It's Definitely Unique

So, this may not be anything fancy but I think it's extra special because my daughter made it for her friend's gift.

I ran across a tutorial for recycled cardboard box made into gift bag project this morning. Thought it would be a great way to keep my daughter busy while I had fun cleaning house....
Here's how we did it.

what we needed:
recycled cardboard cereal box, granola bar box, etc... (we used large oatmeal box from Sam's Club, probably thicker than needed to be but needed something that would fit the gift)
tempera paint, craft acrylic (any craft paint except watercolors would work)
hot glue gun
ribbon (fabric, twine would also work)
paint brushes/ stamps

(1) carefully open boxes at seams, then lay flat



(2) paint inside of box, allow to dry


(3) glue box back together, painted side on outside
(4) punch holes or use exacto knife to cut set of holes on two sides for handles
(5) string ribbon through holes and tie to secure as handles

There you have it....May not be anything fancy, but it's definitely unique! :)

You'll find a tutorial for cereal boxes turned into gift bags here.

"What's in a Name"....

Letters, of course. I know, I shouldn't joke about the work of Shakespeare. I apologize.

Anyway, an overview on a recent project- I wanted to use wooden monograms to spell my daughter's name. I found some at Michaels, but they only had white. To add a bit of character and to complement the new wall color, I used some of my favorite scrapbook paper to cover them.

I just traced each letter onto the paper. (I traced on the back side of the paper, so I had to turn the letter backwards.) Then, I cut it out and applied it to the wooden letter with good ol' mod podge. I brushed over the paper with two coats of mod podge to seal it.

I found a project similar to this at foodwineandmodpodge blog- paper mache letters

The Review: Something anyone could do. Fabric, paint, wallpaper would work great too!

Brighter Shade of a Rainy Day

Because South Dakota spring has kicked off with cold temps, rain, snow, hail, thunderstorms-(all in one day!), we are cooped up in our house wrapped in chunky sweaters and fuzzy socks. I needed to do a project to keep my mind occupied while the little one took a nap. I browsed the house and thought of a gazillion projects I wanted to do, but decided to tackle our living room lamp-not literally, of course but you know what I mean...

I have a chestnut brown square floor lamp with a beige paper shade that I bought at Target two years ago. They still have them. I've wanted to add a pattern to the shade and found an ivory fabric with green vine pattern in my collection of fabrics.

Before

First, I  removed the paper shade, then opened it up flat. (It folds into a square and closes with velcro). 

Next, I used Mod Podge to apply the fabric to all sides and closed the shade with the velcro. Next, I trimmed the excess fabric to fit the shade and used the Mod Podge to secure the fabric inside the top and bottom parts of the lamp shade. I had to go back and trim the inside fabric a bit more so that it did not fall outside the top and bottom trims of the shade.  

After

The Review: I'm very happy with how this turned out. I'm sure I'll try this again with another lamp. 

A Mod Podge of Creative Ideas

The reason I started this blog is because I started running across so many creative, easy craft ideas and I wanted to give them a shot. I've been having such fun. Some turn out pretty good, while others.... not so much. But, hey, I'm having fun!I get most of the ideas from Mod Podge Rocks   and Food, Wine and Mod Podge. They're great blogs-fun to follow with creative, easy craft ideas for home decor, organization, gifts.... list goes on. Here's a few of the projects you'll find on the blogs listed above-

yarn-wrapped wreath

 wine bottle label collage

IKEA Lamp covered with photo negatives 










These are just a few of the many, many projects you'll find. I hope you see see something that inspires an idea for you!

A Little Tip

Found this at Aunt Peaches blog

Hand letter pressed by Rob Bratney