Santa Clause Wine Bottle // Tutorial

As y'all have read, I found something similar to this on Pinterest and was pretty bummed when there wasn't a tutorial. Thank goodness for a little bit of my crafty skills and being able to somewhat duplicate!

You will need:

bottles

twine

gloss red spray paint

matte black spray paint

glitter spray paint

self stick gems

craft clear crystal rhinestones (I found mine at Hobby Lobby)

glue gun/glue sticks

painters tape

fabric glue

bells

1.

I began with soaking all the bottles for easy removal of the labels and then dried them.

Spray your bottles with red gloss spray paint. I applied several times.

 2.

Follow that with the glitter spray paint.

You can add as little or as much as you want to. I would suggest after every couple of sprays to shake the bottle again. You will notice not much will come out if you don't. 

3.

Allright. On the original that I found, I could NOT tell what the black 'belt' was made of.. sooo I looked in all my stuff and found some painters tape and I had just happened to have black metallics paint for another project. 

I thought it worked pretty good!

Take off the tape after the black dries.. it won't take the red or the glitter!

4.

Next, I glued on the twine with the Crafter's fabric glue.

You have to be a little patient with getting it started but once you get the first piece glued you are good to go! You don't have to apply glue to the whole section either.. once you get it started you are OK just to apply every couple of wraps.

And don't worry about the glue that shows.. it dries clear and you will never see it!

5.

I found these stick on gems at Michael's and just eye-balled the placement. Be sure to get them as close to where you want them.. if you try and move them the sticky will come off the back and they aren't any good anymore.

6.

Next, I glued the clear crystals on with a dab of glue from the glue gun.

Finish your project with glueing on the bells at the top and you have your very own Santa bottles!

Hope this tutorial helps and have fun making them!

Both of these sold this week at the salon before the Christmas Bazaar and the same lady who bought them has asked for two more.. whoo hoo!! 

P.S. If you have a better idea come to mind for the black please share! 

Fabric Garland Tutorial

Here it is! 

I had SOOOO much fun with Amber when we got together for a little garland making. We saw the idea at the Hoschton festival we all went to and she let me dig thru her scrap fabrics in her studio to make my very own! 

She made hers for her mantle and actually used lights as her twine. One of the fabrics she used was an old bridesmaid dress and it ended up being GORGEOUS! Word on the street is her tree is already up too. I can't WAIT to see it!! 

Well let's get started!

You will need:

fabric of your choice

scissors or handle rotary cutter

cutting board

twine

iron (if fabric needs to be smoothed)

1. 

Start out by cutting your fabric into 9x2 strips. 

I started out with the scissors but soon changed to the rotary because its faster and easier. Amber is a pro-fess-ion-al with that tool. 

Just a warning you will cut and cut and cut and when you feel like you are finished I suggest to cut a little more.

2. 

I tied a knot at the end of the twine to make sure my fabric didn't slide off..

3.

And then I just started tying and tying and tying. Some were double knotted and some were single... like the corduroy because it was super thick so most of that fabric was a single knot.

4.

Tie the end of the twine when you reach your desired length and enjoy your garland!

Amber pointed out that I'll be able to use mine for not only Christmas but July 4th and more!

YAY! 

DIY PHOTO CANVAS

I love, love, love me some pictures!

One of my favorite things is to look thru the old and the new and reminisce on all the memories. 

I have always considered myself a picture freak and love having tons and tons of photos ALL over the house! 

Coach says we have enough in our home already but I beg to differ.. ha. We needed just a couple few more on the walls. 

Which brings me to this project.

I have been putting off ordering one of our wedding photos on a nice canvas because I did NOT want to pay $100+ for just ONE. 

This project was SUPER easy, I did all of these in one night, and did NOT spend hundreds of dollars doing so.

I already had the largest canvas and the 8x10.. The only purchase I made was the 11x15 canvas and my poster prints. 

BONUS: I buy my canvas' at Michael's and get their coupons online. This particular day, I scored a 50% off. WHOOP WHOOP!

You will also need:

matte MOD PODGE

sponge brushes

black paint

cutting tool (to trim the photos)

I started out by applying MOD PODGE to a blank canvas, added the photo on top, and from the center started working out all of the air bubbles.

After letting your photo COMPLETELY dry, trim the edges to fit the canvas.

And paint the edges black.

This next step is where you will give your photo the 'textured' canvas look. Paint the mod podge over the photo.. I took a generous amount on my brush and made sure to coat it evenly. 

I then took an extra canvas and pressed it on top of the wet mod podge. 

tip:: The first time I did this there wasn't much of an impression. So I recoated the section, pressed the canvas to it again, and this time ran my hand over the back of the canvas to make sure there was enough of an impression when I removed the extra canvas. 

You do NOT have to take a lot of time on this part. 

Do this quickly.

This is what it should look like while its still wet...

Set your canvas aside and let dry. 

I PROMISE you will LOVE it when it dries!

Now onto the BIG project.

My poster that I had printed didn't quite cover my canvas all the way. So I opted to paint what the photo wouldn't cover with black.

I did just as before, painted the MOD PODGE on the canvas, and applied my photo. This one was a little trickier because I had to make sure it was even around the edges. When everything finally measured up right, I started from the center working out all the air bubbles and set aside to dry.

Whew! I had to work fast!

 After it dried, I got to work and played it safe by working in smaller sections. 

 And let it dry!

 FINISHED PRODUCT

Our bedroom

I absolutely LOVE how they all turned out!

After we got the middle photo up in our living room, I decided there needs to be another 8x10 to make a little collage. I'll be getting to work on that this weekend! 

Scott Greene Photography Abby Libsack Photography

A Night at ARTini's

 Another fun night at Artini's in Athens!

I owed Karen a night out since she got the last one and it worked out that we were able to go last week. I was the first to arrive and we were actually the only ones that had signed up for class!

The nights painting was Manzanita Branches and we LOVED it!

We take our art work VERY serious.

Normally I will put my paintings in the salon to sell but I couldn't let this one go. It's now in our guest bathroom.

If you are ever in Downtown Athens and you have some extra time I highly recommend a night at ARTini's! The studio is such a cool and fun atmosphere!

You won't be disappointed! 

Some of these photos by ARTini's. 

Stars + Stripes .. Flag Pallet

These pallets have been sitting in our yard since before our wedding. I had a vision that stacked up boxed crates would hold our wedding gifts. Problem is was, I didn't get the right ones. Silly me where was my head? Oh I know!! It was going in 9239488457 different directions hindering me from thinking correctly.

So what do you do with them?

You add some red, white, and blue paint to have your very own flag for some festive yard decor.

Of course, Kyli has to always be nosey and be in the middle of everything that you are doing. She likes to think that no one can see her while she is doing it.. but she is highly mistaken. We'll just let her keep thinking this tho. I don't wanna hurt her feelings.

Let me zoom in on that last frame...

#sorryimnotsorry I think it's hilarious.

Kilz, paint, paint, a little tape, more paint, sweat dripping in your eyes, and an achy, breaking back later, your flag is ready for some stars!

After I realized the one on the right didn't have an odd number of boards to end in the color red, I just decided I would make this one ours for the front porch. 

Oh yes, Mara was the last dog standing sitting by the end of the day. Sox and Kyli decided they had enough of the heat and stayed in the AC. Can't say I blame them.

 My suggestion for you guys is to buy a sponge, cut it in the shape of a star and be done with it. I was too lazy to get in my car to drive myself to the dollar store to get one, so I got started with a detailed paint brush.

 As you probably see there are a couple that need a little TLC.

UPDATE: They are fixed.

When you are finished with your stars,

Use sand paper or a sanding block to remove any painting mistakes...

... And then get it to your front porch or wherever you choose to proudly show these colors!

 The wreath was made last year and you can check out that tutorial here.

My MIL, AIL (aunt in law), and myself are participating in a church craft fair at the end of the month and the other pallets will be going in the booth. I'm hoping they sell to make a little cash for our Annual Hopper Girl's Savannah trip!

Are you crafting anything for the 4th?

Feel free to share.. I would love to hear what you are making!