Sugared Lime Spring Wreath DIY

I found this website, Design Seeds, through my sister Katie. Anyway, I need I wanted to make a spring wreath, and when I saw this beautiful color scheme of various limes on Design Seeds that I had my inspiration. I love how bright lime can be, yet in this color scheme, the lime is subtle and serene. Enjoy my wreath tutorial below and my take on these beautiful shades of spring green.

Supplies:

Paper Flowers

Ribbon Scraps in different shades of lime green

Plain Straw Wreath

Muslin or Canvas Scrap 12" long (to hang the wreath with)

White Acrylic Paint

Lace Paper Doilies

1. Paint on polka dots first. I used a cosmetic sponge to make my dots, but if you don't already have a circular sponge, you could easily cut one from a regular sponge.

2. Tie your muslin scrap onto the top of the wreath. Layer your ribbons on one side of the wreath and pin in place. 

3. Hot glue ribbons in place at the top of each ribbon. Add a lace paper doily on top of the ribbons.

4. Glue paper flowers on top of lace doily. Arrange the flowers in an odd number for the most aesthetic appeal. Three or five flowers will look best. 

5. Enjoy your wreath, hang it in the sunshine to greet your spring visitors and enjoy your spring!

Bunny Garden Rocks

Katie and I whipped up this project a few weeks ago. Toss these cute little rocks into your garden. They're easy on your supplies too, you only need white and black paint pens and small rocks or stones.

Draw on white bunnies first, then use a finer black pen to add on details. With other colors, you could easily make chicks, ducks, Easter eggs, flowers, or other spring-y designs.

What do you think? Have any decorated rocks in your garden?

Thanks Katie, for sharing this DIY!

Scrapbooking: Finding a new perspective

Sometimes we get discouraged as bloggers. I've been feeling this way recently and haven't blogged for a couple of weeks as a result. Sometimes it's hard to judge the response that you will get for publishing a post, or whether you will get any response at all. I apologize in advance if this post seems somewhat gloomy, but I'll try to end on a positive note. Lately, I've been feeling overwhelmed by craft things. There's just so much. Pinterest, social media, product shopping- all of these are online just to start with- and then when you actually craft something, the amount of supplies is just unfathomable. 

Why can't we simplify? The variety in craft products available is in a way, crossing the line from memory-making to cold consumerism. Why do we really need a million different letter stickers to tell a story? Granted, I love scrapbooking and craft supplies just as much as the next crafter/blogger, but at the moment it's rather overwhelming. It's not fun anymore. I need to find a new perspective, a new way to create, one without that doesn't leave me feeling stressed that I didn't use enough supplies, or the "right" ones, or just that I didn't complete enough. This being said, I'm going to try and find a simplified approach to scrapbooking.

I decided to just order some of my photos from Snapfish, rather than spending hours editing them on the computer and printing them in varying sizes at home. 4 x 6 prints will still tell my story. Katie has been telling me about Project Life and while I like the idea, even it requires MORE supplies, more consumption. I want to use what I have without stress. So, here's to trying a minimalist approach. One where I scrapbook just to tell a story. I'm no longer going to be so concerned with creating a "trendy piece of art." I'm going to try and find the purpose of scrapbooking again.

Has anyone else felt this way recently or at some other point? What's your stress-free scrapbook style?

Quick and Easy Painted Bunnies

Hello everyone,

It's been awhile. Sometimes I just need to step back. Take a break, breathe, have some "think" time. I've been extremely busy teaching this semester, and doing lots of my own writing as well. For a few weeks, I kept thinking, "I just can't do this blog thing anymore, it's just too much." Now, I think, for the moment, I want to continue. But my posts will be a little less frequent for the time being. Sanity throughout the semester is important. 

This project was a wild goose chase. I had this great idea that I would paint plastic bunnies shiny and gold and use them for crafts this spring. So I go looking for plastic bunnies and couldn't find them anywhere. I checked Target, Hobby Lobby, Michael's, etc, and couldn't find small plastic ones, only plus bunnies. Finally, I found some at Wal-mart, who knew, right? Then I went to paint them with my favorite gold paint, Liquid Leaf, but the bottle had self-sealed and I couldn't open it. I was about to give up on the bunnies when my sister suggested nail polish. Genius! So, the DIY was still on. Enjoy the pics! These cute little bunnies have so many possible projects waiting on them! I decorated a candle (see pic above), but there are so many more DIYs just waiting to happen!

1. Prep: I used white polish to paint over the bright pink and black details.

2. Painting the bunnies took about 2 coats each. I painted them neon yellow, pink, gold, and mint. (My current favorite colors!)

 3. Let them dry between coats!

Kitty Key Chain DIY

Hey you guys, Katie here. As you probably know, Taylor has a kitten named Sisko. (If you didn't know, she's blogged about the joy of crafting with a cat here.) I made this EASY key chain with a little doodle of Sisko on it, and I'm going to show you how I made it.

Supplies: Chipboard Charm, Acrylic Paint, Sharpies, Key Ring, Jump Rings

1. Attach 4-6 jump rings in a chain and attach one end to the key ring.

2. Paint your charm a solid color. (guitars aren't what I wanted.) I chose white.

3. Using your sharpies doodle a kitty (or puppy if you're a dog person!) and a cute word.

4. Coat with mod podge to seal and attach to key ring with a jump ring.

That was probably the easiest key chain you've ever made! ;)

Want more DIY's? Hop over to my blog, Punk Projects!