Dining Room Decor

Things to know about me:
1. I'm a photographer (although my craft photos don't show it...but check out my website or my blog if you want proof!)
2. I'm a strapped-for-cash newlywed
3. I love decorating.
4. My mother is quite brilliant when it comes to helping with said decorating.

And now the backstory:

As my mother was helping me get settled into my new apartment before the wedding, she was also using her keen eye for decorating to come up with ideas. She noticed a couple of my photos I had framed and hanging in a previous apartment and noted that several of the colors would look really good in our dining room...but they should be bigger, and they should mainly accentuate the colors of our dining room. Now here's a question for the crowd. Have you ever purchased and over-sized, mounted canvas print? If yes, you see my problem. If no, let me enlighten you. They are gorgeous, but they are NOT cheap. I did not have the $200 minimum (if there are good sales) that it would require to get these 4 images blown up and mounted. I was going for something in the 16x24 size range. The company I use for printing my professional images charges $100 per canvas for a 3/4" thick mount that size. Sadly, that was not happening. So I had to come up with plan B, and that's how this craft was born.

Here's what I used:

(I did this project in stages, so there won't be a supplies picture--sorry about that!!)

--20"x30" art foam core board

--Large poster prints from Staples

--Loctite spray adhesive (foam-safe)

--Mod Podge

--Paint brush

--Wire

--Glue

--Measuring tape

--Pen

--Break-off blade safety knife

--Scissors

--Plastic sheeting

I based most of my sizing off of the foam core board. Since it's 20"x30". I decided my pictures would be 15"x20". Staples was having a 50% off posters sale so I wanted to jump on that before it ended! I could have gotten 4 medium sized posters (18"x24") on sale for $9.99 and then just trim the edges. OR I could put 2 pictures in one image, and print 2 large posters (24"x36) on sale for $13.99 and cut them in half and then trim the edges. Save $12? yes please! 

I started by editing my pictures to highlight the colors I really wanted to showcase in my dining room. Then I went into Photoshop and created a new document that was 24"x36". I then copied my images into that new document and made sure each one took up half. Then I uploaded those images to Staples and ordered my posters. With shipping and tax, it cost me about $40. 

While waiting for the posters to arrive, I did some prep work. I measured, marked, and cut my foam core to the sizes I wanted using my safety blade.

I also cut some wire and twisted it into a circular shape and then glued it to one side of the foam. This will be how we hang the pictures! I highly recommend using a tape measure here to make sure you get your loop centered unless you like your pictures to hang lopsidedly. (Note: I had to look it up to make sure that was a word. It is, and it may be my new favorite word.) 

Once my posters arrived, I started by cutting them in half so I had my 4 separate images.

Then I placed the poster over the foam just to get an idea of what portion of the picture would show. Then I kept the foam in place, flipped it over, and traced where the foam should go when I actually glue them. I new that would make the placement process a LOT easier!

Next I put down my plastic sheeting and gave the back of the poster and the front of the foam a good solid spray with my adhesive. Let it sit for about 30 seconds before you start trying to apply the two to each other.

This is where having the outline is helpful...I just grabbed the foam and lined it up with the top line I had traced earlier, but I did not stick the whole thing on there!

Once I had the top little section in place, I flipped it over and slowly pressed the poster against the foam. I just really didn't want any air bubbles or anything like that.

Once I had the front firmly in place, I flipped it back over. (Be careful not to just put it face down where you had sprayed the adhesive...you don't want the front to get all sticky!) I pressed the edges down as if I were wrapping a present so the edges of the poster didn't show. You can cut down some of the excess if you prefer, but I wanted my poster to cover the edges of the foam so it would be more like a gallery wrap.

Once I was done, I hung my pictures on my dining room walls. My husband and I really love that extra vibrancy that they bring! And for a lot less money than actual canvas.

This would also be a great project for family pictures, wedding pictures, or anything else you would like to display at a large size! What do you think is the best way to use this project? Feel free to let me know in the comments! Love y'all!

-Kittye

A Guide for Successfully Writing on Ceramics with Sharpies

Hello again! This is going to be pretty short. If you're finding this post on Pinterest, you have probably seen pins and posts about using Sharpies on ceramic plates, baking them, and then they are permanent, right? However, if you're like me, you tried this and failed miserably...Or maybe that's just me? Who knows. :)

Anyway, I've done a good bit of research and trial and error testing, and I have actually had some success! Here are some of the tips to my triumph.

1. Make sure you wash the dish first. You need to remove all oils!

2. Use oil-based paint, not regular Sharpies. There are oil-based Sharpie paint pens, and that's what I use and it works really well.

3. Set the oven at 400-425 degrees (F). 350 doesn't quite cut it.

4. Put the dish in before you turn the oven on, then leave it in for 45 minutes. When that time is up, turn the oven off and let the dish sit until it's cool. 

5. Be prepared for changes in the color. I took a couple of pictures to show you what the oil-based Sharpie pens look like.

This is a plate with all of my colors before I baked it (you can click to enlarge):

Here's what they look like after:

As you can see, some of the colors stay fairly true, but a lot of them get subdued. If you're looking for vibrant colors, you may be better off working with genuine ceramic paints. But if you're okay with slightly more muted tones, this is a really fun project! 

If you've found any other tips or tricks, feel free to let me know in the comments!

Love y'all!

-Kittye

Family Birthdays!

So I come from a pretty decent size family. Not huge, but not tiny...I'm one of 5. My husband's family has almost twice that many kids. So now that we're married, we have a LOT of dates to keep track of...especially birthdays. If you count our still-living grandparents, parents, siblings, in-laws, nieces, nephews, and ourselves, we have 59 birthdays with at least 1 more on the way! So when I saw this excellent project from Do It and How, I knew  we HAD to make one for our house! 

Here's what I used:

(sorry there's no picture of supplies...this has been a project over time so I didn't have everything when I first started)

--Drill with a 5/64 and a 5/32 bit
--1/2" Screw eyes
--2" Wooden circle discs (1/4" thick)
--1/4"x4" plank cut to 30"
--Paint (various colors) & brushes
--Fine point paint pen
--Wall hanging mount
--Hammer & Nail (if you're hanging it from the wall)


Now when I first embarked on this project, I knew I had to get at least 58 wooden circles, plus a few for those I would inevitably screw up with either the drill or the paint, and then a few to grow on. So I went to craft stores and balked a bit at the prices. A pack of six for $3? Yikes... I was looking at $30 at a bare minimum JUST for the discs. A little much for me. So i picked a smaller size that gave me 20 for $3. Much better! Until I started drilling... My cost effectiveness went out the window with the number of discs I screwed up. 

Anywho. Fast forward to a day I was working on this blog, and it happened to be my brother-in-law's birthday and the day after my niece's birthday. I was talking to my husband and we decided we had to get some sort of calender up to remember these things, so naturally I had a drive to get the birthday calender done! I then set to looking up places to find better sized discs and hooks and eyes that match. That's where Craft Parts comes in. They mainly have wooden craft parts, but they have some accessories for them as well. So for $32 (including shipping) I got 100 circles, hooks and, and a couple of wooden things I had been wanting for my photography! Then there was a slight issue with my order so I emailed them and they straightened everything out within an hour. Can I just say I definitely recommend them? Okay enough endorsing. Let's move onto the project! :)


Because it's easy to break the wood or accidentally drill through one side, I highly recommend doing the drilling first. I started with the bigger bit and drilled a hole into what would be the top of the discs. 

I then changed to the smaller bit and try to line up the edge to the hole I just drilled so I could create an opening for the hook. You don't have to drill all the way through, just enough so that the hook won't split the wood when you put it in. 

Once you have all of your holes done, Let the painting commence! I wanted to do a color for each family, but I started to have issues with getting enough noticeably distinct colors across the 17 families we needed to represent. So we went by generation, and and we decided to go with the colors of our dining room and living room which were golden yellow, purple, turquoise, and navy. Well...we had a couple of trials to run through first...

But then we picked our colors, and I started painting! I painted both sides of the discs so it wouldn't look awful if people turned them over.

Once the discs were dry, it was time to add details. Each disc has a name and a number to represent the date. They'll be hanging under the month so writing that wasn't necessary. And then we decided to put the year on the back to keep the front uncluttered, but it still allows us to figure out ages if we forget. :) We used paint pens--white for the navy and purple, and navy for the turquoise and yellow.

We didn't have the board to hang them from yet, but we wanted to go ahead and add the hooks and connect them in chronological order. We didn't put hooks in the bottom ones, but the holes are there in case we have people to add later. Here's what they look like all in order and with the hooks pulled through the holes in the top:

Once we got the board to hang them from, we measured out where the holes would go, marked them, and drilled them. Since our discs are 2 inches, we measured 1 & 1/4" in from the edge for our first mark. That would leave 1/4" on the edge with the hook centered on the disc. Each mark after that was 2 & 1/2" apart. That gave us 12 marks, and 1 & 1/4" on each edge. Yay math!

Then we painted it (with less color indecisiveness this time). We only painted the front and sides though.

Then we added the lettering. If you have a Cricut or a Silhouette, this would be a great use for it, but I don't...So I just free-handed it.  

Once all dry, we added the mount to the back and screwed in the hooks so we could hang it.

Lastly, we took our rows of discs and hung them from the board. 

We put it up on the wall, and we're REALLY happy with how it turned out!

Close up:

Feel free to let me know what you think in the comments. Love y'all!

-Kittye

Patriotic Scarf

This craft came from an inspiration that I've seen floating around all over Pinterest, and I'm honestly not sure what the original is, but the one I've seen the most is from the Lakeland Local. 

Confession: when I first saw this scarf, I was really NOT a fan. It just seemed kinda blah, especially compared to some other DIY infinity scarves I've seen. BUT THEN I had this idea. I was weighing my options for this patriotic craft swap, and I had an idea to take this scarf and make it special. 

Here's what I used:

--Little boys XL t-shirts

--Scissors

--Red and blue fabric dye

--Bleach (not shown)

--Spray bottle (not shown)

--Water (not shown)

--Tupperware (not shown)

--Plastic Sheeting (not shown)

--Popsicle Stick (not shown)

--3 Rubber bands (not shown)

(wow I did a bad job at including things in that picture!)

So to start, you want to cut off the top part of the t-shirt. Right under the sleeves should do the trick!

Then mix up your blue die. I didn't have a bucket or anything so I used an old tupperware container. I filled it with 4 cups of hot water and about 1/4 the packet of dye (since they say the entire packet makes a gallon). I mixed mine up with popsicle stick simply because I'm not sure if my silverware is stainless steel. But if you have stainless steel, that would work, or so would a plastic utensil. Then I dipped the bottom of the shirt into the dye and used the popsicle stick to get it to stay in there. I specifically used the bottom because I wanted to blue part to have a finished edge.

Just let the shirt soak in the dye for a little while. It will start to travel up the cloth some, and you won't have a perfect line but it's okay. I got a three-pack of shirts so I decided to give them all this treatment so I have one scarf for the craft swap, one for me, and one to give to....well....someone. I haven't figured out who yet. :)

After they sit for a while (mine were in there for at least an hour), take them out of the dye. Typically for tie dye, you can through your project in a bag for 24-48 hours to let the color take. I didn't want to do that here because I don't want blue getting on the bottom. So I just decided to lay them out on that plastic sheeting and wait for a couple of days. 

Before they got completely dry, I went ahead and did the bleaching part of the project. I poured some bleach into a spray bottle and set to work on lightly spritzing the blue portions of the shirts. 

Once the dye and bleach were both completely dry, I rinsed it all out, and look what we've got so far! They don't exactly look like stars, but I like the abstract effect!

The next step is to cut the fringe. I didn't have a set width I was going for...just no more than an inch. Some were thicker than others, but I'm okay with that! My one requirement was that I have an even number of fringe so I cut through the front and back at the same time. 

Once the fringe is all cut, I stretched it out a bit to separate the strips and give them a little more length. You'll see again why I wanted the hem at the blue side so it wouldn't interfere with this part of the look.

Now came the part I was most worried about...dying the fringe. Why am I worried? Because I'm only dying every other piece. Hrm... So I grabbed every other fringe and brought it up through the inside of the shirt. 

I used a rubber band around the middle of the blue part just to hold the fringe in place. Then I took another rubber band and wrapped it just at the base of the blue. 

I also bunched up the remaining strips and wrapped a rubber band around them to give a little more texture to those pieces. 

For the red dye, I repeated what I did with the blue dye but with smaller portions. I only did about 2 cups of hot water and about 1/8 of the packet of red dye and then I mixed it up. 

I stuck the dangling fringe into the dye and held them there. I was afraid to let them sit because I didn't want too much dye to travel up! So I sat there for a little while, holding the shirt with my left hand and editing pictures with my right (might as well be productive, right?).

Once that was done, I took them out of the dye and let them rest with the rubber bands still on. 

I took them off a couple of days later once everything seemed nice and dry, and then I ran them through the wash to make sure all the dye was off. Once they were nice and clean and finished, this is what I found. 

Here's what it looks like on.

I love it and I hope you do to! Any suggestions of ways you could do this for other seasonal/themed scarves? Let me know! 

Love y'all!

-Kittye