DIY Mod Podge and more Easter stuff!

If you read my blog with any kind of regularity, 

you will already know that I'm a "From Scratch" kind of girl.  

Especially when it comes to food.  

I rarely buy pre-made anything.  

Mostly because it's horrible for you, but also because I want to know everything that goes in to what I make. 

Plus it's much cheaper that way.

I've wanted to make my own mod podge and when I've searched for a recipe, 

it's ALWAYS - ALWAYS Elmers glue and water.  

Well I wanted something that I could make with ingredients I already had on hand.

It's a simple project, I just need item A to stick to item B.  

No glossy finish.  

Simple.

So here's the recipe:

3 parts Flour

1 parts Sugar

3-4 parts water {to desired consistency}

Whisk these together and cook over medium low heat until thickened.

Remove from heat and add 1 tsp white vinegar.  Stir.
Let cool before using.
Store in airtight container in the Fridge for up to 1 week.

Easy. And no Elmers to be found.

I've loved these book page eggs I've seen all over pinterest.  

So for just pennys I made some of my own.

The bag of eggs was like $1.75 at Walmart.  

I only used a couple of eggs.  

Plenty of eggs left for the hunts this week.  

I also am using more of the pages from the book I ripped up for the last project.  

And of course my homemade glue.  

Just cut the paper to just barely cover the egg, brush plenty of glue all over the egg and attach the book page, smoothing out any bubbles in the paper. 

It's really messy and I did not want to touch my camera with glue-y hands 

so no pics of the actual covering the egg part.  

It's easy though, just messy.

Let dry completely.

This is my tablescape now. 

The banner is one I shared last year.

The pots were on clearance at Joanns and I cut some vinyl using the 

Storybook font on my Cricut to make the numbers on the smaller pots.

The filler is just yellow paper that I ran through my paper shredder just like I did here.  

None of that nasty plastic grass for me!

Happy Easter!

Update June 2014:

It's been a year and there isn't any fading or browning of the eggs.  They still look as good as the day I made them.

A Scrapy Easter Bunting

It's Easter time and time to get decorating.  

I'm so loving the spring colors right now.  

And this project was quick and easy to put together.  

I dug through my fabric stash to find these super cute pieces.  

There is cotton, seersucker, flannel, fleece, and chenille.  

It's a great random sampling of colors and textures.

First I cut out an egg shape with paper to be my pattern, 

then started cutting eggs out of the fabric.  

I also cut rectangles of burlap for the bunting.

The first project is for my kitchen window frames.  

I change them out seasonally and it's time for the Easter version.

I ripped up an old book and used the pages for the backgound.  

I just taped the pieces to a sheet of paper that fits the frame.  

Then trimmed the excess off.

Each one gets a single egg.  

I varied the colors and textures of the eggs on the wall.

Here's the finished frames.  

There are 3 frames on either side of the window.

Easy and done!

Now for the bunting. 

I took each egg and sewed around the edge to attach them to the burlap, 

then added a ribbon to the top to string them together.

 

Simple. Cute.

Happy Easter!

I will have some more Easter decor and recipes coming soon!

DIY Chevron Maxi

I'm so excited about this project. 

I love it when what's in my head turns out exactly the way I wanted it to.

Today was one of those days.

While strolling through my favorite fabric store SAS, I stumbled upon this fabulous piece of grey stripe. 

I've been on the hunt for a stripe for a long time with no luck, then found this one.  

I love it! 

You can't really tell from the pictures but there is a slight glittery edge to each stripe.  Just enough bling, but not too much.

I got 3 yards because I knew it was going to be a Chevron Maxi, I just didn't know how much I would need to make the Chevron lines. 

I used about 2 1/2 yards, but there is plenty left on the sides for a few more projects.

I was a little intimidated at trying to cut the chevron right and pondered how for a while.  

Once it was all figured out, the skirt was super easy to make. 

Let me show you how.

I'm using another Chevron skirt I have as a pattern.  

But if you don't have one, measure your waist and hips at the widest. Divide each number by 4 and add 1 inch.  This will be the top measurements for the skirt, then just continue the A-line to the length you want. 

Since it's a Chevron you will need 4 panels, that's why you divide the number by 4.  Also make the patter about 4-6 inches longer than the length you will need the skirt to be.  This will allow you room to adjust the stipes so they match up perfectly.

I'm using freezer paper to make my pattern.

Once the pattern is cut out, then decide how deep you want the chevron to be.  

Mine is gradual and not as deep as the blue/black skirt I already have.  

I used my measuring tape to make the stripe across the pattern.  

It goes to a V in the center front.

Now cut out each pannel separately.  

You will need two with the pattern right side up, and two with the pattern upside down. 

Line up the stripe in the fabric with the pattern each time, and you will have perfect placement of the chevron.

Once the pieces are cut out, line them up pinning each stripe like shown.  

This will keep the point placement perfect. (Ha! Say that 3 times fast!)   

Gently sew the panels together with a wide stitch length.  You don't want the knit to pucker.

I straight stitched the panels together, then serged the edges to finish them.

Determine the length you want your skirt and cut off the excess.  Then add an elastic waistband.  You can see how to do this here.

For the bottom hem, I serged the edge then topstitched the hem in place. And done!

It's a Happy Chevron-ey Kind of Day!

Burlap and Birds

I have been thinking about this project for a long time and finally got it finished the way I want it.

I regularly think about this scripture in Mark 4:39. 

We can go into a whole Sunday School lesson about it, but I will let you do that on your own.  

I know that I can get stressed, overwhelmed, scared, frustrated.... you name it sometimes.  

When that happens I have to force myself to remember this quote. 

I knew if I added it to my decor, it  hopefully will be a much easier, and prettier reminder.

I saw this bird tree on Graphics Fairy a while ago and originally planned on making a pallet wood tree for Christmas with it.  

That hasn't happened yet.... 

Yet. 

But until then I love the birds and the versatility of the image.  

I can use one bird or seven, depending on the effect I am going for,
or the size of the canvas. 

I will definitely be using it again.

For the Burlap one, I wrapped a piece of MDF with burlap and stapled it in place, 

similar to this project.

Then I cut out the letters on contact paper with my Cricut. 

I'm using the Billionaire font.

I stuck them to the burlap and traced with a sharpie, 

then removed the letters and filled the letters in.

Then I set up the projector, picked the bird image I wanted and started tracing.

It's really easy, and quick.

Then I put it on my faux mantel with a pallet box I made a while ago but never decided where I wanted it to go.

I had the vintage bottles in my collection and I like the color contrast they bring.

For the Pallet wood, I followed the same tracing process, only this time I used the negative image contact paper for the lettering.  I may try this with regular craft paint next time, but I knew tracing the birds would be much easier using a sharpie.

After tracing I sanded the whole thing a bit and added hanging hardware.

You can also purchase these items on my etsy shop.  Please stop by!

Until then,
Peace... be still.