Hey all you Dallasites! Pure and Noble is now offering sewing classes. If you've always wanted to learn how to sew or if you already know how, but just need to brush up on a few skills, we've got the class for you. Check out my new sewing class page in the header above for more details! xo
Showing posts with label tutorial. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tutorial. Show all posts
Spray Painting Tips
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Wow! This easy project of mine has gotten a lot of attention in the craft world and blogosphere. I'm absolutely thrilled that so many of you like it and are inspired to make your own. I have also gotten a lot of emails asking about the paint I used, if the paint chips, how to spray to prevent drips, etc. So, I thought I'd answer all of your questions in a much overdue post.
PAINT: For color, I use Rust-Oleum every single time. They are a great company that has done me right in the past, so I remain loyal. Here I used Flat (Matte) Black.
To seal and prevent chips. I give my pieces a coat of clear finish. Sometimes I use Flat and sometimes Satin, it just depends on the finished look I desire for each project.
TIP: If you are using black spray paint and then go over it with a clear finish, it has been my experience that the clear finish (especially the Flat finish) leaves white specks. Don't worry! Just go over your piece with another light coat of black spray paint. (I have my black mason jar in our bathroom holding toothpaste and toothbrushes. It gets pretty steamy during showers and the jar still looks great! No nicks at all.)
How to Spray Paint: This may seem elementary to some, but there are many of you out there who get drips or worry about an even coat. It's all about layers. Layers of paint. Here's how I do all of my glass projects...
1 - wash and dry well (there is no sanding or any other type of prepping)
2 - take outside and sit on flat, stable surface (preferably not on a windy day - this blows your paint everywhere but on your project.)3 - go over entire piece with a light coat.
4 - once the first coat is dry (mere minutes), go over your piece again with another light coat.
5 - go over with your spray paint one more time to ensure good coverage.
6 - once your paint is dry (I would allow about 15 minutes at least) go over once more with a clear finish.
7 - Once your project is completely dry, bring inside, style and enjoy!
I hope these simple tips prove helpful. If you have any questions, as always, please feel free to contact me via email. xo
Forever February: Celebration & Arrow Tutorial
Monday, February 13, 2012
It's Monday and you know what that means... one more day 'til Valentine's Day. Although I must admit, I feel like I've been celebrating for 2 weeks now. Secretly, I'm loving it - the decorations, the creative ways to let people know you love them. Gosh, I've never had so much fun celebrating this Hallmark created holiday.
This past Friday marked the end of my dear friends' 40 day fast and my husband was coming home from a 3 day business trip. Yup...Party Time! Our community group arranged a little love fiesta to celebrate. Decorating for this dinner party was a blast - I got my cupid on with arrows as the main theme.
(arrow tutorial below)
(the napkin holders were made from scrapbook paper and toiletpaper rolls that I cut in half.)
For the littles... a little bingo action, candy heart stacking games and a heart balloon blowing contest.
free printable here
We had so much fun, but I think we'd all agree that eating our weight in chips and queso was not wise. Blech! But, I absolutely love making others feel special. It may very well be my all-time favorite thing to do. Don't get me wrong, there's a little selfish motivation in it - I get to see the looks on the recipients' faces. That right there is worth a million dollars.
If you want to make some cupid arrows of your own (I know, I'm kinda late on this one) here's how I made mine:
Materials:
feathers
scissors or exacto knife
wooden kabob sticks
hot glue gun
cording in your favorite color
felt or foam core (optional)
Select feathers with a good shape. All that fuzzy stuff at the bottom will be trimmed off.
Using either scissors or exacto, trim the fuzzy ends of the bottom.
One your feather looks like this, you can trim up the sides if you'd like a cleaner look.
Next, trim the end of the feather quill.
You can also splice two feathers in half and glue one to each side of your stick.
Or simply attach a single feather at the end of a stick using hot glue. Then glue cording to stick at the base of the feather and wrap stick covering up the quill.
You can finish your arrows one of three ways - 1. leave them plain 2. cut 2 felt hearts and sandwich the kabob stick's pointy end, securing with hot glue 3. cut small triangles out of foam core and stick the pointy end of the kabob stick in the middle.You can bet these little jewels will be adorning my desk in the very near future. Happy Monday! xo
Oh Christmas Tree...
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Do you know the story behind Christmas trees? Have you ever wondered why we decorate these lovely firs this time of year? Well I was clueless, so I did a little investigating and found out that the trees and the lights symbolize Christ. Pretty cool huh?
My little and I made some of our own tiny fir trees the other day. You can make some too...they're so easy and fun.
Materials:
spools of thread
pipe cleaners
needle nose pliers
Christmas music (optional)
cut some of your pipe cleaners in half
using one of the long pipe cleaners, fold in half and twist sides together to create the base of the tree. once it's all twisted, put into hole of the spool/tree trunk.
using shorter pipe cleaners, fold in half around tree stem and twist into place
cut your tree into desired shape using needle-nose pliers or wire cutters. it's kind of like trimming a Bonsai tree - fun. (I used some of my longer snipped off pieces to create bulk/thickness on my tree)
Once you have the desired shape and tickness... you can decorate or leave plain. These little guys look so cute on bookshelves. I have to say, I absolutely adore the little Charlie Brown versions that Liam made. They're perfect!
Happy tree making! xoReduce, Reuse, Recycle: Vintage Tablecloths
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Whoever invented the fancy picnic blankets that have the vinyl backside to prevent damp blankets and bums is a genius! Unfortunately, those blankets usually come with a pretty high price tag. And because I'm always looking for ways to save a buck here and there, I thought I'd make one using a vintage tablecloth from the thrift store. (I find them all the time for about $2.00.)
Here's a look at how I made the one above...
Lay vintage tablecloth flat and trim to size desired. (I had already used some of this one to make makeup bags and snack baggies. So it had to be trimmed up a bit.)
This tablecloth was made with a hole in the center for an umbrella. I just cut a circle out from the trimmed up portion and zigzag stitched a patch.Using an old blanket we had lying around, I spread out the blanket first and then laid the trimmed tablecloth on top.
Next, I pinned my edges and then cut the blanket to match the size of the vintage tablecloth.
I then sewed the blanket and vintage tablecloth together using my serger. (You could easily stitch this on your machine as well, but I love the fact that the serger trims as it sews.)
Once my edges were sewn together, I pinned a ribbon close onto the side. And then added my double fold bias tape all the way around the blanket. I used two packages, 3 yards each.
In my first attempt, I put the ribbon closure in the middle and onto the soft blanket side. Fail. This didn't allow for easy folding and it puckered at the edge when all wrapped up. Yuck.
So after some seam-ripping, I tried this again. This time I moved the ribbon close to a corner and to the vinyl side. Much better.
Here's the pretty little picnic blanket all folded, rolled up and tied.
Now she's all ready for summer fruit, family and friends.
This was a super easy project that took all of an hour or two. Okay, it took me a lot longer than that, but I had a ton of distractions. I also ran out of bias tape so I had to make it in two days rather than one. But, if I took out all those little hiccups, it was easily completed in a couple of hours or less. Can't wait for the temps to go way down and put this baby to use. xo
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