DIY Crate and Barrell Spin Vase

This DIY cost almost nothing to make and the glossy see-through look makes the flowers look fresh.

I spotted this project on Dollar Store Crafts and the tutorial is on The Budget Decorator

Items I used were

• Empty clear glass jar 
• Hot Glue Gun & Glue Sticks (I used 3 1/2 sticks)

This is simple enough that an older child (with supervision) could make one and pick out some flowers to put it - the above bouquet was only $4 at our local Kroger.

You could use any clear glass container and a different shape could give it a more exotic looks, but I used an empty salsa jar with the label soaked off and then dried.  

I plugged in the glue gun and I started at the bottom of the jar about an inch up and held it in my left hand and the glue gun in my right and tilted it slightly on a desk and pressed the glue gun against the glass and pulled the trigger and started turning it applying the glue horizontally around the circumference of the jar until I got to the top.

Once the glue dried I finished applying the glue around the bottom of the jar and it was done.

After completing and seeing the results, I think it looks better where the glue was only lightly applied (at the bottom)  instead of more heavily (middle to the top).


Happy Crafting:)

Linking up to:

DIY Party at DIY Showoff

Bows 'N Tulle 20 Minute T-Shirt Refashion

 

I wanted to fancy up a t-shirt with a somewhat vintage feel and created this for $2 using only a pair of scissors - no sewing required!  (1st picture is bow tied onel second picture is bow tied twice).

Items used:

• T-shirt
• Roll of 6 inch wide tulle (Purchased at Dollar Tree $1 - found in the bridal section)
• Scissors
• Seam gauge or ruler
• 1 piece scrap paper
• Pencil or marking chalk
• Safety pin

At the neckline, measure and mark 1/2 inch below the binding and cut.








Using a piece of paper I folded a long triangle with the base being and inch and 1/2 wide and cut it out.  Place up against the bound end of the sleeve with the narrowest part at the top and the widest at the bottom and mark.






At the neckline, measure 3/4 of an inch down and mark all the way around.  Mark the center front and back on the shirt.  One inch from each mark will be where you want to start your 2 inch markings.

 From the 3/4 inch mark, measure two inches down and mark all the way around at two inch intervals.

On the sleeves, starting at the top of the sleeve, also measure 3/4 inch from the edge and mark, then measure two below that mark and mark on the sleeve at two inch intervals.

Make cuts where marked.  I found it easiest to fold the fabric in half on the line marked and begin the cut.  Repeats all the way around the neckline and on the sleeves.

For the neckline, I cut a piece approximately 2 1/2 yards of tulle and folded the bottom up 2 inches and the top down two inches and folded the end over and secured with a safety pin to make it easier to thread through the neckline.

Start threading two cuts below the right hand side on the t-shirt weaving in and out all the way around then tie into a bow.   Trim bow to the length you want.

On the sleeve,  start one cut down from the top and thread all the way around, tie a bow and cut ends to the length you want, repeat on the other sleeve.






This is for Day 22 for 30 Days of Creativity

PROJECT {DOLLAR STORE} ACCESSORY CHALLENGE - #2

Sorry for the late posting - had this done on Friday but not able to post it until today.

This week's PROJECT {DOLLAR STORE} ACCESSORY CHALLENGE - #2 was picking out a piece of jewelry and decorate a pair of shoes and create one other accessory to go with it to accessorize a little black dress.

I chose to decorate a pair of shoes that I already had and make a bracelet to go with it.  My total out of pocket for this challenge was around $2.50, which is for sparkly bead trimming ($1.99 @ 50% off) and scrapbooking diamond shaped rhinestones ($2.99 @ 50% off) both purchased at Hobby Lobby and I still have plenty left over.  The remaining items were from my stash and the round clear rhinestones were from a package of mixed rhinestone from the dollar store.

SHOES
The shoes started out a pair of sandals with a strap in the back and I used an X-acto knife to cut the back strap off on each side as close as I could and to make it look more blended colored the area that was cut with a black sharpie.

I next taped off the shoes with masking tape except for the very bottom of the heel and then spray painted it gold to tie in with the gold in the necklace and to give them a more expensive look.

For the glue on the shoes I used Amazing Goop as I have used it in other shoe projects and it has held up very well, but any strong clear glue would do.

I glued two small rhinestones on the side of each shoe with a diamond rhinestone in the middle.  On the back of each shoe I glued a larger rectangle.

I used one square of felt to line the inside of the sandals, first by outlining the shape of the shoe and then by trimming to fit before gluing down.


 The picture on the left is the shoes before and the center and right sides are the after. 

BRACELET

I started with a 1 liter Diet Coke bottle and used masking tape to mark off where I wanted to cut, used an X-acto knife to cut the strip, then wrapped the strip in black ribbon fastening on the inside with hot glue.

I glue a strip of the shiny beads down the center and then glued a dab of glue on the inside of the bracelet and then wrapped diagonally the shiny clear bead string and glued at the end.  I did the same with the gold cord and wrapped it in the opposite direction to create "X"s.

The picture on the left side is the before...it was part of a 1 liter plastic bottle of Diet Coke.  

Be sure to check out other creations by Project Dollar Store Accessory Challenge 2 here.

Happy crafting!

Project {Dollar Store} Accessory: Challenge #2 – …And a Little Black Dress

Today I am working on finishing my projects for Project {Dollar Store} Accessory: Challenge #2 and the above is my is the bling I chose to accessorize a little black dress, although in person the gold around the rhinestones is not as noticeable as it is in the picture. 

The challenge this week is to:

• Choose a favorite piece of jewelry from your collection and use it as inspiration for your challenge pieces.
• Create a pair of shoes and an accessory of your choice.  You don't have to make shoes from scratch, you can embellish or make over an existing pair of shoes (which is what I am doing).
• The shoes and other accessory should both work together with the inspiration piece, and will be paired with a little black dress.

It is still not too late for other to participate if they would like and  Dollar Store Crafts will be posting a linky to link up.  

Here is a link to the creations from last week if you would like to check them out.


Happy crafting!

PROJECT {DOLLAR STORE} ACCESSORY CHALLENGE - WEEK 1

As I posted yesterday here Dollar Store Crafts has a challenge to correspond with Project Accessory.   The challenge was to create a belt, a necklace and one other accessory to go with a white t-shirt and a pair of jeans based on items from a thrift store (or in my case, using the materials I found in my garage).

I decided I would go with sort of a car theme and for a busy Mom or babysitter on the go.  Sadly, just like on the show, I ran short on time and ended up sacrificing quality for just getting the job completed.  Doing this gave me a whole new appreciation for what shows with these sorts of competitions go through as they make it look fairly effortless.

THE PURSE

I will start with the third piece as I like how it turned out the best.  I used the license plate, the purse and the broken Hot Wheel.  I cut down the purse at the bottom and flattened it and cut off the straps and attached one of them to each end instead of the sides.  On one side I glued the license plate and added 4 brads for decoration and to help hold it on the bag.  On the back, there was an ugly spot where I removed the bow that had been on the purse, so I glued the broken Hot Wheel to cover it up, and it also gives the purse a different look depending on what side is facing outward.  I used velcro inside and glued it in to hold the purse closed.

THE SCARF/NECKLACE

I used the t-shirt to make the road and turned two of the cars into pins to use on the road.  

The other items used were thread, yellow fabric paint on the necklace and velcro, pin backs and E6000 glue on the cars.

For the cars I wanted to make it so the pin could be taken off the back and the car to still be used as a car.  The idea was to be able to take off the necklace and have it double a  race track to entertain a tot at Dr.'s office, visiting a relative, etc.  

If I had to it to do over, I would also use larger pin backs as I think it would lie down straighter when pinned, but I used what I had on hand.

THE BELT

The belt is made out of one of the straps and the snaps of of the purse and the wheel off of the model car.  The other components are thread, aluminum tape from the hardware store and E 6000 glue.

How to here.

Check out  Dollar Store Crafts to see what Heather and others have made.

Happy crafing:)

PROJECT {DOLLAR STORE} ACCESSORY CHALLENGE

 

I am late to the party, but one of the blogs that I follow,  Dollar Store Crafts posted a challenge based on the show "Project Accessory" where the first week the designers had to 15 minutes to grab stuff from a storage unit to create a necklace, a belt and one other accessory.  

Here are the rules:

"Our Challenge

• We will each start with a plain white tee and a pair of jeans, which we can alter if we wish.
• We will each create a necklace, a belt, and an accessory of our own choosing, and make them into one cohesive look.
• Since we don't have a storage unit to raid, we will go to the closest approximation we can:  the thrift store!  We get to pick one thrift  store and spend a maximum of $10 (before tax, since that varies from place to place).  No time limit on shopping, in case there are kids in tow...  You know how that goes!
• The contestants on the show had access to a wall of embellishments, so it's only fair that we get to dig into our own stashes.  Each item that we make for the challenge must be made up of at least 75% thrift store items and no more than %25 stash materials.
• The contestants had 2 days, but they also have no other responsibilities outside of the challenge.  Since we have lives to maintain, we get a week.  We'll post our creations for this challenge on Friday, November 4."

Everyone is welcome to play along with us as well!  Stop by next Friday and see what we made, and share your looks with us!"

As the deadline is tomorrow, I didn't have time to shop and raided my non-stash storage area, the garage where I seldom venture anymore.  I found the above items which I may or may not use on my project:  

• An old license plate
• Stained t-shirt that was going to be used as a car washing rag
• 3 Hot Wheels (one broken)
• Wheel off a scale model car 
• Purse I got from a free box at a garage sale a few years ago and never used and never got around to donating to Goodwill. 

I plan on spending $0 for this challenge.

If anyone wants to join in,  please do so and let Dollar Store Crafts know as well as myself as I would love to check out your creations!