My Different Burlap Christmas Trees

 Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree, how lovely are thy branches.  There are many representations of the traditional Christmas tree.   You may have a huge evergreen tree decorated with lights and ornaments, or it may be a Charlie Brown tree.  It could be shiny aluminum with a color wheel that rotates casting different colored lights on the tree.  Perhaps, you have improvised something on your wall because you have no room for a full tree.  I have seen trees made from old ladders and decorated that are amazing.   Everyone likes something different.

One of the most beautiful trees I ever saw was years ago when I was doing direct sales and was conducting a party in a home where their tree was a sapling that had been cut in the woods.  The tree was totally wrapped in cotton so that it looked like a completely snow covered tree.  There were lights and ornaments hanging from the limbs and lots of icicles.  The sapling reached the ceiling and it was so beautiful I wish you could have seen it.  The hostess told me this has  been her family's tradition for as long as she could remember and she had continued it.  I know it was a lot of work to do all the wrapping, but it was one beautiful tree.

One night I was about to doze off, when a vision of some burlap Christmas trees came into my head.  It may sound strange to you, but things like that happen to me right before I go to sleep, or when I am in the shower and not thinking of any particular thing.  The trees were simple and lovely.  This is my interpretation of what I envisioned.   They are very primitive which is something I really, really like.

I didn't know how I was going to make them because they needed a form - a support.  So I went to Michael's and wandered around.  I found some wooden squares in the craft section that were $1.00 each.  I bought 3.  Then I found some dowel rods for $.59 each.  I bought two because I knew I could cut them to different lengths.  I had a package of styrofoam cones at home that I thought could work to complete my "form."  I found a package with cut dowel rods at Wal Mart that would make the final shape work.  There were 8 in a package, so I bought two because I didn't know how many I would need.  I used them all.

Dan drilled a hole in the center of each base that would hold the biggest dowel rod for the center of the tree.  To find the center, simply draw a straight line from corner to corner that intersects like an X.  That is  your center.  I held the big dowel rod up and marked where I wanted them cut to make different heights.  Dan cut those for me.

I hot glued the big dowel in each base.  Then, I cut a styrofoam cone in thirds and placed a piece on the top of each dowel.

This is what the first one looked like.  Then, I painted the cones with some brown paint so the cone wouldn't show through the burlap.  I pushed the shorter dowels into the bottom of the styrofoam at quarters of the styrofoam and then filled in between with more rods.  I put hot glue at the base of each dowel so it would hold in the styrofoam.  I painted the base, center, and all rods with some light brown paint.

For the first tree, I cut two long rectangles of burlap.  Make them at least twice as long as the width of the tree and long enough to cover the spokes of the tree when gathered at the top.   Add several inches.  You can always cut it off if it is longer than you like.  Next, I  stitched the side seams together with a tapestry needle and some yarn using a running stitch.

Now, you have a big circle of fabric that is open at the top and bottom.  Using the needle and yarn, I gathered the top edge of the circle using the same running/gathering stitch pulling it as tight as I could get it until I reached the beginning stitching.  I wrapped the yarn tightly around the gathered top several times to hold the "tree" shape and tied it.  I then dropped the burlap over the wooden form.    It was a big puff of fabric with a top knot.  

To make the tree shape, I did an overhand whip stitch with the yarn by attaching the bottom few inches of the burlap to the wooden spoke, then continued the rest of the way up catching only the fabric.  You will have as many seams as you have spokes as well as the two side seams.  Now it looks like a primitive tree.  

It took a little time, but it is so precious and worth every stitch.  Charlie Brown's tree has nothing on this one.

The next tree was made by cutting strips of burlap and tying each piece to a spoke until the dowel was covered.  Next, you progress to each additional spoke until they are all covered.  Continue by cutting longer pieces of burlap and wrapping and tying it around the styrofoam cone.  The last few pieces are hot glued to the top of the styrofoam so that it stand up like the top of a tree.  I folded each strip in half and ran hot glue along the fold, then pushed it against the styrofoam.  Remember, hot glue will come through the burlap, so I used a glue stick to push the burlap so I didn't burn my fingers.  

Oh how I love this tree.  Don't ask me why.  It's kind of pathetic looking, but it has character and to me it is representational of our indomitable spirits.  We are all beautiful in our own way.  

The last tree was made with a piece of burlap ribbon.  I hot glued it to the top of the styrofoam and just swirled it around the wooden dowel rods, adding a little hot glue in places to help it keep it's shape and not all fall to the bottom of the tree.  

This tree was fast and easy.  The other two took a little time, but they were so fun to make.  They all have their own personality just like each of us.  If you made 10 or a 1,000 of these trees, each one would be slightly different.  That is the part about crafting and handwork that I love.  Everything is unique and individual.  Manufactured things can be beautiful and they will certainly have much more uniformity.  That is not what I wanted.  These trees were a vision.  I could no more explain to you where that vision came from than I could explain the universe, but it is more than a joyous occasion when it happens.

I am going to enjoy these trees for years to come and they will always be a reminder of inspiration, how it comes, and the result of such inspiration.

You could use colored burlap to make these trees or you could add some paint with a brush keeping the primitive look, spray snow, lights, whatever you wanted to make them "yours."  I thought about wrapping lights under the trees and letting them shine through the burlap.  Maybe I will do that next year for a different look.  The options are endless.

Give this project a try and see what you can create.  These could be made very small using toothpicks or as big as you want.  Be creative.  Use your imagination.  Let me know if you make some of these trees.  I would love to see pictures.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree,
You'll never be unchanging!
A symbol of goodwill and love
You'll ever be unchanging

Each shining light
Each silver bell
No one alive spreads cheer so well

Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree,
You'll ever be unchanging

When Life Gives You Burlap

 Everyone has some rough patches in their life - just like burlap.  Some days are satin, some days are burlap.  Know what I mean?  Burlap is a rough fabric, unpleasant to feel, it ravels apart, just like life.  When you work with it, little fibers fly everywhere, they get up your nose and in your eyes, irritating them both.  BUT, it is a very utilitarian fabric used for many purposes.  It is breathable, can get wet over and over and dry out to be used again.  Know what that feels like? Have you had days like that?   I sure have.

Burlap is used to make bags for carrying, for shipping goods like potatoes and coffee, to cover the roots of trees for planting, to cover cement so it doesn't dry out too fast, and to make sandbags to use when rivers threaten to overflow their banks and floods cities and towns.  Burlap is strong and resilient, just like we can be when needed.

Burlap is made mostly in India and Bangladesh from the covering of jute and hemp plants.  No one seems to know the origin of the word burlap.  Burlap is a term used in the United States and Canada for what is known as Hessian cloth to the rest of the world.  The term Hessian cloth comes from the fact that Hessian soldier's uniforms were made from what we call burlap.  Oh, those poor men.  I cannot imagine the misery of wearing this cloth.  I have used it in costuming and it is not pleasant for the costumer or the wearer of said costume.  My first memory of burlap is bulletin boards covered with it in school.

Burlap is inexpensive and that is why it is so useful for many, many things.  Today, burlap is the darling of the craft world.  You will see it made into so many things.  While working on this project yesterday my thought was ---- When life gives you burlap - CREATE!  We don't have to settle for the rough patches, for the irritations, for the unpleasantness.  If we put our hearts and minds to work, we can make truly beautiful things from the "burlap" in our lives.  Yes, we can and that is what I did yesterday.  I had some burlap to use and I made fall pumpkins.  As I worked on them, the more beautiful they became.  I did not fight the burlap, I let it show me where it wanted to go and what it wanted to become.  I cleared my mind and let the creation happen.  We can do that with out lives.  Accept things for what they are, don't fight it, go with the flow and the result can be something totally unexpected and beautiful.

So, here is how I made these pumpkins.  I had a yard of natural burlap and I wanted some fall pumpkins to use around the house.  Many years of sewing experience help and I was going to sew them when I realized that most people don't sew.  To make it easier, I hot glued them together so anyone could make a pumpkin if they so desired.  Here is how I did it.

First, I doubled the burlap and cut out a pumpkin shape the size I wanted.  Make it bigger than you want the finished pumpkin to be because the seams will make the finished product smaller than what you started with.

Next, I cut sections through both pieces that look like the sections of a pumpkin.  You can draw them if you like, I just cut.

Then, I separates the two pieces leaving them in the order they were cut.  Now you can make 2 pumpkins.  You will be working with an inside curve and an outside curve.  No, we are not talking baseball, but a sewing term.  Think of a smile and a frown.  The frown is the outside curve, the smile is the inside curve.  You are going to glue the sections together in this manner.  You may think they won't fit, but be patient and ease the two pieces together, gluing a little at a time and working the pieces together.

I started at what would be the top of the pumpkin and worked in about 4 inch sections.  Place a bead of hot glue about 1/2 inch down on the left piece, or inside curve.  Ease the outside curve to fit.  Let your glue sit just for a few seconds so it is not too hot.  Remember, burlap is porous and the glue will come through the fabric and burn your fingers.  Keep a bowl of cold water handy to dip your fingers in should you burn yourself.

When you finish, the pumpkin will look like this.

Then, you need to stretch it and pin it to a flat piece of burlap.  This will be the back of the pumpkin.  Cut it about 1/2 inch bigger than the seamed piece.

Now, hot glue the edges together about 1/2 inch in working your way around the pumpkin.  Leave an opening big enough for your fist to fit through at the top and bottom.

For the standing pumpkins (mine are 10x12 finished), you will need to weight them for them to stand so you will cut a gusset (another sewing term) about the size and shape of a big baked potato.  If you are making smaller pumpkins, cut the gusset a size that will fit.  Then, you are going to glue them to the opening on the bottom of the pumpkin.

It will look like a puppet's mouth.  Now, paint the pumpkin.  I used orange acrylic paint and a sponge brush.  I literally just scrubbed some paint roughly between each section of seams and on the back and bottom.  I didn't want it to look too perfect, but with more character.  The paint dries quickly.

While the paint dried, I made the stem by cutting a piece of burlap and rolling it, gluing the seam down and the top of the piece.  I made it about 4 inches long.  Then, I twisted some wire around a paint brush handle and glued it to the "stem."

Now, it's time to "stuff" the pumpkin.  First, I filled a quart sized ziplock bag about 1/3 full with dried beans for weight.  You could use rice also.

Be sure and let all the air out of the bag and then zip it shut.  Put the bag in the top opening of the pumpkin and let it drop to the bottom.  For stuffing, I used plastic bags.  Do you have mountains of them that you save from the store and never know what to do with them?  Well, they make great stuffing for projects like this.  Just wad them up one at a time and push them into the pumpkin until it is full to the top.

Now, you are going to glue the stem on and glue the opening shut.  Time to decorate the pumpkin.

I got the berries and the raffia at the Dollar Tree.  I cut some raffia and tied a knot in it and glued it to the top of the pumpkin.  Then, I pulled a leaf off the berry bush and hot glued it over the raffia.  Next, I pulled some of the berries off and glued them to the leaves.  Done.

Here are some of the sitting pumpkins.

I also made a hanging pumpkin for out back gate that is 14x16.  For this, you don't need to make the gusset on the bottom and use only plastic bags to stuff it.  No beans necessary.  Just glue all the way around leaving an opening at the top to stuff it.  I made a hanger for the back with some floral wire.

This is very light weight so it doesn't take much of a hanger.  Here is how it looks on the gate.

And that was my day of creating with burlap.  I didn't know where I was going (just like life), but I stopped and got quiet and the ideas began to flow.  The answer came.  I went from a piece of burlap to these gorgeous pumpkins that made me so very happy.  I love the texture of them, the color, the seams, the fact that they represent fall and all things beautiful.  They can be used again and again.  They are burlap, not satin, but they are beautiful just like every life on this earth.  They irritated my eyes and nose, covered me with fibers and made a mess, but the result was so worth it.  Everyone should work with some burlap.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

When life gives you burlap, you can make something beautiful from it.  donna

Americana Banner

 Hello everyone!  It's Monday once again and I am happy to be here after a few day's absence.  I was down with the creepy crud for the second time this spring.  Guess that's what school aged grandson's give you when you are not looking.  Whew.   Glad it's over and I'm more than ready to move on with life.

The day before said "crud" set in, I spent the entire day outside working on a project for our mantel to celebrate Memorial Day.  I was "in the zone" as they say, working away while enjoying the beautiful weather.  I had my paints, brushes, glue gun, and huge box of craft sticks (better known as popsicle sticks) and I was on a creative bent.

I started making stars and flags galore and had absolutely NO idea what I would do with them, but I liked them and they were fun to make.  That was enough reason to continue, so I did.  I simply hot glued sticks together in a pentagram shape for the stars.  For the flags, I put two sticks parallel to each other vertically with about 1.5 inches between.  Next, I glued 9 sticks across them horizontally.  I decided on 9 because it made the best looking "flag."  It took a bit to put them all together, then it was time to paint.

Since I was going for patriotic Americana, red, ivory, and blue were my colors of choice, with brown paint used to "antique" everything.   First, it's necessary to paint everything in the color and design you want before "antiquing."  Americana is about simplicity.

After letting the paint dry, I dipped a paper towel in some water just to dampen it, dipped the same towel in some brown paint and rubbed the entire flag or star with the brown paint.  While still wet, I then used a dry paper towel to rub the entire surface, actually removing some of the paint to get a really vintage look.

Makes quite a difference.  If you like the true colors, stick with them.  As for me, I like the rugged, worn, vintage look.  The bottoms of the parallel sticks were clipped off with cutters after everything dried.  This is how the stars and flags looked when finished.

 All painting was done just as it was time to prepare dinner, so everything was left to dry overnight.  Then, the - dun, dun, dunnnnnnn,  creepy crud laid me low for a couple of days.  Gave me some time to contemplate what to do with said stars and flags.

The banner on the mantle is what I came up with.  Glad I had time to contemplate, because I really, really love the way it turned out.  All I used was a length of burlap ribbon that you can buy at craft stores.  I laid out the pattern of flags and stars I wanted to use and hot glued them to the burlap.  Easy. Then, I stenciled USA in red, white, and blue between the flags and stars.  The banner is hung with some clear push pins.  Done.

As a major lover of all things Americana, this banner is one of my favorite projects I have done in a good while.  This banner will hang on the mantel until after July 4 and maybe longer.

You can get a big box of craft sticks very reasonably at any craft store or Wal-Mart.  They come in the popsicle stick width or tongue depressor width, it just depends on which size you prefer.  There are lots of things you can do with them and they are great fun for kids to use.  It's almost summer vacation time, so they can be a great way to keep kids occupied when you need a craft project.

This weekend, we will remember all those who have served our country or given their lives for our freedom.  We can never thank them enough.   Happy Memorial Day everyone.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

My father lied about his age to join the Army Air Corps during World War II.  He was only 17 when he enlisted to serve our country and served for 5 years in Italy and Northern Africa.  He didn't talk about it much, but he was proud to have served.  We will honor his memory this weekend.  Thanks Dad.  

Mr. Drag N. Fly Made From Ceiling Fan Blades

 It's an absolutely fabulous day here in Nashville.  The sky is cerulean blue, the sun is shining, it's 80 degrees and all's right with the world.  Truly.  This was my view this morning.  Stunning.

We spent the entire morning out of doors planting all the flowers that have been patiently waiting for their new homes.  Finally.  Our 2.5 year old grandson helped Grandma with her planting.  Nothing makes that little guy happier than a "shuggle" and some dirt.

He had a good time getting his hands dirty and so did Grandma.

Last year about this time, we worked on creating a little secret garden.  The grandsons love to go in it and sit on the bench and look at the plants - NOT.  They like to go in and dig in the rocks that are the floor of  the garden.  That's what they like to do.  This week, I have been working on another little "meditation" garden space.  I don't know about you, but there is so much inspiration on the world wide web for things to do and make that I could spend every hour of every day working on something.  The list is never ending.

There are two items in the picture above that I am going to share with you.  Today, we are going to talk about Mr. Drag N. Fly on the fence. That's what I told Adrian his name was.   Adrian was totally disappointed that it could not fly or that the wings did not move.  Try explaining "it's just a decoration" to a 2.5 year old and good luck.

Ever done any research on dragonflies and damselflies?  If you get a chance, google images for them.  They are SO beautiful.  Their colors are absolutely electric with such delicate wings with beautiful designs on them.  Nature gives us such amazing things.  Wish I could make mine look like a real one.

This dragonfly is something I have seen on several web sites, at craft shows, and on Pinterest of course.  They are so cute and totally caught my eye.  I knew one would be perfect on the long expanse of plain wooden fence in the back yard.  So, I set out to make one.  We didn't have any old ceiling fan blades to recycle/reuse, so I headed to my home away from home, Home Depot, to buy some.  You can buy replacement ceiling fan blades in packages.  Thankfully.  A package of 5 fan blades 42 inches long were $15.95.  Not too bad.  Would have been better if I had some to recycle, but not this time.  Ceiling fan replacement blades come in 42 inch and 52 inch lengths.  Choose the size you would like to use.

For the body, I used a spindle that would go in a stair bannister or deck rail.  It was $4.95 at Home Depot.  You might have an old table leg or something you could use on hand.  Here is what you need.

4 fan blades
1 table leg or spindled post
several tubes of Super Glue gel (3 in a package for a dollar at The Dollar Tree)
2 wood screws
a drill
primer paint (like Zinsser)
paint (acrylic craft paint works fine)
paint brushes (I used 1 inch foam brushes, and a small brush for the narrow spaces)
Acrylic sealer or polyurethane

First, lay the fan blades on a flat surface and mark around the curved ends with a pencil so you will know exactly where to put the glue.  Spread the contents of 1 tube of the super glue gel on the bottom fan blade for each pair (2 tubes) and lay the upper blade where the markings are.  Marking is important so your "wings" will be at the same angle.  Put a weight on the blades until they dry.  FYI, this glue sets up really fast.  Only takes a couple of minutes.  Don't get it on  your hands.  Don't ask me how I know that.

Next, lay one pair of glued blades over the other pair of glued blades and mark with a pencil.  Put the contents of another tube of glue inside the pencil line all the way to the edge and place the set of blades on the glue.  Weight down with something heavy until the glue sets.

My weight was a jar of nails and screws that Dan brought to use for putting everything together.  Does your feller save every screw, bolt, and nail that comes his way?  Dan saves everything.  That's why they look all rusty.  They  may be prehistoric.  It's possible.  His motto is "never throw away a perfectly good ......".  I don't even want to talk about the balls of twine.

Anyway, time to attach the body to the wings.  Use another tube of Super Glue on one side of the spindle and place it on the wings.   Weight down until dry.

When the glue has set, flip the whole thing over and place two wood screws through the blades into the post to hold it all together.  Consider this overkill to keep it from all falling apart in the heat of summer.

The spindle is wood, but the fan blades are not.  They are plastic or some kind of composite and paint does not like to stick to them very well.  Therefore, it is important to prime before painting.

My primer was in a spray can (which goes really fast).  Just lay down something to protect the ground or whatever you will be spraying on and go to town.  Easy peasy.

Now, it's time to paint.   I used acrylic craft paint for my dragonfly and some 1 inch sponge brushes.  It's wise to have a small brush to get in the narrow spaces.  My research showed the beautiful, vibrant colors of dragon flies so I went with bright colors.  They also show up better against the wooden fence.  I used a turquoise color for the body, lime green for the wings with hot pink and electric blue decorations on the wings.  Choose whatever colors you would like.

 A round sponge stomp and the end of a paint brush worked great to make the dots.  I painted two eyes on the "head" and used some wire to make some antennae.  Dragonflies have small antennae.  Then, I sprayed the whole thing with clear acrylic spray to protect it from the weather.

I put a couple of wood screws in the back of the finished dragonfly and wrapped some wire around them, making loops for hangers.  Dan put a couple of wood screws in the fence to hang Mr. Drag N. Fly on.   Done.  Isn't he adorable?

Come back tomorrow and we will discuss the hand made trellis in the picture that is leaning against the fence.  I am in love with it.  It's easy and unique.  If you have any ideas what I could use that extra fan blade for, let me know.  It's gonna drive me crazy.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

All gardening is landscape painting.  William Kent

New Summer Decorations

Hooray, it's FRIDAY!  Are you looking forward to the weekend?  We sure are.  The weather is absolutely fabulous today.  The temp hovered around  70 and it was so nice not to roast so early in the summer season.  It has been awfully hot awfully early.  We got some much needed rain and our garden is looking fabulous.  The squash are blooming, there are some green tomatoes on the vine and some little peppers on the pepper plants.  It won't be long until we will be enjoying some yummy produce directly from our yard.

All of our spring decorations were changed over right before memorial day.  Remember my spring/Easter decorations on this cabinet?  I had a wreath and a small banner on the wicker arch and a beautiful bunny and a little blue bird on the cabinet top.  You can find it in an earlier post if you don't remember.  Well, spring decorations have been put away, and we moved on to our summer Americana theme to celebrate our patriotic holidays, the upcoming Summer Olympics and presidential election.  Actually, I just really love Americana and these events gave me an excuse to make some new decorations.  It really doesn't take much for me.

This cabinet sits inside our front door and is the first thing you see when entering the house.  It is also visible from the living room and the kitchen, so I always like to have something special on it for each season.  On the top of the wicker arch sitting on the cabinet, I made a paper cone wreath in the colors of our flag.  The plaque beneath was made on one of my $5.00 unfinished cabinet doors I found at the Habitat store.  The USA letters came from JoAnn's which I painted, and I highlighted them from behind with some glittered red #40 ribbon that is gorgeous!

The wreath is made on a piece of cardboard from a shoebox and the cones are two sided scrapbook paper that was on sale 5 pieces for a $1.  Total cost for the wreath was $3.00.  I bought 5 pieces of red, 5 white and 5 blue.  That's my kind of price.  Cone wreaths are all over the blogosphere these days.  Most of them are made from the pages of old books or sheet music and I love the way they look.  Since I wanted patriotic colors, I turned to scrapbook paper.  You could also use construction paper, it's just a littler more matte than the scrapbook paper.

To make the wreath, I measured the area where it would hang and drew a circle on a piece of cardboard with a smaller circle in the middle.  After doing that, I decided I would not cut the middle out like a regular wreath, so I simply marked the center of the circle so I would know where I would place the ends of the cones.

Scrapbook paper is 12x12, so I cut each piece into 4  6x6 squares.  Using a ruler, mark 6 inches to the center vertically and horizontally and cut along the lines.  The next step is to roll your cones and you can make them pointed or round, your preference  I liked pointed.  Place a dot of hot glue on the underside of the point where it is rolled around the middle of the cone and hold until set.

To place the cones on the cardboard backing, I started with navy blue at 9 and 12 o'clock.  Then I placed red and white cones alternately back around to the navy blue and hot glued them to the cardboard.  I would recommend laying out your pattern before you begin gluing the cones down.  Paper will tear if you have to move it after gluing it down.  

Ack, I forgot to rotate the picture when I edited it.  So, just look at it sideways and you will get the drift.
Now, it's time to fill in the circle.  Place more red cones next to red, and more white next to white on the cardboard and then glue them down.  Then, you will make a top row by placing cones between the ones on the bottom row.  Lay them out first, then glue them to the bottom cones.   You just sort of have to play it by ear here.  To finish the wreath, I used a big star cookie cutter I have and traced a star on a white piece of scrapbook paper for the middle.   The star covers where all the cone points come together and it looks sort of unfinished.  I put some Mod Podge on the star and sprinkled it with white glitter and glued it to the center of the wreath when it dried.  Ta da!  Done.

You may figure out another way to do your wreath, but this is what mine looks like completed.  It's inexpensive and quite showy, don't you think?  Not bad for $3.00 plus tax.

The red plaque underneath was simply spray painted and then I stamped a line from "America" that says "from every mountainside let freedom ring."  I wrote down patriotic lines that I could think of before deciding on this one.  Even had to sing a bunch of songs through to come up with lines, but it was kind of fun.  Of course, there are some stars stenciled on it!  You know me and stars.   After looking at it, I decided it needed some blue, so I used navy blue acrylic paint and simply followed one of the raised edges on the panel.

The USA letters were $2.99 each at JoAnn's and were all white.  I painted them barn red, ivory, and navy blue and sat them on the cabinet top after they dried.  That glittery red ribbon just ties everything together and of course, it SPARKLES!  What could be better?

Here's a close-up of the vignette.  I like that wicker arch so much, I couldn't bear to take it down after Easter.  It adds height to the cabinet, but is still open and airy and present many decorative possibilities.

I hope this will give you some ideas for things you can do that won't cost a lot of money, but will add beauty and interest to your home.  Be sure and join me next week, we are going to be talking food which everyone enjoys and must have.  I've got some good recipes and summertime ideas for you.  Have a great weekend.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Surround yourself with things you love and they don't always have to cost a lot of money.

How To Use Metal Leaf

Somehow, it is Wednesday and I am way behind on "things" in my life.  The three day weekend sort of threw my schedule for a loop.  By the way, how was your weekend?  Hope it was spectacular, ours certainly was even though the weather was more like the 4th of July it was so hot.  Thankfully, it is going to cool down a bit this week.

Yesterday, our oldest daughter was in need of our help.  She had a hernia repaired a week ago and still can't pick anything up and she needed to go to the grocery.  She has three sons, one of whom is a 22 month old which proves challenging in the "can't pick anything up" department.   Her pick up limit is 10 pounds and  grocery sacks for a family that size weigh more than 10 pounds, so it was Grandma and Pawpaw to the rescue.  Afterward, we ran some errands and by the time we got home and had dinner, it was time to watch the Next Design Star on HGTV, therefore I didn't get my blog posted.   Time sure can go by in a hurry.  I don't watch much TV, but Next Food Network Star and Next Design Star are two of my "must watch" shows.  Do you have some of those in your life?

Anyway, I wanted to continue my series on Americana decorations that I am using here at the little yellow cottage this summer.  The picture above shows what I am using on the front of the house in honor of the Olympics and presidential election.  I wanted something other than a wreath, so this is what I came up with.  The star was one I have had for several years and it was a rusty red color.

If you don't know me well, you may not know my love for all things stars.  I have them in all sizes, shapes and colors.  Needless to say, I decided to doctor this one up a bit for a more Americana look so I painted it to look like this using acrylic craft paints.

Voila! - that gave it a whole new look didn't it?  I simply used navy blue on the left hand part of the star and stenciled white stars on it when the paint was dry.  Then, I used ivory and painted every other side of the remaining points on the star.  It now has a true Americana look and the cost was only time since everything else was on hand.

I wanted to add USA underneath, so I purchased some mache' letters at JoAnn's for $2.99 each.  I painted one barn red, one ivory, and one navy blue. The front of our house has cedar shake on it which can look rather dark under the porch roof even on a sunny day, so I decided I would put metal leaf on the edges of the letters to brighten them up and make them easier to see from the street.

Metal leaf comes in gold, silver, bronze, copper, and some variegated colors.  I used the gold color.  This is not to be confused with real gold leaf which is no less than 22 carat gold.  Metal leaf comes in packages that you can buy at the craft store and you also need a bottle of Metal Leaf Adhesive Size to apply it.  A package will cost around $8.00 and so will a bottle of the adhesive, but it goes a long, long way.  There are 25 sheets to a package.  Fortunately, I had this on hand also.

This is what the back of the package says about metal leaf.
"What is Metal Leaf?  Metal Leaf is a micro-thin sheet of metallic composition metal packaged and separated by pages of tissue paper.  All through history in the world of decorative arts, gold leaf has played a very prominent roll.  This same phenomena is just as true today as precious metals continue to exemplify quality and good taste.  With inexpensive composition leaf, we are now able to afford that special look in home decor and personal accessories.  Our new products and techniques make the leafing process fun and foolproof with satisfying results every time."


This is how the metal leaf looks in the package.

Each sheet is micro thin, but very easy to apply.  You simply apply the adhesive wherever you want the leaf to show.  I used a small square shader brush and went around the edges of each letter.

The adhesive will be milky looking when first applied  (you can see some at the bottom of the "U").  As it dries, it becomes opaque and very tacky.  After an hour's drying time, you can begin to apply the metal leaf.  You just tear small pieces off and rub it over the adhesive using your finger.

There is little to no waste since you can pick up all the little tiny pieces and rub them over the adhesive. It gives a very smooth finished look and mimics real gold leaf for a miniscule fraction of the price.  Metal leaf can be used on anything - furniture, candles, jewelry, ornaments, picture frames - the list is endless - just use your imagination.  Here are the finished letters.

It only takes a short amount of time to use the metal leaf and it is so much fun.  It's one of those mindless craft projects that has a beautiful outcome.  I attached the letters together using sisal twine and some hot glue and hung them on the front of the house.  Then I placed my Americana star above them.

LOVE the way this looks on the front of the house.  The metal leaf outline makes the letters pop from the street and this wall hanging can used for the rest of the summer.  

If you have objects that you love in your decorative "stash" and don't really want to part with them, find a new life for them by using things like paint, metal leaf, or by rearranging objects from one room to another.  It can save you lots of money and add new interest to your home.  Or, you might consider trading things with friends or family for a new and different look.  Paint and metal leaf can completely change the look of any piece of furniture or object and it doesn't cost nearly as much as replacing that object.  You also have the satisfaction of saying "I did it myself."  Crafts are a way of expressing yourself.  Give it a try, you will be surprised what seeing with "new eyes"  and a little work with your hands can do.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Crafts make us feel rooted, give us a sense of belonging and connect us with our history. Our ancestors used to create these crafts out of necessity, and now we do them for fun, to make money and to express ourselves.
Phyllis George