Pin Art

March 12, 2015March 12, 20154 Comments

Well…I’m bringing you another craft that I found on Pinterest. Today, I’m bringing you some pin art.

And I don’t mean using pens, I used push pins. I’m going to give you a brief description of how I did it and what I made from my pin art.

Items Needed

Black Poster board

Push Pins (they can be gold or silver depending on what you want)

A Pencil

An Exacto Knife

I started by cutting the poster board to the size I wanted. Originally I wanted my board to be certain size to fit inside a frame. But, because of the absence of an exacto knife in my apartment, I had to use scissors…Not the best choice for trying to cut a poster board. So, in my failed attempt, I tried something else.

A wonderful kitchen knife!

I decided to change my plans for the size of the board. I measured the poster board and cut it into three equal 10 inch by 20 inch pieces. And using my handy dandy kitchen knife, I cut the boards to use for my projects.

I then text some friends to ask them for a word or phrase that was inspirational to them. I got some responses and was then able to actually start the project.

To start the next part, I drew on the poster board with a pencil to get my design on the board. Don’t be afraid to erase and try again if you don’t like how it looked. I also wrote in cursive to make the word or phrase more elegant.

And now the pinning begins! I bought a box of 300 gold tacks from the Dollar Tree to get started. I slowly put the pins along the pencil lines that I drew to get the pins where I wanted. Also, if you don’t like where the pins are placed, take them out carefully and replace them where you can’t see the hole you first made.

Now, inevitably, you will run out of tacks. Fortunately, 300 tacks only cost $1, so it wasn’t too expensive.

And…here are some of the finished products!

This was created for my friend and co-worker Jessica who found inspiration in this Norman Vaughan quote.

This one was for one of my roommates, Bailey. It is now hanging above her window.

My roommate Lydia loved this simple word that inspires her everyday.

I had pins left over, so I found this quote in Google about friendship and decided to make this for my apartment living room.

Now…you may notice that I didn’t make one for myself…and my last roommate still hasn’t told me her word or phrase. But I had more fun making these for other people and not myself. Now if only my roommate Hannah will tell me her word or phrase so I can create some artwork for her!

Do you have a word or phrase that is inspirational to you that you would make artwork out of? Let us know in the comments below!

How to Make Your Rice Glow

March 5, 2015March 10, 20157 Comments

The other day, when I was absentmindedly scrolling through Pinterest, I came across this

So…………I was intrigued.

I went to the following website http://www.growingajeweledrose.com/2013/01/glowing-rice-sensory-play.html?m=1 and looked at what Crystal and her daughter did to make their Neon Rice. So check out her website to see what they did.

Ingredients (I had to change to measurements a little bit to make it work for my “experiment” because I wanted to make a big batch so that my mom could take this to her preschool classroom.)

4 2 pound bags of rice

4 different colors of neon paint

Glow in the dark paint

Water

4 Ziploc bags

Cookie Sheets

So I started by purchasing neon pink, blue, orange, and green non toxic paint along with a bottle of glow in the dark non toxic paint from Michaels. Thankfully, it’s only about $.70 a bottle so it’s not a budget breaker. Also, because it is non toxic, mom can take it to her classroom to use with the kids.

After I got all my supplies, I got started.

1. Separate the rice into separate bags for each color you want to use. Since I have four colors, and four bags of rice, I just emptied a full bag into a Ziploc bag.

2. Squirt the color of choice and the glow in the dark paint into the rice. You will also want to add some water to the mixture to make the paint runnier and easier to spread over the rice.

3. Close the Ziploc bag to start mixing. Make sure you get all the air out because it will be easier to mix the rice with the paint.

4. Knead the mixture until the rice is coated with the paint. I found that I didn’t add enough paint the first time, so I added more blue paint and more glow in the dark paint.

5. Empty the rice out the Ziploc bags and onto a cooking sheet. I covered my cooking sheets with aluminum foil so that the paint wouldn’t ruin the cooking sheets.

6. Let the rice dry! It doesn’t take too long to dry, but it may take a while for the glow in the dark paint to actually start glowing. If you leave it in the light for a while, the rice should start to glow in the dark.

Now…this didn’t work exactly as planned. The rice covered well with the paint, but it didn’t glow in the dark. I don’t know if I didn’t add enough glow in the dark paint, which is possible because I only added about 1/4th of a small bottle.

But, it still turned out to be really pretty and now it’s a great item for mom’s preschool class to dig through.

Parties we’ve linked to:

http://www.usscrafty.com/2015/03/submarine-sunday-114.html

http://2crochethooks.com/snickerdoodle-sunday-link-party-71/

http://www.ishouldbemoppingthefloor.com/2015/03/inspiration-monday_8.html#more

http://www.sewcando.com/

http://www.thatswhatchesaid.net/2015/st-patricks-day-crafts-projects-monday-funday-link-party/

http://www.alifeinbalance.net/motivation-monday-linky-party-133/

Busy Monday 155

http://www.mabeyshemadeit.com/green-treats-for-st-patricks-day-do-tell-tuesday/

http://thewinthropchronicles.com/2015/03/share-it-link-party-157/

http://www.vmg206.com/2015/03/brag-about-it-vmg206_9.html#more

My February “Finish-it-Up” Challenge

February 26, 2015February 28, 20155 Comments

I accept the challenge! That’s what I did back in January. Serena, from the blog, ThriftDiving, http://www.thriftdiving.com/, offered up a challenge for February. The idea was to commit to 5-10 projects we never finished and work on them in February! What a great way to get ourselves to get those projects done!

So here was my list:

1. Make a couple of pillow covers for my front porch.

2. Sew the seam on a pair of jeans to make them ‘skinnier.’

3. Sort through my seashells and figure out a project for them.

4. Paint the floating shelves in the hallway.

5. Frame maps to hang in Lauren’s room.

6. Paint the trim in my dark hallway.

So, how did I do? I did them all! Not all perfectly, but they are done!

1. The Pillow Covers

Yes, I did make these, but I cheated a little. I picked the fabric from Lauren’s overflowing fabric closet. I liked the turquoise, of course, and thought the red was good because of Valentine’s Day. When I showed Lauren, she asked if the sewing machine had behaved for me. Um..well..

I glued them. I really don’t like to sew, and a few years ago, I had seen a Pinterest story about someone who had recovered all her patio cushions by hot gluing fabric on them (which I have also done!), so I figured why not pillows too! It worked and I was done with number 1 very quickly!

2. Sew the Seams on a Pair of Jeans

Yes, I did this too and yes I actually sewed them. No hot glue!! They turned out okay, but as I wore them, they kept stretching more and pretty soon they were still too big, So I will have to pull the dreaded sewing machine out again and sew them a little skinnier.

Here is the seam I sewed.

3. Sort Through Seashells

I went through my several boxes and jars and bags of seashells. I sorted them all out by type and even some color. I know what I am going to do with them, but it involves buying several frames with mats, so it will probably be awhile before I actually get the whole project done. But at least I know what shells I have and how to use them!

just a small part of the collection

4. Paint the Shelves

basic brown

Yep! They got painted. I purchased them from a thrift store, and was so excited to find them, I couldn’t wait to put them up! They were just a plain brown, but they are now white. When my daughter Haley walked down the hallway that evening, she asked ‘Weren’t those shelves a different color this morning?” Yes, they were!

5. Frame Maps

Just need to get these on the wall

The maps are framed and hanging above the bed in Lauren’s room. I got these maps from the yard sale my mom and I have every year. Not even sure who they came from, but I love old maps and these were California mountains, so they were perfect!

My State!

Now they look even better on view for all to see!

They are up!

Love how they look!

6.Paint Trim in Hallway

Before-blah brown

dark and dreary

Yeah! I got this done! I have been wanting to do this for quite awhile. Haley and I painted all the trim in the living and dining rooms a couple of years ago and I had been wanting to do this too. Well, this was the push I needed. I painted a coat of primer and then 4 coats of paint. I used Benjamin Moore Cloud White.

New and improved

This included all the trim and 6 doors!

Loving the white

There is also a built in cabinet in the hallway, but I left if the color it was. I may go back later and paint it, but painting all the rest was plenty. My husband hung a chandelier that used to hang in the dining room. Love it!

I plan on painting the walls too. I don’t like how the green looks with the new trim, so maybe that is my project in March. I hope to add a sisal rug to the area also.

Well, that’s it. Challenge…Done! I feel so good having completed this. Please check out Serena’s blog and see what else she has done. She completed her basement challenge and it is an amazing space!! Maybe next time you can join in too!