Button Love

Big J's niece is getting married this weekend, and I had no clue what to get her. I didn't want to go the registry route, as I wanted to give them something that was handmade and they could hold on to. I went into my craft room and sat staring at all of my supplies. I had just purchased a huge jar of buttons from the thrift store and decided to use them along with an old dollar store shadow frame to make them a framed button heart. I hope they love it, if not, I am totally stealing it to put it in my bedroom :).

Here is what you will need:

- shadow box frame

-thread and needle

-glue gun with glue

-lots and lots of buttons

-paper for backing

Step 1:

Pry the back off of your frame

Step 2:

If there was an embellishment in the frame take/scrape it out 

Step 3:

Hand rip your scrap paper to roughly fit the frame backing. Just eyeball it. It does not need to look perfect, and actually looks better imperfect.

Step 4:

Place your paper against your backing to see if you like the fit, if you want more of a rustic look. let more of the backing show through.

Step 5:
With a pencil, draw a hear shape on your paper

Step 6:

Using your needle and thread, begin sewing buttons all around the perimeter of your heart shape. You can also use hot glue to do this, but I like the look of the hand sewn buttons.

Step 7:
Fill in the heart with buttons. Where there are gaps, bend the paper and wedge buttons in, sewing them in place. This will give your heart dimension, and make the buttons really stand out.

Step 8:

Place hot glue along the back of the paper, wrong side up

Step 9:

Press heart gently onto backing of frame add more glue if needed.

Step 10:

Glue frame back in place with hot glue. Press backing onto frame to secure. 

Finished Product:

Easy & Cheap Fall Decor

Easy and Cheap Fall Vase from Dollar Store Items

I love fall. Especially Halloween. Mostly for decorating reasons. I think that witch doormats and spiderweb encases porches make just about anyone feel like a kid again. 

But, when a holiday is over I want the decorations down ASAP. The day after the kids and I went out and pulled up all the tombstones, took down the spiderwebs and lights, and went around the house tucking all of our Halloween decorations away until next year. 

As soon as Joe came home from work, much to his excitement I could tell, he went to the attic and brought down the fall tote. We opened it and proceeded to take out five things. Yep, 5. Some wooden leaves for the front porch, a wreath, a cornucopia, and a scarecrow votive holder. That was it. "This can't be all", I told him. His look back assured me that it was. 

I was SURE that we had more. I debated putting some of the Halloween stuff back out like the plug in pumpkins, but decided that it would drive me crazy if I did. A trip to Dollar Tree was in order I decided. 

The next day Claire, Joseph, and I were on the hunt. But, as it was November 2nd, all of the fall decor had already been put away, and the only things out were related to Christmas. Ugh!!! 

In the clearance isle I spotted some paper leaf doilies. I decided that I HAD to buy something, so I took them home and decided to tape them to our windows like falling leaves. Then I decided that it would look pretty to Mod Podge them onto a large vase I had been saving. It turned out great, I think. We have been putting pumpkin scented candles in it and lighting it at night, it adds a nice "fall-ish" glow to the room, and is perfect to keep up until Christmas decorating time. 

Here is the how-to:

Things you will need:

-mod Podge and foam brush

-paper leaf doilies (or dried real leaves)

-clear acrylic spray

-vase

-candle 

-razor blade or exact-o knife

 

First off, grab a vase or large jar that can fit the leaves you have chosen. I went for a large mouthed tall skinny vase, but any jar would do as well. You will want to liberally coat your foam brush and coat the vase 1/2 of the way up with a thick layer of mod podge. I experimented with going all of the way up, but found that half way yielded the best results. 

After you have coated the jar, begin to layer your leaves in a pattern that you like. Be sure to be careful is using paper leaves as they will tear easy. Carefully smooth them down as you place them as to limit air bubbles. 

Carefully place a layer of mod podge over each leave as you place them, making sure that all surfaces of the leaves are covered.

After all of the leaves are placed and covered, allow your vase to dry. I turned mine upside down to help protect the finish.

As soon as your vase is dry, seal the leaves by spraying a clear acrylic spray all over them. Be careful to only spray the area where there are leaves. Let dry again.

Next, take your razor blade or exact-o knife and cut along the perimeter of the leaves. The mod podge will come off quite easily, almost like a thin layer of dried glue on skin. Carefully peel off the excess and clean up any unwanted blemished on your glass.

Finally, grab a candle, light it and enjoy your masterpiece!! 

Peep Headband

                Our of all the crafts I attempt my favorites are those that are used frequently. One of my craft obsessions is decorating headbands, lucky for me I have a daughter who loves to wear new headbands all the time :).

                With Easter coming up I wanted to make something cute. Something cute and recognizable as an universal Easter symbol. But what? A cross? Not sure about how I feel placing a cross on a headband..... An Easter egg? Closer, but I wanted something more.....unique.

                Enter peeps. Yep, I told myself, those cute little bundles of marshmallow sugary goodness would be the perfect icing on my headband cake.

               Making these cost me next to nothing as all of the materials I had on hand, or could be purchased from the dollar store. Yay for cheap crafts!!!

Supplies needed:

• glue gun
• glue sticks
• felt
• black fabric paint
• glue/ spray adhesive
• glitter
• headband
• scissors
• spray acrylic 
• peep shape 

             First off, decide on how big you want your peep to be. You can either free hand it, or find a peep shape online that you can print and trace. I found mine at on a glass fusing site using a Google search. I used the outline to draw the shape on a note card and then cut it out.

                              Next, fold your felt in half and lightly trace the peep shape on one side. If you are a perfectionist you can cut out one peep at a time instead of two, but I am impatient.  Carefully cut out your peep shape. You should now have two peeps.

                              
                Next is where your glue gun comes in handy. Take one of the peeps and cover, I mean cover, that little guy in hot glue. Then affix the peep onto the lower portion of the headband. I aim for 1/4 of the way from one of the ends. Press the peep onto the headband so that the head band is running down the middle of the peep.

                  
                                Now grab your second peep and carefully position it on top of the first peep. After you have pressed down to set the peeps together grab your adhesive spray. I tried using regular glue at first, but found this to be a much less messier option.

                              After coating the peep, sprinkle on the glitter of your choosing. I fond that the finer the better. But, be creative and have fun with this. I liked the way that the white looked somewhat like sugar though, so I stuck with that.

                

                                  After coating the peep in glitter let it sit a moment and admire its cuteness. Then, grab the black fabric paint. Make sure that you are doing this with a bottle that has a small opening, or a fine brush as the nose and eye dots should be quite small, as to resemble a real peep as much as possible. 

                             Carefully dot two eyes and a nose and again, sit back for a moment to enjoy. Then it is on to the sealer to protect your carefully placed glitter. This step is a new addition after my daughter came home looking like she was dipped in glitter after wearing a peep headband I had not sealed.  I believe that any kind of spray sealant would work, but I stuck with the crystal clear. The spray did dull the glitter a bit, but at least it stays on this way. :)

                                   Now you are done! I have made them in purple and yellow so far, and the last two days my daughter has worn them to school and received many compliments on them. 

I'd love to see what you come up with! 

Teri