Celebration Chair

So, a long while back I got an idea from Studio 5 to buy an old chair and paint it to be the birthday chair – a place where your kids can sit at the table on their birthday.  It’s been in the back of my mind and I finally found the perfect chairs to do it with!

  My amazingly talented sister Kourtne is one of my most trusted consultants :) and we worked on this together.  We thought that you could take this idea any way you wanted – paint the chair a few different fun colors and draw some birthday balloons somewhere or cut out some fun animals with birthday hats on their heads, etc.  Then, as we talked about it, we decided to make it more simple and generic so it could be used for any big celebration in the family.  We then thought it would be fun to make it a family journal of sorts and have the kids sign, date and write a little description as to why they sat on it that day, ie: Emery – 7-11-10 – 4th Birthday. Or Jane – 6-5-26 – HS Graduation…that’s scary!:). We feel like it will be a great piece of family history to have over the years!

What You Need:

-  A STURDY used chair…………I got mine at DI for $5 in the outdoor garden area – kind of the secret place for special surprises. Things are usually priced a little cheaper, but you may have to do some digging.

- An electric hand sander…….if you don’t have one already, you may want to invest in one.  They make any project SO much faster and easier! I was surprised at how in-expensive they are - about $12 and up.

- Paint……..I just used left over in-door wall paint.  Durable and covers well.  But any craft paint would do, I think.

- 4-5 different double-sided scrapbook papers…….if you choose from the same line, the color shades will be similar and will all go together.  If you can’t find double sided, then you may want to get more sheets. You’ll want about 8-10 different designs.

- Mod Podge and foam brush………just about $4 for a small jar with a coupon.  And you won’t use the whole thing, so you’ll have leftovers for other projects! (We used their matte-finish)

How To Do It:

Step 1:  Sand and wipe down your chair so the wood is smooth and ready for paint

 Step 2: Find a bowl or other round object that will help you draw a half circle on the back of the chair. Trace it to a piece of paper and cut it out to make a stencil to trace.  We started about 2 inches in from the outside edge to make room for our banner pieces. Depending on how big the back of your chair is, you may have to play around with this part a bit.

Step 3: Randomly cut out a bunch of different sized triangles from your paper and arrange them along your rounded edge you made above so you know how many you need.  This is the fun creative part to mix the colors and patterns together! Make sure your flags are not so big that they will dip down below the bottom of the back of your chair.

 

(these are the front and backs of our paper)

Step 4:  Then we used a dark (brown or black) sharpie to draw the flag string darker so it can be seen on the chair.

 

Step 5: Mod Podge your pieces to the chair along your line. First, cover the entire back of each piece with the Mod Podge and press hard onto the chair making sure there are no air bubbles. Allow to dry.  Apply the Mod Podge on top of the flags – at least two coats.  TIP: For best results on your top coats, allow the first application to dry completely.  This will keep your pieces from bubbling.

Step 6: Use your chair for any fun celebration your family is having and don’t forget to document the event, right on the chair!!:)

Time & Money:

-We did it on two different days, but start to finish, about 5 hours.

- Really the only thing I bought was the chair and paper.  So about $7 for me.  If you had to get everything, I would say between $12-15 – but everything you get, you’ll have extra of or can use again! You may be a little hard-pressed to find a chair that inexpensive, but be patient and go often – there’s always something new!

 

Valentine Craft Show

 I am thrilled to be a part of this “All Handmade”  art and gift show in Sugar House next weekend.  Come for some unique gifts and ideas!

Valentine Letter Blocks

I saw some cute Valentine blocks at the craft store the other day that I desperately wanted to buy…then I saw the price tag…$17…then I thought to myself - “Why don’t you make them!?”  I looked there for blocks.  Not much luck.  I checked my being-finished basement. No extra 2x4’s there to cut.  Then I remembered I had some square blocks left over from a project I did a few years ago that would be perfect.  So, for your project – think out of the box a little and use what you have - a cut up 2x4, or similar sized gift boxes would even do!

What you need:

-4 blocks, boxes, pieces of wood

-Lettering (I used vinyl ‘cause I have access to it.  You could cut up cardstock and glue or modge-podge it to your surface)

-Paint

-Sandpaper

-Ink pad or Stain (I used an Ink pad – a lot less mess than stain and works very similar)

How you do it:

1. Paint your blocks – usually a few coats will do

2. Cut out your lettering (Vinyl or paper)

3.Adhere your lettering to the blocks

4.Rough up the edges with your sandpaper

5. Ink the edges for that vintage/warn look – You’re done!

Time and Money:

-I painted the blocks a couple times before bed and one more time in the morning and put them together in less than 1/2 an hour – VERY simple project!

-I love projects where I have everything I need, such was the case for this one for me. If you have to buy stuff, it shouldn’t cost you more than a couple dollars for this one!

Christmas Bow How-To

I grew up watching my very talented mother make the most elaborate bows for wedding gifts and decorations.  This is one of the many great skills she taught me.  And it’s REALLY very easy!

Here’s what you need:

- Wired ribbon (not wired works if you’re making a smaller bow)

- Scissors

- A big photo album or hard back book

- Twisty ties or wire

Step 1:

-Begin wrapping your ribbon around the book you chose (the bigger the book, the bigger the bow).

-Have both of your ends end at the same place on your book

-You can choose how many times you wrap – 4-6 times is about right.

Step 2:

-Carefully slide the wrapped ribbon off the end of the book and place a twisty tie or piece of wire around the middle of your ribbon

Step 3:

-Separate each piece of ribbon – you can be a little bit rough with this and use the wire to shape the bow how you want it.

-Pull the two ends down to be your bow tails.

Step 4:

-Cut another piece of ribbon – about 1 foot – and tie it around the middle wire to hide it. (This creates a bit of a loop on the back that you can use to put more wire or ribbon through to tie it to whatever you are adorning.)

 

ALL DONE!  Put them on packages, wreaths, garlands, candles or make a smaller version for your hair!  MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Christmas Boutique

I have not been a very good blogger lately, but between ward parties, boutiques, christmas parties, shopping, cards, neighbor gifts and concerts, there simply is not enough time!
Just wanted to let you know of another boutique I'm in this weekend. I have a couple new things like pincushions and hot mug cozies. Get some more shopping done for everyone on your list - there will be a ton of cool stuff! And most is not too expensive...I know the word "boutique" often means pricey. :) Here's the info:
My Girlfriends Closet
2200 S Orchard Dr. Bountiful
Fri & Sat Dec 11-12
Hours: 10:00 - 8:00 pm

*I have pictures taken for a tutorial on a Christmas bow - stay tuned!!

Halloween Pumpkin Man

                                                                                               Pumpkin Man is a great idea that I got from a magazine last fall and wanted to use it again this year.  Last year, I set him up early October and by Halloween he was leaking rotten pumpkin juice all over, so I decided to do it a little later this year.   This year I also made my “Man” a “Woman” by adding a cute little flower on top.   I just hot glued the  acorns on so we can just pop them off and carve our pumpkins the day before Halloween if we want to!  (My husband said we could get some more to carve…I think he really likes her on the porch…especially for Halloween:)

There are many different variations of the “Pumpkin Man”.  Here’s last years' (in it’s gooey, “melting” stage…just a little gross, but it made it a little more spooky).  I etched out the facial features and buttons all the way down, but didn’t hollow the pumpkins out so light could come through as described in this tutorial on etching pumpkins.  I think it could also look amazing with a black top hat and cane…dress it up or down!

I saw another idea on Studio 5 that took this similar stacking form, but they etched in their address.  A number on each pumpkin working down.  I thought that would be cute if you had a lot of people coming for a Halloween party.

Here’s an image I found on Martha Stewart – they used gourds!  I thought it might even be great to spray paint some of the pumpkins black and etch in a scull and cross bones to make it in a more spooky form.  The possibilities are endless people!!

SUPPLIES:

-  3 - 4 Pumpkins (graduating in size, like a snowman)

-  a couple dowels (get a good strong thickness)

-  etching tools, acorns, flowers (whatever you want to give your pumpkin man some character)

-  small screw driver or ice pick

-  hand saw

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Use the hand saw to cut off the stems of the bottom pumpkins so they can stack more evenly on each other.

2.  If you are etching, do it now before you put the Pumpkin Man together!

3.  Cut small holes with the small screw driver in the top and bottoms of each pumpkin so the dowels will easily slide into each pumpkin. Slide the dowel all the way through the top and bottom of the 2nd to bottom pumpkin first, then feed the stick into the bottom pumpkin. This is a little difficult – just work with the angles so the pumpkins will be held together with the dowels.  (Mine still has to lean against the house to stay upright.) Depending on how long your dowel is and how tall your Pumpkin Man is, you may have to have two dowels (the second to start half way up).  

4.  Add embellishments such as hats, flowers, etc.  To give your Pumpkin Man its character.

TIME:

1-3 hours (Depending on how you choose to decorate it!)

PRICE:

$14-25

Last year we picked pumpkins from a field and they were MUCH more expensive – it probably didn’t help that it was early October.  Now, they are probably on sale everywhere.  I got mine this year at Wal-Mart for $3 a piece – all sizes.  I didn’t pay per pound there.

 

Creeping Mice

These strangely life-like little mice add a HUGE addition to your Halloween decorations and they are really easy to make!

 

Supplies:

- Pattern found at Martha Stewart’s Website

- Black construction paper or cardstock

- Scissors

- Masking tape

To Make:

- Print out the mice templates and cut them out.  Trace onto your black paper with a pencil. Cut the little friends out and tape them to your wall and/or stairs.

Price:

-$2-3 for black paper

Time:

-1-2 hours

*I keep mine with my Halloween decorations and pull them out every year.  They’re different and everyone that walks in the door is delighted to see little mice crawling around!  How many will you make!?