Crafting with Brittany: DIY Christmas Key Chain

Hello Everyone!

I hope you all have been having a fabulous week. Here in Ontario we had some pretty crazy weather at the beginning of the week. Hence, why today when I am writing this, I am curled up on my bed, in track pants and a sweater with some candles lit. I'm real exciting, aren't I? Anyway, as the title suggests, in this post, I am telling you how I made a keychain. This keychain was time consuming, but only because I had so much stuff included and it took me a bit to figure out how to attach some of the stuff. I wouldn't exactly call it budget-friendly either. You will be looking at spending some money - especially if you don't have any of the supplies already. All of the stuff is sold at Michaels, however, you may be able to find it in places such as Dollar Tree, Dollarama and independent craft stores.

Things You Need:
-key chain ring
-link rings
-pliers (if you have ones specifically for jewelry making, USE THEM!!!)
-beads
-various charm embellishments (bells, monogram letter, snowflakes, word plates etc)
-wire pieces (to thread the beads onto to create little bead charms - I'm not sure what these are actually called - but you can buy them at Michaels)

Step 1:
Take your key chain ring and your link rings and attach them together. Keep adding link rings until you have the length you desire.

Step 2:
Next, I took my embellishments and roughly placed them out where I wanted them to go. Play around with this until you are absolutely satisfied. Once you are satisfied, you can start adding them on using the link rings. Once you have finished putting on all the embellishments, put the keychain to one side to work on making the bead embellishments.

Step 3:
Take your beads, your wire pieces for the beads and your pliers and start making your little bead embellishments. For mine, I just stuck a large green bead on the wire and then stuck a small red one on top. I, then, took my pliers and bent the wire and twisted it around itself on top of the red bead. Repeat this step until you have as many as you would like on your key chain.

Step 4:
Once you have made all your bead embellishments, cut off any excess wire using little wire cutters (nail clippers also works - you will have to bend the wire while holding it with the nail clippers).

Step 5:
Finally, add these bead embellishments on the key ring links wherever you would like. Be sure to close the links up tight so they don't come off.

And there you have it! You're very own key chain. I love how well this turned out, despite it being the first time I am making a keychain. I hope you all liked reading about this DIY. If you attempt to do this DIY and you document it on Youtube or on your blog, be sure to let me know, so I can check yours out. Be sure to follow this blog as I will be posting every other week. Also check out my Youtube Channel where I will occasionally be posting DIYs there as well. Thank you so much for stopping by and until next time, Happy Crafting! xo

Crafting with Brittany: DIY Dishwasher Sign

Hi Everyone!

Hope you all are having a wonderful start to 2018! Our year started off kinda rough but things are looking up now. So as the title says, today I am showing you how I made a little sign for our dishwasher to update the one I made years ago. It was super easy and budget friendly, but a bit time-consuming. This is definitely a way to streamline your life so that you always know if your dishes are clean or dirty in your dishwasher. So let's get started!

Things You Will Need:
- scrabble tiles
- piece of cardboard
- scissors
- cement glue
- magnets

Step 1:
Glue the scrabble tiles using the cement glue to the small piece of cardboard. Be sure to arrange them so that when you flip it either way it is readable. Let it dry for at least a few hours

Step 2:
Cut any excess cardboard off and throw it away. Take a couple magnets and glue them on the back using the cement glue. Let this dry for awhile.

Step 3:
Put it on your dishwasher door and enjoy!

So that is it! I hope you enjoyed reading this post. If you make this little DIY, be sure to let me know in the comments below, linking to your video or blog post. I would love to see how you put your own twist on this. Thank you so much for stopping by and until next time, Happy Crafting! xo

Deck the Halls with Brittany: DIY Rustic Advent Calendar

Hi Everyone!

So I am trying to get back into blogging regularly and am very exciting to be starting back at it with a Christmasy post. As the title suggests, I decided to tackle making my own advent calendar since I couldn't find one in stores that I really liked. And I'm going to share with you all how I've done it! This project is going to take a couple times - as there is a bunch of waiting involved! Let's get started, shall we?

Things You Will Need:
-wooden advent calendar (I got mine at Deserres for $40)
-stain or paint
-paint brush
-metal numbers (Tim Holtz @ Michaels)
-crazy glue
-items to put in the shadow box part (mini treasures aisle @ Michaels)
-sandpaper

Step 1:
 The first thing you will need to do is to sand the wooden advent calendar. It may have splinters and stuff so it will be good to sand these down so you don't injure yourself down the road. You will want to sand each individual box as well. After you have sanded everything, wipe down everything with a clean cloth.

Step 2:
  Next, take the stain and the paintbrush and stain the entire advent calendar. You might need to do this in stages. I took all the boxes out and did the large wooden box first. While I let that dry, I did the fronts and sides of each box. Then when everything was dry, I put the boxes back in. Once I figured out where they all went, I painted the inside of each little box and put it back in its square to dry. Leave this overnight.

Step 3:
  Once everything is dry, you can take your crazy glue and your metal number and glue them on. In what order you glue them is up to you. I opted to put them on each box randomly instead of in numerical order. Make sure you don't use a lot of glue and be careful when handling the metal numbers - you don't want to accidentally glue your fingers together. Let this dry overnight (just to be on the safe side)

Step 4:
   Finally, take your items you bought for the middle of the advent calendar and glue them in the middle square part. Wait for those to dry and the enjoy!!!

So that is it guys! It's pretty easy other than the length of time this DIY takes. I love the way this turned out. My decor for Christmas tends to be Rustic and I'm glad that it really turned out rustic and goes so well with my decor. I hope you all enjoyed this post! Send me a link or comment down below with a picture if you decide to tackle this project! Thank you so much for stopping by. Be sure to come back for more posts - I plan on doing a few more DIYs this Holiday Season! Until next time, Happy Holiday Crafting! xo

Deck The Halls with Brittany: DIY Christmas Carol Canvas

Hey Everyone!

Hope you are enjoying your weekend so far! I sure am. I have just started watching the new Gilmore Girls episodes... and so far so good! Well, as you can see I am starting my “Deck the Halls with Brittany” series again for the holidays! This series will be on both of my blogs and my Youtube channel, so be sure to check them all out! Not all the content will be the same! With this being said, I am bringing you my first Holiday DIY of the year! I made a Christmas Carols Subway Art Canvas.

Things You Will Need:

• canvas
• paint
• paint brush
• alphabet stamps
• sealant spray
• markers in colours of your paint

Step 1:

Choose your first Christmas Carol and collect the stamps you will need for it. Then take the paintbrush and evenly coat each letter one at a time. Press the stamp down onto the canvas, one at a time until you finish the first carol. 

Step 2:

Repeat this process swapping out the paint colours. You want to make a pattern. For me, it was red, grey, dark grey, red, grey, dark grey etc. Repeat this until you have completed the entire canvas. 

Step 3:

Set the canvas some place in your home where it won't be disturbed while it is drying. 

Step 4: (** I had to use marker over my paint because it didn't come out as opaque as I would've liked)

Once it is dry, you can go over it with the markers and then spray it with a sealant spray so that the paint is protected and so is the canvas itself.  Once the sealant has dried, hang it in your house and enjoy! 

And that is all! Wasn't that easy? It is a bit time consuming, but totally worth it! I hope that you all enjoyed this little DIY holiday project! Be sure to show me pictures of your canvas - I would love to see them! Also, be sure to subscribe to this blog, The Britt Report (Lifestyle/Everyday blog) and my Youtube Channel (Queen Bree) as I have a lot of Holiday content coming up! Thank you so much for stopping by! Until next time, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! xo

Happy Fall Y'all: DIY Harry Potter Tee

Hi Everybody!

Hope you are having a good October so far! I'm bringing you another DIY and I hope all you Harry Potter fans out there especially enjoy it! It is a Harry Potter book title tee. This project is somewhat easy, yet time consuming so make sure you have at least an hour. It can be a bit pricy if you don't have the supplies.... for me, everything costed about $12, because I already had the stamps. Let's get started!

Things You Need:
- plain tee shirt (in a colour you will be able to see the lettering in)
- fabric paint (I went with black)
- stamps
- painter's tape
- wipes (to clean off the stamps)
- a piece of cardboard for the shirt

Step 1:
Carefully, mark where you want the words to go. I put the shirt on and marked where I wanted the words to start with the painter's tape. Take the shirt off (if you did what I did) and finish marking the two sides and the bottom with the tape.

Step 2:
Next, take the stamps and lay them out on your shirt so you get an idea of where you want the first word to go.

Step 3:
Once you are happy with it, take the piece of cardboard and put it between the front and back of the tee. This will protect the back of the shirt from any paint seeping through. After that, take your fabric paint and pour some out onto something you don't mind throwing out after. I used an extra piece of cardboard.

Step 4:
With a paintbrush, generously put an even amount of paint onto your stamp. Then make sure it is lined up and straight before you press it down onto the tee. Continue this process until you have completed all the words.

Step 5:
Once you have completed all the words, put it somewhere it can either lay flat or hang to dry. After it has dried, follow the instructions on the fabric paint bottle before you wear it. I had to wash mine after 72 hours inside out before wearing.

And you are done!!! That is all there is to it! I hope that you enjoyed this little tutorial on making your own Harry Potter tee. I am so happy with how mine turned out. Be sure to let me know if you do this DIY... I would love to see your versions of this DIY. Thank you so much for stopping by! This community means the world to me! Until next time, Happy Crafting! xo

Happy Fall Y'all: DIY Hello Fall Canvas Art

Hi Everyone!

I hope everyone is doing well on this lovely but somewhat chilly Thanksgiving Saturday. I am looking forward to spending the day with lovely company and eating a ton of yummy foods! Anyway, I just wanted to share with you a DIY project that turned out rather well. It doesn't cost too much and isn't too time consuming! Here is what you will need...

- a canvas (in your preferred size)
- faux fall leaves
- hot glue gun
- hot glue gun sticks
- paint
- paintbrush
-gold marker

Step 1:
Take your canvas, your paint and paint brush and paint the entire canvas. I chose black because it makes everything pop but you can choose whatever colour you want. Set the canvas aside to dry.

Step 2:
Once the canvas is dry, take your leaves and place them on the canvas until you are satisfied with how it looks. This is to give you a rough idea of how everything will look when completed.

Step 3:
Next, take your glue gun and start gluing the leaves to the canvas. Be sure to be careful, as the glue might seep through the faux leaves and can burn you.

Step 4:
Once you are done gluing, unplug your glue gun and then take your gold marker and write out whatever Autumn phrase you chose onto the canvas, where you want it to go. If it is easier, you can use a pencil first and a ruler. You can tweak it if needed.

And that is it! Be sure to hang it where you can admire it. It is an easy project that is really hard to mess up. I hope you all enjoyed this tutorial. Be sure to come back for more. I apologize for things being crazy.... I am going through a period of transition so I am hoping that it will start to get back to normal so I can post more regularly. Thanks again for stopping by and until next time, Happy Crafting! xo

Happy Fall Y'all: DIY Thanksgiving Canvas

Happy Fall Everyone!

I hope you all are enjoying this fine day! I am bringing you a late DIY post. I meant to have this posted on October 1 (last Saturday) but I got really busy and didn't have time to sit down and write. I will have some time tonight so I will make sure that this Saturday's post gets written! Anyway, today I am showing you how to make the cutest little canvas sign as part of your Thanksgiving decor. It is super easy but time consuming. I do apologize as I do not have any pictures of myself making this but I did have a video but I had to take it off Youtube due to copyright issues. I was listening to music while doing the DIY and my microphone on my phone picked up the sound. Let's get started, shall we?

Materials:

- Paint
- Paintbrush
- Canvas
- Sharpie type marker (in the colour of your choice)
- Washi or some other type of embellishment
- Alphabet stickers

Step 1:
Take your paint and paintbrush and apply a first coat to the canvas in the paint colour of your choice. You will need to set this aside to dry so make sure you have a space. Like I might have mentioned in the video, you make need to do a second coat, depending on the colour and type of paint.

Step 2:
Once the canvas is dry, take your alphabet stickers and carefully stick them to the canvas. Be sure to use a sticker that is sticky, but not so sticky that it will damage the canvas, take the paint off or just ruin the whole thing in general.

Step 3:
Once you have gotten the alphabet stickers on, take the Sharpie marker (or a similar marker) and trace around each letter. If it is easier, you can do a word at a time like I did in the video.

Step 4:
Next remove the stickers from the canvas very carefully. You may want to use some tweezer if you have them handy. I found this helpful when I was removing the stickers off my canvas.

Step 5:
Once you have all the alphabet stickers removed, take that same marker you used to trace around the stickers and fill in each of the letters until you have filled in all the letters of each word.

Step 6:
For the final step, take your washi or your embellishment or whatever you chose and stick it to wherever you think it would look nice. I just took some leaves washi tape I got at Michaels in a big pack and ran it across the bottom just to give it a slight border. I also did my lettering on different levels instead of just straight across. Once you have adhered the embellishment or washi to the canvas, you are done. You have completed your little Thanksgiving canvas for your home decor!

Well everyone, that was it! I hope that you enjoyed this little tutorial for this simple little Thanksgiving DIY! I sure enjoyed making it. Be sure to show me in the comments if you attempt to make this little DIY. I hope you all have a pleasant day! Thanks so much for stopping by my blog. Be sure to return as there will be many more posts coming in the future. Until next time, Happy Crafting.... and Happy Thanksgiving!!! xo