Friday, January 11, 2013
Monday, January 7, 2013
Saturday, January 5, 2013
DIY Puffy Paint Table Runner
If you haven't heard yet, the color of the year is emerald green. But just because there is a new popular color every year, does not mean that you have to change out all of you existing decor. One way you can incorporate emerald green pops in your home is by making your own DIY table runner out of a painter's drop cloth. Follow the instructions below to make your own.
What you will need:
- Painter's drop cloth
- Puffy fabric paint
- Sewing machine
- Scissors
Wash, dry and iron the drop cloth you will be using. Decide on what size of a table runner you would like to make. The standard width is 10, 12 or 15 inches and the standard length is 54, 72, 90, 108 or 120 inches. After you decided on the size, cut out your shape with an extra 1/2 inch on all sides for hemming.
Hem the edges of the painter's cloth to prevent fraying.
This is what the back side will look like.
Now you can start to paint. I didn't have a plan, I just started to create random patterns.
The tajeen dish (an arabic serving dish) above was my inspiration for the designs.
Let the paint dry over night. You can start using and washing your table runner after 72 hours. Enjoy!
Friday, January 4, 2013
Thursday, January 3, 2013
DIY Mardi Gras Leather Mask
What you will need:
- Tracing paper/film
- Scrap paper
- A pencil
- A piece of 6oz. leather
- A bowl of water
- An exacto knife or leather scissors
- Acrylic paint
- Polyacrylic spray
Sketch out your own mask on a piece of scrap paper.
Trace one side of the sketch you made on tracing paper or film. Now fold the paper in half and copy what you just traced on the blank half of the paper. Confusing I know! You must do this because you want a symmetrical mask.
Now you can transfer your mask stencil onto a piece of 6oz. leather. Look for leather dealers locally or buy online for a deal.
Use an exacto knife or leather scissors to cut out the mask. Be extra careful with this, you don't want to cut yourself or make unnecessary cuts in your leather mask.
Soak your cut out mask in water for 1-2 minutes until you can easily mold it. Hold it up to your face for a perfect fit. Allow your mask to dry overnight.
Paint your mask with acrylic paints and decorate it with feathers and jewels. You can spray it with a polyacrylic spray to preserve your piece of wearable art.
DIY Beaded Fleur de Lis
This Fleur de Lis is the perfect Mardi Gras decoration. But since we live in New Orleans, we can get away with displaying it all year. Use it as an ornament for your front door or even as hanging artwork indoors. Follow the instructions below to make your own DIY Fleur de Lis.
What you will need:
- Foam core or cardboard
- Newspaper (and a lot of it)
- Box cutter
- Packing tape
- Clear drying glue
- Hot glue
- Mardi Gras beads (all the same shape/size)
Cut out a Fleur de Lis out of newspaper. Fold the newspaper in half so that it is symmetrical.
Trace the cut out newspaper onto foam core or cardboard (anything you have around the house)
Use a box cutter or exacto blade to cut it out.
Ball up newspaper and tape it to the cut out. You can ball up as much newspaper as you want to make more of a relief.
Now you can start gluing Mardi Gras beads onto your masterpiece. Use hot glue to adhere beads on all the edges. I like to use hot glue in the beginning because it dry quickly, although I would not use it for the whole project because it doesn't hold as well as other glues. You can use any clear drying glue to adhere the rest of the beads onto the fluer de lis.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
