Ideas and Inspirations: letter

Showing posts with label letter. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

Frosted Turquoise Hawaii Sign

You know those days where you are just itching to get out of the house to search for inspiration?

That's me every single time I have a day off! Hop into the car and head out to the mall, the library,

the park... Anywhere that will get your creative juices flowing!

I visited a little shop with some very beachy vibes last week and found a Hawaii sign that I loved the look of and tried to recreate it today.

~ Here's what you'll need! ~

1. 8-inch wooden letters

2. Ceramcoat or Delta Americana Acrylic Paint

3. Gel Wood Stain

4. Mod Podge

5. Crystal Glitter

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Let's get started!

The first thing to do is take your base color and brush it on!

I mixed up a nice light turquoise color using Delta Americana's Coastal Waters and Ceramcoat's white. Let this coat dry completely.

Next, I used the Delta Gel Wood Stain in the color Walnut. It's a nice dark brown that will bring a nice contrast to the turquoise.

Then brush on a thin coat of Mod Podge and sprinkle on that magical crystal glitter!

After the Mod Podge is dry and you have that nice layer of shiny crystal dust on it, feel free to embellish it! Want a beach theme? Add some shells, starfish or a rope border! Something a little more elegant? Maybe a few rhinestones or flowers. As for me, I took a few frosted rocks from a

vase filler pack and hammered them to get smaller pieces. I then hot glued them on for a "dew" look.

That's all she wrote! It's a really simple rainy-day project that's great for a cool

piece of home decor. (Plus, the kids would LOVE painting their monograms...)

I hope everyone has an awesome week!

Erika @ PC

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Letter Felt Plush

Hey everyone!

I've been itching to make some felt plushies. Then I thought:

What would be a fast, personalized and adorable last minute gift?

Alphabet plushies! You could sew up the letters of your friends or

family members'

initials or even their whole name!

All you need are a few things.

Felt

DMC Embroidery Floss

Ribbon (3 in.)

Fabric Scissors

Sewing Needle

Paper

Pencil

Polyfill stuffing (not pictured)

Pins

Sharpie (optional)

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Let's get started!

First, you're going to sketch out your template on your paper. You want to make sure your

letter is at least one inch all around because you're going to need room for stuffing.

Cut your pattern out.

I'm going to show you to different ways of cutting your pattern out on your felt.

The first way is pinning the template onto your felt and cutting around it. For letters with negative space in the middle like this 'D', 'A's or even more complex ones like 'G' or 'W' where you need to cut around awkward corners and angles, this might be difficult. The second is the good old tracing method, where you trace the template onto your felt with a Sharpie. Some people have different preferences, but choose whichever is easiest for your letter.

Cut out two pieces and pin them together. Then, you're going to start sewing!

If you have a letter with an opening, try sewing up that part first so that your felt pieces are held together and the edges line up as you continue sewing. Your pins are there to help you out at the beginning, but you're going to need them out so that you can stuff your letter later!

I'm going to be using the basic blanket stitch for a decorative border.

To do this stitch, stick your needle through your felt from underneath your piece about 1/8th of an inch from the edge.

Then, pull your thread through and put the needle downward into the loop of working thread that is forming at the back of your piece. Make sure that the thread coming out of the top with your needle is "underneath" your needle as you do this.

Continue pulling slowly. The thread from the loop will now form the outer edging of your piece once you pull it snugly against the side of your felt pieces. Making sure that your stitches are also 1/8th of an inch apart, continue until you reach the end.

Once you've finished the inside, start on the outer edge of your letter.

I stitched about two inches and them started stuffing. Use a little polyfil at a time I used my pencil as an awl and it did the job really well. :) I basically stuffed as I stitched. Every inch or so I put a small wad of polyfil in.

I sewed the ribbon in at the top as a loop with a basic Hemming stitch.

To finish your stitch off, stick your needle into the inner end of your first stitch and pull it out through a random spot in your plush. Pull it through. Cut the thread as close to the felt as possible and make sure the end is hidden within the two felt pieces.

Finito! Your letter plushie is done!

These are easily customizable! Go to town with the embellishments! If you have the skills, you

could totally embroider some designs on your felt before sewing your plush together. Add some beads to your blanket stitch. Experiment with different color combinations! These are really fun to make as a last minute gift or even as ornaments for your tree. Make a plush 'JOY' to hang on a garland of lights! Make a 'MERRY' in red felt with green embroidery thread to hang on your mantle.

The possibilities are endless!

As always, have fun!

Erika

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Chunky Letter Photo Holder

Hey, everyone!

I hope you guys had an awesome Halloween last weekend.

So, it's November and it's almost time for Thanksgiving!

Time to count your blessings and be grateful for what you have.

Family, friends, pets... I know we all have a small photo of them somewhere

on our work desk or in our planners. So today I will be showing you a fun way

to display a special photo using our brand new mini paper mache letters!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Supplies Needed

Mini Paper Mache Letter

Chalky Finish

Acrylic Paint

Foam Brush

Natural Bristle Brush

Small Paint Bowl

Thick Floral Wire

Montana Marker (not pictured)

Pliers (not pictured)

Needle

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Let's get started!

First, use the foam brush to paint the letter with the chalk finish in the

color of your choice. I decided to go with a teal

tone with a white distressed accent.

Second, after letting your base color dry, I used a dry natural bristle brush

to distress the letter with white acrylic paint. Lightly dip the tip of the

flat brush in the paint, wipe the excess off on a paper towel or scratch paper,

and use light strokes to apply the paint. The light strokes create the light and streaky

look. Only apply a heavier amount of paint on the angles so it appears scuffed.

Next, color the bent floral wire. The Montana paint marker provides

a smooth matte finish and it also dries pretty quickly, so I went with that instead

of spray paint or regular acrylic. I had actually bent the wire with a pair of long nose pliers to form this curled shape. It's pretty easy. Just start by bending where you want the base of the curl and go upwards from there. I recommend leaving about

3 inches for your "stem". This curl is where you will stick your photo on.

After that, poke a hole into the top of your letter with the needle. Be sure not

to make the hole too big. You want it to be tight around the stem so that your photo

stands up straight.

Lastly, stick the wire in and you're finished!

These are great for gifts, favors and place markers for parties!

Embellish with glitter, stickers and rhinestones or tie on some beads.

Glue on some shells or pom poms.

Mod podge some scrapbook paper on each side!

Whatever you do, have fun!

Erika @ PC

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Crankin' Out Crafts On The Road -ep385 Beach-Inspired Art with Local Artist Glo (Letter)

Local Artist Glo is at Duke's in Waikiki sharing with us some tips and techniques for crafting with beach found objects. Check out her beautiful Beach inspired art! Her art pieces can be purchased at the Pearl City Location in the "My Lockers" section.