Monday, November 22, 2010

Red& Green birthday cake table decor









Ok...Please ignore the bad lighting... I wanted to share with you a simple cake table decor I whipped up for a family birthday party the other day, using papers. Super easy and quick projects. I used transparent nylon thread (0.4mm) to hang the pompoms and daisies, which I inter-spaced with sequins, threaded on a glittery DMC thread. And save for the tissue paper, I had everything else on hand already!

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Budget Party Decor: Decorating with paper

Paper can be fun, festive and ...cheap. Anyhow, paper is better than rubber(did you hear helium balloons' days are counted?) and low maintenance compared to fresh flowers. I love how people are using it more and more. Only google 'Decorating with paper' or 'DIY wedding' to see lots of amazing decor. I've rounded up a few ideas of how you can use paper for a party decor.

...Lighted Paper lanterns...
...Crafty Paper lanterns...
Via Living on the crafty side of life

...Paper Garlands...

...Paper Daisies...

... Paper Bunting...

...Paper Pom-poms...

Make pom-poms using Martha's tutorial.

...Paper Snow Flakes...

Wiki How has a good tutorial on how to make a 3D snow flake (It's easier than you think!).

I can also think of paper flowers, butterflies, papier mache, pinatas... a whole lot of other possibilities. Heck, paper cutting is an ART. So is paper folding.

Previous posts on using paper as decor here, here and here.

Monday, November 1, 2010

DIY: Basic Cubic Ottoman from wooden crate


.: Ottoman After:.

.:Crate Before:.

Materials needed:
-Wooden Crate (Any dimension)
-Piece of Plywood (Saw a piece of 1/4 inch plywood to cover up the crate if it has an open side)
-Glue (All-purpose is ok)
-Felt (Thick enough for padding the sides)
-2 inch foam (The kind for padding sofas, to make the "seat") I also padded the bottom side with 1/4 inch foam (I used a kitchen knife to cut the foam & scissors to cut the felt)
-Staples, Nails (Let's say I want a staple gun for christmas)
-Fabric (Sofa quality, but thick curtain fabric should do), Matching Thread.

I won't talk about dimensions, since it entirely depends on the type of crate you can lay your hands on!

Step 1: Close up the crate by nailing the plywood. Step 2: Measure& cut the foam and felt for each side

Step 3: Glue the padding materials. A small amount is enough



From here on, it seems like I'm missing a few photos (oops!). Step 4: Sew a cover, but making sure the sides are slightly longer than the actual height of the ottoman, so you can tuck the excess fabric under and staple it in place. Step 5: To make the bottom side, you can go lazy easy like me and simply sew a square piece of fabric and glue it. Or go with a suggestion I had [oh yeah, this ottoman gave way to an animated discussion on the design, the making of, the choice of color, the... pretty much anything! It was a Freakin I’m not doing another project with you again fun family DIY=)], which was to make use of rubber strips to make "legs" for the ottoman.


We've been enjoying this ottoman very much at home, especially on movie nights. And talks of making a second one might or might not have been heard...If any family member is reading this, you know who you are, YOU can add the piping, the tufting, the legs...

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Before/After: Footstool & Hamper

Hamper before

Footstool before

After

 Three layers of white acrylic paint and a new fabric later, voilàaa.

Also, I'd like to say thank you to Astrid of Grandma's Red Needle for the lovely award she sent my way! Go read about the adventures of a Norwegian woman in tropical Mauritius, it's so much fun:D & of course, check out her amazing quilts.



The rules say that I am supposed to say something about me, that you don't already know, then pass the award along to others. Let's go back to high school. hehe. Back then (graduated in 2003), I was way more into science that into art. I had no idea how embracing your creative side was something that could be so fulfilling!

Ok, I know it said pass along to others, but I'd like any of you crafty bloggers to grab the award. And to link back so I can visit you:)

Monday, October 4, 2010

Door stopper changes clothes


.:Door Stopper Before:.


.:Door Stopper After:.

I have had a sack of sand that serves me as a door stopper for ever and much like throw pillows, it changes dress often. For now it's burlap and stenciled LiveYourStyle, sewed as a pillow-case. I painted it with Fevicryl acrylic colors for fabric. A custom mix grey. The stencil was bought at Mr Bricolage, I was too lazy to go make my own. The burlap is actually from a re-purposed gift bag. The first few letters are kinda smudged, coz I made the rookie mistake of using too much paint on my brush. It really is better to "layer on paint" from a dry brush. By the way, just like whitewashing, stenciling is way too addictive. You get crazy ideas to stencil everything.