DIY

D.I.Y. No Sew Banner Tutorial

June 17, 2013 by Morgan 2 Comments

I think banners are adorable. They really can add a festive quality to most events. I’ve always wanted to make some but my problem lies with my love hate relationship with my sewing machine. I love the IDEA of sewing creative items but I HATE trying to do it. My machine hates me something fierce so right now I have it out on display with my other diy/craft supplies so people think I can sew. I’m the master manipulator.

Rejecting the sewing but wanting a banner for an event approaching this weekend I decided to try and make one. After browsing Target and finding $1 tablecloths, my banner became a reality. An affordable reality!

How to make a No Sew Banner

Supplies needed:

Cloth (your choice)

Hemp rope

Iron

Scissors

Stitch Witchery

Ruler

1. Draw your triangles on the cloth.

The $1 tablecloths I picked up were ideal for this.

I made each triangle 8″ top and 11″ down.

2. Cut out each triangle.

I used straight scissors but decorative scissors would probably be fine depending on the quality of the fabric.

Don’t worry if they aren’t perfect. Remember you are hanging them. If anyone comments that they aren’t straight don’t invite them to another party OR just call it whimsical. Whimsical always works.

3. Decide the distance between each triangle.

Mine are 6″ apart…. So each triangle 8″ wide at the top and 6″ apart

Do you like my grown up ruler?

4. Line up with the Hemp rope and Stitch Witchery.

Stitch Witchery can be found at craft stores, Wal-Mart, or Amazon.

It’s awesome stuff. Like super glue for fabric.

Hemp Rope is from Wal-Mart

My Stitch Witchery is similar to double sided tape. It sticks where placed and after I remove the plastic coating and fold the fabric over top, it stays in place.

Remember your spacing. The first few will be a pain but around the third or fourth it will be simple and you might be able to eyeball the distance between each triangle.

5. Fold over top and iron.

Two things!

I learned to put the hemp rope ON the stitch witchery and iron it as well. This will keep the triangle in place.

DON’T leave the iron on the tablecloth too long especially if it’s cheap.

This is why….

Apply the iron in swipes on the dry setting and go over it a few times. Approximately 4 times.

Apply pressure to the fold over with the iron.

Ultimately, just make sure it is stuck together.

6. Check it out

Folded over and ironed all together. I trimmed the sides to match with the entire triangle.

7. Repeat.

I did 12 triangles in a period of an hour and 15 minutes…with a few breaks.

The best thing about this D.I.Y. Banner is that it is completely customizable to your taste.

I chose the $1 tablecloths because I don’t know if it will survive the party and I don’t want to worry about it being destroyed.

The cost -

Stitch Witchery is approximately 3.50 (I already had it so it was free)

Hemp Rope at Wal-Mart – $9

Tablecloths – $2

Overall, not too pricey.

Give it a shot and don’t hesitate to ask questions if you have them!

Filed Under: Craft, DIY, summer Tagged With: Crafts, Decoration, DIY, summer

Summertime Series – Must haves in your d.i.y. or craft stash

May 29, 2013 by Morgan 4 Comments

Today starts the SummerTime Series on Becoming Homegrown. Every Wednesday, new ideas, tips, tutorials or recipes will be posted in order to help you or kids stay busy this summer. It is easy to get stuck in a rut and repeat the same activities every day but a small project or craft can help break the monotony without breaking the bank.

In our family we do a lot of art projects and I am always looking for a good D.I.Y project. Over time I have learned that it is essential to keep certain items always in stock that allow me to do almost any project (within reason).

Essentials for your d.i.y or craft stash

Hot Glue gun ~ This amazing tool can put back together a broken toy, cabinet door and add a little pep to that dreary thumbtack or Cork board.
Mod Podge ~ Spray or paint. I am not sure how I ever worked without Mod Podge. It can give your finished project a little shine AND makes sure it stays sealed. I have used it on art work and d.i.y. projects. It is a multi-purpose genius glue.
Acrylic paint ~ We always paint with acrylic paint. I like the colors that are offered, it is always a great price and it is easy to use. I am not a fan of children paints. The color selection is usually minimal and mostly within primary color range.
Spray Adhesive/Sealant ~ Just buy it. It’s like Mod Podge on crack. It’s awesome and about 3.50 a can.
Buttons~ Buy buttons that you and your children enjoy. They are GREAT for added decoration in crafts and sometimes you can find a fun use for them too. Be sure to buy one that you actually enjoy.
Cardboard Letters ~ These are easily traced on to that stolen barn wood or pallet piece that you are dying to hang in your kitchen. The other option can be the vinyl stickers that you can paint over and then pull off but if you don’t have stickers readily available then the letters can save you. I have Small, Medium, and Large. Hobby Lobby has a great inexpensive selection.
Glitter~ Even if you have boys (like I do) there will always be a time to use glitter. Don’t believe me, check Pinterest.
Pipe Cleaners ~ For the kids. Children love pipe cleaners and they can be used on crafts AND awesome baked good creations.
Wooden sticks~ These can be long thin “craft” wood stick or merely Popsicle sticks. These always prove useful to have around. See below:
Spray Paint~ It’s not just for tagging train cars. It can make a dollar store tin look like a vintage find in about five minutes. The are so many colors that it is almost more fun to use that acrylic paint.
Colored Pencils, Crayons, and Markers~ Sometimes paint is not on the agenda with little hands. Pull out the crayons and let them go to town. In our house the kids have their own set of everyday crayons and coloring pencils but if there is a specific project they need to work on I have a secret stash in the closest. (I also have my own personal stash of colored pencils that I DON’T share)
Elmers glue~ Easier for kids to use and it can be used to make a slimy glop most kids enjoy. (Equal parts glue and shaving cream) If you are feeling adventurous you can add a bit of elmers glue with food coloring and it adds a nice color to whatever you are glue or painting.

This is a fairly basic list. If you lean more to the d.i.y. there are many more items that are essential to have on hand but for everyday projects and crafts this should get you started!

**Interested in contributing? Email me at morgan@becominghomegrown.com. I am always looking to feature new bloggers!**

Filed Under: Crafts, DIY, SummerTime Series Tagged With: Crafts, DIY, Ideas

DIY lanterns and buckets – Oh My!

March 23, 2013 by Morgan 1 Comment

I have been suffering from Spring mantel envy.

I follow a few bloggers that are unbelievably talented in the DIY makeovers and are able to display them all over their mantels. Shannon over a Fox Hollow Cottage makes me green with envy with her creations! Amazing!

After a few hours browsing Pinterest and other blogs I decided to put my creative talents to work…I don’t have a mantel but I do have a kitchen island that during the spring and summer is unbearably naked. I looked at my ugly metal tin buckets(from last summer) and my brand new-to-me lanterns and went to work.

Here is quick DIY for those with mantel envy and a few without.

My naked lanterns and buckets were ready for a spruce. I have never liked the farm scene on the larger of the two buckets but I knew I would think of something.

We washed or wiped down both buckets and lantern and got the spray paint out. I used Krylon indoor/outdoor in both white and blue ocean breeze. The blue green was 4.37 at Wal-mart and the white was 3.47.

Got to work on bucket number one

Then the lanterns

Then my official helper and I hung out waiting for the second and in some cases third coat to dry….

He literally hung out

Took them inside and…..

I’m absolutely in love.

Filed Under: DIY Tagged With: Decor, DIY, how to

Adventures in Pinterest

March 16, 2013 by Morgan 10 Comments

I have posted about my adventures with Pinterest projects in the past and they average about 50/50 in the success and failure rate. Each time I have one that is an enormous success and people are raving about my brilliance, I have another that is miserable and almost too humiliating to report.

In the last month I had three separate projects and the stats stayed true to form. One success, one failure and one right in between.

Failure:

I love art projects with my kids. I really enjoy trying new mediums and process to create. I ran across the Impressionism Crayon Art all done with an Iron.

Ours did not come out as pretty…. We broke our crayons into tiny pieces

and created pretty abstract-ish designs

applied the newspaper

and after I ironed..(but first the crayon “juice” was EVERYWHERE)

We tried to fix it. We melted individual crayons for the drop effect.

Now we are sending it to the Grandparents. They can’t say no to little children “artwork”, it’s illegal.

Success: Homemade Fabric Softener Ball

Jill over at One Good Thing has an incredibly easy DIY for homemade dryer balls.

Easy and it works. These are my balls. (insert immature joke here)

Success mixed with Failure: Boys bathroom scrub

Boys bathrooms stink. This is truth. No matter how much scrubbing and bleach will fully rid the bathroom of the stench. It will smell clean for awhile but soon afterwards the smell returns.

I found a recipe for a homemade cleaner (baking soda and lemon) juice that was supposed to get rid of the smell. The failure is the consistency.

You are supposed to make a paste and apply it to the floor and surround areas of the toilet region. The paste is crusty. Not really a paste…

It was horribly hard to apply and afterwords there was no scrubbing. It looked like this. Crummy. I had to vacuum up the stuff and scrub again. However, the smell hasn’t returned in over 4 days so…. smell success?

Projects with pinterest are adventures. Sometimes you get exactly what you want and other times you are left scratching you head thinking….Seriously?

Filed Under: Crafts, DIY, Humor, Kid Crafts Tagged With: DIY, Humor, Kids Crafts, Pinterest

Homemade body scrub smells like this?

February 15, 2013 by Morgan 2 Comments

Pinterest is heavy with DIY projects that are affordable, cute and organic. Bloggers and crafters alike flock to the site to post their ingenious recipe for some all natural homemade crap that is sure to make your friends envious and make you look brilliant These are all great in theory but what happens when the project goes south? What if it stinks and no amount of Photoshop editing is going to convince you otherwise.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Humor, Organic Tagged With: DIY, Humor, Organic

Clove Oranges – A Crafty Christmas

December 5, 2012 by Morgan Leave a Comment

This Christmas is becoming a crafty one…as in cool crafts.

I have decided to ditch the lame foam crafts that have made Oriental Trading what is today and focus on crafts that are actually homemade and attractive. I have never been a huge fan of the foam frames, sleighs, Crosses or almost anything made out of popsicle sticks. I don’t put them out for display and I DON’T hang them on my tree. You may call me a Grinch, uncaring, or even a bad word but if it takes my children a millisecond to create it then it wasn’t worth the time and there was no creative process involved.

And it probably looks like crap.

Crap = No Tree

I bring you the first of our homemade crafts:

Orange Clove Christmas Balls

Notice the robot. Courtesy of my five year old.

Finished!

They really smell great. I was actually wondering how they would smell and I was pleasantly surprised.

Not overpowering

Just right.

Our next endeavor is Cranberry Garland.

Filed Under: Christmas, Crafts, DIY, Kid Crafts Tagged With: Christmas, Crafts, DIY

Halloween Party Ideas

October 29, 2012 by Morgan Leave a Comment

There are times that life gets the best of you. Times that feel as if a sledgehammer has been taken to your knees and it is all you can do to regain your composure and continue on. That sledgehammer feeling has been a reality over here and it has taken me time and lots of prayer to get back into the grove. We are not completely through our hump so please forgive me over the next few weeks if I am not up to my posting norm…On that note….ONWARDS:

Halloween Party Ideas:

I have entitled this post as Halloween Party Ideas however please note that we do not participate in the evil/creepy/spooky aspect of Halloween. We keep our fall celebrations focused on kid and family friendly activities. Our recent Pumpkin Party is an example of such a par-ty and I have made a list of a few ideas for your next shindig.

1. Picture Station:

Many weddings and baby showers offer funny photo stations for their guests. We provided one for the kids. They LOVED it!

This “station” cost about 8 dollars to create. The orange back drop is from Hobby Lobby and was about 6 dollars for 2 yards. The felt was about $1 a piece as were the wood sticks. Yes, I made those mustaches from felt! I had the picture frame on hand and hot glued the sunflower to the side.

2. Monster Jars:

I posted about these earlier this month but they were so cute and easy to make.

These were four dollars to make. 2 glass candlesticks from the dollar store and 2 dollar store bowls, hot glue together.

3. Easy Decorations:

Don’t break the bank. I scrounged Pinterest and found a few DIY decorations that I could do with my kids and would look really cute.

This Hanging Spiderweb was placed over the kitchen table

These Tin Can Luminaries from Jolly Mom were fun to make and use.

We also hung twinkle lights (aka white Christmas lights) across the backyard for fun lighting for nighttime playing.

4. Fun activities that are fun to play and easy to plan:

We chose a decorate your own pumpkin contest. Each person brings their own pumpkin, decorates it, and then some poor unsuspecting parent gets judge them for a winner!

Try a glow in the dark hunt. Simply place a glow stick (smaller thick ones are the best) into a balloon and blow it up. Then go hide them outside and send the kids out to find them! We used the park across the street however the picture below shows an example of a glow balloon.

This party actually proved to me that I could come up with some fun ideas and decor without spending a ton of money. Give them a shot and let the fun begin!

Filed Under: Crafts, DIY, Holiday, Kid Crafts Tagged With: Crafts, Decoration, DIY, Halloween, Holiday

DIY Hanging Spiderwebs

October 15, 2012 by Morgan Leave a Comment

I seem to have a thing for messy crafts. If it requires a lot of glue and drying time I can almost be assured to try it.

This Spiderweb Balloon craft came from the Better Homes and Garden website but they did not adequately describe the amount of effort involved.

Tutorial on:

You will need:

Cotton yarn

Elmers glue

Balloons

Hot Glue

Plastic spiders

Mix the Elmers glue with equal parts water

Cut LONG sections from a skein of cotton yarn.

Dip yarn completely in the water glue mixture and pull the piece through your fingers to remove excess glue

I recommend wrapping an end of the yarn to the knot of the balloon to get you started

Wrap around the balloon

Don’t be discouraged if it takes a few attempts to get the yarn to stay in place.

I used several pieces of yarn to get the entire effect.

When you are finished wrapping make sure you have a long string to hang the balloon to ensure proper drying.

After they are completely dry hot glue the plastic spiders

Then poke a small hole in the balloon and allow it to deflate. I recommend the slow deflation because I accidently popped a balloon and it pulled the yarn a little hard.

Your web should be complete!

Discoveries: Acrylic yarn does not hold the form well. Cotton yarn is the best. Younger kids will probably get impatient wrapping the balloons because it take a little bit of maneuvering to make the initial yarn wrapping stay.

I gave each spider web a quick spray with Mod Podge spray to ensure the web stays stiff but you probably don’t need to do it.

We are really happy with our results and they will look great for upcoming Pumpkin Party!

Filed Under: Crafts, DIY, Holiday Tagged With: Crafts, DIY, Halloween, Holidays

DIY Holiday Pedestal Jars

October 10, 2012 by Morgan Leave a Comment

The holidays are approaching and the need to be crafty has hit me like a mac truck. Thanks to Pinterest the ideas and inspiration are overflowing.

Here is a craft/decor idea that cost me five dollars and will be perfect for a few upcoming casual events. I found it on Pinterest from The Celebration Shoppe.

Supplies:

2 glass candles holders – $1 at the dollar store

2 glass bowls – $1 at the dollar store

Stickers of your choosing. We got ours from the Target dollar section

Hot glue the bowl to the top of the candlestick

Apply the stickers to the front of the bowl

Finished! The stickers wash off easily with warm water and a sponge.

They are now ready for candy and will be used again for a different party.

Filed Under: Crafts, DIY, Kid Crafts Tagged With: Crafts, DIY, Halloween, Holidays

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