Little Birdie Secrets

Showing posts with label paper. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

decoupage easter egg decor {tutorial}

I know, Easter is this week, but I haven't been able to find a second to put this tutorial together! These fun decoupage Easter eggs have been up on my mantel for a couple of weeks, but in between making and photographing them, my husband and I have been traveling (job interviews--we're in the home stretch!), attending school music programs and scouting banquets, trying to sneak in workouts outside on the trail while the weather is heavenly, and oh yeah, using up at least a couple of hours a day just staring at my little guy! Now that he is constantly smiling, giggling, and carrying on the sweetest conversations, I am getting even less done while the big boys are at school. But I am not going to apologize for that, even if I am not getting as much done as I should. It's the best part of my day, and I know how quickly this baby stage passes.

Luckily, these eggs are quick and easy to put together, so you still have time. I'm going to make up a few more for my Easter dinner table centerpiece!

Decoupage Easter Egg Tutorial

Supplies:
*Styrofoam eggs (I found these at JoAnn)
*Patterned papers (or fabric would work)
*Mod Podge or other decoupage medium (I used matte finish)
*Foam brush
*Ribbon, trim, buttons, pearl-head pins, etc.

I started this project similar to the way I did my decoupage bunny last week, but I ran into some problems with both the patterned paper and the Styrofoam eggs and had to tweak my technique. In order to preserve the paper and help it adhere more quickly to the Styrofoam egg, I brushed the Mod Podge directly onto the paper instead of onto the egg.

1. Tear strips of patterned paper about 1" wide. Cover the back of a strip with Mod Podge.

2. Place the strip on the egg and press down for a few seconds.

3. Flatten the paper by creating small wrinkles. Add another strip, slightly overlapping previous strip. Continue until entire egg is covered with paper.

4. Cover entire egg with a layer of Mod Podge. Smooth out paper and make sure it is completely adhered. Allow to dry.

5. Once your egg is dry, you're ready to decorate it with your trims, buttons, and other bling. I took a piece of ruffled ribbon (see tutorial here) and pressed a piece of double-sided craft tape down the middle.

Remove the tape's backing and press ribbon around the center of the egg.

For this egg I added a button in the middle of the ribbon.

This egg is decorated with a piece of ric rac held in place by pearl-head pins, pressed into the egg.

These eggs would be darling in a bowl as part of a centerpiece or on a wreath, but I wanted to hang them from my frame (that I also used for my Christmas and Valentine's decor!).

6. To hang eggs, cut a length of ribbon and align one end with the top center of an egg. Press a pin into it to secure. That's it!

I hung three eggs in the center of my open frame and added it to my spring mantel decor in my kitchen. I love how bright and cheery it makes the room look!

This post sponsored by First Century Studios.

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Thursday, March 29, 2012

spring & easter decoupage bunny decor {tutorial}

READ THE REST OF THIS POST -->>>» |

Since I started transforming my Valentine's mantel into an Easter / spring mantel, I've been looking at Easter decor items all over, but I haven't seen anything I love (at least not in my price range). After all, it's just going to be displayed for a few weeks! When I found this ceramic bunny at Target for $2.50, I thought, I can transform this little guy into the $20 bunny I saw last week. Easy.

Decoupage Bunny Tutorial

Supplies:
*Ceramic figurine (I used a rabbit, but this would also be darling on a spring chick!)
*Mod Podge or other decoupage medium (I used the matte finish)
*Foam brush
*Paper (I used book pages, but any lightweight patterned paper would work)

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Tuesday, January 3, 2012

star wars snowflakes {DIY}

Ok, I know by now I sound like a broken record, but holy cow I love Pinterest. Probably too much. I came across these DIY Star Wars Snowflakes the other day and knew it would be perfect for my boys! They are obsessed with anything Star Wars, and since it was Christmas vacation we were looking for some fun activities. It did get tricky at some points since the designs are so intricate, but my husband did those little cuts with an exacto knife and it all worked out great.

The great thing is that you can just download the PDF for whichever character you want so it is all ready to go for you! Once it is printed you cut the circle out.

After you have your circle cut out, you will need to fold on the lines in order to get it lined up for cutting through all the layers. For a detailed diagram on how to fold it, see HERE.

Then you start cutting the gray areas of the pattern out. Like I said, you might need an adult to do the exacto knife on the intricate parts.

When finished, carefully unfold the paper and...hello, storm trooper!

Or Darth Vader

Or Boba Fett

There are plenty of others you can download too! Pretty cool! My boys were in awe each time a snowflake was unfolded to reveal a character. I think it would be so neat to string a bunch of these together for a star wars snowflake garland! What a great party decoration!

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Tuesday, December 20, 2011

christmas card display board {tutorial}

Without any of my Christmas stuff with me here in Iowa City, I had to find a new way to display all the cute Christmas cards we've been getting! Last year I made this easy Christmas card hanger that I shared on Make and Takes, but I thought I'd try something new this year. Especially because I had this cute frame from the thrift shop just hanging out in my craft closet, begging to be re-purposed.

Christmas Card Display Board Tutorial

Supplies:

*Large frame, glass removed

*Spray paint (if you are re-doing your frame--or leave it as is!)

*Sheet music pages, book pages, or patterned paper

*Paper glue or spray adhesive

*Either use the original cardboard in the back of the frame, or find a piece large enough to fit in your frame. You could also add a piece of cork board instead.

*Optional: berry wreath and ribbon

*Pins

1. If your frame needs a little work, remove the glass and backing and spray paint. For a less-toxic option indoors during the winter, try Martha Stewart Crafts Spray Paint Kit and turn ordinary acrylic paint into spray paint! Distress with sandpaper if desired.

2. Cover the cardboard backing with paper using paper adhesive. I chose vintage sheet music.

3. Hang a berry wreath from the frame with a wide piece of ribbon. Replace the paper-covered cardboard in the back of the frame.

This makes a beautiful piece for a mantel, even without Christmas cards! You could even change the wreath and ribbon to something less-Christmasy and keep it up all year!

When you do start receiving cards, use a decorative pin to pin the cards to your cardboard. I had these leftover from a couple of years ago. I'm not sure if you can still find them, but they are from Making Memories. Even regular old pearl head sewing pins would be cute though!

Start pinning those cards for all to see!

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Thursday, December 8, 2011

foam christmas tree tutorial {paper covered}

My Christmas decor is coming along, which is good, because I need to start Christmas gifts now! I added a trio of foam cone Christmas trees to my Christmas subway art for my holiday table display. Here's how I made the first one, covered with paper punched circles, sequins, and straight pins! (And see the other tutorials here and here to complete the trio!)

Foam Cone Holiday Tree Tutorial - Paper Covered

Supplies:
*Various holiday patterned papers
*1.5" paper punch (or die cut)
*Foam cone (available in several sizes)
*Straight pins
*Loose sequins
*Candlestick holder
*Hot glue gun

1. Cut circles from various patterned papers. I needed about 65 1.5" circles to cover my medium-sized foam cone.

2. Starting at the bottom, pin circles around the edges with a sequin in the middle. Overlap slightly.

Slightly bend up the bottom of each circle.

3. Continue up the cone, overlapping each row over the row beneath it.

4. When you get to the top, use half circles to finish it off. Fold over any overlap over on top and pin down.

5. Take another paper circle and center on top of cone. Fold edges down like a little bottle cap.

Pin around the edges with pins and sequins.

6. Remember these candlestick holders? I spray painted a couple white and apply hot glue around the rim. . .

. . .then glued one to the bottom of the cone.

7. For a topper, I made of a couple of these 3-D paper stars and glittered them up with red glitter. Subsequently, I was once again prohibited from using glitter in the house. But it was worth it. I also painted a toothpick red.

Then I glued the toothpick to the back side of one star, then glued the two stars together.

And stuck it in the top of the tree. Voila!

There are two more tree tutorials to check out--see the ribbon version here and the fabric version here. Better get to JoAnn with those 40% off coupons!