DIY Glitter Canvas and 'Merry Mail' sign

I took advantage of my extra time off this weekend and did a few crafts. It's such a great way to get into the holiday spirit and it was made even better by the cold front that came in this week! Now it really is cocoa and cider season!

The crafts I did were incredibly quick and simple, not only that, they're completely customizable which is even better.

First I'll explain the glitter canvases.

I bought a two pack of 16x20 canvases at Hobby Lobby back a few months ago so when I saw this idea I jumped on it. All you need is a canvas, glitter, elmer's glue, paint brush, a stencil (I googled, "Reindeer Sillhouette" and "Pumpkin Sillhouette" and printed these out the size I wanted them) clear acrylic spray paint and scissors or an exacto knife.

After that it really is as easy as it looks. Cut out the stencil. If you couldn't get your printer to print it big enough (the issue I ran into) then you can just print and cut it out, then tape it to a chair (or something) and place a light in front of it to project the image onto the wall. Move the chair until the image is the right size, place your canvas against the wall and voila, you're in business!

After you've traced the image on the canvas, squeeze out your glue and use a paint brush to spread it out evenly. Then pour on your glitter and let it sit for 5-10 minutes before dumping the excess into the trash.

 

Once you've got it how you want it, let it sit out to dry (30 minutes at least). Then to be extra careful, spray some clear acrylic spray paint on top of the canvas to help keep the glitter on there. 

I did one coat over the entire canvas, then a second coat over just the glitter (waiting 30-45 minutes in between coats).

Finally, you get to admire your work and figure out where you're going to put it! I decided to hang mine up in my entryway but a lot of people prefer to place theirs on the mantle above a fireplace.

 

My next craft, I saw and subsequently stole from a friends Facebook page! a Merry Mail sign is a perfect way to display your Christmas cards for everyone to see. In the past I had taped mine up in the shape of a tree on the wall, but this is such an easy way to present them in a cute, organized manner. This craft is even simpler than the last one. Here's what you'll need:

1 piece of wood (I cut mine from a pallet, then sanded it until it was smooth)

red paint

white paint

paint brushes

hot glue gun

ribbon

mini-clothes pins

Seasonal Foilage

Lighter

Once your wood is the right size and texture, paint a coat or two of your red paint. Once it's dry add your saying. I went with Merry Mail but the one I made my mom says Seasons Greetings. Once your white paint is dry, cut your ribbon however long you want (I made my moms much longer than mine because she receives a lot more Christmas cards!) just make sure they're all the same length. Take the lighter to the edges so they don't frey, then hot glue them to the back. Next glue on your foilage and once it's cool you can add your clothespins and find a place to hang it up!

I chose to use a picture hanging kit to hang my sign, but you can use large command strips as well.

All in all I was able to do both crafts in one evening and I'm super happy with how they turned out!
Now I just need the self-control to wait until after Thanksgiving to put them up! We'll see if I make it. . .

DIY Travel Art Case

Sitting in traffic sucks. It especially sucks when you have two kids in the back seat but only one notepad and pen to keep them occupied. 

That happened to us a couple weeks ago when we were on our way to the fair and I realized that I needed to find a better way to help the kids pass the time. That's when I did a little pinning and found the idea to transform DVD cases into little art stations! 

It took about 20 minutes per case and required no special skills or knowledge. 

If you want to make one here's what you'll need:

DVD case you can use an old one or buy a 10 pack at the store

Exacto Knife or something equally sharp

Cutting Mat trust me, you don't want to cut your table

Spray adhesive

Hot glue gun

Cardboard approximately 5x7 is enough

Fabric enough to cover the cardboard one and a half times

Paper cutter 

Iron and ironing board if you want wrinkle-free fabric

Scissors

Scrapbook paper one sheet to decorate the cover 

Printer paper

Colored pencils Each case can fit about 10 colored pencils

Once you have your supplies and a space cleared off you get to start cutting.

First, carefully cut the plastic cover off the side with the DVD holder. that way when you cut out the next part, you don't ruin it. I tried to skip this step. I ruined a DVD case.

 

Now use your exacto knife and cut out the DVD holder. If you don't, you won't have room for your colored pencils. I didn't try to skip this step, I learned my lesson on the last step.

 

It's a bit tricky to cut out the hard plastic but this part is the hardest part, so keep on keepin' on! 

 

Once you've got it done, set it aside and cut out a piece of cardboard that will fit in the DVD case. My cardboard cutouts came from a USPS Flat Rate shipping box and wound up being about 5x6. Make sure with this step that you can still easily close the DVD case and keep in mind that you'll need a bit of room for the fabric.

After that, pull out your fabric and cut it so that it hangs over each side about an inch. You'll want enough room to glue it to the cardboard. Once I cut my fabric, I also cut out my pocket fabric (of the same material) and it's essentially just half of the first piece. After that, I ironed my fabric so that it wasn't wrinkly and messy looking, then used my hot glue gun to attach it to the cardboard.
You can use the spray adhesive if you prefer but I warn you- spray adhesive sucks. Anyone that tells you different is lying, or crazy. Spray adhesive was probably thought up by a crafter that had a huge project to glue and using a gluestick just wasn't cuttin it. In that scenario I imagine it's a life saver. When you're dealing with small spaces that need to be glued it just turns into a dirty, sticky mess.
Your choice though.

After you have the fabric attached to your cardboard, glue your cardboard into your DVD case. For this portion I used spray adhesive AND hot glue, just to make sure it stayed.

If you're going to go that route here's a tip- spray the adhesive on the case then wait about a minute before you add the hot glue to the cardboard and stick it on. The adhesive comes out super cold and this gives it a little time with the air to come down to room temperature and to be more sticky/less liquidy when you smash them together.

 

Once you're done with that all you have left to do is cut your scrapbook paper to fit inside of the DVD art cover, then add a thin line of hot glue to refasten the plastic liner to the back.

 

Now you get to fill your case with colored pencils and paper! Obviously a full sheet of paper won't fit, but you should be able to cut two smaller pieces out of each 8.5x11" and tuck them into the side opposite the colored pencils.

Ta-da!

I bought a 10 pack of DVD cases, so I made little travel art cases for all of my nieces and nephews as well, it's a perfect little surprise when I see them next and hopefully it gives my siblings a little peace in the car!

I hope y'all enjoy this quick craft that will give your kids something to do for endless hours of car trips!

Difficulties of a beach themed room

Boy is it great to be home. While soaking up the sun and 85° weather on my back patio (it's ok to be jealous; not everyone can live in Texas) I have been thinking about how I've spent my time and money during the last month. 

I've definitely used my downtime to search for some cute additions to our home decor and after spending way more money than I'd care to admit, I'm happy to announce that we're all set decorationally in our Master bedroom and the kids' rooms! 

The hardest part of the entire search was finding beach or nautical artwork for the master bedroom. Is it really that hard to paint a picture of the sea instead of snapping corny computer-desktop style pictures and printing them in bulk?! 

We never found any decent large pieces so we opted for 3 smaller pieces framed next to each other. We also found a couple more small ones for the master bath. Then we ran into problem number two. Frames. I love all of the detailed dark-wood frames in the stores, I do. I have purchased many of them for the maps and artwork in our home. That being said, they just don't match a beach theme! After stalking, then stomping down aisle after aisle of frames I complained, 'This is ridiculous! I know exactly what I want- I could MAKE a better beach frame than these stores offer!' 

To which Matt replied, 'well then why are we still here? Just make them.'

I hate it when he calls my bluff...! 

But I did have an idea of what I wanted so we bought some plain, unfinished frames and I set out with my white paint and a plan. 

I mean how hard is it to make a frame look like beach-wood? A little paint, a little distressing and it should be perfect! Worst case scenario I have 5 ugly frames that I can sand the paint off of and store them for a future home/holiday craft. 

Thankfully it was even easier than I anticipated and a thin coat of paint made the wood look beachier than any distressing I could have done! 

Hooray for something actually being simpler and cheaper than I envisioned! 

The artwork along with my new Tommy Bahama sheet set have renewed my hope for creating a good beach themed master bedroom. Thank goodness because I was beginning to think that I would have to go to the beach and break-in to some cottages to achieve the look!  

Moral of the story? Don't settle for something you don't like if you can try to make something better. If your attempt turns out horrible, laugh about it and feel free to settle :) 

Until next time, I'll be out here enjoying the sun with this oddball.

Weirdest. Dog. Ever.