DIY Party Cup LED Lights Garland

For fun decorating, I know diy party cup light garlands are all over the internet.  They have become a mainstay for summer outdoor décor lighting or to liven up any hip gathering inside.  But I'm here to tell you to forget the red cups and xmas lights or buying them already made .  .  .  some at ridiculous prices of nearly 20 dollars! 

All you have to do is string colorful party cups of your choice onto battery operated decorative LED lights found at the Dollar Tree!  Who would have thought?

Check it out: Gather your few supplies of cups, DT LED lights/batteries and a craft knife or small scissors .  .  .

Next, most tutorial say to make an x in the outside bottom of the cup like the following pictures:

But you still have to poke something down to open up the area to insert the light.

I tried inserting small scissors, turning them around for a small, neat hole  that's easier to insert the light bulb.  I like doing it this way much better.

The Dollar Tree LEDs have decorative covered figures such as dragonflies and butterflies that need to be pulled off first before inserting into the cups.  I removed every other butterfly because of the size of the cup I was using .  .  .

 and then put the butterflies back on inside the cup.

If the cups a too plain for you .  .  . they can be decorated with just about anything using your imagination.

The Dollar Tree battery operated LED lights are available in different colors, too.  This set has blue lights and can be used indoors or out.  If you're concerned about rain affecting the battery box, I placed my box in a ziplock plastic bag and had no problem with moisture.

The string of cups can also be draped like a swag instead of strung for an unusual and pretty effect.

Liven up your festive space with LED party cup lights and add a playful touch to your warm weather gatherings.  How cost effective is this using LED lights from the dollar store!

Take a little time to enjoy

and

Happy Crafting!

Lilac Rose Petals Luminary

I've had this craft in the back of my mind to do for some time.  I saw this post a couple of years ago and thought the rose petal tealights a cute idea. The only problem I had with it was that I thought that they were too small and making a larger one would involve buying lots of flowers to take apart and lots of plastic spoons.  Lucky for me I had a huge stash of plastic spoons left over from when I made spoon flower napkin rings.   Faux flowers can be very expensive, too, especially if you have to buy a lot.  On a recent trip to visit friends in North Carolina, I found packages of rose petals - 100 for one dollar!  Right away I knew that I could finally make the kind of luminary I wanted to.   A  very large one!

Here's how I made it.

 Materials Used:

Clear plastic spoons (100)

Two packs of rose petals - 200 for $2                                        

Craft scissor                                

Tacky Glue

Hot glue gun  

Large glass round container 

LED battery operated flameless candle 

                                              

 1.  First, cut off the handles from the spoons.

 

2.  Next, I started out using tacky glue on the bowl of the spoons to glue the petals on but found this too time consuming waiting for the glue to dry, so I switched to using hot glue instead.  Doing this made it so much quicker.

 

3.  Glue the spoon petals on starting at the top rim.

 

4.  Be sure to overlap the petals.

 

5.  Continue gluing on the petals around the glass.

 

6.  Stagger the next row of petals between the first.

 

7.  Continue staggering each row of petals.

 

8.  Midway, turn container upside down to make it easier to glue the remaining petals on. Leave space on the bottom to glue on a row of plain petals so that the glass container can sit flat on the surface.

 

9.  Insert a LED flameless candle and you're all set!  And it was so easy to make!

Looks lovely inside or out!

Take a little time to enjoy

and

Happy Crafting!

Memorial Day Remembrance

As we honor America's fallen heroes and all those who have served  .  .  . including my dad who was a 2nd Lieutenant during World War I,  the creator of the Bowdabra , Sandy Sandler, is donating all of the profits from Bowdabra's website this day to the Wounded Warrior Project.

This is truly amazing and a gracious act .  .  . won't you check out this project and Bowdabra.com? 

I knew I would enjoy becoming a member of Bowdabra's Designing team.  Thank you, Sandy!

Bowdabra Bow Patriotic Backdrop

Looking for an extra "WOW" factor for your next warm weather patriotic gathering - Memorial Day or the Fourth of July?   I'm over at Bowdabra Blog today .  .  .

Stop by and see how to make a Bowdabra Mesh Scrunchy Bow Patiotic Backdrop!

Take a little time to enjoy

and

Happy Crafting!

Seashell Hurricane Votive Knockoff

Don't you just love it when you knockoff something rather expensive!  I'm talking about a $629.00 Seashell Crystal Hurricane Votive I saw online at Frontgate.

Frontgate Source

Pretty, isn't it?  But way out of my price range.  On second thought, if it was $29.00, don't think I would buy it.  Because I would rather make it instead.  It may not look exactly the same, but close enough.  I love looking at all the lovely items Frontgate has to offer.  I'm so inspired.  And this votive was no exception.

It was an easy make and just about free for me.  I had everything in my stash.

I used:

• Seashells collected by my friend Helen (she gifted them to me when she moved)
• Glass tile sample
• A glass vase that once held forced tulips
• Hot glue gun

Make sure the glass container is clean and free of oils by wiping with alcohol after washing.

Glue on the larger seashells first and fill in with the smaller ones.  I used Styrofoam blocks to keep the glass from moving, but then discovered using a small towel was much better.

 I was curious as to how the smaller shells would look on the rim, so I tried out two before I finished the sides.

I had glass tile samples that I used to imitate the crystals on the original one.

It was almost like doing a puzzle - moving the shells around for the best fit before gluing on.

The small shells seemed to fit perfect on the rim.

Decorated with treasures from the sea!

This would be gorgeous anywhere in your home!

So get creative making your own!

Take a little time to enjoy

and

Happy Crafting!

Bowdabra Blog Wedding Table Decor

Hi Everyone!
I'm over at Bowdabra Blog today where I share my wedding table décor craft.  Please check it out!

Foam Lilies and Pot Framed - DIY

I've had an obsession with crafting using foam sheets.  Yes, the ones you  find at the craft stores in the kiddie section.  The material is so easily manipulated just by using heat - either from an iron, candle, griddle or hot plate.  You can even form beautiful contours from the heat of your hands by twisting, pulling and shaping.

I first noticed foam flowers at a local upscale garden center, Homestead Gardens - beautiful, large, realistic looking flowers.  I took several photos of them at different angles, determined to re-create those lovelies!  Using mostly white or light colored foam sheets, I could use any type of coloring - acrylics, colored chalk and even eye shadow to change the foam into a work of art.  So far, I've made a few different types that you can find here, here, here, here and here.  Whew, I told you I'm obsessed!

One day last week, while rearranging my linen closet, I found a beautiful paper guest towel I had forgotten about.  I knew I wanted to use the flower on the paper as a pattern for a foam flower creation.  

And this is what I came up with:

Materials Used:

• Foam sheets - white, green
• Scissors
• cardstock/posterboard
• Acrylic paint/water
• Brush/small sponge
• Griddle
• skewer stick
• Faux stamen
• Hot glue/E6000
• Wire stem
• Styrofoam cup
• Craft knife
• Mod podge
• Decorative paper towel/napkin
• Cling wrap
• Floral moss
• Frame

1.  First, make a pattern - either by taking an artificial flower apart or using free petal/flower graphics online.  Remember, the size of the petals dictate how large the flower will be.   Once you've found a pattern, cut it out on cardstock or posterboard.  Using a toothpick, trace around pattern onto foam - remember, pencil marks are hard to remove from foam. Cut out six petals.

2.  Heat the foam petal by placing it on an iron or hot griddle or plate or over a candle to warm - your choice.  I prefer to use a griddle or iron.  If using a hot flat surface, it only takes a few seconds for the foam to curl.  Remove the foam using a skewer stick so you won't burn your fingers. 

3.  Carefully twist the edges back and forth like a ripple effect and shape.  You can use the tip of a toothpick to draw veins in the petals.

4.  Color the petals, front and back, using pictures of real flowers to follow, by swiping the paint on, giving it a gradient or shading effect.

Start at the bottom with green .  .  .

and then use a purple shade.  Paint can be thinned out with water.

5.  Stems can be added to back by dipping the wire into the opening of E6000 glue and pressing on.

6.  To assemble flower, glue faux stamen onto center of a petal .  .  . 

and then glue on two more petals. 

7.  Continue gluing on petals, staggering them in between.

I love how this flower turned out.

8.  You can freehand cutout leaves in the same manner as the petals and add on, as desired.

To make the pot:

Using a craft knife, cut Styrofoam cup in half.

Coat cup with Mod Podge.

Select desired pattern from paper guest towel. Separate white backing from color pattern and lay on top of coated cup, smoothing out using cling wrap. Allow to dry. Paint on additional mod podge to seal.

Remove glass from frame and hot glue decoupage cup to inside frame backing.

Add floral moss .  .  .

flowers and leaves.

Pretty cool, don't you think!

Take a little time to enjoy

and

Happy Crafting!