Cork Party!

Last night a few of my friends and I stayed in and made some fun crafts with our old corks.  Here are the results of the night!

Cork Tree & Wreath Ornaments (just glue and frame with some ribbon)

Cork Letters (see previous post)

Monogram Ornaments

I wanted to send my friends ornaments instead of sending Christmas cards this year.  I also wanted them to be personalized and relatively inexpensive to make.  This is what I came up with! If any of my friends are reading this just pretend to be surprised when you get it :)

Here is what you will need: wood letters, yarn, hot glue gun, something to screw into the letters, power drill, ribbon

How to make:
1: Drill a hole in the top of the letter
2: Insert screw

3: Wrap yarn around the letter.  This part seems like it would be really easy but there are a few letters that are tricky.  For those tricky corners I cut smaller pieces of yarn and glued them directly to the letter and then continued to wrap.  Make sure to plan it out before you dive in!

I can't wait to wrap them up real cute and send them out! (preview of the next post)

Party Poms

These have become a staple at every party I have now.  They are super cheap and easy to make.  Just buy some tissue paper that matches your theme.  Fold them up and cut the edges and you have a pom!

There is ALWAYS Room for Dessert!

Since it's everyone's favorite part of the party it's always nice to display it right.  Here is how we did it for the Bridal Beach Party.

Cheers To The Future

My friend had a great idea for the couples future milestones.  We bought them 3 bottles of champagne and had everyone sign them.  I made the tags to mark each milestone and made a simple frame to go with it.  The frame only costs 1 dollar and I just painted it!

Bride-To-Be Banner

We threw my friend a beach themed bridal shower.  I made this banner to go along with the theme.  I also used the scrape paper to frame some pictures to go under the banner.

Monogram Love

I was inspired by my iPhone case for this one.  I was going to make it my initials but decided I like the way the R looked alone.

Super easy to make.  I used painters tape to get the perfect stripes and a compass for the circle.  I free handed the 'R' but you could use a stencil too.

DIY Cork Picture Frame

We wanted to show a few pictures of he happy couple and I decided to figure something out using only things I had around the house.  This is the result!

How to make

• Step 1: Frame a cork sheet with ribbon using a glue gun
• Step 2: Prop up with a stand that sticks to the back of the cork
• Step 3: Pin the pictures (be careful b/c they will stick out the back

Entertaining Under the Big Top

There was no way we were going to be able to fit 100 people inside the house so we decided to set up outside.  We started with a boring white tent and transformed it into a mini-banquet ... and it was super easy and cheap!  We just used some tissue pom-poms and tulle.  Check it out!

Before the guests arrived:

During the party:

Some more pics:

Grab a Mimosa

My cousins bridal shower was a few weeks ago and I was in charge of the decorations and the mimosa bar.  SOO here is how the mimosa bar turned out.

Some close ups:

Pumpkin Patch

It's wedding season again and that means bridal showers.  This summer, I am helping out with decorations for my cousin's shower.  She met her fiance at U of I and they are having a fall wedding so she wants to incorporate pumpkins.  We decided to do a Cinderella/U of I theme.  So phase one is making U of I pumpkins for the centerpieces.  More decorations to come!

Step 1: Pick up some pumpkins.  They just got them in stock at Michael's.  PHEW b/c I was having a hard time tracking them down.

Step 2:  Spray paint them a solid color for consistency

Step 3: Decorate!

Arts N Spirits

Last week my friends and I went to a fun painting class at Arts N Spirits in Bucktown.  I think this is something that EVERYONE should do!   The instructor walks you through the steps and you are free to do your own thing as well (which of course I did)  Oh and did I mention that it is BYOB.  This is a great place for birthday parties, dates or even alone.  Check out the upcoming classes at http://www.artsnspirits.com/.

A real Picasso

My masterpiece!

Drink Up!

Just kidding ... don't do that!  But do finish up your favorite cold ones and turn the bottles into fun candles!
   

Here is how you do it:

1. Clean the bottle 
2. Cut the top off.  There are a ton of methods to do this but I bought this thing - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004ZRV3AU/ref=pe_175190_21431760_cs_sce_dp_1.  It is not perfect but after some practice I got it down
3. Glue the wick to the bottom of the glass and let dry 
4. Melt wax (I used remains from old candles around the house but you can buy it at the craft store too)
5. Pour in wax and let dry
6. Enjoy! 

Next up, I am going to make a few more of these and also try to paint some and get them up on Etsy.  I will keep you posted!

Claire Bear

My cousin Peggy saw some of the letters I had made for other things and asked me if I could do her daughter Claire's name for her room.  I was SOO excited and got started on them right away.  She sent me a few pics from her room and I used them to get the colors and patterns.  Here is what I made!  I really hope she likes it!

Terra-Cotta Candles

This is a VERY old project that I found while going through some boxes at my parents.  I loved those little mini terra cotta pots and wanted to do something fun with them.

 

Step 1: Paint the pots in fun colors 

Step 2: Glue a penny to the bottom of the pot to cover the hole and glue the wax candle wick to the penny 

Step 3: Pour in wax and let dry 

WARNING: The pots are flammable without treating them.  I am not sure exactly how to do that so these became more of decoration than anything else.  I am sure with a little research I could figure it out.  

Chick and Egg

Which came first?  Who knows, who cares b/c it's so much more fun to just paint them!  I found these guys at Michael's and decided I would paint them to go with my new Chevron lamp shade (here).

Scrapbook Letters

So I am on a letter kick again and have been wanting to try this out for awhile.  Instead of painting this one I used scrapbook paper.  Here is how it was done.

What you will need:

• Scrapbook paper, wood letter, paint, mod podge, nail file

Step 1: Paint the edges of the letter with a color that coordinates well with the pattern you picked out. Let dry.

Step 2: Apply thin layer of mod podge to the wood letter and place the paper over the letter.  You do not need to cut it down to the exact size but I did cut it a bit closer to the size of the letter.  Let dry.

Step 3: Take a file to the sides of the letter and the paper will cut and give the sides a vintage look.

Step 4: Enjoy!

A few more pics for your viewing pleasure.