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Gnome Garden

4 · May 1, 2017 · 3 Comments

A Gnome Garden is the perfect project for the entire family! With a little imagination, a good container, plants, some sticks from your yard and a little DecoArt Patio Paint, you can transform a simple garden into a gnome wonderland. Come learn how…

This Gnome Garden post brought to you by DecoArt

I have always been fascinated by gardening. Gardening is in my gene pool. I have a sister with a degree in horticulture & landscape design (gardening) and a mother who adores gardening. I SHOULD be an amazing gardener, right?

Well… I’m getting there. To be completely honest, that darn gardening gene is taking awhile to really kick into gear. Every spring I bring home a new set of, what my husband likes to refer to as, “this years sacrifices!” What?

I’ve tried and tried for a few years to maintain some plants in my home and finally, I feel like I can mange some simple plant care. However, I am no expert. What I love to do is, create with my family and a gnome garden is PERFECT for that.

Gnome and Fairy Gardens are becoming all the rage these days. If you walk into Michaels right now, they have a whole section dedicated to these fun gardens with all kinds of gnomes and their accessories. I decided it would be fun to create a gnome garden together with the family using some budget friendly items like sticks from the backyard as our gnomes & a raw wood bird house that I found at Michaels as their cute home. Here’s what you’ll need to make one with your family…

Gnome Garden Supply List

Garden container
rocks
soil
7-8 small plants
4-5 sticks roughly 6 inches tall
DecoArt Patio Paint
- Suggested Colors
- Tuscan Red
- Marigold Yellow
- Tango Blue
- Mistletoe Green
- Cloud White
- Wrought Iron Black
Small round tip paint brush
Small flat tip paint brush
pencil
a sharp whittling knife
jar of water
paper towels
small decorative rocks
colored decorative sand
garden accessories

Why Patio Paint is Perfect for Gardens

Not all paint is created equal. Some paint is more durable than others and that’s alright, every type of paint has it’s purpose. What you are looking for with this project is a highly durable paint that is non-toxic, water based and adheres nicely to things that will likely be outdoors or will endure repeated watering like this project. The DecoArt Patio Paint is PERFECT for this! Here are the specifics…

No sealer required for a durable, long-lasting finish
Weather-proof
Satin finish
Scuff-resistant
Superior coverage
Will not crack or peel
Water-based and non-toxic
Easy to clean
Made in the USA

How to Create a Gnome Garden

Here’s a quick video to show you how easy it is to create a special gnome garden of your own…

Gnome Garden from Heather Thoming on Vimeo.

Isn’t that easy and fun for the family? Here’s the step by step…

Place rocks at the bottom of your container. This helps with drainage for your plants. Plants love water, but they typically don’t like to sit in it all of the time. You’ll need to make sure they have proper drainage.
Pour in your potting soil. Fill your container about 3/4 full.
Plant your plants in the container with the lower plants in front and the taller toward the back. Keep in mind, you are trying to set a scene. If you are wondering what plants to use and how to maintain them, here’s a good article from the Empress of Dirt.
Paint your birdhouse. Keep it simple or go crazy… This is your design. I wanted to keep our simple. We painted the door on the back of the bird house and added dots to the roof with a nice red peek-a-boo trim around the scalloped edge of the roof. I used the tip of the brush handle to create the dots on the roof.
ADULT TASK • Whittle the end of your branches into a tip like a pencil. The top portion of the tip will be your gnomes hat. Keep in mind this task either needs to be done by an adult OR supervised by an adult.
On one side of your stick, whittle a “U” shaped section for the face of your gnome.
Using the DecoArt Patio Paint and your small flat brush, paint on your gnomes hat and let dry.
Take the white paint and paint on your gnome’s beard. Basically in a “U” shape following the line of the face that you whittle in before. Set aside and let dry. Refer to video for more details on how to paint your gnome.
Using a sharped pencil, dip your pencil tip into the black paint and gently place one gnome eye. Reapply the paint to your pencil tip and create another eye. Dipping into the paint twice will help to create eyes that a similar in shape and size. Set aside and let dry.
Once dry, name your cute little little gnomes! Ours are Max (red), Sven (yellow), Einar (green) & Ole (blue). Then place them into your gnome garden.
Using the small rocks and colored sand, create a walkway in front of the house.

How to Write on Labels with Cricut to Create Your Own Handwritten Labels

129 · Mar 28, 2017 · Leave a Comment

Love the look of handwritten labels but you’re not in love with your own handwriting? No problem! These Cricut handwritten labels come to the rescue!

My Handwritten Labels Circut Explore Air 2 Project

Did you know that you can WRITE with your Cricut and cut out cute labels? You can even write on Avery labels with your Cricut! I put the Cricut markers to the test and created an easy-to-follow video to show you how to create some simple industrial-style labels that everyone loves right now. Here’s what inspired this project…

I have become obsessed with herbal tea this winter. My husband and I would share a mug of tea every night before bed to warm ourselves before hitting the hay. We started with one flavor of tea, Camomile, and over the chilly months, we started collecting all kinds of new flavors. Soon our collection of herbal tea started to take over our kitchen and I decided that it was time to find a better storage solution for our newfound tea love. I found a great industrial-style cabinet that fits perfectly in our kitchen and loaded it up with all of our tea.

The next step was to create some labels for our new tea storage solution. Because the cabinet was an industrial-style cabinet I wanted to create some industrial-looking labels that were handwritten. The problem… I’m not a huge fan of my handwriting. I was just not blessed with that gift, nor do I have the time to practice, practice, practice. I remembered that my Cricut Explore Air 2 has a great “handwritten” option using the Cricut Explore Pens.

How to Write on Avery Labels with Your Cricut – Handwritten Label Inspiration

This is such a simple beginner project that anyone at any creative level can create for their home with their Cricut machine. For this industrial-style label, I kept things simple. I really only needed a “handwritten” tea name with a rectangle cut around it… Pretty basic. However, you can create all kinds of great “handwritten” labels with fancy shapes as well. I created a Label Design Pinterest board with some inspiration for all kinds of fun “handwritten” labels that you can make with the Cricut Explore Air 2.

The video below shows you in-depth how to create the lables.

How to Make Your Own Handwritten Labels With Cricut Explore Air 2

With all of that inspiration, you have to be chomping at the bit to get started. I created a simple, easy-to-follow video to show you exactly how to make these basic handwritten labels for a storage solution in your home. Grab a cup of tea, sit back and learn how to make your own labels.

Here’s What You Need to Make These Cricut Handwritten Labels

There are a few things you’ll need to make these awesome labels. The good news is you can get all of them online. Since you’re reading this I bet you already have a Cricut machine but if not, what are you waiting for!? The rest of the tools you may or may not have and I’d recommend picking them up to get this project going 🙂

Cricut Machine (I used the Explore Air 2 for this)
Cricut Pens
Cricut Cutting Mat
Avery Lables
Optional but helpful: The Cricut spatula tool
And just a little bit of practice!

That’s all you really need for this project. Most of these items are very cheap unless you don’t already have a Cricut machine. Even then, if you want to get into DIY home crafts and projects, the machines really are a bargain!

Tips & Tricks for Handwritten Cricut Labels

Here are a few tips & tricks that I learned along the way.

STOP and think about your end game. What style are you looking to create with your handwritten labels? Make sure you are selecting fonts that pair well with that design concept. If you are going for an industrial look, you aren’t going to use a font that is more shabby chic. If you have a farmhouse style in your home, you aren’t going to select a modern-style font and so on.
When working within Cricut Design Space, don’t forget to ATTACH your layers before you send your design to your machine. We go over this in the video so make sure you check that out before you get started.
The Cricut Design Space makes it super easy to tell the difference between a handwritten layer and a cut layer in your label design. Keep an eye on the icons to tell the difference between the layers. (HINT… I cover this in the video.)
USE your Cricut tools! I always want to move too fast and forget that Cricut has created some great tools to help make your projects the best they can be. When removing card stock paper from the cutting mat, use the SPATULA TOOL to keep your paper nice and flat. If you remove the paper by just pulling it away from the cutting mat, it will curl slightly.
Don’t forget to watch the video! It’s less than 10 minutes and it covers everything you’ll need to know to create your own “handwritten” labels.

Now hopefully you know how to make labels with your Cricut Explore Air 2. As always, If you have questions post them in the comments below and I will answer!

Colorful Nautical Gallery Wall Tips and Tricks

2 · Mar 20, 2017 · 1 Comment

The Gallery Wall… Everyone loves them. Yet, some find them really challenging. It can be hard to come up with the perfect combination of items that complement each other. Finding the right arrangement on the wall can be mind boggling BUT… It doesn’t have to be. You don’t have to be a certified gallery wall specialist, you just need to find a good partner like Michaels and then follow a few tips and tricks to create the PERFECT gallery wall for your home.

Gallery Wall 101

Gather items that compliment the room – You need to stay true to the space and find items and frames that enhance the space and stay true to the style of the room. If you have a rustic white farmhouse space, it would make no sense to put together a mid-century inspired wall gallery. The examples below are from Michaels new Gallery Wall collections. They are each designed to complement YOUR STYLE and make it easy to pull that style together without a degree in the fine arts… They’ve done all of the hard work for you.
Don’t be afraid to gather more than you need – It’s so much easier to gather items such as frames, photos, hooks, clocks, shelves, planters, wall art, mirrors, meaningful items… The list could go on and on. It’s better to have too much to start with than not enough. It’s easier to start working on your layout and then edit out items that don’t work. (Michaels PRO TIP, If you join their rewards program YOU NO LONGER NEED A RECIPT TO RETURN ITEMS! Yep, they keep all of your purchases stored under your account and you no longer have to keep those pesky recipes.)
Define your space – Gallery walls come in all shapes and sizes. Don’t be afraid to break the rules! Trust your eye and see what works best for your space. For my gallery wall, I wanted something nice and tight that didn’t go too much past the edges of the dresser in my daughter’s room. Yet, I didn’t really want it to be in a uniform shape. Don’t be afraid to think outside of the box. Gallery walls can also spread out over multiple walls, around corners and take up larger spaces. So, don’t be afraid to spread out as well.
Layout your design on the floor – Jennifer Rizzo created a fun gallery wall using this idea. Before you get out the hammer & nails… Layout your design on the floor to get an idea of what it will look like. It’s so much easier to move stuff around that way and play with different designs. It’s much easier on your walls as well. Click on the photo to see how beautiful her gallery wall turned out!
Layer items to give more dimension – Flat is OUT! Gallery walls don’t need to to be one dimension. For my gallery wall I layered some items to give the space a little POP. I used strong adhesive glue like E-6000 to layer my different items.
Add color and texture with decorative paper – Not all frames need to be filled with photos. Using decorative papers is an inexpensive way to add color and texture.
Trace your items on paper – STOP! Before you hang one single thing… Trace all of your items onto butcher paper or old paper grocery sacks. Cut them out and hang it on the wall just like your perfect layout that you created on the floor. Ashley Hacksaw from Lil’Blue Boo shows how to use inexpensive paper and some painters tape to layout your gallery wall BEFORE you start putting holes in the wall. Once you get your layout perfect then the hanging can commence. You can even hammer or drill right on top of the paper to make sure your nails or screws are in the perfect place. Click on the photo below to see how Ashley’s cool gallery wall turned out!
Don’t be in a rush – Take your time. If you have a hard time feeling comfortable with creating your gallery walls and feel like you need a few second opinions, do it! Lay your gallery wall out on the floor and hand your paper gallery wall up and invite a couple of trusted friends over. Let it sit at this point for a few days until you are good and ready to move on to the next step. There is no need to rush… Unless your Mother-in-Law is coming soon, then you should probably get a move on.
Don’t be afraid to try other methods to hang your items – We live in an amazing time when we don’t always have to put nails in our walls to create an amazing gallery wall! Have you tried using Command Strips to hang your gallery wall items? I LOVE THEM!!! I especially LOVE the Command Strip picture hanging strips that are like Velcro. They are my current obsession. Will it surprise you to know that I didn’t use a single nail or screw for my gallery wall? Not a single hole was made in the wall. (My Dad would be so proud!) Now with that said, some heavier items will need a more secure way of hanging, so follow the directions on the Command Strips and make sure to use the right tool for the job.

The bottom line is, DONT BE AFRAID! Break the rules, do what works for you and your space. You aren’t creating Mount Rushmore, if after some time you feel the need for change, than change it. Luckily Michaels makes it so easy by creating a great starting point with fun products for their four new gallery wall collections the Farmington, Catalina (that’s the one I used), Alexandria & Savannah. Come on over to their blog the Glue String to get even more inspiration on how to create the perfect gallery wall for your home.

Disclaimer // I am thrilled to be a Michaels Maker and to have a chance to share with you some of my favorite Michaels projects. As a Michaels Maker they do provide the product for me to create with each month. However, I will only share what I truly love and use in my typical day-to-day life.

Lighted Floral Swag | Perfect to Add a Little Romance to Any Room

10 · Mar 2, 2017 · Leave a Comment

I know the majority of the country is looking forward to a little Spring heading their way. There is nothing better than some early spring blooms to help you out of the winter doldrums, but, if you’re still knee deep in snow… They aren’t going to show up any time soon. That’s when the Floral Market at Michaels should be your next stop ASAP!! Refreshing your home for spring is as easy as swapping out a few décor pieces or adding pretty faux florals. Or, you can make a Lighted Floral Swag to add a little romance to your room. Michaels has everything you need to get started!

How beautiful is THAT! Won’t that brighten-up your dull, gray day?

I started with these lovely flowers from the Michaels Flower Market…

Then I grabbed two different kinds of led lights to add a little flair…

This fun vintage style string of Edison LED light bulbs and then just your basic LED string lights. The next item I needed was some great branches from out in the back yard. If you don’t have any fallen branches, scour your neighborhood and see if your neighbors would be willing to part with some of theirs. You can even buy branches at your local garden center if needed.

Lighted Floral Swag Instructions

First, I wired my branches together with floral wire and used some twine to create loops to hang the branches from. Then I wrapped them with the wire LED lights first.

Don’t worry about the battery packs that you can see on the sides. Those will be hidden later on with the flowers. You’ll also need to trim your twine to make it look nice.

Next, I draped the light bulb string loosely around the branches.

I love how those bulbs look hanging from the branches!

Finally, I hot glue my flowers to the branches. I wanted kind of a minimalist look for this swag, but, you can go totally crazy with the blooms if you’d like. It’s totally up to your preferences.

I completed the look with a few old pieces from around the house, plus a new FABULOUS foot stool from Michaels!!

I mean how cool is that footstool?! I also grabbed that yummy gold “hello” at Michaels as well in the same section. I just adore it all!

This project is super easy! Run on over to Michaels to grab your favorite florals and get started. Let’s start Spring off with a lovely BLOOM!

Looking for more inspiration? Make sure you visit Michaels’ blog, The Glue String, to see the rest of the Michaels Makers’ Spring Refresh project ideas.

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