Seashell Candleholder Centerpiece DIY

I just returned from a fabulous visit with friends who live in a coastal town. How wonderful it is to be able to visit the ocean on a moments' notice.  The memories of the sea, sand, surf and shells inspired me to get out my stash and make something with my treasures from the ocean .  .   .  a centerpiece candleholder using all shapes and sizes of shells resting on one another. 

Here's how I made it:


1.  Cut out circles using a plastic bowl top as a template from foam board (1) and cardboard (2).

 

 2.  Applied tacky glue and fused the foam board between the two cardboard circles.

 

3.  Drew a circle around the candleholder so I would know where not to place the shells.

 

4.  Started hot gluing shells on the edge of the base.

 

5.  Continued adding shells,  switching to E6000 for a more permanent bond.  

6.  Painted the circle with white pearl acrylic.

 

The finished centerpiece is about 15 inches in diameter and looks very beachy. Surrounded by netting, it's rather chic!

 

 

 

 

 

Won't you indulge your love of the ocean and all its' treasures with a seashell themed centerpiece  .  .  .  giving you your own little piece of coastal living.

Take a little time to enjoy

and

Happy Crafting!



Starfish Anchor Wall Decor DIY

Starfish are so cool!  One of my first craft knockoff projects that I did on my blog was done here.  I was very proud of how that starfish bowl turned out and it proved very popular!  Recently I came across a starfish wall hanging on the Horchow website which is very unique especially at the cost of $3885.
                                                                     

Whoa!!!!!!  It's part of a collection by a famous designer which I guess would dictate an outrageous price tag.   I had collected a few small starfish on some of my jaunts but none like the white ones that are featured in this fabulous wall décor.  What the heck.  Starfish come in almost any color of the rainbow.  They can change color for protection and to help hide from predators.  Coastal décor is so popular, especially this time of the year. So leave it to me to make a knockoff of this beauty that's super easy to make.

Using four little bowls of starfish I found at Hobby Lobby     

and some teeny tiny ones I found at Oriental Trading (don't recommend this size) I was able to put together a starfish anchor using hot glue and mod podge.

 

I drew a semi circle on the bottom of the canvas and started hot gluing the larger starfish on.

 

From there, I just added the starfish freehanded to shape the anchor.

It wasn't exactly straight, but if there's a lot of starfish clinging onto something, whose to say they would stay straight. That's the beauty of it.   Anyway, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

I put the tiny starfish in a plastic cup and added mod podge to coat and then laid them on top of the larger starfish and allowed them to dry.  This way was so much easier to add and attach them.

Maybe I shouldn't have used the tiny starfish. Didn't think they would be that small when I ordered them.  Granted this anchor is not as thick as the original one.  Maybe I should have bought more.  Probably.

I just know that they smelled fishy.

 

I can add more later to make the anchor look thicker.  That is . . . when I find some in a size that would look better.  But right now, I think this is working.

 

For those nautical fans out there, I think this is the perfect accent that brings color and nature's best to a living space.

 

I just need to add a frame.

 

 

Have you been inspired to add a pleasant coastal element to your living area like this awesome super easy to make wall décor featuring variegated size starfish mounted into an anchor shape?

One, that doesn't cost thousands of dollars?

 

You bet! 

Take a little time to enjoy

and

Happy Crafting!



No Sew Grandin Road Outdoor Pillow Knockoff

grandinroad pillow

I love looking through the grandinroad catalogs.  They have so many unique and one of a kind items.  I came across a really cute outdoor pillow loaded with colorful flowers. It was described as "a stunning bouquet of dimensional spring blooms  .  .  ."    Yes, indeed, but at forty-nine dollars it was way out of my budget to purchase, but not to try to re-create.  I was so inspired .  .  .  . I've been thinking about trying to make this pillow for quite a while.

  I was not interested in putting the pillow together on my sewing machine.  I wanted to make something anyone could do just by using fabric, ribbon and glue.  This is how I made my knockoff pillow:

Using a white heavy duty cotton remnant, 32" x 45" I found at JoAnn's for $2.50, I measured out the dimensions of the pillow at 28"L X 15"H adding 1/2" seam allowance to three sides.  (I folded the fabric over for three open sides instead of cutting it making four sides)

With right sides together, I used heat n bond to fuse the two ends together.  Once cooled, I turned the pillow inside out.

Next, I took  black/white pattern ribbon and glued it around the pillow at the seams with Fabri-Tac fabric glue, one side at a time.  Then I added adhesive backed ribbon beside the glued ribbon, smoothing and pressing down and around.



Making the flowers proved a bit daunting.  I had to "play" around with making them visually using colors of ribbon and satin fabric (mostly purples) I had in my stash.   I cut a few flower patterns out of the satin fabric and passed them over an open candle flame to prevent fraying. But mainly I just twisted, folded and rolled the ribbon until I was satisfied with the look of trying to duplicate the flowers.  I know I said this is a no sew pillow and I did baste some of the flowers together.  I glued most of the flowers together and those I basted could be glued, too. I was really experimenting with ways to make the flowers.  You can find lots of tutorials on making ribbon flowers online so I'm not going into details.  I must say that practicing how to make them a few times was very helpful.




Once all the flowers were made, I laid them out, first on a table and then on the fabric pillow case.  I didn't want the black (didn't have black anyway) borders on my pillow so I glued a purple ribbon border on the top instead.  I then glued the stems on, and added the flowers, one at a time. 

After gluing all the flowers and stems on, I made leaves by cutting out freehand oval shapes and passing the edges over a flame. By folding the leaf together and holding it over the flame and pressing together, a more defined line, fabric curvature and leaf look occurred.  After all the leaves were glued on, I added the bottom purple ribbon border. 

I used poly fiber fill to stuff the pillow cover. A form that size, if I could find one, would be too costly.

After stuffing the pillow I sealed it together by adding glue to the seams and holding it together with clips until dry.  Sewing the closing seam together might have been easier and neater to do, but like I said, I wanted this to be a no sew project.  And I loved how it turned out!

The finished pillow is really stunning!

 

And it looks amazing on my patio furniture.

I have no intentions of leaving this pillow out to the elements.  I don't leave my cushions out so I know I won't with the pillow either.  I have an outdoor fabric spray that seals fabric.  All the ribbon I used was 100% polyester, but I don't know how the satin would react.  I'm not taking any chances.  I'm just satisfied I could create something similar to the pillow I so admired.

Hope this has been inspiring for you, too!

Take a little time to enjoy

and

Happy Crafting!

Gail

Foam Flower Mother's Day Memory Box DIY

For as long as my father's Aunt Patty was alive, we would always go to her home in Manassas, Virginia on Mother's Day where she would fix the tastiest of meals for a huge family reunion. What a wonderful family tradition it was.  Before leaving to go there, I can remember my parents cutting white roses out of the yard to wear on Mother's Day.  Somehow I had forgotten this meaning of wearing white flowers or associating white flowers, be it roses or carnations, to signify mothers who were no longer living.

For Mother's Day this year, I made a memory box to hold some of my mother's treasured items .  .   .  a handkerchief - one of many she would keep with her daily, favorite pieces of jewelry, my parents' marriage certificate, one of my brother's locks of baby hair, and special photos with descriptive comments written by my mother. 

The paper mache box I made is decoupaged with wrapping paper and scrapbook paper and adorned on top with an awesome white flower I created using foam sheets and an iron. It was so easy to make.

I painted the paper mache box and top with white acrylic, inside and out.  After drying, I painted on mod podge and added the sized wrapping paper to the sides and top.  I trimmed the edges of the top with a black print of scrapbook paper. 

I made a serious mistake when I applied the mod podge to the top of the paper.  I didn't realize I had picked up the white paint sponge brush instead of the one I used for the mod podge.  Unknowingly, I painted a combination of acrylic paint and mod podge on the first layer of paper.  I discovered my mistake when I wondered why the mod podge wasn't drying clear.  Silly me! Fortunately, I did this just to the top.  I re-covered the top with the same wrapping paper but didn't have enough of the original black and white print scrapbook paper for the edge, so I had to pick another black and white pattern. 




For the flower, I cut out foam circles using a circle punch.  I ironed the circles between parchment paper and held them with my fingers to shape and cool. 

After cooling, I cut the circles in half and hot glued them in a large circle pattern on the top. I continued gluing the half circles til reaching the center.

For the center of the flower, I cut out a wavy edge circle swirl and rolled the strip to make a flower which I glued to the center.

I think this Mother's Day Memory Box turned out better than I could have imagined.  The flower actually looks like porcelain.  What better way to hold a few memories of a lifetime from my mama.

I do hope I've inspired you to want to make one too!

Take a little time to enjoy and

Happy Crafting!