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!

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!

Pintastic Things This Week

Check out this super cool galaxy shirt by How to Own It. I really want to make one of these!

Love these tea towels from Censational Girl. Beautiful!

I found this tutorial for shrinky plastic rings and it blew me away! So original! By Planet June.

And this is the absolutely prettiest possible way to store plastic bags! I love how bright it is! By Creative Home Making with Constanca Cabral.

This DIY calls to my love of the feather trend! Check it out at The Crafted Sparrow.

And last but not least, this brilliantly-hipster scarf from Sea Lo Que Sea. 

That's it for today! In case you didn't notice, today's round up was kind of a hodge podge without any particular theme because I stumbled upon so many different kinds of interesting DIY's this week on Pinterest. 

Want to repin or blog about some of these awesome projects? Be sure to link to the original source so that the artist/author gets credit. It's really easy for something to get pinned or linked so many times that it no longer traces back to its original source and the artist receives no feedback for his or her work...so use the original source and share these lovely posts!

-Taylor

Kitty Ravioli Toy DIY

Supplies:

Catnip

Fabric Scraps

Sewing Machine

Cotton or Polyester Stuffing

1. Cut 2 x 2 inch squares out of fabric scraps. 

2. Putting the wrong sides of two of the fabric squares together, sew around three sides of each set of squares. Don't sew on the very edge-sew about 1/4 inch in to make the ravioli shape.

3. Stuff with a small pinch of cotton stuffing and then sprinkle in about a teaspoon of catnip.

4. Sew up remaining side and you're done!

I whipped up a dozen of these cat toys in about fifteen minutes. My kitten loves them! His reaction to catnip is hilarious-first he plays and gets hyper and then his eyes get glazed over and he's totally mellow. It's really funny.

Scrapbooking Instax photos

Today, I thought I would share with you a pretty scrapbook page I whipped up. I've been having loads of fun taking photos with my Fuji Instax Mini camera, which takes instant photos. Now, the thing about instant photos is that they aren't digital and there is no editing them, which is both good and bad. So it's taken some practice for me to get good photos. But I also love how fast I can have photos directly at my fingertips and ready to scrapbook with. 

This page features photos I have taken of flowers that my boyfriend has given me on various occasions. Flowers are so bright and colorful, it's a great way to practice taking photos with a point and shoot instant camera.

What are your favorite things to take photos of? I also take a lot of pictures of my cat.

Want to see another great idea for using your instant photos? Check out this DIY.

-Taylor

Valentines DIY: Jar O Dates

Need a quick, last-minute gift idea for valentines? I've got one for you today! Whip up a jar of dates to last a whole year! See the tutorial below.

Supplies:

Popsicle sticks (I bought my pre-printed at Michael's).

Ribbon Scraps

Empty Jar

Stickers (for decoration)

1. Tie all your ribbon scraps around the rim of the jar. This is a super fast way to decorate!

2. Write fun date ideas on your Popsicle sticks. I had five different kinds of sticks, so I made these types into categories, weekend dates that require planning, stay at home dates, etc.

3. Decorate your jar and you're done!

4. Take pictures...get photo-bombed.... (this is obviously not a step, but, my cat frequently does this so I thought I would share a photo).

Tips for New Bloggers-Interview Series- Katie of Punk Projects

This Spring, I'll be hosting a series of interviews with accomplished and talented bloggers. We're talking about tips for us newbies and they've got some amazing answers. So, follow along, and learn with me from some of the best craft and lifestyle bloggers out there! 

Today's interview is with Katie of Punk Projects. Katie is a DIY artist of all sorts-mixed media, scrapbooking, painting, sewing, jewelry-making and so much more. Her publications include Creating Keepsakes, she will be featured in a craft book coming out Summer 2013, and is on several design teams. In addition, she runs her own blog design business. She also happens to be my amazingly talented sister! Read below for her tips for new bloggers!

1. What's one super simple thing that every new blogger should be doing with their posts?

Promote them! I recommend frequently posting about your blog on both facebook and twitter, as well as submitting your posts to other blogs, like CraftGossip.

2. Did you have an 'Aha!' moment when you first started blogging that has helped you greatly? 

Most of my “Aha” moments have been photography and photo editing related. My best suggestion is to work on your own photography, and if you don’t own a software like Photoshop (which can be expensive, I know. I’m lucky to have won a copy in a contest!) try using an online photo editor, like PicMonkey and learn how to edit your photos.

3. What's been your experience working with other bloggers and what kind of networking do you recommend?

I’ve done a lot of guest posting on other blogs, and having other bloggers post on my blog. Guest posting is a good way to get more traffic and readers for both bloggers. Another way to connect with other bloggers is to do a Sponsor Swap- exchanging sidebar buttons with each other.

Thanks Katie! This was a great interview-stay tuned for more!

Real Places to be Inspired

So many of us crafters tend to find inspiration by looking on the internet. We use blogs, product websites, social media, etc. It's fun and fast-we like finding instant inspiration gratification. However, sometimes it's not so instant and we wind up spending hours browsing Pinterest or a craft website and still don't stumble upon the 'Aha!' moment we were looking for. Using the internet to find inspiration can be extremely frustrating, which brings me to the point of this article: R-E-A-L brick-and-mortar places to find inspiration. Places that require you to get up and go. Sometimes a little movement is all we need.

The Library

Has it been awhile since you've been to the library? Believe it or not, your library is a hotbed of crafting inspiration. Most libraries have copies of all the latest craft books available for you to check out. In addition, take a look through photography books, back issues of magazines, find a new type of craft to try, pick up some interior design books.

Take a Train Ride

50.5% of the world's population lives in urban areas. Chances are, you're one of the 3.5 billion people who live in the city. Public transportation in the cities is cheap and you can get to many places. However, the idea here is not to get somewhere, it's just to ride the train or the subway. Grab a notebook (no iPads or laptops-no electronics!) and hop on the train and just write, doodle, make lists, whatever could jump start your inspiration. 

Coffee Shops

The title of this source of inspiration is pretty obvious. A hot cup of coffee, a fruity smoothie, bubble tea; whatever your favorite drink is, it's bound to make you feel better. Instead of making it your reward, just for a day, make it your motivation. Not to mention, coffee shops usually have great art, great music, and a fun and inspiring atmosphere.

College Campus

Does your blog or your craft involve fashion? The your local college campus is the place you should go to people-watch. College students will always be wearing the latest trends and it's fun to be inspired by what people are wearing. Want to find hipsters, athletes, girly-girls, business professionals, nerds, etc, all in one place? Campus is the way to go.

Quilt Shops

A quilt shop is a fantastic place to find inspiration. Now, when I say quilt shop, I don't mean a craft supply store like Michael's or Hobby Lobby, I'm talking mom-and-pop quilt and fabric shop. They tend to be super quirky, full of cute little grandmas, and gorgeous fabrics from ceiling to floor. Even if you're not someone who works with fabric, pop inside to take a look at patterns and color schemes.

Thanks for reading, I hope this inspires you to try a new source of inspiration! Where is your favorite place to go? I'll shamefully admit to Starbucks :) but I also l-o-v-e the library and riding the train. 

-Taylor

Fun Little Valentines

This week I whipped up a couple of cute little valentines. I mailed some packages recently and slipped these in. The print-out stickers I used are downloadable bonus items from Katie's "I Heart Art" Valentine's Day class and I love them! They are beyond cute.

Interested in taking an online class? I recently reviewed Katie's "I Heart Art" course. Check the review out here!

Recycled Message Vase DIY

I'm happy to share with you today a recycle-themed DIY. There are several photos of vases and jars similar to this going around the internet (but I cannot seem to track down the original source) but mine involves glitter (of course!). I'm recycling an old bottle in this tutorial and giving it a beautiful purpose. See the tutorial below!

Supplies: 

An old bottle

Hot glue gun

Gold Liquid Leaf paint (or any acrylic paint)

Gold Glitter

Glue Stick

Sponge paint brush

1. Using your hot glue gun, write out a word on the bottle. I chose the word "free."

Here's an up close shot of mine: be sure to make your letters with lots of glue (volume) so it stands out against the bottle. Don't forget to rub off the hot glue stringies!

2. Sponge on gold leaf paint. It's really important to use a sponge brush so that the paint doesn't create streaks up and down the bottle. It also covers the hot glue better.

Here's a photo of the finished paint job: I really like the antique-y look gold leaf paint gives it.

3. Rub your glue stick over the word that you've glued on. Be sure to get glue only on your letters!

4. Sprinkle glitter over the glue. Using a paintbrush, brush away excess glitter. Let dry.

5. Fill with flowers and display!