Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Photo Lampshade.


Things You'll Need:
  • Lampshade
  • Glue
  • Vellum
  • Craft Knife/ Scissors
  • Ruler & Pencil
  • Photos
  •  Printer
First, pick out your pictures on the computer and make a collage. Second, print them out on vellum. Make sure to check and see if you need to change the printer settings. Third, once the collage is printed leave it alone for a few minutes to dry. Once dry, use your ruler and a light pencil to mark where you need to trim the paper. Fourth, after being trimmed make sure it fights around the lampshade the way you want it to. Fifth, use tiny dots of glue and put it on the back corners and middle of the collage. Sixth, now carefully put it on the lampshade and make sure there are no crinkles or bubbles. REMEMBER: do not bend the vellum because the crease will never go away. Also, if the vellum is printed with and inkjet printer & the vellum ever gets wet, it will most likely smear.

Friday, April 27, 2012

Waxed Leaves.


Things You'll Need:
  • Fall Leaves
  • Beeswax
  • Double-Boiler
  • Cinnamon Oil
First, Make sure your leaves are completely dry. Second, melt some beeswax in a double-boiler. You can also use old candle stubs. Third put a few drops of cinnamon oil into the pot of melted wax. This makes them smeel like fall. Fourth, when it is thoroughly melted, take the leaves by the stem and immerse them, one at a time, in the wax. Hold them over the pot to drip a bit, then lay them on waxed paper. Continue until you have a nice assortment. Now you have a pile of gorgeous leaves. You could; use them in a floral arrangement, wire them to wreath, display them in a nice wood or pottery bowl or go half-blind stringing them with invisible nylon thread and hang them from the ceiling.

Friday, March 30, 2012

Glitter Flats.


Things You'll Need:
  • 2 oz. of Mod Podge
  • 2 oz. of Glitter
  • Foam Brush
  • Clear Glaze Spray
  • Pair of Plain Flats
First, brush a thin coat of the glitter/glue on to the shoe. Don't worry, the Mod Podge will dry clear. Second, continue glittering both shoes all over. If your shoe has a larger, different color sole, you’ll probably want to put masking tape around it. Hold the shoe from the inside, so you don’t get yourself covered in glitter. Third, when you have the initial coat on, you’ll need to let it dry. With Mod Podge it took about 25 minutes. Fourth, once the last coat dried, give a healthy spray of the glaze spray and let that dry too.

Friday, March 23, 2012

Cloud Lights.


What You Will Need:
  • Cotton Batting
  • Paper Lanterns
  • Flameless Candles
  • Hot Glue Gun
The amounts you will need will depend on the number of lanterns, their size and brightness you want, you might need to test a bit to get your desired effect. Be sure that little or no heat is generated by the ones you use and with all 'candles' do no leave unattended. First, pull at the cotton batting until it looks fluffy, light, and cloud-like. Second, hot glue it to the outside of the paper lantern in various places. Make sure it's fluffed to your liking. Third, light the candles and stick them inside. Fourth, hang the lantern wherever you'd like. Now you have your own cloud lantern to hang anywhere in your house.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Enamel-Painted Vases.


What You'll Need:
  • Three different sized vases
  • dishwasher safe PermEnamel paint
  • PermEnamel Surface Conditioner
  • Paper Towels
  • Paint brush and a mixing bowl
First, clean the vases with hot, soapy water. Second, When they are completely dry, pour some surface conditioner in and cover the inside of the vase. Pour out the excess and let the vase dry. Third, Get the exact color you envision by mixing your PermEnamel paints in a mixing bowl, then pour inside the vase. Fourth, Paint the inside of the glass using the paint brush to cover the inside surface. Fifth, Once the vase is painted, lay it on a paper towel to let the thick paint drip off. You will be amazed at how much comes out. The longer it's upside down, the thinner the coating will be. If you like the thicker look keep it upside down only for a few minutes. Sixth, Turn the vase back over and touch up the drips inside. Every fifteen minutes you can even out the thickness on the bottom of the vase as the paint will start to collect. Seventh, Let these dry over night and in the morning you should have a beautiful decor vase! REMEMBER, never drink or put water in these vases!

Friday, March 2, 2012

Portabella Pizza Bites.


Ingredients:

  • 6 mini Portabella mushrooms (or 2 large Portabella mushroom caps)
  • 1/2 cup marinara sauce
  • 1/2 oz. turkey pepperoni (approx. 6 slices)
  • 2 oz. black olives
  • 3 oz. low-fat Mozzarella cheese
  • 1 egg white
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Clean mushrooms and scoop out the insides and stem with a spoon. Place on baking pan and bake for 7 minutes.  While mushrooms are baking, grate Mozzarella, and combine in a bowl with one egg white. (Usually low-fat cheese has trouble melting, so this technique helps the cheese melt while adding a bit of protein.) Remove mushrooms from oven, and turn the broiler to High. On the mushrooms layer pizza sauce, cheese mixture, olives, and pepperoni slices. Return pan to oven and broil on High for 3 minutes or until cheese has melted and started to brown.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Yarn Wreath with Felt Flowers.


Things You'll Need:
  • Straw wreath
  • Yarn
  • Felt
  • Scissors
  • Glue
  • Other embellishments
First, keep the plastic wrapping on the straw wreath. Second, tie a knot to begin and wrap wreath with yarn. you will want to keep it tight and keep in mind that it is close to impossible to have the yarn perfectly lined up on the entire wreath, then tie a knot to end. Third, cut a circle out of felt. the bigger the circle, the bigger the flower. Fourth, cut around the outside of the circle to make it have a waved look. Fifth, pick any point on the circle to start cutting the felt. you will be cutting a large spiral shape so that you will end up with one long thin strip of felt. Sixth, when you get to the very end you will have a circle or oval shape left that you will want to leave and not cut into. this will be the base of your flower. Seventh, take the end of the felt where you began cutting and start to roll. you will want to keep it tight in the beginning so it holds. if you want a smaller more circular flower keep it tight. if you want it to have a more open look you can keep it a little more loose as you roll it. Eighth, once you get to the end you will glue the bottom onto the flower. Nineth, glue and place them randomly. add any other embellishments that you would like. Tenth, add a ribbon, raffia, twine, fabric, etc to hang your wreath with. Now you have a beautiful yarn wreath to hang anywhere.