Spoonful of Imagination

Add it to a Family for Something Beautiful

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

Create your own inexpensive foliage!

February 25, 2020 By Erica Deuel Leave a Comment

Are you ready for spring?

I don’t mind the winter, as long as there is snow and it’s pretty! Sometimes the pretty is just the trees’ silhouette outline on a colorful sky, since we haven’t had as much snow this winter. There have been a lot of gray, wet days. It has me itching to bring back color, so the other day, I took down all the winter decorations at our art studio and started creating some spring ones. Let me show you how I came up with my foliage!

As the founder of a non profit art studio, we get a good amount of local craft donations from other artists or businesses in town. Recently, we got some fabric samples from a home designer and it got me thinking if I could turn those into some inexpensive green, spring foliage.

I loved how there were different patterns, texture of fabrics and shades of colors. I started by cutting about 3″ long leaves. I didn’t measure or worry about the exact width or shape. This is a great activity to do during a movie or couch lounging one night.

Once I had a huge stack of leaves, I simply started hot gluing and folding them around some wire stems.

You can use whatever wire you have or you can pick some up in the craft floral section at your local craft store like I did. I added a dab of hot glue on the wire and kind of folded one end of the leaf around it. I don’t have any pictures of this step, but if you look closely you can see what I am saying.

I worked in about 3′ long pieces of wire and made a stack of this foliage as I went. I made 8 separate pieces, but you could make as many as you wanted. I intended for my foliage to hang like a garland, but you could create yours on dowel rods for a sturdy base to stick in a vase as well. There are lots of possibilities!

I love how the fabric creates a soft leaf and foliage look. It really makes it more believable by how it moves and does not have a harsh fold. I took my foliage to the studio and hung it down in our faux fireplace.

I love the natural, yet creative pop of inspiration it gives in the space.

It was a perfect way to add some spring decorations in an inexpensive way to our space. What do you think?

So, are you ready for spring? Or, do you want to will it into existence by creating spring looks too?

Creating doesn’t have to be expensive. Use what you have. If you have some old green Christmas decorations, you can cut that up for some leaves. Do you have some green shirts with a stain? You can use that too! On those little leaves, you can’t tell where they came from or what they use to be. When they are all strung up together though, they create a beautiful look!

Have fun and imagine the possibilities! If you create some inexpensive foliage, tag us on Instagram or Facebook so we can see!

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)

Spring Mantel Decor with Crafts

February 20, 2019 By Erica Deuel Leave a Comment

Who is ready for winter to be over!?

(All the hands went up and the hearts said yes). Especially the ones in the northern mid-west of the United States. We got more ice and snow last night in Indiana, so it felt like the perfect time to show you what I did at our art studio yesterday.

I set up spring.

It was time to take down the winter-Valentines decor…

I went straight to warm colors, softer textures, and crafty bits for spring. It was inspired by these two baskets I found thrifting last weekend.

I wanted to use the baskets as little shelves to hold a vase of flowers in our new mantel display. Although I had this idea, I knew the vases needed to be light since the baskets are thin.

Since this mantel is at our art studio I constantly am trying to think of how to keep it easy, cheap, creative, crafty, yet not tacky. I want it to inspire others that pretty doesn’t have to be expensive and that you can mix some easy crafty bits into decor to look pretty and feel personal at the same time.

I decided for the light flower vases I would use old soup cans. To soften their metal look and give another texture, I simply wrapped some thick yarn around it a couple of times and knotted it off.

I stuck some fake flowers in the can, and my light vase to go in my basket was complete. I wrapped some wire around my new vase and stuck it through the basket and twisted the wire behind the basket to get my vase to stay in place.

I ended up putting the vases in the middle of the baskets, so the baskets look more like a frame than a shelf. It looked better to scale this way. If I had bigger “vases” I might have kept with the shelf idea. I like this process of creating where an idea might start as one thing, but as you create, you take it somewhere else.

It’s part of the fun of creating. We aren’t tied to our original ideas we see in our brain.

I strung up a clearance banner I found at Target for $0.50, put some Dollar Tree succulents in some wood pots we sell at the studio for people to paint, and hung up two umbrellas (for that spring rain) that I found at Hobby Lobby for $7.00 each and my spring mantel was complete.

Do you ever find one item that inspires a look? I had a bunch of random ideas in my head for this new mantel, but once I found the baskets- it all came together!

Do you remember what last spring’s mantel was with the butterflies!? Take a look here and let me know which one is more YOU!

Happy day friends! Spring will come, but until then we can make the most of each day for the gift that it is!

 

 

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 Paper Butterflies- Spring decor for cheap

February 28, 2018 By Erica Deuel 2 Comments

DIY Paper Butterflies- Spring decor for cheapDo you have spring fever?

The sun has shown its face in Warsaw, Indiana this week. It’s making us want to pull out the flip flops and replace all the winter decor with spring and colorful creations.

As a kid, I think I might have wanted to be a teacher just so I could make the fun bulletin boards. Now, I have my chance at our art studio. I love changing out the mantel. After the sun this week, I took the winter trees down and needed a fun, inexpensive, spring idea to replace them. I came up with these butterflies.

DIY Paper Butterflies- Spring decor for cheapWhat’s cheap? Paper can be the most inexpensive way to decorate. I saw these butterflies in the school section of my local Dollar Tree. I snatched up several bags as soon as I saw them. An idea clicked, and luckily they had the butterfly net in stock too for my idea.

They had other animals as well! If you don’t have a Dollar Tree, I’m sure any local store that sells school supplies may have something similar.

DIY Paper Butterflies- Spring decor for cheapFor every one of my butterflies, it took two pieces of paper. I simply folded one butterfly in half, placed a little hot glue on another butterfly down it’s center, and then pressed the folded butterfly into the glue on the fold line. Check out these pictures to see what I mean.

DIY Paper Butterflies- Spring decor for cheap

DIY Paper Butterflies- Spring decor for cheap

DIY Paper Butterflies- Spring decor for cheapThat was it! I just used a little tape to put the butterflies in place on my wall.

These were so simple to make. If you don’t want the butterflies flying off your mantel like I did, you could use this technique to make a wreath, a card, a garland, or even as a party decoration.

DIY Paper Butterflies- Spring decor for cheap

DIY Paper Butterflies- Spring decor for cheapAre you ready for spring too!? Maybe you live more in the south and it’s already spring where you live. Have you pulled out spring decor??

DIY Paper Butterflies- Spring decor for cheapThese paper butterflies were so cheap. The project could even be cheaper if you hand cut butterflies or have a die cut machine of your own. For me, I don’t have a machine and 32 butterflies for a $1 was so worth it.

If you end up using this idea, let me know! #spoonfulproject

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)

Quick And Easy DIY Felt Bunny

April 2, 2015 By Erica Deuel Leave a Comment

felt_bunny_toySpring is finally showing its beautiful self in Indiana. We’ve had trouble getting all our school work done because WE. JUST. WANT. TO. BE. OUTSIDE.

Can you relate? I literally have dropped my chores and let the laundry pile up-to go walk in the creek in the backyard with the kids. It’s been amazing!

Now that we are feeling some spring, I realize Easter is just days away. There is nothing like the pressure of having to pull a good, meaningful, fun gift together quickly. You’re in luck! These felt stuffed bunnies were super simple. I literally made all four last night with supplies I had on hand. Now I can throw them in my kids Easter baskets with some candy and other little things, and they have a sentimental, homemade gift that took barely any time. You can do it too!

I started with taking a piece of felt and folding it in half. I then cut out a bunny silhouette. I just eye balled my bunny, but I know there are probably images you could google, print out, cut out, trace onto the felt and then cut out. I cut through both layers of the felt at the same time to make sure I had two images of the bunny that were exact.

cut_bunnyI then did a quick stitch with my sewing machine, but I left an opening at the base of my bunny. If you don’t have a sewing machine, you could do a simple blanket stitch by hand like I did on this plush bear.

Also, I added an extra piece of felt to two of my bunnies backsides to make them a tooth fairy pillow as well.

felt_bunny

spring_craftNext, I stuffed the bunnies with some Poly-fil and used a paintbrush to help stuff the Poly-fil up into the ears.

felt_stuffed_bunnyI decided to not try to stick the stuffed bunny back into my sewing machine, but I instead used some embroidery floss and hand stitched the bunnies close.

DIY_bunnyThe final step was to hot glue a little felt ball onto the bottom to act as a tail. I toyed with sewing buttons on or embroidering a face on the front of the bunny. In the end, I decided I liked the simple look. You could also paint faces on your bunny or even give them away plain, and let your kids decorate them!

I think they would be cute with little pipe cleaner whiskers, felt legs sticking out, and even googly eyes glued on. This might even be a fun craft for a party. There are lots of possibilities, if we use our imaginations!

spring_kids_craftHas spring sprung where you are? I have heard we might get another snow storm and aren’t in the clear of cold temps yet, but for now, we are loving the sunshine! I hope you too are being able to get outside, create, and imagine the possibilities!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I will be back again soon!

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

DIY {easy} Burlap Wreath
Painting Flower Pot Party Tips
Cheap lamp to Industrial Beauty
Wood Slice Valentine Art
Chiffon Flower Tutorial
Repurpose Old Kitchen Chairs
Engraved Wood Sign Tutorial (and Dremel Micro)
DIY Paper Butterflies- Spring decor for cheap
DIY Valentines Heart Wreath
DIY Bookends (what you can make for being a hoarder)

Categories

  • All About the Kids
  • art journal
  • Blogging
  • Christmas
  • Craft Projects
  • Dancing Zebras
  • DIY
  • Eddy's postcards
  • Embroidery Journal
  • Family
  • Featured
  • 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.