Watercolor Card Designs

My latest card creations designed with ....... yep, watercolors!

I scored a new feather stamp at Michaels for $1...... I love finding stuff like that for so super cheap.  I slathered some watercolors on it and pressed it to the paper to make the design.  It's really easy, you just have to make sure to not use watery paint.  Keep it nice and thick and it turns out looking almost like ink.  Cool!

And these cards are decorated with butterflies punched out of old watercolor reject paintings.  Ones that were not going to get sold or hung up in my house.  So why not recycle them as birthday cards?  

And lastly, a fun stripey watercolor card design inspired by my watercolor header designs.  This one makes me happy :)

Tin Can Planters Tutorial

Summer is here and I'm adding more color and flowers to my deck using vertical planters made out of recycled tin cans!  Wooohoo.... I feel pretty good about using recycled materials for this project.  It's easier on the wallet.

These are really small planters and they are secured to the rails with bailing wire, so I had to go small with the plants.  The Moss Rose works perfectly for me!  Continue reading to find out how to recycle tin cans into beautiful flower planters!

Vertical Tin Can Planters Tutorial

Materials:
Empty Tin Cans, washed
Water
Nail
Hammer
Outdoor Spray Paint
Bailing Wire
Pliers
Potting Soil
Small flowers or plants


Step 1:  Fill cans 3/4 full of water and freeze.  While water is still frozen, use a nail and hammer to pound two holes 1/2 inch apart on the side of the can.  It works better if you place the holes about near the top. These holes are for the bailing wire that you will attach later.
You don't have to freeze water in the cans to do this, but I find it holds the shape of the cans better.  If you feel more comfortable using a drill then have at it!

Step 2:  Pound several holes in the bottom of the can to create drainage holes for your little planters.  You don't have to be fancy with this.  Just put some holes in there.

Step 3:  Spray paint your cans a pretty color that complements the flowers or plants you will be putting in them.  I used Krylon Indoor/Outdoor Spay Paint in ballet slipper color- cool name!

Step 4:  Cut sections of bailing wire 4-6 inches long, depending on how wide the rails of your deck are. Slightly bend the wire and stick each end through a hole.  Pull through as shown in the photo below.  Make sure to cut your wire long enough to thread through the side holes of the cans and wrap around the rails.

Step 5:  This is the fun part..... planting!  Put a little potting soil in the bottom of each can, place your plants in and fill the the rest with more soil.

Step 6: Now it's time to make these planters vertical.  Choose a place on your deck that gets the appropriate amount of sunlight for your plants and attach the cans to the rails by wrapping the wire around the back of the rail and twisting to secure.  You have to twist the wire pretty tight to get these to stay up.  A pair of pliers comes in handy here.

All done!

Photos of the Week

Good morning! The weather has been amazing here and I've been out enjoying it.  One of my favorite ways de-stress is to go for walks and take pictures.  This was the most peaceful walk ever and it was good for my soul.  I found the peace that I've needed to find in my life.  My health problems are not going away and I still don't have any more children, but while on this walk I felt like everything was going to be ok, no matter what. That feeling has stayed with me and I hope it never leaves :)

A Pink Whale and a Purple Dog

I'm still on a kick with animals and hearts and I probably will be for a looooong time.  

The dog design was for a custom logo design request from  my shop.   I don't think I would have tried a dog on my own- I'm more of a cat person- but this one turned out to be fun.  This lady's dog was so cute that I almost thought for a second I might want a dog one day..... almost, but then I remembered the one that bit my while I was running in college and ya, that ended that thought!

Tissue Paper Flower Party Lights Tutorial

One of my favorite things about summer is eating and visiting with family outdoors. It really doesn't get much better than that! Add some fun decorations for atmosphere and you've got it made.

  I created these colorful party lights for a recent family party we had and they really added to the atmosphere.  Plus they were easy and cheap to make!

Tissue Paper Flower Lights Tutorial:

Materials:
A string of LED lights: white or colored, I used my Christmas lights and they worked great.
Tissue Paper
Large Flower Paper Punch or Scissors
Stapler
Pen

Step 1:  Make some mini tissue paper flowers.  The basic steps are shown below.  For full instructions on these see my Mini Tissue Paper Flowers Tutorial.  If you don't happen to have a large flower paper punch, you can cut circles out with scissors.

Step 2:  Use a pen to poke a small hole through the center of your flowers.

Step 3:  Attach the flowers to the LED lights by putting each LED light bulb through the hole in the flowers.

Safety Note:  Please only use LED lights for this project since they do not produce much heat.  Tissue paper is flammable.  Regular lights may be too hot for this project and have a chance of lighting the tissue on fire.

All done! Hang up your lights and enjoy your party!

California Flowers

The biggest painting I have ever painted......

30 x 40 inches of canvas covered in flowers!

Yep, I'm happy about this one.  Reminds me of my trips to California last year :)

Flowery Watercolor Business Cards

I put my flower paper punch to use making some new business cards!

I first printed the lettering on some card stock- it took a while to get it spaced just right for the flower punch.  Then I punched them out and slapped on some watercolors.  I'm too much of a cheap-skate to actually pay for business cards, so these work for me!

Photos of the Week

Good Morning and Happy Cinco De Mayo!  I spent my weekend enjoying the gorgeous weather, thousands of pretty flowers, and my wonderful family.  Life is always better when the weather is warmer... don't you agree?

In the Works

Lately I have waaaaaay too many projects on my hands.  Some I have been working on for months and can't seem to finish.  Others needed good weather before I could really start.  I have so many ideas all at once, but I seriously need to settle down and finish a few.  I might go crazy .... and my husband may or may not like the messes :)

This is what I'm working on:

an acrylic painting for the guest room,

A fun yard project that involves recycled cans and spray paint.... and some plants,

the blanket work continues, it's slow going since I can't crochet too many rows at a time without hurting my neck,

recycled painting flowers- not sure what to do with these yet, but they look pretty cool :),

and.... a pinata for the Cinco de Mayo party!

Two Ways to Paint a Line

There are so many ways to paint a line.

Some can be curvy like the leaves of a fern.

Some are more straight and worm-like (no I didn't have worms in mind when I painted this.... that came to me afterwards... haha!)