I Made That! - Christmas Edition

This holiday I got an idea to make a Christmas wreath out of hand prints. I thought this would be a great gift from Ava to give her Mommy & Daddy. It would be hand made (get it, HAND made) and it would show how small her hands are at this age.

I came across a kraft paper made Magnolia wreath for Christmas on this blog and thought using Ava's hands would be perfect :)

When I saw Ava for my Birthday, I traced her hands, both left and right, on a piece of white paper.

When I got home, I traced them with a black marker, cut them out, traced the cut outs to get 2 more, and put 2 of each onto a second white piece of paper. I scanned them on my printer and printed them on green paper. Looking back I could have skipped that step by tracing her hands twice on one sheet of paper, tracing all 4 with a marker and scanning that piece of paper to be printed on green paper.

I was kind of bummed that these were the only two shades of green printing paper available, I didn't feel like they were very Christmas-y, but I LOVE the end result. I also had to buy them in a rainbow pack of neon coloured paper, so now we have to think of some more crafts to do :)

Next up I needed to get some cardboard to cut out the wreath back. Luckily we bought our Christmas tree this year and I didn't need to keep the box. I used some large mixing bowls and cut out as many wreath backs as I could get out of the cardboard. You just never know when you are going to need some giant cardboard circles!

This next step is important, you will need to paint the cardboard green so that none of the brown shows through the hand prints. Don't forget the inside and outside of the wreath where the cardboard is corrugated, because this might be seen from the side when the wreath is hanging or reflecting off a mirror.

It will take a few coats to cover the cardboard because it is going to suck up the paint. Just keep coating it until it is covered well. I just used the craft paint from the dollar store and one of those sponge brushes they sell in a 5 pack.

Once all those little hands are cut out (its going to take awhile so ask your boyfriend to help you while you watch the Football game!) you can start gluing them to the painted cardboard wreath, I just used white school glue. I was trying to alternate each colour on the inside and outside but once you add and add and add it isn't going to matter. Let each row dry before you start the next so the hands don't all move around on you.






















Eventually your wreath will look like this. See what I mean about all the hands and the alternating colours? I folded some hands up as well so the wreath wasn't so flat. I bought these string beads to cut and glue randomly around the wreath to look like Holly, but when I was done I needed them to cover where the inside and outside hands met. The string went around two and a half times so I needed to cut it, and of course the beads went flying all over the kitchen floor. I just went around with the glue gun and made sure to put a lot of glue on the end of the string so they wouldn't fall off.

I picked up this ribbon from the Dollar store. I thought its bright colours and graphic pattern went well with the wreath, I also liked how it had circles all over it, similar to a wreath. I just stapled it to the back of the wreath a few times so it wouldn't fall off when hung.

See what I mean about the side view of the wreath and being able to see the unpainted cardboard??

I loved making this wreath for Ava to give to her Mommy & Daddy. I was a little sad I didn't get to keep it for myself because I just LOVE how it turned out. It isn't the typical traditional Christmas style I am used to, but I love its modern look and graphic colour and shape.

I don't know what I am going to come up with next year to top this, but thank goodness I have some time to figure it out!

Come back soon, and I'll share with you what else I've made :)

-AR

I Made That! - Dresser Edition

When my sister told me she was having a baby girl it was time to get some items together and help her with the nursery design. My sister needed a dresser and low and behold I had one that didn't match my furniture.

It was black and that just wasn't right for a new baby girl

So I got Cream Puff paint from Home Depot. I gave it a light sand, I hate this part of refinishing furniture, and a wipe down with a clean damp cloth.

I gave it a few good coats of paint in the cream puff. Try not to paint so much on the slides of the drawers, this will make it difficult to open and close the drawers.

Next up I made some diamonds out of a large sponge and made a pattern on the sides of the dresser. It is important to note that when sponge painting you need to dab off the excess paint on some cardboard or paper before applying to the furniture so that the shapes are light, you can see the base colour behind, and they are all uniform.

I did use a matte clear coat when it was finished to help with wear and tear.

And last but not least, I added so acrylic knobs to give it that girlie look.

Because I had some of the paint left over, I painted Ava's change table to match. It was an unfinished change table from Ikea. I knew this wasn't going to be a lasting piece so I didn't have to give it as much attention as the dresser, but it has held up really well so far.

I know that eventually Ava is going to want to change the style of her room and hopefully we can re paint this dresser together one day. Having a good solid piece of wood furniture is going to last a long time. Although I didn't invest in this particular piece (Thank You Mom & Dad) finding furniture at flea markets, garage sales, or the side of the road can be a plus, especially if it is wood and heavy.

Come back soon and Ill show you what else I made for Miss Ava!

-AR

Lil' Desgn's

When my Sister told me I was going to be an Auntie I instantly had images of me and my lil niece making arts and crafts every time we got together. As a child I was raised that hand made gifts were the best to give and get. I am so glad my family instilled this in me because it is true. I think it is such a great way to teach children to use their imagination. These hand made crafts are great keep sakes for family and friends and a great way to document a child's growth. I especially love looking over the Christmas tree each year and seeing all the ornaments my siblings have made over the years and cant wait until my tree is filled with these sweet gifts! I love making things with my niece any chance I can get. Every time we have a sleep over I try and make something with her for some sort of holiday that is coming up.

Our first ever was a painting for Thanksgiving. I found the idea online and just thought it was so cute and would show her hand prints at such a young age. I wont make this every year with her but every other maybe to show her growth or a different version of this idea.

Next up was Mother's Day. Every Mommy loves hand print flowers, right?

Recently Ava and I made some Christmas gifts to give to her Mommy and Daddy. I painted the Christmas tree and then let her go to town with some Holiday colours and showed her how to use the paint brush. I also added some glitter while the paint was wet to give it a little holiday shimmer.

I have thought a lot about Valentine's Day, St Patrick's Day, Easter, Canada Day and Father's Day and what Ava and I can do next. Can't wait to see what she comes up with now that she is getting older!

Come back soon and Ill show you just what we got up to!

-AR