View from River Mountain: crafts

Showing posts with label crafts. Show all posts

10/15/15

Dollar Store Containers

As I have said in the past I love the Dollar Tree. Recently, I was looking for an idea for snack storage. I found the containers for just $1 at the Dollar Tree.

I used chalkboard paint to add a label area to the front of each container.

The chalkboard label makes it easy to change the label as necessary.

These snack containers not only make organizing my pantry much easier but they also allow my children to quickly grab a snack.

Shared at: Diana Rambles, Costal Charm, Kathe With An E, Cuddle Bug Cuties, Woods of Bell Trees, Savvy Southern Style, A Creative Princess, Sincerely Paula

10/8/15

From Trash to Candlestick

I found these broken parts in the trash of what was likely a nice bed at one time. And to my sons horror I squealed, "I need those!".

I had been looking for some antique wooden candle holders and hadn't found what I wanted. I was certain I could re-purpose the posts from the headboard to get the look I wanted.

Despite my son's disdain he was willing to help me break away the pieces that I wanted to salvage. He is my partner in crime and creativity...sometimes willingly. :)

We took them home and thoroughly cleaned them.

I carefully chose the sections of each post that I wanted for my candlesticks and marked them clearly. I wanted the sticks to be of different height and shape. I also made sure there would be an nice "lip" at the top for resting the candle.

A quick run through the chop saw and I had my pieces.

I roughly sanded the edges and surface.

My plan was to make them look aged. The end product wasn't exactly what I had in mind. I will likely refinish them soon but for now they look pretty good on my dining room table.

First I covered them with white spray paint. After they were completely dry, I lightly sanded with soft grit sandpaper. Lastly, I applied a dark walnut stain over the painted surface. I used long strokes to resemble wood grain. When completely dry I sprayed on a polyurethane.

When/if I refinish I will apply the stain first and probably add color.

The picture above is my fall centerpiece on my dining room table. More details can be found here.

Share at: Diana Rambles, Back to the Basics!, The Crafty Blog Stalker, Woods of Bell Trees, Cuddlebug Cuties. Savvy Southern Style, Sincerely Paula, Coastal Charm, Knick of Time, A Creative Princess,#GrowingCirclesHop

Featured at: Wake Up Wednesday Linky Party, A Creative Princess

1/21/13

Tin Man Yard Ornament

This cute little TIN MAN yard ornament was my husband's holiday craft gift. He was a hit with the children.

Needed Items:

Wire Snips

Rivet Gun

Silver spray paint

Various other paint (for decorating)

1 - Large Coffee Can

1 - Large Chili/Stew Can

4 - Vegetable Cans

4 - Soup Cans

2 - Sardine Cans

1 - Small Funnel

5 - Bottle Caps

As you can see from the pictures you rivet the cans together to make the body, head, legs and arms.

The ears, hands and nose were cut from the ends of the cans. Be careful as the edges are quite sharp.

The funnel is glued to the top as a hat and the entire thing is spray painted with silver paint.

Decorate as you desire.

2/10/12

Popsicle Stick Pencil Cup

I purchased a huge bag of colorful popsicle sticks at one of those "everything for a dollar" stores.

Now what to do with all these pretty sticks?

Project 1: Pencil Cup...or flower vase....or small flower urn

This project took only a few minutes with the help of little hands.

You'll need:

Empty & Clean vegetable can

Popsicle sticks

Glue

This project was so quick because the popsicle sticks were the perfect length for the size of my can.

Simply glue the sticks side-by-side around the outside of the empty can. I alternated colors for a rainbow effect but I think it would have been just as pretty had I used all the same color or only 2 colors for a striped effect. The natural colored sticks would look nice as well.