DIY: Jar of Luck!

I like the idea of a jar of luck don't you? I was inspired after seeing this print by golly bard to create a real life one or two.  I'm planning to have one hang around our kitchen this spring to spread some good vibes here and there and also to give one away to an Irish friend of ours for St. Patrick's Day this weekend! The set up is pretty simple (like most terrariums), but if you'd like to check out how I made mine, see the how-to below!

Materials

a medium or large jar (hot sauce or pickle jars work well) -mine was 3.5 litres

pebbles

charcoal chips

soil

sheet moss

Jar or Luck print by golly bard

How-to
Clean jar (remove label if needed) and add the first layer - pebbles. Top that layer with charcoal (to filter), cover with dry moss (to prevent the soil from falling through) - if the moss is dry, wet and squeeze out excess water (this is about all the moisture you'll need), add soil, create a mini hole for the shamrock, and then fill around with soil and press to secure it. Top with another layer of moss. And you're done!

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DIY Stamped Wrapper Paper

Contributor post by Chelsea of Lovely Indeed

Happy holidays, pals! Hope you're having fun decking halls and all that jazz. I'm in wrapping mode, and I really wanted to put the ol' DIY treatment on my giftwrap this year. If you want to do the same and create some awesome, hand-stamped paper, grab your materials. You'll need:

• roll of kraft paper
• a stamp block for carving (I used this one)
• printer and ink
• iron
• carving tools and scissors
• wood block
• strong glue
• stamp pad

First, decide on a design for your stamp. If you love the stag silhouette that I made, you can download it here. Print out your design and put it face down on the stamp block. Iron it with a low heat for a few seconds. Peel away the paper and the design should remain on your block.

CONTINUE READING...

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Weekend Project: Winter Scene Mason Jars

Guest post by Leanna Maksymiuk



We invited Leanna Maksymiuk to show us how how she made that adorable winter scene mason jar we all noticed in our post on Spruce's Holiday Display recently. She kindly accepted and so we thought it would be a fun weekend project idea.  They don't take too long to make, and so fun! I want to make a stack of them (like above)!  Also visit Leanna's Etsy shop Hello Fletcher where she makes some stunning fabric bracelets and necklaces (I love them)! Stay tuned for her new blog coming soon where you can keep up to date on her classes she will be giving at Spruce along with her DIYs and Etsy shop! Thanks Leanna. ~ Jan

Guest post by Leanna Maksymiuk

I have wanted to do a tutorial for so long! at last I have found a simple yet effective Christmas craft that I want to share. It is super simple and if you want to make a few they are reasonably cheap!

Step 1: My bristle brush trees had a ugly white plastic base that I didn't want on top of my car. So I pulled it off and rolled up a little piece of brown felt to make the tree trunk and secured it with hot glue.

CONTINUE READING...

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DIY: Advent in a Jar

Contributor post by Penelope and Pip

There are so many beautiful advent calendar ideas being pinned at the moment we couldn't resist adding our own little idea to the mix.

Enter the "Advent in a Jar" which also doubles as a lovely Christmas garland to hang on your tree. That's a double advent calendar whammy! Hooray!

If you're like me and a bit short of space to hang an advent calendar then this is the perfect DIY for you.

CONTINUE READING...

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DIY: Papercute Thanksgiving Garland

Contributor post by Penelope and Pip.

With the American Thanksgiving only a couple of days away, this five minute project will have you sorted for decorations in no time!

I spotted a gorgeous new font just released in the last couple of weeks called Papercute by French font foundry La Goupil and of course my garland making dreams were suddenly filled with paper cut inspired ideas.

Let me tell you, this sure beats drawing the letters yourself!

I made this in 15 minutes before I headed off to the studio this morning so I promise it is the perfect last minute Thanksgiving DIY.

Firstly, the materials:

Materials:

1. Papercute font (it's only $7! Or you could do it the old fashioned way by hand)
2. Scissors
3. Felt scraps
4. Dressmaking pins
5. Bias Binding
6. Sew machine or needle and thread
7. Ruler (optional)

 

 Step 1: Print out your letters (I did two to an A4 sized page).

 

Step 2: Roughly trim around them and pin them onto your felt and cut each letter out.

This font is so easy to use as it requires no precision cutting to look great.

 

When you've finished cutting you will have all of these beautiful, colourful letters ready to sew.

 

Step 3:  Pin your letters onto your bias binding.

You could use a ruler here to make sure they are the same distance apart. I freestyled it and the garland turned out fine.

This is where it pays to pin them all first. I didn't and I missed a letter when I was sewing them. Luckily, I realised straight away and quickly unpicked it. Phew!

 

 Step 4: Sew your letters onto your binding and you're done!

A cute and colourful alternative to the traditional Thanksgiving decorations. Hang with washi tape and maybe even keep it up all year round.

Hope you have a great American Thanksgiving day!

--
Rachael is an illustrator from Brisbane, Australia and is the creator of the whimsical world of Penelope and Pip. You can sneak a peek at her art prints and other pretty paper goods and see what other projects and adventures are inspiring her on her blog too.

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Weekend Project: Origami Ornament

Holi-DIY nite at Anthropologie

We had a fun crafty evening last nite at Anthropologie for our Holi-DIY event –it was so fun to finally meet many of you and some new friends too!  I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's projects! A huge thanks to Beaucoup Bakery for providing the tasty treats! Yum!

For those who missed out we have a fun DIY today using one of the same designs we used last night inspired by Rob of saltlabs.  Her DIY from last year on Poppytalk was so much fun we invited her to join us again sharing a new version of the origami balloon to make a tree ornament (this time with a constellation twist). Make a tree ornament, a garland or a string of lights (like we did last night)! So many different ways you can use this design.

And then stay tuned - for next week we'll also be posting another DIY from our other ornament we made last nite - it's a little tricky so we need to show you via video.  In the meantime - Rob's tree ornament which includes not only downloadable instructions but also a printable constellation map paper you can use to make it, is inspired by her stunning pillows she sells in her shop here and at our market this month at Poppytalk Handmade.  (Thanks Rob)!
~Jan

Guest post DIY origami ornament by saltlabs

Origami offers so many wonderful shapes for creating unique ornaments. Check out Bloomize’s origami tutorial for the many-shaped stars you can make for your own galaxy-festooned christmas tree. You can also take your creation a step further –personalizing your ornament by using customized paper. Follow my globe-garland DIY for creating a ballon origami – but switch out the paper and use NASA-inspired nebula or galaxy images. NASA offers an easy, three-step process for downloading images from their collection of eye-popping, galactic photos and computer renderings.

There’s a general fascination with our heavens these days. Astronomy has never been this cool since the days of the lunar landing. In that spirit, go forth and explore the universe in all its wonder (via the NASA gallery) and bring home a cluster of origami stars and orbits to illuminate your holiday festivities this season.

Helpful suggestions:

Download the copyright-free constellation image PDF HERE. It’s been sized as a 6-inch square, a perfect origami paper size for the ballon ornament.

Or choose from the NASA gallery. “Infant Stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud” (the very last image at the bottom of the page) is a good representation. Download the 8x10 image size in order to cut a 6” x 6” origami paper.

Galaxy images might use a large amount of ink if printing on a home computer. If you plan to make a garland, you might consider printing at your local photo or print store.

Choose the lightest weight paper available when printing to make the origami folding easier.

Follow the simple instructions of the balloon origami quick guide below and download the PDF HERE for future reference.

A picture of the string of lights garland Poppytalk made for Anthropologie's Holi-DIY event

Copyright-free constellation image PDF HERE.
Balloon origami quick guide below and download the PDF HERE

Visit saltlabs online -
salt-labs.com
saltlabs.bigcartel.com
Poppytalk Handmade.

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DIY Shipping Tag Advent Calendar

Guest post by Marisa of Omiyage

I love Advent – a little bit of Christmas joy every day in December helps to keep the season alive during the busiest of days. This Advent calendar is for those of you who prefer to mark these days with a festive experience rather than a sweet treat / trinket.

I came across this tutorial for printing on tags over on Design Editor and knew it was the perfect technique to use for an Advent calendar! No need for fancy graphic design skills here – these tags were created in a regular old Word document.

Materials:
24 x shipping tags
baker’s twine
24 x mini wooden clips

Tools needed:
printer
tape (I used washi tape)
standard printer paper

Here’s how:

Prepare a tag template as per the instructions found here. You basically measure your tags and create a box for each tag using those measurements. Print out the template and use repositionable tape to stick the tags to the template.

Type the numbers 1-24 into the text boxes in your Word file. I used Numberpile by Typodermic Fonts. Play with positioning and sizing until you are happy. Print onto tags.

TIP: If you created your tag template in Word, ensure that you make the outer line of the text box invisible before printing or the lines of the text box will print onto your tags. Not so pretty!

Flip the tags over, restick onto the template and print your 24 activities onto the backsides of the tags. The great part about creating your own Advent calendar is that you can choose activities that match your family’s interests.

Use the mini wooden clips to attach the tags to your length of twine. Hang, admire and enjoy!

Here are some Advent ideas to get you started:

• Watch a Christmas movie.
• Make paper snowflakes.
• Decorate a gingerbread house.
• Go ice skating.
• Put up the Christmas tree.
• Turn on the outside lights.
• Drink peppermint hot chocolate.
• Bake Christmas cookies.

Still on the hunt for the perfect DIY Advent Calendar? You can find more here, here and here!

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