DIY 4th of July painted wood stars

HOW TO PAINT FREE STANDING RUSTIC WOOD STARS FOR YOUR INDEPENDENCE DAY DECOR

These DIY wooden stars are sure to tie in perfectly with your patriotic décor. Whether your red, white, and blue decorations are seasonal or you leave them up all year round you'll definitely want to add these adorable wood stars.

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional.

These are especially a perfect project for those scrap pieces leftover from other DIY projects. Click here to see how I cut these out using my Cricut machine and Ryobi scroll saw. If you don’t have all the tools to make this craft happen or just don’t have the time you can grab your DIY craft kit here.

Watch the how to video below or keep scrolling for the written rustic 4th of July stars tutorial

Here’s what you’ll need:

• FREE STANDING WOOD STARS (grab your craft blanks here)

• RED, WHITE, AND BLUE ACRYLIC PAINTS

• PAINT BRUSHES

• SANDPAPER

These little rustic wooden stars are SUPER EASY to paint. I am actually thinking about making a few more and staining them instead of using paint. But for now I’ll admire the red, white, and blue ones.

ONE- Paint a thin layer of RED, WHITE, or BLUE paint on each star. Let dry. After the first coat is dry go back and add a second layer of paint on each of the three stars. Let dry.

TWO- Once your stars are completely dry use your sandpaper to distress them. Focus on the edges, corners and lightly on the front/back of each wood star. I use 100-150 grit sandpaper when sanding these by hand. If I use my orbit sander I use 120 grit.

THREE- Use a lint free cloth to remove all the dust from sanding the wood stars. You can finish them off with a polycrylic spray or wax. I didn’t use antiquing wax on these but if you wanted to make them extra rustic try using these techniques for dark wax.

DIY 2x4 chunky wood flag

HOW TO MAKE A PRIMITIVE AMERICAN FLAG

I love a good scrap wood project. That was the inspiration behind this DIY chunky wood flag. I have shelves full of scrap pieces of wood in my workshop, aka my garage lol! I just can’t bring myself to toss out perfectly good pieces of future projects. I had been wanting to make one of these 2x4 flags for a while now and since we are all on lockdown I thought now would be the perfect time to make one and share the DIY with you all.

I didn’t just use a 2x4 to create this wooden flag. I also used a scrap piece of 2x6 that we have loads of leftover from a bunkbed project we made for our four daughters. And when I say we I really mean that my husband made because I pretty much just stood there and handed him things as he needed them.

If you don’t have all the tools to make this project happen grab your DIY CRAFT KIT HERE

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional.

Be sure to check out a few of my other 4th of July patriotic themed projects: RAG WREATH, LEANING PORCH SIGN, and this HANGING WOOD FLAG

MAKE YOUR OWN RUSTIC WOOD AMERICAN FLAG

Here’s what you’ll need

• 2x4x5.5

• 2x6x5

• red, white, and blue acrylic paint

• paint brushes

• sand paper

• masking tape

• 1.4” wide star cutout

• pencil

Helpful tools

• Cricut cutting machine

• Cricut Design Space

• Cricut cutting mat

• Ryobi miter saw

• Ryobi sander

ONE- If you didn’t grab a DIY craft kit the first thing you want to do is cut your wood pieces. Use your miter saw to cut the 2x4 to 5.5” and the 2x6 to 5”. You will place the 2x6 on it’s side so that it stands 5.5” tall. Use your sander to give them a quick sanding. I use a cordless Ryobi sander and really love it! Then wipe all the sawdust off with a lint free cloth.

TWO- Paint the 2x4 completely blue. You will have to wait for the front to dry before you can start painting the back. Since this is a dark color one coat should be enough but you can paint a second coat if you aren’t happy with the coverage.

THREE- Paint the 2x6 completely white. Wait for the front to dry before you paint the back. After all sides have dried you’ll want to paint a second coat of white paint to get a good coverage. Let dry.

FOUR- Take your cardstock star cutout and trace around it with a pencil in three places on the front side. I staggered mine because I like that look but you can place yours wherever you’d like. Try to trace lightly so that it’s easier to paint over. Using a small paint brush paint inside the star outline. A thin layer works best so you don’t have streaking. Paint a second layer once that layer is dry.

FIVE- After your white block is totally dry you can start painting on your stripes. To get even stripes you want to use masking tape. Be sure your block is standing at 5.5” tall before you start applying your tape. If you are using .75” masking tape you will want to start at the top and apply a piece of tape all the way around but apply your tape so that it hangs off the top slightly. This way you aren’t left with a super thin stripe on the bottom. This first piece of tape is called your spacer piece.

Then take another piece of tape and apply it directly below your spacer piece. Remove your spacer piece and then apply it directly below that second piece of tape. You will do this the whole way down your 2x6. This is what it should look like when you’re done.

SIX- This step isn’t 100% necessary but it does help with reducing paint bleed. Take your white paint brush and paint a super thin layer of paint where the tape and the wood meet, the seam. Let dry.

SEVEN- Where the wood is exposed paint that red. Let dry then paint a second coat. While the paint is still wet peel up all the tape. Let dry.

EIGHT- After your blocks are dry you’ll want to distress them. Take a piece of sandpaper, or your orbit sander, and distress both blocks. You want to focus on the edges and then lightly go over the front, back, and sides. When you’re finished distressing you want to wipe the dust off with a lint free cloth.

Enjoy your new American flag décor! Like with all of my DIY projects if you have any questions please feel free to ask.

Free standing wood stars using your Cricut

One thing I never thought I’d be doing is using my Cricut to help me cut out shapes and letters from pine boards. When I got my very first Cricut machine about a decade ago I always thought I’d just be using my new fancy cutting machine to cut paper and make decorations for my kid’s birthday parties. That’s was the case for the first few years. But now my Cricut craft horizon has been broadened and I’m using it for more than I could have dreamed!

Pairing this wonderful little machine of magic with my power tools has been a GAME CHANGER for my crafting abilities. And it can be for you too!

If you’re not totally comfortable using power tools I totally understand and know it’s a very real fear. I was in that same boat not that long ago and slowly was able to put that fear behind me. Here’s a list a power tools that I recommend all lady crafters get. I started off small, mastering the handheld sander, this thing can be SUPER intimidating, then worked my way up to being able to using all the power tools with no hesitation.

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional.

USE YOUR CRICUT TO HELP YOU CUT OUT WOOD PROJECTS

Here’s what I used:

• CRICUT EXPLORE

• CRICUT DESIGN SPACE

• CRICUT GREEN MAT

• CARDSTOCK

• PENCIL

• RYOBI SCROLL SAW

• RYOBI SANDER

The first thing I did was decide how big I wanted my wooden stars to be. I always have scraps of 1x6 boards so I decided 5.4” at the star’s widest would be a good size. I opened up my Cricut app on my computer and added a simple star from the shapes section.

I highlighted it and clicked on the width, since that had the biggest number, and changed it to 5.4”. I left the image locked so that it would be proportionate.

I set my image to cut. Added a piece of cardstock to my green mat and set my blade to light cardstock then hit cut. I also want to add that you can use an older machine like I’m using. I have yet to buy a Cricut Maker, even though I would LOVE to have one but my Cricut Explore is getting everything done for now.

After my cardstock template was cut out I used that to help me cut out the a wood star from a piece of pine.

I traced around the star using a pencil then used my Ryobi scroll saw to cut the shape. If you’ve never used a scroll saw it’s a lot like using a sewing machine. Don’t go too fast or you will not get as precise of a cut.

When I’m cutting out shapes that have lots of angles I don’t do one continuous cut. I cut till I get to an angle then back out. Then make another cut from the opposite side to meet at that angle point. This is just works for me, I know everyone is different so you'll have to find your own rhythm.

I hope you can use this new information to help you explore all the possibilities of what your Cricut can do. You can take it so much further than just card making and vinyl projects.

Like with all of my tutorials if you have any questions please ask away. I am happy to try and answer :)! Click here to check out how I finished my wood star cutouts.

How to make beeswax wraps, reusable cotton saran wrap

Make your own reusable cotton food wraps

I gotta say I am impressed with these simple yet useful beeswax reusable cotton wraps. If you’ve never heard of these before you’re not alone, my husband had no idea what they were and I’m pretty sure he thought I was crazy when I told him what I wanted to make. You use these cloth wraps in your kitchen to replace saran wrap…genius I know! I had never used beeswax or pine resin before this DIY, I actually had no idea pine resin was a thing to buy until recently. But after seeing how easy this project was I am eager to try others that use these ingredients.

I read several different articles telling how to make them. They all basically used the same three ingredients: BEESWAX, PINE RESIN, JOJOBA OIL. Some however didn’t use the pine resin, or any resin at all, and what I read, and now agree with since I have made them myself, is that you won’t get that sticky saran wrap feel unless you use the pine resin. Technically you can just use beeswax but I wouldn’t recommend it.

If you enjoy this money saving tip be sure to check out these reusable oil bottles for the kitchen.

DIY EASY BEESWAX & RESIN SARAN WRAP

Here’s what you'll need

• beeswax pellets

• pine resin

• jojoba oil

• 100% cotton fabric

• pinking shears

• chip brush

• sauce pan

• wide mouth half pint mason jar

• measuring spoons

• measuring cup

• aluminum foil

• cookie sheet

• cooling rack

• flexible squeegee

• preheated oven at 215 degrees

This is the recipe I used

• 1/2 c BEESWAX PELLETS

• 2 t PINE RESIN

• 1/2 t JOJOBA OIL

The first couple of wraps I made I only used 1 teaspoon of the pine resin and I did not like the way those wraps turned out. So I doubled the resin for the next batch and they turned out SO much better!

1.MELT THE INGREDIENTS

Preheat your oven to 215 degrees. Then mix 1/2 cup of beeswax pellets, 2 teaspoons of pine resin, and 1/2 teaspoon of jojoba oil. The BEST way to do this is to melt it all in a double boiler. I used an old sauce pan and a short mason jar for this. I put a small amount of water in the sauce pan because I didn’t want the jar to float and I knew since I was making a small batch it wouldn’t take much to heat of the jar to melt the beeswax. I used a thin chip brush to do all of the stirring.

2. CUT YOUR FABRIC

while my ingredients were melting I cut my fabric into pieces I thought would be good sizes for what I wanted to use them for. I cut a few small ones that would fit around the top of a jar. Several medium sized ones that would be good to wrap around food. And a couple of large ones that would fit around my larger sized mixing bowls. I used my grandma’s old pair of pinking shears on the edges of the fabric so that the edges wouldn’t fray once I start using the food wraps. Also, you want to be sure you are using 100% cotton.

3. BRUSH ON & BAKE

Line your cookie sheet with foil, shiny side down. Place a piece of your fabric on the cookie sheet. Use the chip brush to brush on the melted mixture. Then pop it in the oven for 5 minutes or so. Do not skip placing it in the over. If you just brush the wax mixture on your food wraps they will be stiff, the mixture won’t be on the fabric evenly and it will result in them not working quite right. Placing them in the oven allows the wax to melt completely into the fabric and giving you a nice even coat over the entire piece of fabric.

4. REMOVE EXCESS WAX

Remove your cookie sheet from the oven. Use a squeegee, here's the kind I used, and squeegee the excess beeswax mixture off of the fabric. I didn’t do this for the first couple of wraps I made and I didn’t like how they turned out, for two reasons - there wasn’t enough resin AND they were WAY TOO stiff and waxy. None of the tutorials I read said to do this step though. So maybe they know something I don’t. But I do know when I went to use the first two to try them out before I made more they were kind of blah and I wasn’t impressed at all with them. After I squeegeed the excess off it made all the difference in the world! I didn’t let the excess go to waste either. I scooped it up and placed it back into the mason jar so it could melt back down.

5. REMOVE & LET DRY

Immediately take them off of the baking sheet and place them somewhere to dry. I lined a cookie drying rack with a piece of foil and then placed the finished wax wraps on there to dry. It didn’t take very long at all for them to completely dry on the drying rack.

6. USE

Once your food wraps are dry you can start using them immediately. I was so surprised at how well these turned out! I’m even thinking about making some to give as gifts to family and friends.

Like with all of my DIY posts if you have any questions please feel free to ask. If you make these at home I’d love to hear how yours turn out!

Happy crafting!

Reusable oil spray bottles + FREE SVG file

The days of buying cooking oil spray bottles are over. I don’t know about you but I really dislike buying Pam at the grocery store, actually it’s never name brand because I’m super frugal and have a big family to feed lol! Buying that spray always feels like such a fat waste of money and in our house cooking oil spray doesn’t last very long anyway so we are always running out at the worst time. Yes, using a paper towel with oil on it will get the job done but sometimes it would just be one less thing to stress about when you go to pull it out of the cabinet only to find one of the oldest of the four daughters put it back in there with barely a squirt left in it.

So I got on Amazon and found some heavy duty looking spray bottles that looked perfect to hold our veggie and olive oils.

Even though you can totally tell which one is which I thought it would still be a good idea to label them. I figured it would at least save me from having the same conversation a couple times a week as to what one is olive oil and what one is vegetable oil.

I really like the skinny type fonts but since the labels are going on oil bottles I thought a thicker font would work much better. If a little oil gets under the vinyl decals of a thin font they will come off super easy. If you want to use the same SVG I used you can get it here in my FREE RESOURCE LIBRARY.

Watch my video on my YouTube channel or keep scrolling for the written/photo tutorial

DIY LABELED OIL BOTTLES FOR THE KITCHEN

Here’s what I used

• Cricut cutting machine (I have an older explore and it works perfectly for projects like this)

• Cricut cutting mat

• Cricut Design Space

• 651 black vinyl

• transfer tape

• xacto knife

• lint free cloth

• isopropyl alcohol

• vinyl squeegee

• food grade glass spray bottles (I used 2)

• olive & veggie svg file

1. Cut out your vinyl decal. I used my Cricut Explore set on the vinyl cut setting and the green cutting mat. I used Oracal 651, permanent outdoor grade vinyl, in black matte finish. I measured out the length of the spray bottles I was applying it to and made it a little shorter in length. I keep most all of my scraps of vinyl in a plastic tote just for projects like this. You never know when you’ll need a small piece of vinyl lol!

2. I like using an xacto knife to weed my vinyl projects. You can use a fancy vinyl picker like this one but I think these are a little more difficult to hold than a simple xacto knife. Be sure when you weed your design you are weeding out the background, not the letter themselves.

3. I completely forgot to wash the bottles before applying the decals but I was sure to wash them before I added the oil to them ;). You want to wipe down the area of the bottle you are applying the decal to with isopropyl alcohol. This will remove any dirt or oil and allow for the best adhesion of the vinyl.

4. Apply transfer tape to the front of your decal. Use your vinyl squeegee to remove any air bubbles then peel the paper backing off of your vinyl decal.

5. Place your vinyl decal where you would like it to go on your glass spray bottle. I like to hover it over where I’m thinking about placing it first. Once you place vinyl down, especially small decals like these, it’s really difficult to get them to come up without ruining them.

6. When you have your decal where you want it to go place it down gently starting from the middle and work your way out. This will help to keep the air bubbles to a minimum. Use your vinyl squeegee to remove any air bubbles you see then peel the transfer tape off of your vinyl decal.

7. Fill your bottles with oil and enjoy!

I know we are going to get A LOT of use out of these reusable oil spray bottles!

If you have any questions please ask away:)!

DIY mini Easter wooden tags

MAKE YOUR OWN RUSTIC WOOD TAGS FOR EASTER

DIY mini wood tags for Easter. How to use your Cricut to make wood signs for Easter. Make your own farmhouse tray mini signs for spring.

I can’t believe how popular these little wood tags for Easter are! I keep selling out of this spring DIY craft kit almost daily. Since the entire country is basically on lockdown this kit is giving people a much needed creative outlet. I am SO happy to be able to provide this joy to so many around our nation, especially at a time like this.

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional.

In this crafty tutorial I’m going to show you how to stencil these wood tags for Easter. If you’re wanting a tutorial on how to cut wood tags you’ll want to go here. I share the measurements, angles, and even the drill bit size to make the twine hole in the middle.

DIY RUSTIC WOOD TAGS FOR EASTER

Here’s what you’ll need

• mini wood tags (you can buy these precut tags if you don’t have the tools to cut them yourself)

• stencil material

• transfer tape

• acrylic paints - gray, pink, yellow, blue, white

• sandpaper

• paint brush

• stenciling sponge

• twine

• masking tape

• vinyl squeegee

• CRICUT SVG for hangin’ with my peeps —> CLICK HERE

• free SVG for bunny image & happy Easter —-> CLICK HERE

Other helpful tools I used

• Ryobi miter saw

• Ryobi sander

• Cricut Explore (you can create AMAZING projects with an older model Cricut like this)

• Cricut Access

• Cricut cutting mat

If you love these rustic wood spring tags be sure to check out this super easy Dollar Tree moss bunny craft.

Cutting your wood pieces

1. First you want to cut out your wood tags. I used my Ryobi miter saw to do this. Cut a 1x4 in to 3 5” long pieces. On the top of each 5” piece measure in 1” and make a mark. Set your miter saw to 45 degrees, line it up with your 1” mark and cut. Flip your tag over and do the same to the other side. 

2. Now drill a hole in the middle of the top of each piece. This is for your twine holder to go through.

3. After you have that done give each piece a quick sanding. You don’t have to get crazy with this, it’s not a fine piece of furniture. I use 120 grit sandpaper for this and that’s it. Just enough to take off that shine it has when you get it from the lumberyard.

   WATCH THE VIDEO OF HOW I MADE THESE USING MY MITER SAW

Stencils

You can use any cutting machine to create your Easter themed stencils. I use my Cricut Explore to make all of mine. If you have and are using a Cricut you can get the HANGIN’ WITH MY PEEPS image to use here. You can use my FREE SVG’s for the bunny image & happy Easter cutting files here. I use Oramask stenciling film to make my stencils. While it is a little more expensive than other materials I have found it works the absolute best for stenciling.

Painting (the fun part!)

First a thin layer of gray paint on each wood tag. Be sure it is a thin layer, you will still be able to see the wood grain through the paint. After the first thin layer is dry you can paint a second thin layer. You don’t want more than two layers of base paint on your wooden tags, or any painted wood sign. Too much paint will cause issues when stenciling with base paint peel up, which can be impossible to fix sometimes and honestly it just plain sucks to have to go back and fix.

2. After your base paint is completely dry you can apply your stencils to all three wood blanks. Apply your transfer tape to your stencils (if you bought my DIY CRAFT KIT this step has already been done for you). Peel the paper backing from your stencil/transfer tape. Go slow.  Place your stencils sticky side down on the front of your painted wood tag. The front is just whichever side you prefer best ;). Using your vinyl squeegee, if you don’t have one you can use a plastic store rewards card, and rub the stencil to that it adheres to the wood. Slowly peel the transfer tape away from the wood leaving your stencil attached to the wood. I find that it works best when I roll the transfer tape away, check out this DIY PAINTED WOOD SIGN TUTORIAL for  a closer look at how to do this.

3. Use masking tape to tape off the edges of your stencil so you don’t get paint on areas of the wood tags that you don’t want paint on.

4. Using one end of one of the sponges dip it in the white paint. You need very little paint, the more paint you use the more paint bleed you will likely have. Dab your sponge onto the exposed areas of your stencil. The coverage should be VERY faint. Let that dry and repeat up to three times. You don’t want to apply more than three coats as this could cause issues with paint peel up where you just stenciled. If you want the cute little bunnies to be different colors paint them white first then finish them with two layers of your preferred paint color. I painted mine in pink, blue, and yellow. Giving them a white base first will allow the colors to really pop if you are painting on a dark base.

5. Peel up your stencils and tape. Using an xacto knife helps to remove the middle piece of the stencils.

Distressing

After your paint completely dries from stenciling you can start distressing your wood Easter tags. I LOVE this technique because it’s super easy and quick. Using sand paper or your sander give a quick sanding to the edges, corners, and lightly on the front of each wooden tag. Wipe off and dust.

Adding twine

Probably the easiest step is adding the twine. Decide how long you would like your twine hangers to be. I think I measured mine at 12” or so. You’ll need 3 pieces, one for each wood tag. Feed one piece of twine through the hole in one of the wood tags then tie it in a knot.

You’re ready to display your Easter wood tags in your home. I know it may seem like a lot of steps written out but really these are super easy and quick to DIY once you get going on them.

Like with all of my DIY tutorials if you have any questions please reach out. Leave a comment below or send me a message on one of my social media pages. You can find my links at the top.

Happy Crafting!

6 MUST haves for stenciling your own painted wood signs

Sign painting can be super frustrating when you’re first starting out. Seriously, I’ve been there. I’ve been in the place where you feel like you’ve done everything right only to have your paint bleed under your stencil. Or have your background paint color peel up when you peel your stencil off your wood base. IT SUCKS!

Thousands of painted signs later I feel like I’m somewhat of a pro ;) and I want to share my top 6 sign painting must haves with you.

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional. This is just a way I can help add to our family finances to raise our four daughters. Please know I would never recommend a product or service I do not totally stand behind.

CLICK HERE TO LEARN HOW TO ATTACH A SAWTOOTH HANGER TO YOU HANDMADE WOOD SIGNS

1. CUTTING MACHINE

I personally have always used a Cricut cutting machine. I have heard great things about other craft cutters but will probably be a Cricut girl for life. I find their software easy to use, even my preteen daughters can use it with ease. This is what I use to cut all of my stencils out with.

2. STENCIL FILM- ORAMASK STENCIL FILM

When I first started making signs I tried everything BUT stencil film because I was trying to save as much money as possible while learning what I thought would be just a hobby. What I didn’t realize was that I was actually WASTING money by not using the proper material made just for stenciling. So many projects and materials ruined. While shelf liner can work sometimes a lot of the time it didn’t work without error for me. I finally took my husband’s advice and bought the good stuff. Boy was he right about that, and I’m not afraid to admit he was right because buying oramask stencil film has made my business a success!

3. TRANSFER TAPE

I am in several craft groups online and read lots of posts about how others are having a difficult time getting their stencils to stay on their wood base. A lot of the time this can be fixed if you are using the right type of transfer tape. I have used MANY different types and now have my favorite go to’s. If you are using oramask stencil film you will need a MEDIUM TACK TRANSFER TAPE. If your transfer tape is too strong it won’t easily release the stencil film when you’re trying to apply it to your wood base. And if your transfer tape isn’t strong enough it will have a hard time picking the stencil film up off of its paper backing. Again, I used to use shelf liner, the clear kind for this, but it didn’t always want to work depending on the design I was doing. Granted I will still use this if I’m in a bind and run out of the good stuff, but that’s only if I’m desperate OR if I have an easy design I’m transferring.

4. XACTO KNIFE

I use an xacto knife several different times during my sign painting process. I use an xacto knife to weed my designs. I use it to remove pockets of air or to smooth out an unruly area in the stencil film. This is what I use to peel up my stencil after I am finished painting my design and to take out all the little middle pieces. And I use it to fix any oops spots once the stencil is removed. This little tool is SO HANDY and is really inexpensive.

5. VINYL SQUEEGEE

I tried to find other things at home that I could use instead of a true vinyl squeegee but none came close to using this. They actually aren’t very expensive at all. I have bucket full of these and I think they were worth every penny. They much thicker than any store rewards or a bank card could ever be. If you’ve ever used one of those you know that with use the right pressure they can and will break. Order a couple of vinyl squeegees and see the difference, they are a dream for stenciling wood signs!

And finally the most important must have for successful sign painting…

6. MOD PODGE

This will help you to create the signs of your dreams! Matte finish mod podge has been my saving grace when painting wood signs. I am a mom of 4 little girls, I don’t have time to cosmetic sponge layer after layer after layer onto the signs I make for my customers. While this technique works if you only had a handful of signs to make, this is not a practical or business savvy way to paint wood signs. Dabbing paint on like that takes FOR-EV-ER. Instead I use matte finish mod podge to seal my signs from paint bleed and I have not regretted it since!

I hope these tips help you with your sign painting adventure. If you have any questions please feel free to ask away. If you want to really deep dive into the world of sign painting click here.

How to make your own corsage with faux flowers

DIY YOUR OWN CORSAGE WITH FAKE FLOWERS

Real corsages are gorgeous! But they can be a little pricey, especially for being a small part of the fancy attire. Our small town held a father daughter dance and I really wanted my girls to feel extra special and wear a corsage. Since my husband was taking three of our four daughters I figured it would be more cost effective if I ordered them from a big chain grocery florist. I looked online and they were $20+ per corsage plus $20 for my husbands boutonniere. A total of $80 for accent flowers…that was not in the budget. What I did instead was take a trip to our local Walmart and picked out some inexpensive flowers, hair ties, and floral tape. I spent a total of $13 and everyone got a beautiful corsage/boutonniere to wear to the fancy daddy daughter dance.

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional. This is just a way I can help add to our family finances to raise our four daughters. Please know I would never recommend a product or service I do not totally stand behind.

I’ll be honest, I tried to make one for the oldest of the four daughters when she was in the first grade and it turned out awful! I used a real flower that was WAY too big and it seriously looked like a Pinterest fail! This time around I extra crossed my fingers they would turn out as a win and thank goodness they did! The girls got SO MANY C0MPLIMENTS on them at the dance.

DIY FLOWER CORSAGE

Here’s what I used

• faux round roses

• faux babies breath

• faux spring flower bunch

• green floral tape

• felt

• scissors

• wire cutters

• black hair tie (pony tail holder)

• hot glue gun

• gorilla glue hot glue sticks

Make this DIY even more inexpensive by visiting your local DOLLAR TREE. They have a great floral selection depending on the season.

I found everything I needed at Walmart. I already had the glue, glue gun, and felt on hand so I didn’t need to pick those up. I also had a ton of supplies left over. I used some in their hair for little accents and then still had some left over. I couldn’t believe it cost around $3 per corsage to make. That beats $20/ wrist corsage any day!

1. I cut a rectangle that was smaller than the width of one of my daughter’s wrist. This is what I glued my flowers to. Then, I cut a second rectangle that was a little smaller than the first rectangle.

2. I picked out 2 main flowers for the corsages. I used these gorgeous round roses I found at my local Walmart that were about $3 per stem. I used 2 per corsage and 1 for my husband’s boutonniere. I made these round roses the focal point and added the other flowers as accents. I pulled the round rose flower heads off of their stems then I cut them flush at the bottom of the flower so that the bottom side of the flower was flat.

3. I started layering the flowers that surrounded the main flowers. This took me a little while to get the flowers where I wanted them to go. I used a combination of baby’s breath, lavender, and a spring flower bunch. I had to trim them up here and there, so don’t be afraid to do that too. This will keep your corsage from being gigantic. See the picture below, I had to trim down the lavender stems so that they wouldn’t be so long. I did this carefully making sure I wasn’t removing too much.

4. I attached the accent flower stems together. Basically I made double ended floral stems. I tried to make them somewhat similar in size in both length and width so that the corsage wasn’t lopsided. I didn’t make them identical, I used different accent flowers on each end but was sure to incorporate baby’s breath on each end. Then I wrapped the middle of the double ended floral stem in green floral tape to keep them together.

5. I placed them on the bigger rectangle to see where exactly I wanted to place them before I started gluing anything down. This is the time to trim your felt down if you need to.

6. Then I used my glue gun to glue everything down to the felt. I first glued down the double ended floral stem I made. Let that dry so that it gets secure. Then I glued down the main focal point flowers, the round roses.

7. Fill in the gaps. After I got the roses glued down and the glue dried I added in more accent flowers where I thought the corsage was bare. I even cut off single leaves, this spring bunch I picked up had the most beautiful soft lambs ear like leaves. I added in several of those leaves where I thought they would look good. I attached some to the sides of the roses. I also did this with the baby’s breath. Before I glued them down I was sure to double check I liked that placement. A tiny dab of glue is all you need for these little pieces.

8. Once I was happy with how it look and the glue was dry I flipped it over and added a thick hair tie. While recording this tutorial I actually attached my hair tie the wrong way. For the most comfort I suggest gluing on the hair tie so that the corsage lays vertically against the wrist. So you would want to attach your hair tie so that it would sit on the rectangle horizontally. Once that glue dries glue the second rectangle on top of the hair tie so that the hair tie is sandwiched in-between the two pieces of felt. This will make it really secure and will be difficult for the elastic to come off.

I hope you enjoyed this inexpensive tutorial. Like with all of my posts, if you have any questions at all please don’t hesitate to ask.

Happy crafting!

How I made super girly dinosaurs for my daughter's bedroom

DIY GIRLY DINOSAURS

My youngest daughter is obsessed with dinosaurs. But she’s also really into things that are sparkly, pink, and super girly! While we were taking a wonderful stroll around Hobby Lobby we came across this adorable dino display. It was full of these really cool signs, garland, figurines, and more. The only thing was that everything was dark blue, orange, dark green, red. Which are great colors but her favorites are pink, mint, purple, light green…and glitter lol! Hobby Lobby didn’t have any dinosaur décor in those colors. One of the things she really really really loved were these ceramic dinos. Again, they were in the typical “boy” colors. So I thought ‘Megan, just buy some plastic ones and paint them’. So I did just that!

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional. This is just a way I can help add to our family finances to raise our four daughters. Please know I would never recommend a product or service I do not totally stand behind.

See, super adorable dinosaur décor but it doesn’t really go with glittery unicorns and magical butterflies.

The next day we took a trip to our local Walmart to find some inexpensive dinosaurs and spray paint. My sweet girl was so excited! She got to pick which dinosaurs she wanted AND she got to pick the colors. It was so cute watching her little face light up choosing things for her room.

She picked out three different dinosaurs and chose the colors light pink, mint green, and white.

Make super girly dinosaurs for your daughter’s bedroom

Here’s what you’ll need

• plastic dinosaurs

• glossy spray paint WITH primer, I used CANDY PINK, WHITE, MODERN MINT

• push pins

ONE- The first thing I did was place a push pin in each dinosaur foot. Since the dinosaurs are hard plastic it was a little difficult to get them in.

TWO- Shake the can really well then spray a layer of paint on each dinosaur. I bought the “fancy” spray paint, as I like to call it, because it has primer already in it. It’s cheaper and easier in the long run to just buy the more expensive spray paint so you have less layers to paint and it takes less time to finish your project.

THREE- Let that layer completely dry. I let mine dry overnight just to be sure it was fully dry.

FOUR- Spray a second layer on each dinosaur.

FIVE- Let your dinosaurs dry. Since I used gloss spray paint it seemed to take the dinosaurs a long time for the second layer to dry. I let them sit for a full 48 hours before taking the pushpins out of their feet. Because my daughter will be playing with them I am letting them cure for 30 days.

Seriously, these are the CUTEST dinosaurs!!

I have plans to make her MANY more girly dinosaur decorations for her room soon. One that will include some glitter too!

I hope this inspires you to create some adorable dino décor for your own little girl. If you do GIRL UP your dinos I’d love to see what you come up with! As with all of my DIY posts if you have any questions please ask away. I’m always happy to help.

DIY painted baby name and stats sign

DIY painted baby name sign with newborn stats

A couple weeks ago a sweet friend of mine from grade school messaged and asked me to help in creating a wreath she’s having made for her very first baby! Of course I said YES! I am just so happy for her as she’s waited a very long time to become a mom and was so honored she asked me to be apart of something she will be hanging in her precious daughter’s room. She sent me all the details she wanted for the sign part of the wreath and I recreated something similar personalized just for her little one.

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional. This is just a way I can help add to our family finances to raise our four daughters. Please know I would never recommend a product or service I do not totally stand behind.

I created my template in CRICUT DESIGN SPACE and of course used my Cricut to cut it out. By the way, I have an older style Cricut and still create AMAZING projects with it, although I’d love a Maker just to have one I don’t need one to make all the wonderful things I share on my crafty blog. I often see others get discouraged because they can’t afford the newest machine out there but you can find GREAT deals on older style machines and they do just as much as the newer models :)! If you’re just getting started using your Cricut read this list of 10 things you need to get you started on your Cricut crafting journey.

If you want a more in-depth teaching on SIGN PAINTING you need to get on my list for my DIY SIGN PAINTERS E-COURSE. Click here to get on the list so you’re first to know when it opens back up.

When you’re all finished up reading this tutorial and need help attaching hanging hardware be sure to read this post on how to easily and quickly attach a sawtooth hanger to wood signs

How to paint wood signs with no paint bleed

Here’s what you’ll need

• stencil film

• transfer tape

• pre-stained wood base

• white paint

• matte finish mod podge

• 2 paint brushes

• masking tape

• vinyl squeegee

Helpful tools

• CRICUT CUTTING MACHINE

• CRICUT DESIGN SPACE

• CRICUT CUTTING MAT

• XACTO KNIFE

• RYOBI MITER SAW

• RYOBI SANDER

For this tutorial I’m focusing on the painting techniques of making a personalized baby sign. CLICK HERE for my tutorial on how to stain wood.

ONE- Start with a pre-stained wood base. See my video on how to stain wood click here. Be sure you are allowing your stained base to dry for at least 24 hours prior to stenciling on it. Stencils will not adhere to a base that isn’t fully dry.

TWO- Apply your stencil. To do this you need transfer tape. Transfer tape allows us to take a stencil and apply it in one whole piece without a headache, we LOVE whoever invented this product! Place your transfer tape sticky side down onto your stencil. Gently push out any air bubbles on the front with your hands, then flip it ver and use your vinyl squeegee and rub the back of it. Slowly remove the paper backing leaving the stencil (blue part) and the clear transfer tape still intact.

THREE- Flip your stencil over and position it on your wood base. Once you are happy with the placement working from the middle of the stencil out press it down with your hands. Then use your vinyl squeegee and do the same thing.

FOUR- After you’ve pressed down your stencil you can remove your transfer tape. I’ve found the easiest way to do this is to roll your transfer tape off of your stencil. Start from one corner and slowly roll is off. You can reuse your transfer tape over and over again. I like to place my used transfer tape back on the roll I cut it off of and use it for the next project.

FIVE- If you have any gaps/air bubbles use an xacto knife to remove those. Use an xacto knife to make a small slit in the stencil film where the gap/air bubble is. This will make the stencil film lay flat.

SIX- Tape off any area that you don’t want to get paint on, like the sides of your stencil. It is a lot easier to take the time to tape this off than it is to try to clean off paint where you don’t want it.

SEVEN- Using MATTE FINISH MOD PODGE seal your stencil. You do this by taking a DRY paint brush, dipping it into a little bit of the mod podge, and brushing it in all directions on the exposed areas of your stencil. Be sure you are painting on a VERY THIN LAYER of mod podge. This step is KEY to the no paint bleed painted sign. The mod podge is filling in all of those tiny air bubbles that you can’t see. Let this dry, usually this takes just a couple of minutes.

EIGHT- I highly recommend using either flat or eggshell finish for your paint. Gloss paint tends to pull up when you remove the stencil. Using a different DRY paint brush paint on your first THIN layer of paint. You want to see the base color/wood grain through the paint.

NINE- After your first layer is completely dry you can paint on a second thin layer of paint. The first layer should dry VERY fast.

TEN- After you’re done painting on the second layer of paint on your stencil you can immediately pull up your stencil. I prefer to do this step while the paint is still wet. Use an xacto knife to remove all the small stencil pieces.

Let your sign dry then you’re ready to use it. I hope that you found this DIY SIGN PAINTING TUTORIAL helpful. If you did I’d LOVE to hear your feedback:)!! If you have any questions please feel free to ask.

How to rust your own mason jar lids

Rusty mason jar lids are GORGEOUS! I love them but they can be so hard to find. If you can’t find them easily they can take forever to naturally rust in the elements outside, like months and months of time. But if you’re impatient like me you don’t have to wait for nature to work her magic on your brand new mason jar rings. You can rust them yourself in your kitchen using ingredients you probably already have!

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional. This is just a way I can help add to our family finances to raise our four daughters. Please know I would never recommend a product or service I do not totally stand behind.

Yes, you read that right. You can rust up your own canning jar lids right on your kitchen counter in about a week!! I know that the method I’m sharing today isn’t the only way to get this done, and thank goodness it’s not because there shouldn’t just be one way to do things. This is just my preferred way to rust my own mason jar lids.

Here are a couple of projects I made using this same technique to rust mason jar lids

DIY RUSTY PUMPKIN FROM MASON JAR RINGS

DIY RUSTED MASON JAR RING PERSONALIZED ORNAMENT

Check out the video below or keep scrolling to read the written/picture tutorial.

Get instant access to all of my FREE printables, files, and more. Click here to get your password to my FREE RESOURCE LIBRARY.

Here’s what you’ll need to rust your own mason jar lids at home

• mason jar rings

• distilled white vinegar

• salt

• glass bowl

• 1 week’s time

HOW TO RUST YOUR OWN MASON JAR LIDS INSIDE THE QUICK AND EASY WAY

ONE- You will need a glass bowl. I use glass because it doesn’t break down like other materials such as plastic or metal. Glass is wonderful! I start by filling the bottom of the glass bowl with salt. I DO NOT MEASURE THIS. If you were hoping for a recipe with exact measurements this tutorial might not be for you. I just add enough salt to cover the bottom of the bowl lol.

TWO- Pour in some distilled white vinegar. I just eyeball this as well. You want enough to completely cover the mason jar lids once you put those in the bowl (that will happen in just a couple steps).

THREE- Give your ingredients a good stir. I use a popsicle stick for this and I stir till the salt starts to dissolve.

FOUR- Add in your mason jar rings. You can add in as many that will fit in to your bowl.

FIVE- Now add enough vinegar to your bowl so that your mason jar rings are completely submerged.

SIX- Now sprinkle some salt on top. I’m not sure if this step makes a huge difference but I do this just for good measure lol!

SEVEN- Let the mason jar lids sit for 24 hours. After 24 hours has passed take them out and let them dry on a towel. Once they are dry place them back into the salt & vinegar mixture.

EIGHT- Repeat step 7 for at least a week. After just a couple days you will start to notice the canning lids turning color and they will look like they have scratch like marks on them. This is exactly what you want to see happening. The longer you do the soaking/drying process the rustier your mason jar lids will get. You’ll also notice that the salt/vinegar solution is changing from a clear to a really gross color/consistency, this is supposed to happen too.

NINE- Once you’re happy with the rust on your canning jar lids you are all done and you can discard of the salt/vinegar mixture. I don’t rinse mine off after I just simply let them dry then use them or place them in my rusty mason jar plastic bin for safe keeping till I need them.

DIY Dollar Tree work for hire chore chart

Easy work for hire board

I don’t know about you but in my house we don’t do allowance. Well, not the traditional allowance anyway. Instead, we have a work for hire board. And I so wish I would have made this sooner. For years my girls have been asking “what needs to be done” for them to earn money for the not so everyday chores around the house. Of course they would ask at the times when my brain was on anything but that and I would have to stop and think hard about what needs to be done and how much to pay for that chore.

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional.

Now my brain doesn’t have that extra stress (yes, it’s a stress when your sweet daughter is asking to do work around the house so she can make some cash and your brain just draws a blank :(! ) Having this work for hire board is WONDERFUL! I clip the money to the chore that needs to be done. Then they do the chore and take their earnings. This gives them so much independence and instills a good work ethic that they will carry with them through adulthood. Everyone is happy! They get paid and I didn’t have to wash the windows lol!

Now, I don’t pay the girls to do everyday things like washing dishes, picking up the living room, washing their clothes. Those are everyday kind of chores. The chores on the work for hire board are more like washing the windows, wiping down the baseboards, deep cleaning the bathroom, organizing the stockpile, etc.

And to make it even better was that I picked up the metal tin I used for the work for hire boar from the Dollar Tree! All together this DIY cost less than $5 for everything. See more of my DIY Dollar Tree crafts.

FREE PRINTABLE- 36 work for hire chore ideas for you to print off. Click the photo below to get the password for instant access to my free resource library.

How to make a kid’s work for hire board

Here’s what you’ll need

• round metal pizza pan, I got mine from the Dollar Tree

• small magnets

• chalk paint

• acrylic paint

• clothes pins

• paint brush

• oracal vinyl (this is where I got mine)

• transfer tape

• vinyl squeegee

• clear finishing spray

• wide ribbon

• work for hire svg

• E6000

Helpful tools

• CRICUT (I use an explore)

• CRICUT CUTTING MAT

• CRICUT ACCESS

ONE-

Use chalk paint and paint the entire front of your pizza pan. I painted two coats on mine, letting the first one dry completely before painting the second coat on. To add a little rustic feel I added some cream colored accent markings to mine. I did this while the second coat of paint was still wet and just liberally added in strokes of the cream colored chalk paint. Let your painted pizza pan dry. I let mine day for several days because I had other things to do before I could finish it up. After mine dried I gave it a quick spray with a clear sealant to give it a protective top coat.

TWO-

Paint your clothes pins. I just used two colors, pink and gray. I painted my clothespins with two coats of acrylic paint to get a good coverage on them. Let them dry.

THREE-

Add a vinyl decal to the top that says ‘ work for hire’. You can make your own or grab one similar to the one I used, get it in my FREE RESOURCE LIBRARY. I used gray oracal 651 vinyl for mine. Even though I allowed my painted pizza pan to dry for several days I wasn’t sure if the transfer tape would remove the paint so I applied my decal very gently. I tried not to push the transfer tape down too much and focused on just the decal. Thankfully none of the paint came off of my pizza pan when applying the work for hire decal.

FOUR-

Write the chores on your clothes pins. Ours don’t change too much, they are pretty much the same things that need to be done every month so I used a fine point sharpie to write on mine. When I made mine I wrote on the painted clothespins after I glued the magnets to them…big mistake. It would have been far easier to write on them first, glued magnets second. But now I know for next time AND I know the right way to tell you how to do it so you don’t make the mistake I did.

FIVE-

Use E6000 and glue a magnet to the backside of each of your clothespins. If you’ve never heard of E6000 it’s basically a really strong glue. It does take about 24 hours to fully dry though. Oh, and it does have a bit of a weird smell to it but it is good for crafts lol! Set your clothespins somewhere they won’t be disturbed so they can dry properly.

SIX-

Add a ribbon hanger to the back. Make sure it lines up with the front, you don’t want a lopsided chart hanging up after all this hard work. Use tape to hold the ribbon in place on the backside. Glue to the back side of the pizza pan using E6000. I used the discarded piece of backing from my vinyl to press the ribbon into the glue. I didn’t want all of that on my fingers. That worked great for me! Just like with the clothespins, set the pizza pan in a place it can fully dry without being disturbed.

SEVEN-

After everything is dry hang up and add your clothespins with the money attached to them.

I hope you enjoyed this crafty tutorial and that it helps and inspires you to create your own. As with all of my posts, if you have any questions please feel free to ask.

Happy crafting!

Want instant access to all of my freebies? Fill out the info below and you instantly get the password to get into my FREE RESOURCE LIBRARY. This is where I share all of my printable, files, more to share with anyone that wants them to use for non commercial use.

DIY easy wood tags using your miter saw

How to make farmhouse style wood tags using your miter saw

These little tags are SOOOOOO easy to make! If you can operate a miter saw then you can make these wood tags. They tie in perfectly with farmhouse décor and make adorable accent pieces to those tiered trays that are all over Pinterest. And you can make your own for a fraction of the cost! Even cheaper if you are using scrap wood like I like to do when I make little projects for my home.

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional.

This tutorial is quick. Like less than 2 minutes kind of quick if you watch the video tutorial over on my YouTube channel. Check it out below or keep scrolling for the written tutorial.

After you’re done reading this DIY go see what I did with these wood tags for St. Patrick’s Day

Here’s what you need to make your own rustic wood tags

• 1x4 piece of lumber

• measuring tape

• pencil

• Ryobi miter saw

• Ryobi sander

• 120 grit sandpaper

• Ryobi drill

• Ryobi drill bits

Can you tell I LOVE my Ryobi tools?! Seriously though, if you are having trouble deciding what kind of tools you need as a craft you need to read this post about POWER TOOLS FOR CRAFTERS. In it I cover the basics of what you need and explain a little about them.

Easy wood tags for your country chic decor

ONE-

The first thing you need to do is measure out your 1x4 and cut it at 5”. I just used my miter saw side ruler for this. I made mine in a set of 3 but you can make as many as you’d like.

TWO-

Swivel your miter saw so that it is set at 45 degrees. Be sure it locks in place, I extra lock mine in place using the manual lock on my saw.

THREE-

On the top right hand side of each tag measure in 1” and put a little mark. So that you don’t have to mess with moving your angle to cut on the other side flip your piece of wood over and make a mark 1” on the other side.

FOUR-

Line your laser up with that 1” dot you made and cut. If you don’t have a laser on your saw you can line your blade up while it’s not in motion. Side note…I’ve really glad I splurged for this fancier saw to make projects like this even easier. I almost didn’t get it just to save a few dollars but some things are worth every penny, just like this saw ;)!!

FIVE-

Flip your wood tag over and do the same thing to the other corner. Isn’t that so much easier than moving the degree of the blade?!

SIX-

To make a hole in the top for a piece of twine to go through you just need to drill a hole large enough for the size twine you’re using. I used a 5/8” drill bit to drill mine. I measured in 1.75” from one side, not where I cut the corner off because that would not give an accurate middle mark. Tip- place a scrap piece of wood under the wood that you’re drilling to save the surface underneath from getting damaged.

SEVEN-

Last, finish them off by giving them a quick sanding. I don’t ever get too crazy with this step on my projects. I typically just use 120 grit sandpaper all over and call it a day.

That’s it! SUPER EASY miter saw craft. As with all of my posts if you have any question please feel free to reach out and ask away.

DIY western themed party table sign

How to make a sign for your western themed party table

Teacher appreciation week is coming up for our elementary school and I was asked to help throw it all together. One of the things I was asked to help out with were signs for the food table to go with the wild west theme. Being a busy momma of 4 and a handmade small business owner I didn’t have a ton of time to devote to the signs. I thought about just printing something up and sticking them in inexpensive frames but I didn’t want to have to spend money on frames I wouldn’t use again. And I wanted them to look a little more rustic/handmade than what a picture frame would look like.

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional.

So I looked around my craft room and thought ‘why couldn’t I just glue the paper to a chunk of wood?’. And that’s exactly what I did! Gotta love Mod Podge! And of course burlap too!

You can use the printable I used for my project, it’s in my FREE RESOURCE LIBRARY click here to get the free printable

DIY wild west sign for your party table

These table signs are SO easy to make!

Here’s what you’ll need

• 2x6 piece of wood

• wild west printable

• burlap or fabric

• matte finish mod podge

• paint brush

Helpful tools

• printer

• Ryobi miter saw

• Ryobi sander

• scissors

• paper cutter

ONE-

I printed off my printables, CHOW DOWN PARTNER, SNACK STAMPEDE, HAPPY TRAILS, and WATERING HOLE. Then I trimmed them down using my paper cutter. Even though these are not expensive at all it took me years to finally bite the bullet and buy one and I’m SO glad I did! I know it sounds silly but not having to stress about the lines being straight on things, especially on my orders, is priceless!

TWO-

Cut down your 2x6 to fit your printable. I already had several sections of 2x6’s leftover from a loft bed project we made for the three oldest daughters. So I used my miter saw cut two of those pieces in half. That gave me 4 2x6 pieces.

THREE-

I wanted the background to have a little more to it than just the wood I added a piece of burlap to two of the signs and a piece of red duck cloth fabric to the other two western signs. I had all of these materials on hand, I didn’t need to go to the store and buy anything. That’s the great part of holding on to scrap pieces.

I used MATTE FINISH MOD PODGE to glue the burlap and fabric on to the wood chunks. Paint on a thick layer of the mod podge (if you’ve never used mod podge it’s basically just fancy glue that comes in lots of different finishes and purposes). Cut your fabric or burlap down to size and press it down on the mod podge covered front of your sign. Smooth out any air bubbles with your hand.

FOUR-

I wanted the edges to be frayed a little so I trimmed down the fabric/burlap what hung over the edge then pulled out some of the treads on each end to fray them.

FIVE-

Then I applied mod podge to top of the burlap/fabric and placed a printable down on it. On the first ones. the burlap ones, I applied mod podge all over where the printable would go, not even thinking that it was going to bubble the paper because that’s what glue does to paper. So the next two I just applied the mod podge to the ends of the paper and I like that look a lot better.

SIX-

Let them dry and you’re ready to put them on display on your western themed party table.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and it helps you DIY your own easy and quick signs. As with all of my posts if you have any questions please feel free to ask away.

Want instant access to all of my free printables (like the one used in this post) files, and checklists? Fill in your info and I will send you will immediately get the password to all of my freebies.

DIY Dollar Tree St. Patrick's Day rag wreath

How to make a rag wreath using a Dollar Tree wire wreath form

I LOVE shopping at the Dollar Tree. When they put one in our small town my girls and I were EX-CI-TED! It’s not that we lived too far away from the next Dollar Tree but it is so nice to have one that is just a couple minutes away vs having to get on the highway and drive 25+ minutes, we are loving this convenience! I don’t buy everything from the Dollar Tree though, but there are several things I do prefer to pick up from here like wire wreath forms. Here’s my list of the top 15 craft supplies I buy from the Dollar Tree.

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional.

There are so many different types of wreaths you can make with the wire wreath forms but my absolute favorite are the rag wreaths. They are so beautifully imperfect and they tie in nicely with my rustic/inexpensive style lol! This is my third rag wreath I’ve posted here on my blog. My first one was this super country cottage chic spring wreath. I really wanted to put it up for Valentine’s day this year but decided against it since it has bunnies for one of the prints. My second rag wreath was this rustic but patriotic red, white, and blue one.

For my St. Patrick’s Day rag wreath, or tied fabric wreath as some call it, I wanted to add a little sign that said welcome. I admit I took the easy way out and didn’t stencil the sign, I made a vinyl decal instead. It is far easier to make these they just don’t last as long as the fully painted signs I create and ship world wide in my handmade business. Check out my handmade signs here. If you’ve been dreaming of making your own hand painted wooden signs but you keep running into problems my sign painters e-course is for you!

Check out the rag wreath video tutorial or keep scrolling for written/picture instructions.

Here’s what you’ll need to make your own St. Patrick’s Day rag wreath

• wire wreath form

• fabric (fat quarters are great for this)

• scissors

• 2 foam shamrocks (I got mine from the Dollar Tree but these are very similar on Amazon if you can’t find them at DT)

• soft wire

• piece of wood

• Oracal 651 in green (mine came from this 651 bundle)

• transfer tape ( I used contact paper for this tutorial)

• WELCOME decal (you can get my free Cricut cut file here)

• piece of 4” burlap

• hot glue gun

• gorilla glue sticks

• white paint

Helpful tools

• wire cutters

• Cricut cutting machine (I used a Cricut Explore)

• Cricut cutting mat

• Cricut Design Space

• xacto knife

DIY rag wreath for ST. Patrick’s Day

One-

Unfold your fabric. Then about ever 1” or so cut a small slit on one side of the fabric. Now rip those 1” sections so that you have a bunch of strips of fabric. Repeat this step for all of your pieces of fabric. I’ve found fat quarters that you get from Walmart work really well for these wreaths.

Two-

Cut your ripped fabric strips into 3-4 inch pieces. These don’t have to be perfect, mine are never the exact same size.

Three-

Tie your pieces in a single knot onto your wire wreath form. This took me about 45 minutes to complete.

Four-

Once you have all of your fabric pieces tied onto your wire wreath form you flip your wreath over. Then push any long fabric pieces back on to the front.

Five-

Set your wreath to the side so you can start on your welcome sign that is going to attach to the front. I used a piece of scrap wood I had in the garage from a previous project. Paint the base white, I used two coats of paint to get a good coverage. Be sure you let both coats dry completely before moving on to step 6.

Six-

Instead of stenciling this sign I applied a vinyl decal. I used my Cricut to cut out my vinyl decal. You can get my WELCOME Cricut cut file here.

Seven-

I bought a package of foam green clovers at my local Dollar Tree last year and thought these would be super cute to add to one side of my welcome sign. They were the same size so I trimmed down the shamrock I wanted to place on the top so that you could see a little bit the bottom shamrock showing through the edge. I did this same technique on this Rae Dunn inspired fall burlap leaf garland. Then I glued the two together and glued them down to the end of the sign.

Eight-

Attach your sign to your wreath. To do this I used a soft wire but I have no idea where I got it from. I would also recommend a floral wire for this step. I drilled holes in the top corners of my sign and used a small piece of wire to attach it to the wreath. Make a U shape to your wire, place one end of the wire in the hole of the sign and feed it to the back then twist the two ends together on the back side so you can’t see them once your wreath is hanging. Do this for both sides of your welcome sign to attach it to your wreath.

Nine-

I finished my wreath off with a 4” wide piece of burlap so I could hang it up. I didn’t really like the knot I made in the burlap so I wanted to hide it lol. I just took another piece of wire and secured the knot to the back of the wreath.

Now you're ready to hang your wreath for St. Patrick’s Day. I hope you enjoyed this crafty DIY. If you did and make your own St. Patty’s Day wreath I’d love to see pictures of it. As always with all of my tutorials, if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask:)!

Happy crafting!

Want instant access to my FREE RESOURCE LIBRARY? This is where I share my freebies of cut files, printables, checklists and more. Leave your info below and I will send you the password and link to get instant access into my library.

DIY mini St. Patrick's Day wood tags

DIY MINI WOOD TAGS FOR ST. PATRICK’S DAY

If you’ve been reading my blog you might know that my four daughters have been asking me to decorate more for the holidays…including St. Patrick’s Day decorations. Yes, that is a holiday they think I should decorate for too lol! So they win. I’ve truly been making an effort to have a more festive home even though daughter #4 totally rearranges everything.

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional.

I have been eyeing these adorable mini wood tags on Pinterest for forever now. They are CUTE! They tie in with pretty much anything. You can add these wood tags to a wreath, to a welcome sign, on the mantle (I really wish we had one but I’ll just have to make a faux mantle one of these days) or my favorite- to a tiered tray. Those trays are seriously rustic home décor overload! I love them!! I need to add one to my coffee bar soon.

If you’re looking for fun green holiday themed to make with the kiddos try this easy St. Patrick’s Day suncatcher.

To make this completely from scratch at home you’ll need a few power tools. But, if you don’t have power tools to DIY this craft from start to finish you can grab a DIY CRAFT KIT here. I haven’t always been super comfortable using power tools, actually I was deathly afraid of them not too long ago. Now that I’m over my power tool phobia here’s what I recommend for DIY crafters.

DIY St. Patrick’s Day Wood Tags

Here’s what you’ll need

• mini wood tags

• stencil material

• transfer tape

• white paint

• 3 shades of green paint

• sandpaper

• antiquing wax

• chip brush

• paint brush

• stenciling sponge

• twine

• masking tape

• vinyl squeegee

• CRICUT FILE- four leaf clover

If you’d like the same file I used to create this set of 3 mini wood St. Patrick’s Day tags you can get my Cricut file here. It’s in my FREE resource library. It’s where I keep all of my FREEBIES like files, printables, patterns, and more. You’ll need the password because I like to keep it a little bit secret but no worries it’s super easy to get. Jut fill out the prompt and you'll get instant access.

Other helpful tools I used

• Ryobi miter saw

• Ryobi sander

• Cricut cutting machine

• Cricut Access

• Cricut cutting mat

Watch the video or keep scrolling for step by step written/photo instructions for these wood St. Patrick’s Day tags.

Cutting your wood pieces

1. First you want to cut out your wood tags. I used my Ryobi miter saw to do this. Cut a 1x4 in to 3 5” long pieces. On the top of each 5” piece measure in 1” and make a mark. Set your miter saw to 45 degrees, line it up with your 1” mark and cut. Flip your tag over and do the same to the other side.

2. Now drill a hole in the middle of the top of each piece. This is for your twine holder to go through.

3. After you have that done give each piece a quick sanding. You don’t have to get crazy with this, it’s not a fine piece of furniture. I use 120 grit sandpaper for this and that’s it. Just enough to take off that shine it has when you get it from the lumberyard.

   WATCH THE VIDEO OF HOW I MADE THESE USING MY MITER SAW

Stencils

You can use any cutting machine to create your stencils. I use my Cricut Explore to make all of mine. If you use a Cricut you can get my cutting file here. I use Oramask stenciling film to make my stencils. While it is a little more expensive than other materials I have found it works the absolute best for stenciling.

Painting (the fun part!)

1. First a thin layer of white paint on each wood tag. Be sure it is a thin layer, you will still be able to see the wood grain through the paint. After the first thin layer is dry you can paint a second thin layer. You don’t want more than two layer of base paint on your wooden tags, or any painted wood sign. Too much paint will cause issues when stenciling with base paint peel up, which can be impossible to fix sometimes and honestly it just plain sucks to have to go back and fix.

2. After your base paint is completely dry you can apply your stencils to all three wood blanks. Apply your transfer tape to your stencils (if you bought my DIY CRAFT KIT this step has already been done for you). Peel the paper backing from your stencil/transfer tape. Go slow. Place your stencils sticky side down on the front of your painted wood tag. The front is just whichever side you prefer best ;). Using your vinyl squeegee, if you don’t have one you can use a plastic store rewards card, and rub the stencil to that it adheres to the wood. Slowly peel the transfer tape away from the wood leaving your stencil attached to the wood. I find that it works best when I roll the transfer tape away, check out this DIY PAINTED WOOD SIGN TUTORIAL for a closer look at how to do this.

3. Use masking tape to tape off the edges of your stencil so you don’t get paint on areas of the wood tags that you don’t want paint on.

4. Cut your stenciling sponge in half so you can use it in all three paint colors without mixing the colors.

5. Using one end of one of the sponges dip it in the lightest color of green. You need very little paint, the more paint you use the more paint bleed you will likely have. Dab your sponge onto one of your wood blocks where the clover is exposed on the wood. The coverage should be VERY faint. Let that dry and repeat up to three times. You don’t want to apply more than three coats as this could cause issues with paint peel up where you just stenciled.

6. Peel up your stencil and tape. Using an xacto knife helps to remove the middle piece of the clover.

7. Repeat steps 5 & 6 for your other two wood tag bases.

8. Let them dry.

Distressing

After your paint completely dries from stenciling you can start distressing your wood St. Patrick’s Day tags. I LOVE using antiquing wax for this process. Antiquing wax comes in a several different colors but my favorite its definitely the regular antiquing wax. Learn more about how to transform your DIY farmhouse style crafts with antiquing wax.

1. Using sand paper or your sander give a quick sanding to the edges, corners, and lightly on the front of each wooden tag. Wipe off and dust.

2. Take your chip brush and lightly dip it into your antiquing wax. Dab off the excess, a little wax goes a very long way. Much like you did with the sandpaper, focus on brushing the wax on the edges, corners, and lightly on the front of your wooden tags.

Adding twine

Probably the easiest step is adding the twine. Decide how long you would like your twine hangers to be. I think I measured mine at 12” or so. You’ll need 3 pieces, one for each wood tag. Feed one piece of twine through the hole in one of the wood tags then tie it in a knot.

You’re ready to display your St. Patrick’s Day wood tags in your home. I know it may seem like a lot of steps written out but really these are super easy and quick to DIY once you get going on them.

Like with all of my DIY tutorials if you have any questions please reach out. Leave a comment below or send me a message on one of my social media pages. You can find my links at the top.

Happy Crafting!

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Easy popsicle stick picture frame for Valentine's Day

We belong to a wonderful little program called Parents as Teachers. If you’ve never heard of this you can check out Parents as Teachers here. Every week our local PAT’s host a play group and during the holiday season they host themed groups with a fun party. This year they asked me again if I would help host the Valentine’s Day craft for the party. Of course I said yes!

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional.

I knew I wanted the craft to be a keepsake. Every momma LOVES keepsakes! They are my most favorite thing the girls bring home from school in the early years. So I searched Pinterest looking for an easy to make Valentine’s Day keepsake for little ones. I came across a fun popsicle stick frame and knew this would be something super easy for the kids and moms to make together.

My husband and I premade all the frames so everything was ready to go for the Valentine’s Day party, 30 frames total, and of couse since we live in the center of the USA winter did a little showing off, school got cancelled and so did the party *insert sad momma tears*. But we still had fun making these frames at home and the older three daughters actually had even more fun than I thought they would. They loved decorating their own frames with the Valentine’s Day stickers and cutouts.

How to make a mess free Valentine’s Day keepsake craft

Watch the video below or keep reading for the step by step instructions

Want access to my FREE RESOURCE LIBRARY? This is where I keep all of my files, printables, lists, and more. Get your password to get all the freebies —-> Send me to the FREE RESOURCE LIBRARY

Here’s what you’ll need to make your Valentine’s Day popsicle stick frame

• popsicle sticks

• hot glue gun

• gorilla glue hot glue sticks

• stickers

• washable markers

• rhinestones other decorations

You can find all of these items at the Dollar Tree (except the gorilla glue and glue gun) but I’ve included the links if you prefer your supplies delivered right to your door:)!

To make 1 popsicle stick picture frame you need 8 popsicle sticks.

1. The first thing you need to do is put your frame together. This should be done by an adult. I’ve found using gorilla glue sticks vs regular hot glue sticks hold projects together so much better. You want to line your sticks out first before you glue them down. You will need 2 popsicle sticks on each side of the frame.

2. Once the glue has set and dried you can start decorating. No need to get out messy paint, although I LOVE paint sometimes it’s nice to not have that mess to clean up. Washable markers work great to give the frame a color and your work area will clean up with a washcloth after with no fuss. This is great for little ones who are working on their fine motor skills too!

3. Add some more decorations. Stickers are PERFECT for these adorable Valentine’s Day frames! Your kiddos can just peel off the backing and stick them wherever they would like. Let them have fun with this step. If you want you can bring out some rhinestones, sequence, and even glitter (but these will require glue).

4. Glue a photo or their art work to the back. I just used my hot glue gun to glue a photo of our sweet family to add to the frame I made for this tutorial. If you want you can also add a small magnet so you can hang it on the fridge.

5. Enjoy their art! place it on a shelf and keep it out year round. Now that my girls are getting older I am even more appreciative of all their handmade creations they’ve made me over the years.

If you have any questions about this DIY craft or any other leave a comment below. Happy Valentine’s Day!

DIY faux leather hair bows using your Cricut

How to make FAUX LEATHER BOWS for Valentine’s Day

For Valentine’s Day this year I thought it would be so cute if daughter #4 and her BFF had matching hairbows. And I thought it would be even more adorable if there was a little bow themed Valentine’s Day card to go with them! I looked a little on Pinterest for a cute little printable to download and didn’t have much luck. So, I went ahead and made my own and I’m sharing the download with you! Click here to get the instant access to my Valentine’s Day Printable.

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional.

You can get the FREE VALENTINE’S DAY PRINTABLE HERE. It is in my FREE RESOURCE LIBRARY along with all of my other freebies. Just enter your info and you’ll get the password immediately for instant access!

I’ve left the bottom blank so your sweet kiddo can write their own name in the space to the right of the little pink heart.

After you make these cute little faux leather hairbows check out this fun VALENTINE’S DAY CRAFT to make with your little one. DIY VALENTINE CATERPILLAR

USE YOUR CRICUT TO MAKE FAUX LEATHER VALENTINE’S HAIR BOWS

Here’s what you’ll need

• CRICUT CUTTING MACHINE (I use an older explore)

• PURPLE CRICUT MAT

• FAUX LEATHER

• HOT GLUE

• HOT GLUE GUN

• E-6000

• HAIR CLIP

• CRICUT BOW FILE

• WHITE CARDSTOCK

• FREE VALENTINE PRINTABLE

  *****CRICUT EXPLORE USERS if you are using the older machine (not the maker) you will need to get the DEEP CUT BLADE & THE DEEP CUT BLADE HOUSING*****

You will also need

• CRICUT DESIGN SPACE

• CRICUT ACCESS ( this isn’t a must but if you have a Cricut Access membership the template I’m using is included. Otherwise you can purchase a file to use or create your own)

CRICUT USER TIP- if you have Cricut Access you get 10% off in their SHOP NOW section AND you also get FREE US SHIPPING! I’ve found that it is actually much cheaper to purchase directly from Cricut than to buy off of Amazon or in the craft stores (which is usually the most expensive option).

Before giving these as Valentine’s Day gifts you will need to let the glue cure on them for 24 hours. E6000 takes a VERY long time to dry and it need to dry undisturbed. I’ve made the mistake of being impatient and not letting the bow fully dry and my hairbow completely fell apart :(!! Don’t be like me lol!

1. CUT OUT YOUR TEMPLATE

Grab the link to the template here

Open Cricut design space and go to Cricut’s ready to make projects.In the search bar type in PEBBLED and a project called PEBBLED LEATHER BOW should pull up. Click that project then click CUSTOMIZE. You will want to resize this so that it will be larger.

Once your project is open you want to GROUP the 3 pieces together. This will take the guess work out of resizing each piece. The piece that looks like an actual bow you want to resize that to 3.5”. You will have to do this manually so be sure your gridlines are on to make this easier.

If you want to cut the pieces out on to different colors of faux leather be sure to make them different colors in design space so they will automatically be positioned onto different mats.

Now click make it. Check that the MIRROR is turned ON. Then click CONTINUE. If you are using an older machine like the EXPLORE be sure you are using a DEEP CUT BLADE and the DEEP CUT BLADE HOUSING. You will want your machine to be set to CUSTOMIZED and I’ve had good luck with the FAUX LEATHER setting.

Because this is heavier material you will want to use Cricut’s PURPLE MAT. This is their strong hold mat. Place your faux leather PRINT SIDE DOWN. Load your mat into your machine and hit GO. If you need to you can adjust the cutting pressure of your machine if you need a little more/little less pressure.

2. ASSEMBLE YOUR BOW PIECES

Now you can assemble your cute little hair bow! First, plug in your glue gun. This glue WON’T hold your bow together but we are using this to temporarily hold the pieces together because E6000 is kind of messy and a pain in the butt to work with sometimes and it can be super slippery so your bow pieces will want to slide everywhere. So by using the hot glue gun we can tack the pieces in place then go back and add the E600 to permanently hold the bow together.

Once your hot glue gun has heated up you want to glue the piece together that looks like a pair of glasses. Just a dab of hot glue will be fine, just enough to hold it in place.

Then place the bow on top of bottom piece using hot glue between the pieces to hold it in place.

Next glue the clip onto the back side of the bottom piece. Now you will take the last piece to the bow and wrap it around the bow and clip. First, open the clip and be sure to keep it open while doing this step. Add a small amount of hot glue to the center of the clip, place one end of the rectangle piece where the glue is and wrap it around the bow and glue it in place with E6000 when you come to the end. It is much easier to show you how to do this step than to explain it lol!

The hot glue is a temporary hold. It will not last, no matter what type of hot glue you use (trust me I’ve tried lol!!). To get a permanent hold go back and add E6000 to the areas you used hot glue. Obviously you won’ be able to get to every little area but you’ll be able to get close enough for a permanent hold. I will warn you E6000 is SUPER MESSY and has a weird smell. If it helps to keep the mess down use a toothpick to get the glue where you need it to go.

3. LET IT DRY

I know it’s really hard to walk away from a project and let it dry but these will take a long time to dry because of the E6000. They need about 24 hours of drying time.

4. ADD THE BOWS TO YOUR PRINTABLE VALENTINES

Download the FREE VALENTINE PRINTABLE. Print it out on cardstock. I chose white cardstock but you can print it on any color of cardstock paper you’d like. Cut the printable on the gray lines that are going down the middle of both sides of the printable.

I’ve left the bottom area of each valentine blank so your little one can add their own name. Now would be a great time to let them sign the cards. My sweet girl had the best time writing her name. We’ve been working on that lately so this was a perfect opportunity for her to show off her newly learned skills! Look how adorable she is!!

After your faux leather hairbows have dried you can attach them to your valentines. I recommend cutting a small slit just below the letter S in sweet. I cut mine halfway between the word sweet and the heart (you can use a small box cutter like I did or an xacto knife would work great too). Then slip the bottom part of the clip through to the back of the valentine, leaving the bow part on top.

Your valentines are ready to hand out. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and as always if you have any questions please feel free to reach out and ask

DIY painted wood funny cactus signs

DIY PAINTED MINI CACTUS WOOD SIGNS

I don’t know about you but my family has a good sense of humor. So, naturally these signs were a hit around our house! How can you not laugh at a painted wood sign that reads “don’t be a prick” with a picture of a cactus?! Or “free hugs” lol!!

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional. This is just a way I can help add to our family finances to raise our four daughters. Please know I would never recommend a product or service I do not totally stand behind

They were such a hit that I added them to my online shop, funny painted cactus signs. If you don’t have time to DIY this hilarious set of 3 mini wooden signs you can buy a premade set here —-> I NEED FUNNY CACTUS SIGNS.

If you plan to hang your newly painted wood signs check out this quick and easy tutorial for attaching sawtooth hangers to signs

If you purchase the DIY craft kit from my handmade online shop here’s what’s inlcuded

• 3 precut, lightly sanded, stained, distressed wood 5.5”x5.5” wood bases

• 3 stencils with transfer tape applied - go sit on a cactus, don’t be a prick, free hugs

• 1 sponge brush

• 1 stenciling sponge

• white & black acrylic paints

• printed instructions

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If you are struggling with your sign painting adventure I would LOVE to teach you all in-depth steps I use in my own business. when I first started out I had issues with paint bleed, paint peeling up, sticky residue getting left behind but by doing a TON of trail and error, and thousands of hand painted signs later I have perfected my sign painting skills and want to teach you all the things I didn’t when I first started out.

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If you didn’t snag up a DIY CRAFT KIT here’s what you’ll need

• precut wood blocks, 5.5”x5.5”, stained dried and sanded

• stencils, don’t be a prick, free hugs, go sit on a cactus

• transfer tape

• white acrylic paint

• black acrylic paint

• paint brush

• stenciling sponge

Helpful tools I used to make my set

• Cricut explore

• Cricut design space

• Cricut access

• Cricut cutting mat

• xacto knife

• vinyl squeegee

• RYOBI miter saw

• RYOBI orbit sander

• 120 grit sandpaper

If you’re starting from scratch you’ll want to cut, sand, and stain your wood pieces at least 24 hrs prior to painting them, if you are going to be staining them first. Stain needs to fully dry before painting any project.

Once your wood pieces are dry you can start painting them. Start with a DRY brush and using a little bit of paint at a time, apply a THIN layer of paint to one side of your board. Leave a small border all the way around each wood base. I don’t measure this, just eyeball it. This will give you that rustic uneven look. Do this with each wooden base. You do not need to paint any of the other sides, just one side per base.

After your fist THIN coat is totally dry you can apply the second coat, be sure to apply using the same technique as you did with the first coat.

Once they are all TOTALLY DRY you are ready for stenciling. They must be completely dry otherwise your stencil will not stick to the wood and it will be an ugly mess.

Start by removing the paper backing from your stencil. This works best if you use a vinyl applicator, or you can use a stiff store rewards card,  I don’t recommend using your bank card as it could break during the process.

Rub the front of the stencil

Flip it over and do the same on the back

Now slowly peel the paper backing away from the stencil. This works best if you start at one corner and peel away at a sharp 90 degree angle. Go SLOW.

First, you’ll want to place your stencil where you want it on your board. I wanted mine to all be centered so that’s what I did but you can place them anywhere on the board you’d like. I just recommend keeping the image within the painted part of the wood.

Using your vinyl tool rub the stencil, using the same technique as before. Now SLOWLY peel the transfer tape {the clear sticky stuff} away from your stencil. I do this at a sharp angle and I will slowly roll it off of the stencil.

After you get the transfer tape off rub your finger along all the exposed stencil edges {anywhere there is wood showing thru}. this helps to get a good seal on your stencil.

To help prevent paint bleed you can take the white paint, the base color, and lightly go over the exposed areas of your stencil. This will help to fill in tiny air bubbles that you may have missed in the previous step. You want this to be a very LIGHT LAYER of paint, you barely want to see it on your stencil.

Use one end of your cosmetic sponge LIGHTLY dip it in the black paint. BE SURE TO USE VERY LITTLE PAINT, this is key to getting little to no paint bleed under your stencil. Dab the sponge on a paper towel a couple times then onto your stencil, do this till you have a very THIN even coat {you should be able to see thru the first coat}. LET DRY, repeat till you are happy with the coverage.

Now peel up your stencil. I use an xacto knife to get up all the little pieces. If you don’t have one of these a sewing pin/needle works great for this as well. If you have any paint bleed just go over those with a small paint brush and your background color.

Please feel free to message me if you have any questions once your kit arrives. I want your DIY projects to turn out AMAZING and will help you in any way I can to make that happen. If you ordered from the website shoot me an email BUT if you ordered from my ETSY shop please message me on there. In order to keep in compliance with Etsy all convos must be kept on their platform

DIY wood block snowmen ornaments, DAY 6

DIY wooden snowmen Christmas ornaments

Day 6 of 30 days of DIY Christmas ornaments

Day 6 of my 30 days of DIY Christmas ornaments I made these cute wood block snowmen! They were SO SIMPLE and they were SO QUICK to make too! I haven’t made these with my four daughters yet but they are definitely on the list of Christmas ornaments to make with them.

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional. This is just a way I can help add to our family finances to raise our four daughters. Please know I would never recommend a product or service I do not totally stand behind

To make this DIY craft even easier for you I put together a DIY CHRISTMAS SNOWMEN ORNAMENT CRAFT KIT. I know not everyone can use or has access to power tools like the ones I use in my crafty tutorials. So with some of my more popular projects you can purchase a DIY craft kit so you can make your own at home. Leave all the cutting and presanding to me, you take care of all the creativity to really make it come to life.

Watch the video tutorial or keep scrolling to read how to make your own wooden snowman ornament

Here’s what you’ll need to make your own wood snowmen Christmas ornaments

• DIY CRAFT KIT

OR if not snagging your own craft kit here’s a list of all the supplies you'll need

• 2”x2” piece of wood, I use pine

• miter saw {I use this RYOBI miter 12” slider to cut all of my projects and LOVE it!}

• sander {I use this cordless orbit sander from ROYBI and LOVE it too!}

• white acrylic paint

• black acrylic paint

• orange acrylic paint

• paint brushes

• screw eyes

• twine

The first thing you need to do is to cut your piece of wood in to cubes. The wood I used is called a 2”x2”, it actually measures approx. 1.5”x1.5” lumber measures weird like that lol! So, I cut 4 pieces into 1.5” cubes. The miter saw I use has a ruler on the side of it to make measuring super easy. If you are looking into getting power tools I wrote this post for crafters about what kinds of power tools you need. I used to use my husband’s power tools and I am SO glad I finally purchased my very own set. I am a huge fan of RYOBI power tools and recommend them to any fellow crafter.

Next, you want to give your wooden blocks a quick sanding. I use 120 grit sandpaper for this. You can use a regular piece of sandpaper for this step but using a power tool sander is much faster.

After you give your blocks a quick sanding be sure to wipe the sawdust off of them. Then paint them with a thin layer of white acrylic paint. Once that layer is completely dry you can paint a second thin layer of white acrylic paint to give it a little better coverage. Think of this like when you paint your nails, you apply a thin base coat first then once that dries you apply a second coat to get a good even coverage.

Let the white paint dry. After it dries you can paint on the face. I used orange and black acrylic paint for this step BUT you could totally use paint markers or even an orange and black sharpies for this step and they would turn out just as cute!

If you want to add little accent dots to the snowman’s eyes just use the end of your paint brush. Lightly dip it into your white acrylic paint and dab on where you would like the accent dot to go.

Add a 3/4” screw eye to the top middle of your wood snowman ornament. I just eyeballed mine but if you want to get an exact measurement then you could find the middle by making an X going from cross corner to cross corner. Where the lines meet that’s where the middle is.

Loop a piece of twine through the screw eye then tie it in a knot. You’re ready to hang this adorable little wooden snowman set on your Christmas tree. This is such an easy ornament to make with the kids too! Not a whole lot of skill is required making it perfect for little ones.

As always, if you have any questions please reach out and ask:)! You can leave a comment below or send me a message on any of my social media platforms {links are above}