Elmer's

DIY Painted Tray Set

1 · May 19, 2014 · 4 Comments

+ This DIY Painted Tray Set post brought to you by the lovely folks at Elmer’s +

With the spring in full swing and summer fast approaching, my creative spirit has started longing for all things beach. The nautical trend is one that I whole heartedly adopt. I love the colors, the simplicity, the way that it takes me back to slow days on the beach with my family and especially my sweetheart. Yea, I’m loving it!

Last month I had the chance to meet a couple of the lovely ladies that work at Elmer’s while I was attending SNAP. Now, I’ve worked with Elmer’s products for years and I’m on the Elmer’s Craft It Crew this year and while hanging out in their booth at SNAP, I started to realize the potential of a product that has kind of hung out in the background of the Elmer’s family of products… Their line of Painters Markers!

Painters Markers are acrylic paint markers that come in fine, medium or chisel tips. They are easy to use and virtually mess-free. The are permanent on most surfaces and can be used on pretty much any type of surface. Wood, glass, ceramic, tera cotta, plastic, metal, foam board & even fabric. They are streak-free, non-toxic & acid-free. Yea, they ROCK!!

Recently, I found a fun wood and metal serving tray at Target and thought it would look great with the addition of some coral to give it a bit of a nautical theme. I decided to take these Elmer’s Painters Markers for a spin to see how well they worked!

First, I found a coral image that I like and cut the image out on Stencil Vinyl from Silhouette on my CAMEO.

Then I colored in the image with the Elmer’s Painters Marker in Sea Mist Brume.

Tip… I did learn that you need to shake it up really well and draw on another piece a paper for a little bit in order to get the color to regulate.

Once I was finished coloring it in, I removed the stencil and then outlined it with the with Gold Ore Painter’s Marker which is a FABULOUS metallic marker. I LOVE IT!!

The acrylic paint from the markers dries so fast and the ease of being able to “paint” with acrylic paint in marker form just makes my day. No more brushes, and all the mess that comes along with painting. I decided my tray needed some matching glasses to complete the look so I took some jar glasses that I also found at Target, and using the same stencil process, stenciled a gold anchor onto the glass.

The gold paint goes onto the glass so smooth and looks fabulous.

Tip… I did learn that you need to remove the stencil while the paint is still wet, or you may pull some of the dried paint off when removing the stencil.

I even painted the silver metal lids that I have for my jar glasses gold with the Painter’s Markers. It was super slick!!

Now, I have a stylish nautical display piece for my house or I can make a few more glasses and I have a fun serving set for a party! I LOVE it!!

The cool thing is that it really only took a few minutes to make all of these creations, less than an hour for sure and the paint was dry within minutes.

As for the anchor glasses… I’m not sure how this paint will react to a trip though the dishwasher and I do think that it could scratch off easily so I would hand wash for sure. I plan on using them mostly for display and not really for everyday use. If you would like to use them everyday I would try to find some type of sealant to make the gold image a little more permanent.

Now, that I’ve hopefully inspired you… What would you like to paint with Elmer’s Painters Markers?

Disclaimer // I am a member of the 2014 Elmer’s Craft It Crew and was compensation for my time while preparing this post. However, all thoughts, idea and opinions are my very own!

Easter Buddies + An Easter Pinterest Party

0 · Mar 26, 2014 · 3 Comments

// Easter Buddies with Free Printable //

I have decided that when it comes to candy and all around cuteness… Easter is my favorite holiday. I mean really, Cadbury Mini Eggs, Jelly Beans, Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs, Cadbury Creme Eggs, black jelly beans, the list could go on and on. Not to mention all of the cute basket of Easter goodies that they have available at the stores these days.

I’m a sucker for fun plastic eggs and I found this CUTE set of animal Easter eggs at Target and thought it would be perfect little goodie for my kiddos. I could add a fun curled up message along with the candy inside, add some feet to the bottom of the plastic eggs and they turn them into something extra special…

This project is super quick and with my free printable, you can make them up in a snap! Here’s what you will need…

Supply List

Animal Easter Eggs
card stock paper
Elmer’s Craft Bond Foam Mounting Shapes
scissors
printer paper
pencil
candy

Instructions

First, you will need to print the free printable sayings on just your basic printer paper…

You can download the printable HERE.

Once you have that printed, you will need to use scissors or a paper cutter to cut out the strips and then curl them around a pencil…

Next cut out some small 1- 1 1/2 inch hearts to use as the feet for your little animal eggs…

I used my Cricut Explore, but you could easily use any cutting machine or free hand it as well. Then you will use your Elmer’s Craft Bond foam circles to affix the feet to the egg. These little foam adhesives are PERFECT for this project.

They have just the right amount of hold to keep those little buddies standing strait without hardly any fuss. And just like that, you’re a rock star!

Add some Cadbury Mini Eggs and you’re really ROCKIN’! There you have it, this simple yet super fun Easter Buddy project…

Easter Pinterest Party

Now that I’ve shared my fun Easter creation, some of my favorite creative friends and I are pleased to invite YOU to wow us with yours!

The Easter-themed Year of Celebrations Pinterest party will be held this Sunday, March 30, and y’all are all cordially invited to join in!

Hosted by…

Amy from The Idea Room // Follow Amy on Pinterest
Amy from Positively Splendid That’s me! // Follow me on Pinterest
Cheryl from TidyMom // Follow Cheryl on Pinterest
Cindy from Skip to My Lou // Follow Cindy on Pinterest
Desiree from The 36th Avenue // Follow Desiree on Pinterest
Heather from Whipperberry // Follow Heather on Pinterest
Jen from Tatertots and Jello // Follow Jen on Pinterest
Kari Ann from Thistlewood Farms // Follow Kari Ann on Pinterest
Kellie from Nest of Posies // Follow Kellie on Pinterest
Kristi and Kelli from Lolly Jane // Follow Lolly Jane on Pinterest
Melissa from No. 2 Pencil // Follow Melissa on Pinterest
Mique from 30 Handmade Days // Follow Mique on Pinterest
Tauni from SNAP! // Follow Tauni on Pinterest

The monthly Year of Celebrations Pinterest Party is the place to find THE most comprehensive, inspiring Pinterest board on the block. Each and every month, we’ll be focusing on a different holiday or celebration, and this month is all about Easter!

Here are all of the details for how YOU can participate:

What: A Pinterest Party to celebrate all things Easter!
When: THIS Sunday, March 30 at 9 p.m. EST/ 8 p.m. Central/ 7 p.m. MST/ 6 p.m. PST

How you can participate:

Round up YOUR favorite Easter projects and recipes. Anything goes: crafts, decor, sweet treats, and more!
Follow the Year of Celebrations Pinterest board.
When the party kicks off, tweet YOUR favorite Valentine’s Day project and/or link using the hashtag #yearofcelebrations. Helpful hint: We highly recommend putting the hashtag at the beginning of your tweet to ensure it doesn’t get cut off.
On Sunday, March 30, tune in at the appointed time and watch as we build a board full of amazing ideas – including yours!
Be sure to follow along during the party to repin and comment on the board’s posts using the hashtag #yearofcelebrations.

We are so excited to PIN and SHARE all of your amazing projects!

See y’all there! 🙂

ONE LAST THING… I have an amazing $500 Instagram giveaway going on right now. Click HERE to check out all the info and enter to win…

Hello Spring Burlap Sign

2 · Feb 25, 2014 · 9 Comments

Spring Burlap Sign brought to you by Elmer’s Glue // It’s almost here and I just can’t seem to get spring off my mind these days! The folks at Elmer’s challenged me to come up with a fun spring project and I was super excited to get busy working on it. Not to long ago I attended the product launch event for the new Cricut Explore and all of the fun projects we saw at the event inspired this fun Hello Spring Sign…

Doesn’t it just look cheery? Spring has no choice but to appear with this fun sign.

Everyone is still in love with burlap, and this new polka dot burlap that I found at Jo-Ann’s Fabrics I think is going to extend the life of the burlap trend. It is just so fun. I glued it onto a rustic palette wood board that I also found pre-made at Jo-Ann’s. Score on that one… I’ve made plenty of my own palette wood signs and it’s such a time saver to not have to build it yourself. I topped it off with some Basic Grey Hey Girl paper, the graphic elements of the paper together with the burlap makes this sign just pop!

Now, I was super excited to try something new with one of Elmer’s glue sticks that I’ve been wanting to try. It’s their Elmer’s Xtreme School Glue Stick and it works like magic!! I would have to say I was a little skeptical, I, like many of you have been a little let down at times with the performance of glue sticks in the past. They just don’t have the chops for some projects. I thought for sure the glue stick wasn’t going to be able to handle affixing the burlap to my palette sign, but sure enough it did. Not only that, it only took minutes rather than hours for the glue to dry and my sign was ready to work on in a snap… LOVE that! Needless to say, the Xtreme Glue Stick has won me over, it’s defiantly a case of “under promise, and OVER DELIVER.” Here’s how I made my sign…

Hello Spring Burlap Sign Supplies

Hello Spring Burlap Sign Directions

Lay your palette sign on a flat surface and lay your burlap on top.

Cut the fabric to roughly the size of the sign with about a 1 inch boarder around the board. Then center the burlap and using your Elmer’s Xtreme Glue Stick affix the burlap to the wood. I started on one slat at a time and in small 3-4 inch sections smoothing the burlap and I went along.

Wait for 15-20 minutes until the glue has completely dried. Next, you will trim your burlap. I used both an X-ACTO knife and scissors. Either one will work just fine. I did find that the scissors were a bit easier in certain places.

I was thrilled with how well the burlap trimmed up and my palette slats look fantastic with the addition of the burlap.

Next, I cut out my pinwheels on my Cricut Explore,

NOW, I know that the Cricut Explore isn’t available until March 15th, soooo… You can cut basic pinwheels using this great tutorial from First Palette. I used Elmer’s Glue Spots to secure the pinwheels and then dressed them up with a mini brad in the center. Then I used the Elmer’s Foam Mounting Square to affix the pinwheels to the sign…

Next, I cut my lettering using a couple of my favorite fonts on my Cricut Explore. The fonts are League Gothic and Suburbia. League Gothic is a pretty standard font, but Suburbia will be available in the Cricut Design Space once that is launch on February 27th. Now, if you don’t have a Cricut or a Silhouette to cut your letters, you can always print them out from your computer and cut them out with your X-ACTO knife. That’s super slick as well. So… choose whatever font you would like for the Hello Spring and select your paper for the words.

Next, I affixed the letters to the burlap sign with my Elmer’s Foam Mounting Squares…

I LOVE these mounting squares, they give your letters a 3D effect which just adds more dimension to the sign…

Isn’t that fun?! Once you have everything mounted to the sign, you’re finished! I added it to my giant frame in my living room to update it for the season…

Isn’t that a fun project that will brighten up any space? You can use it for any kind of saying, the polka dot burlap comes in a bunch of different colors and the skies the limit as to what you can create with that! One of my Creative team, Jenn from My Fabuless Life even used it to dress up some old folding chairs. All you need to do now is head over to JoAnn’s, stock up on supplies and get busy, you’ll have a fun new sign in just a couple of hours!

Disclaimer // I am a member of the 2014 Elmer’s Craft it Crew and received product and compensation for this post. Please keep in mind… I will only endorse products and brands that I believe in 100% and use in my day to day life!

DIY Lace Flower Pots

7 · Dec 10, 2013 · 3 Comments

This post is brought to you by Elmer's Glue // I'm super excited to share this idea with you guys today! This time of year I am ALWAYS looking for fun handmade gift ideas. Gifts that are easy to make but huge on the WOW factor. These DIY Lace Flower Pots fit the bill just perfect!!

These are PERFECT neighbor gifts, teacher gifts… anyone really. Add a poinsettia or a festive evergreen and it's a stylish gift for anyone. Here's what you need to make them…

Lace Flower Pot Supplies

Terra cotta pots – any size.

Lace – for smaller pots, you can use scraps, larger pots will need possibly a yard or so. You will have to measure your pots for exact measurements.

Elmer's Craft Bond Fabric & Paper Glue

Scissors

Lace Flower Pots Instructions

First you need to measure the lace and make sure that it will fit your desired spot on the pot. Then generously add glue to the pot in small sections and lay the lace down.

Use your fingers to work glue around the lace. Don't worry about the white color. This type of Elmer's Fabric & Paper Glue dries clear. Make sure that all of the lace is covered in the glue and then move on to the next section.

NOTE: You may want to wear disposable gloves when working with the glue. I didn't and it took a bit to wash off my hands.

Trim the lace so that the seam doesn't show and then smooth everything down. Let dry over night. The next morning, you will have the most beautiful lace flower pots. It's just that easy! Now, all you have to do is figure out what you want to fill the pot with. You can fill it will any kind of indoor plant or you could fill it will a scrumptious batch of cookies. It's your call!!

You will be amazed at how strong the glue is! I actually tried to pull the lace off once it was dried and couldn't. I ran water over it and it still looked like new when it dried. Gotta say… Pretty happy with this gift idea!

What would you fill your DIY Lace Flower Pots with?

Disclaimer // This post is sponsored by Elmer's Glue. I am a member of Elmer's Craft it Crew and received payment and product for this post. Rest assured, I will never work with a brand or product that I don't whole heartedly endorse and use in my every day life.