Book Page Topiaries and Seasonal Blocks

The other day I decided I wanted to make a new decoration for my shelves in my dining room, so I came up with this!

Topiaries! I've been seeing lots of cute things made out of book pages and numbers, so I decided to use that idea for these! These were so simple! Here's what you need:

-3 clay pots...I paint .79 cents each at Michael's

-3 wooden dowels...I already had these

-3 styrofoam balls...you can get these at the dollar store as well...they were out when I needed them so I got mine at Michael's...you get 6 for about $4

-Moss...I bought a huge bag at the $ store

-Circle punch...I used 1.25 inch and 1 inch

-Sewing Pins...I had these

-Paint

-Vinyl

-Foam Blocks...the kind used for floral design....I got a pack of 5 at the $ store

-Old Book, or scrapbook paper

What you do:

Paint your dowels, and pots....my pots needed a few coats! In the mean time punch out lots of circles. I used 2 different sizes and stacked them on top of each other. Using the pins, place your circles on the styrofoam balls. Once your balls are filled and your dowels are dry, place the dowel through the ball. Place the foam blocks at the bottom of the pots and cover with moss. Stick your dowel in the foam block and you are done!

Also on that shelf is my seasonal blocks...I changed it up a bit!

Seasonal Blocks!!!

As most of you know I love crafting and I love looking at blogs...crafty blogs! I stumbled across this blog a few weeks ago, and saw these seasonal blocks...I thought "I need to make some!!! A decoration for every holiday...literally!!!"

Here's what you need:

-10 blocks, whatever size you desire....mine are about 3.25x3.25, we got a huge piece of wood at Home Depot, and cut it to the desired size

-Paint

-Vinyl Letters, cardstock letters, or big alphabet stamps

-ink

Here's what you do:

1. Sand blocks if needed, I actually didn't because I was going for a more worn look.

2. Paint blocks, I used an acrylic paint, and I only needed one coat.

3. Once dry, sand edges, if desired! I sanded mine.

4. Ink/ distress the edges if you like that kind of look! I sure do!

5. Place letters on the blocks. Here are the letters you need for each block:

Block One: H Y E D
Block Two: A C R S
Block Three: R P E T
Block Four: V N L O
Block Five: E O M D
Block Six: S M K I
Block Seven: T F B W
Block Eight: U A G L
Block Nine: P J I H
Block Ten: F P S C

6. You are done!!!

These are the words you can make with this one set of blocks:

Harvest
Welcome
Faith
Family
Spooky
Friends
Winter
Freedom
Blessed
Snow
Home
Hope
Monster
Mother
Dream
Easter
Lucky
Love
Santa
Glory
Romance
Love
Pumpkin
Frosty
School
Autumn
Spring
Summer
Father
Fall
Happy
Merry
Fairy
Fairies
Jolly
Flowers
Wishes
America

When you are not using a block, just decorate it with some cute ribbon, and some cute nic-nacks!

Magnet Boards

I don't know why I am just now getting around to posting these magnet boards! These are some magnet boards that I had made for Christmas gifts!These were very simple to make!

1. Cut your piece of wood to desired size....I have my hubby pre cut a bunch of wood for me at one time, so I always have wood for gifts, and craft classes on hand!

2. Purchase sheet metal. I got these pre cut pieces at Lowes for about .50 cents each!

3. Paint your wood, and sand edges if desired!

4. Glue metal to the wood. I used cement glue! You can buy a tube for$1 at Wal Mart.

5. Drill holes, if desired.

6. Cut Vinyl, and Place it in desired place on board.

7. Add your ribbon.

8. Add your magnets...I made mine with a mylar button maker!

9. You're done!

I linked this blog here! I couldn't get the cute button that they have to post on my page =(

Wreath Hanger, and a Wreath Revamp

A while back my friend showed me a wreath holder that a friend of hers had made...I loved it, so I of course had to make one too!!! This is made with a stair post, a fancy topper...I have no Idea what they are called, a rectangular piece of wood, a square piece of wood, a hook, screws and wood glue! Oh...and spray paint and a sander! Basically just paint and assemble like the pic shown!

I then realized I made this wreath holder, and I didn't have a wreath...so I went to Savers and purchased a wreath for $1...It had some really ugly flowers on it...so I took those off, wiped the wreath down, then painted it black.

It was plain and clearly needed something more...so I took this frame...$1 at Dollar Tree, painted and sanded it, then instead of placing a photo, I put some cute scrapbook paper in it. I then placed a burgundy letter L in the center and attached it all with some ribbon.

Here's the finished project...it looks great on my end table...

How to make a wipe off board

I have been in need of a small wipe off board for some time now. My husband and I want to start memorizing a scripture a week for part of our Family Home Evening. I had this exact same idea in my head, but it wasn't until I saw it made on my new favorite blog, Shanty2Chic that I decided to make it!

Materials Needed:

-Picture frame

-Paint

-Fabric, sized to fit your picture frame

-Spray adhesive

-Vinyl Lettering, optional

-Wipe off markers

1. If your frame needs painted, paint it. I cheated and bought one this time, it was the perfect size I needed, and color!

2. Cut your fabric to fit the size of your frame. My frame shown is 5x7.

3. Using spray adhesive, spray it onto the back part part of the pic frame (the part that would be touching the glass).

4. Place the fabric onto the side of cardboard with the spray adhesive. I used burlap, but this would be very cute with fabric as well!

5. Put the frame back together.

6. If you chose to put vinyl on, place that on the glass.

7. You're now the new proud owner of a super cute wipe off board!

We put ours on our desk, since we are always at the computer! That makes for a great location, where we will always see our quote. I think these would look super cute on a wall in a much bigger size!!! For the vinyl, a calendar would be cute, a Family last name, or your kids names, a cute little animal....the possibilities are endless!

Please share this blog with your friends, and if you aren't already, become a follower. Also become a fan on facebook! Have a great weekend!

-Melinda

A Trip to the DI...gone well

Yesterday my friend Jacalyn and I went to the DI. We have been seeing all of these cute craft blogs lately , and seeing what all of these crafty people made with other people's junk inspired us! Haha! I purchased these 3 books at DI for $1 each...with the idea of revamp in my head!!!

I spray painted them black (along with some other DI finds...pics of those items coming soon), I also painted the book pages.

I then chose scrapbook paper that matched my home decor.

If you'd like you can skip the painting and go straight to mod podge and paper!!! This will make for a very quick project! I cut the paper to fit each side of the books. I then mod podged the paper, then with double sided tape, I stuck the paper on to the books.

I added a little bit of hod podge and I was done! I bought the handle at Lowe's for about $1.50. These look great on our desk!!!

Got frames you plan on getting rid of because you don't like them anymore??

I sure did! A while back I saw a really cute family room decoration at a craft show being sold for near around $40! It was made with picture frames and vinyl lettering... since I have a machine, I figured, I should make one! I had gone to many stores searching for cute cheap frames that fit our "medical school, student loan budget" and the cheapest ones that I liked were $10 a frame! To spell the word "family" that would cost me about $60! That's a little costly for a decoration for us at this time...so I went looking through some old frames and found that I had 2 each of 3 different sizes...perfect! So I got to work!

I took 2 each of 8x10, 5x7 and 4x6 picture frames that I already had....I believe they were like $2 many years ago at wal-mart. I had bought these when we were first married because that was what was in our "college budget." I just took some acrylic paint and painted all of them black. I didn't sand them first.

Once they were painted, I then sanded them...I like how the old paint colors showed through on the edges, giving it a little bit more color!

I then gave them a coat of mod podge, so that way way these will clean up easily when I dust them!

Once the mod podge was dried, I took a hot glue gun, and glued in the glass, you could also use glass glue...I just used hot glue because that's what I had...it was later in the evening and I wanted this project done!!!

After I glued the glass in, I then placed the vinyl on the glass! Here is the finish project!

I love how it's no longer bare above my tv!!!

If you would like to order vinyl for this project, contact me at laniercreations@gmail.com!