Spoonful of Imagination

Add it to a Family for Something Beautiful

  • Home
  • Our Family
    • Our Home
  • Courses
  • Shop
  • Contact

DIY Scrapwood Garland

December 8, 2017 By Erica Deuel Leave a Comment

DIY Scrapwood GarlandDo you love Christmas crafts as much as I do!? It seems that no matter how many I make, the following year I want to make more! Creating holiday crafts is one of my favorite holiday traditions and stringing together a fun garland is a fun way to add to the seasonal decor. In years past, I have made other festive garlands. I think this year’s is my all time favorite.

You know it is no secret that I love wood projects, and I am cheap. Last week, I showed you a scrap wood project as a gift topper. This week we are using scrap pieces of wood to make a festive garland. I save all my scrap little pieces from signs and projects for my kids to build and play around with. One day, I saw that the bucket was getting full and inspiration struck.

DIY Scrapwood GarlandHow pretty are those colors all mixed up together!? I decided to drill a small hole in the center of each piece. This would allow me to later thread wire through to create a garland.

DIY Scrapwood GarlandDIY Scrapwood GarlandDIY Scrapwood GarlandDIY Scrapwood GarlandOnce I had a big pile of scrapwood drilled and ready to go, I attached one to the end of a strong wire to tie off the end of my garland. I then asked for little hands to thread the pieces on. My Jeremiah helped me. I wanted the pieces to be random without any order of size or color. Having a child help with this creative step is fun.

DIY Scrapwood GarlandDIY Scrapwood GarlandDIY Scrapwood GarlandWe quickly realized that having all the pieces stacked neatly on top of one another was using up a lot of wood and our garland was getting heavy QUICKLY! We stopped. We took everything off and threaded our wire through a needle and then strung 1″ felt balls after every few pieces of wood. This really helped the wood pieces separate, give another texture, and help lighten the weight of the garland.

DIY Scrapwood GarlandI LOVE how it came out. I immediately started sending pictures to friends who I know also have lots of scrap wood. It’s just too fun not to share.

DIY Scrapwood GarlandDIY Scrapwood GarlandA couple tips if you do this project,

  1. Use strong wire. Your garland does get heavy.
  2. Don’t hang your garland somewhere where it will get messed with a lot. There are rough edges to the unsanded pieces. Again, it can get heavy. Less moving and messing with it will help keep the garland from breaking.

DIY Scrapwood GarlandDIY Scrapwood GarlandWe didn’t even have our tree decorated yet, and I was hanging my garland up and snapping pictures. Making something you are proud of is a crafter’s highlight. What do you think!? What colors would you hope your garland would be? We are decorating our house with more bright colors this year than in years past.

If you do this project, we would love to see it! Share it on social media using #spoonfulproject so we can all enjoy your creation.

Share this:

  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)

Valentine’s Day Garland

February 5, 2015 By Erica Deuel 1 Comment

valentines_heartThere are so many projects that I have wanted to share, but moving has kicked my butt. So many projects but so little time! Slowly but surely this house is becoming home, and I am excited to start showing you all we have been working on.

I made this little garland at Christmas time, but still love it. It was simple enough, and it is now working for Valentine’s Day, so I thought I would go ahead and show you!

I got a few basic supplies:

  • scrap fabric (I bought a scarf at the Dollar Tree)
  • styrofoam balls
  • string
  • needle
  • hot glue gun
  • scissors

ball_garland_suppliesI started by threading my needle and feeding the styrofoam balls on to the string. I used a couple of difference sizes, and I like the variety that element adds to the finished look.

string_strofoam_balls

string_strofoam_ball_garlandOnce I had a number of styrofoam balls threaded onto my string, I was ready to start hot gluing the fabric on. I cut the fabric into about one inch wide strips and placed a dab of hot glue onto the ball and pressed one end of the fabric into it. I simply then wrapped the ball in the fabric strip, added another dab of glue and placed the opposite end of the fabric strip into it. It was that easy! Two things to keep in mind.

  1. Watch your fingers. You are moving a small object around with hot glue. If you watch your fingers, you really are just wrapping a ball every which way to cover it up. It’s your garland, so the wrap can be as messy or as clean as you want! I liked the more rustic, slightly messy and not perfectly shaped sphere for each of my styrofoam balls.
  2. Don’t use a lot of glue. The stryofoam will melt and the dab of glue can sink through the scrap fabric and look hard and stiff. A small drop of glue will be all that you need.

valentines_garlandIf you keep those two things in mind, then you just keep repeating that step until every ball is completed. I hung this garland up at Christmas with a string of lights. At first we had our stockings tied up on it and then our Christmas cards clipped to it. I wish I could find those pictures, but I think they got deleted while trying to find more space on my phone.

With the red color, this garland still works for Valentines Day. I have it hanging above the day-bed in my studio, but you could add another felt heart or word garland to decorate it even more for a Valentines Day decoration.

ball_garland

colorful_bed

heart_garlandI hope you are having a good week! Thank you so much for reading my blog. I am continually thankful for you all to help me have this special outlet in my life.

Find some space to create, inspire, or imagine as an outlet for some YOU time this week.

signature

Share this:

  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)

Light Up Your Life (with those Christmas lights-year round!)

January 31, 2015 By Erica Deuel 1 Comment

DIY_fabric_garlandDo you miss your Christmas lights?

I love little twinkling lights. We use a lot of string lights or lamps to have soft light around our house. I’ve been wanting to show you this project for a while.

Last year I wanted a different look for our Christmas mantel, but I still wanted to use lights. I came up with this lit garland, but it ended up staying up all winter. I loved it then, and I still do! So much so, that I still make it and have one available for you at the end of this post.

To begin, you will need a strand of Christmas lights, fabric, and scissors. That’s it! I have done both burlap and fabric…and a mix of both. There are lots of possibilities!

I started with cutting my burlap into strips. After I had about 1″ wide strips, I then cut those in half. Depending on the size of your light strand, how long and wide you want your strips, and how many you strips you put on your lit strand will determine how many yards of fabric you will need.

cutting_burlap

cut_burlapThe next step is to fold one of the pieces of fabric in half and place it behind the strand of lights. Then loop the ends of the fabric around the strand of lights and pull through that top fold in your fabric. The strand of fabric will have tied itself onto the light strand.

lighted_garland

light_garlandThat is the primary step! From there it is just repeating of cutting strips and tying them on. I like to create a really full garland, so I place three to four strands of fabric between each light. I think by doing this the electrical wire is really covered well.

fabric_garlandThis one I am showing you, I mixed burlap with a creme fabric. I made it for a friend at Christmas. I have not found a good place for my lit garland yet, but you may remember seeing it in last year’s Valentine’s Day mantel. Once Christmas was over, I literally switched out Christmas elements and replaced it with winter ones and then just added Valentine’s Day decor like the Be Love pennant and XO Art.

I feel like white Christmas lights still look good in the winter. Now that I have moved north, I really still like them with the cold and snow. It’s beautiful.

valentines_day_decorAnother inexpensive way to make this lit garland would be to use an old sheet and rip strips of fabric. I made one with this idea to list for sale in my shop. I added a little string to it for another texture. You could add ribbons, strings, beads, feathers, etc., to yours!

lightsI love how the fabric and little lights add a lot of fun to a space. Home decor doesn’t have to be expensive. I tried this garland in my kitchen and was tempted to keep it. The added texture creates some warmth that I just love.

DIY_soft_lights

DIY_lightI think it even looks pretty when it’s not lit! Wouldn’t this be so cute in a little girl’s room?

DIY_home_decorWhat about you!? Do you have a thing for these fun little lights too? How do you create soft light in your home? I’d love to hear! Find me on Instagram (ericadeuel) and chat with me!

If you make this, I would love to see it! If you are interested in this one, you can purchase it here.

I hope you have are having a good weekend. If you are about to get snowed in, like me, stay safe and warm…and find some space to create! 🙂

signature

Share this:

  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)

DIY Tractor Garland

July 14, 2014 By Erica Deuel 6 Comments

DIY_John_Deere_garland

Do you have a little boy that loves tractors?

There is a sweet boy in my life who lights up for the big John Deere’s. When his mom decided to decorate his room, she playfully pitched several concepts to him. Superheros? No. Transformers? Nope. Sports? No way. It was tractors all the way. So, she has embraced his love of those bright, neon green machines and his room is getting a special makeover with tractor decorations. Can you imagine how much that little boy feels loved and valued? I love it.

I wanted to help, so I made this little felt garland to help decorate the walls. It would be so cute over the dresser, his bed, or even pulled out for a birthday party celebration. Although it was easy and cheap, it was a bit time-consuming. You can do it though! If you have a tractor lover in your life too, you should give this a try!

I started with printing off a picture of a John Deere Tractor and pulling out felt that were the same colors. I eye-balled cutting out different pieces with scissors. Once I had pieces of a tractor that I liked, I used those pieces as a stencil to cut out a few more tractors till I had a small stack of tractor pieces ready to put together.

pieces_of_tractor

felt_tractor

crafting_tractorsI put my tractor stack aside and cut out some simple triangles and the letters of his name to add a special personalization to his garland. I loved mixing the bronze sparkle with the felt to add another texture and a bit of snaze :). The bronze also reminded me of dirt, which goes well with a tractor. This sweet four-year old boy probably won’t get the meaning of those details, but it was fun to create and think through this design.

felt_lettersI sewed the letters to my triangles and as much of the tractor pieces together as I could. Once I had the tractors and name pieces ready, I sewed them all together to create a long attached garland and used hot glue to add some final touches to my tractor.

sewing_felt

sewing_felt_letters

felt_tractors

tractor_garland_tutorialI love how it turned out. For this garland, I sewed the tractors facing all the same direction. I think it would also be cute to space them out differently and have some tractors going the opposite direction.

John_Deere_garland

tractor_garland

tractor_love

Do you know a child who loves tractors and all things outdoors with bugs and dirt? I love embracing my kids’ interests, but taking it to the level of decorating their room is not always easy for me. So proud of this sweet boy’s mom and how she loves her son SO well!

Today, use your imagination to find a way to go that extra mile to let your kids know and FEEL they are loved treasures in your life. Have a great day!

signature

Share this:

  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
Next Page »
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
YouTube-Channel
Erica Deuel

Subscribe for Weekly Updates!




Most Popular Posts

Painting Flower Pot Party Tips
DIY Paper Butterflies- Spring decor for cheap
DIY {easy} Burlap Wreath
The Encanto, Madrigal's House Craft For Kids
Repurpose Old Kitchen Chairs
Cheap lamp to Industrial Beauty
School Desk Makeover
Engraved Wood Sign Tutorial (and Dremel Micro)
DIY King Size Rag Quilt {Repost}
Paint That Captures the Magic and Inspiration of Disney

Categories

  • All About the Kids
  • art journal
  • Blogging
  • Christmas
  • Craft Projects
  • Dancing Zebras
  • DIY
  • Eddy's postcards
  • Embroidery Journal
  • Family
  • Featured
  • Fireside Chat
  • Foster Care
  • Giveaways
  • Guest Posts
  • Home
  • Homeschooling
  • Kid Activities
  • Kid Craft
  • My Heart
  • Our Outings
  • Project Spotlight
  • Send Out Love
  • Shop
  • Sponsored Posts
  • Spoonful Lab
  • Spoonful Tribe
  • Tips + Tricks
  • Traveling
  • Uncategorized
  • Vlog

Favorite Categories

Subscribe for Weekly Updates!

Favorite Categories

© 2023 Spoonful of Imagination, Inc.