Friday, August 10, 2012

DIY: HANGING MOBILE

Today I'm sharing a new project on Ampersand with my monthly column, Getting Crafty. This month I made a super simple hanging mobile made from folded paper. This project is easily customized to match decor by choosing just the right shade of scrapbook paper. And because this project is so easy, you can have a pretty hanging mobile in less than 30 minutes!


Wednesday, August 8, 2012

DIY: COLORED BLOCKS

I have something very exciting to show you today!  I'm sharing some colorful blocks over on Design for Mankind in my biweekly column, MakeKindErin (the author of Design for Mankind) recently had a baby girl, so I was inspired to make some pint-sized coloring blocks. And instead of giving you a hint of the project, I've made a video about it! My first video featuring a DIY project. It's short, but I'm counting it a success for my first one. Enjoy!





Thursday, August 2, 2012

DIY: POLKA DOT HAIR CLIP


With the summer heat in full effect, I've been finding myself reaching for hair clips more often than usual to get the hair out of my face! I took the plain hair clips I had stashed away and made them a little bit more fun by adding polka dots. And here's the secret to getting some pretty perfect polka dots without the struggle...use the end of your paintbrush! With just the right amount of paint on the end, you'll get a near perfect dot. Read on for the full tutorial.

MATERIALS: paint, paint brush, paint pen, hair clips


STEP 1: Dip the end of your paint brush in a shallow layer of paint, just to get the end coated. (It's better to start with too little paint and go over the dot, than to have too much paint and ruin your dot.)


STEP 2: Holding the paintbrush in a vertical position, set it onto the hair clip and release by pulling straight up to reveal the dot.


STEP 3: Continue making as many dots as you want and allow to dry!


I also wanted to try some with the silver paint pen that Erin of House of Earnest so graciously sent to me when we did our Trade & Made. I just drew the dots onto the hair clip, using a subtle circular motion to create a dot. They aren't quite as perfect as the paintbrush technique, but I was okay with that.


Allow each of your hair clips to dry completely and then wear them with joy! 







Friday, July 27, 2012

DIY: USA FLAG


The day is finally here! The Summer Olympics Opening Ceremonies are tonight and I couldn't be more excited! In honor of the event, I made this simple flag to represent the good 'ol USA. I cut all of these shapes out of stiffened felt and glued them using a hot glue gun. Easy peasy!

You better believe I'll be waving this flag and cheering on the athletes for the next 17 days!