Pretty Patriotic

Hello Friends!

 

In honor of the 4th of July: touches of red, white, and blue. Everything here is easy to find and, of course, inexpensive: the cans are from my pantry, the washi sheets (adhesive-backed washi paper) and candy dishes are from Target, and the spoons are from the Dollar Store.

 

 

 

The cans - one beans and one roasted almonds - were both covered with a houndstooth pattern washi sheet, cut to size. The sheets are much trickier to handle than washi tape but the fact that they are adjustable makes all the difference in the world. If you're in a hurry, work with washi tape, not the sheets. I had little bits of it stuck everywhere when I was done!

 

I painted the almond can, the smaller one, with a few coats of white spray paint before covering it; the larger one I left with the original (tin?) finish. If you look closely, you can see the difference in the appearance between the two. I actually like both...no preference on this one!

 

Even though these projects are really inexpensive, they do add small touches of color, and a little bit of 4th of July, to your holiday table or  holiday mantel. Holiday decorating doesn't have to be difficult...sometimes the little touches create great impact and with very little effort.

 

 

Most of the designs I've posted in the last few weeks are small enough, and easy enough, for anyone to do. Just take your time, do a little planning ahead, and accept that at least one thing will not work out! That frees you from the pressure of 'perfection' and allows you to actually enjoy the process. That's a really good thing.

Stay tuned.

 

~ M ~

Birdhouse Beauty

Hello Everyone!

 

Here it is Thursday and I'm actually posting Thursday's post. Yay for me. No wait, yay for you! Two posts in one day. It feels so good to be back on schedule.

 

This bird house was another find on my last trip to Michaels.  Of course I was looking for something else in the unfinished wood section and I spotted this (my typical MO). I immediately thought of washi tape. And markers. But...once I got started, my markers kept drying out (might have been the 100 degree weather and the gale force winds from the ceiling fan) so I had to cut my losses and go straight for full washi tape coverage. I was able to color a few small spaces with marker, though, like the end of the perch where bird sits.

 

 

I painted it first; some of the tape is transparent and I wanted the under color to be white rather than the natural wood it's made from. After two coats of paint, I sanded it gently and then started taping away.

 

 

I used a sander at the corners and edges to remove excess tape rather than trying to cut it to exact lengths. I also coated it with two coats of Mod Podge to give the tape more staying power and to seal all of the edges.

 

 

It's a bit of a wild looking place - I know I couldn't live in it full time. It's definitely bright enough to catch the eye of any bird passing by. It takes a little patience and a little more manual dexterity to complete this project but I think you'd enjoy making one of your own.

A collection of these little houses would be cute covered with old book pages, too!

Stay tuned.

~ M ~

Uncanny

Hello Friends!

 

 

I don't usually post on Tuesday (although I'd love to post every day!) so this is just a quick note.

I saw this can when my husband was getting ready to toss it out. I really liked the ridges and had an idea for an easy upcycle. Not exactly an original idea (yes, I used washi tape!), but an idea nonetheless.

 

So simple...all you need is a can (preferably empty ;) ) and a roll of washi. I rinsed the can well and popped it in the dishwasher. When it was clean, I took it to my studio. 15 minutes later, I had a cute little storage container - great for pens or pencils, makeup brushes, or utensils on a casual buffet.

 

The  washi tape came in the mail the day after I cleaned the can up so the two seemed like a natural fit. It took 10 minutes to wrap 3 rows of tape around the can. I need to go over it with a layer of mod podge to give it a good seal. You could glue a piece of felt on the bottom if you'd like (trace around can, cut out, glut to bottom of can) to make sure the can doesn't cause any scuffs or scrapes on surfaces.

 

If you want to do this, make sure your can doesn't have any sharp or rough edges. And washi tape is perfect for this project because it has some 'give' so it will conform to the ridges of the can. Regular paper doesn't have the same amount of 'give' so it's more difficult to work with in the same way.

 

This can would make a great little container for flowers, too. Just use a small glass inside the can to hold water and the stems of the bouquet. If you're wondering what kind of flowers to use, pink carnations, white carnations, or pink roses would each fit the bill perfectly. Very pretty!

 

Stay tuned...

 

~ M ~

Mother's Day Love

Hello Friends!

 

 

I have a few things to share with you today - the candle I referred to awhile ago and something for Mother's Day.

 

 

First - the candle. Remember this version? I loved it but I also had so many other ideas I wanted to try for 'dressing up' these candles. The options are practically endless but all of these coverings are from Michael's craft store, found in the scrapbook paper section. The materials are: (from left to right below): black and clear vellum, white transparent dot paper, burlap fabric, blue scroll paper.

 

 

The most expensive one was $1.99 so each candle cost $3.00 or less to complete. If you wanted to make them more fancy, adding ribbon, lace, twine, or rhinestones might be just a few of the ways to accomplish that.

 

 

All you need for this project is the candles, the coverings (I used 12x12 size paper), and two-sided tape. Run one strip of two-sided tape around the top of the candle (about .5 inch below the rim) and another strip down the length of the candle, from top to bottom.

 

 

Lay the candle, tape side down, at the beginning of the paper/fabric covering, aligning the top of the candle with the top of the paper. Press down slightly and roll the candle until it is covered (make sure to wrap evenly as you go so that the paper stays aligned with the candle rim). Cut the paper where it overlaps; use two sided tape to attach the cut edge. Trim the paper flush with the bottom of the candle and you're done...pretty and easy!

*Please note: Use caution when lighting these candles to ensure that any flame is kept away from the covering material.

 

 

The second project I have is gift tags for mom. I made the first one here and liked it so much that I made a few others today (the .studio download file is at the bottom of the post). Grab the file, make some tags and tie one on a box or a bag or a bottle...a little love from you to mom.

 

I made these tags by taping blocks of coordinating washi tape to white cardstock and then scanning the blocks into my graphic software. I made patterns out of each block and then imported the patterns into my Silhouette design software. I cut heart tags from each of the patterns and tied the little white name hearts to each tag with coordinating baker's twine.

If you don't have a Silhouette, check back tomorrow - I'll update this post with a link to the printable file to download for your moms, too!

 

Silhouette peeps can find the '.studio' download file here.

 

Non-Silhouette peeps, go here.

 

Stay tuned.

 

~ M ~ 

Gifted

Hello Friends!

 

 

When I put together the Petite Party the other day, I had an idea for a favor/gift bag that would coordinate with the other elements I made for the occasion. This morning, I got everything together and set to work creating a little upcycled bag. I like how the idea came to life.

 

 

Of course I used two of my usual suspects - washi tape and baker's twine. I liked the color of the gift bag and the polka dots, too, but didn't love the big hole on top. So I used scalloped scissors to cut the bag down about 3 inches and punched a little hole in the center.

 

 

Next, I grabbed a piece of paper from my printer and taped 4 lengths of washi tape, to form a square, onto the paper. I scanned that into my photo editing software and created a heart shape using the washi tape as my background.

 

 

I cut out the heart shape using my Silhouette to make a tag for the bag. I tied the tag, with a smaller dotted-swiss heart tag for the recipient's name, to the front of the gift bag with both pink/white and red/white baker's twine.

 

 

Although nothing on a grand scale, just these quick little changes make the bag look more than a little special and would, hopefully, make the recipient feel the same!

 

 I'd love to receive a gift bag like this. Would you?

 

Stay tuned...

 

~ M ~ 

Donuts and Milk

Hello Friends!

 

How was everyone's weekend? Mine was good; productive and fun - a great combination.

 

 

I had a 'petite' party this morning. A milk and donuts party. Yep, just celebrated milk and donuts. 'Cause sometimes the little things are worth celebrating! This party was very simple, very sweet, and very easy to throw together.

 

Here's what I used: washi tape, baker's twine, paper straws, and toothpicks. It took about 30 minutes to make the straws, the garland, and the dessert picks all together. The little garland is tied to two bamboo skewers; I scotch-taped the skewers to the sides of the cake plate. The dessert picks are just toothpicks and washi tape - I think they look just as good in donuts as they do in cupcakes!

 

Of course I love this color combination - it's bright and happy! When I started my project, I chose the widest washi tape first (blue and red floral) and then chose two coordinating tapes - the rest of elements (straws, etc.) were dictated by those three choices.

 

 

I called this a 'petite' party because although it's very simple, anywhere pretty straws and mini-garlands and dessert picks get together, there's the beginning (at least) of a party. Even if all you're celebrating is donuts and milk!

 

I think everything tastes just a little bit better when dressed in party fare. Do you?

 

Stay tuned.

 

~ M ~

Washi Tape Candle - Version 2.0

Hello Friends!

 

 Another glorious day here in our corner of California. Blue skies, sunshine, and breezy. It's great walking weather so I took advantage of it and got out there early this morning. Now I'm 'good' tired.

Is anyone tired of washi tape yet? Are you asking yourself "Washi thinking?" (Ha.). I hope not because I'm still a little obsessed (as evidenced by the gallon of goodness above) and I've got another project to share with you today.  

 

It's the same basic candle as the one from this post but I used a black and white set of tapes and ran them in horizontal and vertical stripes around the candle. I tied a coordinating length of black and white grosgrain ribbon around it (where horizontal meets vertical) to disguise any little bit of unevenness and called it done.

 

Using a different color scheme makes a huge difference in the way the candle looks. This black and white one, although not terribly formal, could be a fun addition to a wedding table centerpiece or even a candlelit dinner in your very own dining room.

 

With a quick swap out of the ribbon, you can, again, completely change the way the candle looks. The pink ribbon makes it look more feminine and contemporary; the simple black velvet ribbon in the picture above creates a simple, formal look.

 

These candles are so easy to make, like most everything I do, and inexpensive enough to gather yourself quite a colorful collection. You should make some now!

 

More to come.

 

~ M ~

Wednesday With Washi Tape

Hello Friends!

 

As predicted, the rain has come! Along with the rain comes the gray, no sunshine today. Our power has been out for about 5 hours for repairs. Just now back on, I'm happy to have electronic capability at my fingertips again.

While the power was out, I worked on a quick project that'll brighten up our home, especially when the sun isn't performing quite as I think it should. Do you remember the washi tape-covered box I made a few weeks ago? This project, too, uses washi tape and this project, too, is a quick and easy one.

 

Washi Tape Candles:

- pillar candles

- washi tape (as many colors/designs as you want)

- scissors

 

Starting at the bottom, wrap one line of tape around the candle. Cut to length, overlapping ends a bit.  

 

Using the rest of your tapes, alternate stripes up the candle. Place each row of tape as close as possible to the previous one, making sure no candle glass shows through. Line up the starting points so that overlapping tape will be in the same spot on the candle (preferably the back).

 

 

Keep going until no more rows of tape are needed and your candle is covered. There may be a gap between the top of the candle and the tape. I don't mind the gap but if you do, a length of tape can be trimmed to fit the remaining space. I suggest starting at the bottom because the top has a slight curve in the glass that distorts the tape a smidge.

 

For this project, I used pillar candles from the 99 cent store; the washi tape is from my collection. The cost in total, is a little more than $2.50 for both candles. That's a small price to pay to add some personality to a room!

These candles would also make a great gift. Just wrap the candles with tape and present with a cute tag and a coordinating box of matches (maybe another opportunity for using washi tape?!). Handmade, easy, quick, cute, inexpensive...it ticks all of the gift-giving boxes!

 

More to come!

 

~ M~