A Pinteresting Link Party - Week 72

A Pinteresting Link Party - Week 72

Hosted by Tutus & Tea Parties & Here's to Handy Andy.

Guest Hosting this week is:

Barb | bjac68 of Second Chance to Dream

{Hop on over and give her a welcome!}
(Want to guest host? Fill out this form.) 

Home State Wall Art

Hello All! Happy day after Christmas! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday! I was pretty productive the week before Christmas so I could do nothing this week. During my productive spurt, I put Christmas projects aside for a little bit and worked on a project that has been on my list for a while.

During the summer I ordered a map of the states both Handy Andy and I were born in, from the years we were born. I intended on framing each of the maps and hanging them in our living room. Unfortunately, my map never made it here, thank you USPS.

I still wanted to do something with Andy's map, so instead of framing it, I decided to make a faux wrap around canvas art piece. Here's what I gathered:

20 x 20 Canvas ($13 at Hobby Lobby)

Map

Mod Podge & Brush

I used an utility knife to cut the map slightly larger than the surface of the canvas. Then I brushed Mod Podge all over the canvas, laid the map on it, and smoothed it out. Before brushing more Mod Podge over the top, I took a staple gun and folded the map around the edges of the canvas and stapled the edges. The I brushed Mod Podge over the map. It bubbled at first, but after it dried everything flatted out. Then I used some black ink and a sponge to ink the edges of the canvas and add a weathered look to the rest of the map.

I used by Cricut to cut out the word HOME with red vinyl. I positioned the letters so that Andy's hometown was in the middle of the O. Then I brushed more Mod Podge over the letters so they would stay.

I love the way it turned out and so does Handy Andy! Plus, we just rearranged our living room and it looks GREAT hung up on the wall. Too bad we don't have a Michigan one for me...

Thanks for stopping by!

A Pinteresting Link Party - Week 71

A Pinteresting Link Party - Week 71

Hosted by Tutus & Tea Parties & Here's to Handy Andy.

Guest Hosting this week is:

Nichole
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/pinkieforpink/ 
Blog: www.pinkieforpink.com

{Hop on over and give her a welcome!}
(Want to guest host? Fill out this form.) 

Guest Post from THE Handy Andy

I think I've mentioned that we're doing handmade gifts this year, right... Okay fine, I know I've mentioned it more than once... And while that mostly means that I am making the gifts, Handy Andy did pull his weight. He made a really awesome gift for our oldest nephew and our youngest niece, and so I'm going to let him tell you about it...

I decided to make a simple wooden toy for our niece and nephew. So I found a picture on Google of a simple wooden camera toy that looked easy enough. I had a bunch of scrap lumber that I got from a job that I've used in the past for projects (like the birdhouses), so I used that since it was free.

First thing I did was draw the outline of what I wanted the camera to look like on the board. 

After that I used my jigsaw to roughly cut out the pattern. At this point I wasn't worried about making it perfect or rounding any corners, I just wanted to get the rough frame cut out.

For the lens, I cut out a simple circle with my jigsaw.

Next I used my palm sander to sand off the stain that was previously on the wood from before. Also, I sanded the rough edges and rounded the corners on both pieces.

To make the eye hole, I used the 1 3/8" paddle bit with my drill. I made sure to only drill halfway through from each side to avoid splintering the wood off the back.

I used wood glue and clamps to attach the wooden lens to the front of the camera.

I made two wooden cameras. They are different sizes, and I made the lens on one of them bigger by using two circles of wood and gluing them together. Here are the finished toys:

Aren't those so fun?! I love how old-school they are, and I think the kids will love them. They would also make pretty cool photo props or decorations. Did I mention that my husband is super handy, and awesome? Oh, good. :)

 Thanks for stopping by! Have a Merry Christmas!

 

A Pinteresting Link Party - Week 70

A Pinteresting Link Party - Week 70

Hosted by Tutus & Tea Parties & Here's to Handy Andy.

Guest Hosting this week is:

Chrissy | parloandlogi of Parlo & Logi

{Hop on over and give her a welcome!}
(Want to guest host? Fill out this form.) 

Snowman Wreath

Hello All! Can you believe is only 12 days away?! Crazy! Well, I'm still trying to get some handmade Christmas gifts finished before we see our family next weekend. A friend of mine came over last week to have a little crafting night and get some gifts done. Before I started I decided to make a little Christmas decor for myself, since I've been working on so many gifts lately.

 Last year after Christmas I got these three mini wreaths from Hobby Lobby for like $0.50 a piece. I wanted to make something to replace my fall wreath, so I decided to make a snowman out of the wreaths.

I started by connecting all the wreaths with white ribbon, by looping it around both and hot gluing the over lapping ends together. One of the mini wreaths is a little bigger than the other two so I used that as the bottom "snow ball." I had some Christmasy fabric left over from last year (old placemats), so I cut a strip of it off the long side and glued it around the "neck" of the snowman for a scarf.

Then I cut a rectangle of fabric and sewed the edges together, then gathered the top and tied it to make the hat. I made a pom out of yarn and hot glued it on top.

I kind of love my little snowman - he's cute and looks cozy in his hat and scarf! Plus he was simple to make - you know I love that kind of project!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a good week!

A Pinteresting Link Party & Giveaway!

A Pinteresting Link Party - Week 69

Hosted by Tutus & Tea Parties & Here's to Handy Andy.

Pom Ornaments & Ornament Swap

Hello All! I hope your week is going well! I'm still busy getting things done for my handmade Christmas gifts. I have several projects lined up to show you AND a great giveaway coming up soon so come back and visit!

A few weeks ago I signed up for an Ornament swap over at Tutus & Tea Parties - such a fun idea!

 While I was trying to decide what kind of ornament I wanted to make, my friend (who I made this Christmas decor for last year) sent me this picture she found on Pinterest:

Source

My friend is a big fan of poms, and she really loved this. This is the same friend I made the tissue paper poms and pom cake toppers for, for her wedding. So I decided to try these out for her and for the ornament swap - since they are so cute. 

The method is very similar to the cake topper tutorial. Start with some regular glass or plastic ball ornaments. Cut small squares or circles of fabric, fold it in half, and then half again. Place a dot of hot glue on the end and then press it on the ball ornament. Place the pieces close to each other so it covers all of the surface of the ball. A tutorial is also included at Love Stitched.

Here's the one I made for my ornament swap buddy:

I used burlap and a Christmas-y fabric.

And for my friend I used burlap and lace to match the stuff I made her last year:

These ornaments were simple to make, but time consuming. I love the way both of them turned out thought! They are so cute! 

I here's the ornament I received from my swap buddy:

SO adorable! She actually sent me two - they are so perfect! I love candy canes! (You can check our her blog here).

Have you made any ornaments this year?

Thanks for stopping by!

A Pinteresting Link Party - Week 68

A Pinteresting Link Party - Week 68

Hosted by Tutus & Tea Parties & Here's to Handy Andy.

(Want to guest host? Fill out this form.)