DIY Archives - Page 8 of 11 - Farmhouse Chic Blog

Red, White & Blue

June 24, 2013 by Fotini Filed Under: 4th of July, burlap banner, crafts, diy, DIY flag, flag, fourth of july, garden flag, home decor, patriotic, patriotic decor, red white and blue 19 Comments

The older I get, the more I love to decorate for the 4th of July! I’m not sure if it’s the bright color combination, reason for celebrating or feeling it brings that makes it most special, but I love it! Last Friday I posted my weekly “Fab Pins of the Week”, which you can see here, all with 4th of July inspiration! Among my favorites was an adorable burlap bubble wreath with red white and blue ribbon. So I decided to give my burlap wreath a makeover, and something crazy happened… I got inspired for another project 😉

First I’ll show you how my burlap bubble wreath makeover went! The technique I used to update it was quite simple. I bought red and white striped ribbon, as well as, a beautiful bright blue from Jo Ann Fabrics. I grabbed 2 pipe cleaners I already had at home and cut them into about 2 inch pieces. To begin, I simply tucked the end of the red and white ribbon onto my wire form, left about 3 inches of ribbon vertically and secured with pipe cleaner. I continued until completed. I wouldn’t worry about fixing your burlap as you go, wait until the end to cover up the gaps, if necessary. Next, grab the blue ribbon and cut three lengths of ribbon in descending size (long, medium,small). Fold the length of the ribbon in half and tape into place. Layer the ribbon on top of eachother (again long, medium and small) and use floral wire to tighten the center. Grab a long piece from your extra blue ribbon and tie it into the middle of your bow, fishtail the ends, poke a small piece of floral wire to the back for attaching to the wreath, and voila!

I love how it turned out, it really makes our new black door POP!

And so now we’re onto the project I was pretty excited about sharing! I wanted to make my own garden flag for the stake in front of my house. While I was at Jo Ann’s picking up the ribbon for my wreath, I browsed the burlap (because everyone does that every time they’re at the craft store, right?!) and the silver polka-dotted burlap just had to come home with me! I got a half a yard, but that was more than enough. Once home, I grabbed a flag I already had to measure the size. I left about and inch on each side, as well as, the bottom. I left a good two inches on top since this would be the part that would be sliding onto the garden stake. With my sewing machine, I sewed the sides and bottom. I looped the top piece over and sewed the edge, make sure to leave that middle space open!! I took remaining ribbon from my wreath update, cut them at different lengths and sewed them together, then sewing them onto the middle of my burlap. For the finishing touch I fishtailed the ends of the ribbon!

I was quite happy with how it turned out and it looks beautiful blowing in the wind J

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DIY Rustic Citronella Candles

June 4, 2013 by Fotini Filed Under: candles, citronella candles, diy, DIY candles, DIY citronella candles, DIY crafts, home decor, rustic candles, Spring, terracotta candles, terracotta pots 25 Comments

Last week I pinned a super cute bunch of mini- candle terracotta pots and I thought something like that would be perfect out on our deck! The picture I had in mind, was different sized pots ranging from large to small, and making them into my own citronella candles. So, that’s exactly what I did 🙂

Here’s what you’re going to need:

terracotta pots ranging in size ( mine were 7,5 & 1.5 inch pots)
patio/outdoor paint
sanding block
dollar store candles or a block of wax from the craft store ( I’ll explain later in the post!)
6 inch wicks
wooden skewers or popsicle sticks
boiling pot and wax pot
citronella and eucalyptus oil
magazine or newspaper as working space

Initially, I went to Michaels and priced out the candle wax and supplies. For 4 pounds of wax was $19.99, 6 inch wicks were $3.99 and the wax pot was $16.99. Despite the fact I had never made candles before, I wasn’t sure I wanted to put out that money incase it didn’t work out. So, I headed home that night empty handed, but determined to find an alternative, and I did! I was talking things over with my husband and he suggested just going to the dollar store and buying a bunch of unscented candles to use for my wax, I would be melting them down anyway! I tell ya, that man is brilliant sometimes 😉 The next morning I scooped up 8 unscented candles from the dollar store. I went back to Michaels and bought the patio paint and wicks. I purchased my pots from Andersons (3 for $3.07!), which was cheaper than Michaels! I didn’t purchase the wax pot in hopes I would find something less expensive or something I already had at home. I opted for an old, small saucepan we hadn’t used in ages.

It was a beautiful day out, so I took the pots onto the deck and began painting them using a small wedge sponge. The patio paint dries really quickly which made it a breeze to get two good coats on all three pots! I let them dry thoroughly in the sun for a bit and then began roughing them up with a low-grain sanding block. I wanted the rustic, worn feel and I think I accomplished it with little effort!

Now onto the candle making… First, fill your boiling pot and bring the water to a slight boil and reduce heat. Add the wax pot and candles. The dollar store candles came wrapped in plastic and with a sticker on the bottom. Simply remove all the wrapping and you can pull the wick out of the bottom and save for a future candle project! While the wax is melting, prep your pots. For the 5 and 1.5 inch pots, I easily hot glued the wicks onto the bottom of the pots covering the drain hole, no problem! The larger 7 inch pot was a little more difficult. I added a small piece of double layered aluminium foil and hot glued into place. Then I glued the wick on the inside of that. I had a little (big) uh-oh moment, so I highly recommend the foil technique on the bottom of all of your pots for coverage! The wax melts rather quickly, less than 10 minutes. Once the majority of your wax has melted, add 10 drops of citronella oil and 5 drops of eucalyptus oil. I rested my pots on magazines incase of any drips or spills. Grab your wooden skewer or popsicle stick and rest your wick on it, and carefully pour your wax in. This can be rather messy without a spouted pot, but I made do! Center your wick and keep it remaining on the skewer until completely dry. Finish for the remaining pots.

I allowed mine about 5-6 hours of drying time. Trim wicks and enjoy!! We tested them out on the front porch this evening and I love them; and they smell sooo much better than the store bought citronella candles!! This is definitely a project I’ll be doing again 🙂

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Teacup Blooms

May 13, 2013 by Fotini Filed Under: diy, flowers, gifts, Mothers Day gifts, Pinterest, simple gifts, Spring, teacup gifts, teacups 3 Comments

I know for me, one of my favorite gifts is one I can continuously enjoy. This year for Mothers Day the kids made and decorated bird houses for our Nana and my mother in law, but I wanted to give a little something special! We were going to be hosting a bbq on Mothers Day and I wanted to have something to give each Mom, so I headed to the local thrift store in search for teacups! I scored 7 di-cut glass cups for $1.49, score!!! Next, I headed for the local garden center in search for flowers! I opted for an eye-catching, small bloom, cockscomb. They were bright, beautiful and dainty enough to fit perfectly into the cup!

To start, add a small amount of soil to the bottom of the cup, remove the flower and roots from container, hold into place and fill with soil. I pressed my down to eliminate loose soil and to keep the plant in place. Water each day, making sure the soil is moist. I sat mine on the kitchen window sill where it will get plenty of sun and I can enjoy it 🙂

For the gifts, I used a small tag and wrote “true love blossoms…”; I hope they enjoy watching this flower bloom all summer long!

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16 Stunning Easter Tablescapes

March 27, 2013 by Fotini Filed Under: Easter, Easter Day, Easter table decor, Easter tablescapes, stunning tables, table decor, tablescapes 6 Comments

Easter’s a few days away, while you’re here, grab some inspiration from these stunning tablescapes! Whether your style is neutral, pastels or bright colors, there’s something for everyone!

A few of my must-haves for Easter Day is fresh flowers, sweet treats and neutral tones. This year I may add a hint of pastel yellow or turquoise! What is your Easter style?

French Country Cottage

Finding Home

Love of Family and Home

Source Unknown

Happy decorating!

Easter Bunny Banner

March 4, 2013 by Fotini Filed Under: DIY crafts, Easter, Easter banner, Easter bunny banner, Easter crafts, silhouette, social spark 33 Comments

My love for creating banners lives on… I wanted to create a cute, bold banner for Easter, and here’s what I came up with. First, I downloaded a black silhouette bunny from Google and saved it to my desktop. I had remaining blank tags from Christians Valentines, so I used those to print the bunnies on. I added a small amount of craft glue on the tail of each bunny and generously coated it with silver glitter. My own little Peter cotton-tail in the making! I started by threaded a yellow twine thru the holes at the top of the tags, but they didn’t lay right, so I ended up folding over the top and taping each into place. Finish by taping your banner into place, and tying the ends of your twine into a bow 🙂

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Homemade Dishwasher Tablets

February 18, 2013 by Fotini Filed Under: all natural cleaning, diy, homemade, homemade dishwasher tabs 59 Comments

Have you ever thought about making your own dishwasher tablets? If so, I encourage you to! I made my own for the first time the other day and they’re awesome! Previously, I would use Cascade liquid gels which run about $12 for 60. For all the ingredients needed for homemade tablets, it cost me around $10 for 300.

Here’s what you’re going to need:

2 gallon bucket
tablespoon measuring spoon
measuring cup
glass bowl
2 ice cube trays
1 55 oz box of all natural super washing soda
1 76 oz box of borax detergent booster
1 two pound carton epsom salt
1 bottle 100% lemon juice

Grab your two gallon bucket and pour in the washing soda, detergent booster and espom salt, mix well. I used a two cup- measuring cup to measure out my dry ingredients into a glass bowl. Begin pouring in small amounts of lemon juice and stirring. You will want a smooth, but slightly clumpy consistency. For every 2 cups of dry powder, I used about 4 tablespoons of lemon juice. Begin filling your ice cube trays and pushing down the mixture until full. I sat mine on top of the microwave, and it took less than two days for them to dry. I then popped them out of the trays and placed them into my dishwasher tab box I already had from before. If you find that your mixture is breaking easily, or crumbly, you haven’t added enough lemon juice. I encourage you to also use lemon juice in the rinse aid section of your dishwasher to prevent spotting on dishes.

You will have a lot extra to make as you need it! I placed mine in a plastic storage container. This is also great to add a small amount down the disposal, it smells wonderful!!

** Update: A good suggestion since doing these would be to fill the ice tray half way full, they will fit better in the dispenser!

** Also, if you’re having trouble with spotting and the lemon juice doesn’t help, try vinegar in the rinse aid department of your dishwasher.

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Mustache- Themed Baby Shower

January 17, 2013 by Fotini Filed Under: baby boy, baby shower, friends, mustache, mustache theme, mustache theme party 24 Comments

I had the pleasure of hosting (along with two other lovely ladies) a baby shower for a dear, long-time friend earlier this month! When it first came about, I knew I wanted to do a fun theme since I was in charge of the decor! The theme I chose was the ever-so-popular mustache theme! Seems to be all the craze right now, and I found lots of cute things to get me going…

I did the majority of my shopping at Hobby Lobby. They had so many mustache- things to choose from! Stickers, stamps, even fabric! The color scheme chosen was brown and lime green. With the colors decided, and the theme chosen, I created the invitations via Vistaprint. I chose Vistaprint because they make it SO easy to customize your invitations, love it!

I created a cute printable for the gift table and for the “thank you” table. I purchased these adorable chevron green cookie bags from Very Jane awhile back. A friend, Cakes by Bess created an adorable mustache shaped cookie for the “thank you” gift for guests coming!

I will feature a tutorial on how I made this adorable “Oh, Boy” banner next week!

Can’t WAIT to welcome this little man into the world!

Another great way to compliment a baby shower is with a handcrafted diaper cake. You can find many cute themes at eDiaperCakes.com.

Cute Valentines Banner

January 8, 2013 by Fotini Filed Under: banner, book page banner, crafting, diy, DIY crafts, Valentines, valentines banner

Are you looking for a cute, simple banner to make for Valentines Day? I’ve got just what you’re looking for!

Create this cute little banner in just a few simple steps… Here’s what you’ll need!

4 book pages
8 paper hearts
twine
glue gun, glue
scissors

I found these super cute flat paper cards at the Target dollar corner, you guessed it, for $1! Perfect for this banner! Start by cutting your book pages close to the wording on the sides, fold the page in half and cut into two pieces. With your heated glue gun, glue the paper hearts onto your book pages and let dry. Turn your pages over and place four glue dots on the top of the page and push your twine into place. Leave about two inches between each book page. Ta-da, now you have a super cute banner to display! After my Fall Banner and Christmas Banner, I felt my mantle looked so bare with nothing on it, so I adore this 🙂

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Beautiful, Simple Gift Wrapping

December 18, 2012 by Fotini Filed Under: Christmas, Christmas wrapping, craft paper, diy, gift wrapping, wrapping paper, wrapping presents

I love wrapping presents for Christmas! This year I opted for brown craft paper. I lucked out last year and found a large roll at the dollar store, steal!! After Christmas sales are the best, and last year at Target I found some really cute felt Christmas tree ornaments 70% off per 4-pack. So this year I used them with some of the left-over yarn I had from the letters for my mantle!

This wrapping style is simple, yet beautiful! Your possibilities are truly endless with craft paper.. You can easily personalize it for each person, add your favorite touches {bows, dollies, ribbon, stamps}, have the kids draw pictures for family, and so much more! I had fun using the yarn because it was simple to just cut a long length off and just wrap it around the present and tie!

In the pictures below, you can see how the felt ornament had the gold tie, I just cut it off and thread the yarn through to dress the packages up!

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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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