Summer Decor: Stained Boxes and Rainbow Llamas

 

This week's party continues here.

We have these great built-in shelves in our kitchen, and I like to switch things out seasonally. However, I'm not a big Summer Crafter. I kind of fell into my latest idea when I was drawn to two kinds of wood llamas I found at Dollar Tree. I shared one set here, and this is the other. When I saw these carved boxes at DT right next to these llamas, an idea was born. 

I also incorporated my current obsession of paper flower making with tissue paper and coffee filter flowers. 

Supplies:

• Wood Llamas
• Carved Wood Boxes
• Faux Stain (I used the diluted acrylic paint from coffee filter flowers)
• Acrylic Paint, White
• Gem Mesh Ribbon
• Self Adhesive Rhinestones
• Glue Gun and Glue

They look to me like they were made for each other! I painted the llamas with a coat of white acrylic paint (not shown). I wanted them to be simple since I had a plan to bling them up.

I had "dye" left over from dyeing coffee filters, and since the boxes were destined for the same place, the color coordination was perfect. I used a paintbrush to apply. 

Here are the boxes all stained! Don't ask me why I decided to use them upside down. I thought they'd make cool "stands" for the llamas, that's why! 

I had this Gem Mesh from DT in my stash and it gave me an idea. I decided to use it as a border around the boxes, and since it's two rows, I cut them apart and used one row per box. Attached with hot glue. 

Now it was time to finish the llamas! 

I had this sheet of rainbow rhinestones in my stash that were perfect. They coordinated with the Gem Mesh colors and my overall palette. Unfortunately, I didn't take pics as they were being applied but it's pretty self-explanatory!

Did I mention these light up! Like a dummy, I tested one in the store, but not the other and of course...only one works so learn from my mistake. No biggie. I love them unlit too. 

And now, they're at home on our shelves!

Summer display filled with desert-inspired flowers, and a little whimsy! 

Sharing At:

BFF Open House

 

Happy Friday Eve and almost Summer. I know we consider it Summer as soon as Memorial Day hits but then officially it's not for a few  more weeks...Sprummer?  I hope everyone had a good week and long weekend. 

Getting over some crud that got me. A couple more days of antibiotics. The saying "If it's not one thing, it's another" remains true!

I did get a chance to play with leftovers this week. I shared how I used the paper towel I'd used to absorb excess dye from my Dyed Coffee Filters, as its own craft supply! 

Papercrafting: Happy Accident Paper Towel Flower Core

Now let's take look at some of the great ideas shared at last week's party!

Steph Creates shared a wonderful DIY Sweet Summer Sign to welcome the season! 

Summer screams popsicles and Creatively Beth shared a fabulous Hand Drawn Printable. 

Master Pieces of My Life shared how to combine Fern Fronds, Cloches, and Thrifted Trays to make a BEAUTIFUL Summer display. 

Finally, if you ever chanted "You scream, I scream, we all scream for ice cream" then you need this Swiss Roll NO CHURN Ice Cream from The Kitchen Is My Playground! 

Thanks to everyone who linked up and can't wait to see what brilliance you have to share this week! 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Papercrafting: Happy Accident Paper Towel Flower Core

 

I had so much fun with the Dyed Coffee Filter Flowers I shared last week. As I was drying the coffee filters I dyed, I laid them on some paper towel to absorb the excess water and it resulted in one of my favorite things: a happy accident! 

Supplies

• Dyed Coffee Filters
• Dyed Paper Towel
• Stamens
• Dimensional Glue

This is the paper towel that absorbed the excess liquid from the dyed coffee filter flowers. It was too pretty to just throw away. I get giddy about being able to use things like this. Waste-not, justify more craft supplies, is my motto! 

Besides, I had some leftover filters to use up. I had just enough paper towel to use to make two flower centers. I folded in quarters, then cut and snipped the edge into a fringe. After cutting my coffee filter layers, I assembled as shown in last week's tutorial. 

I poked the stamen bunch through the center, added a few drops of glue (I used Glossy Accents by Ranger) and then pinched around the base. 

Side view.

I'm giddy! And will absolutely be repeating this as I make future flowers. 

BFF Open House

 

Happy Friday Eve once again all! I hope you've had a creative and not too chaotic week. Happy Memorial Day weekend too. Full speed ahead into Summer!

This week I shared a two-part project about something that's become one of my favorite things to do!

How to Dye Coffee Filters 

Dyed Coffee Filter Flowers

Now, let's take a look at some of the wonderful ideas shared at last week's party! 

What a happy coincidence that these beautiful Coffee Filter Flowers were shared by Fun A Day! What a great project to do on your own, with friends, with kids! 

My French Twist shared this fun and festive DIY Drop Cloth Tablecloth that's perfect for Summer entertaining. 

Within a World of My Own shared how she made Paper Bead Bracelets to coordinate with her dusky pink and orange outfit color palette. 

Finally, these Bronuts (brownie donuts) from Yummi Haus are not only a perfect chocolate feature, but they also went so perfectly with the color scheme that emerged in these features! 

Thank you all for sharing your creativity and can't wait to see what's in store this week! 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Papercrafting: Dyed Coffee Filter Flowers Part Two

 

In Part One, I shared how I dyed the coffee filters used to make these flowers. In this, I'll share how I made the actual flowers!

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

Once your coffee filters are dyed and dried, it's time to start making flowers. You can do these with or without stamens, or you can use a bamboo skewer to build your flower. The first thing you'll need to design is what petal shape you want. I went with a shape that reminds me of the various cactus flowers we have.

I folded in half, then half, then half, and finally, half! 

Then I cut from each of the corners, and then a point in the middle as shown. 

To build the flower, I grabbed a stamen cluster and pierced the center of one coffee filter.

Add a dot or two of glue (I used Glossy Accents by Ranger) around where the stamen goes through the filter and  push the filter up around the stamen, I just kid of twisted it and then added more glue before adding another layer.

How many layers you use is up to you. I think mine were 5-6. The thing I like about having crumpled the filters is it adds dimension and bulk. WIth each layer added the process is the same. Add a little glue, twist and position, add another layer. 

Once you're all done just eyeball and fluff as needed. I made these to add to my Summer display shelf with my Painted Llamas. 

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!