Showing posts with label crafting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crafting. Show all posts

Monday, November 3, 2014

The littlest spools...


I had these wooden spools just hanging around in my house. I think I got them at an antique store and figured I could do something cute with them. Well, it happened. 


I made little animals and shapes out of air dry clay. It was pretty easy to use. Once they were dry (mine sat here for over a month- whoops), you can paint them with acrylic paint.

I made this one look kinda like our little yellow house and our little pup. 

The rest were random.

Once the paint is dry, hot glue them on top of your spools. and wrap the spools with twine, string, or yarn to make them look complete. 


I feel like these would be cute to make for the holidays... Valentines Day, Easter, Christmas, Hanukkah, Eid...anything with a symbol that you could make out of clay. 


-Nicola & the little pup


Cute little face pots...

My friend Emy came down to NC for the weekend... and we got right to making these cute little pots. They were pretty easy, once we got the thickness and height down.


 The Supplies:
- Sculpey Oven Bake Clay (about $5)
- Mod Podge- Water base Sealer- Gloss (less than $4)
- Little Succulents of your choice
- Wax paper to protect your counters

All the supplies can be purchased at Michaels (minus the succulents) and Walmart has the clay and succulents (not sure about the gloss).

1/4 of this box was left over after making 4 little pots.
Apply a few coats. You will have plenty left over. 

How to: 
- Lay out wax paper to protect your surface. 

- We wanted our pots to be small and cute. We used a small can from the pantry as a model so that we wouldn't get carried away. :) You will need different objects to make patterns in your clay and a knife to cut the clay with. We gathered random objects in my kitchen... a fork, ravioli press, bottle caps, toothpick, a party horn, etc. 


Simple Steps:

1.  Loosen the clay by rolling it around in your hands. It starts out pretty stiff. Once it's moldable, stretch it out and place it on the wax paper. We used a rolling pin to get it thin and perfectly flat. 

2. We used the small can as a mold for the bottom and cut a hole for drainage.

3. Once the clay is rolled out and pretty even, we used a knife to cut it into a long rectangle (about 3 inches high and 10 inches long). All that matters is that it can be completely wrapped about the base that you made AND that it can stand on it's own. If it is too tall or thin, it will fall over or rip during the baking process.  I found that out the hard way. :)

Notice the one on the right... too tall and too thin to make it in the oven. :)
4. On your long rectangle of clay, create a pattern by using objects to press designs into the clay. Try not to make it go all the way through. 

5. Once you have decorated the clay (all except the face), wrap the clay into a circle that can be connected to the base that you previously made. It is pretty sticky and will start to stand like a plant pot. Make sure there are no little holes at any of the seams. You can just press them out with your fingers. 

6. Add the face to the front of the pot... We used clay rectangular noses and a toothpick to make the eyes and mouth. You can do anything you like. 

7. Follow the baking instructions. We baked 5 pots at a time and it look about 35 mins. 

8. Once completely dry, you can glaze your pot with the Mod Podge. We used about 3 coats and waited 30 minutes between coats. Really, we just left them on the table and when we walked by and noticed they were dry, we added more. Nothing complicated.  If you want to add some paint and color (like my friend Emy did to the cheeks, do so before the glaze). 

9. Add cute plants (we put some rocks so that the dirt doesn't just flow out of the bottom) and you're done! 


The final product...


- Nicola & the little pup

Friday, October 10, 2014

The cutest souvenir...

I've been traveling quite a bit the past few years. I just love going new places and learning about other cultures and people. The food, the art, the hobbies, and best of all, the beaches. I am a total beach lover. I could spend the rest of my life on a sunny beach and feel pretty happy about it. 

I haven't been great about collecting treasures from all of my travels, but I began to notice that I had a collection of sandwich bags filled with cute souvenirs from some of my trips.  I always think that beaches are so interesting. They all have different shells, wood, seaweed, birds, and sand. I like to collect a thing or two to take home to remember my trip by. Don't be mad. 

I decided that I needed a cuter display than sandwich bags... so out came the bottles!

My Beach Bottle Collection
You can really use anything you want. I think small Ball jars could be cute. Or old baby jars (for all those Mama's out there).  A little string and a tag and you're on your way.



I lived in California for most of my life, and visited a lot of beaches. I wish I had collected a thing or two from some of my favs...Carmel, Pismo, and a bunch of southern CA spots. But we go back a few times a year (to see our families), so I am going to fix that in a few months! And funny enough, my family has a timeshare in Maui... we have gone every year since I was about 12 years old. And I haven't collected and sand from there either. What is wrong with me?! All my favorite spots have been forgotten. I guess I'll have to go back. 

I have SO many other beaches to visit to really feel like I've completed my collection... although, I don't really feel like it will ever been complete. 

-Nicola & the little pup


Wednesday, October 8, 2014

15-LOVE... (see what I did there)

A fun little D.I.Y

Add a little color to your home with some homemade Rainbow Rackets. 

A few months ago I made my tassel bag with my friend Emy (see previous blog post).  I had a bunch of left over embroidery thread from that project that I wanted to put to good use. Emy had just finished a cute racket of her own (that inspired me-obviously) and with my  3+ hour drive from DC to NC, I figured I had time to waste tying knots and wrapping thread. I started with the "heart" racket... which was super easy and just takes some planning before you start.  This DIY can definitely be done while watching TV in your PJ's. Trust me.  I think they would be so cute hanging in a kids room! And I love that you can create whatever you want.  

Supplies:
1.  I found the rackets at a thrift shop for about $1. Can't beat that! I prefer older looking rackets (all wood). Plus, I like reusing!
2. Embroidery Thread (Michaels or Joann's fabric has a bunch). 

My embroidery thread. I like lots of options. 

How to:
1. Gather your materials.
2. Choose a design... you can create anything that you can visualize in squares. 
3. Choose your starting point and tie your embroidery thread in a knot in that location. 
4. Wrap the thread until you get to the desired stopping point. 
5. Tie another knot to end the color. 
6. Move to the next color and/or design.



The heart.
Modern plus signs.

 The finished products...


Have fun!
-Nicola & the little pup


Friday, October 3, 2014

Let the holiday season begin...


The Chalkboard is up! It's official... summer is over and fall is here.  
This last year we moved from CA to NC. We used to always go trick-or-treating with our friends and their kids. Each year, I loved giving them each a little bag filled with all kinds of halloween goodies. What kid doesn't like that?! This year, I decided to send a little box of Halloween fun across country to make up for the fact that I couldn't give it to them in person. Plus, they're my pen pals, and we mail things back and forth quite a bit. I'm sure they'll love receiving a box that is just for them.



MY  LITTLE HALLOWEEN KIT:

I collected all kinds of Halloween treasures from Target, the Dollar Tree, Homegoods, and Michaels. They always have lots of little things that cost a few dollars near the check out or in the holiday section. I figured that I should go small since I need to ship it across country (and I hate paying to ship things).

1. A little trio of things that make for a good halloween... "Glow Stick or Treat, Smell my Feet". I couldn't really find or think of a trick off the top of my head, so glow sticks were the next best thing.



2. A few jokes were thrown in the mix... "what animal is best at baseball... A bat!" Get it?!
 3. Other random Halloween goodies to make the month more fun.
**I'd like to apologize in advance for the noise makers ;)


I packed all these goodies in a USPS box and filled it with confetti... and sent it on it's way.  It's a surefire way to cheer up some kids and have them jumping for joy when the package arrives with their names on it. 

-Nicola & the little pup

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

What's old is new...

I had this old dress that I wasn't a huge fan of, but it was really comfortable. It was black. When I was doing laundry months ago I got a few drops of bleach on the front of it. Five minutes later I had brown spots all down my comfy dress. Since then, I have been staring at it with hopes that it would somehow repair itself so that I could wear it again. I decided that I would give something a try before I chauffeured it to the Goodwill.  And, good news... It's been upgraded just in time for summer with a little BLEACH TIE DYE session.

How to Bleach Tie Dye your goods... 


Supplies:
- Item of clothing
- Bleach
-Bucket
-Rubberbands
- Rubber gloves (optional)

The easiest instructions ever: 
1) Take rubberbands and twist them around your item. I went in a straight line down the dress. (pic 1) 

2) Fill bucket with water and bleach (10 parts water to one part bleach). You just need enough to cover the item.

3) Place item in the bucket (let sit until you notice that it's the perfect shade)- mine was about 20 mins

4) Remove from the bucket. Cut the the rubberbands off and transport to the washing machine. Be careful, if any bleach gets on your clothes or carpet you'll have more to tie dye. :) I used an old target bag to make sure that my current dress didn't get ruined (I wouldn't put it past me).

5) Place it in the washing maching and wash on cold with NO laundry detergent.

Rubberband wrap up

Post bleach treatment- all different shades

The final product- front

Back

It's super easy and is the perfect solution for a shirt, dress, or blanket that you have ruined, are bored of, or just want to tie dye. I really want to try something that's navy blue. The black above came out a rust/brown color. So it's all a mystery. :)

- Nicola & the Little Pup


Wednesday, May 7, 2014

All things tasseled...

Lately, I've noticed that tassels are making a come back and I'm loving it. I'm not sure they ever really left, but I know that I could use more around my house...

This weekend we went to Maryland to see our friends June and Emy (and to check out Washington, DC). Emy (see her blog here: Emy's Blog) and I decided to step our crafting up a notch by trying to tackle a tasseled bag. We were inspired by good ol' pinterest and this cute blog (original tassel tote).  It wasn't a super hard craft, but it did take some time making all those tassels and tying all those mini knots... ugh! And the most difficult part was sewing them to the bag (my bag had a cotton liner, and embroidery thread is thick).

Here's how simple it is...

Supplies:
- embroidery thread (any colors you like)
- scissors
- a large needle (to sew the embroidery thread to the bag)
- an old bag (mine had a liner which was hard to sew. Emy's didn't, but she had to add a bead to the inside so that the tassel would stay in place).
Step 1: Make your tassels. You can find a million links with directions on Pinterest. They are super easy.
 Step 2: Lay them out to be sure that the colors are spread out the way you like them.


Step 3: Begin sewing them to the bag. This might take some time if you have a liner in your bag. We used a needle to get the thread through and tied knots on the inside to be sure that they stayed put. 

Step 4: Admire that beauty. 
The Front 
The Back.
Our bags. 
Emy's had a nice fold over the top with a gold edge. Any old bag you have looks cute. 

We're officially ready for summer! 

-Nicola & the little pup

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Happy Valentine's Day.

 This Valentine's day, most of our peeps are clear across the country. We couldn’t think of a better way to show some love than mailing them (snail mail style) a homemade card. All we needed were a few things from Michaels Craft store and we were ready to spend the snowy night creating. Last week we got all of these little cards out so that they would make it in time. 




Sorry, the shiny envelopes don't photograph well. 



And for the locals

Today was another snow day here in NC. I decided that baking would give me something to do (since I was stuck indoors all day). And I heard that neighbors LOVE food. So I figured that it was a win, win for me to bake them up a little treat. My friend, Jackee, made these for us in December. I loved the mix of rosemary with sweet jam. And they just seemed just festive enough to give out as Valentines. 

Rosemary & Strawberry Scones
Created By: Giada (Food Network)

Ingredients

Scones:

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 cup heavy cream

1/3 cup strawberry jam

 Glaze:

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, from 1 large lemon

2 cups powdered sugar

1 to 2 tablespoons water Special equipment: a 3-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter



Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a silpat or parchment paper. Set aside. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse together the flour, sugar, baking powder, rosemary, salt, and butter until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl. Gradually stir in the cream until the mixture forms a dough. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough into a 1/2-inch thick, 10-inch circle. Using a cookie cutter, cut out pieces of dough and put on the prepared baking sheet.  Using an index finger or a small, round measuring spoon, gently make an indentation in the center of each pastry . Spoon a heaped 1/2 teaspoon of jam into each indentation. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Transfer the cooked scones onto a wire rack and cool for 30 minutes. For the glaze: In a medium bowl, mix together the lemon juice and powdered sugar until smooth. Gradually add the water until the mixture is thin enough to spread. Using a spoon, drizzle the glaze over the scones. Let the glaze set for about 30 minutes. Serve or store in an airtight plastic container for 2 days.



 I chose not to glaze mine.


The packaging: nice and simple.



The moral of the story here is this... Bake some scones.  They're delicious. 
- Nicola & the Little Pup