Monday, September 17, 2012

Rockin' Dry Erase Desk Frame

My latest craft project came out of necessity for keeping my sanity.  I am a working mom of two middle school kids.  Yes, it freaks me out to think they are in middle school.  And I am trying to be the mom that helps them stand on their own two feet and learn that I will not always be there to remind them of everything.  Heck, at the pace my memory is going, I'm lucky to remind myself of the things I have to do these days!

So when I came  across this idea on Pinterest, I was in love.  What a quick and easy way to make a "To Do" dry erase board each of them can keep on their desk!  Brilliant!   I would love to put the link for the original site, but I cannot find it.  So kuddos to whoever posted the inspiration for this originally.  

  
I found a simple black frame at the $1 store (glass center).  The rock n' roll ribbon was on sale at Michael's for $1.50.  The other ribbon I had in my craft supply, gotta love being able to use something already on hand!  And the notebook paper I stole out of my daughter's backpack.  Shhhh, don't tell!

After cutting and inserting the notebook paper into the frame, I attached the checker ribbon around the top and bottom of the frame with a glue gun.  Next came the rock n' roll ribbon which I tied in a bow, cut off the excess and glued to the corner with the hot glue gun.  Voila, that really was it!  $2.50 and now my daughter has a fashionable dry erase "To Do" board.  Now the trick will be getting her to use it!

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Pinterest Party - Burlap Door Decor

I have no idea what got into me this weekend.  I was a crafty girl.  Maybe it was that I kicked it off with a Pinterest party and the crafting just never stopped.  What is a Pinterest Party?  I am glad you asked...

A few of my friends and I decided to try something new for our GNO on Friday.  We brought over an appetizer, a beverage of choice and a craft we had found on Pinterest.  It was the best GNO ever!  (Although, I do have this one word of caution.  Make sure the crafting takes place before too many beverages are consumed.  Otherwise the results may vary and be rather humorous the next morning.  But I digress.)  

We created a Facebook Event for our party so we could share some ideas before hand.  A few of my friends mentioned creating burlap door decor.   The funny thing is that I had just seen this at the Orthodontist's office for the first time that exact day (shaped like a tooth of course).   I searched Pinterest and found that I was obviously missing out on one of the latest decor trends.  These things are everywhere!

I jumped on the burlap bandwagon for our Pinterest party and decided to make one for my sister-in-law for her birthday.  She is a full tilt Georgia fan, and I had found the perfect Pinterest inspiration.  Here is my creation....


I learned a few things to do and not to do with this project. First of all, trace the shape you want but do not cut it out until after you have painted it.  I cut mine out before I painted and it did make it more difficult than some of my friends who did not.   Second, don't feel you have to use brown burlap.  I found a great red burlap that cut down the amount of painting I had to do.

After selecting my shape, I used white paint to do the trim first.  This doesn't need to be perfect.  As you can tell, the burlap will bunch a bit once it is stuffed, so no one will notice slight imperfections.   Plus it is those imperfections that make it look homemade.  I went about 2 inches in with the white acrylic paint all the way around.  Then I came in with the black paint and traced my G about 1/2 an inch from the border.  I kept adding black until I had a width I liked and then filled it in.

Now here is where the Crispin Apple Cider came in.  I did have a black spot that I got "outside" of the lines a bit.  But it worked out perfectly because the next day I added a dark red shadow to cover it up and then some gray shading into the G.  Mistakes can sometimes be inspiration!

Once I completed the painting and it had dried, I took a matching piece of burlap (not painted) for the back and began to glue the edge of the two together.  The glue gun worked great for sealing around the edge of the two pieces.  I left about a 6 inch gap.  After the glue dried, I stuffed it with batting then glued up the last little bit.

For the final touch, I decided to make my hanger out of ribbon.  Most of the samples I saw had wire hangers, but I love the look of ribbon.  Using two different size ribbons, I glued them on top of each other to give a layered look.  Then I used a stapler, yes a stapler, to staple the ribbons onto to the burlap.  To hide the staples, I hot glued the matching bows on top.  There ya have it!  Ready to be placed on the front door.

I have a feeling this is going to be the beginning of a burlap addiction.  And we have already agreed that the Pinterest Party will now be a monthly event.  Friends, food, wine and crafting.... life just doesn't get any better.


Featured Post

Count Down to Disney

We have Disney issues.  Okay, to say "issues" is mild, we are addicted to Disney.  My favorite trips are when we are able to share...