Dollar Tree Crafting: Easy Twine Carrot Wreath

 

You never know what you'll find at The Dollar Tree. And if you're me, when you do find things, you may not know exactly what you're going to do with what you do find until you do! I found these twine carrots when they first started putting out Easter stuff and was not sure what I was going to do with them but they were the kind of thing you just pick up, because. 

Supplies:

• Twine Carrots (You could do this with plastic or fabric carrots as well) I used 3 pkgs
• Small Wire Wreath Frame (8 inch)
• Ribbon 
• Glue gun and glue sticks

I save good ribbon such as this twill ribbon that a beautiful new blanket Mr. Chocolate gave me for Christmas was wrapped in. Who knows when it will come in handy? 

The first step was to wrap the wire frame. I love these smaller 8 inch wreath frames that Dollar Tree carries and they come in packs of 2!

I anchored the ribbon with a dab of hot glue, wrapped the frame, and then secured with another dab of hot glue. 

Then I added my carrots, making sure that the tips all aligned as I went around. 

I knew I should have bought one more package because as you can see, I didn't have enough to go all the way around. No worries. I had leftover ribbon so I just made a bow to fill the gap. I didn't bother to iron the ribbon because I figured since the carrot tops were not perfect, the bow shouldn't be either. I like that it looks vintagey and old. 

And done! I have this empty frame on my cement accent wall in my office that I like to put seasonal accents in so that's where this is. 

Et, Voila! 

Sharing At: 

The House on Silverado 

Follow The Yellow Brick Home

Our Hopeful Home

Papercrafting: Layered Bunny Mandala

 

This week's party continues here .

This post contains a referral link for which I may receive free products. 

I mentioned in this week's party post that I love Creative Fabrica as a source for fonts, graphics, and SVG cutting files and that they offer one of each of these for free each day. I downloaded this one when it was free the other day ( it's still available here but no longer free). 

I was excited to play with it and I'm excited to show you how it turned out!

Supplies: 

• Scrapbook papers 
• Electronic Cutting Machine ( I used my Cricut Explore Air2, these files also work in Silhouette Design Studio)
• Spray Glue
• Frame

Downloaded the file to my computer and imported into Cricut Design Space as follows: 

Click on image on the left side of the design panel, Click on Upload Image. 

Click browse to go to where you've stored your file, and then select the SVG file. 

Your file will appear in your recently uploaded files and then select Insert Image. Once it's on your canvas, then you can re-size as desired. I sized mine 8x8 for a 12x12 frame. 

All three layers will be shown . For me, it's easier to work with one layer on the screen at a time so I can keep straight which layer I want in which color. To hide the layers you don't want to work with, click on the eye icons until only the layer(s) you want is shown. Then you can send to cut each layer. 

I did the background layer in turquoise glitter The middle layer in pastel turquoise. The top layer in cream. 

Since each layer is so detailed and delicate, I used a spray adhesive to attach them. I like the repositionable kind in case you need to adjust. 

Here are the first two layers glued together. Repeat the process to attach the base layer. 

Since this file is so intricate, I kept the background simple to let it stand out, using the same cream scrapbook paper as I'd used for the top layer. Framed in a 12x12 shadowbox frame!

And now I have this very cool new piece to add to my Easter decor and I love it! What do you think? 

Sharing At:

The House on Silverado 

Follow The Yellow Brick Home

Our Hopeful Home

BFF Open House

 

Happy Spring, officially! It's kind of hard to tell here in the desert but I guess it's when it's still below 100! I used to tease my Mom and friends who lived here before us about being cold in temperatures that other parts of the country would consider far from it. Now I'm on the receiving end when I tell our son that "it's cold" as he lives in Chicago and reminds us what cold really is.  Karma!

Easter is early this year and I haven't really done any decorating or new Easter projects. I did a little roundup of different ways to use plastic eggs here.  

But, I did grab this free cut file from Creative Fabrica today that I'm going to play with! If you don't know , they have daily freebies but they are only free for one day. Fonts, graphics, SVGs. It's a great way to build a library. They also have a weekly freebie and periodically offer free bundles. I'm not an affiliate so this is just me sharing. 

OK! Let's take a look at some of the wonderful projects shared at last week's party. 

MaryJo from Masterpieces of My Life shared her gorgeous Easter Tablescape, the centerpiece of which are beautiful Mercury Glass eggs! I love the moss bunnies and accents. 

Penny, from Penny's Vintage shared her festive Spring Kitchen so you have to check out the whole thing but I especially love these fabric carrots! This gives me some ideas how to use up lots of scraps I have from mask making! 

Lisa from Fresh Vintage by Lisa S shared a treasure trove of German Paper Mache Easter Eggs she found while thrifting. What wonderful vintage keepsakes! 

Finally ( and we're all adults here right) I give you these "Better Than Sex" cupcakes shared by the Lou Lou Girls! I think they speak for themselves! 

Alright! Let's see what everyone's been up to this week! Happy Passover to those celebrating!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Plastic Eggs Aren't Just For Hiding. Creative Ways To Use Them

 

Over the years I've had fun with decorating plastic eggs...creating home decor projects etc. So I thought I'd round them up since we're in peak plastic egg season!  The links are in bold text. 

Tissue Paper, Twine, and Paint 

Use large plastic eggs, cover with plain white tissue paper, then paint and/or wrap with twine. Details at link. 

Vintage Chocolate Egg

Using the tissue paper technique, again cover plastic egg, then paint with a few coats of glitter paint, embellish with a vintage looking paper border and paper roses. Details at link. 

Faux Chocolate Egg

I love Old World European Chocolate eggs so I emulated one using a foam egg, some paint, a French Chocolate label and embellishments! Details at link.

Plastic Egg Floral Wreath

Choose some complementary plastic eggs, add felt leaves and paper flowers and make a Spring Wreath. Details at link. 

Acorns and Pinecones

Stock up on those plastic eggs now for Fall. Paint,scrapbook paper, twine and sequins are all you need. Details at link. 

I hope you've found some inspiration! What are some creative ways you've used plastic eggs? 

Cardmaking: Easy Card No Fancy Tools

 

This week's link party continues here!

As I've written before, I love my amazing crafting tools like my Cricut Explore Air2. But sometimes I also love the simplicity of making something that doesn't require tools.  Here's how you can make an easy card with just some pretty papers and a few basics. 

Supplies: 

• Scrapbook Papers (I used the Let's Wander Stack by Recollections from Michaels) and some paper scraps from previous projects. 
• Cardstock. I used 110lb Cardstock, Recollections, Michaels
• Stickers. I used one sticker from a pack by Crafter's Square from Dollar Tree
• Embellishments. Crafter's Square, Dollar Tree. 
• Double sided adhesive or tape runner
• Paper Trimmer or craft knife
• Scoreboard / bone folder or if you don't have, you can use an empty ball point pen

First, choose your papers and what you want to use for your card's focal. Stickers are great for this, especially those on clear backgrounds. I found these at The Dollar Tree and for $1 you can make multiple cards. 

Trim your cardstock to 7x10 inches then score in the middle at 5 inches. I use a scoreboard for my cards but you can easily place your cardstock on a magazine , use a ruler as a guide, and use an empty ballpoint pen or something else pointed enough to score your fold but not cut. 

To make the focal for your card, place the sticker you've chosen on a piece of cardstock then trim it to size. If you don't have a paper trimmer, again a ruler and a craft / utility knife and easy peasy. 

Cut the main decorative paper you've chosen to 4.75x6.75 (I used a pink swirly sheet) then mat your trimmed sticker focal on another piece of the same paper and mat with a solid ( I used a scrap of black cardstock). 

Since I've been at this a while, I have a TON of paper scraps from other projects but if this is the first card you're making, choose some coordinating sheets from the paper stack and play around. I grabbed some of my scraps and cut to sizes that worked with my trimmed focal. 

Assemble. Hint: I always assemble my layers before I attach to the card itself. So in this case, I put my matted focal on top of the scrap with the bows on it, then attached to the silver dotted paper, and finally on the pink swirl background. Then attach to your card. 

I always like to finish with some bling or some dots of glitter glue etc. In this case, I used a sheet of rhinestone embellishments by Crafter's Square from The Dollar Tree. They are really expanding their line of crafting materials and you can't beat the price! 

Lots of cards to make with all of those rhinestones! Most of the teardrop shaped ones have the little round ones attached. I used these for the bigger bows. For the smaller bows, just dotted with some other smaller rhinestones in my stash. This part is completely optional. 

But see? Easy, no fancy tools, and when you can get a beautiful stack of papers like the ones in this Let's Wander pack (currently on sale at Michaels 70% off!) then you don't have to spend a lot to make some pretty things! 

Sharing At: 

The House On Silverado 

Our Hopeful Home