Saturday 25 January 2014

DIY Shadow Box - Valentine's Day Edition!!!

Hello Again, my fellow Crafters! 

I'm back with yet another inexpensive and easy diy decor project. So with Valentine's Day right around the corner, I thought I would try and post some Valentine's Day themed DIY projects! This one is similar to my Christmas Shadow box post. It's quick, easy and so festive. Let's get started!

Things you will need:
-shadow box
-paint
-paint brush
-scrapbook paper
-foam letter stickers
-festive decor to put inside the frame

Step 1:
Obtain a shadow box. I got mine from Value Village on a whim. But you could also find paintable ones at places like Micheal's. If you don't want to paint them, I know you can find little ones at Dollarama. 

Step 2:
So if you decided to paint one, you can start now. You may need to paint a few coats onto it. Let it dry. If you opted for one that couldn't be painted, go to the next step.

Step 3:
Once you have let it dry, take the scrapbook paper you have chosen and measure out the size of the background. This could be tricky if you have one like me. Try to get the edges as close to the sides as possible. Once you have it how you want it, feel free to secure it to the back of the shadow box. I chose not to because I want to interchange the backgrounds and decor. 

Step 4:
Next, decide on a saying or word that you want to put on the scrapbook paper. I went with "xoxo". My foam letters are pretty big so if you do use foam letters, try and find smaller ones. Other things you could put are "smooch", "heart", "love", "kisses" or "hugs". The possibilities are endless! 

Step 5:
Once you've done the word/wording, you can put your little decor into the shadow box. I went with these red glitter balls. I think it makes it look so nice and festive. Then you can close it up and you're done! 

It was that easy! Now find a spot for it and enjoy! Happy Crafting! xoxo



DIY Shadow Box Decor - Christmas Edition! (Better Late than Never!)

Hey Everyone! 

I'm back again with another easy decor project. This one is a little late since it is a Christmas one, but hey, better late than never! This could be given as a gift or just made for a space that needs a little bit of decorating! It is super easy and fun to do. Let's get started!

Things you will need:
- shadow box
-paint
-paint brush
-scrapbook paper
-scissors
-scrapbooking stickers
-different sized Christmas bells

Step 1:
The first thing you need to do is obtain a shadow box. You can get these anywhere. If you want to paint it a certain colour, I would suggest going to a craft store like Micheal's. If not, you can get them at places like Dollarama. I lucked out and found a few at my local Value Village so you can always check out places like that too.

Step 2:
Once you have the shadow box of your choice, you can paint it a preferred colour. I went with Christmas red. You may need to prime it or do more than one coat. I think I did two coats on mine. Let it dry.

Step 3:
Once it is dry, you can take your scrapbook paper and measure how much you will need to fill the background. I found this to be the trickiest part because my shadow box was made a little bit weird. Try and get it as close to the edges at you like. Once you have chosen a background and cut it out so it fits, you can place it inside the shadow box.  (I didn't secure mine to the shadow box because I'm going to interchange the little paper and decoration inside the frame, but you can secure it if you wish)

Step 4:
Once the background is in, place your scrapbooking sticker(s) to where you want it. I chose "Jingle All The Way" because of the bells I am placing in it. You could also use foam letter stickers. I was going to but mine were too big.

Step 5: 
Once the scrapbook sticker(s) have been placed, go ahead and place in your Christmas bells. I chose silver because I couldn't find gold ones. I think it looks just as nice. Go ahead and close it up after that and voila!!! You are all done!

I hope you enjoyed this quick, easy and inexpensive little diy project. I will be posting more diy projects in the near future because I am doing a lot of diy wedding stuff so look for that! I also hope to get some Valentine's Day stuff up as well! Happy Crafting! xoxo

Monday 20 January 2014

DIY Boutonnieres for Groomsmen and Groom!

Hey Everyone!

I'm back from my little holiday hiatus. I was actually going to post some DIY projects over the holidays but then got so busy that I didn't have any time to. Anyway, I'm back now and have been diving into wedding stuff, so get ready for a bunch of wedding DIY projects. Let's get started with this one. 

So if you are like me and think that flowers are great, but it's really not worth spending a small fortune on just to toss them in the air or decorate the church or reception hall with them, then go with fake ones. They are just as good, they will last waaaay longer and you can find some really nice looking ones if you shop around. I found mine at Ikea around the time the holiday stuff came out. The boutonnieres we are making today are just rose buds off the flowers I used for the bouquets. (Look for that post coming soon). Let's get started!

Things you will need:
-wire cutters
-floral tape
-flower(s) of your choice
-ribbon of your choice
-hot glue gun sticks
-hot glue gun
-scissors

Step 1:
Once you have chosen the flower you want to be in your boutonniere, you need to cut the stem to the desired length using the wire cutters. I say to use wire cutters because my flowers had wire in the stem, which I'm assuming most fake flowers would. 

Step 2:
Decide on how you would like the boutonniere to look. For me, I had three options. The first was to have the rose bud with three leaves. The second, to have it just stand alone with some ribbon and the third, to have the rose bud with one leaf to the side. Make sure you decide how you want it to look before you do any gluing or taping. I chose the one leaf on the side because three leaves was too much and the rose bud by itself looked weird. 

Step 3:
Once you have decided on your look for the boutonnieres, you can start gluing the leaf to the rose bud. I glued the stem to the back of the rose bud and put some glue on the bottom of the leaf to attach it to the rose part of the flower. Do this for all the boutonnieres. Let them dry. 

Step 4:
Once the glue has dried, take the floral tape and wrap all the stems as far as you can go. Floral tape is a little tricky if it's your first time using it. You have to stretch the tape first to activate the adhesive and then stick it to your stem. This will also help the tape stick to itself. Do this for all your boutonnieres. 

Step 5:
Once all the boutonnieres are wrapped in the tape, you can wrap them in the ribbon. Be sure to always glue on the backside of the boutonnieres. You don't want the glue or end of the ribbon to show in pictures etc. I found that starting from the bottom and working your way up worked best. Put some glue at the bottom of the stem and place the ribbon on it. Hold it there until dry. Then wrap as tight as you can up the stem until you get to the top. (Be sure to cover as much as you can). Place some glue at the back of the stem again at the top and hold the ribbon down until dry. Using scissors, cut the ribbon as close as you can to where the glue ends at the back of the boutonniere. 

Step 6:
Go over each boutonniere and get rid of the glue strings and excess chunks of glue so that they look polished and nice. 

That's all there is to it! Once you get the hang of it, it becomes rather easy. It is rather time consuming so make sure you set aside a lot of time to do this task. Good luck and Happy Crafting! xoxo