Ugly jars wanted { DIY vases }

{ cool mason jar vases }

Have a bunch of those unattractive and generic bud vases hanging around?  Are you like me always finding old mason jars at thrift stores and picking them up, just because they're so cheap?  Finally here is a cool idea to make those objects functional { and beautiful } again! 

Brooke from Pure and Noble took some matte spray paint and painted some "throw away" vases and old mason jars.  She even made custom messages using a glue gun to write out her words { Remember "puffy paint"?  Do they still make that? }  Pop on over to Pure and Noble for the full tutorial.  Love this idea!

What I'd really like to do next is find a great tutorial to make one of those lovely, outdoorsy mason jar chandeliers!  Hooray for the discarded & topless mason jar!

Christmas ornament weekend { DIY Christmas ornaments }

This past weekend I kept my Christmas ornament workshop going.  This time, I layered two Graphics Fairy images together { birds and sheet music } and decoupaged the image on some three inch wood circles.  Here is how I did it.

First I went to the Graphic Fairy site and downloaded the following images:

• French Sheet Music
• Wonderful Robin on a Branch
• Pretty Bird on Branch
• Sweet Nightingale Bird

I made the bird images into transparent graphics and layered the images on top of the sheet music in MS publisher.  I then printed them out on my color inkjet.

I gathered my supplies - 3 inch wood circles { found at Michaels }, ribbon, Mod Podge, card stock, glue gun, and the printouts.

I decoupaged the back of the paper and put it on the wood circles { below }.  When that dried, I put a top coat of Mod Podge on the ornaments.

To make the hanger, I took 13 inches of ribbon and taped it to the back of the circle.  I then hot glued a scalloped piece I punched out of card stock { below }.

Here are the finished three designs { below }.  I need a nicer picture of these hanging on a tree!

  

I'm linking this up to:

Holiday flameless candles gift idea { easy candle DIY }

Here is a super-simple idea to jazz up some flameless candles for the holidays.  My friend first made these for Halloween with some vintage dictionary pages { the ones with the scary pictures } and she just made a bunch for her shop for the Christmas season.   I think they'd make a great gift too!













So you know the flameless candles you can buy?  They're very pretty plain white, but you can easily add vintage papers to make them extra special for the holidays.  I found mine at COSTCO, but I've also seen them everywhere, including WalMart.

{ source }

All you need to do is go in to your stash of vintage papers and cut the paper to size.  If you don't want to use vintage papers, you can made a photocopy of your favorites, use some printed tissue paper, or find some great graphics online.  Next, all you need to do is put a coat of Mod Podge on the candle { don't worry, the candle won't ever get hot enough to melt the Podge }.  When dry, give the paper another coat to seal your work.  And you're done!

My friend resized the paper so it only covered half of the candle.  This way she could turn it around and still have a regular side when it wasn't the holiday season.  It's your choice.

Weekend projects { Image Transfer Coasters DIY }

My Saturday night was quite busy.  I started the weekend with four projects in mind to get a jump on Christmas gifts, but quickly realized I was in over my head.  After a day of fun, the kids went to bed, and I got to work.  My two projects this weekend were glass horse ornaments and image transfer coasters.

The Graphics Fairy had a tutorial a while back on making coasters using Omni Gel transfer medium.  Her tutorial really covers everything you need to know so I'm just linking to it { here }.  I'll share some pictures of my project in process and add a few details that I think may be helpful if you attempt this project.

For my crown coasters, I layered crown images from the Graphics Fairy found here, here, here, and here with script text I had.

Here are the supplies you'll need { below }.  Tips:  I went to three Michaels and finally found Omni Gel.  I highly recommend you call them first or purchase the product online.  I've done about 50 coasters using one 8 oz. bottle.  I found my tiles at Home Depot, nine for $3.99.  There are two styles I like for this project, Noce and Chiaro travertine. I've found you really need to inspect the Chiaro tiles though, as they tend to get larger pits in them; Noce not as much.  As mentioned in the Graphics Fairy tutorial, you need to go to your copy shop and have a color laser jet print of your images.  No need to reverse the image for this transfer technique.  The cork is contact paper from Home Depot.

I wanted to share a quick picture of the Omni gel bushed on the paper { below }.  Even when dry, there is a sheen on the images.

Here is me wiping the paper off the back of the gel transfer { below }.  This always takes longer than I expect!  Tip:  I use an old toothbrush to help get all the paper off the transfer.

Image transfers drying on paper towels pre-tile coaster { below }.

My coaster assembly line { below } from the weekend.  I adhered the gel transfer with another coat of Omni Gel and smoothed down with a brayer and my fingers.

Here is a closeup of my coasters drying { below }.  I'm really excited about how the coasters turned out!

On to project #2!  I covered how to make these horse ornaments earlier on my blog { here }.  Here is a picture of my assembly line of ornaments drying and pre-ribbon { below }.

Here is a closeup of my favorite horse ornament from this weekend { below }.

Thanks for stopping by.   Have a great week!   I'm linking this one up to:

French inspired printed fabric on canvas { DIY Art }

{ My French inspired printed canvas }

I saw this butterfly canvas at my local Home Goods.  The canvas has some simple, but beautiful, vintage butterfly and postage images.  At $39, I figured I could recreate the piece on my own, and I had wanted to try a new technique of printing on larger pieces of fabric.

My first step was to stop by The Graphics Fairy and grab some vintage graphics.  I used vintage postcards, antique butterflies, more butterflies, and a letter.  I then used Adobe Photoshop Elements to create pure black and white images, crop the pictures, and make the backgrounds transparent { so I could layer the images }.  I arranged the pictures in Microsoft Publisher { shown below }.

I printed the image out on some off white fabric { below }.  I posted a few more details on how I printed out the fabric in this post.

I prepped my fabric by cutting it down to exactly 8" x 10".  I prepped my 8" x 10" canvas by painting the sides with black acrylic paint.  After the sides dried, I then put down a generous coat of matte Mod Podge { below }.

I laid the fabric down and used a brayer to smooth out the fabric.  Here is my version!

 
Here is the $39 version...

And here is my version, made for less than $7!

Thanks for stopping by!

I'm linking this one up to:

***************UPDATE***************

For real????!!!!  When I saw this I was so excited! 

This project has been featured on Brag Monday at The Graphics Fairy.  

Holey Moley! What an honor!  Thank you!

Frosted candles { candle DIY under $5 }

Do you have some candles lying around that need a little pick me up?  Candles that have been hanging around so long, they've started to collect dust?  Maybe you saw some Dollar Store pillars that were too cute to pass up, but they just don't work now that they're home.  Maybe you have a box of candles that your mom gave you that have followed you for ten years and three houses that you didn't have the heart to throw out but never knew what to do with?  Oh okay, maybe that last one is just me.

Anyway, I found a cute way to dress up some inexpensive candles for the holidays.  It literally takes less than a $5 bill and five minutes.  My kind of project!

First things first.  You'll need your candles, some matte Mod Podge, a foam brush, and a carton of Epsom salts { I found mine in my grocery store in the health supplies section, NOT the baking section }.   It helps if you have a baking pan or jelly roll pan too - some sort of container with sides, but even a plate can work.

Pour the Epsom salts in your baking pan, just covering the bottom.  Spread a liberal, even coat of Podge on your candle { below }.

Now just roll your candle in the salts until they are covered with icy goodness { below }.

Now set aside standing up to dry, and you're done.  That's really it!  Here is my box of hard up candles before...

And here they are after they've been frosted { below }.

From mismatched candles hit with the ugly stick...

...to icy candles kissed by a winter fairy!

Thanks for stopping by!

Framed Atlas Prints { inexpensive DIY art }

I know that maps have been a hot trend for a while in decorating.  I also love the contrast of a great black and white print.  That's why I was overjoyed when I found an old atlas from the 1930's at a local antiques store for only $10!

Here's the old atlas.  I've seen similar ones online in terrible condition for $50 and up!  This has so many maps inside, each image is about 50 cents a piece.

The atlas was chock full of country maps and city maps, and the oversize pages { 11x14 } made them perfect for framing in my left over 11x14 frames without a mat.

I didn't care so much what cities they were { I settled on Boston, Philadelphia, Cleveland, New York, & San Francisco } I was more in it for the graphic value.  

I usually snap up clearance aisle frames, frames from IKEA { when I can get there }, and discount store frames in the larger sizes whenever I see them.

I stared by framing just the black and white prints because I only had five frames.  I just love how they turned out.

The total project value was less than $10 per print for the map and the frame.  Now I have a new wall of goodies!  If only I could find a spare wall around here...