Doily Art

I have to admit that my poor little desk area took a beating in grad school, and was left deserted for a few months after I graduated. However, I am now gainfully employed and working from home, so I needed to spruce up my workspace. I saw this inspiration post on Pinterest, and decided to make some art for above my desk.

Inspiration:

My version: 

The inspiration post used peel & stick doilies. I didn't find any of these at the craft store, so I used regular paper doilies (these are often found in the baking/cake decorating section). I already had my two canvases and some metallic paint, so this was a very cheap project! I painted the canvas first, then painted all of the doilies before gluing them on with Mod Podge. I sealed the whole canvas with glossy Mod Podge afterwards. I think they look pretty great, and you really can't get much easier than this. 

Halloween Costume: Toddler in Tiara

Hi Craftsters!

After a rather long hiatus, I'm trying to get back on the blogging wagon. I have a lot of old projects to get caught up on... first up, my 2012 Halloween costume. I'm not really one for the kind of skin-tight, revealing costumes that seem to be popular among my age group, and usually try to go for something ridiculous and funny (see my owl costume from last year.) This year, I decided to be a toddler-in-tiara. This is a pretty funny costume in general, and the fact that I'm really short (and therefore somewhat toddler-like) makes it even funnier.

A basic breakdown of things I found, what I did to them, and how much it cost:

1) The dress. This was a fabulous find. I got this green velvet beauty for $7 at a thrift store. Pre-bedazzling, it already had an off-the-shoulder cut, some sparkle, and was a little poofy. I used some super-strength craft glue to add plastic crystals (from my local craft store, probably about $10) all over, as well as some rather ridiculous pink flower things I found on sale.
2) Adding some poof. While the bedazzled dress was pretty fantastic, it needed some poof to bring it up to true toddler-in-tiara fashion. I made a tutu using this method, and was able to use up some tulle my friend had left over from a bridal shower. It ended up being much larger than I expected, but actually worked to make me look even more ridiculous than anticipated.
3) Sash. Obviously I would rock at being a toddler-in-tiara, so I had to give myself a title. I turned a bachelorette party sash inside-out and used iron-on letters to give myself a "Mini Supreme" title.
4) Accessories. White ballet flats ($11 at Payless- I conveniently discovered I can still wear children's shoes, which are way cheaper than adult shoes.), lacy socks ($3 at Payless), plastic crown ($5 at Claire's).

Add some super-sized hair and a whole lot of makeup, and ta-da!

Don't forget... pretty feet and cupcake hands! 

DIY Jewelry Organization

Another craft to share-- and this time, it actually serves a purpose. For about the last 6 months my collection of jewelry has been strewn in and around the area of Boyfriend's desk, which is probably fairly annoying for him and means that I never actually wear any of it because I can't find anything. Time to change that!

Originally, I wanted to make a large picture-frame jewelry display like this, but I couldn't find a frame that I liked, and doing projects that involve wire-mesh is difficult when you don't have a hardware store nearby (or a car). Plus, as has been mentioned previously, I am really impatient.

So I proceeded using materials that I had on hand.

Cost: $5.60 (3 wooden craft picture frames for $1/each, 2 packages of "cup hooks" for $1.30/each)

Rating: Excellent. I am kind of obsessed with these.

Comments: I actually already had these frames for some unknown past project that never materialized. The "cup hooks" were really cheap (each package had 6) and they worked fabulously. I covered the frames with some origami paper using ModPodge, then screwed the hooks in. I attached them to the wall using Command Strips (I am increasingly becoming a fan of these guys, especially after reading this blog...girl uses 'em for everything.)

Materials:

Finished product:

 

On my wall: 

And with my jewelry!

Tin Can Candle Holders

Hello craftsters! I have quite a few new projects to share, and I'm hoping to get them all posted in the next few days. First on the list: tin can candle holders. My friend Lindsey recently moved into a garden-level apartment that has a cute, but somewhat dark, porch area in the back. I decided to make her some candle holders that would brighten up her outdoor space and (when filled with citronella candles) would keep the mosquitoes away.

There are a lot of tutorials for this floating around, but here's the one that I looked at.

Cost: Free! I already had all necessary supplies.

Rating: Excellent.

Comments: I'm going to detail my step-by-step a little more than I usually do.

Step 1: Take the labels off and clean your cans (duh). BE CAREFUL of any sharp edges, so you don't cut the S#!T out of your finger, as I did. OUCH! Some of the cans had adhesive residue from the labels; nail polish remover worked pretty well to get it off.

Step 2: Decide what you want your pattern to be. I marked where the holes would go with a Sharpie so I could space them evenly.

Step 3:  The inspiration tutorial says to fill the cans with water and freeze so you're nailing into ice. I am really impatient and also have an aversion to cold metal things, so I rolled up an old t-shirt and stuffed it in the can instead. Worked just fine.

Step 4: Nail that sucker! I had to use a small picture frame nail since I live in a highrise and am rarely constructing anything substantial, and thus have little hardware to choose from. After making the first small holes, I used a Gorilla Hook to make them bigger.

Step 5: The finished products in the inspiration post are completely white; however, I've a sucker for all things metallic so I decided to make mine a little more snazzy. I taped off sections of my cans with painter's tape, being sure to leave any expiration dates and Sharpie marks exposed so they would get painted.

Step 6: Paint 'em up... I used Kilz white primer since that was the only thing I had available. I think pretty much any paint would work, as long as it sticks to metal and is fairly opaque to cover up any marks. 

Finished Products:

These turned out so well I decided to keep a few for myself!

Bridal Shower Part 5: Other Ideas

A few other random bridal shower ideas that are not necessarily crafty, but definitely added to the shower.

1: Mimosa/Bloody Mary Bar

Different kinds of juice, a few types of champagne, and some diced fresh fruit made for excellent morning mimosas. Bloody Mary mix and Vodka for those of us who take our mornings a little more seriously. (Mike Ditka's KickAss Mix is my favorite.)

2: Pretty Gift Bags

A row of these on a low table behind some seating really helped to brighten up the space.

3: Picture Cupcakes 

Love this! Other SIL printed out pictures of the couple from throughout their relationship, taped them to toothpicks, and stuck them in the cupcakes that served as dessert for the shower. 

Bridal Shower Part 4: Games and Activities

On with the SIL's shower! Next up: bridal shower activities. We didn't want to overwhelm people with games, but we did do a few very fun things.

#1: He Said/She said

Inspired by this post I found on Pinterest. Forms were made using my creative energies on MS Word...no fancy graphic design for this girl! Guests choose who they think said the selected phrases about the couple's relationship. Tip: I emailed the lovebirds separately for their responses, and included way more "starter sentences" than I needed... and was thus able to take the most interesting/funny ones for the game.

#2 According to Groom....

Similar to #1. This is my other SIL's creation; not sure where she got the idea. Put large pieces of scrapbook paper on a wall with "starter sentences" that the groom has previously completed about the bride and their relationship. Guests use post-it notes to stick their guesses for how he completed the sentence. (We had people write their initials in the corner so we knew who wrote what.) Whoever guesses the closest to the groom's answer wins!

#3 Date Night Ideas and Advice for a Happy Marriage

This is super easy but very worthwhile. Pretty paper bound with ribbon for guests to write advice to the bride-to-be.

Bridal Shower Part 3: Coffee Filter Flower Centerpieces

Hello craftsters! I'm back in action in the blogging world... AND now I am Broke Craftster, M.A. No more grad school for me!

Time to finish up these long-overdue bridal shower posts. If you recall, my wonderful sister-in-law allowed me a plethora of crafting projects at her shower in March. I was able to make use of the coffee filter flowers previously discussed in this post. We made a LOT of them, stuck them in cheap glass vases with some candy as filler, and each guest was able to take a few home as a part of their gift. This was a super-easy (and budget-friendly) centerpiece solution and was perfect for the occasion.

SIL also saw an idea for place settings on Pinterest that ended up working out really well. She went around to some thrift stores and picked up mismatched, very pretty china plates, which she then used as for the place settings. Each guest was able to take home her plate as a memento. Cute!

Bridal Shower Part 2: Tissue Puff Balls

Apologies for my lack of blogging. (Graduate school sucks...'nuff said.) Anyways, on with the bridal shower! Next up: Puff Balls. I am obsessed with these, and would cover our apartment with them if I had the time and energy to do so. My friend Lisa (also an admirable Craftster) helped me make these as I was crunched for time, and because crafting with friends is always more fun.

I made two variations of the Puff Ball, one kind with tissue paper and another out of coffee filters. Both looked great. I spaced them out over the buffet table where the food was served, and hung ribbon in between for a little more flair. I think they would also look awesome clumped together like a faux chandelier. Here is my inspiration photo:

And here are some photos of what we made: 

Puff Ball #1: Tissue Paper

Inspiration:

 

Instructions here, courtesy of good ole Martha. 
Cost: Really cheap-- I think the tissue paper I got was $.99 for 8 sheets and I used about 10 sheets per puff ball. Already had wire.
Rating: Excellent
Comments: These are fabulous. They turned out a little bigger than I expected but I like them. A few notes: these are actually a little trickier than the instructions would indicate. It doesn't really matter if the folds line up perfectly, but you do have to be REALLY careful when you are unfurling them to make the round shape or they will tear. It takes a little fussing to get them perfectly round. I used solid paper for some and a combination of solid and striped paper for others, which turned out pretty cool.

Puff Ball #2: Coffee Filters 

Inspiration:

Instructions here.
Cost: Cheap! Coffee filters, staples, glue.
Rating: Excellent.
Comments: These look great too! I only roughly followed the instructions, and used way fewer coffee filters. If you puff them up and put some dots of glue throughout your puff to close any gaps you don't need to use as many. I used clothespins to hold the glued parts together until they dried.

All in all, puff balls are awesome and hold much potential for events that require a little crafting pizazz.