Felt Acorn Ornaments || DIY

Felt Acorn Ornaments || DIY

This is a tutorial that I did for Whipperberry back in 2011.   I am sharing a new ornament tutorial in the coming days, so I wanted to share this tutorial with you as well, especially since Christmas is fast approaching.

I still love my acorns!!   They are still going strong 3 years later.  Owen did destroy a few of them, but I blame that on his toddler behavior.  Now he actually respects the things in my home, for the most part.  :)   I should definitely make more of these though, and they make great gifts.  I even used them to tie around some caramel jars I had made.

Supplies

Felt balls, store bought or you can make your own.
Acorn caps
Hot glue
Needle and embroidery floss


1.   Thread your needle and triple knot the ends together.
2.  Using your needle and something hard (scissors), push the needle through the acorn cap to create a hole.

3.  Push the needle throughout the felt ball and in through the hole you made in the cap.

4.  If you do not want to use hot glue, pull all the way through.  If you want the cap to stay in place, apply hot glue, then push the cap down.

5.  Cut the string at the needle, and tie a knot.  That's it!  You have your acorn ornament!

 Enjoy!

xx nancy

One year ago: High Point Market
Two years ago: Visually Understanding Your Thread
Three years ago: A Tastespotting Thanksgiving || Recipes

An unconventional way to remove a water stain from wood

Do you remember when I got this table?

Well, the lady who sold it to me said she rubbed it down with a protective oil to help preserve it. She may have done that, but we have been getting a few stains here and there, which resulted in me throwing a cheap vinyl tablecloth over it to protect the wood.  A few weeks ago I ended up with a nasty stain.  Something somehow leaked through the tablecloth and onto the table.  I didn't even know it nor did I know how the long the stain had been there until I had taken off the tablecloth.  Needless to say, the wood had turned white.

The other day I was playing Go Fish with my 3 year old, and we were snacking on Lay's Wavy potato chips.

I noticed these little grease spots showing up, and I had the craziest idea to rub the inside of the bag of chips onto my water stain.   I figured it couldn't hurt.

Well, guess what.  It worked.   I cut a small piece of the bag and rubbed the oily side onto the table in a circular motion.  Within seconds, the stain was gone.  I wiped the table down with clean damp cloth to check if it was just a hoax.  The stain was gone. (!!!)

A few things to note:
This worked for me and may not work for you.  I thought this was a crazy idea and just wanted to share it.
My table is solid wood teak with no veneers.
My table does not have any protective coating like Polyacrylic or stains.
I didn't use a lot of oil.  If I needed more, I cut another small piece from the bag.

Have you found a successful way to remove water stains?  Do share!

xx nancy

One year ago: Triple Zip Pouch
Two years ago: Fabric Friday || Triangles

Wood Paneling || Tutorial

When this room reveal went live, I had many requests to know how I did the wall behind the bed.  My inspiration came from my own wood wall and Vintage Revival's.

This tutorial is not loaded with pictures (and phone photos on top of that)  because I was working hard and fast to get this room done for a contest, but it's pretty self-explanatory.  If you have questions, just send me an email.

Please read through all of the instructions before starting.

Materials:

- 4 x 8 sheets of 1/8" tempered hardwood (Masonite) cut down to 4 x 4.  Cut each panel into 3" widths.  The number of sheets you will need will depend on the square footage of the space you are covering.
- Miter saw (I used this in a bathroom next to the bedroom I was working on to make my job easier.)
- Planing saw
- Tape measurer
- Pencil
- 220 Sanding Block (or any other fine sanding block will do)
-  3/4" Brad nails and screws*
- Nail gun (I used this for the brad nails)
- Power drill*
- Paint ( I used Benjamin Moore's Decorator's White - my go-to, all time favorite white to use.)
- Paint supplies
- Ladder


Sand:

Sand all four sides of a wood panel piece.  We will be using the smooth side of the board to face the room.

Paint: 

Using a small brush, paint all four edges of the wood panel.  You do not need to use a lot of paint for this.  In fact, I was not anal about getting it perfectly white.  Some parts exposed a little bit of brown while other parts were completely covered.

Concerning the edges of the boards, you will only paint one board at time!  Sand, paint one piece, nail it up, repeat.  Once you do a few of these, you can then paint several boards at time.  See photo above. But do what is easiest for you.

Placement:

I started at the top of the wall, since I knew I would need to cut my boards in half once I reached the base board.  Pick a side to start on.  Place one board (3" x 48"),  smooth side up, on the wall so it aligns with the ceiling. Hold into place with brad nails.  I nailed one on each side and the center.  If using screws, screw them into either side, and if needed, one in the middle too.

*For this room makeover, the homeowners wanted to have as little holes as possible, so we did not use screws too.  Screws will produce a larger hole in the wall compared to brad nails.  Brad nails will secure the wood to the wall, but the wood panels can be removed with your hands. 

For my second piece, I repeated the above and then placed the board about a 1/8" - 1/4" away from the next piece.  I did not measure for exactness, so all my pieces vary.  When you get to your third or fourth piece, you will need to measure and cut to fit.

When you start on the second row, I placed my first board on the opposite side I started with.  I alternated it back and forth, so my lines would vary.  Sometimes, I would use leftover pieces and start with that first to add variety.

Repeat all these processes until your wall is complete.  If you have an outlet to work around, you will need to measure and cut around it.

To view this room makeover, please click here.
To view the source list, please click here.
Related:
Sharpie Wall

xx nancy

My quilting book released Sept. 24, 2015 and is on Amazon.  Check it out!

DIY Illuminated Hello Sign || tutorial

This was my project for Round 2 in Creating with the Stars on East Coast Creative.  I had one week to knock off anything my heart desired.  Instead of copying something exactly, I chose a more creative route and used Restoration Hardware's Illuminated Arrow as my inspiration.

Supplies:

1" Diameter  wood dowels cut to 3"
2 large sheets of Foam Board,** cut to size (2) 3.25" x 12" AND (2) 3.25" x 31.5"
2 pieces of hardboard +,  cut to the size 12" x 31"
Scrap piece of wood larger than your hardboard
Drill with a drill bit size of 7/32
wood glue
Hot glue
220 sanding block
Christmas lights (I used outdoor lights from Home Depot)  TEST them first before beginning!
On/off light cord (Home Depot and Lowe's carry these as well.)
2 yellow end caps for electrical wires
Rustoleum Lagoon spray paint
Folk Art Metallic paint in Pearl
Picture wire for hanging



With a pencil, I wrote hello on the smooth side of the hardboard.  There were 100 lights on my strand, so I penciled in 100 dots trying my best to evenly place them apart.

Placing my scrap piece of wood under the hello sign, I drilled into the dots going into the smooth side first because the drill pushes the hardboard out of the way.   After all holes are drilled, use a 220 sanding block and sand over the top of the hello sign.  Sand the edges as well.

Using my cut dowels, I glued them into place using wood glue. ** I placed one in each corner and then I filled in the rest of the board making sure to not get too close to my letters.

Hot glue the foam board to the sides of the hardboard.**

Take your piece outside, and spray paint.  Let dry completely.  To give it it's iridescent finish, spread a little of the metallic paint over the blue using a paper towel.  A little goes a long way, so be careful.

Now it's time to make your Christmas lights available with ON/OFF capabilities.

HOW TO COMBINE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS AND ON/OFF LIGHT CORDS

1. Cut off the end of your swag light.  Peel back some of the rubber to expose the copper ends.

2. Cut off one end of your Christmas lights.  Peel back some of the rubber to expose the copper ends.

3.  Combine one white and one black cord and twist the copper pieces together.  Insert into an end cap and turn it tightly to secure the ends.  The cap should not fall off.   Repeat for other strands.

Now your Christmas lights have an a dial to turn off and on!


Push your Christmas lights through every hole.

To hang, I simply wrapped picture wire around one dowel in the middle and connected it to another dowel on the opposite side.  The box is fairly light.  Duct tape is great to use to keep the cord from falling out.

+ If you want your back covered, which is something I chose not to do, you will want to cut out a hole in the second piece of hardboard.  Your light cord will go through that hole.  I would place wood glue on top of the dowels and place the hardboard on top of that.  Christmas lights take forever to burn out, but if you are afraid of having to take the back piece off in the near future, I would choose to not use a back at all.

*If you are wanting to make a light that has a curve, you will need to use flexible, bendable material in place of the Foam Board.  Vinyl roof flashing or foam may be an option for you, but I have not tried these methods.

** Since I had never made one of these before, I didn't know the best way to approach the project.  I just figured things out as I went.  One of the things I discovered but did not have time to fix due to time constraints in the contest was that the foam board produces a less than great finished edge.  Using what I had on hand, I used Durham's Rock Hard Water Putty.   It may not have been the best thing to use to finish my edge for this project, but it got the job done in time for the contest.   You may want to take a different approach.  One option is you could place the foam board directly onto the hardboard instead of next to it like I did.  That way the hardboard covers the top of the foam board, but you will need to glue your wood dowels at least a 1/4" away from the edge to allow room for the foam board.  Or you could do as I did and find something to fill in the foam board edge to make it look nicer and more complete.

(My lights are not green and red in the dark, but give off a soft yellow color at night.  Very pretty!)

Did I miss something?  Very easy for me to do.  Just leave me a question if you need help!

Horse Stamp || Tutorial

After seeing my horse couch I made for East Coast Creative, I had several people request the tutorial for the horse stamp.  Making a stamp is very easy, and you could make any shape, pattern, or design of your choice.


Here's how I made mine.

I Googled "free black vector horse."  Click on "images."  It will pull up a lot of horses for you to choose from.

After picking out my horse, I drew it onto my 5" x 7" linoleum block that I purchased from Michael's in the painting department.  I am fine with looking at something and drawing it as is, but I know many people cannot do that.  If you are one of those people, I suggest printing out the picture and tracing it onto the block.

Here's a TIP:  Remember the stamp will print in the reverse.  Important if you stamping out names or anything else that is needs to face a certain way.

To carve out the horse, I used a few wood working tools.  One is a knife to get into the really tiny areas, and the other one is a V parting tool that has a small V tip. I used the knife to cut along most of my drawing lines, and I used the V tool to carve out the rest.  I recommend practice cutting in the negative space of your stamp since that will be removed anyways.  That way you can get the hang of it before you attempt your design.   You can also use your knife like you do to peel apples and such with a paring knife, but be very careful as to where you place your hands!!

But it's really easy to carve.

I would recommend testing the stamp on a scrap piece of paper.  That way if you have any spots that are as high as the design itself, you can carve those out.

Pretty easy, huh?

For my couch, I used silk screening ink because I found the latex paint dried too quickly on my stamp. Fabric ink needs to be heat set, but for the competition, I did not do that.

If stamping on textured fabric like I did, it could result in this:

I really like what B Mom had to say when she commented on this post.  I think she summed up exactly what I was thinking when I made this couch.   She said, "I think this project could fuel some other great applications - that horse stamp could be really cute on curtains, around the sides of a big square ottoman, to punch up a powder room wall, on the bottom of a wood tray ..."


And I would like to add that you do not have to make a horse.  You could make a different design using the same applications above.

 Have fun!  If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comment section.

DIY Polka Dot Schoolhouse Light

How to remove rust from metal || A ridiculously easy tutorial

Earlier this week I shared with you my new-ish dining table.  When I had bought it, there was some rust on the legs.  The owner said she stored the table outside, which explained the rust.  I didn't let it deter me from buying the piece though because I knew that it could be easily remedied.  You can apply this quick trick to anything that has metal legs.  I'm sure this could also work on just about anything metal as well.

Supplies needed:

• Steel wool in medium and fine grade  (If there is a heavy amount of rust, you may want to try coarse.)
• A mask.  Steel wool releases the tiniest of particles when used, so it freaks me out that I could be inhaling it.  
• Gloves if you cannot handle the way steel wool feels between your fingers
• Damp and dry cloths for cleaning afterwards

Step 1 - If you can, take your project outside.  To remove rust, simply take your medium steel wool and rub it against the metal going in all sorts of directions.  Up and down, circular, side to side.  Scrub until you have removed all the rust.  After the rust is gone, you will use the fine steel wool and repeat.  This fine tunes everything and makes it all shiny and pretty.

The left leg is done.

Step 2 -  Take your damp cloth and wipe down your project.  Steel wool releases small particles, so I like to know I'm not taking this back into my home.  Dry your piece well to insure no rust will form again.


This is why you should wear a mask!

A brand new looking base.

That's it!  Told ya it was crazy easy!  :)

To see the tripod dining table in my home, please click here.


xx nancy


My quilting book released Sept. 24, 2015 and is on Amazon.  Check it out!