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Take Steps Upward {step stool}

May 17, 2013 By Erica Deuel 6 Comments

step stool makeover

Have you walked by those pretty step stools in home decor stores and started drooling? I have…well almost. It’s been border lined between lusting and spontaneous buying, but the price tags always scares me off. I seriously have seen these small pretty step stools priced at $50. No joke. I just couldn’t pay that for something that I could create something similar too.

So, I took my daughter out on a date one afternoon and we ended up at Michaels and I bought a plain, raw wood stool for about $6.00 (with the use of a coupon from Michaels’ website).

I made this so quick and it captures the look and ability of those more expensive stools. It allows you to take steps upward while looking beautiful sitting there in the corner. Here is how I made it, so you can save some money too.

Materials:

  • wood stool
  • spray paint
  • acrylic paint
  • stencil
  • sponge paint brush
  • clear glossy spray/mod podge

The first step is spray paint the bottom of your stool. You could also use acrylic paint here, but because of all the different angles I decide to just spray it. I thought it would be easier and create less “dripping”.

spray paint wood stool

Next, paint the top of your stool. You can use any color, but something that compliments the color of the legs will help give a punch of “wow” factor to your stool.

paint wood stool

You might be able to tell I have used my stencil before. More on that project coming soon. 🙂 Any stencil will do. I liked this one because it was a circle shape and my stool is also a circle. I bought this at Michaels as well. Use your sponge paint brush to lightly dab paint into the slots. Remember you don’t have to use all of the stencil. As you can tell, I am not catching the scalloped edge of my stencil for how I am using it on this project.

stenciling wood stool

stenciling a wood stool

It was too boring for me left like that, so I wanted to add another color and used a small stencil that came with my larger one to go around it. I only used one of the flowers and just eye balled where the next one would go until I had filled the outer part of my stool’s top.

little girls painted wood stoolDon’t worry if you go over the stencil and get paint on the original base color. I did too! It is no big deal to go back, after the color has dried, and paint the original color back over it to cover the “oops” up.

fixing a stencil paint job

painted step stoolI really loved it, but I wanted to look more professional and finished. I sprayed a light coat of a glossy spray on top. Mod podge would work as well. The idea is to give it that finished shine.

Clear glossI love how it came out! My daughter loves to sit on it and draw on her chalkboard wall in her bedroom. What a cheap way to make a fun and functional accent piece. I am all about adding in pops of color!

What do you think? Will you save some money and try making one of these stools yourself?

diy foot stool

Thank you so much for stopping in! I hope you have a great weekend! If you haven’t entered to win a Mohawk rug yet in my giveaway, there is still time! Click over to see my dinning room rug and enter today.

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DIY Rope Balls

December 14, 2012 By Erica Deuel 15 Comments


Today, I have an easy DIY rope ball craft for you.  I created these pretty rope balls from Dollar Tree supplies  At the end of this post, I will show you a simple change you can do to make the same type of ball have another use.

These balls were inspired from my Savannah girl’s weekend.  Do you remember seeing this picture from my trip?

While we were out shopping, I fell in love with these rustic rope balls.  They were about $8.00 a piece and I knew I could make them cheaper.  I finally attempted to make them, and I love my product.  Here is how you can do it too.

I went to my Dollar Tree and bought yellow boot laces, two packs of clothes line rope, and a package of styrofoam balls.  I ended up also getting a package of styrofoam balls from Hobby Lobby to have a slightly larger size.  Note:  I love the clothes line rope!  It is perfect Christmas colors to help decorate my house for Christmas.  Plus, there was so much of it for only costing $1.00 each!  Score!

I started by hot gluing the edge of my rope onto a styrofoam ball.  My technique was to add a strip of glue and then lay the rope on top about two inches at a time, going down one side of the ball.  I simply wrapped my ball with glue and rope going around and around to create the look of swirls.

Once my “swirls ” of glue and rope were getting smaller as I was getting near to closing the side off, I simply cut the string, added a big glob of glue, and tried to stick the edge of my rope into the glob of glue (in order to cover up any styrofoam from showing).

After you have one side complete, add a little glue at the top and start wrapping down the ball again (until the ball is totally covered up).  I made a lot of these, but I still had a ton of rope left over!

I think they came out so cute, and yet were so easy to make!  They cost so much less than their store look a likes.

My kids are enjoying throwing them all over the house.  It is nice to have a Christmas decor item that is not “breakable” or off-limits.  They can throw these and they wont break or get damaged.  Unless they throw them at something that might break 🙂.  I love red and green and can see myself keeping them out all year-long and not limiting them to just Christmas.

Although they are a rustic/child safe decor item, you can dress them up and display them in a fancier planter for a more elegant look.

My son Caleb told me this planter looked dirty as I put it in my shopping cart this week.  Oh don’t you love a child’s practical thinking!?  It does look dirty, but I love it!  I think these rope balls would even look good in a glass vase like I did with my red ornaments on my Christmas mantle.

Since I had so much left over rope, I decided to get some more styrofoam balls and twist this idea into something that would make great Christmas gifts!  I made some rope ornaments!  My sister Joni, came over and we sat, talked, watched White Christmas, glued rope ornaments, and almost peed in our pants from laughing so hard.  It was a fun night!

The only difference really from just making the rope balls is adding a piece of string, rope, or ribbon first, so there is a way for your ornament to hang on the tree.  We started by cutting a small piece of rope and gluing both of the ends onto the ball.

We then did the gluing technique to add two strips of rope around the ball.  After we had our rope surrounded by the clothes line rope, we simply went down wrapping one side just like we did the ball.  From there, you complete the ornament just like you did the ball.

They look amazing just plain, or adding a simple string bow is cute too!  I think they make such a cute little addition to any gift and look great on the tree!  They are so simple, yet the rows ans rows of string add a fun texture to a rather normal style of a round ball ornament.

Do you add a personal touch to gifts?  Are you making any gifts this year?

Thank you so much for stopping by!  I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

 

 

 

 

Linked up to:  Shaken Together, Inspired by Charm, Funky Junk Interiors, Shanty 2 Chic, Miss Information, The Frugal Homemaker, DIY Show Off

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Yea Baylee!

December 7, 2012 By Erica Deuel 2 Comments

Thank you to everyone who entered my DIY Leather Bracelet giveaway!!

I let Caleb help me pick our winner.  He pulled a number from a hat, and he drew #2 which was for my second entry, Baylee!!

Congratulations Baylee!!  I will be in touch!

If you did not win this bracelet and really want one, please check out my tutorial on how you too can make one!!

 

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DIY Feather Wreath

November 30, 2012 By Erica Deuel 4 Comments

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

 

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