Butterflies Under Glass

I love going to the Museum of Natural History in New York and looking at all of the bugs and butterflies behind glass.  OK, big fan of the Wooly Mammoths too, but I couldn't figure out a way to put one of those under glass.  I've seen similar versions of these glass encased butterflies selling for some serious cash, so I decided to make my own for The Big Ass Book of Home Decor (Abrams 2010).  Check out your local craft stores for hand painted feather butterflies.  For a twist on this, you might want to have the kids paint butterflies and switch them out for the ones I used.

One of my early versions

Some of my latest 

Watch the quick video!

(Don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel)

STUFF YOU'LL NEED

1 -2 packages of different sized feather butterflies

Hot glue and glue gun

Twigs from your yard

Glass Vase

Glass Candle Plate (make sure the candle plate covers the mouth of the glass vase)

2"x2" or 3"x3" wood blocks

Drill with 1/4" drill bit

HERE'S HOW

1. Drill a hole in our 2" x 2" piece of wood so that a twig can fit into the hole

2. Insert your twig and hold it in place with some hot glue or E-6000

3.  Measure the inside of the vase and cut your twigs to size so that the twigs fit inside of the vase when it's upside down

4. Carefully glue the butterflies in place on the twigs

5. Keep putting the vase (upside down) over the twigs with the butterflies to make sure that you have enough room inside

6.  When you're done gluing all of the butterflies on the twigs, cover and glue the vase to the candle plate to keep it from shifting around

For (over) 100 more projects, grab a copy of

THE BIG ASS BOOK OF HOME DECOR!

"Forking" over ideas today and "spoon" you'll be inspired!

Simple silverware takes on a whole new role these days as just another ingredient in our DIY kitchens! Take a look at these ideas from around the world and web!

Runningblonde.com had this cute idea for customizing disposable silverware.  This is a great idea for a party!

http://runningblonde.com/2012/06/27/glitter-silverware-diy/

Loveology featured this fantastic set of curtains!  How about that for eating in the living room?

http://mila-loveology.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2011-05-19T08%3A07%3A00%2B02%3A00&max-results=10

Why not print some out on old book pages and then frame them up? 

Pretty easy project to do! 

This framed red silverware is easy to make and really charming! 

http://www.crapivemade.com/2010/06/kitchen-art.html

Or cut them out of plywood like this..........GREAT IDEA!

http://californiacallahans.blogspot.com/2011/02/silverware-silhouettes.html

JJEvensonArt makes these terrific coat racks (or key holders)

http://www.etsy.com/shop/jjevensen?ref=seller_info&atr_uid=0

Here's a set from the Graphics Fairy that you can print out yourself!

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYWp24wZCpJLOO12pZ3XVK9leFb6QgY3l15NV8bqzJ5_CZq6leHkTHhpePTyEYBBQ8bwutiwp6rR8ps85x27ReHA-DPuNIqn6TSWDvwBNOFeIg_j_-3VzfRP5FcCnJhannrFMZe0e8Ur2b/s1600/knifeforkspoon-graphicsfairy.jpg

Kirklands.com sells this clock, but I'll be you can make it by taking apart a 99c store wall clock and giving the face a makeover?  Hm.....is that a crafty challenge I smell cooking?

Dollar Store Pendant Lamp.....

Head to the dollar store and grab two matching colorful bowls (almost any style will work) and you're half way there to creating this beautiful hanging pendant lamp! 

For this project I used an eco friendly bulb and insist that you do the same. Regular bulbs give off too much heat and WILL melt the plastic where eco friendly bulbs are perfect for this kind of project.

Also, here is a link to a good cord and socket set!

Cord and socket set 

Here's the how-to video.

Use any kind of bowl.

Here's what you'll need

Make sure to subscribe to my youtube channel!

Make sure to grab a copy of THE BIG ASS BOOK OF HOME DECOR!

Instagram Smash Book!

Not long ago I was hanging out with my friend Cindy Shepard.  Awesomely creative woman who has wonderful energy. She showed me how to use old envelopes to create Smash Books.  I was blown away.  Here is my version of her wonderful inspiration.  Enjoy!

Make your cover from cardboard. Any size you want!

 Cut open your junk mail.  Leave the windows!

 Paint the pages all different colors

Stamp them when they are dry

 Add some color with crayons!  Yes, CRAYONS!

 Stitch about 5 pages together

 Fold the pages on the stitches and glue them in the binding of the book

Print out your Instagram photos

Glue them inside the book

Make sure to grab a copy of Cindy's book

Stash-&-Smash!

For more recycling projects, grab

Pulp Fiction Perfect Paper Projects!

Seeing Stars Table Top Decor

If you're going to decorate for the 4th of July, this is the weekend!  I've come up with some simple and beautiful table top decor that is perfect for the occasion.

Personally, I love stars and could use this all year long.

The great thing about it is that you can see the table cloth through the stars so your dishes

always match your table scape.
Learn how at The Denver Post.com

Check out the how-to Youtube video!

For projects similar to this grab a copy of 

The Big Ass Book of Home Decor

Have a great 4th of July!

She Crafts, He Crafts.......

Hey folks! Time for another version of HE CRAFTS/SHE CRAFTS with my friend Stephenie Hamen from www.MyCraftyAdventures.com.  For this project we both tackled a small chalkboard.  She's obsessed with chalkboards and chalkboard paint lately! FYI, Steph threw me a curveball and dismantled hers and didn't use the frame it came with at all.  NOW THAT IS CLEVER and I take my hat off to her!   Here is my "He Crafts" version of the chalkboard.  I've linked to Stephenie's blog so that you can see how she made her version. Stop by her blog and say hello, OK. WWW.MYCRAFTYADVENTURES.COM  She's a good friend and I adore her.

Did I forget to mention that if you LEAVE A COMMENT FOR US we will pick a winner, send them a box plus a bunch of goodies so that you can create your own?!?!

I decided to go old school and paint slanted stripes on my board.  I kicked it up a notch by adding magnets to the back so I could stick it to my fridge.  I tossed in some painted wood clothespins (my latest obsession) and glued magnets on them so that I could clip notes, coupons and photos.

This is Stephenie's chalk board which is lovely....and very feminine. You rocked it Stephenie!

To make mine, 

here's what you'll need:

1 chalkboard with frame

Several colors of acrylic paint

Ruler

Pencil 

Flat brushes

Glue on magnets

E-6000

Several wood clothespins

 Draw your lines in random widths at a slant on your frame.

 Carefully fill in the lines with your paints

Let your chalkboard dry.

 Paint your clothespins to match and let dry.

Glue magnets on the back of the board and on one side of the clothespins using E-6000

Are you SHOE it's made of paper?

Beautiful paper shoes from around the world and web.  These look fun to make.  So inspiring, don't you think? 

Bo Bunny's Gypsy Collection

Terrific mixed media project that would be the most amazing gift (and card) all in one! 

Colin Lin is a Taiwanese designer and these shoes are not only beautiful, but wearable!  They are woven newspaper coated in plastic.

Isabell Buenz is a wonderful paper artist and I think these shoes are magical.

Jennifer Collier makes tons of different paper shoes and they are ALL wonderful.  I enjoy her work so much and she's worth a Google! 

Naomi Bardoff has a terrific sense of color and she creates more than just shoes.  She's wonderful at using even her tiniest scraps for beautiful projects like these.

Roderick Pieters has managed to create a pair of shoes that actually look like they could be walking down a runway.  Not only are they super stylish, but something about his designs makes you actually want to put them on and walk around in them.

Another Jennifer Collier shoe design. Elegant.......

I saw these on Paper and Pippette and thought they rocked.  It's a paper shoe that my older niece (who loves to craft) would want to make.  Heck, if these were in printed leather I would wear them!

Make sure to grab a copy of Pulp Fiction Perfect Paper Projects 2nd Edition.

New projects and a whole new layout!