Paper "__________" Decorations

I put the "________" because I for the life of me could not think of what to call these.  They aren't stars...any ideas?  I made them a long time ago, and love them.  Everyone who comes to visit always complements me on them.  They are so so so easy to create, and are so fun to hang over your bed or kids bed or anywhere.  I love at night when the lights are off and the shadow they cast from the clock light.

What you'll need:
Around 12 sheets scrap booking paper.  ( Try and get the double sided paper, with designs on both sides.  Also, pick lots of different patterns and colors. The more the merrier!!)
Cutting surface
Ruler
Exact-o knife
Glue
Stapler
String or Fishing Line

For each "_________" measure the height of your paper.  (My scrap book paper was 12") Cut 2 strips for the outside layer, about 1 1/2 to 2 inches wide and the full length of the paper long.  Then pick a different sheet of paper and cut 2 more strips the same width but minus 2 inches off the length, so my second strips were 10".  Then either use the same paper as the first strips or pick a new color and cut 2 more strips at 8".  One more time at 6".  You should have 2 of each size and 4 total lengths.  For the center strip, glue the two pieces together so the same pattern is showing on each side.  This will also give you a stronger base.

Once you have all your strips cut, I cut enough for 8 "________",  grab 2 of each length and stack them from longest to shortest and back to longest.  So one 12" one 10" down to the glued 6" then back to 12".  Make sure your pay attention to the color.  The bottom half you will want your outside color facing down, then after the 6" glued strip, you want the outside color facing up.  Now tap all the pieces so they are flush on on one side and staple them all together.  For the other side, pinch the end of the 6" strip between your thumb and pointer finger.  One at a time grab each strip and line up with the end of the 6" strip.  You should have each strip pinched between your fingers and they should all be flush like the other side.  Put a staple through this end.  Done!  You should now have your first "_________"! Now do that with the rest of your strips until you have as many as you want!

This is why you want double sided paper

Above our bed.

I love them, I hope you love them lots!

Frilly Lamp Shade

I love this lamp shade.  I made it a while before I started this blog, but I really wanted to add it to my DIY so I thought I would do the same layering to this little glass light that I have on my night stand.  It's a cheapie that I got from Ikea a long time ago, and during some move it got cracked.  So, why not spruce it up a bit.

What you'll need:

Parchment or wax paper
Glue (plain ol' Elmer's works perfect)
Lamp shade
Ruler
Pen Knife

First, you want to cut out your pieces of paper.  For the first project, I took my metal ruler and used that as my width guide as well ad straight edge to cut along.  I just laid the ruler over the paper and lined it against the edge of the paper and ran the knife along the other side of the ruler.  Then I cut those strips into 2 inch long pieces.

For the second lamp, I couldn't find my pen knife, so I tried just folding the wax paper in half, then half again, and agin until i was about an inch wide, then I folded that like an accordion into 2 inch sections, to give myself a guide for cutting with scissors.  It wasn't nearly as neat.  But I will post the step by step photos anyways.

Once I had a good size pile of cut paper, I ran a line of glue along one edge of a strip, and starting from the bottom and working around, I over lapped each piece half way. I let the first layer hang over the lamp shade about half, so about 1 inch was hanging over the shade. When you get all the way around, you will have to lift the first piece up and slide the last one underneath.

Make sure you pay more attention to the bottom of the paper than the top that it is lining up.  The top line (where the glue is) will get covered by the next layer or paper.  The bottom shows.

For the second row, you will want to start it so it covers half of the first.  Glue the second row all the way around, lifting the first strip and sliding the last underneath again.  Continue this all the way to the top.  The second to last row should be flush with the top of the lamp shade.  For the last row, cut the strips in half again, so they are one inch, and glue them around the top flush again with the top rim of the lamp shade.

Here was my last full sized layer, but I didn't stick it flush with top.  I should have, because you can tell when the light is on that they layer under the last top layer doesn't go all the way.

Done!  Isn't it cute!!!  Kam says it looks like a skirt.  Its probably a little too frilly for him (or any guy) but I love it!!  This is Dexter while I was working on the lamp, he was snooze'n in his favorite position.

Yarn Balls

I just sat here for a full 2 minutes and tried to think of something other than balls to call these, but they're balls, made from yarn...so yes, the title of this post will be yarn balls.  And, they are really cute and fun to make.  You could make a bunch of them and fill a bowl or vase.  I'm thinking I might make some really big and hang them inside the big tent at our wedding.

What you'll need:

Mod Podge

Different colored yarn or twine or any kind of string
balloons
Some sort of contraption to hang them from
close pins
pie plate

Mix 1 part Mod Podge to 2 parts water in your pie plate.  Unwind your yarn into the glue mixture.  You will want about twice as much yarn as you think.  For my first one, I probably had about 10 feet and it wasn't near enough to wrap around my balloon as many times as I wanted.   Besides, if you have too much, you can always cut it off once you have the desired look you want.  Blow up your ballon to the size you want and tie the end.  Make sure your yarn is fully soaked in the glue, then start wrapping.  Just tuck the ends under the layers of yarn.  Now, hang your yarn ball from your hanging contraption and let dry for about 24 hours.  You will want to place paper towel under the yarn because it will drip and splatter.

After they are dry, just lift the knot up and put a little slit in it to let out the air.  Try and hang onto the end, so that way you don't have to try and fish it out from inside the ball.

My hanging contraption (invented by Kameron). A long plastic spoon, shoved under a box in the cupboard  above our washer.  I could only fit two at a time, but it worked!!

Pretty fun little decoration, you could even mix yarn colors.  That is above my kitchen sink.  Have fun!

(update, Kam just suggested I call then Yarn Spheres. Balls is way classier, ha)! 

Letter Art

I LOVE letters!!  Letter letters everywhere!  I keep seeing where people have framed just watches of printed paper and hung them up in groups.  I really like the look, so I put my own spin on it.

I bought 4 cheep 8 x 10 canvases at my local Michael's, found 4 sheets of scrap booking paper and wrapped the canvases like a present tacking the paper down with staples.  Luckily the paper was just big enough to cover the canvases, as long as I didn't trim at all.

I chose 4 of the "ready to finish" white letters that Michael's sells and painted them with acrylic paint that you can find in 1,000 colors in those little bottles.  Last, I had bought some of those paper doilies a while back at World Market.  The letters didn't seem to pop enough off the colorful paper so I glued the doilies to the paper, centered the letters and glued those down to the doilies.  I just used plain old Elmer's glue, and it seemed to do the trick.  Here is the finished project all hung.  I like the way the doilies gave them kinda of a vintage look.  

I was thinking these would be a really cute addition to a baby or kids room. Hope you find some inspiration for your own canvas covering project!