Tutorial: The easiest holiday bunting...ever.

The spooky photo I posted on Instagram. 

Another DIY post in less than six months!! This time it's crafty.

I made this bunting as a way to use items I had on hand and to provide a little handmade flair for our upcoming Halloween party. I posted the result on a few social media sites and someone asked how I did it. It's so simple and a great project to work on while marathoning a show (I watched The Walking Dead).

Materials:

• scissors 
• stapler
• paper
• twine / yarn / string 

Step 1: Fold one sheet of paper in half (hot dog style)

You can also fold it into fourths to cut the shapes more quickly, but for most of my pennants I folded the paper in half. 

Step 2: Cut triangle or a notched banner shape

Remember to cut the sides that aren't folded. Repeat steps 1 and 2 for a variety of paper.

Steps 1 and 2

Steps 3 and 4

Step 3: Wrap paper pennant around your string and staple in place 

You could use glue, tape, or even sew the segments together, but stapling was the fastest method I could think of. Be sure to alternate colors and patterns as you assemble the bunting. 

Step 4: Tie off the ends with a simple slip knot

The knot creates a hanger for your bunting and will keep your pennants in place. 

Now it's time to enjoy your holiday bunting! The project took me about 20 or so minutes from start to finish. Unfortunately, I don't know where I'm going to hang it yet so this mirror is the temporary location.

I'll probably make a few more near Christmas. Anything to use up my overflowing shelf of craft supplies!

DIY: Paver Stone Path

A DIY POST! Can you believe it?! Neither crafty nor artsy, but it's progress. I'm starting to ease up on work a bit and with that comes more time for creativity at home. I can't pretend a paver path is extremely creative, but it involved a bit of planning and a "vision," so we'll call it a step in the right direction. 

First things first, the previous homeowners installed paver stones, but they did not lay landscaping fabric or mulch around the stones, so every spring I had to weed the same area. It didn't look very nice and the path itself was a bit wonky. The stones had mulch to the left and butted up to the grass on the right. You can see the path on a good day in this post. After a few years and a dandelion issue, we needed a long term weed solution.

I've decided to post this project because I had a hard time finding a clear, step-by-step tutorial for a paver path that met my needs. This was the best tutorial I found, but they ended with pea gravel instead of dirt and mulch.

Materials:

• shovel
• rake
• level
• landscaping fabric
• scissors
• leveling sand 
• top soil (as needed)
• mulch
• paver stones
• scrub brush

Step 1: Remove existing stones (if necessary) 
Alex pulled out the existing stones while I was at work. They were jammed in there. (He forgot to take a before photo, but took the after-stone-removal-before image featured above.)

Step 2: Dig out the target area, remove grass, and level remaining dirt
I dug out a quarter circle in front of the porch. I also pulled a ton of clover and dandelion weeds and trimmed down the rapidly spreading ivy that fills the area on the side of the porch. Before moving on to step three, I used a rake and a level to make sure the ground was even.

Step 3: Lay landscaping fabric
We bought landscaping (weed blocker) fabric at Menards. It was pretty cheap and we didn't read the label carefully: it was only rated "moderate" for blocking weeds. I decided to lay two layers and of course it was the windiest part of the day. I had to use the level and my small gardening tools to keep the fabric from blowing away.

Step 4: Leveling sand + flower break
I also used some leveling sand to hold down the blowing fabric (hence, the photo above). Alex had to help with the leveling sand because I couldn't hold up a stone while tossing sand under. I had to wait for him to get home to help and during my wait I planted flowers in our porch planters.

Step 5: Top Soil + Mulch
We covered the exposed fabric with a layer of top soil, plus some of the dirt that came out of the dug up area. Then I covered the top soil with a bag and a half of black much.

Step 6: Cleaning the stones and finishing touches
Once the mulch was in place, I dusted off the stones with a scrub brush. I decided to bring two of the pots down from the porch to add a little pizzazz. It's nice to have before and after photos to really appreciate what a mess it was in the beginning!

What's next? Home stuff is never-ending, but I think we're finally recharged and ready to make progress after taking a few years off. Alex is currently working on our bathroom. My next tasks include: repainting the iron stair railing, fixing the crack in the steps, repainting the bench on the front porch, and hanging some new address numbers. But first, we need to plant the veggie garden in the backyard before it's too late!

Thing-A-Day 2: easy feather headband

To make this headband you will need:

• large bird feather (from a craft store, unless you're into torturing birds)
• headband (I got mine in the dollar section at Target)
• glue (I like E6000)
• felt
• scissors

1. Cut out a piece of felt to go on the back. I cut black felt in a teardrop shape to mimic the felt on the back of this store bought feather.
2. Sandwich your headband between the feather and felt
3. Glue all parts in place (feather to felt with headband in the middle)
4. Hold down felt-to-feather between fingers until everything sticks (or use paper clips)
5. Add more glue to any blank spots
6. Model headband

My feather sort of matches my hair. I picked out a lighter one at another store, decided not to buy it, then went to a second store and only found one. Oh well. I kind of like it because it's not so "hey there's a bird on my head."

Semi-tutorial: knitted iPod case

Tonight I finished up a case for my iPod classic.

To be honest, it started as a practice for knitting and purling (I am really lazy and usually only knit, so when I do purl I have to watch YouTube videos over and over). About an hour into it I realized two things: First, I can knit and purl without watching a video beforehand! This is going to open so many new knitting doors for me! and Second, this was much too narrow for a scarf!

So, I picked the nearest item that could fit if I made a pouch (the iPod), stitched the sides together, added a button and loop, and a lovely pouch emerged!


It was really easy. Here are some basic steps:

1. Cast on enough stitches for the width of the pouch (account for the side stitching!). It needs to be an odd number because you knit on the first stitch and knit on the last stitch.
2. k1, p1, repeat until the end, k1 to finish the row
3. Repeat for however many rows you need
4. Bind off
5. I used my excess yarn from the bind off to make the loop. Basically, I used my crochet hook and tucked in the excess yarn, created a loop, and then made sure it was secure (if you need a better explanation of this, let me know. I know this is pretty shoddy.)
6. Stitch the sides together using a running stitch with your yarn and crochet hook (same color, or alternating color). You could be adventurous and do a blanket stitch here.
7. Attach your button (after placing your item in the pouch and seeing where the loop lines up). I used purple thread. You could use embroidery floss, too.
8. Admire your pouch!

Again, if those steps are badly written, let me know. I'm posting this from my phone!

tutorial: easy & fun bottle cap magnets

I've created a tutorial based on my thing-a-day project and my magnet fun after T-A-D ended. This project is a multi-day affair as you will need proper drying time for each magnet. I suppose if you start at 9am a full day will do the trick!

(We're making the caps)

Part One: Painting

What you'll need:
- bottle caps (I collect them. If you don't, I hear ebay is a great place to find them in bulk)
- craft paint
- paintbrushes
- drop cloth or other protective surface

...As you can see I also had some carpet cleaner. I painted while watching a movie in the living room... and while drinking wine...so carpet cleaner came in handy!

Step one: paint your caps. I chose a random pattern. You could use a stencil or freehand something amazing. I really like random splotches.

Step two: let caps dry. I allowed a week or something before I did anything else with them (I was making this up as I went along). Obviously, a week is not necessary.

Part Two: creating the magnet and glazing

What you'll need:- your fully dried bottle caps
- magnets (I used this pack of strong magnets)
- strong adhesive (like E6000)
- spacers (I used wooden circles, but cardboard would work)
- Glaze (like Diamond Glaze)
- paintbrush

Step three: Attach the magnets to your spacers. I put them in the cap first to figure out how many I would need so that the magnet stuck out past the cap.


Step four: Glue the magnet and spacers into the cap. Press down firmly. Let dry completely before moving on to next step.

Step five: Glaze your caps. You can apply as much glaze as you want. I spread mine around with a paintbrush, but if you want a more three dimensional look you won't need to do this.

Step six: Again, let dry completely.

Step seven: hang and enjoy!

Easy & fun magnets

Tonight I made three different kinds of magnets. Well, four... but the other is still drying.

What you will need:
- magnets
- glue
- something sturdy and cool

These are super easy. The three seen here consist of chipboard letters, metal letters, and the bottle caps I painted for thing-a-day. The chipboard letters have one strong magnet on the back, the bottle caps have 2 (so they stick out past the cap's depth), and the metal letters have a small adhesive magnet. I attached the strong magnets with E6000 glue. I also glazed the bottle caps with Diamond Glaze. I think I like them better shiny... but I'm not 100% sure.

I will probably make magnets with the rest of the letters and bottle caps.

Now it's bed time. Today was the first almost warm day of the year and I spent part of it riding my bike, walking the dog, and raking leaves left over from the previous home owner. Yawn! :)

thing-a-day 9 + tutorial: super simple 2-ring notebook

Thing 9

Not to seem like a one trick pony with these tutorials, but I decided to make another notebook using existing items from around my craft room. And yeah, it happened to include another paint swatch.

What you'll need:
- a paint swatch, cardstock, or a decorative paper backed with something heavier
- cardboard
- paper (I used an old sketch book)
- single hole punch
- pencil
- scissors
- binder rings (yarn or string would work as well)



1. Punch holes into your paint swatch/cardstock/whatever. I chose to do two holes. (Ignore the other paint swatch. I was going to make two, but got lazy.)

2. Trace the outline of your decorative cover onto cardboard or any other sturdy material. This will become the back of the notebook and will serve as a solid writing surface. Cut out.

3. Trace the outline onto your paper. I was able to fit two to a sheet. Cut out.

If I were spending more time on this project, I would cut out more paper. In fact, I probably will tomorrow.

4. Bring together all of the pieces.

5. Line up each sheet and attach with ring (or yarn. or string).

Here is your finished product! I plan to use mine as a portable sketch book. As I mentioned before, I'm going to add more paper.




Enjoy your new notebook! Prep time took me about 15 minutes. Construction took about 2.

thing-a-day 1: googly eye painting

Thing-a-day 1:

In keeping with my new "use stuff you have" rule, I decided to do something with googly eyes. Above: the finished product.
Somehow I ended up thinking a painting would be fun. Then I thought of the eyes like bees, chasing something in a field. I cut out these cute guys from eggpress (featured in CRAFT magazine a while ago) and a speech bubble from the same issue.

This morning I painted the canvas then went to the movies (I saw Revolutionary Road).
When I returned I started gluing the eyes. I tried using a glue gun, but it wasn't working out well so I turned to super glue.
Now you've probably noticed there aren't any animals. After I added the eyes I wasn't sure they were necessary. My consultant agreed. This is much creepier.

Those animals will need to be used in some other "thing."