Thursday, February 27, 2020

Basket Update Foamiran Napkin Decoupage Flower

4:00 AM Gail @Purple Hues and Me Baskets, decoupage flowers, foam paper, Thrift Store Upcycle Challenge 13 comments

Disclosure I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites, this post may contain links. I may receive a very small commission at no cost to you! The affiliate money I earn helps pay my crafting expenses. Thanks so much for your support

It's that time again for The Thrift Store Upcycle Challenge on the fourth Thursday of each month! Here, a group of creative bloggers come together to share their lovely transformations of a thrift store item. Who doesn't love thrift store upcycle projects - whether it's actually creating one or admiring how an item from a thrift store was transformed!

The Rules:

Upcycle an item(s) from a thrift store, resale store, or garage sale into a new piece of decor.
There's no monthly theme.
There's no budget to stick to.

Meet the Hosts

Angela | Simply Beautiful By Angela - Gail | Purple Hues and Me

Jenny | Cookies Coffee and Cra f ts - Michelle | Our Crafty Mom

Meredith | Thriftwood Home

One thing for sure, you can always find lots of baskets at the thrift store. They're usually plentiful in all sizes and styles for just a few dollars. And the best part, baskets are easy to transform with a little bit of paint and a few other enhancements!

Take this worn out basket that I found at the thrift store. At the time, I had no idea what I would do with it - but it was sturdy, a good size, and looked unique! I soon realized that it was perfect for our thrift store challenge!

First, after actually washing the basket - it seemed quite dirty in places - and letting it dry, I painted the green twisted twine, a Mulberry shade acrylic by DecoArt. Once the color dried, the basket still looked rather plain. So I decided to decoupage the basket wicker sides with flower napkins. I had decoupage a basket before and didn't have any problems then.

Begin by separating the printed napkin sheet from the rest and then tearing out some of the flower designs.

Then lay out the napkin design on the basket and lightly tap the napkin with a mod podge coated brush. Continue adding napkins to the basket using this technique.

This is what the basket looked like after filling the sides in with the napkin designs. I did not like the look - there were too many wrinkles! Perhaps the woven wicker was spaced too far apart and allowed the napkin to wrinkle in between - so I quickly washed it all off before it dried.

Then I thought about just making a flower to place on the basket. But I wanted to use the pretty flower napkins I had and wasn't quite sure how I could make a sturdy flower using a napkin. I knew how to make mod podge paper napkin flowers. But I wanted something firm, strong and with dimension. Then I had an idea of using foam sheets or formiran! I had made lots of foam sheet flowers, but never attached napkins (decoupage) to the foam sheets. Would that work? I looked on Pinterest and then google how to decoupage napkins to foam sheets but found nothing.

So I decided to give it a try. There's never harm in trying something new! First, I painted mod podge on the foam sheet.

And starting at the edge of the napkin, laid it down on top of the foam sheet.

Once the napkin was down on top of the foam sheet, I used a plastic bag to smooth out the wrinkles and then let dry.

It took several hours for everything to dry. And while it was drying, I made a template of a flower petal in different sizes. Once the napkin and foam was dry, I drew copies of the petals on the back of the foam and cut them out.

Next, I placed the petals on a low heat electric griddle (or iron if you don't have a griddle) for a few seconds, letting the edges curl.

You'll know the foam is ready when the edges curl and it's time to remove it from the heat by quickly picking it up and using the tips of your of your fingers to shape the petals - by indenting and curling the edges over or even twisting!

Then glue the petal layers together at the center using hot glue.

For the center, pour a generous amount of mod podge into the middle of petals and drop seed beads down into the glue. Mash the beads down into the MP and let dry.

This flower is too cute! Nice and firm and quite unusual - perfect to attach to the basket!

Use a permanent glue like DAP RapidFuse or super glue to attach the flower to center of basket.

And now for more thrifty goodness!

Check out what my fellow upcyclers created below!

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Ruffle Ribbon and Bow Wreath DIY

7:00 AM Gail @Purple Hues and Me Bowdabra bows 2 comments

Hi! It's Gail and I know you know by now that I'm one of the designers on Bowdabra's Design Team and we make all sorts of fabulous bows using the Bowdabra! You can find me on Bowdabra.com sharing an awesome tutorial for a cool floral design wreath! It looks quite unique and I'm sure you'll love how easy it is to make! So stop by and check out how I made this Ruffle Ribbon and Bow Wreath today!

Thanks for stopping by

and take a little time to enjoy,

Happy Crafting!

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Floral Design Decals Craft Project

3:00 AM Gail @Purple Hues and Me decals, pinterest challenge 27 comments

Welcome to the Pinterest Challenge Blog Hop hosted by Erlene @ My Pinterventures. If you aren't familiar with the Pinterest Challenge, it's a monthly event that challenges us to not just be pin hoarders, but to make it happen by creating a few!

This month's challenge is about Spring Crafts/DIY Projects, so I chose to share with you a Floral Design Decals Craft Project! I was pleasantly inspired to make this from a few pins I had, here, here, and here!

Some time ago, I was admiring a finished piece of furniture on Pinterest that was done in beautiful shades of purple but what was most striking about the dresser was the bold flowers that was painted on it - at least I thought they were painted on! It was so cool and fresh! But actually, they were decals - the peel and stick-on type expressly made for furniture. I kept thinking about the look and then ideas started to swirl around in my head - why not use decals to decorate other areas of your home besides furniture and walls - things like doors, appliances, cabinets, boards, frames, and even toilet tanks!

I wanted to start small and fortunately, I've had this letter "G" for several years now. I think it's perfect to try out decals on! The letter is all wood and rather large, too - 18" x 14." I originally got it on clearance for a few dollars back in 2013 for my hubby's man cave. But I never could decide how to decorate it and hubby ended up not having any wall space to put a letter up anyway. So the letter has been in my stash - waiting for the right project!

So the first thing I did was to wipe the dust off - I really didn't see any, but just in case!

Then I painted on a couple of coats of white chalk paint and let that dry.

While the paint was drying, I was deciding how and which decals I would use. I had order some flower decals online that I liked and ones that didn't cost much. Some decals can be really expensive.

So I started positioning the decals I wanted to use - giving me ideas on where I wanted to place them on the letter.

Next, I started cutting out each design, peeling off the backing and placing the decal where I had planned it to go. It was unbelievably easy to smooth the decals out, and overlapping on the edges using a small tool like a plastic spatula or old credit card.

I smoothed on the larger images first and then filled in with smaller ones, like the butterflies and smaller flowers.

The decals instantly added color and design to the blank space. And they can be easily removed and re-used, too! Doesn't the letter look gorgeous and makes a lovely, bold statement! Although I still haven't decided where it's going yet! But I'm seriously thinking about adding decals to a large wooden storage cabinet real soon!

TO JOIN NEXT MONTH’S #PINTERESTCHALLENGE, CLICK HERE TO SIGN-UP ⇒ March Pinterest Challenge

For more Pinterest inspired projects from this month's Pinterest Challenge hosts, check out the links below ↓

My Pinterventures • Domestic Deadline

Across the Boulevard • Cookies Coffee and Crafts

Farm Girl Reformed • Slices of Life

Decorate and More with Tip • Mom Home Guide

Purple Hues and Me • Intelligent Domestications

Sew Crafty Crochet • Life Beyond Kitchen

Modern on Monticello • Sum of their Stories

Love My Little Cottage • Eye Love Knots

Create with Cynthia • This Autoimmune Life

Now, let's see what the other hosts have created ⇓⇓

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Monday, February 17, 2020

Decorative Faux Leather Vase Sleeve

3:00 AM Gail @Purple Hues and Me destash challenge blog hop, faux leather vase sleeve 11 comments

Hey everyone! It's the third Monday of the month - where a group of bloggers are challenged by C'mon Get Crafty to create a new craft or project from their own stash of goodies! Everyone is allowed a $10 allowance for necessities to complete their project (i.e. paint brushes, glue, etc), but the bulk of it must be created from their own stash of goodies.

You know those plain glass vases found at the dollar store and elsewhere! How many times have you wished there was a quick and easy way to dress them up! Well there is! You can enhance the style of a plain glass vase by enclosing it with a decorative sleeve using faux leather or vinyl! It's so easy to slip on a stylish or trendy look laced with woven threads, wire or twine that adds character and style! And the best part, you can easily switch up the design simply by slipping it off and making another by using different colors, prints, and threads to match your decor or occasion. It's unbelievably simple and yet dramatic. And I'm so glad I had everything I needed to make one in my stash for this month's Crafty Destash Challenge!

Materials:

Faux Leather - 13" x 8"
Bow Wire
Fabric Glue
Upholstery Needle
Scissors

Let's begin by measuring around the vase. You want to leave a gap between the side fabric edges where they come together to show the cross-over thread "X." Then measure the height you want the sleeve to cover on the vase and cut out. For this vase, the cut out piece was 11" x 7.5"

Next, thread the bow wire through the eye of the upholstery needle. The bow wire ends frayed trying to get it through the eye, so I used fabric glue on the ends to seal. Then use the needle to make holes on the faux leather. At first I measured the fabric to see if the checks and ruler were evenly spaced - so I could mark the holes, say, every half inch, but they were not. So, to make things less complicated, I decided to just place holes in the center of every other square after the first one, for a neater laced look.

Then, continue lacing the faux leather fabric along the entire height of the sleeve, making a criss-cross or "X" pattern over the edges of the faux leather fabric . . .

tying in a couple of knots when reaching the end. Cut off excess bow wire and hide the knot behind the faux leather so you won't see it.

What a great way to add color or design to a tablescape or centerpiece that's oh so plain!

Disclosure I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites, this post may contain links. I may receive a very small commission at no cost to you! The affiliate money I earn helps pay my crafting expenses. Thanks so much for your support!

Now, check out what the other bloggers in this group created!

C'mon Get Crafty | Love My Little Cottage

Slices of Life | Domestic Deadline

Across the Blvd | Purple Hues and Me

Modern on Monticello | This Autoimmune Life

Sew Crafty Crochet | Home Crafts by Ali

Every month, a group of bloggers challenge each other to create a new craft or project from their own stash of goodies! Check out some awesome creations you might be able to make from your own stash! #CraftRoomDestashChallenge

Monday, February 10, 2020

Soda Bottle Chair Pin Cushion

7:00 AM Gail @Purple Hues and Me Blog Hop, pin cushion, recycle/upcycle, soda bottle crafts, upcycle challenge 22 comments

Hey everybody! It's the 2nd Monday of the month and time for another Monthly Challenge Blog Hop! I've joined a group of creative bloggers to bring you this monthly challenge blog hop! The theme for February is to create an upcycled, repurposed, or re-made project!

Today I'm sharing how to make a pin cushion my ex sister-in-law, Maria, showed me how to do using a coke bottle! Here's a little background story - shortly after moving into our present home, my niece Patricia and her mom, Maria (pictured) drove up from North Carolina to see our new home.

Maria, who was also quite crafty, had just returned from a trip home to Brazil. While there, some friends showed her how to make an adorable pin cushion out of a soda bottle. So when they came to visit, Maria shared how to make the pin cushion with me (pictured below!) We had a fun craft session that day!

This was back in 2012. At the time, Maria had an Etsy shop and sold the pin cushions on it, so naturally she didn't want anyone to know how they were made. And I've been honoring her wish not to share her tutorial - until now. Sadly, Maria passed in April 2017. She was a beautiful person, both inside and out! I recently asked my niece if I could share how her mom made the pin cushion. And of course she said yes - cause I'm her favorite aunt! Lol!

Materials used:

2 liter clear plastic soda bottle (Coke brand)

Craft knife/scissors

Black marker

Nail polish (acetone) remover

Cotton balls

5/8" trim or bias tape

2 - 12" x 12" fabric scraps

Circle templates

Polyester Filling

Needle and Thread

Quick grab glue

Let's begin by washing the 2 liter plastic soda bottle (Coke brand) with dish detergent and water to remove any stickiness and grime and then let dry. I like that this Minute Maid bottle (also a Coke brand) is smoother with less lines than a regular coke bottle. Next, cut the bottle in half following the bottom edge of the label on the bottle. Maria drew a pattern outlining the chair on a bottle she gave me to follow and I duplicated that on this bottle.

Next, cut out the pattern and use a cotton ball dampen with nail polish remover to remove the black marker lines.

I also measured the chair outline of the pin cushion that I made years ago to help with the pattern design. The top areas tapers up from the bottom.

The original chair pin cushion had bias tape glued on the edges, but I didn't have any that matched so I had to think of something else to cover the edges with. At first I thought about using 5/8 inch ribbon, but it has to be stretchy and forgiving that would easily go around the plastic curves. And ribbon is not! Then I remembered some woven trim I used to make snowflakes. Ding, ding, ding, ding! And this trim was so much easier to glue on than bias tape!

Look how pretty the trim looks!

Next, trace the outline of the circle templates on the wrong side of the fabric and cut out.

Starting with the larger circle, make a running stitch around the folded inside edges of the fabric going around the entire circle . . .

and then pull the thread to gather the fabric into a circle. Sew a few extra stitches where the threads meet and knot to secure the gathers and cut off excess thread.

Next, stuff filling into the fabric circle making sure to push it in as tight as possible until you can't get anymore filling in! Be sure that it's even and fluffy like a pouf, all around. Then sew a few more stitches and knot thread to secure the cushion gathers, cutting off the excess thread.

Next, cut a circle of fabric, folding edges under and glue in place over the cushion opening to complete the bottom cushion.

Repeat the same steps using the next size circle to make the smaller back cushion.

Then make three yo yo's by sewing a running stitch along the folded edge around the smaller circles.

Gently pull the thread to gather the fabric toward the center. Adjust and flatten the gathers to form a circle or yo yo. Once satisfied with the look, secure by stitching close to the gathers, knot and cutting off excess thread. Hand press the yo yo flat with gathers in center.

With needle and thread, attach top cushion to plastic back through center of yo yo, making a recess in front center of cushion - then sewing back and forth several times and knotting, to secure.