Upcycling DIY home decor, woodworking and Crafts
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Last week, I showed you this paper poinsettia wreath tutorial using a Sizzix flower petal die and card stock. I decided to use the same die to create this aluminum can poinsettia wreath. The “wreath form” is a stove top piece I picked up at my local Habitat for Humanity Restore, making this an all around eco-friendly holiday decoration. Total project cost – about $1.
My Aluminum can rose video shows you how to cut the cans. Be careful – they can be sharp when cut.
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Thanksgiving is behind us, so let’s get our Christmas decor on! At Printable Decor, you can download the new Christmas printable set I created for my seasonal frame trio. The Love, Joy, Peace snowflake set is sized at 11×17 inches, but crops to a 11×14 matted frame well. You can have these printed at your local office supply store for around $1-2 per print. Head over for more pics, more Christmas printables and ideas for display!
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I snatched up these plain white coffee mugs from the dollar store recently, with Christmas gift mugs in mind. These are perfect to fill with treats, greeting cards, or gift cards for display on Christmas morning. Stencil custom monograms and text with Martha Stewart’s glass paint and adhesive stencils for a personalized keepsake. Give them to neighbors or coworkers. They will never know you paid $1!
Dollar store coffee mugs
Martha Stewart glass paint
Martha Stewart adhesive stencils
Rubbing alcohol
Paint daubers or stencil brush
Clean mugs with rubbing alcohol
Plan design and place stencils
Apply Paint
Carefully remove stencil before paint dries completely
The paint is permanent after 21 days of air drying, or you can speed this up by baking per instructions on Plaid’s website.
This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Comfort Zone® products for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
If you have ever spent time with a Jack Russell, you just know they are “energetic” and quirky. My 9 year old male, Bovie, is no exception to that rule. He minds well in general, but absolutely never tires, and is on a relentless pursuit to rid the world of cats, skunks, squirrels – pretty much all woodland creatures. He will wine and pace for hours if a squirrel runs along the fence, scratching at the sliding door with astonishing persistence. There was the day a kitty wondered onto our porch and just hung out there, watching Bovie freak out…
Oh yeah, and there is something he is convinced lives just behind the baseboard at the bottom of my stairs. He will scratch and dig at it every chance he gets, until one of us hears the sound of our trim being destroyed and stops him. I won’t even go into the neighbors that he traumatized when he pulled a Houdini, freeing himself from his collar and cornered their poor cat. Finally, thunderstorms and fireworks… big time stress for Bovie. He whines and barks and tries to claw his way out of his crate. No sleep for anyone on July 4th around here.
Needless to say, I jumped at the chance to try out Comfort Zone® with D.A.P.® (Dog Appeasing Pheromone). Stress causes pets to act out with these annoying and sometimes destructive behaviors. Comfort Zone® products mimick the natural pheromones of cats (there is a feline version) and dogs, which helps them feel calm and comfortable in their space. This reduces stress-related behavior like digging and excessive barking.
I plugged the diffuser in near the baseboard that my dog thinks is hiding a creature. You are supposed to have 90 days for full effect, but I have definitely noticed decreased digging behavior, and will be continuing to use the diffuser. When the next thunderstorm rolls around, I will use the pheromone spray in his crate and let you know if it was helpful.
To learn more about Comfort Zone® Products, visit them on Facebook.
Need an inexpensive, quick handmade gift or home decor accessory? This birch wood candle holder DIY from Oleander and Palm is the answer. Bring the outdoors in for eco-chic decorating for little to no cost.
Want more craft ideas from things you find outside? Visit our 50+ nature craft collection:
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Drop cloth painters tarp is a great material for home decor and crafts. It has that natural color and canvas texture, is inexpensive, and easy to paint, sew, stencil and swirl into a host of beautiful creations. I find it to be as appealing in decor as burlap, but much easier to do things to, which is why I lean towards it. Today I will showcase some of my favorites, followed by the complete list of over 50 drop cloth projects to make.
Lucy from Craftberry Bush knows how to drop cloth her way to beautiful white pumpkin decor. Super easy project, with a clean, crisp fall feel.
At Attempting Aloha, see how genius DIY momma Charlie created scrabble tile wall art with drop cloth. I love scrabble as a game, and scrabble tiles as jewelry waiting to happen. I am also a fan of using what you have on hand and the creativity that comes from that necessity. Charlie was determined not to purchase new supplies for this, so she made do, and then some! Her tutorial reminds me that I must try freezer paper transfer. She makes it look super easy.
If only I could afford to fly Donna from Funky Junk Interiors to my home for some renovation. She takes the fact that she doesn’t sew, and turns it into gorgeous, no sew DIY drop cloth curtains. Again, making do leading to amazing design.
One of the first projects that came to mind when starting this round-up was Beckie at Infarrantly Creative’s glittery Christmas ornament pillow DIY. Simply beautiful.
Relax in style with this DIY drop cloth hammock from My Magic Mom. Basic sewing machine skills and the desire to take a nap are needed.
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It doesn’t get much more Christmas than poinsettias, right? My grandmother has loved this flower since she was a young girl. She gets sad when they die, so I thought a paper poinsettia wreath would be just the Christmas gift for her this year. I made this in about 2.5 hours using the Sizzix Originals poinsettia die. You could go for the Sizzix Tim Holtz Poinsettia Die if you prefer layers over individual petals (guess what I just ordered). You could also use a different die cut machine, or heaven forbid, cut the leaves out by hand from a free poinsettia petal template like this one, used to create the flower below. The look is beautiful. No die machine necessary!
I love the red and green vellum!
However you get your petals, see how to assemble and shape them, then finish the wreath with me. This will bring classic beauty to your holiday decor.
You can use any paper you want, but I prefer Kraft Core by Coordinations. This stuff is by far my favorite flower paper. You can fold, wrinkle, crease, sand and beat it down, and it comes through beautifully. I like to ink the edges of my flowers with Kraft Core by Coordinations and the blending tool.
For the center of the flower, I used yellow seed beads, super duper tiny ones. To glue them in place, I put a few dots of Mod Podge Jewel Glue. I love this because it dries clear, grabs fast, and comes in a container that has a twisty lid and doesn’t clog. This is key. If you are using another glue that clogs, like… all of the time, and you squeeze impatiently over the center of your flower, the entire glossy bottle contents may just ooze out all over your precious paper masterpiece. Ask me how I know #CanYouFindTheGlossyPoinsettia. This is another testament to Kraft Core. I literally washed – under the faucet, with soap – my paper flower, determined to save it. Once I got off as much of the glossy accident that I could, I took my heat tool to my soggy poinsetta, reshaped it, and it is good to go. Amazing.
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Raise your hand if you could use more storage containers. I know I could. This decorative aluminum sheet container tutorial from Sugar and Cloth is one way to organize with style. You could even color the aluminum with alcohol inks or metal paint to coordinate with you color scheme. Head over for the simple, quick instructions and get started on your very own.
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Winter weather is here, and it is time to start thinking about cowls. Over at Stuff Steph Does, learn how to upcycle your old sweaters into this cozy neck warmer. What a perfect project for a Christmas gift. Grab that pile of sweaters and get going.
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I had the fantastic opportunity to try out Plaid’s line of Martha Stewart paint and stencils to create a holiday project. It wouldn’t be very me if I didn’t come up with an upcycle of some sort. While out junkin’ with my girls, I spied some thrift store fluted champagne glasses for $0.50 each, and I saw whimsical Christmas trees. See how Martha Stewart glass paint, stencils and supplies helped me in the transformation, and how to create your own holiday vignette.
Martha Stewart Glass Paint; Holly Berry Red, Silver, Frost
Paint Daubers
Martha Stewart Adhesive Stencils Holiday Icons II
Rubbing alcohol and lint free cloth
Hack Saw or Acetone/Yarn
Ice
Hot water
Martha Stewart Crystal Ice
Sandpaper
Safety Glasses
Clean the glasses and cut with either hacksaw, or using the acetone/yarn technique I showed you in this video.
If you go the hacksaw route, you will just score the glasses all the way around at the level you want the cut, then submerge in alternating hot and ice water until break occurs (as shown in the acetone glass cutting video)
*I found the adhesive stencils to be super easy to use and to get a clean, crisp image with the paint daubers and glass paint. If you are going to use the same stencil repeatedly, make sure to clean and dry the stencil between each use to avoid stray paint marks.
*The Crystal Ice Spray… awesome. It is temporary, so you can spray it on windows for an icy look. It is quite simple to use. Sprays on clear, then starts to crystalize. I ripped masking tape for a jagged edge, then sprayed over the masking tape stripes. After about 5 minutes, I removed the masking tape and watched the crystals form. This could be addictive.
Join me in following Plaid Crafts on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest for tons of inspiration and crafty tidbits! See what my creative cohorts have done with their Martha Stewart products:
