Wednesday, July 31, 2013

DIY: Wedding Centerpiece

Hey everyone! I came up with a new idea! So I was trying to think of some more good centerpiece ideas for my reception using mason jars, because if you haven't guessed by now.. I love them! I have also fallen in love with making paper flower garlands and such, so I thought, why not combine them?? Here is what I came up with.


Do you love it?? I know I do! So here are your supplies, because I know you want to try it!!


  • Paper (colored and white)
  • Washable markers
  • Scissors
  • Hot glue gun
  • Mason jar or other type of jar or vase
  • Needle and thread
So first! Make your flowers. Using your colored paper, go to my previous tutorial on how to make paper flowers here. For these flowers though, I didn't use paint because it is colored paper and I didn't think it needed more color, but that is just me!

After you have finished making your flowers, set them aside. 
Take your mason jar and fill it to your desired height with water. I would suggest not filling it as high as I did for mine, because it is harder to see the flowers. Just something I learned in the process!

Next, get some of your white paper and color on it with a marker that is the color you would like your water to be. Put that colored on paper in the water and let it bleed. You can do this a few times until you get enough color in the water. You are probably thinking I am crazy for not just using food coloring, but this way I am for sure getting the color I want, and it is not as thick and dark of a color so that you can still see the flowers!


A trick i have found that works very well is instead of tying a knot in the string to keep the flower in place, adding a drop of hot glue to the bottom of each flower where the string comes out keeps it secure and is a much quicker way to do it!

The reason for this step is that for the first day or two, the flowers will float just fine. After that they start to get heavier and sink a little bit. The string keeps them still looking really good even though they have sunk. All you have to do is take the extra tape at the top and either tape or glue it to a lid for a mason jar, or just the top inside of any other kind of jar.
In my opinion, this is the REAL finished product, I love love love the way this looks!! This is a definite yes for being part of my centerpieces at my reception!

Then put the flowers in the water! It might take a few minutes to do this while the paper gets rid of the air bubbles and soaks up the water. But that's it! Now you have a perfect decoration for a centerpiece, a shelf, or any other place you want it! Thanks so much for stopping by. Let me know how you like this craft!!

xoxo
Megan







Saturday, July 27, 2013

DIY: Wedding Decoration

Hello! So I do have a fun new craft idea for you all, but first I have some amazing news! I got engaged last night to the man of my dreams! I could not be happier! Here is my ring!
Okay, now that that is out of the way, here is my new idea, which may be the simplest one yet!

So just fyi, from here until I get hitched, my crafts will be ideas that I have for my reception decorations, I hope that's okay! So here it is!


I have seen similar things to this on the internet a such, but I had never seen it done with the bigger pebbles instead of the small gravel sized rocks.

I'm sure you could make this just by looking at the picture,  but just in case!



  • A mason jar or jar of your choice
  • Pebbles (I got mine from an alaskan beach when I went on a cruise there.. but craft stores have them too:)
  • A candle of your choice
  • Ribbon
I started by putting the candle in the bottom first, and putting the smallest pebbles I had around the bottom first. This helps to keep the candle in the middle instead of the bigger rocks moving it around.
Then just fill up the jar! I stopped right around the top of the candle, but you can stop sooner if you would like.

Add your ribbon around the jar if you would like, light your candle, and your done! Told you it was simple, and perfect for a table centerpiece! What do you think? Comment and let me know!

Thanks for stopping by!

xoxo
Megan

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Paper Flowers!

Paper Flowers!!! Can I just say how much I love these?! I had so much fun making them too, which is a total bonus! I realize these ones don't have stems.. but you get the idea right? So cute!

Since I know you are dying to make them, I will share the secret! You're welcome.

Here are your supplies!
  • Computer paper, or colored paper 
  • Scissors
  • Paint
  • Paint brushes
  • Hot glue gun
Probably all stuff you already have in your house!

Step One: With your scissors, cut out an uneven circle. The size only depends on how big or small you want your flower to be. This might take a couple experimental circles until you find the exact size you want, but hey, more flowers!
 Step Two: Cut your circle into a spiral, starting from the outside in!Again, the size doesn't really matter, but if you cut the spiral too thin, it will make step three harder.

Step Three: Start rolling! Take the outside end of the spiral and start rolling it up, keeping it as tight as possible. Note, make sure that the edge of the spiral that you cut stays even with itself. The outside edge will be uneen, and that is totally just fine!
When you have rolled the whole thing it should look something like this:
(Notice how the top edge is uneven, and the bottom edge is even with itself, that is what we want!)
Step Four: Let it go! You heard me, place the roll in the palm of your hand and let it go. Because of the tight rolling, the paper will keep its shape, just a little more loose. Here is what you will have!
Step Five: You're getting closer! Take your hot glue gun, fold over the bottom layer of the flower, and put just under a dime sized dot on there. This will be the part of the spiral that was at the middle of the circle where you stopped cutting. Then place the paper with glue back where it was, and gentle push the rest of the flower onto it so that we don't have any loose or unraveling parts of the flower.
Step Six: Paint! Paint! Paint! Take your paintbrush and get some paint just on the end of it, then have at the edges of your flower! Or paint the whole thing, it is completely up to you! Note, this step is not necessary if you are using colored or scrapbook paper.

There are a few ways you can go from here. You can cut out a leaf and attach it, put a stem on it with pipe cleaner or wire, or the one I did, get a needle and thread and string it through the middle of each flower, giving you an awesome flower garland to decorate with! See?
 Cute huh? Way getter than a plain old wall that's for sure! I will definitely be doing some more experiments with these and other paper flowers and when I do, I'll show ya what I find! Thanks so much for stopping by!

xoxo
Megan

Friday, July 19, 2013

DIY Bookmarks


 Hello all! Ready for another simple, quick, yet way cute craft? Good, because that is exactly what this is! Homemade DIY bookmarks! This is a great way to get your kids in on a craft with you, or if you just love to read and want a super cute way to hold your spot in your book! These are just perfect.

 Here are the supplies you will need:

  • Paper
  • Tape ( I have found that wide packing tape works best)
  • Hot glue
  • Needle and thread
  • Scissors
  • Buttons

Step One: Decide the length and width that you want your paper to be, and cut it out. I used card stock and scrapbook paper, but you can use whatever kind you would like!
Step Two: Get your tape, and cover the front and back of the paper. I like the wide tape because it is just one smooth piece on each side instead of having lines of tape, but either way works!

Step Three: This is where your needle and thread come in. After you thread your needle, string on your buttons or beads. Put a dot of hot glue on the back of the first button you string on so that they don't all slide off. when you have all the buttons or beads that you want it should look something like this.
Step Four: Attach your beads to the paper by poking a small hole with your needle and pulling the string through until the beads are touching the paper, like this!
Step Five: Add another dot of hot glue to the backside of the paper where the string is coming out of the hole so that it will stay attached. Note, you can tie knots if you are good at that sort of thing.. but that's not my forte so I'm sticking to glue.

Here is your finished product!
Have fun with them and make a variety for yourself, they can even be used as decorations of some sort!

Thanks for stopping by!

xoxo
Megan

Bloglovin'

I am now connected to bloglovin.com! This website is just amazing. Setting up an account with them means that the search for all of your favorite blogs is over! All of the updates from all the blogs you love will appear right in your newsfeed, so no more worrying about checking blogs that haven't been updated, or missing out on some really cool post because of a lack of checking. I highly recommend bloglovin.com to any and all blog readers! Also, now that I am connected, please feel free to follow me! If you don't have or want a bloglovin' account, don't worry! You can also follow me through gmail and google plus as well! That way, it will be easier for us to get our craft on together!! Thanks everyone!

xoxo
Megan


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Thursday, July 18, 2013

Yarn Art: Mason Jar Style

Alright, here is a craft that is super simple, quick, and so fun! I did this in less than ten minutes, and it adds a fun burst of color if that is what you want, or even neutral tones to match any room!
So, I know this one isn't anything professional, but it is a super fun idea and opens up a lot of doors for lots of different ideas and ways to do this project!

All you need is:
  • a jar or vase
  • yarn
  • hot or super glue
Start with a dot of glue on the beginning of your yarn, and start wrapping!


You will want to make it snug enough that it won't droop, but not too tight, otherwise it will start to come off.

Side note: It is difficult to wrap the yarn around the parts of the jar or vase that curve, just like it does at the top of this jar. You can either skip wrapping that part, or just use glue along the string as you wrap it.

That's it! Super quick, and adds lots of personality to a room!
Thanks for stopping by!

xoxo
Megan

Friday, July 12, 2013

DIY Crayon Art

So I am kinda a little obsessed with crayon art! It is the coolest thing, and kudos to whoever thought
about doing it, we salute you.
Anyway, I have been wanting to try a new way to do crayon art, and I came up with this:

Like it? I hope so, because I'm just a little bit in love.

So here is what you need!
  • Canvas (It can be any size you would like)
  • Crayons ( I got the big packs so that I could have the colors I wanted)
  • Hair Dryer
  • Printer paper
  • Pencil
  • Tape
  • You will also want some newspaper to put under the canvas so you don't get too messy.
So first things first, you have to make your letters. You can do this by free hand like I did, stencil, printable letters, or you can even go to the store and buy sticker letters, (which will eliminate a step a little later). If you are drawing them, make sure they are block, bubble, or any kind of letter that has a little bulk to it, otherwise you won't be able to cut them out very easily. Here are what mine looked like after I cut them all out.

Note: A trick that I did was that since I had a few repeating letters like 'L', I just drew it once, cut it out, and then traced it twice. This was you are not stressing about your repeating letters not looking the same, if that bothers you. If not, don't worry about it. :)

This next step is optional depending on how you want your letters to look.
Take your tape and cover each letter with it like this.
Then cut off the excess tape around the letter. This will give it the laminated look. If you don't want more shiny letters, then feel free to skip this step!

Next you will want to arrange your letters on your canvas. After you have them how you want them, take one letter at a time and glue them onto the canvas until you have glued them all, and let it dry. It should look something like this:

Now you get to start melting your crayons! For those of you who have never done this before, it is very simple. You are going to take one crayon color at a time, hold it over the canvas where you want that color to be, turn your hair dryer to hot, and blow on the crayon.
The colors will run, and maybe splatter a little, so be sure to put your newspaper underneath!
Keep doing this until you have covered the whole thing with the colors you want, or just until it looks the way you want it to! Here is your finished product!
Not too hard, right? I love it!

Note #2: You can also use colored paper or paper with designs on it. Also, instead of gluing on the letters, use stickers so that you can peel them off when you're done with the crayons, and you will have just plain white letter spaces. Just more thoughts to help pump your creative juices!

Thank you so much for stopping by!

xoxo
Megan


Monday, July 8, 2013

DIY stacked pots and flowers



Hi! So I bet I can guess what you're thinking.. this is so cute! Am I right? 
Well you are in the right place, because I am going to show you how to create this masterpiece! You might have seen it's big sister on Pinterest or other websites. That one uses larger pots, real potting soil, and real flowers. However, until I can get out of my little apartment and have my own outdoor space.. that one has to wait. That wasn't going to stop me though, so I decided to make up my own! Here are the main supplies you will need for this awesome project.


  •  A styrofoam block ( I already painted mine black... obviously)
  • Little mini planting pots, I got these four in a pack for like $2.00 at the craft store. (Again, I already painted them.)
  • Electric wire, mine was just extra scraps I already had.
You will also need:
  • Paint
  • Paintbrush
  • Hot glue gun
  • Needle nose pliers
  • Some kind of fake leaves, like the ones that come on the stem of silk flowers at the craft store.
So first, you are going to want to paint your pots the color(s) of your choice. Next, paint your styrofoam. Be warned, it takes q bit of paint because you have to fill in all the holes. (I recommend using a sponge brush to do this. Then paint one of your pieces of wire. Make sure the piece you choose will be at least 3-4 inches taller than all the pots stacked up as shown in the picture. You will be able to cut off excess wire, so more is safer!

After you have that all done, stick the painted wire into the middle of your styrofoam block until you can see the end at the other side of the block, like this!
I added some hot glue at where the wire goes into the styrofoam so that it would stay better.

Take the pot that you want to be on the bottom and slide it onto the wire, then tilt it to the side so that it looks like this.

Take your hot glue gun and put a dot in between where the wire and the pot are touching to secure it.
Slide on your next pot. Place another dot of glue in between where the two pots are touching so that they wont slide around or fall.
Repeat this step with the rest of your pots so that it looks like this!
Okay, now for the tricky part... the flowers. So what I did was shape flowers out of the remaining parts of wire. This is not the easiest thing to do, but I LOVE the unique look that it gives to the scene. There are no specific directions on how to do this, other than take your pliers and get to work! ( If you REALLY don't want to do this, it would still work to get some small fake flowers from the craft store.) Here is how mine turned out. ( Sorry they are hard to see.)
If you decided to do the wire flowers, the next step is to paint them! I painted my stems green and a different color for each flower. Then, taking the fake leaves, hot glue them onto the stem of each flower. Here they are!
Now all that is left to do is glue them to their pots! So first, take one of your flowers, and place a dot of hot glue on the very bottom of the stem, make sure it is a generous amount of glue.
Place the flower in the pot in the position you want and hold for a few seconds until the glue hardens. Repeat this step with the rest of your flowers. ( If you used fake flowers, just do the same as the wire flowers and hot glue them inside the pots so that they will stay.)

Here is your end result!!

Now you have flowers that can be around all year long! Thanks so much for stopping by and please comment!!

xoxo
Megan

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Simple DIY Wall Decor: African Style

Greetings and Happy Sunday! So I have been going through this phase where I am obsessed with decorating everything African style. I just love it so much! But, being a poor college student, there are only so many things I can buy to satisfy my obsession. So I decided to start crafting things with an African style look to it. This is one of the things that i came up with.


I don't know about you, but I LOVE them! Especially because it was so cheap and simple.

Here are your supplies:

  • Wood plaques ( less than a dollar at most craft stores)
  • Paint/Paintbrush
  • Paper ( You don't have to use animal print like I did)
  • Scissors
  • Mod Podge
So these are the size and shape of plaques that I used. I know they are already partly done, but they were just plain wood when I got them.


Alright, so first thing you want to do is paint your wood. I chose three colors that I thought would best compliment the paper I was using. After you finish painting, be sure to let the paint dry all the way before you add the paper.

Second, you will want to measure the paper so that it fits on the face of the plaque without hanging over the edges.


Next, spread Mod Podge on the plaque, covering the entire face where the paper will be going.

Finally, make sure that when you are putting the paper on, start on one end and smooth the paper with your finger to the other end. This will eliminate any bubbles or wrinkles that might occur. Then just repeat these steps to do the others! This is how I decided to arrange mine on the wall.


Thanks for stopping by! Please feel free to leave comments and suggestions!

xoxo
Megan