decor – Can Can Dancer

DIY Burlap & Lace Bunting

Hello World,

I’ve been seeing bunting on Pinterest and Etsy lately being used for birthdays and weddings, using fun fabrics or different papers. I made some of my own, but my own spin of it and used thrifted lace trim and burlap.

I made mine say “Happy Halloween,” but I think I’ll make another set near Christmas too. Maybe even another one that just says “love” for all year round decor.

1. Gather your supplies: burlap fabric, lace trim, glue (I used Aleene’s tacky glue), scissors, a paintbrush, paint, and alphabet stencils (mine were from this Darby Smart kit).

2. Cut out as many triangles as you need from the burlap. I bought a yard, and used only a third of it for 14 triangles.

3. Place a piece of paper under your first burlap triangle, to protect your work surface. Place your first stencil letter down, and gently paint within the stencil.

4. Remove the stencil, and a fill in the stencil spaces if you want a full letter. Allow to dry, and repeat with all your other letters.

5. Line all your painted burlap triangles in a row, and apply glue to the top of each triangle. (I did two bunting strands, so HAPPY and HALLOWEEN were separate pieces in the end.) (I forgot to take a photo of this step.)

6. Leave at least a foot of lace trim free at each end, and press the lace trim onto the glued areas. Allow to dry flat overnight. (I get an F- and forgot to take a photo of this too.)

7. Hang and enjoy!

Happy Crafting!

October 18, 2014

DIY Glitter Pumpkins

Hello World,

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays (and Christmas and Valentine’s Day). I pretty much just love decorating. (I love costumes too, and those will be the topic of upcoming blog posts.) Recently, I went to JoAnn Fabrics and came across a candy corn color-blocked pumpkin for $24.99. Instead of buying it, I made my own version with a foam pumpkin from the dollar store.

The left photo above is the pumpkin from JoAnn’s, and the right it my DIY version. I didn’t realize until the gold glitter was on the pumpkin that I had gotten my candy-corn colors in reverse. #youhadonejob but let’s just pretend it was a creative spin on it. 🙂

I already had all the supplies on hand, so this project only cost me a dollar! The glitter I bought a while back in a 12 pack from Ross for $4.99, which I have gotten so much use out of. Tutorials for two different versions of the glitter pumpkin are below:

1. Gather your supplies: a foam pumpkin, acrylic paints, coordinating glitters, Mod Podge, a paint brush, and something to shake your glitter over (a paper plate, a placemat, or piece of paper).

2. Cover your pumpkin with white paint as a primer. Allow to dry and do a second coat so your original pumpkin color isn’t visible. Using paint will make it so we need less glitter later. Allow to dry.

3. Now you can go about this two ways: either mix Mod Podge and glitter together and paint that on the top third of your pumpkin, or apply a coat of Mod Podge to the top third of your pumpkin, and shake glitter onto the wet Mod Podge (while holding your pumpkin over your placemat). Give your pumpkin a light shake to rid of excess glitter, and allow that section to dry. Pour excess glitter back into your glitter container.

4. Apply your second color of paint to the middle third of your pumpkin. Allow to dry.

5. Repeat step 3 with your second color.

6. Apply your third color to the bottom third of your pumpkin. Allow to dry.

7. Repeat step 3 with your third color. My pumpkin had a green stem, so I painted the stem black. Allow to dry.

8. If you are afraid of glitter fall-off, apply a thin coat of Mod Podge to your entire pumpkin to seal it.

1. Gather your supplies: a foam pumpkin, acrylic paint, coordinating glitter, Mod Podge, a paint brush, thumbtacks (mine were from the dollar store) and something to shake your glitter over (a paper plate, a placemat, or piece of paper).

2. Cover your pumpkin with paint color of your choice. Allow to dry and do a second coat so your original pumpkin color isn’t visible. Using paint will make it so we need less glitter later. Also, my pumpkin had a green stem, so I painted the stem black. Allow to dry.

3. Now you can go about this two ways: either mix Mod Podge and glitter together and paint that your pumpkin, or apply a coat of Mod Podge to your pumpkin, and shake glitter onto the wet Mod Podge (while holding your pumpkin over your placemat). Give your pumpkin a light shake to rid of excess glitter, and allow that section to dry. Pour excess glitter back into your glitter container.

4. If you are afraid of glitter fall-off, apply a thin coat of Mod Podge to your entire pumpkin to seal it. Allow to dry.

5. Push your thumbtacks into your pumpkin. I did simple vertical lines, following the curve of my pumpkin. If you are afraid of your thumbtacks falling out, you can apply glue to them prior to pushing them into the foam pumpkin.

Aren’t they just so cute! I might actually head back to the dollar store and pick up another one and make a black glitter pumpkin with thumbtacks.

Happy Crafting!

October 4, 2014October 4, 2014

Driftwood Jewelry Organizer

Hello World,

I love the beach. Having sand between my toes, sun on my skin, and a beach bag full of found treasures makes me happy as a clam at high tide. Because I don’t live near an ocean, I collect rocks and driftwood instead of sea shells. (Fun Fact- I have never found a whole sand dollar, only bits and pieces. The Pacific Ocean is rough on those guys!)

Back to my driftwood collection- I have long ones displayed in a vase, other interesting ones decorating my shelves, and then a pile of make-something-with-mes sitting outside. Well, I finally put a little dent in that pile, and made two jewelry organizers:

1. Gather your supplies: clean driftwood, screw-in hooks, a clear sealant (spray paint or polyurethane), acrylic paint, paint brush, stapler, staples, rope, and scissors.

2. If you want to decorate your driftwood, paint a design and allow it to dry.

3. Seal your driftwood and allow it to dry. This will make it darker and slightly glossy, but it will preserve it. (Note- be careful with woodworm. My piece of driftwood had shallow surface bites on it, but I kept it outside for months (away from other wood), where it could cook in the hot sun. When it doubt, throw it out or insecticide it.)

4. Screw your hooks into your wood. I followed the flow of my driftwood instead of placing them in a straight line.

5. Staple two short pieces of rope to the back of your wood- one on each end. This is how you will hang it. (You’ll probably notice that my wood is bright orange on the backside. This is because I sawed the back of it off, so it would be flush with the wall.)

6. Hang and enjoy!

For my second jewelry organizer, I used a flatter piece of driftwood and painted a more basic design.

Happy Crafting!

July 27, 2014