Saturday, March 28, 2026

Soda Can Pansy Wreath DIY

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Hello and welcome to our "Do It Over Designers" Blog Hop! The "Do It Over Designers" is a group of creative bloggers who love to recycle/upcycle/ DIY, hosted by  Anne @The Apple Street Cottage. It happens the 4th Saturday of every other month and it's all about taking something old and/or unused and 'doing it over' into something new.


 Pansies are popular, cool season annuals known for their vibrant, "faced" flowers that thrive in spring and fall.  They are cute and colorful and come in a variety of colors - especially purple hues - my favorite, lol! Pansies are the perfect DIY project for me to create this time of year! Their flat, five-petal structure makes them particularly easy to replicate. 

This darling hand fashioned and painted pansy wreath is made from soda cans and tubing.  The technique involves cutting soda can aluminum metal into petal  shapes which are painted and assembled recreating the layered look of overlapping, heart-shaped petals placed onto and around a green hollow tubing base.  

Materials Used:
  • Soda cans
  • Utility knife/craft scissors
  • Heart and leaves templates
  • Masking tape 
  • Parchment paper
  • Acrylic paints/paint pens/sponge brush
  • Quick Hold Glue
  • Green hollow tubing
  • 22 gauge wire

How To: 
Since I don't drink sodas anymore, my son saves his for me! First, rinse the soda cans and shake out as much water as you can. I like to lay the cans upside down on a paper towel and let them dry before cutting them. You don't want any sticky soda residue left on the cans.
Carefully cut off one end of the soda can using  a utility knife or craft scissors. *Caution: You may want to wear gloves for this! 

Then cut along the body of the can to the opposite end - it was easier for me to use craft scissors for this part .  . .
to remove the bottom of the can.

Be sure to cut off any slivers or jagged edges.
Smooth out the curve of the can by rolling on the edge of a table or countertop.
 Creating a flat rectangular sheet of aluminum.
Pansies have a unique and distinct five petal structure - to me, often in heart shape blooms with two top petals, two side petals and one petal at the bottom. I found a heart shape "petal" online and printed them out to use as templates. This is what they looked like after cutting them out . . .
and putting them together: Btw, the two top pieces are actually one heart shape cut into two parts!
Draw these petal templates directly onto the silver side of the flatten soda can . . .

and cut out.

This is what the metal petals look like put together:

But before gluing them together, I painted all the individual petals using a multi-surface satin acrylic called Juneberry and let dry.


Layer the petals starting with the two top ones glued together at the sides using Quick Hold glue, followed by the heart-shaped sides, glued together at bottom .  .  .
and finally, the bottom petal glued onto the center of the middle two petals.
Be sure to glue on the top petals behind the center petals.

Once all the petals are painted and glued together, it's time to add the signature "pansy face and whiskers" using assorted acrylics paint pens. You can tell I'm not very artistic when it comes to this part, lol!
Repeat the above process for making the leaves: First by drawing on the leaves to the soda can metal.
But after I did that, I thought of an easier way to cut the leaves out.  Fold a strip of masking tape together just short of the length of the leaf template and put on the back of the template. Then stick the template on the metal and cut the leaf out.  It was so much easier to cut all the curly portions of the leaves out this way!
Once all the leaves were cut out, add score lines or "veins" using the tip of scissors. But once the leaves were painted, I could not see the veins. So after the painted leaves were dry, I went over the veins with the scissor tip to see them better. The leaves look so much better and defined this way!
In case you're wondering, I found this tubing in my hubby's stash. I did ask him what it was for and he commented that it was originally from a garden watering system he had tried but didn't work out. Good for me!!! 
While the leaves were drying, it was time to wrap the tubing together in the shape of a 14" circle and securing in places using floral wire.
Once that was done, I needed to add the pansies and leaves around the circle.



I'm loving how this pansy wreath is taking shape!
So cute and adorable!
Here it is on the back of my front door!
And on my coffee table!
It's the perfect DIY piece to add an ever loving touch of pansy charm to your home! 


Before you go, don't forget this is a blog hop and all of the designers have some amazing and very innovative projects to share with you.

Be sure to visit all of this month's creative projects by the 
 "Do It Over Designers"  listed below:


Tuesday, March 10, 2026

Handpainted Printed Crocus Design Vase

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The crocus is a flower that symbolizes hope, cheerfulness, joy and new beginnings! They are usually the first sign of spring. "When the crocus starts to bloom, spring cannot be far behind."

So let's celebrate the arrival of spring by transforming a simple glass vase into a dazzling display featuring delicate, hand-painted crocus flowers. This project combines the charm of hand-painted details and the usage of printed designs, making it a perfect DIY craft to brighten up your home décor with personal flair. 

Hello and Welcome to this month's Creative Craft Hop co-hosted by Sara @Birdz of a Feather  and Donna @Modern on  Monticello who take turns every other month! The lovely and creative Sara is our host for this month! I'm so glad you're here checking out our creative projects for the month!


Let me first just say that this project was not as easy as I thought it would be. I am not in anyway artistic! But I thought outlining crocus designs and then painting them on glass would be a simple task to do. In reality, though, my hands would cramp and I realized that I could not paint a straight or curvy line on glass despite how easy it looked. But I persevered, anyway! And if you try it, I hope you do too!

So let's get started!
Materials Needed:
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! Plus Google Adsense provides a platform for me to monetize my content by hosting ads from Google's network of advertisers. The money I earn helps pay my crafting expenses. Thanks so much for your support!

How To:
Begin by washing the glass vase with soap and water and dry with paper towels. Then wipe with rubbing alcohol and let dry for a clean surface free of grease or oil. 

There are lots of free crocus flower designs to choose from online. Here are a couple I chose along with the vase I had in my stash:


After cleaning and the drying the vase, place the printed crocus design on the inside of the glass vase, securing with masking tape - especially around the bottom. Place a towel down on your work surface, laying the glass vase on its' side. Begin using the 3D paint liner to trace the outline of the crocus. The paint liner came in black, gold and silver. I chose silver since the color is closest to glass and less conspicuous than black and gold. Your choice!


You can see I'm not very good with outlining. 

This side is just about finished and .  .  .
on to the other printed side. I found a larger crocus design for this side instead of  the one I previously showed. Having bubbles when outlining is part of the process  and using toothpicks to pop air bubbles helps! 
Glass paint outlining generally requires 1-2 hours to be touch dry and about 6-8 hours or overnight to dry completely before filling in with paint colors. I let the outlining dry overnight. Once the outlining is dry, it's time to start painting the crocus with acrylic glass paint. Naturally, I'm using a deep purple violet transparent!
Be sure not to go too close to the lining when adding the paint. Use toothpicks to help smooth the paint toward the lining. In some areas, I let the paint be thicker and in others, more transparent. 
And of course, using green glass paint for the leaves and stems.
This is certainly an amusing way - especially when you have crampy hands, to achieve a faux stained glass, one of a kind handmade piece! 
                                   But I'm loving it!                                                   
It's amazing what colorful lighting will do!
It really puts you in a happy mood!
In experiencing the ups and downs of paint lining and hand painting, I've created my own version of "crafting enjoyment," lol! I've called this my practice piece! A delightful way to "Welcome Spring!"

Up next is Sara, sharing her amazing and very creative leather earrings with soda can beads - I know you won't be disappointed!

And please make sure to check out all of our super talented bloggers and their amazing creations listed below:


Tuesday, February 10, 2026

Decorative Cord and Mesh Placemat

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Would you believe that I discovered my next project from a Facebook Reel! In case you don't know, Facebook Reels are short videos designed for inspiring and showcasing creative projects in a fast-paced tutorial usually done in 60-90+ seconds like the one pictured below:         
I was really impressed with the design and I don't think I had seen anything like it before. I clicked on the reel to try to find out what the technique was called. But unfortunately, all it said was DIY table mats ideas. I also looked on Pinterest and saw lots examples of the technique - but still no real title for the "how to" design. Most were in foreign languages. So I'm going to share my interpretation of what I gathered with the title "Decorative Cord and Mesh Placemat." If you happen to know exactly what this technique is call, please let me know.

Hello and Welcome to this month's Creative Craft Hop co-hosted by Donna @Modern on  Monticello and Sara @Birdz of a Feather  who take turns every other month! The lovely and talented Donna is our host for this month! And if you're visiting from Donna's blog, wasn't her decorative pillows gorgeous! She  gets very creative with her Cricut!


What's so unusual about this project is the design of the placemat and how to create it. This technique starts with a beautiful, decorative design or template. And from there, among other things, cording is added to the design for an impressive appearance! Then it's all cut out for an awe-inspiring look that's quite eye-catching! The handmade placemat is perfect for joyous table settings, everyday dinner decor, home makeovers and unique DIY home decor! So here's how to turn ordinary items like window mesh and cord into wow-worthy table pieces that look expensive but aren’t!

Materials:

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! Plus Google Adsense provides a platform for me to monetize my content by hosting ads from Google's network of advertisers. The money I earn helps pay my crafting expenses. Thanks so much for your support!


How To:
Start with a design you like. I can't draw a lick so I had to rely on one from the internet. I didn't want to use a design from someone else's project so I looked online in free clipart websites that I frequent to find one I liked and came up with this design to download, enlarge and print out:

 Unfortunately, the printout from my printer wasn't large enough for a placemat. Some who made this type of placemat suggested dividing the design into four equal parts, enlarging each part and printing them out separately. Then taping the pieces together to form the size wanted. Lazy me didn't want to do that so I took my design to a nearby Office Depot and had them enlarge and print it out for me. It costs $2.15 to get a 20"x18" print out of the design. In hindsight, I should have gotten a larger print since the 20"x18" was the size of the paper and not the size of the design. I didn't realize that until I picked it up. The design size still worked but I do wish it would have been a bit bigger. Lesson learned!

Next, lay a sheet of parchment paper on top of the design and tape together. You may need to tape an additional piece of parchment paper together for full coverage. Do this so the glue won't seep through the mesh and destroy the design paper when removing it.


Then place the mesh over the parchment paper and tape all the pieces down around the borders to secure.

Select an area where you want to start and add a short line of glue over the design and .  .  .
place the cord down on top of the glue to begin.
Continue adding glue, a small amount at a time so the hot glue won't dry out before adding the cord. Use straight pins to secure cord in place while drying.
Try not to cut the cord until you are finish gluing down the entire design.
It was fun to watch how the cord design came together .  .  .
a little bit at a time, until .  .  .
it's almost done!
Depending on the time of day and lighting, the color of the purple cord and mesh looks different in the pictures.
Just a few more decorative curves and .  .  .

you're done gluing on the cord!
Once you're finish with adding the cord and the glue is dry, gently remove the placemat design (mesh+cording) from the parchment paper and .  .  .

begin cutting out the design.
How cool and amazing does this look! Do you see why I love this technique so much?

Then enjoy .  .  .
using your decorative cord and mesh placemat with various items and .  .  .

places around your home!
It's always fun to try new projects and I hope you're inspired to try this one!

Up next is Sara, one of our fabulous host and very creative crafter @Birdz of a Feather  sharing her stunning Eyeglass Holder!

And be sure to check out all of our super talented bloggers and their amazing creations listed below: