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It’s all about hearts today, with this collection of over 50 DIY heart projects you can make. You will spy jewelry, crafts, wall decor, clothing and more, sure to inspire your Valentine’s Day festivities.
50+ Heart DIY, Crafts and Jewelry Projects to Make
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Quick and Easy DIY Valentine’s Day Gift Idea
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This simple and quick Valentine’s Day gift idea from Barbara at Chase the Star is just my kind of project. It would be great as a centerpiece and teacher gift too! Welcome the first contribution from this super creative blogger…
Hey everyone! I’m Barbara from Chase the Star, and I’m thrilled to be a brand new regular contributor! At my blog I write about my adventures in decorating, crafting, cooking, parenting, and all things in between. I love to be creative and but I don’t like to spend too much time or money, so a girl’s gotta improvise, reinvent, and repurpose whenever possible!
It’s just about time to start planning for Valentine’s Day! For my very first post I’m sharing an easy and inexpensive DIY gift idea for a special someone in your life!
DIY Gift Idea for Valentine’s Day
A galvanized mini bucket can be used so many ways! Today we’re going to decorate it and use it to hold ‘conversation hearts’ (or ‘candy’ hearts) for Valentine’s Day:
Materials:
A small bucket (mine was from the thrift store)
Paper (gift wrap, craft paper, newspaper, any type of paper will do)
Decoupage medium (such as Mod Podge)
A small brush
A bag of ‘conversation hearts’
Optional:
Chalkboard cupcake toppers
Ribbon
Step 1:
Cut the paper into pieces that will fit around your bucket.
Step 2:
Decoupage!
Add the paper pieces one at a time by brushing a light coat of decoupage onto the bucket, then gently placing the paper over it, and pressing it firmly with your fingertips. Get it as smooth as possible but don’t worry about it wrinkling, you can fix that later. Let that set for a few minutes, then add another light coat of the decoupage over the entire piece. This time be sure to smooth it out completely with your fingertips, carefully. Allow it to dry for about 30 minutes.
Step 3:
Fill it with the candy hearts, and you can add a cute touch by inserting a chalkboard cupcake topper or any other type of topper! I used these from American Crafts:
To complete the project I tied some satin ribbon in a bow to the handle.
I love this idea for a teacher’s gift, a nice treat for your neighbor, or even to pass out at work! Kids will love this too!
Have you started to plan your crafting for Valentine’s Day?
For more DIY ideas stop by Chase the Star, and follow me on Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, and Instagram!
See you next time!
Over 50 Projects to Make Using Twine
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About two years ago, I discovered baker’s twine and fell a little in love. Today I am sharing some of the best twine crafts out there, using all kinds of twine, including my precious baker’s! You will find home decor, jewelry, paper craft tutorials and more. If we missed a favorite of yours, let us know! Enjoy and try *knot* to tie yourself to anything!
DIY Vintage Holiday Centerpiece With @Floracraft Foam Trees
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The holidays are here, and many of you are busy planning decorations and meals. Today I am sharing with you an easy DIY holiday centerpiece using vintage buttons, found objects and Styrofoam™ cones. This is the perfect project for using up those antique embellishments I can’t resist buying every chance I get!
This post is sponsored by Make it Fun: Crafts and Crafts ‘n Coffee! All opinions are mine.
SUPPLIES:
Styrofoam™ cones in 3 sizes
Hot glue gun
Vintage buttons, twine, lace, ribbon, doilies, hardware
Decorative eyelets, pearl and jewel stickers in creams, whites, golds and reds
Gold and white tissue paper
Mod Podge
TUTORIAL:
For the white button tree, I randomly hot glued buttons from the bottom to the top. I made a paper foil star with my Tim Holtz 3D star die and attached it to the top of the tree with a bamboo skewer. The end.
For the red tree, I did the same thing, but wrapped the tree in red organza before attaching the buttons and hardware. This was to prevent the white foam from showing.
I placed it on a candle holder as the stand. Using a gold sparkly mini clothespin, I attached a Christmas tag to the top and tied a bow around that with twine.
For the white and gold tree, I decoupaged gold and white tissue paper onto the cone using Mod Podge. I added a random piece of hardware with a vintage clothespin, and wrapped that with gold organza and black twine. It sits on an old jar lid (same jar that use to hold all those vintage buttons)!
Those pretty, warm lights you see in the background are Design it:® LED Light Strands, which I love because they are light weight and ready to go out of the package. No outlet needed or batteries to buy is always a plus in my book!
I hope you enjoyed this project as much as I did, and are inspired to make the old new again!
DIY Reclaimed Wood Christmas Tree and Advent Artist Blocks
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Today’s project is a rustic, reclaimed wood Christmas tree advent calendar that you can make for little to no cost! Building from salvaged wood and paper crafting all in one project! I created the blocks using Eileen Hull’s (soon to be released) Scoreboards Block dies. The die makes blocks in three sizes, for tons of creative potential. Think about artist trading cards, but 3-D! Last Christmas I showed you how to make an advent calendar from wooden blocks, and that is the first thing I thought of when I saw this die. Read on to see how I used stencils from Stencil Girl, spray ink, number stickers and washi tape to decorate my mat board cubes. Watch the video to make your own tree, or display your blocks freestanding. These would make great Christmas gifts and decor for your holiday get togethers.
SUPPLIES:
For the Blocks
Mat Board
Heidi Swapp Spray ink Gold, Green, Red
Stickles in red, green, gold
Washi Tape in Christmas Patterns
Stencils (I used Stencil Girl)
Mod Podge Antique
For the Tree
Scrap wood
Mitre Saw
Nailer or hammer and nails
Wood Glue
E6000
5 gallon paint stirrers
TUTORIAL:
ADVENT BLOCKS
You may want to decorate your cubes before assembling them into the 3D shape. First I will show you assembly, then how I decorated my cubes.
I chose the smallest of the three cubes for my calendar. This is what the mat board looks like after it is cut with Eileen’s awesome new die!
Fold cubes along score lines. Two of the scored rectangles are needed for each cube. Place them together to form the cube. You can glue the tabs in place if you would like, but I didn’t find it necessary with the mat board. I haven’t tried other paper.
Place stencils over blocks and spray.
Clean up excess ink that’s on the stencils for a reverse image on the blocks, and you waste less ink!
I used red, gold and green sprays, allowing about 10 minutes dry time between each color.
Once that dried, I adhered washi tape to some blocks, the black sticker numbers and coated with the front surface with Mod Podge Antique for an aged look. I thought it needed some sparkle, so I added stickles in red, green and gold.
RECLAIMED WOOD CHRISTMAS TREE
I made the tree like I showed you in this DIY wood pallet Christmas Tree post, and in the video at the end of this post. The only difference is I used chippy, weathered 2×4 scrap wood I found at a demolition site. I determined the dimensions of my tree based on the 1.5 inch advent cubes. The base is 19 inches, and the height is 20 inches without the frame.
I made the five shelves from paint stirrers, cutting them with the mitre saw to lengths that allowed 2 inches for each block. So the first one is 2 inches, then 6 inches and so on, 10 inches, 14 inches and finally 18 inches for the bottom shelf. I laid the tree flat and added a thin line of E6000 to the back of the paint stirrer and placed them on the tree where I wanted the shelves.
I decided to use scrap wood strips to frame the tree, just cutting to length with my mitre saw and using my Ryobi nailer to attach.
I hope you enjoyed the project and the blocks as much as I did! Visit Artists on the Block for more news, updates and projects as artist trading blocks take over the mixed media community!
Be sure and visit other projects using the blocks in the Stencil Girl and Sizzix Artist Trading Blocks Hop
Blog Hop Order
Over 50 Creative Scrap Wood Projects to Make
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I was pondering what to do with the ever growing pile of scrap wood in my work room, when it occurred to me that you might have the same quandary. I started searching and was amazed to find everything from toys, to storage to jewelry to home decor and more. Lots of cool wall art and holiday decor projects are waiting for you and your scraps. Get going!
Easy DIY Number Vintage Plate Wall
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I saw this idea in Flea Market Magazine and had to give it a go. It is super fast and easy, and costs not much. You don’t even need to buy plate wall hangers. I will be showing you a cheap way to display your plates on the wall using safety pins!
Supplies:
Collect old plates from flea markets, thrift stores, garage sales
E6000 Industrial Glue
Safety Pins
Numbers cut from Scrap paper
Glossy Accents or other craft glue
TUTORIAL:
Glue your numbers onto the plates. I cut mine from scrapbook paper using my cricut. I measured each plate diameter to determine what sizes to make the numbers.
Using E6000, glue safety pin onto back of plate, making sure it is centered so your number hangs upright. Let dry overnight.
Hang on wall in desired design. That is it!
DIY Mixed Media Portrait On Reclaimed Wood
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Today I am sharing how to create a mixed media portrait on scrap wood. This project involves layering acrylic paint, distress ink and paper with Mod Podge for a unique and personal piece of art that is all you! Some of you may be thinking, “but I can’t draw or paint”. Yes you can. Last year at some point I ordered a video from Cloth Paper Scissors Called All about Faces, with mixed media artist Julie Fei-Fan Balzer. This fantastic workshop helped me overcome my fear of creating faces, and drove home the fact that we may not all be able to draw realistically, but we can all draw and our art will get it’s point across!
SUPPLIES:
Mod Podge Matte
Foam Brushes, Watercolor brushes size 0, small and med round
Gesso and Brush
Scrap Wood
Collage paper scraps
Acrylic Paints: Titanium White, Titan Buff, Burnt Sienna, Red, Black, Aqua, Blue, Green Used here
Distress ink Pads Walnut and Antique Linen
Brayer
Background stamps
White Gel Pen
Graphite Pencil
Eraser
All About Faces with Julie Fei-Fan Balzer
TUTORIAL:
I cut a scrap piece of 3/4 inch plywood into two 12 inch squares and painted a layer of gesso on top of each. Let dry.
Cover gesso in thin layer of Mod Podge, then adhere random collage papers in coordinating colors. Cover papers with layer of Mod Podge and let dry.
Run a smooth or textured brayer through 2 colors of acrylic paint that coordinate with your background papers. I used green and Titan Buff. Randomly run brayer over papers to create background interest. Add one or 2 drops of alcohol ink in to leftover paint and brayer in different areas. Let dry.
Sketch outline of object. Fill in skin and clothing with acrylic wash (water plus paint) and dab with paper towels to reveal paper underneath until you are happy with the look.
Paint in the details as shown and let dry. Outline with fine detail watercolor brush and black acrylic paint. The video linked above gives great tips for face painting, but basically use 3 colors; light, medium and dark for creating the dimension.
I ended up tearing strips of washi tap and filling in the arms and skirt. I used distress stain to color the skirt. I stamped “Love” with black acrylic paint. The lettering around the head I did with size 0 paintbrush and black acrylic paint. Play with hand lettering on scrap paper to get the feel for it.
More mixed media to come!
DIY Faux Wood Pallet Sign With Foam
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Remember over the summer when I shared how to make a faux wood pallet American flag from foam? Today’s project, much like the flag, uses Smooth Finish™, a paintable coating for FloraCraft® Make It: Fun® Foam to create what looks like wood pallet art, but weighs much less and doesn’t require power tools! Follow along and see how to create this “LOVE” faux wood pallet piece.
SUPPLIES:
Make it Fun® Foam 2 – 1″ x 12″ x 36″ sheets
Foam Cutter (you don’t have to have a special cutter, but it makes the process much easier)
Serrated kitchen knife waxed with candle or soap if you don’t have a foam cutter
Antique white chalk paint
Mod Podge Mat Finish
Antiquing glaze
Lint free cloth
Yardstick/straight edge and sharpie
Craft stick for stirring
Putty knife or spatula
Pre cut Chipboard letters or Die cut machine and cardboard
Black Screws
TUTORIAL:
I used three 6 inch planks for my wall art piece. That means I cut the 12×36 inch pieces in half long ways. Use a straight edge and marker to draw the line.
I clamped two of the foam sheets together to cut them in half both at once.
Stir the Smooth FInish with a craft stick and apply with putty knife to foam.
Once the Smooth Finish is dry, paint with your choice of paint color.
Insert connectors (about 3 for each connection site) and glue along entire slat edge.
I prepared my letters by cutting several of each from cardboard and gluing them together with paper cement. I cut one each out of coordinating scrapbook paper, glued that as top layer, and sanded/inked the edges. I used clamps and scrap wood to apply pressure to glued planks and let that dry overnight.
I used short black screws for aesthetics, and glued letters to planks using Fabri-tac. I hung my piece by piercing it with a single nail in the wall. That’s it! I adore my new piece!
Visit Sharon at Crafts n Coffee Blog for great tips, tricks and project ideas using foam.
How to Distress Furniture With Vasoline
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Did you know that Vasoline petroleum jelly is a fantastic ingredient for distressing furniture? It is true. The technique is simple and fast. Today I am sharing how I took this chevron painted table I shared with you in a previous tutorial, and used Vasoline to create a chippy, funky distressed piece to go with my new living room.
I needed a coffee table to go with my urban-modern-distressed-vintage-eclectic decor style in progress. You will be seeing reveals as I decorate in my new home. I am into yellow, gray, orange poppy, turqouise, emerald green, navy blue and vintage white these days. My living room kinda has a little of all of these, with yellow, gray and turquoise dominating the stage.
I revamped this roadside find last week, thinking it would be the perfect coffee table for the living room. Well, it wasn’t.
I decided to apply Vasoline to the areas of the table I wanted to look “chippy”, then paint with homemade chalk finish paint (see how to make chalk paint yourself in my barnwood frame tutorial). Valspar’s Pantone Emerald was the perfect color! I picked it up at Lowe’s.
Once the paint dried, I just took my scraper to the areas where I had applied the Vasoline and the it peeled right off, revealing the colors in the chevron stripes. I love the effect! It looks so cool with the random colors.
Once I was happy with the amount of scraping, I sealed the piece with Martha Stewart’s Antique Finish Decoupage Medium. It was my first time using the stuff and it gives a subtle warm antique feel to the piece.
Stay tuned for more DIY home decor as I settle into my new place!
