DIY Chevron Painted Tote Bag....

Chevron print..... hmmmm..... I think I have seen that before. hehee..

Well.... how about one more time ;) 

 You want to know how this project started??

Well..... I was "cleaning" my little art studio/craft room and wouldn't you know... I got a little sidetracked.

Happens to the best of us, right?

I've had this blank canvas tote for a while and as I was "cleaning" up a little it caught my eye again. There was nothing else I could do but decorate right then.

Occupational hazard. 

And, I have ADD... the self diagnosed sort.

Anyway.... here's what I did to it in case you come across one too and want to know what you should do with yours...

I"m here to help.

Here's what you will need:

 chevron patterned stencil. I found mine HERE.

Freezer Paper

Exacto Knife

craft paint/ or fabric paint

Canvas Tote bag

Iron

First, trace your stencil on Freezer Paper, {shiny side down}

I just taped my paper onto my laptop screen and copied it right from there.

Next, cut out the design with your Exacto knife

Once you have the design cut out, iron it onto your canvas bag...

Next, it's time for paint.

For this project, I used acrylic craft paint to paint in the stencil.

I wanted the look of the two colors fading together, for that I used "china blue" on the left side & "sea glass" on the right.

After I had the entire stencil painted in, I removed the paper and felt like it needed a little something else, so I went back in with another stencil that I cut from freezer paper...

Iron on and add paint, I used "melon" Americana craft paint for this part..... 

And that was it...

ahhh.... now I feel better and I might acutally be able to clean up this room now.

maybe.

don't hold me to it.

maybe I'll just take a quick nap first.....

;)

linked to these parties:

Flower Garden Fairy Houses.....

Summer Break is here!!!

Wait, that means I am going to hear things like:

It's my goal this summer {and every summer} not to hear these things constantly...mainly the "I'm Bored!" part.

Not to say I am successful in keeping that phrase at bay at our house every summer, but I try!

Each summer we make a "Summer Bucket List" of things we want to do. You can see a previous years list HERE, we only add things that are actually do-able {Bryce did want to add, "go to the moon" but I had to ask him to bring it down a level ;) }

This year, one of the things on our list was to Make Fairy Houses... 

This little craft took a better part of a day, we even had to break for lunch and get back to it

{I know I am not the only one that appreciates a nice looooong craft time, right?}

Here are the things we used for this project:

Bird houses { $1 at JoAnn!!}

acrylic craft paint

hot glue, or D6000 glue

resin flowers, stones, rocks, sticks, ribbon.... anything your kid's heart desires to glue on.... well, within reason ;) 

To start.. let your kids paint away... anything goes in the world of fairy houses... just let their imagination go crazy...

I got in on the painting and decorating too... Liam helped, I promise ;) 

Once the paint was dry, we started adding our decorations... I used lots of little sticks cut to size, Nola wanted to keep hers simple with ribbon and flowers, Bryce added everything but the kitchen sink to his.... he said he wanted his to, "look like a junk yard" a place where the fairies could go to find cool stuff, haha!

When we were all finished we put them in our flower boxes on our side porch... they do look really sweet nestled in with the flowers....

Here are a few books that you could include with this project too... just click on the picture for the link

Here's to summer break, and not hearing, "I'm Bored!!"

 I will try to keep the ideas coming here... but in the meantime, hop on over to my "For the Kiddos, I'm bored board" on Pinterest for more ideas that I have collected to keep my wild ones busy this summer ;) 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

DIY Teacher Appreciation Gift

It's Teacher Appreciation Week!

Time to celebrate the wonderful people who spend their days teaching and thinking of new ways to help our little ones learn...

Day One..

"Thank You for helping me write a chapter in my story"

DIY Painted Canvas

For this project you will need:

1 board {hard backed} canvas

printer

pencil

craft paint

To get started, free hand the shape of an open book..

Using two paint colors, paint in the book...

For a guide for the words, I printed the saying in a few different fonts in Microsoft Word, leaving an empty space for "write" 

To use your print off as a transfer for the words on your canvas, turn the paper over and color on the backside of each word with pencil...

Now, turn the paper over and tape it into place on the canvas. Trace each letter...

Once you have traced all of the letters, pull back the paper to reveal a perfect penciled transfer!

I used a ruler to mark of the paper lines for the word "write"...

  I asked Bryce {my Kindergarten boy} to sign his name at the bottom and then I was ready to paint it all in!

I used a very fine tipped brush and painted right over the pencil marks....

You could also add a book store gift card to go along with this gift, that's what I am planning to do before we wrap it up :)

I hope you will come back and check in for more ideas tomorrow! It's an entire week of Teacher Appreciation here on the blog and Facebook!

Thanks so much for taking a look!

Image Transfer With Mod Podge... shabby chic flower pots

Hello there!! 

It's been such a while since I have blogged... I have so much to tell you all about, but I'll save that for another post!

Today, I wanted to share a quick, super easy, and perfect gift for Mother's Day

Here's what you will need to get started:

Terracotta Flower Pot

Craft Paint

Foam Brush

Mod Podge, Matte Finish

A Printed Image, {I use my very plain DeskJet Printer, noting fancy required!}

To get started, first you will need to find an image for your flower pot... cruise on over to my favorite site for such things : The Graphics Fairy and you will find a ton of images to choose from!

{click HERE to find the image of the bee that I used}

Now it's time to paint your pot... I used "light buttermilk" Americana acrylic craft paint. After the paint was dry, I went back and distressed the pot with sand paper to give it a shabby, worn look

Next, you will need to trim around the edges of your image. Using your foam brush, paint a thin layer of Mod Podge on the image

Next, place the paper, image side down, onto the flower pot. Take care to smooth out any bubbles that may form. Allow to dry over night.... yep, that's the hardest part for me too ;) 

So... you've waited all night and now your ready to reveal your transfer!

Start by dipping your fingers in a small amount of warm water and gently start to rub away the paper...

Keep working at it until all of the paper is removed...

Now it's time to use it!

What do you think?? Would you love one of these as a gift? 

I would love to hear if you try this, or any of the other projects I share!

Hop on over to my Facebook Page and share a picture any time! I'll see you there!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Exciting Things Coming Up......Sweet Tea & Shopping Spring Market!!

I have been on a mini blogging break because I have been getting ready for a few exciting things...

First up is...

I can't tell you how excited I am for this event!! It's located on a beautiful, family friendly, working farm.

We love Bottom View Farm for so many reasons... it's one of my kiddos favorite places to spend a day. The animals, tractor train rides, zip lines and fresh strawberries will be ready for picking!! 

{These a few pics from our visit this past fall}

SO.... if you are nearby....come on out and visit the 90+ vendors that will be there!!

You can also meet Ben and Hillary from FOLK Magazine, eat some tasty food, play like a kid with your kiddos and do some serious shopping!! 

It's worth the trip, so bring your friends and I'll see you there!!

Oh.. what will I be bringing???

Here are a few things.... and I've got lots more up my sleeve!

Now... I guess I better get back to work ;)