From The Archives: Egg Painting
Easter is almost here and I thought this was a good time to share a classic post from the archives about the time I learned what egg painting was all about. This learning experience ended up being eggcellent and it happened while we lived in Ireland and our children attended a Montessori-based elementary school. Enjoy! On the list of superficial worst nightmares, kids throwing paint ranks pretty high for me. Twenty kids age 4 to 11 filling eggshells with paint and throwing the eggs (hopefully) at a canvas? What could possibly go wrong?!?! Oh, I could think of one or a million things! Especially when I saw there was a bottle…
DIY Wood Cube Cord Holder
Today I’m going to show you my latest creation, a DIY Wood Cube Cord Holder, and how you can make one yourself. Cord management for all of our electronic devices seems like a universal problem we can all get behind. That’s a rarity in our world! I’ve been on a kick to contain, manage, and wrangle all the charging cords in our house. It’s a thankless job but someone has to do it. My laptop charging cord is particularly wily. If that cord wasn’t plugged into my laptop, it would slide right off the back of my desk. There are adhesive clips you can purchase to solve that problem but…
In Praise of Watercolor Greeting Cards
I’m really into watercolor greeting cards right now. I watched, with the sound off, most of approximately 3 Instagram videos on how to make your own watercolor greeting cards and thought, “I can do that.” It’s a teensy bit cavalier of me. Maybe delusional. It’s a good thing I wasn’t watching how to do brain surgery videos. Don’t worry. I know my limits. And I don’t like gross things. I do like pretty things and being crafty, so I did bust out my kids’ watercolor paints and tried making my own watercolor greeting cards. Let me tell you, I can see why people get into this. It’s very soothing. Will I…
DIY Weighted Cord Holder Using Fabric and Rice
Hold onto your charging cords! Today we will solve the pesky problem of how to keep your charging cord or charging cable from falling off your desk. How? With a DIY Weighted Cord Holder. If you can sew a button on a shirt, you can do this project. If you have a sewing machine, you can probably do this project in the time it takes to read this blog post. (Try not to brag.) Basically, we are going to make a small, narrow bean bag to hold your charging cord or cable in place on your desk. Except, instead of beans our Weighted Cord Holder is going to hold rice.…
How To Make A Wood Heart Bracelet
It’s fast approaching Valentine’s Day, but I support love being celebrated every day. Let me show you how to make a wood heart bracelet that you can wear year-round. The star of this project is a wood heart bead. Did you know that wood heart beads are a thing? What will they think of next? This is a creative craft that you can definitely put your own spin on! Materials Needed To Make a Wood Heart Bracelet: wood heart beads bead kit/bracelet-making kit (your kit should include stretchy string, clasps, beads, etc.) stain or paint (if you’re choosing to color your wood heart) scissors pliers (optional, but helpful) How To Make…
DIY Embroidered Heart Sweatshirt for Valentine’s Day
Have you heard that saying about wearing your heart on your sleeve? Well, that’s actually happening on both sleeves with this DIY Embroidered Heart Sweatshirt! Let me show you how I made it in case you’re feeling festive and want to make something similar! Materials Needed For A DIY Embroidered Heart Sweatshirt: sweatshirt (This is the one I chose.) red embroidery floss scissors needle fabric pen (if you want to trace your heart shape on the shirt) paper heart to trace around (unless you want to freehand your heart) My Skill Level Disclaimer: I know enough about beginner embroidery to get this project done but would never claim to be…
Wood Bead Snowflake Ornaments
I’ve recently become very interested in what I can make out of natural wood beads for my home decor. My infatuation will probably last until I’ve used up all of the beads I purchased. Ha! So far, I’ve experimented with making a garland, napkin rings, and Christmas ornaments. Today, I’m going to show you how to make Wood Bead Snowflake Ornaments. It’s the season, after all! Here’s how to make Wood Bead Snowflake Ornaments. Step 1: Gather your materials. wood beads in varying sizes (I used this pack of 510 beads) wire snowflake forms (I used this pack of varied-sized forms) ribbon or string to hang your ornament The item that…
DIY Mini Silhouette Christmas Ornaments
If you love framed silhouettes, then you’ll love today’s ornament idea! Allow me to introduce you to the Mini Silhouette Christmas Ornaments. Aren’t they great? These ornaments come together quickly and can be as personal and nostalgic as you want them to be! Plus, they add a little bit of glam to your Christmas tree. Here’s how to make these Mini Silhouette Christmas Ornaments. Materials Needed To Make Mini Silhouette Christmas Ornaments: mini frames (25-pack / The frames are tiny – less than 2 inches square.) silhouettes to print out card stock (white or cream colored) hot glue ribbon (I used a 1/4-inch wide black grosgrain ribbon) clear tape, glue, or…
How To Make A Piano Hammer Christmas Tree
I made a Piano Hammer Christmas Tree. Never thought I’d type that sentence yet here we are. What are piano hammers and why do I have them? Glad you asked. The lovely sound a piano makes is the result of piano hammers striking the piano’s strings. When a pianist presses a piano key, the piano hammer connected to the key then strikes the strings making them vibrate and as a result, music plays. It is as simple and as complicated as that. I have 88 piano hammers because a few years ago we dismantled an old piano. The house we had purchased came with an upright piano. This would have…
Fall Wreath Using a Concrete Form Tube
Have you heard of a concrete form tube or a building form tube? It is a super rigid, hollow cardboard-ish cylinder. It keeps its shape when concrete is poured into it. We used them to pour deck footings and had a few pieces left over, so let’s talk about my creative use for a concrete form tube. A concrete form tube with a diameter of 12 inches looks an awful lot like a wreath form to me. Can you squint and see it? It’s going to turn out amazing, I promise. If you want to use one of these tubes to make a wreath, here’s the process and what I…
