Make Your Own Wooden Letter With Cardboard

It's been sometime since my last DIY , but this particular idea has been marinating in my brain for quite a while. I've loved these little beauties for a while now :

http://www.etsy.com/listing/159032097/large-wall-letter-creamy-white-and-brown?ref=market

While I do love these letters, I never felt like paying money for them, nor did I feel like purchasing wood and a jigsaw to make my own. (Although in the future I do plan on purchasing a jig saw along with other power tools.) Since my last post about my Ikea haul, we've been stuck with a lot of cardboard around the house. Rather then let it go to waste I got the idea to make these letters. A great way to recycle and get some of this unwanted cardboard out of the house.

DIY Time!!

Materials List:

-Wood Glue
-Spray Paint (whatever color you like)
-Utility Knife
-Stencil of a letter
-Cardboard (enough to make 4 to 6 letters)
-pencil

Steps:

1. Use your utility knife to open up the box so that it lays flat.

2. Take your letter stencil and trace the letter onto the cardboard. You'll want to do this about 4 to 6 times.

HELPFUL HINT: I made this stencil using Microsoft Word on my work computer. I wanted a font that was simple and clean. Making my font size 650 made a pretty good size letter ,but I wanted mine bigger. If you work in an office and your boss doesn't mind use the copy machine to blow up the image. (If you have more specific questions post in the comments below and I will get back to you ASAP!!)

3. Now that you have traced your stencil lay the cardboard on top of either a cutting mat or another piece of cardboard (we don't want to scratch up your working surface!). Take your utility knife and carefully cut out your drawn letter. Take your time, but remember if you make a little error we can go back and correct it.

4. Repeat step 3 for all 4 to 6 cut outs.

5. Once you have all of the letters cut out line them up on top of each other. When they are lined up you will be able to see if there are some edges that overlap. Use your utility knife to trim away any excess.

6. Now use your wood glue and glue them all together. You do not need to slather the whole letter with glue, just enough to keep the edges down and the letters on top of each other. Wood glue dries pretty quickly so make sure you have the letters lined up correctly.

7. Allow the glue to dry for about 30 minutes to an hour.

8. Now here is where you can do what you want. I decided to spray paint my letter one color, but you can use colorful paper, contact paper, or stencils to color your letter. (I will be going back in a later post and making some letters for my daughter's room in different colors.)

9. Make sure that you use your spray paint outside and coat the entire letter including the sides.

10. Let dry and you are all done! Set it on a shelf, hang it up with ribbon, or place it in a frame.

Weekend Pinterest Round up! Centerpiece Edition

So tomorrow I will finally have a DIY for your viewing pleasure! (Being a blogger is hard work!) Until that glorious day, I've got some more pinterest projects for your enjoyment. Last Pinterest round up was about Thanksgiving decorations and crafts, this week we are going to focus in on the center piece of the table.

1. This is a great tutorial that talks about how to make grocery store flowers look great!

via Apartment Therapy

2. Here are 7 different centerpiece ideas that you can make yourself. Links to full instructions are listed on the website.

via http://www.bellenza.com

3. If you are feeling ambitious and have the time then this DIY pallet centerpiece is very chic and rustic.

via The Idea Room.net

4. Or if you have some craft paper (or an old book you don't care about) laying around then you can make this nice pumpkin center piece.

Minted.com

5. Finally another 5 tutorials for your Thanksgiving holiday celebration. These won't break and can probably be made with things around the house.

Shine.Yahoo

Well that's all for today my Lovelies. Please stay tuned tomorrow for  my latest DIY project !

Project and Clean up Weekend!

Our house....is a very, very, very fine house.

Good morning Lovies (that's what I'm calling you now so get used to it)! Sorry I haven't posted in a couple of days , but if you read this and this then you know we have been getting prepared for the holidays. I don't know about you ,but if someone  told me that after a year of living in our new home we would still have boxes, still need to paint the first floor, and still need to add shelving I would..... well I probably would have told them they were right. Even when we were moving every year (I got bored with our apartments very easily) I would always have a few boxes still packed up sitting in a corner somewhere.

Now that we have a beautiful baby girl , I feel the maddening desire to have everything organized! If you follow me a Pinterest (and if you don't you really need to) I've got two boards dedicated to cleaning and home organization. I dream of color coded binders , Google apps perfectly synced on my phone and computer so I'll never miss an appointment again, and every drawer, nook, and cranny of my house so perfectly organized that Martha Stewart herself would fall to her knees and cry. Well sadly that won't happen with boxes of books and art supplies sitting in my living room. So I've dedicated this weekend to cleaning and completing/starting my DIY projects! (Lucky you!)

So be on the look out lovies for my next DIY post. I hope that you all have a great weekend!!

Weekend Pinterest Round up!

I have quite a few DIY projects in the works, but nothing to show for it at this point. So instead of not writing anything I thought that I would share with you all my top Pinterest picks for the Thanksgiving Holiday season:

For those of your who would like to keep your Thanksgiving Decor to a minimum then this blog is for you. She even provides the links to the templates for this particular look. Check out Tice's Tidbits for more details. 

This is for the parents with kids out there. A great project that your little ones can enjoy. Unfortunately there weren't any instructions listed, but the image makes it very easy to understand!

This website provides a list of festive DIY decorating ideas for your Thanksgiving get together. All of them are very simple and straight forward ways to add some Thanksgiving flair to your dinner table. 

As a new Mom I'm really thankful for my first Thanksgiving with my little girl and my Husband. I have a few friends that have older children who want to be helpers. Here are some projects specifically made for them to help decorate the home. 

Well that's my list of home decor projects. I hope that you all will use them and enjoy them this coming holiday. If you are interested in other things that I've pinned, then please click the follow me link on this page. Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!

I like coffee, she likes tea

My Mom is the best. The End.

Well not quite the end. She is staying with us for a year to take care of my daughter while my husband and I work. How great is that?! There is no way to thank her for all that she has done (unless I win the lottery and break her off a few million dollars ). So I try to do little things here and there for her. My mother is a HUGE fan of iced tea (growing up in south will do that to a person). She is also a fan of saving the planet and likes to reuse the plastic coffee cups that I get from 7-eleven or Starbucks. That sparked the idea for this project.

DIY TIME!

I'm going to make her an iced tea glass. Here is what you will need:

-Old spaghetti jar or mason jar
-Drill
-Spray Paint
-Tape
-Stencil
-Paint marker (that draws on glass)

Cost: Between $5 and $10 dollars (depending on what kind of paint pen you buy)

Step 1.
Clean the jar thoroughly. Get all the goo off from the label so that you have a nice clean surface to work with. Tip: If you don't have goo gone then just use some anti bacterial hand gel. Just squirt it on the jar and rub it in a circular motion. Or if the label is still attached to the  jar submerse it into boiling water and let it sit. After a while the label, along withe the adhesive, will come right off.

Step 2.
Take your stencil and tape it where you would like inside of the jar. I decided to go with my own design. But if you aren't that confident in your writing or design skills then are pre-made stencils available online.

Step 3.
Once you have placed your stencil where you want it, trace over it with you paint pen on the outside of your glass.

Step 4.

Now as we let the paint dry on our glass, lets get out the drill. So first things first, SAFETY!  Mark off where you would like the hole. Make sure your drill bit is secure and you have enough room to work. Keep your fingers clear of the drill at all times! (If you have a piece of wood to set the cap on it will provide you with a steady work surface.)

Step 5.

I ran a piece of steel wool around the hole just to make sure it wasn't to jagged. Wash the cap and let it dry. Note: There were some pieces of the lid still attached were I drilled. I took a pair of needle nose pliers and worked it back and forth until those small pieces fell off.

No drilling picture because it was too cold outside.  My bad.

Step 6.

Once the cap is dry spray paint whatever color you would like, I'm using black. Make sure the outside is evenly coated. DO NOT COAT THE INSIDE WITH SPRAY PAINT!! Let dry for a few hours (I'm paranoid about paint and like to be on the safe side).

I did NOT spray paint this on my dining table. I used a small cardboard box and sprayed it in there. 

Step 7.


Screw the lid back on the jar and you are done! Just fill with ice and tea , then sit back and enjoy :)

 

I LOVE YOU MOMMY!!

Water color pillow DIY

So I'm a little on the tired side today , that means I didn't come up with a clever title for today's post. I'm going to continue with the Sharpie theme from the last post and show you how to take the sharpie and make something kind of like this :

Which can be seen and purchased here.

That's right. Why pay a ton of money for something you can do? Let's get started!

What you will need:

Pillow
Sharpie(s)
Fabric (should cover pillow)
Pencil
Needle and Thread
Rubbing Alcohol
Optional: Zipper or Buttons

Step 1:

Since I don't get to the fabric store that often I looked around the house for some fabric. I found an old laundry bag that used to line our wicker laundry hamper. It was the perfect color and size so I used it. I ripped the seams so that I would have one flat piece to work with. You can use almost any fabric you have lying around. I suggest using something white or cream so that colors can be more vibrant.

 

Step 2:

Lay the pillow onto the flattened fabric. You need an inch of extra cloth on each side of the pillow so that is can fit once you start stitching. (I of course am impatient so I didn't do that. Don't be like me!) Use your pencil to make a line where your stitching should go. Don't worry about the marks since you will be turning it inside out once you have finished.

Step 3:

This part will go a lot faster if you have and know how to use a sewing machine. But since I haven't had the chance to buy a sewing machine because I'm cheap waiting on a good deal, I just used good ole' needle and thread. Pillows are the easiest things to sew, so just take your time if all you have is a needle and thread.

(NOTE: If you already have a white or cream color pillow case then ignore all of the sewing steps in the tutorial!)

Step 4:

Once you have sewn three sides leave the last side open and remove your pillow (if you haven't already done so).  Take a piece of cardboard and lay it inside the pillow. This will help prevent the sharpie from bleeding into the other side.

Step 5:

Take your pencil and design a pattern. I decided to do a floral pattern and I did it free hand. If you aren't as confident I would suggest using stencils. Just remember it doesn't have to be perfect because we will cause the ink to spread out at the end.

Step 6:

Now that you have your design sketched on to your pillow take your sharpie marker(s) and start coloring in the shape of what you want to do. You can even just color a bunch of circles or straight lines!

 

Step 7:

Now here is the fun part! We are going to take our q-tip and dip it into rubbing alcohol. Make sure the tip is wet and place it on the area you just sharpied. You will notice that the colors will start to bleed. At this point you can either spread the color around with your q-tip or just use drops of rubbing alcohol and let the colors bleed where they may.

Step 8:

Okay so after you have taken a break (DIYing is tough work!) continue on with your design. Alternating between your sharpie and your rubbing alcohol filled q-tip. Your design will take shape more and more.

Step 9:

You've completed your design!! Isn't it just so beautiful ? Of course it is, you made it!! Now make sure your work is dry. It doesn't take to long, but I recommend letting it sit over night. At this point it where our paths may diverge. You can make a closure for your pillow case using a zipper, buttons , or you may just sew your pillow into your new pillow case. Or if you already had a plain white or cream pillow case you don't have to worry about this step! (HA HA). I ,on the other hand, decided to make tie enclosures.  I won't go into too much detail, all you have to do is sew two strips of fabric into a string and flip it inside out. I want three ties so I will be making a total of six strings.

 

Step 10:

You've got your pillow in your new water color pillow case and you are all done!! Congratulations you deserve a pat on the back :) Now just set this on your pillow, bed, or where ever you want to display your work and enjoy :)

 

If you have any questions about this project or if you want to tell me how awesome I am, then please leave a comment in the section below and I will respond. That's all for now!