DIY Spray Painting for Rivets (or any small objects)

Happy New Year's Eve!  So for the next couple of post I'm probably going to mix it up with the Infinity Gauntlet building post & other random posts so that I don't bore everyone isn't interested in the Infinity Gauntlet building.  My boyfriend is having a New Year's Day board game get together tomorrow at his house and I decided it'll be the perfect opportunity to whip up some pinspired decoration and decorate with a Game Night theme so those blog post will also be scattered throughout the next couple of post.

For today's post I'm going to start out with a simple yet effective pin I saw (45 weeks ago!) on Pintrest but finally had a chance to try it out.  The original pin was for spray painting pinto beans for decorations  and when it came time to paint the rivets gold (since I couldn't find any cheap gold ones anywhere else) I knew this method would be perfect to paint the rivets....Or at least I had to try the method out since it seemed so simple - and it was!

Pin Rating: 4.5 (I'm sure it would have been a 5 if I was actually using pinto beans)

• Box
• Metallic Gold Spray paint
• Pack of 3/8" Nickel Rivets 
• Pack of 1/4" Nickel Rivets
• Mask or handkerchief to wear while painting

I bought everything, except the box, at Hobby Lobby.  I really wanted to look and feel the rivets for myself to test out the size.  You'll need the 1/4" rivets for the spots where you rivet two plates together (and only 2 plates). The 3/8" rivets are for spots where you need more reach to rivet through the glove and the plates of the gauntlet.  Note: Not all spots that you rivet through the glove will require the longer rivet.

What's nice is that they packaged the top and bottom pieces separately.

Felt Plushie R2D2 - Part 2

Alright, so we're right where we left off after Part 1 of the making of the R2D2 Plushie.  You have the 3 blue pieces sewn into the top head and other parts are pinned in place ready to sew.  I took a lot more pictures during this process since I found some parts hard to understand or explain so hopefully the amount of pictures will help.  I probably should have split it into 3 parts, but you'll just have to bear with me and the really looooong part 2 post.  So here goes part 2!

The next step will be to sew close the bottom part of the circle onto the head piece.  This means only the circumference of the top circle will be sewn down.  The slit down the middle of the head will be open.  Stuff the head so it's at 80% capacity to help you keep it's shape while you sew it close.

You will eventually close the whole top circle securely onto the head panels.  

Felt Plushie R2D2

This is my first attempt at making a felt plushie doll and I'm really happy with the results.  He's 100% handmade with love.  His head turned out a little smaller than I had hopped and his legs are a little buffer than normal...And I probably could have done without the swivel head but I thought it added a nice unique touch and I'm so happy he can actually support his own head (sometimes...).  Despite me pointing out what I think are his flaws, everything turned out okay because he's super cute in his own little way. ^_^

Here's what you'll need:

• Buttons (1 big black one, some small black, red and white ones)
• Blue ribbon (I used some 5/8" ribbon left over from my Pearl Bracelet Project)
• Polyester Fiber Fill
• Blue, white, grey felt - I was lucky enough to pick some up in the remnants bin
• Sewing stuff
• White, blue, grey thread (You'll probably need to switch out your thread to match the felt color you're sewing so more than 1 needle is a plus)
• Cotton Cable Cord (I had left over from my Hex Nut Bracelet)
• 1 rivet if you want a swivel head
• A small piece of Poster board cut out for the feet
• Basic hand stitching knowledge - stringing needles, stitching & knotting threads

I was fortunate enough to have the majority of the materials laying around the house already.  The remnants and the fiber fill I bought at JoAnn's on Black Friday and since they had 75% off remnants and 50% off fiber fill I left with everything (and some other stuff) for about $6 which was very exciting!  Make sure to always look in the remnants bin and keep an eye out for sales and coupons!

Sneak Peak of my Xmas Crafting Gifts

Happy Holidays everyone!  I hope everyone is enjoying some time off and spending it with family and friends.  This year my family celebrated Christmas a little early so it feels nice to be done with all my Christmas shopping and crafting already.  Granted it was a mad rush to finish all the projects in time since I was pretty ambitious, but it was well worth it!  Since tomorrow is Christmas I'm making today's blog post a little short so I can go back to relaxing, but I did want to provide you with a sneak peak of 2 of my bigger projects I did last week.  These aren't items that you can find on Pintrest but hopefully you will be inspired to pin them and try them out for yourself!

For my brother's girlfriend I made her a felt plushie R2D2 with a head that can swivel!

For my boyfriend I made him a working Infinity Gauntlet.  For those that don't know what that is, check it out by clicking the Wikipedia link below.  Credit for the original gauntlet design goes to: David J. Guyton.  I purchased his template and made some slight adjustments so that I can add the gems to the gauntlet.

Photo Credit: Wikipedia 

Blog post for this Wednesday & Friday will be for R2D2 plushie.  Next week I will blog about the Infinity Gauntlet.  Stay tuned for some serious crafting updates!

DIY String Christmas Tree Decoration - Part 2

Alright, here comes Part 2 of the project.  =D After letting it dry the whole night we came back downstair and took a look.  

Everything seemed stiff and holding up fine so it was time to take the paper off the cone.  I love how it still holds its shape without the cone.  We did run into some difficulty taking the cone off because the bottom of the party hat was a little sticky still where the bottom trim was originally. To remedy that just tape over it before you start your project.

So the easiest way to take the wax paper off is to go inside the cone and start peeling the wax paper away on the inside of the tree.  Handle the tree with care since it is fragile.  

DIY String Christmas Tree Decoration - Part 1

UPDATE: So after finishing the project I realized that there were a lot of things I learned and wish I had known/tried earlier but didn't.  Please read both Part 1 and Part 2 completely before attempting the project on your own.  Enjoy!

Pin Rating: 2 (for original pin - hopefully with my tutorial it will make this project a 4/5 for you.)

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So today's blog post is a little different because I didn't expect it would take this long.  There is a lot of drying and waiting around involved.  This pin was shown to me by a friend and I decided to tackle this pin.  The original pin doesn't have any instructions and the link leads to what I believe is a Russian website so I figured this would be a great DIY post to get the step by step instructions out there.  I had some help on this one which made it a lot easier and fun to make.  But as you can see from the title, this is only Part 1.  I waited for the project to dry overnight and I'll be unraveling it and decorating it later today so expect to see the post up by Thursday on the completed project.

Here's what I'm using:

• Giant party hat from The Dollar Tree (Or you can use a styrofoam cone for ~$3.99)
• Tacky glue with brush
• 3 sets of embroidery floss (.40 each @ Hobby Lobby)
• Wax paper
• Scrap booking Snowflakes

*Note: The tacky glue will make your string a shade darker once it dries so keep that in mind when you pick out your colors embroidery floss.

Some completed projects

So I'm taking a mini break in blog posting today to update you guys on some completed projects.  I didn't want to post the pictures since they were gifts, but my friends and I celebrated a little early last weekend and opened up the gifts already.  Here's a final look at 2 of the projects.

DIY Scrabble Pillow Cases

For the Scrabble pillow cases I used my own template and fabric marker.  I love the clean look the fabric marker provides for the cases, but unfortunately it uses a lot of ink to fill in the letters.  I'm going to have to use felt lettering for any other pillows I make.  It might take longer, but it's not worth buying a pack of fabric markers just so I can use all of the black.  I'm going to go back to Hobby Lobby or JoAnn's to look for a thick black marker sold individually which might work better for me.

If you would like your own set of Scrabble Pillow cases but don't have the time to make them, I have them for sale in my Etsy shop.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/119560993/scrabble-pillow-case-16-x-16-set-of-4

or individual cases here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/119560783/scrabble-pillow-case-16-x-16

DIY Off the Shoulder T-shirt

Here's the final design of the Off the shoulder t-shirt.  I designed and hand drew the minnie myself (inspired by Vintage Minnie) using the fabric markers I had purchased for the Scrabble pillow cases.  Isn't it cute?!

DIY Hex Nut Bracelet

Original pin: http://pinterest.com/pin/231724343296933783/

Original Blog: Honestly WTF

Pin rating: 4.5

Duration: 30-40 minutes the first time and then it gets easier.  

I love these DIY jewelry that includes hardware materials.  For starters it's cheap to buy the materials AND they add a unique pop too any every day outfit.  There's only 2 materials required for this but it was a little difficult to do at first but then I got the hang of it.  I've made 3 now and It can be done within 15-20 minutes.  One thing I do recommend is that you actually go to the hardware store to pick these up.  It helps to have the materials in hand to identify the size and thickness.  Also it's a lot cheaper in store!

• Cotton Cable Cord (#21 x 150m picked up at OSH for $2.49)
• Cut 3 stands ~30inches.  Original blog calls for 1 yard but I felt like that was too long.
• 18-20 Flat hex nuts (#8-32 100 pack - $2.99) 

*Update* You can now purchase your own Hex Nut Necklace DIY Kit via my Etsy shop

DIY Washer + Ribbon Necklace

Original pin: http://pinterest.com/pin/231724343298464714/
Original blog: Nestled

Pin rating: 4.5

Difficulty: Easy

I love no sew projects and this one in particular was quite fun.  I definitely had an easier time with this one than I did with the pearl ribbon bracelets.  Also loves that this little project required me to make a trip to the hardware store.  I just get all giddy when I'm in there.  That place is so amazing and can inspire so many DIY projects for the home, or in this case jewelry.  My next blog post is also going to be a jewelry piece that includes material from the hardware store so check back on Wednesday.  

So I struggled a little at first in understanding the instructions because it mentions to thread ribbon up or down through the washers but since it has the pictures it made it a lot easier to understand.  I'm going to use the instructions from the Nestled blog and try to clarify anything I thought was confusing.  It was mostly  step 1 where I got confused but everything else was straight forward.

• 20 pieces of 7/16" flat washer (50 pack at Orchard Supply Hardware for ~$3.00)
• 1 1/2 yard of 5/8" wide ribbon

*Update* You can now purchase your very own Washer Necklace DIY Kit via my Etsy Shop.

Tidy Up that Wrapping Paper

(^^ Pin Me ^^)

Original Pin: http://pinterest.com/pin/106116134941406674/

Pin rating: 4.5

So today's Fast & Simple pin is ridiculously fast and simple (as long as you have empty toilet paper rolls) and just in time for your next Christmas wrapping party.  I've seen this pin on pintrest a couple of months ago but never actually had an empty toilet paper roll until today!  The only reason I gave the pin a 4.5 rating is because who really has an abundance of empty toilet paper rolls readily available to use? Time to start saving your empty toilet paper rolls. ^_^

Take an empty toilet paper roll and make one cut down the length of the roll (from one open end to the other) and then take the roll and wrap it around your gift wrapping paper at the loose end.  And voila no more messy loose ends or need for tape.

DIY Off the shoulder T-shirt

Pinspired by: http://pinterest.com/pin/231724343298132064/ & http://pinterest.com/pin/231724343296961753/

This blog post is a little different because I didn't actually follow any step by step blog tutorial from a pin.  This project was actually inspired when I was shopping and there was a really expensive shirt that I wanted to buy and just couldn't afford.  I decided to try my luck at making it and I think it was a success!  I looked over the two DIY t-shirt modified pins on pintrest and got a feel for how they converted their shirts and kind of experimented with it until I was satisfied with the look.  I hope you like the final result as much as I do!  I don't have the picture of the final shirt being worn since this is a gift but I'll make sure to get a final photo and post it later.

• Sewing machine & sewing stuff (needles, thread, scissors, fabric pencil optional)
• Cotton T-shirt 1 size larger than what you typically wear
• Ribbon

DIY Fabric Flower Necklace

Original Pin: http://pinterest.com/pin/231724343298734063/

Original blog: Little Inspirations

Pin rating: 5

Duration: 30-45 minutes

I love making fabric flowers but I never thought of making a fabric flower necklace until I saw it on pintrest.  This is super easy and such a beautiful end result.  My flower template is a little different from the original tutorial but this was the way I taught myself to make the flowers so I just kind of stuck with it for this tutorial.  I also tried out the Fray Check for the first time and I kind of like it except for the fact that it's noticeable when it dries - granted Fray Check is probably better used for clothes that will be washed.  Also, my pictures this time around are all a tint of blue...I'm not sure why but I tried to fix and adjust them as much as possible so please bear with me as I'm still learning the photography aspect of blogging.

• Small flower template
• Fabric
• Felt (not pictured)
• Chain
• Hot glue gun & glue sticks
• Scissors

Optional

• Needle & thread
• Fabric pencil
• Fray Check
• Jump rings
• pliers to break the chain
• Necklace clasp