Easy Glittered Flower Bouquet

I've got to be honest. I feel kind of like a cheat for sharing this as a big tutorial. And the thing is, I totally wasn't going to. This is something I did for myself. But I had so many people say "how did you do that?" that I figured it would make a great tutorial :) So today I'm sharing one of my favorite ways to fancy up my home and centerpieces when I have guests coming over.

DIY Dipped Glitter Vase

While I enjoy intricate crafting, it's also really fun to find a simple project you can create in a few minutes.  This dipped glitter vase can be made in about five minutes.  It would make a great wedding centerpiece or just a pretty decoration at home.

To Create This Project You Will Need:

- a glass vase

- Tulip fashion glitter in the color of your choice

- Aleene's Fast Grab Tacky Spray

- Aleene's Spray On Glitter Sealer

To begin, I taped off the vase with paper about 1/3 of the way up.  I headed outside and sprayed the bottom of the vase with Aleene's Fast Grab Tacky Spray.  

I poured the glitter onto the bottom of the vase.

After enough pouring, the glitter starts to accumulate on the paper and you can roll the vase in it as well.  That makes it easier to really get the glitter pushed on tightly.

 Once the glitter is on you can protect it with Aleene's Spray On Glitter Sealer.  

Then simply remove the paper.

 Now you have a one-of-a-kind vase with some extra glam.

A Christmasaurus Centerpiece for the Kids Table

My daughter's favorite Christmas book this year is called Merry Christmas Stinky Face by Lisa McCourt. We read it daily even though we have 20+ books about the holidays currently floating around. In the book the worried little child asks his mother question after question including one about a Christmasaurus.

After a trip to the Blue Genie Christmas Bazaar where I made a couple of purchases from a vendor by the name of Plaid Pigeon an idea was born. Today for I Love to Create I'm going to show you how to make a quick and fun centerpiece for the kids table. Usually kids dream of the day they will be upgraded to sitting with the adults, but with a Christmasaurus as the centerpiece they are never going to want to leave.

SUPPLIES

Plastic dinosaur

Crafty Chica Paint red

Scissors

Scribbles Paint in green

Small bottle brush tree

Aleene's Tacky Glue

Paint brush

Pom Poms

Small Ornaments

Glue gun

When your kids are not looking steal the plastic dinosaur toy that has been floating at the bottom of the toy box untouched for months. Using scissors or a knife cut a small hole in his back. It does not matter if the hole is rough looking the tree will cover it.

Once you have your hole paint your dinosaur. Mine needed two coats of red paint. Allow to dry completely in-between coats. Next go in an embellish with polka dots. I used Scribbles paint because I wanted shiny puffy spots.

When your polka dots are dry shove the base of your tree in the hole and adjust. From here squirt a whole bunch of Aleene's Tacky Glue inside to hold in place.

Decorate the tree with what you have on hand. In my case it was some pom poms I stole from my kid's craft pile and some tiny rogue ornaments that never made it on one of my 38 Christmas trees. I used a hot glue gun to attach. All that is left to do is display your new Christmasaurus.

Brooch Bouquet Topiary

I have a large collection of pins that don't do much of anything except collect dust.  Recently I was inspired by some adorable bridal bouquets I saw on the Amy Atlas blog and thought there has to be a more creative way to display my collection.  Out of the jewelry box and onto the dining room table is what today's I Love to Create post is about.

SUPPLIES

Craft Moss

Tulip Sponge Pouncers

Terra Cotta Pot

Liquid Fusion Glue

Collection of Pins

Crafty Chica Little Chica Paint Pack

Foam Topiary

Tulip Sponge Brushes

Floral Pins

Foam topiary bases come in various sizes and shapes.  I chose a double stacked model since I have a lot of pins.  I found mine in the floral department of my local craft store.  As you might guess they come pretty plain looking, so I needed to fix that.  I used Crafty Chica paint in green to cover the wooden poll in-between the foam balls.

Once my green poll was dry I started inserting my collection of vintage pins into the foam.  Occasionally I used floral pins to help really anchor things down.  I could have used glue, but there is that off chance that I might want to wear one of these pins again some day.

I'm a big fan of using oddball objects as planters, but the base of this topiary was made to fit inside a terra cotta pot.  A plain brown pot was not a fitting home for my colorful collection of pins so I busted out the Crafty Chica Paint.

I needed to hide that icky green foam so a little Liquid Fusion Glue and some moss fixed that right up.

Once my pot was dry I placed my topiary inside.  Now I have a colorful floral display that shows off my collection way better than any jewelry box and the best part is it never needs watering.  Do you have a slew of pins?  Got any other fun suggestions about how to display them?

Looking for some other fun ways to display your collections?  What about wearing them?

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Terrifying Topiary & Keepsake Ornament

This week I have been chatting about creating the perfect Halloween themed table. Whether you are having a Halloween party or maybe just a few people over for dinner there is no reason not to set the mood with a festive centerpiece - and the mood is easier to create than you might think.

SUPPLIES
Vessel (I used a witches boot)
Florist Foam
Crafty Chica Paint Pack
Scraggly Branch
Small Embroidery Hoop
Decorative Paper
Aleene's Tacky Glue
June Tailor Printer Fabric
Embroidery Floss
Decorative Ribbon
Embroidery Needle
Scissors
Small Christmas Ornaments
Paint Brush


First things first you are going to need the perfect creepy branch. This was a harder task than I had envisioned. It was even brush pick up week in the neighborhood so everyone had their trees trimmed, but none of the branches I spied on my walks were quiet right. Luckily the fam and I took a stroll to a local park where I found the perfect dead branch.


Your other quest for this project is finding the right vessel. I discovered my giant witch's boot at TJ Maxx. You are going to need florist foam to stuff inside your vessel and hold your branch in place. You are also going to need to paint your branch black with Crafty Chica paint for the full creepy effect.


I was pleased as punch with the centerpiece at my party! I found some small Christmas ornaments in black, silver and lime green at Hobby Lobby and decked the halls. This week however I had an epiphany. People make keepsake Christmas ornaments, why not make one for Halloween?


This year for Halloween Chris and Tallulah had a group costume. Chris was Gallagher, complete with Sledge-o-Matic and Tallulah was a squashed watermelon. I printed a picture of them up on fabric that goes through your printer. I wrote 2010 in pen on the fabric so I could embroider the year.


Using the wee-est of all wee embroidery hoops I could find I stretched my fabric and embroidered my 2010 using a simple back stitch.


After I was done embroidering I removed my photograph and set it to the side. Using Crafty Chica Paint in black I painted my wooden embroidery hoop. After the paint dried I trimmed the edge of the hoop with decorative ribbon using Aleene's Tacky Glue.


I made a back for my ornament using decorative paper and black craft felt. I attached a loop of ribbon so that I could hang my ornament from the tree.


Now all I need to do is make an ornament with a picture from Halloween 2009 and the tradition has begun!


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