Papercrafting: Dyed Coffee Filter Flowers Part One

 

I've seen so many Reels pop up in my social media feeds showing how to dye coffee filters for projects and I was excited to try my own. Once you start playing, it's very addictive! It's also a fun and inexpensive craft that is only limited by your imagination. 

Supplies:

• Coffee Filters (I got a 100 pack at Dollar Tree)
• Acrylic Paints (Craft Smart from Michaels)
• Water
• Bottles (Dollar Tree)
• Shallow Tray (Dollar Tree)
• Stamens (80% off JoAnn after Christmas!)
• Dimensional Glue

First, gather your supplies. I chose these colors of acrylic paint (Craft Smart, Michaels) and Dollar Tree has these three-compartment plastic trays that are PERFECT for this! They also carry the small bottles shown which are great for mixing colors. 

I squirted some of the paint into the bottles as shown. Then added water. There's no right formula. I wanted a more watercolor look vs intense colors so I mixed to a thin consistency. Shake well to blend. 

I then prepped my coffee filters and filled the tray with a little bit of water. I tend to crumple my coffee filters to disguise the fluting they come with and give them an even overall texture, plus I have this theory that "working" paper, scrunching, crumpling, etc. strengthens the paper. 

I did the colors standalone in two of the three sections of the tray and mixed them in the third. 

Then I added the coffee filters to their dye bath. I didn't time how long they took to absorb the dye...it's the kind of thing you can do in between other projects. When I was happy with them, I took them out and lay them on some cardboard to dry. 

And here they are all done! Now you're ready to make flowers and I'll show you how in Part Two tomorrow! 

 

Summer Crafting: Painted Llamas

 

I tend toward neutrals but I decided for Summer, I'd do some more colorful things. When I found these wood llamas at Dollar Tree, they were perfect for my Summer vignette on our kitchen display shelves!

Supplies

• Wood Llamas (Dollar Tree)
• Acrylic Paint (I used Craft Smart from Michaels)
• Acrylic Paint Pens
• Pom Poms

These are the llamas I found at Dollar Tree. Laid out this way, they remind me of the "Pushmi  Pullyu" from Dr. Doolittle. For several years as a child, that was my favorite toy. It had a pull string and talked! I took it everywhere with me. 

I painted them white using Craft Smart Acrylic paint from Michaels. Then I got out my acrylic paint pens and just went to town freehand. 

I pulled out a selection of colors and on one, did random dots, and on the other drew a "saddle" and decorated the legs. 

I grabbed my stash of pom-poms and chose colors that coordinated with my llamas. 

I went mostly with these that have little iridescent fibers poking out. 

I'm tickled with how they turned out. I will also post a tutorial on the coffee filter flowers in the background. I had way too much fun with those! 

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Dollar Tree Crafting: Glam Fairy Cottage

 

I hope all of the Mothers and Others had a nice Mother's Day. We had a lovely day with The Mumster and our son joined us electronically from Chicago. 

I had fun with this project. One I hadn't even had on my radar but on one of my Dollar Tree stops, a woman behind me at the register was buying these adorable Fairy Houses and that was that. The store I was at had a LONG line so natch, I just popped into another one on the way home. I can navigate around here by where Dollar Trees are. There's my favorite one by my Mom's, the four on the way to/from my Mom's, the one by me...

Supplies:

• Dollar Tree Ceramic Fairy House
• Waverly Matte No Prep Acrylic Paint (I used White and Steel)
• Craft Smart Multi Surface Acrylic Paint Bright Silver
• Creatology Gem Mix
• Clear Dimesional Glue

They have a few different styles of Fairy Houses and they even have furniture! 

I love my neutrals and I knew where this one was going so I went with a white/gray/silver color scheme. I painted the house white all over.

Now that I had my base, I wanted to accent it a bit so I used the Waverly paint in Steel todry brush the stones, shutters, door, and flower pots. 

Then, I went over the same areas with Bright Silver CraftSmart paint. Now for some fun! 

Don't sleep on the kids crafts section at Michaels! I find a LOT of fun embellishments there like this Creatology Gem Mix. It comes in many different colors and I need to go back and get the multi-color mix because I'm in love with these. I used Glossy Accents (Ranger) glue to adhere these along the roof line, on the windows, and door, and also the flowers in the pots. 

I have a cloche I keep on my dresser and change out seasonally. I thought it was perfect for my little cottage. 

The hammered aluminum base makes it pop.

Tops down view.

And there we go! Fits in with my year-round silver and white scheme. Maybe it's a Gnome Home for my guy sitting behind it? 

After I dropped my Mom off on Sunday, of course I had to stop at my favorite DT by her.

I am in LOVE with these sticker seals which I'll use on handmade cards! The little birds remind me of Cactus Wrens which we see on saguaros all the time and who can resist pom-poms! The tray will be PERFECT for dyeing coffee filters and the baking cups for paper flowers. 

Mr. Chocolate just gives up trying to understand my brain. I don't blame him! 

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Spring and Easter: Straw Carrot Raised Bed Boxes

 

Whenever Mr. Chocolate asks me "How did you think of THAT?" the answer is always the same: No clue. 

Just what my brain does. I found these straw carrots at Walmart the day after Valentine's when they were doing their switchout from Valentine's to Easter. I sometimes wish I was a pushier person because they were unboxing some cute bunny cloches but I didn't want to be that person so I figured "Oh I'll come back". WRONG. Anyhoo...

Back to the carrots. 

Supplies:

• Straw Carrots (Walmart)
• Wood Boxes (Dollar Tree)
• Floral Foam (Dollar Tree)
• Acrylic Paint (White)
• Ribbon and Paper Roses
• Moss Bunnies (Dollar Tree)
• Bamboo Skewers

To the stash closet Batgirl! I knew I had some paper roses and ribbon that would go perfectly with the idea that came from nowhere. Likewise, the wood boxes I knew I'd use for something that I'd picked up from the Dollar Tree. 

I have a bunch of those wood cubes from DT so I glued them to the bottom of each box. I then painted each box with one coat of white acrylic paint. I was going for a subtle contrast with the wood and left the cube "legs" bare. 

Once the boxes were painted I grabbed my ribbon and used hot glue and tacky glue to attach.

Then I trimmed the stems from the roses and attached with hot glue. 

Next, I cut the floral foam to fit and placed inside the boxes. I didn't glue these in so I can deconstruct or re-use if needed. 

I grabbed some bamboo skewers from the kitchen because why are they even there?! and inserted them into the bottom of the carrots, cracking myself up mimicking Arya from "Game of Thrones" saying "Stick 'em with the pointy end" but I digress. I then trimmed the skewers to size and stuck them into the foam. 

I had some moss left over from something which I used to cover the foam. 

To finish, I added a couple of moss bunnies from my stash. 

They're being guarded by the Greek Wrestler Chicks. 

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Creatively Crafty Linky Party #242

Spring and Easter: More Candy Holder Bunnies

 

Yes, I had more fun playing with candy holders from Dollar Tree! I almost called these "Velveteen Ribbon Rabbits" but then I thought about trying to say that three times fast without sounding like Elmer Fudd. 

Supplies:

• Bunny Shaped Candy Holders (Dollar Tree)
• Waverly No Prep Paint (Ballet Slipper)
• Ceramcoat Glitter Paint (Charm Pink)
• Sponge Applicator
• Velveteen Ribbon 
• Self Adhesive Rhinestones and Pearls
• Gold Foil (Non-heat reactive)

Used these candy holder containers from Dollar Tree and the Waverly and Ceramcoat paints. Apply the Waverly paint with a sponge applicator.

Once the containers are covered with the matte paint and it's dry, apply the glitter coat. 

I grabbed some gold foil from my stash (this is the kind that's not heat reactive, nor is it gold leaf...this just requires a tacky adhesive). I went over the raised portions of the bunny faces...ears, nose, whiskers. 

I lightly dry brushed white paint across the faces, and had some self-adhesive pink pearls and antique gold rhinestones in my embellishments so I used those for the eyes, nose and tongue as shown. 

To finish, I grabbed some white velveteen ribbon I picked up at Walmart after Christmas at 75% off and made bows, attached with hot glue as shown, and made hangers from black and gold baker's twine. 

I usually wait until something's finished before sharing but I'm showing my Bunny Tree as it evolves. I haven't decided if I'm adding eggs or not, and need a topper, but here it is as it stands now. 

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