Crafting with Brittany: DIY Leprachaun Figurine

Hi Everyone!

I hope you are enjoyed St. Patrick's Day this year! First, I just wanted to apologize for not having this post up yesterday. I got really sick last weekend and was not able to do very much. Today, I am feeling a bit better than I have all week so I figured I would try and get this post done so I could publish it and get it out to you all! Like the title suggests, I am bringing you a St. Patrick's Day DIY. I saw this little guy on Pinterest and thought he was so cute! It can definitely be done on a budget but it is a bit of a time-consuming project so make sure you set some time aside to do it. With that being said, let's get started!

Things You Need:

- green felt (adhesive felt and regular felt)

- long-hair fur material

- glue gun

- glue sticks

-scissors

- ribbon

-gold sparkle washi tape

- pop bottle (I used a glass pop bottle)

Step 1:

Take the adhesive felt and attach it to the pop bottle. I made the felt go all the way up the bottle but you do not have to do this. The hat covers the neck of the bottle so it only needs to go to where the neck of the bottle starts.

Step 2:

This is the part that is tedious. First you want to cut a rectangular piece of felt large enough to fit over the neck of the bottle so that it goes over the entire neck of the bottle. Sew the two shorter ends together. 

Step 3:

Next, cut out a circle a little bigger than the circle that the cylinder you made above is. Then, sew the edge of the circle to the edge of one end of the cylinder. This creates the top of the hat. 

Step 4:

Finally, cut out a bigger circle. I used the bottle of the bottle as a guide. Cut it out and then cut a smaller circle inside the circle (you create a green donut... hahaha). I made the inside circle an inch in from the outer circle. This makes the rim of the hat. Put the cylinder inside the smaller circle, line up the edges and then sew the edge of the rim to the bottom edge of the cylinder. Flip it right side out and you have a hat for your leprechaun. 

Step 5:

Plug your glue gun in and wait for it to warm up. While you are doing that take your fur fabric and determine how long/short you want the leprechaun's beard to be... and where you want it to start on either side. (NOTE: Be sure to put the hat on your leprechaun so that you can make sure the hat covers the sides). When the glue gun is ready, glue the fur fabric where you want it. 

Step 6 (Optional): 

If you have one, you can glue a peach coloured pom-pom to the top of the fur fabric, right under the hat, so that your leprechaun has a nose. I didn't want to buy a big package of pom-poms just for this project so I opted not to put a nose. 

Step 7: 

The last step is to glue the ribbon and the little gold buckle to the hat. First, put a dot of hot glue in the middle if the ribbon and press down to the front and centre base of the hat. Do be careful not to burn yourself. Next take one end and wrap around to the back centre of the hat. Place a dot of glue and press the ribbon down onto the hat. Do the same for the ribbon on the other side. Next take a tiny bit of glue and glue the gold square down to the front and centre of the hat on top of the black ribbon. This is your gold buckle. 

Step 8 (Optional): 

If you want to, you can glue a 4-leaf clover into the ribbon on one side of the hat, like I did. Just put some glue on the back of the clover and place where you want it on the hat. 

So that is everything! I hope you all enjoy making this as much as I did. I thought it turned out so cute! He looked so adorable sitting amongst all my other St. Patrick's Day decor. I hope you had a great St. Patty's Day! Thanks so much for stopping by and until next time, Happy Crafting! xo

Crafting with Brittany: Sweetheart Tree DIY

Hi Everyone!

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend. So with this being the month of love, I felt inspired to do a Valentine's Day DIY, but nothing that was incredibly sappy. I was looking for something that could stay up in my home year round, should I wish it to. So after perusing Pinterest for awhile, I came across a canvas art project... it was some birch trees with a neutral background and on one of the trees was an painted etched-heart with two initials in it. I thought this was so sweet and could easily be left up year round, so I decided to attempt it. It has the potential to be on the pricier side of things, but if you use coupons and stuff you already own, you could definitely make it budget-friendly. Let's get into it, shall we?

Things You Need:

- Paintbrush
- Paint (neutral colour or stain if using a wood canvas, white and black)
- Canvas or Wood (I used a coupon at Michaels for a 20X20 inch wrapped canvas)


Step 1:
Paint your canvas with the background colour of your choice. I used the colour zinc grey as my house is pretty much grey in every room. Let this dry. You may need to do a second coat.

Step 2:
Paint on the birch trees or whatever type of tree you are planning on painting. Let this dry.

Step 3:
Take the black paint and use tiny amounts to make the heart shape etching in the tree. Then use a smaller brush, if needed, to make the initial carvings inside the heart. Let this dry.

Step 4: (Optional)
Take a sealant spray and spray the entire canvas evenly. Let this dry. Once dry, you can hang it wherever you like.

So that is it! I hope you all enjoyed this tutorial on how to do this. Be sure to let me know in the comments below if you attempt this DIY - I love seeing people's different takes on things. Thank you so much for stopping by and until next time, Happy Crafting! xo

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