

Such a fun, fresh concept. Can't you just smell chicken on the grill and freshly mown grass?

Here is one she made for her friend:

I also love this one... Despite the fact that it is Gator colors. I'm pretty sure she mentioned something about it burning her fingers as she made it. We won't hold it against her friend though. This just goes to show my sister can make anything beautiful!!

Here is the last one. A slightly different take than the others:

Below is a list of supplies for making a  flip-flop wreath for yourself.

The basic materials include a wreath base, flip-flops (she got all of hers at Dollar Tree), silk flowers, rhinestones, glitter, wooden letters, and hot glue. From there it is completely up to your imagination! There are so many different ways you could arrange and decorate this wreath. So get your creative juices flowing and make one for yourself or a friend (or a SUPER-AWESOME sister!!)

*** Has anyone noticed how many times I used super in this post??? Super-crazy...***

DIY Rustic Picture Frame

It's time to share another fun project with you all!!! I saw this project on pinterest. I wasn't able to find the original source or steps but I'm crafty enough to "wing it." (Mostly because this is a super-simple project!!)


Materials:

large picture frame (glass removed)
twine
tiny nails or tacks
small clips (clothespin or gator)

I measured the twine against the back of the frame and cut several pieces. Since I didn't want my version to be quite as rustic-looking as the one I pinned, I tacked the pieces onto the back of the frame.

Check out these tiny clothespins... Aren't they just the cutest things?? I simply clipped them to the twine.

Next I clipped my photos onto the twine. It's as simple as that. It was a 10 minute project, tops. You can space the twine and space the clips to fit almost any size photo. These are 5 x 7. 

I looped a long piece of twine through and around the frame and tied a bow to use as a hanger.

DIY Glittered LOVE Mirror

Sunday was a rainy, gray day perfect for crafting so I hit Michael's on the way home from church in search of a project. I had several in mind but when I came across this mirror, I knew I wanted to make something special for my Valentines... my nieces! I think it turned out pretty cute.

Here are all my supplies from Michael's:

2-inch wooden letters: L, V, E
2-inch wooden heart
Unfinished wood-framed mirror
Gold, Pink, and Purple Glitter
Mod Podge
Sponge brushes

After I removed the mirror and the back, I mixed the gold glitter with some Mod Podge and painted it on. I knew it would take a couple coats the get the coverage of glitter I wanted. I tried to keep the coats even but I didn't worry about leaving brush strokes because it dries clear and smooth.

Next I mixed the pink glitter with Mod Podge and painted the heart I was using for the "O" in LOVE. I piled the mixture on pretty heavy because I really wanted it to it shine and be extra glittery.

Then I mixed the purple glitter and Mod Podge and painted the letters. I laid this on pretty thick too but I still had to go back a couple times to fill in the "gaps" in the glitter. I didn't want any wood showing through on these. **

** I was still not happy with the coverage of the glitter so I gave everything a last coat of plain Mod Podge and sprinkled the glitter over that. I achieved maximum glittery-ness!!!

Finally, I put the mirror and back on, arranged the letters on the frame, and glued them with tacky glue.

Hopefully, every time she looks in this mirror she will remember she is LOVED by Aunt Cheryl!!!


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