mod podged dinosaur wall decor...

I'm excited to finally have a post to share...

Baby will be here in 6 weeks, so I've got to get this nursery done!

I mentioned previously that I have a ton of half-finished projects in the works.  That is still true.  But I've had a lovely baby shower, a not-so-lovely stomach virus that landed me in the hospital for IV fluids, and a weekend trip away for a Mormon Tabernacle Choir concert to keep me busy.  So I'm happy to finally have this cute dinosaur wall decor project completed and on display.

I was originally contemplating making a mobile, but this image on Pinterest caught my eye.

I think those little elephants are just cut out of paper, but I already had some balsa wood brontosaurus shapes on hand.   I thought they would be perfect for a more permanent wall hanging.

For this project, you'll need:

balsa wood shapes of your choice

craft paint & brushes

scrapbook papers

xacto knife

mod podge

nail file or sandpaper

yarn, twine, or ribbon

tape or glue

Start by sanding the edges of your little wood shapes, if necessary.  I like to use a nail file...it's easier to hold and maneuver in tight spots.

Next, place one of your shapes on a piece of scrapbook paper...

...and cut around your shape.

Repeat until you have all your papers cut out and ready to go.

I wanted the edges of my wood shapes to be painted a contrasting color, so I went ahead and painted the whole shape.  It's easier than just trying to do the edge.  

(If you'd like to leave your wood natural, that works, too.)

Next, apply a coat of mod podge to the surface of your wood shape AND to the back of your paper cutouts.  Position the paper on top of each shape, smooth in place, and allow to dry.

Once dry, you can burnish any roughly cut edges of the paper with your nail file.  Then top with a coat of mod podge and allow to dry.

Now all you have to do is adhere the shapes to your yarn or ribbon and hang them up!

They add a fun pop of color and pattern to the room.

Mine are going to be a part of a little gallery wall/picture grouping that I'm looking forward to showing you later!

thanksgiving printable & acorn wall hanging...

I didn't do too much fall decorating this year other than my cute fall wreath.  We're not hosting any Thanksgiving celebrations at our place, so I kept it super simple.  I made an inexpensive wall hanging with clearance rack acorn ornaments and put together a little printable for a frame I had lying around.

You can download the watermark-free printable for free HERE.

If you want to print it to fit in a long frame like mine, save the file to your computer.  Open the file in Acrobat, select print, and choose "tile large pages" in your print options menu.  If you want it to print on one sheet, follow the same steps, but select "shrink to fit" from the options menu.  (Or you can even print a cute Thanksgiving card by selecting "booklet printing"!)

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My acorn & oak leaf wall hanging is a cinch to make.  I used a some acorn ornaments from Joann ($1.49 a box!), a dowel, a little paint, some string, and a sheet of scrapbook paper.

I painted my dowel and cut oak leaf shapes out of my paper using my cricut (but this could be done by hand easily.)

I attached my dowel to the wall with mounting tape, then strung my acorn ornaments at varying heights...

And taped my leaves onto the strings wherever I liked...

viola!

It's not a traditional Thanksgiving look, but I like the little pops of color.

butterfly wall hanging tutorial...

I'm so excited to share my Butterfly Wall Hanging today!

I created this project as part of "All About Easter"...so welcome to all of you who popped over from Kiki Creates!  (And the rest of you should really check out the other posts if you haven't already...all kinds of Easter goodness going on over there.)

  Keeping with the butterfly theme I've got going this year, I wanted to add something bright and cheerful to my spring/Easter decor.  And this little beauty is so easy and inexpensive to make.  To create one of your own you'll need: 

a photo framecraft paint/paintbrush or spray paintmod podgebutterfly imagesan xacto knife scissors or a paper cuttera page from an old bookwire wire cutters/pliershot glue a markerscrapbooking tape I actually had all of these things on hand, except for the frame which I picked up at the dollar store.  Doesn't get much cheaper than that! Now you might be thinking, "She just happened to have some vintage butterfly illustrations on hand? Rii-iight."   Well, no. But I do have the internet and a color printer.  Vintage Printables is a sweet blog that has galleries of all kinds of vintage illustrations available to the public domain.  I'd recommend starting there and printing butterflies in various sizes that fit your color scheme.
Okay, so once you have your images printed and all of your supplies gathered, start with the photo frame.  Remove the backing and glass--we won't be using those--then pull out the little metal bendy things that hold the back on.  (I don't know what those are called, but hopefully you know what I'm talking about.)

Next, paint your frame the color of your choice.  I went with turquoise. (Shocking, I know.)

 It was too crappy outside to spray paint, and I wanted some of the original silver to show through... so I painted mine kind of streaky, but you do yours however you want.  (Or use a frame that's already the color you want and skip this step altogether!)

While your paint dries, use an xacto knife to cut out your butterflies.  (I like to save the cardboard backs of notebooks and pads of paper to use as a cutting surface.)

Then, give your frame a top coat of mod podge to prevent the craft paint from scratching or flaking off.  (Skip this step if you spray painted.)

While that dries, cut 2 lengths of wire to fit the dimensions of your frame.  (My frame is 8 x 10, so I cut my wire 10 inches long.)  

 Also decide what word you'd like to use--spring, Easter, your last name, etc.--and cut out the appropriate number of squares from your old book page.  (I cut 6 squares that were about 1.25 inches.)  Use a marker to write each letter--or use a die cut machine to cut out letters if you're not a fan of your own handwriting.

Once your frame is dry, attach your wires to the inside lip of the frame with a dab of hot glue.  (When placing your wires, make sure to account for the size of your butterflies.  You will probably want to lay out your design first.)

 See how one wire is much closer to the edge?  Had to leave room for my largest butterfly.

 After your wires are attached, lay out your whole project upside down. Use scrapbook tape to attach all of your paper elements to the wires.  The tape is sticky enough to hold all of the pieces in place, but also allows you to slide things around a bit if your spacing is off.

Lookin' good!

 

Now just tie a bit of ribbon to the top and hang her on the wall...

So bright and cheery!I might have to change out my word to "summer" so I can keep it up longer.
(And wouldn't this also make a great decoration for a little girls room?  With her name..or just all butterflies?  Aww.)