Pineapple Quote!

Pineapples!

Just can't get enough of this fun tropical fruit!

We've been getting in TONS of pineapple-themed goods at our stores including bags, ceramics and wooden serving platters.  This is the perfect time to stock up for summer entertaining, so it's time to come on down and get crafty!

Today, I have a great painting project that would be great for kids as well as adults for those artsy get-togethers.  It's time to bring the fun of the boozy painting classes home!  All you need are basic pineapple colors like yellows, oranges, greens, oranges and some tans, as well as a cool tropical blue and white for the contrasting background.  You will also need a tan Stabilo marker, a black fine tip acrylic Montana or DecoColor marker, as well as a White Gelly Roll. 

Here, I painted on a natural slice of wood for a rustic feel, but feel free to paint on a canvas or wooden pallet.  Whatever floats your boat!

 

 

I first laid down a coat of white and then, while it was still wet, blended in some Delta Americana AcrylicTropical Blue for a lighter toned turquoise blue.  Once that background layer was dry, I used Ceramcoat Acrylic in Butter Yellow to paint the top three quarters of an oblong shape for the pineapple.  This took two coats for good coverage. 

 

After this was dry, I went ahead and painted the leaves.  Using upstrokes, I started at the top of the pineapple and tapered the tops of the leaves by slowly turning my brush sideways. (As a note, I used a 1 inch synthetic flat brush.)  I mixed a different shades of green such as Ceramcoat Spring Green and Delta Americana Chartreuse just to add more depth and dimension.  Just don't add too much!  You will be writing over the pineapple afterwards, so don't put too much effort into making it too detailed! 

 

I then used the Stabilo pen to lightly sketch the "eyes" of the pineapple.  This is where I brought a bit more detail into the painting, but feel free to use a paint marker or regular acrylic paint.  You can add a little more detail in this area, depending on how long of a quote you use.  After this was dry, I wrote the quote "You are the pineapple of my eye." in black Montana marker straight over the pineapple.

 

 

Afterwards, I used the white Gelly Roll gel pen to add some 3D effects to the letters!  I love the sketchy look, so I went over my lines multiple times.

 

 

Once everything was dry, I sprayed the painting with a light and even coat of Acrylic Sealer.  This is to prevent the water-based pens like the Stabilo and the Gelly Roll from smudging in the future.

 

 

And there you have it! 

Again, you can always experiment and make it your own.  The steps I used only took me about an hour.  Having a blow dryer or heat gun on hand would help in speeding up the process.  (Waiting for paint to dry can be a real drag.)  If you want to have a more detailed pineapple, go for it!  Want to use a different quote?  Fantastic!  If you're having a painting party, everyone can put their own spin on their painting.  Seeing everyone's unique style is always the best part!  Plus, what better party favor to go home with than a piece of summery décor and some renewed artistic confidence?

 

Cheers!

Erika



Simple Nativity Scene

12 days 'till Christmas already?!   WHAAAAT?

Yup, that's right! I hope everyone's holiday season isn't too crazy!

How's that holiday shopping? It seems to get harder and harder every year.

For those of you looking for an easy-peasy piece of holiday décor that would also

be great as a gift for a church-goer or who likes the sacredness of the Christmas season,

I have a beautiful and elegant wooden nativity scene!

All you need are a few salvaged items from your basic crafts pantry.

 

 

Supplies Needed

Jumbo Popsicle Sticks

Wooden Figures

Raffia

Jute Cord

White Felt

Wooden Bead

Rolled Paper Floral Wire

Snowflake or Star

Shell (optional)

Brown Stamp Pad (optional)

 

First, distress your popsicle sticks with a brown stamp pad.  It's really up to your personal style.  I wanted to give this a primitive and antique feel, but you can leave it plain if you'd like.  Second, hot glue all your sticks into a triangle form.  I made sure to make one flat so that it could stand on its own when not on a Christmas tree.  Next, I cut out a semi-circle piece of white felt for Mary's veil, then hot-glued the curve to the crown of her head.  I then cut a piece of the rolled paper wire for Joseph's can and curved the top to create a small cane.   For Baby Jesus, I cut a small piece of felt and wrapped it around a small wooden bead.  I hot-glued the little bundle into a tiny shell.  

 

After the Mary and Joseph figures were hot-glued onto the floor of the stable, I hot-glued a couple pieces of raffia on either side of the couple and then placed Baby Jesus at the very center.  To finish it up, I glued a "North Star" (snowflake) at the apex of the stable roof and then glued a piece of jute rope onto the back for hanging on a tree.

 

There you have it!  A cute little nativity that although primitive,

makes a great and meaningful gift. 

 

See you next week!

Erika @ PC



Cute Pumpkin Vase

            Pumpkin Spice, Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Soup...  Everyone loves pumpkins!  They are a symbol of Fall and are there for simple and organic decor pieces that are perfect for said season.  Want to step up your pumpkin game further? The perfect time would be for Halloween, the time for that age-old tradition: CARVING JACK-O-LANTERNS!  A little bit of history on these spooky lanterns:  They were first used during the late 1600's to represent the Will 'o the Wisps that were seen floating around peat bogs at night.  Cool, huh?   Today, I'll show you how to make your very own Jack-o-Lantern! But, this one's going to be one that won't spoil and attract gnats and flies after two week...
                 

        

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Supplies Needed 

- Bubble Vase

-Tint spray paint in Mango

- Burlap sheet

- Fine Tip Montana Marker in Black

- Moss & Leaf pieces from a Fall Floral Spray

-Green Raffia

- Hot glue

-Scissors

-Firefly Lights

-Scrap piece of Cardboard

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Let's get started!

            Step 1:  First thing's first:  Spray a few coats of the Mango tint onto your bubble vase.  I had already done that before I took the picture above.  This took about 3 to 4 coats.   Be sure to let each layer dry for a minute or two before spraying on the next one.

            Step 2: Use the Montana marker to draw a cute (or scary) Jack-o-Lantern face onto your vase.

Tip:  When coloring in a large area, use short strokes and be sure to lift your pen up between each stroke.  No back & forth strokes!  This is because the tint spray paint creates really thin layers that tend to peel off or scratch off.  You don't want a lumpy face!

           Step 3: Measure the top of your vase and cut a circle just a little bigger out of your scrap of cardboard.   I cut out a piece of burlap about an inch or so bigger than the cardboard piece.

          

          Step 4:  Hot glue the ends of your burlap onto the cardboard.  It doesn't have to be perfect!

Just make sure that there are no stray pieces sticking up.  If it's wrinkled and bumpy, it's totally fine.  It will actually help to add more texture and make it look more natural!

 

          Step 5: Next, roll up a piece of burlap and hot glue.  This will be the stem of your pumpkin.  You can cut the top to make it more even, or leave it as.  For my stem, it was a little too long, so I cut about an inch.  Hot glue your stem onto your burlap disc.

 

          Step 6: Start gluing some moss onto your pumpkin top.  this is where the uneven surface helps you out.  It will start looking amazing once you start doing this.  The moss is KEY to this project, because it adds the organic element.  

          Step 7: roll three pieces of raffia together until it starts to curl naturally.  Hot glue both ends to the base of of your burlap stem.  This will be the wilted vine. After this, you can glue a leaf or two onto it. 

 Add your firefly lights inside, top it off with it's cute little stem top and your new Halloween Jack-o-Lantern is done!  What's great about this Jack-o-Lantern is that it lasts for years!  All you have to do is replace the lights' batteries every once in a while.  It can also be a cute centerpiece for a Halloween party or even a great piece of decor for your mantel or coffee table.

Have fun and see you next week!

Erika @ PC

Anchor Wood Panel Art

Afternoon, Crafters!

Today I have a "Pin-spired" nautical-themed piece of art that can be re-created with just three items! Seriously!  It's an easy and fast gift for that ocean-loving friend or for yourself to use as some

really cool beach décor.

 

 

The only things you will need to make this is paint, a 9x12 inch wood panel and some jute rope.

You're going to need two or three colors of paint to create that ombre effect on your wood panel.  Darkest blue will go at the bottom, then you keep mixing in more and more white to tint that color as you move toward the top of the panel. 

Next, paint on an anchor in pure white, being sure to leave a little space at the top and bottom of it.  Hot glue a few strips of our new Studio G jute rope on to the top and bottom for some accenting texture and there you have it!

 

This is, again, a very fast and minimalistic piece of nautical art that can be "spruced up" and personalized quite easily.  Write a friend's or loved one's name on it.  Mod Podge some sequins onto the anchor.  Glue some shells or starfish on it. 

Create your own masterpiece!

 

 

Have fun!

Erika @ PC

Distress Stain Postcard

Hi, Everyone!

 

Today, I'm going to show you how to do a really simple technique that involves the elusive Distress Stain inks that we have in our scrapbooking sections.  They're a product that something that kind gets looked over often and I wanted to start bringing them back into the "Crafter's Spotlight". 

I'll start off small.  5 x 7 inch to be exact.

 

I chose stains in Frayed Burlap, Stormy Sky and Weathered Wool.  I also have a .08 tip Micron pen for some hand-lettering. 

 

 

 I taped down a 5 x 7" watercolor postcard to my table with masking tape to keep the paper from bowing too much.  I put a wash down just to get the paper wet.  This is just so that the distress stains, which are water-based and can therefore be handled like watercolors, will flow freely without forming a harsh edge when dry.  Just make sure that your brush is sopping wet before doing so.  I then brushed on a little bit of Frayed Burlap. 

 

 

What I wanted to achieve was a somewhat tie-died look.  Soft edges and colorful patches that sort of "bloom" on your paper.  So, use a lot, but not too much water.  You'll see amazing colors flow out of each ink and they will just get more amazing as they dry like this little patch of Stormy Sky. So cool!

After the paper was completely dry, I added a little saying in Micron pen at the bottom right hand corner.  And that's all she wrote!  This is a very versatile technique that's great mixed media scrapbookers and watercolor artists.  It's a beginner technique that is great for making quick postcards to send to family overseas.  And as always, a quirky saying will make it 100 times more personal and cute.

 

Have fun!

Erika @ PC

Fill Up a Frame

Are you looking for great gift and decorating ideas for the soon to be upon us holiday season? What about a new, stylish frame?

These extremely affordable shadowbox frames are perfect for gift giving and decorating. Fill the shadowbox section with almost anything, then insert a picture and you're done.

For fall, here is a colorful leaf filled frame. You could also fill with raffia, small pumpkins, or even candy corn for a festive fall feeling.

 

If it's Christmas you're decorating for, fill the shadowbox with jingle bells, snow, pinecones, or peppermints. It's a fun, playful way of framing that special photo.

Thanks for the read!

Puna @ Enchanted Lake

Easy-Peasy Wall Art

Who doesn't love doing super simple projects that result in great decor pieces for your home? Well, if you answered anything but "no one" to that question, maybe you shouldn't read the rest of this entry. For everyone else, check it out:

Isn't it so cool? Also, you're going to be so surprised at how easy it is. It literally took me half-an-hour to complete this project. How, you ask? First, gather up your supplies. It's only three things so it should take you about a minute. You'll need 2" vinyl letters, a 12"x12" canvas, and some black spray paint.

Next step, use the vinyl letters to spell out your quote or saying. The letters are great because they stick enough to not let the spray paint seep through, but not enough to hamper your attempts to rearrange them into a more pleasing layout if needed. I actually had to rearrange my letters a couple of times, so believe me, this does come in handy. When you're happy with the way your quote looks, simply spray paint over the letters. Once the paint has dried, you can peel off the vinyl. That's it!

I hope you like it!
Puna @ Enchanted Lake

Introducing...Project Life!

Pirate Party layout using the Project Life "Honey" basic kit

Have you got Project Life in YOUR life? Our Ben Franklin stores just started carrying this new approach to scrapbooking and I've got to say it's got all of us in tizzy.

Treasure Chest Birthday Cake layout also using the "Honey" basic kit

If you've never heard of Project Life before, one "Google" will pull up a ton of info supplied by the many, many addicted scrapbookers who are already loving it. Essentially, it's a way to scrapbook your life, one day, one week, or one month at a time. All you need to start your Project Life scrapbook is an album, a basic kit, pocketed page protectors, and a pen. Any additional embellishments are optional and completely at your discretion.

Wake Up layout in the Project Life "Kraft" basic kit

The best, best thing about Project Life is that it's so simple to do. You just slide your pictures and the pre-cut papers from the kit into pockets and poof! Instant, incredibly cute scrapbooks. In fact, it's so easy that many scrapbookers have started to do something called Project 365 which is scrapbooking for every day of the year. Don't worry though if that doesn't appeal to you, most people will opt to do a page a week or a page a month, whatever they can handle. It's wonderful because it's really all up to you.

Drop by to see our Project Life samples on display and ask any questions you might have about this ingenious scrapbook system.

Puna @ Enchanted Lake

Christmas Timely Decor

Who says it's too late to get Christmas decorations? I'm still getting ready for a small Christmas party we're having, and I think I found just the thing to spice up the decor. We may have sold out of a lot of our Christmas stock, but there are a few things left that you can effortlessly make striking displays with. To get you started, here are a few stylish and easy decorations I made using some beautiful berry sprays that we've got in our stores.

Don't forget that sometimes the simplest decorations can be the most stunning. I used pieces of sheer gold ribbon to complement these berry sprays as a vase filler.

Living here in Hawaii, sometimes mistletoe is hard to come by. Instead, you can easily bundle some red berry sprays together with satin ribbon to hang in your entry-way or over your doors.

Lastly, I put together this wreath without using a wreath form, just by winding the berry sprays around each other. A sheer, gold bow at the top adds a subtle sparkle.

So, although the Christmas pickings may be slim, you can still use your crafty streak to impress your friends and family with your own Christmas style.

Thanks for decking your halls with us!

Puna @ Enchanted Lake

P.S. There's a gift wrapping episode of Cranking out Crafts if you scroll down to today's earlier post.