diy Archives - Page 18 of 20 - Farmhouse Chic Blog

Rejoice Banner

December 12, 2012 by Fotini Filed Under: book pages, Christmas, Christmas Banner, Christmas Craft, crafts, diy, DIY crafts, glitter, home decor, Martha Stewart 25 Comments

So, I’ve made, yet, another project using book pages. You can view my Fall banner here and Wreath here. I just adore the way they look, and they’re so pretty to look at! This, of course, is my Christmas banner!

Here’s what you’re going to need:

unused book
twine, or any other material for hanging
marker
stencil
craft glue, paintbrush
glitter, and a pan of some sort (I’ll tell you why later!)
double sided tape
pine cones for added decor

Start out by ripping out your pages and cutting to desired size. Again, I fish-tailed the bottom of my pages. I wanted to use the word “REJOICE”, so I had 7 pages. I traced my letters using red permanent marker and my stencils. Once I was finished tracing, I used a thin paint brush to brush craft glue onto my stenciled letters. Grab a cake pan (or similar) to use to catch all of your loose glitter. This makes for a much smoother cleanup! I used a very fine Martha Stewart glitter in garnet. Apply a generous amount to each letter and let sit. After a few minutes of drying, shake off any excess glitter and set aside. Do this for each remaining letter. When I was completely done with all my letters, I used a heavy hold hairspray to keep the glitter in place. Now it’s time to add your pages to your twine! Fold over the top of your page about 1 inch and tape into place. I embellished mine with one pine cone on each end by simply hot gluing onto the twine. Let everything dry completely and hang!

This banner is truly eye-catching! The glitter shines beautifully throughout the day and especially in the background of the Christmas Tree lights at night! Hope you enjoy 🙂

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Fresh Greenery Wreath

December 9, 2012 by Fotini Filed Under: balsam, Christmas, Christmas decor, Christmas wreath, diy, DIY wreath, fresh greenery, wreath 6 Comments

Do you love the smell of balsam during the Holidays? Have extra tree trimmings? If you said yes to one or both of these questions, here’s the perfect craft for you! With extra tree trimmings I created a beautiful wreath for my front door!

Here’s what you’re going to need:

18” wire wreath form
greenery
glue gun, glue
ribbon for embellishment

Start with larger pieces of greenery and begin gluing them to the outside of the wire form and holding in place until dry. Now move onto the second inner wire and follow the same process, including the very inner wire. Once your piece if covered, begin going through and filling any parts that seem bare, by simply gluing the bottom and pushing into place. I couldn’t believe how “lively” this wreath became so quickly!

As mentioned is one of my previous posts, I had tons of pine cones, so I wanted to add some to my wreath! I used craft glue on the very tips and sprinkled with silver glitter, let dry. I added 4 total. To add some color, I tied a bow with some pretty, sparkly red ribbon I had and twirled the ends. I also sprayed the wreath with a extra hold hairspray and sprinkled silver glitter throughout.

Here’s three different ways to enjoy your beautiful, fresh wreath! Add some burlap ribbon to hang over a door and keep it simple… or incorporate red to stand out by adding a bow… or keep the natural theme going by adding the pine cones for an outdoorsy feel!

Whatever style you decide on, I’m sure you will enjoy all the beauty this wreath has to offer!

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Kids Craft – – Handy Reindeer

December 4, 2012 by Fotini Filed Under: art, Christmas Craft, Christmas crafts, diy, handprint art, kids craft, kids crafts, reindeer handprint 7 Comments

Crafting with your kids is a lot of fun! It’s a great time for them to use their creativity and imagination! We always really enjoy making fun crafts that relate to the current season or Holiday. With Christmas right around the corner, we are in full swing around here with crafting 🙂 I thought it would be fun to take our mind off the hustle and bustle and get our hands dirty, literally!

Here’s what you’re going to need:

construction paper
craft paint, paint brush
googly eyes
pom pom balls, or similar
hot glue gun and glue
white crayon

I started by letting my son pick his page colors, he chose green and yellow. Paint the entire hand with brown paint. Expect giggles and wiggles. Christian is so ticklish, love those little laughs 🙂 Have them spread their fingers and firmly press the hand onto the page. Let dry and glue on the googly eyes and pom pom balls. Christian wanted to make both of his pictures Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, so we glued red poms for the nose and green on what’s to be the antlers! We added a small piece of MERRY CHRISTMAS washi tape at the bottom, too! It was Christian’s idea to use a white crayon to make snowflakes around the page, and it looks so cute! He made one for us and one for our Nana and I know she’ll just love it!

What fun crafts do you like to do with your kids during the Holidays?

Personalized Ornaments

December 3, 2012 by Fotini Filed Under: chalkboard, Christmas, Christmas Craft, Christmas ornaments, diy, DIY crafts, ornaments, Personalized ornaments 6 Comments

I headed to Hobby Lobby with a project in mind… I was on the search for small wooden rectangles and a chalk pen. Did you know chalk pens existed? You must go buy one!! Anyways, I found four {4} thin, wooden rectangles (about 3”x 2”) for $1.47, score! Once I was home, I sprayed the wooden rectangles with chalkboard paint, with two full coats, each side. Let dry completely. My lovely hubby drilled a small hole into the top for the twine I’d be threading through! To “activate” the chalkboard effect, rub chalk over the entire piece and wipe off. I grabbed my new love, the chalk pen and wrote some of my favorite Christmas-y quotes: Joy to the world, Merry & Bright, Peace on Earth and drew a cute snowflake! Previously, I had bought red and white bakers twine at the Target Dollar Corner for $1, so I used this for hanging the ornament on the tree!

How cute are they?! And you can personalize them to say anything you like! Great as gifts or for the kids 🙂

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Christmas Porch Update

December 2, 2012 by Fotini Filed Under: before and after, burlap, Christmas decor, Christmas porch, diy, front porch, greenery, home decor, pine cones, porch update 7 Comments

I had a few minutes so spare while the hubby was able to watch the kids, which is a rarity! So, I decided to take advantage of this and work on my porch for a bit! I had two pre-lit evergreen trees that I used to love, but anymore they are just beginning to look a bit pitiful.. Luckily, I had just the thing for them! The kids and I were at my friends house the other day and she had some trimmings from her live Christmas tree sitting on her front porch. I said, ” I know this may sound strange, but are you using those branches on the porch?” She said, ” Nope!”, long story short, I told her I would love to take them and make some wreaths! I got those babies home and just couldn’t wait to use them!! I can’t wait to show you some of my other creations using these beautiful greens, but you’ll just have to wait! Follow with me as I show you how I incorporated them into my front porch!

So, as I was saying earlier, I felt it was time to give those aged evergreens a makeover! I simply did this by adding spurts of the live greenery throughout, and a few pine cones here and there! Wow, they looked so much better already!! I couldn’t believe how much extra branches I had left over, so I grabbed an un-used planter, wrapped it in ivory burlap and tied it together with some of my pretty red ribbon! I filled it with lots of branches and added some pine cones too! At the beginning of the season, one of my friends Dad filled a huge trash bag full of pine cones from his yard for me. I’ve been so excited to put them to use! Thanks Ron 😉 I wanted to add some finishing touches, so I sprayed my trees and planter full of branches with hairspray and poured on some silver glitter for sparkle! It looks beautiful and I’m pretty happy with it for less than a half hour of my time 😉

Oh! And be sure to check out the two wreaths I scored from Jo Ann’s for $10 each, I was excited!

My Jo Ann’s score for my garage lights, $10 each!

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Yarn Letters – JOY!

November 25, 2012 by Fotini Filed Under: Christmas crafts, Christmas decor, crafts, diy, DIY crafts, home decor, Joy, paper mache letters 40 Comments

So, I thought I’d hop on the bandwagon with trying out the paper mache letters wrapped in yarn. I love the way they look and I knew they would look fantastic above my fireplace for Christmas! I chose the word “J O Y “, it’s short and sweet and there’s so much to be joyous for during the Christmas season! There are so many shades, texture and varieties of yarn. I went with a bright red yarn with specks of silver. I tend to decorate with red, white and silver for Christmas, so this would be perfect!

Here’s what you’re going to need for this project:

Paper mache letters of choice
Yarn, one spool should be enough (I had lots left over)
Scissors
Glue gun and glue

Since this was my first time doing this, I started with my “O” so I could get the hang of things without having to pull out any tricks.. I cut off about 2 feet on yarn to start with and glued one end to the back of my letter and began wrapping. I chose to leave some spacing in between mine so you could see the brown color of the paper mache. I like how it looked 🙂 I continued doing my letter in small sections, gluing as I went along until the entire letter was complete! Next I did the letter “Y”. This is where a little experience would come into play… I began with the shorter, top sections of the letter first. Then, I went to the middle, placing a small glue dot on the front and pressing to hold the yarn into place. Continue for as long as needed, wrap the bottom and glue. So, as I was saying about experience… I should have started by cutting small pieces of yarn for the “tops” for several rows of the “Y” and gluing into place. This would of given it a more completed look. I quickly learned my lesson, and did this with my remaining letter, “J”. It takes an extra minute, or two but really makes a world of difference.

And there you have it, adorable, personalized letters perfect for your mantle!

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Book Page Wreath

November 17, 2012 by Fotini Filed Under: book page wreath, diy, DIY crafts, diy project, DIY wreath, home decor, up-cyled books, wreath 57 Comments

So, I attempted to do a coffee filter wreath this week.. Major fail for me 🙁 I used a foam piece I already had and you could see the bright yellow right through the filter. The filters laid beautifully, but I think the next time I try it I will use the brown filters! Any who, I was feeling a little bummed my project didn’t work out, so I decided to try something else.. How about a book page wreath?!

Here’s what you’re going to need:

foam wreath
unused book ( at least 200 pages )
brown craft paint, paintbrush
glue gun, glue
twist tie

To give the pages a worn feel, brush the edges with brown craft paint, let dry. Rip pages out, one by one, and begin to twist into a cone shape, and glue into place. It’s best to start on the inside, bottom of the wreath. Work your way around the entire piece. At this point, flip your wreath over and press firmly on a hard surface, causing your pages to lay flat. Start the next row directly behind the previous, adding them to the center of the other ones, creating a pattern. Once you get to the “top” of your foam piece, you will still want to create a cone shape with your page, but at the bottom you will create a crease and glue into place. Continue in a pattern for the rest of your wreath. Go back and fill in any spaces you feel is bare, just by simply adding glue to the bottom of your book page and sticking it it ( it will blend!). I glued a twist tie into place for hanging! You could also use a small piece of ribbon and two push pins to create a loop for hanging. This works well for me 😉

I love the fullness of this wreath! What a great gift this would be for a book lover or teacher!! I hope you enjoy it, it’s a beauty to look at!

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Picture Makeover

November 13, 2012 by Fotini Filed Under: diy, diy project, easy project, fabric, home decor, picture makeover, up-cycle 40 Comments

Is it just me, or when you move do you want all new decor for your house?! I have some one-of-a-kind pieces I could never replace, but some things I just want to toss.. Instead of tossing them out, give them a makeover! I had three pictures in particular that I had in mind for this project… I purchased these about 5 years ago when I got my first place and I just wasn’t into them anymore. Last week, I showed you a no-sew French-inspired pillow I made, and I used the same fabric for these!

For my large canvas picture, I spray painted it with an almond color paint, and let dry. Then I taped four horizontal lines completely across the canvas, and spray painted the canvas white. Once dry, remove the painters tape. I decided to add a canvas I made here a few posts back, for a special pop! Simply grab your glue gun, heat and add glue dots in numerous place and press into place. This picture looks SO different now!

For the two smaller pictures, I wanted to wrap them with the pretty fabric I had, so just lay your fabric out, grab you picture and cut to size leaving an additional 2 inches on each side. Make sure your fabric isn’t bubbly or wrinkly, pull taut. Attach to the picture backing by gluing with hot glue to the top and bottom. For your sides, fold the insides in as if you’re wrapping a present and glue into place. And that’s it! You can give any old picture a whole new look with any of your favorite fabrics and a little bit of glue 😉

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Thanksgiving Crafts

November 10, 2012 by Fotini Filed Under: crafts, diy, holiday crafts, holidays, kids crafts, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving crafts 15 Comments

I have just been itching to start decorating for Christmas, but instead I’m embracing the important Holiday before Christmas, Thanksgiving! Let’s not forget about it people, it depicts a very important message to our children about being thankful and spending time with family!

Enjoy spending time with your little ones and spark their creativity…Here’s a few adorable crafts to make with them!!

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No- Sew Ruffle Pillow

October 31, 2012 by Fotini Filed Under: craft project, diy, diy pillow cover, glue gun, no sew pillow, ruffle pillow 44 Comments

I love ruffles, and pillows! I bought some beautiful french-inspired fabric the other day at Hobby Lobby to re-do some pictures I have, (that will come later!). I had lots of extra fabric left, so I decided to get crafty, can you believe it?!

I had a plain, small pillow that came with my bedding, that just wasn’t doing anything for me.. So, I decided to give it a little face-lift!

Here’s what you’re going to need:

fabric
pillow
scissors
glue gun, glue

The best thing about this project is it’s NO SEW, and it’s pretty quick too! Grab your fabric and cut it into 2 inch by 16 inch strips. These measurements will vary depending on your pillow. Flip your fabric design side down, and begin by placing a small glue dot at the very top of your fabric and pinching it together. Continue to do this the entire length of your fabric, leaving about a half inch between each glue dot. At each end of you fabric, fold a small amount over, glue and press. I did four rows of ruffles and secured them in numerous places with a little hot glue. On my fourth piece of fabric, I made it about 3.5 inches wide since this was going on top, but still used the same method!

And there you have it, a ruffled pillow! No sew, no mess and all in about a half hour, can’t beat it!

Top piece, about 3.5 inches wide

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