Showing posts with label DIY. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DIY. Show all posts

21 March, 2013

BLACK, WHITE, AND TEXTURED EASTER EGGS

It's the second day of the black-and-white Easter decor week and it is about the most important decor element of any Easter celebration - coloured eggs.
To stay true to the black-and-white theme I've originally thought of dyeing several eggs black while leaving some white. The idea was very simple but I didn't want to use real eggs. Thing is, back when I was leading a strictly vegan lifestyle I was always on a lookout for vegan Easter ideas. This year I wanted to make a vegan Easter egg project.

I thought of felted eggs, fabric eggs, paper eggs, but all of those  ended up being too complicated,  time consuming, or uninspiring.  Looking for a simple solution I walked into a Dollar store and found plastic and styrofoam eggs. I bought both packages without quite knowing what to do with them.



At home Eric watched me unsuccessfully spray-painting plastic eggs and then suggested I simply paint styrofoam eggs with acrylic paint.  Now that was a simple solution but to make sure the styrofoam texture would not be too obvious I first applied white gesso all over the egg.  To hold the egg while painting I "stabbed" it with a metal hook (it was also handy for the drying time when I used a floral block to hold the hook and the egg).

BLACK AND WHITE EGGS

You can use styrofoam or wooden egg shapes for this project. Apply a coat of acrylic gesso to an egg and let dry.  Paint an egg with your favorite shade of acrylic paint.  Repeat if needed.



To bring the project one step further I decided to create some texture.  I was inspired by this project I had pinned a while ago.  Unfortunately I didn't have any Puffy paint and it was too late to go shopping.  I went through my scrapbooking supplies and found 3D crystal lacquer, picked up at a craft store.  I've applied a dot of it to an egg and waited patently for it to dry.  To my pleasant surprise the dot almost didn't loose its shape and I was able to paint over it with acrylic.
Over the next couple of hours I've covered the whole egg with tiny lacquer dots.  Why did it take me so long?  I wanted dots to stay perfectly round so I could only do one part of an egg at time (tilting the egg made lacquer run a little bit).




TEXTURED EASTER EGGS

Begin by covering an egg with acrylic gesso.  Once the base coat dries, squeeze small amounts of 3D crystal lacquer onto the egg.  Let dry and repeat.
To finish cover the egg with another coat of gesso and acrylic paint.

I would love to try more intricate designs with Puffy paint.  If I'll get a chance to make more textured eggs before Easter I promise to share results with you.

_____
A year ago: HAPPY SPRING
Two years ago: WEEKEND COLOURS


15 February, 2011

Valentine Day (roundup)

Click on the day to see all the tutorials.

Day 1 - Crocheted hearts

Day 2 - Heart felt

Day 3 - Love birds

Day 4 - Sew some love  

Day 5 - Valentine cards

Day 6 - Garlands

Day 7 - Wreaths

Day 8 - Mobiles and ornaments

Day 9 - Origami valentines  

Day 10 - Lacy, chalk board, and burlap hearts 

Day 11 - Easy Valentine projects 

Day 12 - Bunting banner, votive candle holders, and heart forest
 

Day 13 - Flowers

Day 14 - EasyPeasy Valentines


Extra - Origins of Valentine Day 
Extra - The story of heart symbol
 

19 December, 2010

DIY Christmas links part-3

Here is the final part of DIY Christmas series.  Today it is all about ...

Image by Andrew C. via Stock.xchng

Gifts
Dana (Made) shares her tutorials for easy hand-made Christmas gifts.  She also has a post about gift-wrapping.
Maya (Maya*Made) posts instructions for a hand-made oatmeal sachet - an excellent stocking stuffer.
I LOVE these water-balloon luminarias from Wendy (Wisdom of the Moon).  Make some extra to decorate your house with.


Gift Wrapping
I really like these four creative gift wrapping ideas from Jeromina Juan (Paper Plate and Plane).
Ez (Creature Comfort) suggest using earrings as part of gift embellishments.  She provides a couple of inspirational photos.
Jessica (Two Shades of Pink) had a three-day gift wrapping marathon (wrappathon???). Day1, day2, and day3. 
Moe (Cross My Hooks) shows how to crochet pretty gift-tags and cute red and green stars (click here for the stars tutorial).  She also shares a video to illustrate how to finger-knit a ribbon out of tissue paper yarn.  You can use it as a garland or to wrap your gifts.
And here you can find a collection of gift wrapping ideas from Marianne (Songbird).
Jessica Jones (How About Orange) has a tutorial about paper bows (the ones you use to decorate gifts with) made with magazine pages.  She also inspired Kristen (Big Box Detox) to make felted bows.
Katy (No Big Dill) shared her tips on easy gift wrapping using yarn, label stickers, and other easy-to-find supplies.
Ash and Kimmy (Green Eyed Monster) show their collection of green gift-wrapping ideas.
And here is another gift-wrapping collection from Sasha (What. No Mints?).
Last, but not least, great DIY holiday collection from Maya (Maya*Made).  She's got it all: ornaments, gift-wrapping, and decorations. 

Part 1 - DIY Decorating
Part 2 - DIY Tree Ornaments 

13 December, 2010

DIY Christmas links part-2

The first part of DIY Christmas series is here
And the third one is now available here
 

Image by Ivanna Buldakova via Photoxpress
  
Tree Ornaments

A very easy tree ornament with a special tradition from Tracy (Tracy's Trinkets and Treasures).  You can create your own tradition following her description
Beth (The Stories of A2Z) had an ingenious idea of faux capiz shell garland.  And if you scroll just a couple of post up, she generously shares her tutorials for other Christmas tree decorations.
Another easy decoration ornament, this time from Elaine (The Little Blue House) - a perfect project to make with children.
If you are a crocheter, like Vickie Howell (Vickie Howell.com ) you can make this adorable amigurum tree ornament.
Kim (Paper Zone) posted a video about 3-D paper snowflakes.  Made with silver and blue or red and golden paper they would look perfect on a tree or as a part of home decor.
And if you want something more challenging, follow Kim's instructions to create a geoball ornament.
Jeromina Juan (Paper Plate and Plane) explains how to make no-knit mini stockings.  Aren't they adorable?
And last but no least Dana (Made) shared a tutorial about A, B, C family ornaments.  This tutorial is a part of BlogNog series at say YES! to Hoboken.

Click here to view the whole series
My other favorites from this series are Small Advent Packages which could be used as a decoration and Mini Christmas Presents


Next time I'll share some interesting and easy gift-wrapping ideas.

08 December, 2010

DIY Christmas links part-1

Christmas is less than 3 weeks away and the blogosphere is buzzing with recipe, decoration, and gift ideas.  And while I am waiting to start decorating myself here are some of my favorite DIY holiday projects.


Image by Renata Osinska via Photoxpress

Decorating
Lisa (Recaptured Charm) offers a step-by-step tutorial about a Christmas Yarn Wreath - great way to decorate a door of a knitter's house.
Another idea from Jessica (How About Orange) - modern paper ornament which would look great as a part of Christmas decor.  Click here for step-by-step instructions.
Kathrin (Annekata) spent Black Friday making beautiful simple paper stars. A great project to make with children on a snowy day.
Candace (Sparkle Power) shares instructions for a whimsical paper dollie garland (via Smile and Wave).
Although these lacy crackers were designed as a wedding favors by Olivia Kanaley (A Field Journal) they would make a great Christmas decoration. (via The Bride's Cafe).
Check out this fun Christmas tree made out of old magazines.  Step-by-step instructions are provided by Ash and Kimmy (Green Eyed Monster). 
Gorgeous decorations made with old book pages Alisa Burke (Alisa Burke).  This girl has tons of ideas.
I LOVE Lisa Tilse's (The Red Thread) wreaths.  She made them from paper doiles, Christmas paper, and thin Chinese paper.
A simple and cute decoration: a star made out of a toilet-paper roll.  Thank you Michelle (Muffin Tin Mom) for instructions.

What are your favorite DIY Christmas projects