Hand Painted Dough Ornaments

So remember the dough ornaments I made on tuesday?  Well today I started painting them.  I used some acrylic paint, and some block printing ink.  Only because this is the paint I have in the house.  The acrylic paint worked perfectly though.  It dried quickly, and went on easily, but the printmaking ink was a bit thick, and took awhile to dry.  I might consider buying more acrylic paint to finish this project.  

The dino on the left I painted with just the acrylic paint, and the more blue dinosaur I mixed the two colors together.  

Then to make the duo look like a pair I covered them with black polka dots.  I used black fabric paint, and a paperclip to apply the paint.  

He's cute!  I haven't decided yet if we want to spend the money on a Christmas tree yet, but this guy is making me think it might help get us in the holiday spirit.  

A perfect pair.  Just like my hubby and I.  :) That back one is a little sad though.  He can't stand up too well.  Good thing I plan on hanging them up.  I might varnish them too.  Give them a little sheen, and help their paint job last a little longer.  I'm sure there will be more painted dough ornaments leading up to Christmas.  Who knows they might even get to spend some time on a live Christmas tree.  

Hope ya'll are having a great weekend, and happy DIYing, chris!

Tri-colored Braided T-shirt Bracelet

Another DIY I left until the end of the day, but I'm really happy with the results of this crafty project I threw together.  I made a tri-color braided bracelet.  

I used three different t-shirts in yellow, orange, and blue.  I love these colors together, they complement each other so well, and they're unisex!  I used scissors to cut three strips of each color.  The strips each measured a half inch wide, and eight to ten inches long.  I used the needle and thread to sew the strips together at the beginning and end.  

I also sewed all three colors together, and then I braided them together.  At the end I sewed the two ends together.  I left the different length ends, because they add a fun flare.  Like a mini pom-pom.  When sewing the ends make sure to go through all the strips of fabric, that way it's nice and secure and wont come unraveled.  

A simple craft, with great results.  Anyone could do this with some extra fabric, and twenty minutes to spare.  I'm fairly certain of seen similar bracelets at Forever21 sold for around five bucks.  This only cost me time. 

I'm thinking up an outfit to wear this with, and when I'll have my next chance to show off my latest creation!  I wear my DIYs proudly, and it makes my day when someone complements them.  I work with children, and it's the highest complement when one of them tells me my bracelet is cool.  

What's your latest creation?  Do you love to show it off?  Have a lovely day, and happy DIYing, chris!  

This Is Me #3

#1. My favorite color as a child was blue.  I hated pink.  I rebelled against all things labeled 'girlie'.  

Sorry about the blue mark on my neck, some pen transfer on this old photo.  

#2.  My 20s has been all about reconnecting with my inner girl.  I love pink now.  I'm embracing lace, sparkles, accessories, animal prints, and frilly things.  I've been growing my hair out.  This is the longest it's ever been.

#3.  When I imagine what I currently look like, I always picture myself with blonder hair.  I was a true toe head growing up, but I slowly became whatever color I am now.  What is this chestnut brown?  No where near blonde.  

#4.  I used to build houses for Habitat for Humanity in Orange County, California.  I miss how rewarding that hard work was.  I am thankful for the people I got to work with, and it was a blessing meeting the families we were building the homes for.  They all had their own unique story.  

#5.  I love long rides in the car on beautiful sunny days.  Which is exactly what Aaron and I are doing right now!  We are heading to upstate New York to visit some friends.  We are going to a jack & jill bridal shower, and camping.  It's going to be a blast!  

Have a lovely Saturday everyone, and happy DIYing, chris!  

Friendship Bracelet

Happy Friday!  For this Friday Flashback I wanted to make a friendship bracelet.  I used to make bracelets with embroidery floss and hemp all the time when I was a pre-teen.  When I bought my supplies for my owl elbow patches, I found a great deal on embroidery thread.  Which was a big reason I wanted to make a friendship bracelet, all those colors were calling my name.  I checked on the internet for a tutorial on how to make friendship bracelets, it's been ages!  After checking this out, I was good to go.  

Start by laying all your strings out in the order you want the colors to stack.  The strings on the left will stay on the left, and the strings on the right will stay on the right.  

It was a little rough in the beginning, but it's starting to look pretty cool.  Always start with the outside string, and move to the middle, and keep the colors divided in half the whole time.  Tie two knots on each string.  When tying knots on the left always have the tail going to the left, and do the opposite for the right side.  

In the middle tie one knot to the right, and then another knot to the left.  Now you can move back to the most outside string on the left, and start your next color.  

After I got going I realized I've used similar colors in tons of previous projects.  These were more or less the colors I used in my wedding.  As seen in the handmade paper spiral flowers I used as part of my center pieces.  

This how I painted my bedroom at my parent's house back in 2003.  I still love the way that room turned out, as you can tell by the above photo.  I'll be sad on the day I have to paint it back to white.  

Well, that's all I have for you today.  Have a great weekend, and happy DIYing!  I'll be back tomorrow with my Saturday Blogger Love post, chris.

Happy Spring!

With all these sunny beautiful days I had to try another outfit post.  I also got my Wacom tablet working!  Turns out it was just the pen that wasn't working.  Well I'm still not able to use photoshop, but Gimp isn't so bad.  

I love this dress.  I bought it when I was studying abroad in London back in 2005.  I found it in this amazing vintage shop in Shoreditch.  I'm pretty sure it's handmade.  

The blue jacket is from Heritage 1981, and I love how soft and comfortable it is.  The little red sweater is from H&M.  The yellow bracelet I inherited from my step-grandmother.  

This is definitely my favorite yoga pose, and my outfit looks pretty cute in this shot!  My stockings I got for Christmas, so I'm not positive where they're from.  The shoes are a pair of Dirty Laundry shoes I DIYed.  My hair bow was a free gift (with purchase) from ModCloth, they give the best gifts.  Their lil' presents just encourage me to buy more things, to see what I'll get for free!  

Happy Spring Everyone!!!  Hope ya'll are enjoying some sunny weather too!  Happy DIYing, chris.  

Painted Planter - Day 2

Day 2 of the painted planter!  The first step is to remove all the tape.  The planter I used was ceramic coated in a thick smooth glaze, so the latex paint didn't really bind with the surface of the pot.  In order to avoid all the paint peeling up with the tape, I first ran a razor over the edge, and I peeled the tape off slowly watching for any hang-ups.  Once the tape was pulled up I smoothed the edges with my fingers.  Then I painted over all the patches of paint with clear varnish, this will help keep the paint from peeling off in the future.  If you are using a clay pot you shouldn't have to do this.

Now on to the fun stuff!  Since it's cold outside, and there aren't very many hours of sunlight I used a large plastic tote to do this project indoors.  In the tote place a pot filled with plenty of fresh soil, the newly updated planter, and the plant you're transferring (my plant is a gerbera).  

Add about an inch or so of soil to the bottom of your planter, depending on the difference of size of the two planters.  Next, squeeze the bottom of your planter all around, you may need to go 'round multiply times.  This will loosen up the plant, so that you will be able to turn it upside down, and the plant should slide right out (even if it is absolutely root bound, like my plant).  

I would definitely suggest you transfer your plants before they become this root bound though.  I've had this plant since I got married on 4/16/2011.  We used gerberas as part of our centerpieces for our larger tables.  I honestly didn't think this plant would survive this long, so I never bothered to replant it.  It's a strong little sucker!  Keeps popping up flowers and growing more leaves, I couldn't be more proud. :)  

Now back to the task at hand!  Place your plant in the center of your pot.  Add soil around the edges, and don't compact the soil too densely.  It's important for there to be some air in the soil, so that the roots have an easier time pushing their way through.  You also want to be mindful not to fill the soil above the current or previous level.  

Once you are done filling the planter with fresh soil be sure to clean off any excess soil, and then water your plant.  

Look we even have a new flower starting!  

Happy DIYing!

Day 1 - Updating A Planter

Updating an old plant pot is today's Do It Yourself.   I have an orange planter that's been around for ages, and my gerbera is long overdue for a replanting.  However,  the flowers on the gerbera are orange, and though orange is one of my favorite colors I wanted to update the planter first.  

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

- empty planter

- painter's tape (2 inch)

- two types of house paint

- straight razor

Directions:

I started off by taping off the bottom part of the pot.  I butted the tape up to the bottom edge of the planter.  I used small pieces all around the edge, because the curve of the planter didn't allow me to just wrap a single piece around the bottom.  Once I was done taping off the bottom, I had to use a straight razor, and make the top edge even all the way around.  

Then, I took four strips of tape, and placed them vertically, and evenly spaced around the pot.  Making sure to go over the edges of the tape; to ensure no paint will seep under them.

Now paint two sections one color, and then paint the other two sections and the bottom the other color.  Be careful to make smooth even strokes with your brush, so you don't have any streaks.  Since the tape is so wide you can hold the planter on the tape, and maneuver it around to paint every exposed spot.  I'm keeping the inside orange, so when painting the top edge make sure you paint doesn't drip down the inside.  

You may need to let it sit, and paint on a second coat.  Afterward, let the planter sit overnight before peeling the tape off.  

We will finish this project tomorrow!  Until then, happy DIYing!

December

For the last month of the year, December, I decided to freehand a Christmas tree with glitter glue. Then I wrote out 'December' at the bottom.  Tomorrow I'll put the finishing touches on whole calendar.  

Hope you've enjoyed!  Happy DIYing!