Spoonful of Imagination

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Craft Supplies

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20 top DIY craft suppliesIf you aren’t a DIY crafter, it can be really overwhelming to walk into a craft store like Hobby Lobby, Jo Annes, or Michaels.  There are so many different products and all classified in aisles with similar type items.  I assume you stand there looking at it all and wonder which do you choose and where do you start.

Today, I want to give you a list of my favorite craft items.  These items (other than the ones that don’t need replacing like scissors and ruler) I am regularly buying, even if I don’t have a project in mind.  They are the items that I use ALL the time for a wide range of projects.  I feel like if you have these items you can jump start DIY projects and decorating your home for much less.  Below I have listed 20 items and given examples of ways/projects I use these craft items.

Read the list, print it out, and go shopping!

1. Clear Sewing Ruler

My favorite ruler is 3″ x 18″. I use it to measure everything-not just sewing projects! I love to use it on paper crafts as well because you can align patterns better with the see through style. Example of use: making cards and centering applique items on fabric

clear sewing ruler

2. Mod podge

I think Mod Podge can make any project look more “finished” and “professional.” There are lots of different finishes, but the gloss and matte are my two favorites. Example of use: finishing off any ceramic paint job, collages, or appliqueing pictures/papers to other objects

modpodge

3. Sharpies

I use sharpies everyday. There are lots of different sizes and colors. Having a multi pack is a great thing to have on hand. Example of use: making cards, organization, banners, decorating jars/signs

sharpies

4. Exacto Knife

Having an exacto knife on hand is so helpful. It can be used to cut all those small or intricate things that scissors can’t do really good. Example of use: create your own stencil

SONY DSC

5. Burlap/Burlap Ribbon

Burlap is so fun and cheap! You can buy it by the yard, or (in the flower section at Hobby Lobby) they sell it in a variety of different ribbons to make it more manageable to create with. I have both on hand and use them all the time. Example of use: create a table runner, decorate jars, make a banner, wreaths, and embellish pillows

burlap_ribbon

6. Brown packaging paper by the roll

I buy mine for a $1.00 at the Dollar Tree in the office supply section. It makes great wrapping paper, but I end up using it a lot on other projects as well. Example of use: table runners, banners, stuffing for filler items, cards, wall art, or a drop clothe for other projects

brown-wrapping-paper-8-meter-roll

7. Paint brushes

Having paint brushes in a variety of different sizes is so helpful! I also like to have a variety of types as well. I have a Dollar Tree ones that I use on quick, one time projects like staining a sign. I also have nicer fine brushes that help me paint small things like letters. Example of use: painting signs, using mod podge, or decorating anything

775paintbrushes

8. Acrylic paint

I have a whole basket of different colors of small acrylic paint bottles for like $0.49 each. I like the Americana brand at Hobby Lobby. Example of use: creating a sign, painting seasonal items, embellishing items, or organization

art-deco-paint

9. Scrapbook paper

I buy the brown paper package at Hobby Lobby and use it for everything! I also love to have lots of fun sheets and patterns on hand. I use to scrapbook, but now I use all my scrapbook paper for different projects! Example of use: cards, background for frames/wall art, banners, and embellishing

scrapbook paper

10. Packages of fun/vintage buttons

There are so many fun uses for buttons and you can never have too many! Example of use: hair bows, wreaths, pillows, wall art, necklaces, and embellishing

buttons

11. Cute glass jars to store craft supplies in

I love to store my beads and other small craft stuff in pretty jars, so I can easily see my supplies and also enjoy their fun bright colors. Example of use: storage, organization, vases, gift to give flowers

glass-jars-with-lids

12. Sheets of felt

They sell pieces of felt for $0.25 each at Hobby Lobby. I use felt on a lot of different projects. Example of use: hair bows, embroider hoops, sewing projects, wreaths, and embellishing

sheets of felt

13. Embroidery floss with needles

They are like $.19 each and I always use it for something! Example of use: wall art, embroider hoops, hair bows, monogramming, sewing projects, and embellishing

embroidery floss

14. Jute rope

Jute Rope is a staple. I use it on everything from wrapping presents to making banners & tags. Example of use: decorate jars, banners, gift tags, cards, wreaths, and wall art

jute rope

15. Small sewing scissors

Good scissors are so important, but also there are so many projects (even paper ones) where I need a small point to cut something out and need a small sharp needle. Small thread scissors can be perfect for this OR in the BEAUTY section at Target the eyebrow trimmer scissors are really good too. Example of use: creating stencils, cards, hair bows, paper wall art, and sewing projects

eyebrow scissor

16. Stencils

Stencils are great to have on hand. If you don’t want to buy one, you can make one like I showed you on a personalized sign I made for my sister. I think having a nice font with all the letters of the alphabet is a great place to start. Example of use: signs, cards, organization, and embellishing

stencil-alphabet

17. Fun tape or ribbon

I recently bought some fun patterned duct tape in the Target dollar section at the front of the store, and I know I will be using it on something other than a normal duct tape use. Example of use: wall art, wreaths, hair bows, embellishing

ribbonspools

18. Little Things

I love little things like knobs, scrap book pieces, feathers. I use them all the time in random projects. Example of use: signs, hair bows, wreaths, and signs

craft feathers

19.  Hot glue gun

A hot glue gun is a staple in the craft room. I have two guns. I have a fine tip hot glue gun that I use to make hair bows, but I also have one that has a wider end that is helpful to use on bigger projects. Example of use: ANYTHING!  I just used it to make a rug 🙂

Hot-Glue-Gun

20.  Natural elements

Here is where I might sound weird. I have zip locks of natural elements that I love to use in decorating or other craft projects. Examples:  acorns, pine cones, bark, hay, and rocks. Example of use: filler to lanterns/jars, mantle decor, banners, signs, and wreaths

pinecones

Spring is such a wonderful time to de clutter and get motivated to start new things.  I hope this craft list can help encourage you to try a DIY project if you don’t already craft. If you are ALREADY a crafter, did any of these items surprise you from me?  I think the BEAUTY supply item (eyebrow trimmer scissors) is such a valuable tool!  What is your favorite craft item?

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DIY Feather Wreath

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I am so excited to share today’s Project Spotlight with you!  A few weeks ago, I fell in love with a white feather wreath at Target.  I stood there staring at it, trying to decide if I should buy it.  It cost $19.99, and I decided to pass it by and try to make it myself.

Today I am going to show you the technique I came up with to make this DIY feather wreath, and it only cost about $4.00 to make!  That is less than 1/4 the price at Target, and it really was so easy!

Here is what you will need to buy: one styrofoam wreath and white craft feathers.  I already had my hot glue gun with glue sticks, but if you do not have those items, you will have to buy them as well.  I got my foam wreath (normally $4.47) at Hobby Lobby with a 40% off coupon.  I also got my white craft feathers there, and they were 30% off this week.  So, the normal $1.99 a package of white craft feathers cost me about $1.30 each.  I completely used both packs.

I started by adding a big drop of hot glue to my wreath.

I added a feather and pressed my thumb on the spine of the feather to prevent getting burned.  I just want to briefly say here, I am so sorry for my messed up/old finger nail polish in all these pictures.  How embarrassing. 🙂 

I went about five or six feathers across the styrofoam of the wreath.

Those feathers were my first row.  I then started my next row about an inch lower on the styrofoam.  This allowed for lots of overlap but spread the feathers out a little, so I didn’t need as many.

I found that the five or six feathers across allowed for some “wrapping” on the sides of the wreath.  They started to go towards the back but also the back still had a bare streak, so as not to waste feathers that would not be seen.  Play with the amount of feathers you need.  Depending on the size of your ring of styrofoam and feathers you may need more or less.  The important part is to just cover the sides well because you don’t want any styrofoam to be seen at any angle your wreath ends up being displayed and seen.

You then just keep adding rows and rows of feathers doing the same steps until you are about to where you started.

From there you do your best holding/bending the first row of feathers back so you can stick glue in there behind them and glue those final rows.  It was a bit tricky managing it on my own, but it can be done!

After you get those last rows done, you are done!  You have just created a professional looking wreath for less than 1/4 the price!

I love it!!  I think it looks Christmasy yet also wintery.  Even after the rest of your Christmas decorations come down, this pretty wreath could stay up till the spring!

I think these wreaths would make amazing Christmas gifts for friends or family.  I think they would also make fun hostess gifts or a nice wedding/house-warming present.  The ideas are endless, and they are gorgeous and CHEAP!

I stuck my wreath up on my mantle with a little star I found at the Dollar Tree last week.  Today we are getting all of our Christmas decorations down out of the attic and I can’t wait to really deck my halls with this beauty!  I’m sure I will be back to show you my results!

Have you started decorating for Christmas?  Can you see yourself making this wreath?  Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

 

 

 

 

Linked up at: DIY Show Off, The C.R.A.F.T. Blog, Little Inspiration, Homeschool Creations, and Shaken Together

 

The Christmas Tin Can Makeover

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Do you have any of those Christmas tin cans (that came holding a snack) that you don’t know what to do with?  I have a really cheap makeover that you can do with them to use for a gift for THIS christmas.

This beautiful tin can cost me only a dollar to make.  Granted, I had all the paint, metal, sandpaper, and jeweled embellishment already on hand.  I did not have the can though!  While thrifting with my family over the weekend, I found one for a dollar.  It was big and tacky, and there was a whole shelf of them to choose from.

I was inspired for this design from these beautiful tin cans at Hobby Lobby.  You know I love that store and am constantly browsing and shopping there. I think I went three times this week. NO joke.

Although these cans are beautiful, they had a pretty price tag of $19.99 each.  I didn’t want to pay that, so I came up with my own.  Let me show you how I did it.

First, I spray painted my tin with two really good coats of a soft lavender color.  While my paint was drying, I went on the hunt for some scrap metal.

My brother had this scrap piece and let me cut a few inches off the bottom of it.  I used some sharp gardening scissors to cut the metal. You could try using scraps from an aluminum can. Home Depot also sells rolls of “flashing” that is used in roofing projects.

I took my little piece of metal and cut tons of petals out of it in all different sizes.  I just eye-balled each petal, so each one is slightly different.  I love that.

I chose four fun colors of acrylic paints I had, and I used them to pain the petals.  I cut the petals in about four different sizes, so I painted each size a different color.  I was ok if they were not  covered perfectly because I was going to lightly sand them to make them more rustic anyways.

Once the petals were dry, I lightly sanded them, bent the ends up, and then I started glueing them together.  I used my handy hot glue gun and glued four separate flowers (each color counted as one flower).  Once those flowers were dry I glued and stacked them together.  I finally glued a little jewel embellishment in the center and it was done!  I lightly sanded my tin.  Tip: Don’t sand the can too much or you will see that Christmas picture below it!

I love how it came out.  I created a different flower from the ones that are on top of the Hobby Lobby cans, but that is the beauty of being “inspired” and not totally copying.

I think I am going to put it in my little girl’s room on her dresser.  It would be cute to hold all her headbands, but she already has something for that.  Maybe I will keep her socks in it, or all her lotions.  Either way it is probably best that it is kept up on top of her dresser, since it is not the most child safe project I have come up with.  🙂  Beware of the sharp ends!

The process of this Christmas can makeover was so quick!  If you have some of the needed materials on hand, this could be such a cheap gift to make for a family member or friend.  I think the can alone would be cute to give, but you could also use it to wrap a present that you place inside.

Have you ever reused one of these Christmas cans?  I think I might have to actually keep the next one I receive, so I can reuse it again!

*I linked this project up at Miss Information, The C.R.A.F.T. Blog,  Crafts Aholics Anonymous, and Home Stories A to Z.

Painting: Tips for letting young kids paint!

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This week we did LOTS of fun things.  We got to have two play dates, a park outing with their grandma, and even a zoo visit with friends.  We only had one day this week where we didn’t have anything on the calendar, and it just so happened to be the “rainy” day.  We loved it!

In our school days, we have been talking about fall and the changes that come with this season.  Having a rainy day at home, was the perfect time to paint our ceramic pumpkins!

They did an awesome job, and I absolutely adore them!!  I know they will be a decor item I save and use for years and years!

I got these little ceramic pumpkins at Hobby Lobby last week and they were on sale for 40% off.  I think the small pumpkins ended up costing about $1.70 and the large one was about $2.80.  They cost SO much less than going to a paint your own pottery place, but I think the effects and look is the same!  Thanks to one little tip at the end that I will share with you!

We talked about fall colors and which colors they would like to use on their pumpkin.  I said they could use any “fall” color.  They said they wanted to use only orange and brown.

I let my little girl paint!  She’s about 20 months old and loves to paint!  She kept squealing with delight, smiling, doing a bouncy dance in her seat, and laughing.  While I watched her with so much joy, I had the thought that many people might not try this with a child her age.

It can be a little scary and hard, but it is worth all the work.  We are building memories!

I came up with ten tips to help make painting with young kids less intimidating and easier to do.  I hope you find them helpful!

1.  Strip your kids down.  🙂  They can wear an old shirt or paint smock.  We have both, but I usually just have my boys take off their shirts.  It’s so much easier and then you aren’t pulling wet paint over their heads, when they want to remove that shirt afterwards.  For my little girl, I had her wear an apron to stay “modest” for these pictures. 🙂

2.  Use a big tarp or old table clothe to cover your table/painting area.  I tend to use big sheets of paper or old newspaper because I can just bawl it up and throw it away afterwards.  It helps keep it simpler if you don’t have to wait for the table cloth to “dry” and worry about where to store them, so you find them next time.

3.  Use paper plates as your paint pallets!  Although those cute plastic pallets that are sold in art stores are cute with the divided out areas for different colors, they are just one more thing to clean. I stopped using them because they always had dried paint on them and were a pain to scrub clean.  We just squirt some paint on to paper plates and throw them away afterwards.

4.  Paint in steps!  If your child tends to “quit” quickly, you can let them paint till they want to be done.  If you want them to “cover” more of their area say “you can let that dry and come back later and work on it”.  It’s ok, if it isn’t completed in the first sitting.  Hardly any of our projects are, right!?

5.  Go with their creativity!  This is so important!  Let them dream and design it as they want!  I fight the urge in me to at times want to “touch up” their work.  You want THEIR work not YOURS, so let them create it as they want.

6.  Do not have a “time” crunch or crazy busy schedule where you are trying to “squeeze” this activity into a tight window frame.  The best projects are when they are the only “to do” and you aren’t rushing to just get it done, so you can go to the next project.  Any easy tip along these lines is to have a cup of water for the older kids to clean their brushes (before changing colors) on hand.  When we are done painting, I throw all the brushes into the cup, so I can walk away and help the kids get cleaned up.  I can come back and clean up the mess later, without worrying about the brushes having dried out.  Also, use a plastic/throw away cup here!

7.  Let them explore!  It might end up the little one starts painting her belly.  I go with it.  She is exploring and learning so many things (cause & effect, sensory elements, and fine motor skills are just a few).

8.  I always plan for a bath to be needed afterwards, so it’s a nice surprise when that is not needed.  After our pumpkins were painted, the rain started pouring!  I let them run and splash, so they were gonna need a bath anyways.

9.  Let them admire and show off their artwork.  They will be so proud of it, if you encourage and praise them and their work!  They will want to touch it and show it to others!  Let them.

10.  Have fun with it, and have the mindset you are making memories!

That is it!  There are ten tips to help you paint with your little ones!  I hope it helps and doesn’t make painting with “babies” so intimidating!  Our last step for this project was to give our pumpkins a thick coat of Mod Podge.  This created a shine finish to the pumpkins that makes them look like they are fresh from a ‘do it yourself pottery place’.

An easy way to incorporate step 9 being “letting your kids show off their art work” is to display it around the house.  I put my kids’ pumpkins on my mantel, and they are so proud of them.  My three-year old goes over to look at his pumpkin several times a day and says proudly “look!  It’s dry now mom!  I can touch it.” as he scoots a chair over. 🙂

I hope this post helps you tackle a painting project with your kids and gives you some tips on how to do it, and it to be a cheap and fun memory!

Later in the week, I will be sharing more with you about this pretty fall wreath!

Thank you so much for checking in and reading this little blog of mine!  I hope you all had a relaxing weekend!

Linked up at: At Home Take 2, Centsational Girl, The Inspired Room, and Hip Homeschool Moms