Personalized Wooden Picture Frames

Each year I get pictures of my son and give them to family in a picture frame.  This year I found wooden unfinished frames for $4.00 and decided to paint and personize them for each recipient.  I also made a moasiac wooden frame that hang the pictures from wires that I converted from dollar store “canvas” signs.

This was a great way to add a personal touch using colors and themes enjoyed by each individual for little cost.

MATERIALS NEEDED:

• Wooden Frame
• Dollar store “canvas” signs
• Acrylic paint – in desired colors
• Crafting jewels and scrapbooking adornments as desired
• Staple gun and staples
• Hot glue gun and glue
• Paperclips or small clothes pins
• Crafting wire
• Needle nose pliers
• Wire cutters

Since you don’t really need a step by step tutorial on painting the frames I will just provide instructions for building your moasiac wooden frame that holds pictures from wires.

1. Tear “canvas” paper off of the frames.
2. These were approximately 9 x 6 inches tall, so I measured 1.5 inches on each side to mount together with space in the center for a smaller picture.
3. Hot glue together and then add a couple of staples for added support.
4. Paint the frame as desired.
5. Staple each side where you want to secure the wire to hang your pictures cut wires and sucure wire using needle nose pliers to make a knot around the staples.
6. Use paperclips or mini clothes pins to hang pictures.

I love DIY because it allows for a personalized touch, but also if you think outside of the box you can do it for little cost too!  Happy Crafting and merry Christmas everyone!

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Snowman Ornament with a Knit Hat

You all know how much I love the dollar store and this year I saw a cute idea for making knit hats as ornaments, but I thought it would be even cuter if you combined it with a snowman head!  I was disappointed when I went this weekend and saw there was no more foam balls, but then I realized that I could actually get the ornaments in a larger quantity and do the same thing! – a total bonus! These are so cute and easy, they’ll have you running straight to the dollar store right away!

MATERIALS NEEDED:

• Small plastic ornaments from the dollar store (or foam balls of equivalent size)
• Snow-Tex to make it look like real snow
• Diamond Dust for sparkle
• Yarn
• Toilet paper tubes
• Small bells
• Air drying clay
• Black acrylic paint
• Pink acrylic paint
• Orange acrylic paint
• Hot glue and gun
• Ornament hooks

1. Start off by covering a generous layer of Snow-Tex to cover the whole ornament.
2. Prop on toilet paper tube to dry.
3. Cut off the end of a toilet paper tube to the desired width for the rim of your knit cap.
4. Cut a lot of yarn at least 10 inches long.
5. Now we simply make a loop and we put it in our little circle, completing this all the way around.
6. After you have finished the ring, pull all the ends through the tube and tie it off with a bell on a piece of yarn.
7. Cut off the extra length to create the pom-pom on top.
8. Once the Snow-Tex is dry, sculpt a carrot by rolling out a cone shape from the air drying clay and rub onto the head. 
9. Use a clay too or side of a tooth pick to make indentions to make it look like a carrot.
10. Hot glue the hat to the head.
11. Once dried, paint the eyes and mouth with black paint.  Add the rosey cheek color in a pink circle and paint the carrot orange.
12. Add an ornament hook and done!

Super cute and easy! These are a great dollar store make over to wow your friends and family with a nice ornament for a Christmas present, you can even use it on the outside of present to compliment your wrapping job!  Merry Christmas everyone!

Nightmare Before Christmas Lock, Stock, and Barrel on a Oogie Boogie Hill

After re-blogging Crafts ‘n Coffee’s blog about her Halloween Polka Dot Ghost wreath it made me want to finish the one I started last year! I was so excited that I stayed up until 11 PM and then worked all morning and afternoon to complete it finally after only a mere 1o hours later! I guess I’ll do anything to avoid working on dear old Tick Tock 😎🐊!

Materials Needed:

• Styrofoam Ring (sold at craft stores)
• Black Yarn
• White Yarn
• Foam Core Poster Board
• Air Drying Clay
• Floral Wire
• Black and White Polka Dotted Wire Ribbon
• Yellow Acrylic Paint
• Light Yellow Acrylic Paint
• Orange Acrylic Paint
• White Acrylic Paint
• Red Acrylic Paint
• Black Acrylic Paint
• Purple Acrylic Paint
• Hot Glue and Glue Gun
• X-acto Knife
• Pencil
• Wooden Shish Kabob Skewers
• EZ Bow Maker

1. Wrap in alternating colors of black in white in 2-3 inch strips until your Styrofoam Ring in completely covered.  Start and finish each strand with a dab of hot glue smoothed out so it’s unnoticeable.
2. On the foam core board trace your wreath so you can cut out the swirled hill for your background using your X-acto Knife.
3. Place hill silhouette on top of foam core board to draw a moon for the background.
4. Peel both sides of the paper off of the foam core board hill and moon.
5. Paint the swirled hill using the black paint.
6. Paint the moon starting with the yellow paint, using a blow dryer to dry slightly and then layering in a light brushing/blending of light yellow paint for contouring.
7. Draw each characters mask and/or hat and body on the foam core board and cut out with your X-acto Knife.
8. Use the air clay to coat the foam core board pieces and make them look 3D by making exaggerated noses and 3D arms and hands. (See photo gallery for examples). Make feet that you will add on afterwards with hot glue.
9. Use your blow dryer to dry out the sculptures and then paint them.
10. I mixed black, white, and purple paint for faces and hands.
11. Mix black and purple with a touch of white, painting the color of her dress adding less white than for the face and hands.
12. Paint each character according to its color scheme.
13. Cut the Shish Kabob Skewers to the right size for the witches legs and paint black.
14. Glue together characters and paint using its coordinating colors.
15. Glue swirled hill onto the back of the black and white wreath.
16. Paint “trick or treat” in black on the moon as shown in pictures.
17. Glue moon to the back of the swirled hill.
18. Glue each character in place.
19. Using the EZ Bow Maker to make a wreath bow using the black and white Polka Dotted Wire Ribbon to make a bow for your wreath.

Try this out if you love Nightmare Before Christmas too!  This looks harder than it is! Happy Halloween and remember it’s all for the love of craft!

 

Cast Your Vote: Is This a DIY “All Hail” or “DIY Fail”? Jack Skellington and Oogie Boogie Battery Operated Candle

 

As I was painting this I had to keep myself from trashing the project, but I just kept on trying until I  came up with this.  If you like it and want to learn how to make one for yourself