Little Ghosty Friends

Hello, my fellow crafters!

So sorry I haven't posted recently. I have been super busy, preparing for wedding and starting to think about Christmas. I hope you all have been well and have been busy crafting! Today's craft is a super simple one, and you can do it with little kids. They are little tissue ghosts. Let's get started!

Things you will need:
- kleenex
-marker
-string or twist ties
-cotton balls
-needle and white thread

Step 1:
Lay the kleenex out flat on a hard, smooth surface. Place 3-4 cotton balls in the centre of the kleenex.

Step 2:
Gather the cotton balls in the kleenex so that you have formed a head. Use the string or twist tie (whatever you have laying around) to secure the cotton balls in the kleenex.

Step 3:
Take the marker and draw whatever kind of face you wish on the head of your ghost friend.

Step 4:
Take the needle and thread and use it to attach the thread to the top of ghost's head. What i did is fed the one end of the string through the hole in the needle. Then I cut it to the desired length. I knotted the two ends and stuck the needle through the top of the head. I looped the needle through the end of the string so that it would catch and stay in place. You don't want to pull to tightly as it is kleenex and it rips easily.

And voila!!! You are finished! I hope you enjoyed this easy little craft. It can be something really fun to do with children around Halloween time. In a classroom setting, you could have them even created a whole story about the little guy they have created. Happy Crafting!

DIY Puzzle Guest Book

Hello My Fellow Crafty People! 

I hope you are all doing well on this sunny Wednesday afternoon. I'm sorry I haven't been blogging regularly on here, but I have been crazy busy doing all kinds of things!!! I am hoping to make it a more regular thing, but it has been difficult even finding the time to do the DIY projects, let alone write them for you guys... But I am determined to do so. I want to pursue this writing a blog thing... its a dream of mine. 

Anyway, today's DIY is for the wedding oriented or if you are in the market for making puzzles. It is a DIY Guest Book Puzzle. This is something I created for my wedding after seeing something similar on Pinterest. It's pretty easy and takes approximately an afternoon, depending on how fast you work. Let's get started!!!!

Things you need:
- Bristol Board (needs to be thin enough to be able to frame after the wedding)
-sharpie marker
-ruler
-pencil
-markers for colour coating pieces (optional depending on the size of your puzzle)
-a guide for your puzzle (optional depending on the size of the puzzle - needed if you have a puzzle with a lot of pieces like mine so you can put it back together. 

Step 1:
You will need to cut the bristol board to the size you will need or you can leave it the size it is. I left mine. You also need to take into consideration how many guests will be attending. Make sure you will have extra pieces. 

Step 2:
Take your ruler and pencil and draw lines in every direction making a lot of irregular shapes. Once you are happy with it, take the Sharpie and trace over the pencil lines to give it a cleaner look. Use the ruler if you have difficulty with drawing straight lines freehand. (NOTE** Don't worry about having really small pieces as long as you have enough for your guests. You can colour those in black or draw little hearts (or something else wedding related) on them). 

Step 3:
If your puzzle is large, you may want to consider making a replica of the puzzle using white computer paper so that you are able to put it back together after the wedding. Just get a piece of white paper large enough, or tape several pieces of white paper together until it is the size you need. Place overtop of the puzzle and trace all the pieces. 

Step 4:
I had a ton of pieces, so I colour coded, numbered and assigned a letter to each piece. I wrote it on one side of the actual puzzle piece and then wrote it on the corresponding piece on the paper. 

Step 5:
Next, carefully cut out all the pieces and put them in a ziplock bag. Mine all fit in a regular sandwich baggie. 

When it comes time for your wedding, put the blank ones in a bowl and have some pens or markers handy. Have another bowl or a box for pieces with messages on them to go in. 

That's all there is to it. Just put it together and frame it after the honeymoon if you go on one right away. It's a fun way to have a guest book that is a little easier than making actual puzzle pieces. (Trust me! I tried! It is so hard to make it yourself so it looks nice and not bent or anything... I was so frustrated!) Hope you enjoy! Happy Crafting!!! 

Autumn in a Bowl - DIY Centerpiece

Hello, my crafty friends!

I hope you are all wonderful on this blustery Monday night. It has been a pretty crazy day here, weather-wise, in Ottawa. It poured off and on for a good portion of the day, around 6pm the sun made an appearance and then around 9pm, it was so window that when I walked out of Starbucks, the door flew open so hard, I was sure it was going to rip off. It was kinda a nice walk home for how windy it was. The colored leaves were everywhere, falling on the ground. Anyway, today's DIY project is the fastest, easiest centrepiece I've ever made. Let's get started!

Things you will need:
-clear glass bowl (your choice. I got mine from Dollarama for $3, I think)
-material leaves (or real ones if you wish)
-plastic pumpkins and gourds (I got a little bag that included a couple of pinecones for $2 at Dollarama)
-pinecones (2-3 depending on the size of the bowl)

Step 1:
Clean the bowl if necessary. Also, if there is a price sticker on it, carefully take that off too.

Step 2:
Take the material leaves and pumpkins/gourds out of the plastic. Choose which ones you want to use in your bowl. Because my bowl is on the smaller side, I only used the small pumpkins, pinecones and gourds. The baggie of pumpkins, gourds and pinecones did come with bigger pumpkins and pinecones, but I used them in other decorating (see my other blog, The Brittany Report). I also had a few other plastic pumpkins that I bought a few years ago which I added to the bowl.

Step 3:
Finally, I took some of the material leaves and sprinkled them into the bowl. I re-arranged them according to how I wanted it to look. I think I used like 5-6 leaves. If you are using real leaves, you can get them in all different sizes.

And that is how it's done! So simple, and so easy. I think it took me ten minutes to put together. Put it on your mantle or on your coffee or kitchen table and ENJOY!

NOTE: It could also be done where you do a different centrepiece for each season. For example, flowers in the spring with water and fake snow and a little village in the winter... or cranberries and pine tree and some glass ball ornaments!!! Get CREATIVE!! Have FUN!!!

HAPPY CRAFTING!!!

DIY Wedding Card Box

Good Evening, my fellow DIYers!!! Hope you all are having a wonderful Saturday evening. It is chilly here in Ottawa. Think I may light some candles and grab some hot apple cider after I finish this blog post. So today, I'm gonna show you something you can do yourself for your wedding. It's a card box and it was fairly simple to do. I would suggest doing it on a weekend as it can be a bit time consuming. Let's get started, shall we?

Okay, first things first, the things you will need.
-cardboard boxes that can be painted (I bought mine at Michael's. It came in a set of three for about $20).
-paint (in the colour of your choice)
-an exacto knife
-ribbon (in your choice of colour)
-tissue paper (in your colour choice)
-glue gun and glue sticks
-string
-glossy sealing spray
-stick on rhinestone strips (bought at Dollarama)
-ruler
-cardstock
-scissors
-black Sharpie (or preferred colour)
-pencil


Step 1
Take the boxes out of their packaging (if any) and separate the three boxes. Decide how many tiers you want it to be. I decided I only wanted two, but you can have it be one or three tiers if you wish.

Step 2
Take the box you want the cad slot to go in and measure the width and length of the box. Once you have gotten the measurements, you will want to figure out how big you want the card slot. I just did a slit in the top of my second tier box. You will want to make sure that there is an inch on either side the length of the box (see picture for clarification). Also, make sure it is centred if that is what you want. Once, you have cut the slot out, you may need to tidy it up a bit. I used a pair of small scissors to trim it up.

Step 3
Next you will want to cut a hole in the bottom of the box you just cut the slot into. This is so cards can fall into the bigger box. You will also need to cut a hole in the lid of the bigger box that is slightly smaller than the bottom of the top box. (Note: You may have to do this multiple times depending on how many boxes you have in your tier. See pictures for details!)

Step 4
Paint the boxes the colour of your choice. Once they have dried, glue the top tiers to the bottom one. Make sure to line up the holes so that it is centred. Wait for the glue to dry. After this, put the lid on the top tier. Then take the boxes outside and use a glossy sealer spray ( I used Krylon Glossy Sealer) to give it a glossy sheen and to seal the paint just in case.

Step 5
Once the sealer is dry, take the preferred ribbon of choice and wrap it around the middle of each box. Make sure it is in the middle of the box. Glue the ribbons down on each tier.

Step 6
On one of the boxes, there will be a little card that says "Cards". To do this, you will need to measure the length and width of the box (do not include the part where the lid sits in your measurements). I switched to millimetres to do this part. I made it so that the top and bottom of the card was a half millimetre from the top and bottom of the box. The sides I made to be approximately 1.5 - 2 millimetres away. You want the sign to be in the middle and to cover up where the two ends of your ribbon meet. I used card stock for this and outlined the paper in black. Then I used pencil to draw the letters first and then went over it in black Sharpie. I then put stick on rhinestones around the border (I felt like it was missing something). Glue this in the centre of the box with the slot in it.

Step 7
For the flower on the bottom box, you will need 2-3 pieces of tissue paper. Unfold the tissue paper and place one on top of the other. Make sure they line up. Cut it into 6 rectangles. Place them on top of one another and make sure they are lined up. Once they are, start folding them line you would if you were making a paper fan. Once finished, tie a string around the center of the folded tissue paper. Slowly start peeling apart the layers you have created until all layers are fluffed out. Make sure it is flat on one side so you can glue it to the bottom box. Also, be sure to hide the string. Glue the flower where the two ends of your ribbon meet.

Step 8
For some added bling, if you are like me and love a little bling, use some of the stick-on rhinestones to make a border around the slot for the cards to go into.

Hope you enjoy making this. I had a lot of fun creating this and making it my own by adjusting some of the things. HAPPY CRAFTING!!! xoxo

DIY Autumn Canvas

HAPPY OCTOBER CRAFTERS!!!

I hope you all are having a great beginning to October. I have been super busy! However, I am hoping that I will have some time this weekend to post some blogs. I have a few that are ready to be posted. Anyway, this one is super simple. It took me a couple days to do but this is only because I am busy. 
Let's get started!!!!

Things you will need: 
- stretch canvas (I got mine from Dollarama)
-gold spray paint (or another autumn like colour)
-foam letters (again, these I got at Dollarama)
- felt pre-cut leaves (from Dollar Tree)

Step 1: 
Using the foam letters, spell out the word "autumn" or "fall" on your canvas. Stick these onto the canvas. Mine were stickers that had a peel-off back. Super easy!!! To make sure they stay on, put a book on top of them so that it really presses them down. 

Step 2:
Take the canvas and the gold spray paint outside. (Note: Unless you are spraying on the grass, which will be cut eventually, I encouraged putting something underneath the canvas so you don't spray paint flower pots or the picnic table!!! I've done this to the picnic table before! Oops!)Let the canvas dry. In the sun, it doesn't take a whole lot of time. You might need to do a couple of coats. 

Step 3:
Figure out how you want to put your pre-cut felt leaves on the canvas. Once you have done this, use white glue or a glue gun to glue the felt leaves to the canvas. Let the glue dry. Then hang it up and enjoy!!!

Happy Crafting!!!

Topsy Turvey Flower Planter

Hello my fellow crafters! I'm so sorry I've been MIA for so long. I have been super busy planning my wedding. For those of you who are also planning a wedding, I will be posting wedding related ideas on here so be sure to come back and take a peek.

So today's project is something I created back in the summer, but am only posting about now. I call it the Topsy Turvey Flower Planter. It is a piggyback off of the Topsy Turvey Birdbath idea that you might have seen around. Let's get started shall we:

Things you Need:
- a metal rod (or a bamboo one, which is what I used)
-an 8" clay pot
- some 5" or 6" pots (3-5 depending on how big the rod is)
-spray paint (outdoor is preferable but if you don't have any, indoor will be fine as long as you have a sealer spray as well)
-soil (2-3 medium sized bags should be sufficient)
-little plants/flowers from Canadian Tire, Wal-Mart or wherever you buy flowers/plants from

Step 1:
First, you are going to want to paint the clay pots. You don't have to but I think it looks better than leaving them the orange-y colour they come as. I painted mine red because it is one of my favourite colours and it would pop in our garden. Once the paint is dry, spray it with a sealer if necessary.

Step 2:
Once everything has dried, take the pots outside. Put the metal or bamboo rod in the preferred spot. I chose a corner spot in our outdoor garden. Once the rod is in place, place the 8" pot on the bottom. NOTE: the clay pots should have holes in the bottom of them. This is so that you can slide them down the metal pole.

Step 3:
Once you have slid the 8" pot down the metal rod, start sliding the smaller pots down. You will need to fill the 8" pot with soil before putting the next clay pot on top of it. You will need to alter the direction of the pots so that every other one faces the opposite way.

Step 4:
Fill each of the 6" clay pots with soil and then add your plants and flowers. Because it gets heavy with the soil and flowers added, you may need a wood post to stabilize the metal rod. This can be done with some twist ties or some twine.

Once the flowers or plants have been planted, water them if needed and ENJOY! You now have a topsy turvey flower planter. HAPPY CRAFTING!!! xo

Geometric Butterfly

Hello, all my fellow crafters! Sorry I have been MIA this summer. It's been pretty a pretty busy season! Anyway, I will be posting a few more posts in the near future. I will also start posting DIY ideas for wedding stuff as well, as I am now recently engaged. With that being said, let's get started.

This afternoon's DIY project is a great one for kids. It crosses Math with Art and is fun for the kids without them realizing they are doing Math. I did this with my students during my second placement at Teacher's College. It is easy and turn out really pretty.

Things you will need:
- white construction paper (this will be the wings)
- black construction paper (this is the body and head)
- crayons, markers and/ or pastel
- geometric shapes (squares, rhombus, triangles, hexagons etc)
- a pencil
- a template for butterfly wings (optional)

Step 1:
Kids will receive one piece of black construction paper and one piece of white construction paper. Tell them to fold them both in half. Demonstrating this might be helpful. Once the pieces are folded, have students draw out a body and head on the black piece using a pencil. **Note: Make sure they are aware to have the body and head attached.

Step 2:
Next, take the white folded construction paper and while folded, draw one half of the butterfly wings. They may want to use scrap paper first to practice their wings before drawing it on the construction paper.

Step 3:
Once the body and wings have been drawn, keep the construction paper folded in half and cut out the wings and the body. Next glue the body of the butterfly where its fold meets the fold in the wings. Let this dry.

Step 4:
Once it it dry, it is time to draw the shapes on. Take the shapes and trace them where you want them to sit. It doesn't have to be symmetrical like mine is in the picture. This was for a culminating task for my students who had a critera for their butterflies. Yours can be done however you like. Once you are done, start colouring them in.

Step 5:
Once you have coloured in all the shapes, you may want to colour in the area around the shapes. This helps the shapes pop. You can also decide to leave it white. It's up to you. Get creative! Happy Crafting!