Make Your Own Dry Erase Board

The older I get, the more forgetful I am becoming! If I don't write things down, 9 out 10 times I will forget it. When I saw THIS dry erase board over at Two Twenty One, I knew it was a project I had to make ASAP.

Here is how mine turned out:

Since I spend the majority of my day in my craft room, I made mine the colors of the room (green and pink). I just used some green polka dot washi tape I had in my stash, and then hot glued on a cute raffia ribbon that I embellished with a pink and green button.  The frame started out black - I just spray painted it pink. 

Be sure to check out Chelsea's post that I linked to above, as she is also doing a giveaway for some Scotch Expressions masking tape.

From Drab to Fab

While shopping at Ross the other day, I came across this sign in the Clearance Section:

I wasn't thrilled with the wording on it, but for $2.99 I went ahead and bought it.  I knew I could turn it into something nice using my Silhouette Cameo and some vinyl.

I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to put on my sign, so I searched around and came across Mandy's tutorial for a sign she did on her blog. I was going to make mine just like hers, but then changed my mind and decided just to put a simple saying on it. (I may still make one like hers for my nephew and his wife who just moved into their first home.)

I started by sanding all the paint off using my palm sander. Once it was paint free, I stained it with several coats of a natural wood stain and left it to dry overnight.

Next I had to decide what I wanted the sign to say and what font it should be in. I finally decided that I wanted it to say "Love Lives Here". I printed that out in brown vinyl using the font "Dancing Script." BTW, my board is 17 1/2 X 4.

I wanted to cut it as one long piece, but since it was 14 inches long, I couldn't use my cutting mat (Mandy was so nice and helped me figure out how to change my settings in the Silhouette - thanks again Mandy). Even though I slowed the speed way down, had my piece of vinyl underneath the rollers, and chose "load media" on my settings, the vinyl was still sliding around on me. I decided just to cut each word out individually and hope that I could get them on the board straight.

With the help of my trusty ruler and pencil, I marked where I wanted the words to go, then just erased the marks after I was done applying the vinyl.

Here is the finished sign hanging over my bakers rack:

For my first attempt, I think it turned out pretty good!

I still need to practice with printing out longer/larger pieces of vinyl without the cutting mat. If anyone has any suggestions/tips, I would love to hear them!

Now I'm off to Ross to buy up the rest of the boards they had :)

Don't Throw Out Those Jars!!

Especially if you have a Silhouette machine! Now that I have discovered the wonder that is my Silhouette Cameo, I have been going a little vinyl crazy.

I had stashed a bunch of jars thinking that someday they would come in handy for a craft project, and I was right. I made this the other day:

I just found a font I liked (Sunshine Poppy) and printed out the word "treats" and applied it to my jar. For the lid, I mod-podged some scrapbook paper to it and that was it (for a great tutorial on how to do that, go here.) It was so easy and quick. This would make a great last-minute gift idea for someone - after all, who doesn't love treats?? If you don't have scrapbook paper, you could also just spray paint the lid of your jar.

Speaking of jars, I made this the other day for a friend of mine who is going to Disneyland in a couple of months:

I love how this turned out! I saw something similar to this on Pinterest. Most of the ones I saw they spray-painted Mickey black - I liked how he looked just as is (got him at Dollar Tree) so I just used my E-6000 glue and attached him to the lid of the jar. I found the cute jar at either Marshalls or Ross, can't remember which, for $3. The lid was brown, so I just spray-painted it black. 

The black vinyl was made using a font called "Minnie" (and yes, there is also a font called "Mickey".) I think my friend is going to go crazy over this!

I've done more projects with my Silhouette, including using heat transfer vinyl, so stay tuned!

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Vinyl Subway Art - A Silhouette Project

I am really loving playing around with my Silhouette Cameo. I made some Vinyl Subway Art for my nephew's two kids. I have seen this all over the place, and have always wanted to try it, so I decided to start small.

For his little boy, I made this for his cowboy-themed bedroom:

Up close shot:

I wanted to use fonts that looked cowboy or western. I went to fontspace.com and typed the word "cowboy" in the search box. It gave me all kinds of neat (free!) choices. Here are some of the ones I downloaded:

• Let Me Ride
• Western Swagger
• Westerner
• Helldorado
• HFF Young Wanna Plain
• Heffer
• HFF Quick Draw
• Cowboy Clips (for horsehoe)

In the Silhouette Studio program, I put in the measurements of my piece (10 X 10) and figured out where I wanted all the words to go. I cut each word out and used clear contact paper to transfer the vinyl onto my wood piece.  I then added 2 coats of Mod Podge on top to seal it. 

For his little girl, I took something her Mom put on Facebook the other day that she had said that I thought was so funny:

Too cute, right?

I used white vinyl, but I decided the white was too stark and plain, so I mixed up some brown and tan acrylic paint and lightly sponged it over the letters. You can see it better in this photo:

There, that's better!

Both of these projects started out as plain Canvas Panels that I found at Wal-mart for less than $5 each in the craft section.:

The other side looks like this:

You could use either side - I just chose to use the flat side (didn't have to do a hanger on the back this way).

I primed each panel first, then applied spray paint to each one. After the paint dried, I applied my vinyl, then my Mod Podge. So fast and easy!

One thing I have found out when printing words on vinyl in Silhouette is that you have to make sure you choose the "cut edge" option on the word before you cut it. If I don't do this, the vinyl seems to want to slide around on me and then not cut straight. 

To do this, simply click on the word and then click on the button at the top right that looks like a pair of scissors and then choose "cut edge."  I have also turned down the speed to about a "3" when I cut vinyl and that also seems to help make smoother cuts. 

I love how these came out. Think I will tackle a bigger subway art project next time. 

Gift Baskets Made Easy

I came across this idea on Pinterest (where else?) and knew I had to make one for a friend of mine who has been going through a rough time lately.

It's called a Box of Sunshine, and it looks like this:

(source)

Wouldn't you love to receive something like this? I know I would!

The original idea is to mail it to someone in a box, but since my friend lives here in town, I made up a basket instead. Since the theme is sunshine, I tried to find all yellow items to fill it up with. I did all of my shopping for this at Dollar Tree. 

I got lucky and found a yellow basket in the crafts aisle, and then went from there. Here are the things I added to my basket, just to give you some ideas:

• Peanut M & Ms
• Lemonheads
• Swedish Fish
• Dots
• Wylers Light Lemonade packets
• Juicy Fruit gum
• Bath poufs in yellow and white
• Lotion
• Memo pad
• Nail Care items 

I bought a bag of yellow shredded paper and put it in the bottom of the basket. I also cut out some sunbeam shapes with my Silhouette Cameo out of cardstock and scrapbook paper and used double-sided tape to stick them in the basket.  I wrapped the whole thing in cellophane, tied it with a sheer yellow ribbon, then added a card I made out of one of the printables included in Karrie's blog post.  I simply cut out the portion I didn't need, glued it to yellow cardstock, and added one more sunbeam.

I hope she enjoys this as much as I enjoyed making it up for her!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

While at Dollar Tree, I also picked up some items to make a gift basket for a friends' little boy who has been in the hospital.  I started with a blue plastic basket with handles that I first filled with blue shredded paper. I went with a Spiderman theme on this one.

Included are:

• Ring Pops
• Skittles
• Spiderman Coloring Book
• Crayons
• Toy Cars
• Bubbles
• Small Water Bottle

Once again, I just wrapped it in cellophane and tied it with some blue ribbon I had in my stash. I'll probably make a card to add to it. 

These baskets are so much fun to make, and don't cost a lot of money. I hope you will consider making one for someone you know - it will surely brighten their day. 

Easy Summer Project to Brighten Up your Deck or Patio

Want to make a quick, easy project that will (literally) brighten up your deck or patio? Try these easy solar lights!

All you need are the following:

Bottles/jars of your choosing (mine happened to be empty Starbucks bottles)
Solar lights
Colored stones (I bought mine at Dollar Tree, it took about 6 bags to fill 4 bottles)
E6000 glue

Make sure that you get the correct size of solar light that will fit into the top of your jar or bottle. Measure the opening of your jar/bottle and then measure the solar light while at the store to make sure it will fit. (I always keep a small measuring tape in my purse, it sure comes in handy!)

Here are some other ones I made using mason jars. I had to get bigger solar lights to fit the jar:

Remove the labels off your jar/bottle (if needed), then fill it almost to the top with your colored stones. Remove the part of the solar light that sticks into the ground, you won't need it (still trying to come up with a craft for those!)  Check to make sure the light will fit securely onto the jar/bottle. If you need to, remove some of the stones.

Next, apply some E6000 glue to the rim of your jar/bottle then stick your solar light on. That's it! Told ya it was quick and easy :)  Now go put it outside in the sun and wait for the magic to happen!

You could decorate these up by adding some ribbon or twine around the neck of the jar/bottle. I would love to get my hands on some of those Anniversary Blue Mason Jars, I think they would be so great for this project.

BTW, I know my glue gun is shown in the first picture, but I found that the E6000 glue held much better. I always buy it at Wal-Mart, it is much cheaper there than at a craft store. Also, here is a tip for you so that the plastic top of the E6000 tube doesn't stick to the tube - apply some Vaseline after every use and the plastic top will come right off!

Let me know if you make some, I would love to see them!



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Easy Patriotic Pillows - A Tutorial

I made this really cool Stars and Stripes Bunting the other day out of burlap:

(You can find the tutorial for it here)

After I made it, the wheels in my head started turning and an idea began to form. The pillow covers I made for the pillows that hang out on our gliders outside had gotten all faded from the sun, so it was time to make new ones. I wanted to replicate the Stars and Stripes look, and I wanted to keep the project on the cheap. The answer was ...........  canvas drop cloths!

Here is what the finished pillows look like:

I am so happy with how they turned out!  Let's get to the tutorial.

You only need a few things to make this project. You will need some pillow inserts, whatever size you like (mine were 14 X 14.) You will need some canvas drop cloths:

I got mine at Lowes, and they were on sale for around $4 each for the 4 X 5 size. I think I got four pillows out of two of these. They come in all different sizes, so you could buy a bigger size if unsure (and trust me, after making these, you will want to make more in different designs, so buy extra!!)

Then you will need spray paint. Here is what I used:

I got mine at Wal-mart for around $3.47 a can. The colors are True Blue and Banner Red. While I was at Wal-mart, I picked up some Con-tact Paper for $5.48 a roll:

It is in the kitchen area with all the other shelf liners. I don't have any of that vinyl stuff you can order on-line, but if you have that you could use it instead. This roll of contact paper will last me a long time.

You need to wash your canvas drop cloths and then give them a good ironing. I read somewhere that you should bleach the drop cloths, so I did.

Start by cutting out your canvas drop cloth to the size you will need. I make my pillows envelope- back style, so I cut my front piece 1 inch larger than my pillow form, and the back piece 1 inch wider and 4 inches longer than my pillow form. So for my 14 x 14 pillow, my front piece was 15 x 15 and my back piece was 15 x 18. You then cut the back piece into two equal pieces along the width (each piece is now 15 x 9). At the spot where I cut it, I folded the edge over 1/4 of an inch, ironed it well, and then stitched it. Set aside the back pieces for now.

Now it's time to paint! First, either free hand draw a star on the white side of the contact paper or do like I did and Google "star stencil" and print out a star shape and trace it onto the contact paper, then cut it out. I used one big star and 3 little stars, but you can do yours however you like.

* Here's a neat tip for you - to easily get the paper piece off the back side of the contact paper, GENTLY score it with your seam ripper. Ask me how I know to do it gently so that you don't make holes in your stars and have to cut out some more!!!

Apply the stars to your front piece and spray paint away. The spray paint I used said it dries in 10 minutes or less and they weren't kidding!

For the stripes, I just cut out two pieces of contact paper. No, they're not perfectly straight, but that's okay with me!

Then spray this piece with your red paint and let it dry. Once your front pieces are dry, peel off your stars and stripes.

Now it's time to sew the pillow. Put the front piece down with the pretty side facing you. Then put your two back pieces on top of that, pretty sides down. Make sure the hemmed pieces are in the middle of the pillow.

 Pin it, and sew all the way around with 1/4 inch seam. Trim the excess from the corners and then turn it right side out through the opening and you are done!

Our gliders have a matching table and chairs, and I noticed that the chair cushions are faded, so I'm thinking I will use the canvas drop cloth I have left and re-cover those cushions too!

The possibilites truly are endless for this project. Here are just a few other ideas:

• Use other designs to make "every day" pillow covers (flowers, your initials, your house number)
• Make different seasonal pillow covers that you can display all through the year (Valentines, Christmas, Easter etc.)

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. If you make some pillows, please send me a link, I would love to see them!

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Alphabet Magnets - A Tutorial

These make-it-yourself alphabet magnets are all over Pinterest (so addicted to that site BTW!) so I decided to make some for a friend of mine.

I pretty much followed the tutorial found here at Bubbly Nature Creations. I did mine just a little differently, so I'll show you what I did.

Here's what I used to make mine:

and

and

I used cardstock and some cute alphabet stickers I found at Wal-mart for $1.

I cut my cardstock into small squares that would fit the gems (make sure you get the gems that have a flat back to them, found mine at Dollar Tree). I then put a sticker in the middle of the square, stuck a gem on top of it and traced around it with a pencil. I cut out the shapes, then Mod-Podged them to the gems.

After they were dry, I trimmed around the edges (see how there is some paper showing around the edges of the "j" in the above picture? you don't want that!)

I then went back and turned them all over and added a layer of Mod Podge to the back of each one, just to make sure those puppies were on there good:

After that dried, I glued the magnets to the back of each one using the E-6000 glue. The Mod Podge on the back makes them sort of slippery, so I put a dot of glue in the middle and pressed the magnet down really good and held it there for a few seconds.

After they completely dried ... voila, cute magnets:

I decided to gift these to her on a cookie sheet. She can put them on her refrigerator, but I thought a cookie sheet would work good if she didn't want the magnets cluttering up her fridge, or if her daughter wanted to play with them in her room.

I am thinking about selling some items at a holiday craft show ... maybe I'll make up a few more of these. The cookie sheet would be a great way to display them there.

If you would like to follow me on Pinterest, just click the Pinterest button at the top right-hand side of my blog page.

Happy Crafting!

Pinwheel Wreath - A Tutorial

My friend Kaitlin showed me how to make these cute fabric pinwheels yesterday, and I knew I had to make something with them. The wreath that I made earlier this summer was looking pretty bad ... the humidity really did a number on all those bits of fabric!  So I clipped them all off and made this instead.  Here is how you do it.

What You Will Need:

Grapevine wreath
Assorted fabric scraps
Sewing machine, thread, etc.
Heat N Bond Ultrahold
Iron, Ironing Board
Pinking shears
Buttons
Hot Glue Gun


First, take your fabric scraps and cut them into squares. I made 6 total - the largest was about 6 X 6, the medium 5 X 5 and the smallest 4 X 4. I then got out my Heat n Bond and cut a square for each one (6 squares total). With paper side facing you, fuse it to the wrong side of one of your squares. Peel off the paper, revealing the sticky surface it leaves behind. Set your other square of the same size on top with the pretty side facing you and press... the squares will now be adhered to each other. You will want to use 2 different fabrics for each square. I used 3 different fabrics total and just mixed and matched them.

After you have done this for all your squares, go to the sewing machine and sew 1/4 inch all the way around each square. Cut around the edges using your pinking shears. This will stop the edges from fraying and give it a nice, finished look.

At this point, go plug in your hot glue gun so it will be ready for the next step!  Now it's time to cut those squares.  I forgot to take pictures of this step, but if you go here, she shows you exactly how to do it.  You are going to fold your square from one corner to the other forming a triangle. Take a regular pair of scissors and cut from the small end up, almost to the middle. Now fold your square the opposite way and do exactly the same thing.   Your square should now look like this:

Now you want to make the pinwheel shape. Put a small dab of hot glue right in the center and fold the right-hand side triangle in like this:

Here is a great tip  ... use the pointy end of an aluminum knitting needle to press the fabric down into the glue.

Otherwise, you may end up with a finger that looks like this:

Ouch, that really hurt! Okay, back to gluing.  Put another dab of glue down and fold the top triangle down like this:

Put some more hot glue and fold in the left hand side triangle like this:

Finally, add one more dab of hot glue and bring the bottom triangle up like this:

Add one more dab of hot glue in the middle and press your button down into the glue; this will hide all of the tips of the fabric.

I played around with the placement of the pinwheels on the wreath till I found a grouping I liked. I then put a bunch of hot glue on the back of each pinwheel and stuck it to the wreath!

And there you have it.. a cute decoration for your front porch that won't cost a lot of money and only takes a little bit of time!  Wouldn't it be fun to make different pinwheels for the seasons or holidays - you could have a new wreath every few months!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. If you make one, please send me a photo, I'd love to see it!

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