DIY BFF Earrings

Best friends are forever, true blue and faithful to the end.  Why not show your BFF a little love with these super simple DIY BFF Earrings?  A little paper, some decoupage medium and twine turn craft store wooden hearts into two sided earrings that are sure to cheer your BFF up every time she wears them!  PLUS they're cute coming and going!  Avalon and I put our heads together here, she loves these muted colors and simple jewelry, I scaled back on my usual over the top size to make them easy and comfortable to wear every day.  These are perfect for a trend savvy teen.

DIY Cat Ear Headband

Last winter while visiting Urban Outfitters, Avalon and I were both smitten with a fabulous rhinestone accented cat ear headband.  Avalon liked it so much, she wanted to make one for herself.  We put our heads together to devise a way to make one using black felt, Tulip Glam-it-up crystals in black and a store bought headband.  A thick craft wire to give it some stiffness and some Aleene's Fashion adhesives helped to bring it all together.  

 

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How-to Make Fabric Bows

When Avalon started buying fabric bows last month, I chimed in with my mantra (insert eyeroll...here), "Why buy it, when we can make it ourselves?"  Yes, it's more fun than a barrel of glitter living with me.  Still, I persevered and Avalon agreed to humor me.  We grabbed some lovely fabric and proceeded to whip up a bevy of beautiful bows that could be used for all sorts of fun DIY projects.  Hair bows?  Check.  Shoe bows?  Check.  Bow ties?  Uh, check.  These are so easy to make and so adorable, you'll find it very addicting.  Plus, Aleene's Fabric Fusion Peel and Stick Tape means no waiting for glue to dry or burning your fingers on hot glue! What's not to love?

DIY Tiki Fabric Lampshade

Turn a tired old lampshade into a mid century modern inspired DIY Tiki Fabric Lampshade with this cheap and easy project!  We bought this lampshade at Ikea years and years ago.  Alas, it got a tear in it on our last move.  No worries, Aleene's Fabric Fusion made quick work of giving this sad old lampshade a much needed makeover.  Avalon is redesigning her room with a beach theme, I had this kitschy pin up boys fabric from a project in one of my books several years ago.  You can easily find Tiki or mid century inspired fabrics on the internet or at craft and fabric shops, bark cloth would be fabulous here!  Avalon and her Dad made this project while I was out of town on business and I have to say, they did a smash up job!  

DIY Glittered Body Art

Whenever I am at the boardwalk I see booths set up where you can get temporary glitter tattoos or other kinds of body art. As a little kid the thought of having glitter and butterflies all over my arms and face sounded rather delightful. Tulip’s body art is great because instead of paying someone for a one time tattoo you can get multiple stencils and colors that can be used time and time again. It is great for going to the beach, the pool, a party, or a sleepover with your friends. I have wanted to showcase Tulip Body Art in a tutorial for a long time now, so I hope you enjoy it and make some awesome designs of your own! 

 

What you need:

Tulip Body Art Kit:

Blue Glitter

Silver Glitter

Adhesive

Small brush

Large brush

Dragonfly Stencil

Body Crystals

Remove stencil from backing and adhere to skin.  Rub gently to make sure there are no air pockets.

Brush glue on open areas of stencil.  We left stencil on for the next step, you can opt to remove it according to instructions.

Dip brush into glitter and pounce/pat into stencil. A generous helping is good!  We used blue for the body, head and wing tips and silver for the inside of the wings.  You have to work quickly or the glue will dry. It is similar to eyelash adhesive.

Remove stencil.  Use larger brush to gently brush off any excess glitter.

Use tweezers, pliers or a crayon to pick up crystals.  Dip them into glue and gently adhere to eyes of dragonfly.  Add more if you like!

That's it!  These are so easy and fun!  I'm going to bring them to my next sleepover and share them with my BFF!  I really love them and best of all, I love that they last several days, but not forever.  

We'd love to see what you do with Tulip Body Art!  Visit us on Facebook and share your photos.  And visit my mom at DIY Doyenne for more fashion and style!

St. Paddy's Day Mason Jar Vase

iLoveToCreate Teen Crafts
St. Paddy's Day Mason Jar Vase
Avalon Potter

We love St. Patrick's Day around these parts, being of Irish descent.  Erin go bragh! Avalon wanted to make an Irish themed craft for St. Patrick's Day using a mason jar.  This mason jar vase is so simple to create and you can customize it however you like by cutting a different stencil, using different paint colors or adding a different message.  All you need is a mason jar, Crafty Chica Little Paints, a manilla folder, a tag, twine, Aleene's Tacky Dot Runner, a computer printer and a few coats of Aleene's Spray Acrylic Sealer.  In under an hour, you'll have a pretty vase for your favorite faux flowers.

Paint the outside of your jar white.  Two to three coats will be needed.  Let it dry completely before the next step.

Free hand draw a shamrock or find a permission free image online.  Ours is about 2" long and wide.

Use a craft knife and a cutting mat to cut your stencil out.

Use a Tulip pouncer to stencil green paint on front of jar.  Allow to dry.  (We liked the fuzzy edges, but you can, if you so choose, go back in with a small brush to clean the image.) Once paint is dry, spray 1-2 coats of Aleene's Spray Acrylic Sealer in matte finish.  Allow to dry.

Print text in green, using the KG Skinny Latte font at 28pts.  Cut text, use Aleene's Tacky Dot Runner to adhere to small kraft paper tag.

Use green and white baker's twine to attach tag to top of jar.

How to make Pretty Pastel Upcycled Can-tainers

 How to Make Pretty Pastel Upcycled Can-tainers

iLoveToCreate Teen Crafts

Avalon Potter

"Teen Crafted, Mom Approved"

When Avalon started saving tin cans for a project, I really wasn't sure what she had in mind.  But once I saw these super cute upcycled can-tainers, I was instantly smitten.  These pastel colors are easy to mix by combining your Crafty Chica Little paint colors with white.  Use Aleene's Tacky Glue to attach the matching baker's twine to the top of your painted area.  Add liners if you like, toss in your toothbrush, make up brushes, combs...whatever clutters your sink top or vanity.   Mess managed, adorably!

 

Remove labels and any leftover adhesive before starting.  Tape off section you wish to paint with blue painter's tape. 

 

Paint section with brush, one to two coats.  While paint is still tacky, remove tape and use a finger tip or cotton swab to gently remove any overlap.  Allow to dry.

 Add baker's twine in coordinating color to top of painted edge.  Run a thin line of Aleene's Tacky Glue underneath to secure twine.  Avalon added some tiny pennants to one can for fun. 

That's it!  How simply fabulous is that?

How to Make a Zig Zag Chevron Canvas

Learn how to make a super cute glittered Zig Zag Chevron Canvas in a few quick steps in this easy to follow tutorial from the talented Miss Avalon Potter for iLoveToCreate Teen Crafts!

You'll need a canvas, some scrap cardboard, painter's tape and a pencil to trace. Print a chevron pattern out for a guide, cut the cardboard, line it up and trace, then add tape. 

Mix up some Crafty Chica Little Chica Paints to make a soft yellow and turquoise blue. Paint on canvas in exposed areas with a Tulip paint pouncer. Let paint dry completely. 

Once paint is dry, remove tape. 

Apply a very thin bead of Aleene's Clear Gel Tacky Glue Paint Pen to top edge of stripes. Start with the yellow stripe adding gold Crafty Chica Goddess Gold chunky glitter to the top of the stripe. Allow this to dry completely before applying more glue and Crafty Chica Nova Blue chunky glitter to the top of the blue stripes. Allow to dry.  Make some coordinating canvases for a wall filled with pattern and color!  Here's a tutorial for the Op Art Decoupage canvas shown above!

iLovetoCreate Teen Crafts: Toiletry Organizer Cabinet

iLoveToCreate Teen Crafts
Toiletry Organizer Cabinet
Avalon (and Andrew) Potter

Avalon and her dad had to make this week's project for iLovetoCreate because Mom was at the Southern Women's Show.  They did a terrific job with this handy dandy bathroom organizer which makes a stylish storage solution!  This is easy to hang on the wall above the toilet or by the sink.  Av's plan is to put hair bands, cotton balls and bobby pins in the jars and keep some of her toiletries in the shelf unit.  They sell these little cabinets in the wood section of the craft stores and the jars can be found in neighboring aisles.  This is a great way to clear sink space and keep organized.  Teen girls require a fair amount of beauty supplies, as do their moms who could also benefit from a shelf like this!  Using Tulip stencils allowed them to add initials and the pouncers make quick and pretty work of the polka dots.

Materials

Jars and Cabinet

Materials and Tools
Small wooden cabinet with glass doors
3 small glass jars with metal screw tops
Crafty Chica Little Chica Paints in white and blue
Tulip Sticky Fabric letter stencil or Tulip Multi-Surface Stencils
Tulip Sponge Pouncer
Tulip Fashion Glitter gold
Tulip Soft Fabric Paint gold
Aleene's Super Gel Instant Adhesive

Tape glass, paint cabinet.

Pounce white dots.

Attach stencils to glass.

Stencil gold paint with pouncer.

Sprinkle glitter on paint, tap off excess.

Glue lids to bottom of cabinet.

 

iLoveToCreate: Tres Chic Cupcake Toppers

Avalon and I decided to throw an intimate soiree for #TeamPotter on last night's Craft Wars episode.  Friends and family all live far away, so we just made our own little party with Avalon's best friend and the three of us.  Av had a project due today for iLoveToCreate and I've been playing with my logo and we decided that cupcakes and decorations were in order.  So we made these super cute, super simple cupcake toppers.  You can make your own using permission free fashion images or photos or anything you like!  Aleene's dry adhesives made it easy and fun and we love how these turned out.  I think I may have to make some jewelry out of these!  Tune in next Monday and I'll share how I made the cupcake stand topper with the ruffled lace technique and talk about quick and easy ways to personalize your parties.

Materials
Toile/Damask scrapbook papers in coordinating prints
Black and white fashion image printed to fit in a 2" punch
Large wooden or plastic party picks
Flat back plastic rhinestones
Aleene's Tacky Tape Runner
Aleene's Tacky Dot Roll 1/2"

Tools
Fiskars shape cutter and circle templates (2/5" circle)
Fiskars 2" circle punch