Paper Spinners

These whimsical little baubles are quick and easy to make from scrap booking paper.


Supplies needed:

Scrap booking paper

Scissors

Sewing machine or needle and thread

To begin, cut a piece of 12×12 scrap booking paper into nine equal square sections. Set aside the ninth piece. Stack eight of the pieces back to back (i.e. printed side facing printed side, white side facing white side). Sew a seam right down the center of the stack of eight squares. Tie off the thread ends.

Take the ninth piece and cut it into the shape you want your spinner to be. Lay this piece on top of the stack of eight to use a guide. Cut the stack of eight into the decided shape, being careful not to cut the thread. Set aside the ninth piece again; you won’t be using it any more. Pick up the stack of eight and carefully fan out the edges. Fan only in pairs keeping the white side hidden, while allowing the pretty scrapbook paper to show through.

Run a length of string through the top of each ornament. Hang several together and watch them spin in the breeze. These look great as a garland at summer parties or on a tree at Christmas time.

Little Baby Brock-Brocks

I had to stop at TSC to pick up some fencing today, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that they had newly hatched chickens out (or the "Little Baby Brock-Brocks" as I used to call them). There were also some little baby ducklings. They were all so cute and fluffy, I was thinking to myself, where's a camera when I need one!  Well, not this year, but some year I'll bring home some of those darling little chickens and start my own flock, and hopefully be able to sell fresh eggs on the stand. All I need to do now is finish that solar powered cooler project I've been working on to keep the eggs cold at a farmers' market...

Sherbet Tie-dye

I'm not sure what the technical name for this sort of tie-dye is, but I call it sherbet tie-dye due to the fact that it's part white, part colored, kinda like sherbet ice-cream. This is one of the simplest tie-dye methods to use.

You will need:
White shirts
Colored dye
Rubber bands
Rubber gloves

Start by wetting down a white shirt (this project can also be done with a black shirt for a striking effect). Wring it out to remove excess water, and lay the shirt out flat on a table. Grabbing the very middle of the shirt, begin to twist it in a clockwise direction. Continue twisting until the entire shirt is tightly wound up into the spiral. Secure it with rubber bands.

Next drop the twisted shirt into a vat of dye, and quickly pull it out. (You may want to use gloves for this part to prevent your hands from getting all dye). Without squeezing the shirt and without removing the rubberbands, set the shirt aside to dry.

When the shirt has completely dried, remove the rubberbands and untwist the shirt. You should now have a colored spiral pattern on the white shirt. Wash the shirt on its own the first time to remove any excess dye. After that, the shirt can be washed normally with the rest of the colored clothes.

Rub-on Transfer Garden Wagon

Rub-on transfers can give new life to old wood. They look hand-painted, but are so much simpler.

I had one of those little wooden garden wagons lying around in storage. It was weathered and beat up, not much to look at, so I decided to try a little experiment. The materials required for this project are pretty simple:

Something to paint (in this case I used a wooden garden wagon, but the rub on transfers will work of most surfaces)

Spray paint of your chosen color

Rub-on transfers

Popsickle stick

Spray varnish.

To begin this project, spray your entire item with two coats of paint. You can also paint it with a brush, but the spray paint is much faster, espcially on wood. Let dry overnight.

To use the rub-on transfers (these can be found in almost any craft store, I got mine at Joann Fabrics), cut around the shape you want to rub. It's ok if you have white around the image because most rub-on transfers don't transfer the white part. Lay your transfer picture-side down on your item and use the popsickle still to rub the back of the transfer. Use a circular motion and rub the entire transfer. You'll be able to see through the backside when the transfer leaves the backing paper. Carefully pull off the backing paper.

Continue this process using as many rub on transfers as you need to complete your project. When finished, coat the entire project with a layer of spray varnish. This will help prevent the transfers from getting scratched off. If you plan to you item an an outdoor decoration, the varnish is especially important.

thewoodlandelf.com

Fruition. It is a word that describes what happens when you plant a seed and carefully tend it until it last it bears fruit and all the hard effort of your labor are rewarded. At long last, I have reached fruition with my website. I had a simple one for several years and never really liked it, but never had the time to finish it. It was always been on the back burner, I only worked on revamping it when I had spare bits of time, when I wasn't working on sites for other people. Well, it's finally done! Now I can breath a sigh of relief.

I think I finally have it the way I like it (at least until tomorrow when I decide something's not quite right). Building it was the easy part, it was writing copy that I didn't hate that took up most of my time. I finally elected to write everything in 1st person because droning on about yourself in the 3rd person is just too creepy. I tried to keep it lighthearted and down to earth...I'm a country girl, after all. 

Check out the new design at www.thewoodlandelf.com