Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Craftaholics Anonymous Winter Gift Exchange 2013 Part 2

Today I want to share with you what I received from Lindsey for the Craftaholics Anonymous Winter Gift Exchange. If you missed yesterday's post where I shared the gifts I sent you can find it HERE


She made me a lovely camera strap that matches the colors in my craft room, a pretty wall plaque, and a lovely burlap banner! Thank you so much Lindsey! I love it all! 

If you want to see some of the other gifts that were given or received take a look at the link party HERE

Now I'm sure you're wanting to know how you can join in on the fun right? Well the next exchange probably won't be until the summer but you can sign up to receive an email when Linda sends out the invite by clicking HERE


Monday, December 30, 2013

Craftaholics Anonymous Winter Gift Exchange 2013 Part 1

It's always so much fun participating in the gift exchanges over at Craftaholics Anonymous! Basically you get paired up with someone else somewhere in the country. You get to ask them questions to figure out what to make. Then make a handmade item or a few and mail them to your exchange buddy. You also get some crafty goodness sent to you from your buddy. So I would like to start out with sharing what I made for Lindsey. 


Her favorite colors were pink and green. So I made her a necklace and earrings with pink crystals, pearls, and silver chain all packaged up in the cute little glass jar with a pink bow. 



Next is a personalized pincushion with a shiny clear button in the center. 



Then finally the lovely "create" banner for her work space that has been sprayed with Strawberry Slush and Lucky Limeade inks that were mixed with rubbing alcohol. The pink banners were also sprayed with Blushing Bride Smooch Spritz to make it sparkly. Then I added the pink and turquoise buttons with baker's twine bows and some pink and green ribbon between the banners. This was so simple and fast to make! I actually made one almost identical for my sister for Christmas. 






I hope you like your gifts Lindsey! 

If you want to see some of the other gifts that were given or received take a look at the link party HERE

Now I'm sure you're wanting to know how you can join in on the fun right? Well the next exchange probably won't be until the summer but you can sign up to receive an email when Linda sends out the invite by clicking HERE

Come back tomorrow to see what wonderful goodies Lindsey sent me! 


Friday, December 20, 2013

DIY Let it SNOW Sign

Dress up your home for winter with this adorable snow inspired sign! 


~ Supplies ~
Don't be afraid to try this project. It is so easy! Since we're going for a vintage distressed look you don't have to worry about each step being perfect. 

1. Start off by sanding your 1 x 4 with the 80 grit sand paper just to smooth out the top, corners, and sides. Then paint a coat of Charcoal Gray on the top. It is actually a very nice dark brown. Allow that to dry for about 15 minutes or so. 

2. Layout the following on your Silhouette software and cut some vinyl. It doesn't matter what color you use because we are just using it as a template. For the "Let it" I used the font ALS Script and made it 2-1/2" tall x 7" wide. For the "SNOW" I used the font Algerian and made it 2-1/2" tall x 9-3/4" wide. Weed out the bits of vinyl you don't want and use transfer paper to pick up your vinyl. Once it's on the transfer paper I cut my words and snowflake clusters apart so I could add each one separately. 

3. Now that your Charcoal Gray layer is dry add the "Let it" closer to the top left of the board. Coat the top with a layer of Decou-Page. This will prevent any seepage of color from the next layer of paint. 



4. After the Decou-Page is dry add a layer of Deep Midnight Blue paint over the top and all four sides. Allow this layer to dry.
 

5. Apply the "SNOW" vinyl closer to the bottom right of the board. Paint on another layer of Decou-Page on the top. 



6. Once the Decou-Page is dry paint on a layer of Whispering Turquoise just on the top. Allow to dry. 


7. Apply the snowflake clusters in both corners and coat the top with a layer of Decou-Page Now apply two coats of Cool White allowing the paint to dry between coats. 


The thing I love about acrylic paint is that it only takes about 15-20 minutes for the paint to dry so you don't have to wait very long between coats. When your waiting for a layer to dry is a great time to straighten up or organize a little bit of your craft room while your waiting for it to dry. Or to work on another project between coats. 

8. Now take a needle tool and start pulling up your vinyl layers starting with your snowflake clusters, "SNOW", and finally "Let it". The layers of Decou-Page between each coat of paint prevented the paint layers from seeping 



9. Now take your sand paper and sand the edges until you like how it looks. On mine you can see some of each layer of paint and even some of the pine below. I love it! Then coat with one final layer of Decou-Page on the top and sides just to seal everything in. Right after you finish applying the Decou-Page sprinkle on some ultra fine glitter just lightly over the whole thing. Allow to dry completely. 


10. Take a paper towel or Swiffer sweeper wipe to brush off the excess glitter. 


Crafting Tip: Keep a box of the Swiffer sweeper refills next to your craft area. They are great for               cleaning up glitter! 

11. Screw two eye hooks in the top of the board. You can just screw these in by hand or use some pliers to get it screwed in all the way. If you're having a little bit of trouble getting the eye screws started just take a hammer and tap it a couple times to get the threads to grip the wood. 


12. Cut a piece of 20 gauge craft wire 32" long. Bend up one end about 2 inches from the end of the wire. Add a small handful of clear beads onto the wire then bend up the other end about 2 inches from the end of the wire. Now take the wire and twist it around your finger to create a few decorative loops in the wire. Make sure to let a few beads slide into the loop. Add a loop in the center of the wire to hang your sign from. 


13. Insert the wire ends into the eye hook, then twist the short end of the wire around the wire. Use pliers to pinch the end of the wire close to the wire so you don't get scratched by it. 


Now simply hang up your lovely sign and enjoy! 


This sign was really easy to make even though it requires a few steps. I worked on it across a few evenings and I am so happy with how it came out! Don't you just love it when a project turns out almost exactly how you saw it in your head? 

I hope you've enjoyed this fun tutorial and get a chance to make one of these for yourself! If you would like to check out some other snowflake inspired projects like my Snowflake Gift Box and Snowflake Wine Glass Tutorial just click on the pictures and it will take you to the post! 

Snowflake Wine Glass Tutorial
Snowflake Gift Box Tutorial

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Guest Posting!

I'm guest posting today over at Sugar Bee Crafts! Swing on over and take a look at the holiday decor tutorial I've put together for you!