DIY Stenciled Pillow

I found this Wit & Whistle project via Pinterest and I’m so happy I did, because it has inspired a whole chain of pillows I am interested in making. It is one of the last accessories my living room, and bedroom for that matter, is craving. Plus I am dying to take a sewing class and pillow pattern would probably be the best thing to learn on. I could start off basic and then add zippers and such as I progress. Another blog I follow, Rustic Living, made these awesome “Where He and She Became We” pillows that I just love. I feel very inspired to start fabric paint penning, but first I have to start sewing. I’ll get there. Eventually.

Supplies

• Blank pillow cover (I purchased a nice linen cover here.)
• Some cardboard
• Pencil
• Letter stencil (I have this one.)
• Fabric marker (My black Sharpie fabric marker worked great!)

Directions

After choosing your quote, stuff your pillow cover with some cardboard to keep the marker from bleeding through and to keep the fabric stretched out smooth.

Use a pencil to stencil your quote onto the pillow cover. If you mess up the spacing you can erase the pencil lines and redo them. You can’t fix mistakes when you’re using the fabric marker, so don’t skip the pencil step.

Once you’ve penciled everything in, go at it with your fabric marker! I found it easiest to use the stencil for the outline of each letter, and then remove the stencil to fill the letters in.

The packaging from the Sharpie fabric marker didn’t say anything about heat setting the ink, but I will probably press my pillow cover before I wash it, just to be safe.

Valentine’s Day Treat Packages

Valentine’s Day is tomorrow. Moms are you prepared?!? If not, that is okay. We all know you are busy. You can go to the store and buy generic valentines, which is totally acceptable and allowed, or you can make these little packages of awesomeness with a tad more time an effort. However, you will get to skip the CVS last minute Valentine’s Day lines, which is a huge plus. These are a super simple Martha Stewart project that you can throw together in no time, but still feel like you went above and beyond with personalized treats. Check it out… Happy Love Day Eve my friends!

Supplies

• Picture of your child
• heavyweight matte paper or card stock
• Scissors
• pinking shears
• Stamps (optional)
• Cellophane bags
• Preferred treat (candy, cookies, etc.)

Directions

To make these Martha Stewart custom treat packages, cut out a picture of your child, scan it, and print onto heavyweight matte paper. Cut tags using pinking shears for the bottom edges, draw hearts, and stamp or write a message on each one. Fold the tags and tape them to cellophane bags filled with sweets.

Custom Fingerprint Art

Not only is the day of love quickly approaching, but I am also in dyer need of some beautiful personal art for our new place. Why not knock out two birds with one stone right? I came across this awesome DIY custom art project on Man Made, which is a “male” DIY blog. I don’t know how I feel about it being classified by sex… Sure there are posts about how to make DIY Boomerangs and an 18-Shot, Ratcheting Triple Barrel Nerf Gun, but I think I am still qualified to do this project for the love in my life. I do have to give the author of this project, Chris, some credit… He documented the process in very good detail, it is very sweet, and very inexpensive. He only spent 6 bucks on this project!!! Male or female, that is my kind of DIY! Check out how to do this project below and be sure to check out Chris and all the other “boys only” projects on their manly blog Man Made.

Supplies

• Inkpad and paper
• Scanner
• Computer and graphics software
• Printing method (see below)

Directions

Step 1. Begin by inking your fingers and making several prints on paper. Don’t go for the roll-y effect they do at the police station (it was for a job, I swear), but the oval versions like you made in kindergarten. Don’t worry about getting it too dark; it’s more important that the friction ridges and negative space are separated rather than high contrast. Take several prints, re-inking your figures multiple times and making lots of prints. Be sure to label which prints belong to whom.

Step 2. Select a print you think will work the best. Scan it at the highest resolution you can get, at least 600 dpi, but preferably 1200 or 2400. If your scanner can’t do hi-res, go to the local copy shop and have them do it for a few dollars. Be sure you only select one or two prints, as resolutions this high can make for very large files.

Step 3. Once you have your print in bitmap mode, play with it in your graphics software to clearly define the lines. I’m using Photoshop, but you could try the freeware alternatives available. [See this link for options] Play around with contrast, levels and curves, or even the filters (like stamp or posterize) to get as much contrast as possible, minimizing the gray between the friction ridges. You might need to go in and manually erase any bleed.

Step 4. When your satisfied, you’ll want to convert your image to a vector file, so that you can scale it to any size you want. If you’re not going for a huge final printed piece, you might be able to get by with just the hi-res scan, but it’s worth playing around with the vector conversion, as it will continue to clean up your fingerprint. I imported mine into Illustrator and used the Live Trace functions, but there are free online raster-to-vector options like VectorMagic or Raster to Vector Converter that will work. One of your friends probably has Adobe suites, or your local print shop will as well, so you might be able to ask nicely and have them convert it for you.

Step 5. At this point, you can style your artwork in whatever way you please. I decided to put both of ours on one sheet, added some color and some paper-cut style text, but you could go for the cropped look as in this example and have two framed pieces hung side-by-side. (That’s called a diptych – impress your friends!)

Notes: Printing options are up to you. You could do something as easy as printing it at home, or get all fancy and make a screen print. I opted to go to my neighborhood print shop, and had them make a giclee print for $6, which is an archival ink-jet option that’s much less costly than four-color offset printing. It’s not guaranteed forever – around 60-75 years, but that’s good enough for me. Be sure to save your file at 300dpi!

Popping The Question!

After getting a very good response from my Will You Be My Bridesmaid? post last week, I decided to do another post giving more fun and creative ideas on how to pop the question to your gals without breaking the bank. There are many free websites out there that not only offer fun DIY ideas, but also offer free downloads. One of my absolute favorite resources is The Wedding Chicks. Here’s a taste of what they offer…

Free Downloads

• Invitation Suites
• Save The Dates
• Will You Be My Bridesmaid Cards
• Custom Monograms
• Wedding Signs & Labels
• Photo Cards
• Holiday Cards

Now don’t be afraid to get creative. not only can you print these out and give them to your gals as cards, but you can do sooooo much more with them. Have them put on a coffee mug, or print out their initial in the monogram section and iron it on a shirt so all the ladies match as you get ready on the big day. You can even make them their own personal tote bag to hold all of their ‘Thank You For Being My Bridesmaid Goodies.” One of my favorite things about these printables is that they are all fully customizable. Change the color of the design and the writing to match your wedding colors or if you are a super accommodating bride pick their favorite colors to personalize them even more. Sorry girls… I guess I am not an accommodating bride. I like my ladies to match. It is just my thing, but I am sure someone out their will like this option.

All this talk about the ladies, I almost forgot about the dudes. Yes, guys can ask their buddies to be their groomsmen in fun and creative ways too. It does not have to be girly to be DIY. There are many manly, yet still unique ways to ask the boys to be a part of such a special day. One of my faves was created by Stephanie, of Stephanie Hunter Photography. Stephanie loved The Wedding Chicks free printables, but did not want to settle for using them as just cards. She wanted something that really read into her and her fiance’s style and something that their friends would love, so she thought outside the box and came up with the Will You Be My Groomsmen Bottle Lables. I think this idea was phenomenal and I honestly wish I could ask our friends all over again. It is so perfect on so many levels. Maybe your guy really likes beer (what guy doesn’t), or better yet maybe he brews his own at home… Print out one of The Wedding Chicks free “Will You Be My Groomsmen” cards on some adhesive paper and turn it into a personalized 6 pack of brews for his buds.

What was that ladies… You like beer too? No problemo! The Wedding Chicks have got the chicas covered as well. Print out your own Will You Be My Bridesmaid Bottle Labels and make your own matching six-pack for the ladies. Use beer, spiked lemonade, wine, or root beer… Anything in a bottle really. Now you’ve got your bottles, but how do you hand them out. It is sort of hard to mail a six-pack. Maybe plan a party for your friends and give them all at the same time. This way all your attendants find out at the same time and get a chance to meet/know each other better before the big day. Plus you get to have a party and I am always looking for excuses to have one of those. This idea is great for theme loving brides. Come on… You know who you are… You worry about every single little detail and want everything to match and stay within in the wedding theme. This project is perfect for you. Enjoy!

Don’t forget to check out The Wedding Chicks’ other FREE PRINTABLE WEDDING TEMPLATES!

Will You Be My Bridesmaid?

When it came to asking my wonderful friends and family to be a part of my wedding party, I wanted it to be special. I didn’t want to just call them up and ask, or take them to lunch where they would totally know what was up. I wanted them to be surprised and feel very special. Plus I wanted them to have a keepsake they could have and remember forever how I asked them… Ok ok ok, I also wanted them to be totally impressed with my awesome DIY abilities.

I came across these amazing paper chain dolls dressed for the occasion, accompanied with a thoughtful and eloquently written card asking them to be my bridesmaid. I wish I would have documented the ones I made for my girls, but 8 months ago I did not know I would be writing a blog about my DIY projects. The project I followed was created by Anna Bond of Rifle Design, and I found it on the Once Wed website. I hope you enjoy!

Supplies

• Craft paper (for clothes & hair),
• Paper for bodies
• Envelopes
• Ruler
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Eraser
• Glue stick

Directions

First, be sure that your chain will fit in the envelope you chose. I decided to make my chain about 6 inches tall and 3.5 inches wide to fit in an A7 envelope. Draw tick marks every 3.5 inches (or whatever width you chose) on the top and bottom of the paper for how many people you want to cut out.

Cut out your rectangle and score the paper vertically between each set of tick marks. This will make folding easier and more accurate. Then, fold the paper accordion style.

On the top of the stack draw the shape of your person. Be sure to draw the arms and legs to the edge of the paper so that they will be attached into a chain after you cut it out.

Next, cut out the person shape and open up your masterpiece chain! Decorate your ladies with dresses of your choice and different hairstyles to personalize them. You can also draw faces and pain their names on each one.

To complete the set wrap a band of paper around the chain and information card, and write the name of the person you are sending it to.

Cowgirl Cookies Mason Jar

I totally wanted to do this Bakerella project for my wedding. I was either going to use it as some sort of favor for a shower or hostess gift or bridesmaid gift, but it never seemed to work out. I even went through the process of buying all of the necessary materials. Well, we all know I had the Mason Jars already, but I bought all the ingredients and stalked up on like 20 bags of M&Ms after Valentine’s Day. I was so excited because, since it was after the holiday, I was able to get them at a super discounted price. Don’t worry, they did not go to waste. I ended up using them on the pink and purple Candy Bar at our wedding, so all’s well that ends well. However, I still really want to make them… Hmmm maybe for Christmas? That is the great thing about this project, all you have to do is switch up the colors and it easily changes the theme. Change them to blue and you have Cowboy Cookies, red and green and they become Christmas Cookies, red and white and it’s Valentines Day, or in my case where my sister-in-law is an Alabama Alumni they become the perfect Crimson Tide Cookies. Ooooh now I am excited!

Supplies

• Smooth Ball Mason Jar
• Sticker paper
• 1 ⅞hole punch
• Desired fabric
• Desired string/tie
• 1 ⅓ cup all purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup & leveled
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup cooking oats
• ¾ cup m&ms
• ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• ½ cup brown sugar, packed
• ½ cup white sugar
• ⅓ – ½ cup chopped pecans

Directions

Layer the ingredients in like this:

1. Flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt
2. Oats
3. M&Ms
4. Chocolate chips
5. Brown sugar
6. White sugar
7. Chopped pecans

Pack each level down really tightly so it will all fit. Add the chopped pecans last, because if the ingredients are too much or not enough, then you can add more or less pecans to adjust. The ingredients should be flush to the top of the lid when you seal it up.

To decorate the top of the jars, get a spool of suede cord and some fabric. Cut the fabric into 6 inch squares and the suede into 25 inch pieces. Place the fabric on top and tie ribbons around the lid to hold it in place.

For the labels, you’ll need some card stock, a paper punch and double-sided tape – OR sticker paper works great too.

Bakerella has very nicely provided an awesome PDF of the labels she used for her Cowgirl Cookies – Check it out!

Notes: If you want to bypass the whole Mason Jar/gift idea and just want to make the cookies no problemo… Cowgirl Cookies!

Vintage Tile Costers

 I found some extra tiles somebody left on the street for put out. I love put out! Well, let me reiterate… I love GOOD put out. My aunt on the other hand pretty much stops at every single pile of crap on the side of the road and likes to rummage through it. She loves ANY put out! I like to think I have a little bit higher standards… And I am lazy. It is sorta like buying something just because it is on sale or you have a coupon. Yeah, she does that. I on the other hand will buy 20 of them if they are on sale, but they have to be something I already use on a regular basis. The tiles were a score, because I was already knee-deep in my Modge Podge Tile Project, so it was a no brainer. The put out tiles were a little different from the nice smooth white ones I bought at Home Depot for $0.16. For one they were FREE, and secondly they were bumpy and a little more rustic looking. I was not sure how they would work with the project I was doing. So I did some research and stumbled upon Lee La La’s Blog and her version of the tile coasters. I fell in love and can’t wait to try it!

Supplies

• 4″x4″ tile coasters
• White tissue paper
• Printer
• Scotch tape
• Scissors
• Mod Podge (Matte or Gloss)
• Paint brush
• Krylon acrylic clear coat
• Black felt (or cork or furniture stickers)

Directions

1. Print out a 4×6 photo onto white tissue paper. To help the tissue feed thru your printer, Cut out an 8×10 piece of tissue paper and scotch tape it to a piece of 8×10 card stock.
2. Cut your tissue print down to 4″x4″
3. Brush a thin coat of Mod Podge over your tile and paste your photo onto the tile. Let dry COMPLETELY!
4. Once dry, put a thin coat of Mod Podge over your photo. Let dry completely.
5. Repeat 2 more times, making sure each coat is dry before you do another, or else the tissue will rip.
6. Once dry, seal with Kylon acrylic clear coat. I did 3 coats of this, making sure the previous coat is dry before you add another.
7. To complete the coaster, cut out a 4″x4″ piece of black felt/cork. and attached it to the back. (or just stick 4 furniture stickers on the bottom)

Notes: For more information on this particular project and tons of other fun ideas check out Lindsay and her blog!

Modge Podge Tile Coasters

 One of my favorite shower hostess gifts I made, were the personalized tile coasters. Not only were they a hit with all the hostesses, but they were super simple to make. In my opinion, simple DIY is the best DIY. On top of being simple they were cheap… and on top of being cheap they did NOT look cheap! I personalized each tile with either their name or initial in different, fun fonts. They turned out absolutely adorable, and I can’t wait to make more with different designs.

You can use anything from wrapping paper, scrapbook paper, napkins, designs printed off your computer, photos… The possibilities are endless! Jaime over at Prudent Baby used cute matryoshka and owl wrapping paper and the tiles came out adorable. However, if you want to make the tiles look vintage, there is a different technique done by Lee La La that looks awesome. Check it out!

CLICK HERE for a detailed tutorial!

Notes: You can use your coasters the next day but don’t put anything HOT on them for a month – that’s how long it takes the mod podge to fully cure.  If you apply a sealant you can use them sooner. Be sure to let each layer fully dry! Don’t rush the process or you will be sorry last minute Sally. FYI I stumbled across this fun little DIY project on Hostess with the Mostess, which led me to Prudent Baby. Check them both out, cause they are awesome!

Mason Jar Soap Dispenser

I absolutely LOVE mason jars! I recently just got married and wanted to use them all throughout my wedding. However, the wedding was a little too fancy schmancy to have mason jars everywhere, so I settled for having them at the couples shower that my 2 Maids of Honor put on for me instead. They went perfectly with the Texas BBQ Theme! We used some of the large ones as vases and decided to have everyone drink their drinks out of the smaller ones. Great idea right? Well we invited about 80 people, so that is a lot of mason jars. Needless to say, I have a lot of mason jars left over, so I have been on the prowl looking for clever ideas to use them throughout my house. My new husband has given me 6 months before he takes them ALL to Goodwill. I think he is big talk, but I better get cracking just in case. First up on the list, Mason Jar Soap Dispenser. I think I will put 2 in my kitchen (a large one for dish soap and a small one for hand soap), and possibly another one in my bathroom… That’s 3 down, only 77 more to go.

After doing some research, I found there are a couple of different ways to do this. My favorite thus far is a DIY project by Heather Bullard on her very popular lifestyle blog. She gives a perfectly detailed description accompanied my many descriptive pictures. I am a big visual learner, so this was very helpful for me. Her approach is very thorough and I sure could be downgraded a bit if you were lacking the tools needed or just the patience. Like I said, you have a couple different techniques to choose from. This was just my favorite. Do some research and figure out what works best for you.

Supplies

• Mason jar
• Soap pump
• Drill with hole attachment
• 2 part epoxy
• Marker
• Scissors

Directions

First cut off the top of the soap bottle leaving the screw threading intact. Also leave a small rim just below the threads for the epoxy. Drill a hole in the mason jar lid so your bottle top will fit through it snuggly.

Next, mix the epoxy according to the package directions and apply to lower rim of bottle top. This will make a water tight seal.

Lastly, insert the pump through the hole and screw tightly to secure. Let it dry according to the epoxy instructions before using. If you’re not worried about the seal being water tight and don’t mind the pump spinning around you can completely skip the epoxy step. It’s entirely up to you.

Notes: Check out Heather’s project for detailed pictures. She also has tons of ther great ideas!