Christmas Owl Sign

I love Christmas! So naturally, making Christmas crafts is one of my favorite things to do. The kids and I have been doing lots of little crafts here and there. (Follow me on Instagram to see what we've been working on! You can check out my posts here.)

I saw this craft on my Pinterest strolls in October and loved it so much that I was inspired to make an owl themed Christmas sign.

Supplies needed:

• wooden plaque/sign (I bought mine at the dollar store)
• an old book to cut up
• patterned paper
• other various paper scraps (red, black, white, orange, yellow)
• sparkle paint
• ribbon
• mod podge

I love these wooden signs from the dollar store- I've made a few different ones in the past, but this one is my favorite. I started by painting the edge of the sign white. I debated leaving it unpainted but thought this would give it a more finished look.

Then I placed a piece of white computer paper on top of my plaque and used a crayon to etch out the shape of the sign. I cut out the sign shape and then traced it on to the patterned paper, and then cut that shape out. If you were going for a more rustic look you could probably cut a rough shape out, mod podge it down and then use sand paper to finish the edges. (Here's a picture from another sign that I was working on.)

After I cut out the paper I mod podged it to the sign. Squeeze out all the air bubbles. I mod podged the accent piece of stripped paper on at this time too.

Then I created an owl pattern and traced cut the owls out from pages of an old book. I cut out the circles for the eyes, using my hole puncher to cut out the smallest circle. Then I cut a small triangle out of orange paper for the beak of the owls. I glued the eyes together and then glued the eyes and beaks to the owl cut outs. I used my cricut to cut out a little Santa hat for one of the owls. I also cut out a little star banner.

Then I glued the owls in place (using Mod Podge). I added on the accents, hat and stars, and then painted over everything with a nice layer of Mod Podge.  To finish my sign I added a cute little gingerbread ribbon so that I could hang it up.

Is everyone else in full on Christmas mode yet? I'm almost done my Christmas shopping, just have to pick up a few stocking stuffers for the kids!

love sign

 I love Valentines Day, and I've been having a great time thinking of Valentines day crafts. What's great about this craft is that it's so simple & cheap to make. This is an excellent nap time craft and it can be made using the supplies that you have on hand too (except for maybe the wooden plaque).

What you need:
wooden plaque (check your dollar store)
piece of patterned paper
piece of solid colour cardstock
white paint (it could be painted to match the patterned paper)
mod podge

paintbrush
ribbon
Cricut cutter (or utility knife)

 

I placed a piece of white computer paper on top of my plaque and used a crayon to etch out the shape of the oval. I cut out the oval and then traced it on to the patterned paper, and then cut that oval out.

 I painted the edges of the plaque white. I used my cricut cutter to cut out the word love. You could of course cut out the letters with a utility knife if you don't have a cricut (or something similar). Then I painted a coat of Mod Podge on the plaque and carefully placed on my paper, squeezing out all of the air bubbles. I then coated the paper with a coat of Mod Podge and placed on the word love. I sealed it all with one last coat to finish it off. Once it was dry, I added a ribbon so that I could hang it up.

Linking up with It's Fun to Craft, Fingerprints on the Fridge,   I heart naptime & Support Blog for Moms of BOYS & C.R.A.F.T. & Making the World Cuter & 

tea party table

I bought a couple of lack side tables from IKEA many years ago now. They have been well used over the years, and it had come to the point where I had debated getting rid of the tables all together, BUT, I have problems getting rid of stuff (I'm going to work on de-cluttering this year!) Ever since I discovered the fabulousness of Mod Podge this year, I'm always try to find projects where I can use it. I decided that Claire needed a table so that she could host a tea party. I went through my papers, and picked out my favorite ones to use on this table. I measured the table and then cut all of my papers into squares to make a patchwork table.

Once I had all of the paper squares cut I played around with the papers, trying to find a design that worked for me. I wanted to make the table less pattern-y and more random- but turns out I can't do random. 

Now I thought (notice the past tense) that it would be easier to tape all of the squares together and then Mod Podge them onto my table. IT WASN'T. This was my first time using Mod Podge on such a large scale, and I basically know everything that I shouldn't do next time! I was so focused on having all of the squares line up perfectly (even though in the end they still didn't) that I thought it would have been easier to tape them together, that way I wouldn't be rushing to get them on before the Mod Podge dried. Oh boy, I was in a kerfuffle last night. I had coated my table in Mod Podge and I placed the squares that were all taped together on the table, but they weren't straight, I couldn't seem to get them just right. So, panicked, I took the whole giant sheet of squares off and then had my husband help me put it on again. I let it dry overnight, and put books on the table so that no air bubbles developed. The next morning I added a top coat of Mod Podge to the table. I think that it needs a few more before Claire & Simon really start to use it though.

 Claire didn't want teddy to attend the tea party, hence the empty chair. Here she was pouring a cup of tea for Simon.

 I hope that she has many happy tea parties using this table.

Linking up with Somewhat Simple & Craft-O-Maniac, & DIY Show Off  &

wooden joy sign

 As we get closer to Christmas I should be checking projects off of my list. Instead I keep adding projects to it because I'm so inspired by projects that I see on the blogs that I read. 

As I was walking through the isle of our dollar store the other day I was keeping an eye open for some materials that would make a good project. I came across this plain wooden sign, and I knew that it would make a great (& cheap!) Christmas craft.

What you need:

wooden sign (check the dollar store)

scissors

paint 

Mod Podge

paint brush

scrapbooking paper

 cardstock

 cricut/sillouette/exacto knife

 ribbon

1. This is what my sign looked like when I bought it. Not so exciting is it?

2. I painted the sign white, although, you really just need to paint the edges white. (Sorry, the photo's not great, I was trying very hard to get the project done during naptime!) I also painted the eyelets, which I wasn't going to do, but I may have been a little bit too generous with the paint, and I got a bit of paint on the eyelets, so I decided to go ahead and paint them. I'm glad I did now.

3. I cut a piece of scrapbooking paper to cover the sign. Once I made sure that it was the right size, I took the paper off, covered the wood with a coat of Mod Podge, and then placed the paper back on the sign. I smoothed out the paper, trying to get rid of all of the air bubbles. Then I applied another coat of Mod Podge on top of the paper.

4. I used my cricut cutter to cut out the word joy, but this could be just as easily done with an exacto knife. Once I had my letters placed where I wanted them, I lifted up each letter, one at a time, and slathered on some more Mod Podge, and then placed each letter back down. Once all of my letters were down, I painted the final coat of Mod Podge on to seal everything. (I'm sure you probably don't need to use this much, but I wanted to make sure that everything was stuck on there, and sealed very well!)

 The last thing that I did was replace the chain with a piece of ribbon. And there you have it- a new Christmas decoration for about $4.

Linking up with My Backyard Eden & Fingerprints on the Fridge.

Pumpkin face jars

To go along with my lovely new piece of subway art, I made these pumpkin face jars too. I followed the tutorial that I found here. I ended up buying some jars since I didn't have any around the house, and I didn't want to wait until I had eaten enough pasta sauce and pickles to have to make these! I think that the next time that I make some of these, I'll make some using Halloween silhouettes. Witches, bats and pumpkins would look nice too.

Halloween Subway Art

I was so inspired when I saw this piece of Halloween subway art over at Tatertots and Jello, and also this one at A Glimpse Inside that I knew I had to make one of my own.

I went to my building supply store and pick up a shelf, 12 x 60, for just $4.99. They'll cut the wood for free, so I asked them to make two cuts. I ended up with two pieces of wood 12 x 24 and one 12 x 12. I painted a piece black, and then started cutting out some words using my cricut cutter. Now, while I really liked the look of just using orange and white letters, I couldn't restrict myself like that!

Once I had all of the words cut out, I placed them on the board, and rearranged them until I was happy with how they looked. Then I grabbed my Mod Podge and starting sticking the letters down. I took the words off one at a time, painted on a coat of Mod Podge, and placed the letters back down. I slathered on a protective coat of Mod Podge once the project was done- mostly to protect it from my kids!

I'm so happy with how it turned out, and I'm already thinking of the possibilities of one (or two!) to make for Christmas.