DIY

Art therapy session two

May 4, 2012 by Angela

One Sunday night a couple weeks ago, when I had a big morning and a big week and all together felt stressed out and anxious, I began my journal. Honestly, it made me feel a million times better to complete those first few pages. I’ve been working on it ever since.

I’ve always loved the idea of creating and completing an art journal. I’ve even started one a few different times. But my o.c.d. about neatness/precision (not a good trait when you’re a generally sloppy crafter) always kicks in and I compare my crooked, messy, glue-stained attempt to what ever photo I am using as inspiration at that time.

This time, I thought, it will be different. I was in the perfect situation to start an art journal: a cute little recycled graph paper notebook from Barnes and Noble that came in a three pack – the other two are being used for class. An English major has no use for graph paper! Also, ample paper supplies and bits and things with nowhere to go.

Some materials I used: stickers, ribbon, lace trim, scrapbook paper, the cardboard backing to sticker packages, kraft cardstock, photographs and text from a 60s geology book, text squares from a short story collection and a novel from the early 1900s, markers, fashion magazine, heart-punch, decorative masking tape (purchased on Etsy), colored pens, paint color samples, thesaurus pages…

I’m using this journal as a writing journal just as much as an art. It’s not just for quotes and sayings (though there are plenty) but personal thoughts. I just sort of needed an outlet.

I’m hoping to make // art therapy // a weekly session. What do you think?

DIY pretty floral jewelry display

April 13, 2012 by Angela

Hey everyone! Remember those fake flowers I brought for a floral wreath? Well, my wreath went horribly wrong. I only had those three large flowers, lots of little buds, and wires . . . so naturally, the whole thing looked a little lopsided. As I was wrapping up to trash the whole thing, I noticed I had pulled the tops of the flowers off of their large stems and could possibly use them for something.

Caution: This is a long post 🙂

DIY Jewelry Hanger:

{fake flowers from Michael’s, sharp scissors, hot glue/gun, decorative tape, a cork board with a wooden frame, acrylic paint, and if you want, lace and ribbons to decorate with}

It seems like a lot of materials, but you could easily work with what you already have and just get the big stuff. Bulletin boards are for sale at Goodwill all the time. In fact, I think years back when I bought this board, it was at Goodwill.

You can simply tear the tops off the flowers here, and use one of the large stems. Measure some stems to make sure they’ll fit with your board. Use your hot glue gun to attach a flower at each end. I liked adding the purple rose for an asymmetrical design.

I glued the ends of each of these little lavender flowers onto the larger stem. You can pop off the very end to make sure it fits right.

I used my little deco masking tape to ensure the stability of the flower. Besides, it looks cute! I got this kind off Etsy a couple years ago.

Here, I decorated by tying vintage lace + a mint green ribbon around each end. Use whatever you have on hand!

Paint the edge of your board any color you please – I don’t have photos of this part because it was simply a happy accident that I had already painted a board of mine when I discovered that my purple flowers were the exact same shade! It’s pretty self-explanatory, though.

Ps. . . below is the crown I made from the leftover flowers. . . too bad it doesn’t fit right! 🙁

And by the way, it looks good as just bulletin or inspiration board!

Let me know if you’re inspired and come up with any project of your own or try mine!

DIY recycled heart wall piece

January 5, 2012 by Angela

I always keep a few paper hearts around because I love paper, my one-inch paper punch (not necessary for this project!) and it’s fun to put them in gift bags or in the ribbon with my thank-you tag on all my Etsy orders. My punch isn’t very good at magazine-type paper though, so when I made some magazine letters for a different project a couple weeks ago, I just cut out hearts by hand in order to save the paper scraps. They were from an older issue of Marie Claire magazine featuring this summery photo shoot that just had the perfect lighting.

I had so many, that I got the idea to cover a piece of paper with them. I happened to have some cork board to use for a backing (though i’m tempted to try with canvas) & a piece of card stock of the same size. Using cork board is great because this can either be a little piece of art for your home or a cute background for a pin board.

If you want to make this yourself, you will need:
*Paper hearts, cut or punched. | I have them from dictionary scraps, magazine scraps, and white tissue paper scraps – the tissue paper is transparent which gives it a unique look. Also, most of my pieces use the same neutral tone.
*Scissors & Glue | A glue stick can work fine depending on your surface.
*A backing for the project | They sell 12×12″ pieces of cork board at Fred Meyer, and craft stores.
*A piece of paper to first glue the paper to, though this may not be necessary.

I first cut out hearts from less than 1/2″ wide to 1.5″ wide. If you use tissue paper, be conscious of what color paper you glue it on as it will show through a bit.

Glue the hearts one by one in rows across the page. I just put a dab of glue on the paper and stick it on, so that some sticks up. I go from left to right.

Swiping the glue downward before putting each heart on is an easy way to do it.

I kept them in a semi-straight line until the bottom row. The goal is not to have any “white” space showing, and only hearts. It’s okay if you don’t cut every heart perfectly, because almost half of it is covered anyway. Then if you are using cork board, you can attach the paper with thumb tacks and hang it on the wall.

The finished piece, shown in the first photo, has a vintage millnery flower bouquet attached by a tack. I didn’t want to use it as a tag board because I already have one of those, but it makes a nice little piece on the blank wall above my craft drawers.

It’s a cheap, easy, fun DIY project for those with a little extra wall space just waiting to be filled. Enjoy 🙂

Cookies ‘n creme Christmas cookies

December 17, 2011 by Angela

These are some cookies I made from See Jane in the Kitchen’s recipe. I discovered her food blog and thought these didn’t look too hard, but they do look delicious! Can you believe she just thought up the recipe while looking at some Oreo’s?

I have been planning to make a few batches of Christmas cookies for awhile because I wanted something nice to give to anyone who might want baked goods! (so, everyone?) Unfortunately, I am so not good in the kitchen. For some reason, when it comes to following recipes, I don’t pay enough attention to detail and always do something wrong. Always. This time, I followed the recipe with careful attention – and thankfully Kevin was there because he stopped me from almost putting one more egg than necessary (Yep… don’t know what I was thinking) and we got through three different types of cookies! We also made brown sugar drop cookies which were yummy, and regular sugar cookies. The cookies ‘n cremes are the best in my opinion.

For some reason I really can’t do sugar cookies, however. I’ve looked up tips but they always harden way too fast. So cookies ‘n creme for Christmas it is!