DIY: Paint Chip Art Journal

I started a series on Art Journaling awhile ago. Then we moved into a new apartment and I kind of let that fade away without getting to some of the finer points. Consider this my attempt at trying to rectify that somewhat. Here you will see how you can turn a stack of just about anything (in this case, sample paint chips) into a bright shiny new art journal.

To make this style of journal you will need:

A stack of old paint chips, or any kind of old paper/cardstock (playing cards would work very well)
a hole punch
binder rings

That's it! Start by deciding where you want your holes punched, and use one card to make a template. You can use this for punching all of your holes in your cards in the same place, simply line up your template on top of your unpunched cards (I only do a few at a time) and punch your holes in the same spot as the original. Then, secure your book together with the binder rings. The thing I love about this style of journal is you can start small with smaller rings, and then if you decide to add more pages later, just graduate to a larger sized ring and add more pages as needed. It also makes it easy to remove a page without tearing anything out. Binder rings...another office supply I like way too much. :)

One great thing about paint chips, is if you are having some trouble thinking of something to draw/write/etc. in your journal, each color has some fancy name that you can use as a jumping off point. Maybe you will draw a tropical lagoon on the card aptly labeled "tropical lagoon", maybe you will decide to make a collage of items in a certain colorway on another page to match (or contrast!). Also, while you can find paint chips in many sizes, most are very manageable as far as fitting a finished book into your pocket or bag to carry around with you everywhere you go. :)


I save everything, so I had a large number of paint chips on hand. If you don't but would like to make this project, ask at a local hardware supply store if you can take some paint chip samples without buying paint. Other options you could use are: playing cards, the fronts of old greeting cards/thank you notes, scrap cardstock pieces from old projects, cut up cereal boxes, etc.

Fabric Covered Flower Pots

When you start a garden, you may be shocked at how expensive decorative pots for your flowers can be. This is a quick and easy way to jazz up your flower pots with scraps of fabric. You could also use paper, just make sure you seal your pot well before planting.

To make these decorative pots you will need:

Plain Terra Cotta flower pots (I got a 3 pack of tiny ones from the Dollar store!)
Fabric scraps large enough to cover the surface area of your pot
Mod Podge glue
Scissors
A paint brush or sponge to apply glue
Spray on clear coat(br> Paint and Ribbon to decorate pot rim (optional)

To start, I used a piece of plain copy paper to make a template for my fabric. I wrapped it around one of my pots, and pressed against the edge between the pot and the rim, and along the bottom edge of my pot. You will end up with an arc shaped piece of paper, kind of like a rainbow. Then, I used my template to cut out fabric for each pot.

Once the fabric is cut, apply some glue to your pot in a thin coat. Lay your fabric over the glue (I start in the center of my fabric to avoid spreading it out crooked or getting puckers and gaps in the fabric) and smooth the fabric over the glue. Make sure to get glue under all of your fabric so it sticks evenly.

Once all of my fabric was glued down, I applied another coat of Mod Podge over the top of my fabric. Allow this to dry completely. I found it very helpful that I only had fabric going up to the lower rim of the pot so I could rest the pots upside down to dry. I left mine overnight to make sure all the glue was dried completely.

Next, add ribbon, paint or anything else you might like around the rim of your flower pot. You could use chalkboard paint if you want to be able to label your pot year after year. Apply a clear coat to the final pot to seal it and you are ready to plant!

To create the arrangement I have here, I placed one of my pots on top of an old thread spool. :) Don't these look extra bright and cheery? I'm also a sucker for anything teeny tiny, these certainly fit the bill :)

Easy Windowsill Garden

One thing that always seems to come at a premium is space, so lots of people think they can't possibly have a garden to enjoy. This post will show you how you can use even the tiniest of spaces, like a windowsill, to plan and enjoy an easy garden of succulents and air plants. These plants are also great for those of us with limited ability to keep plants alive as they don't need the amount of attention and watering many standard house plants do.

First of all, you will need to select your plants. While many stores have a gardening section this time of year, I recommend finding a local plant nursery if you can. Even better, if you have shops that specialize in succulents or air plants (which are both becoming increasingly popular). You will get a lot more help and knowledge from the staff at a nursery then at Wal-Mart, trust me. Make sure to select plants that will fit comfortably in your space. I chose some 2" succulents and a tiny air plant. My grand total came to 8 dollars, shopping at the local specialty store was actually cheaper for me in this instance, so as I mentioned, search them out if you have them!

Next, you want to select your plants' new containers. Don't limit yourself to standard planters and pots, I happened upon these teacups (a vintage Pyrex and a Fire-King coffee cup) at my local Goodwill for 99 cents each. Pretty much every thrift store I've ever been in has a huge supply of old glassware at excellent prices. Why not try a candy dish, fondue pot or tea set? You can often find things of high quality that add extra visual interest to your garden.

The final step: re-potting and setting up your garden. This is where the information you can get from specialists is important. With succulents especially, you will want recommendations on the soil conditions. Plain old potting soil is probably not the route you should go to keep these babies alive. You may find you have to create your own mix of soil, sand and more. You'll also want information on how often to water your specific plants. The internet is a great source of info, but why take the extra time if you can get all you need to know in the same transaction?

As you can see, I placed my air plant in a green glass bud vase. Photosynthesis is actually inhibited by green light, so you may think that my plant might not bode so well. However, the tiny amount of light that comes in through the hole at the top seems to be doing a good job at keeping the plant healthy (all colors of light actually play SOME part in photosynthesis, but a plant could not be kept alive on green light alone). It is also important to point out that I don't really want my air plant to grow a whole lot, just stay alive. If it grows too much it will become way too big for my container, so I am only trying to maintain a balance in which it stays alive and about the same size. If you try out your own air plant, you may want to go with a clear glass container, though they require no container at all. You can simply set it on the windowsill by itself, or even wrap string around it and hang it up. I soak mine for about 20 minutes once every 2 weeks or so, and it's been doing great.

Finally, just sit back and enjoy your cute little garden! This is a great idea for Mother's Day or graduation. Who wouldn't want their own adorable little garden?

Embroidery How To: French Knot

For my second embroidery tutorial, I decided to go for the gusto and tackle the French Knot. Once you get in some practice, this is actually really easy. However, a lot of people tend to recognize this not as the french knot, but as the dreaded french knot. The key for me has always been keeping your thread tight while making one.

French knots are mainly used for things like eyes, polka dots and the like on your patterns. If you are just practicing you won't need to draw yourself a bunch of dots as a pattern isn't necessary.

Start by pulling your thread through your fabric from back to front. Pull your thread tight, then wrap your thread around your needle as shown below (notice you are wrapping the end of the thread that is coming out of your fabric around your needle, not wrapping the end that is right by the needle). I typically wrap my thread around twice, but if you want a larger knot you can wrap three times.

The picture could be a little better, the pointy end of my needle is on the left of the frame in case you were wondering. Make sure to keep your thread tight around your needle as you go back through your fabric. You will want to get the needle close to the original point it came through, but not in the same hole.

Then, pull your needle all the way through and make sure you keep your thread tight while you pull it through to finish your knot. As I mentioned, keeping it tight is key, otherwise you get a sloppy knot.

Then, sit back and admire your knot. Isn't it cute? Here is a picture of two knots I made, the one on the Left was made by wrapping the thread around my needle three times.

If you missed it, go check out my tutorial on the back stitch here.