New York

This past weekend hubby surprised us with a trip into Manhattan. 

There's nothing quite like fall in the city.

Crapty Fridays- DIY cardboard animal trophy head (Holiday edition)

So I know that this week I already made a crapty egg carton wreath.

And I guess that technically should count as my weekly piece of crapt.  However, I just couldn't help it.  Our pile of recycled materials was growing larger and larger and the crapting bug hit me full force.

I had to give in.

So here's another crapty project:  a cardboard deer head trophy (that I glitzed up for Christmas)

Before we continue, let me give this Crapting Disclaimer:  If you attempt to try this project you will need the patience of a saint and some kick-a&& knife skills.  I didn't really have either, so it took me several days to finish everything up.  (I adapted this project from this set of original directions.  I'm not ashamed to say that their final results looked way more polished than mine.  I just used the crap that I had lying around the apartment.  If you want a more polished look, go look at their directions.  If you want a quirkier girly crapty look, try out mine!)

Still with me? Ok, let's begin.

Materials:
- deer head template
- scissors
- pen
- Mod-podge
- foam brush
- aluminum foil
- very sharp craft knife
- shoe polish
- sequins!!!
- skewer
- cardboard boxes <--crap!

Directions:
Step 1: Print and cut out your deer head template.  Trace the various pieces onto cardboard and then cut everything out using a sharp craft knife.  (Scissors really won't work.  Trust me.)

Note:  I simplified the design of the antlers because I'm just really not that patient.

Step 2:  Modpodge your aluminum foil (shiny side down) onto the fronts  and backs of the different pieces.  Let everything dry overnight.

Note:  See how my edges are still cardboard brown? Ick. I wasn't quite sure what to do with them, so I just covered each piece's front and the back.  Looking back, I probably could have covered one side with aluminum foil and then left a little bit extra so that I could cover the edges as well.  Then, I would have just covered the back of the piece and not had to worry.

Step 3:  I wasn't too pleased that my deer head looked like it was made of cardboard and aluminum foil.  So, I pulled out some shoe polish and tried antiquing everything  I wiped on the shoe polish and then used a paper towel to wipe some off. Now my aluminum pieces looked a little less shiny.

(Like this look?  I used a very similar technique to make my cute cat metal magnets)




Step 4:  I still wasn't too pleased by my results, so I went with the "more is more" approach.  I totally blinged this baby up and added sequins to the antlers and nose.  To do this, I painted on a bit of Mod-podge, and added each sequin one-by-one.  I have shaky and clumsy hands, so my fingers got really sticky after a couple of sequins.  The whole process went by much faster when I switched to using a skewer to glue the sequins down.

Warning:  Sequins are super shiny and will blind you.  

Step 5:  I waited for everything to dry and ta-dah!  My glitzed out animal trophy is complete.

So what do you think?  Is this piece quirky and girly? Or, is it just a deer-saster?  I actually kind of like it and it's definitely going on our walls during this holiday season.

Hope you have a great weekend andthanks for joining me on another crapting adventure!

Kicking my butt

Guess who's just down to 1 nap a day?  

This little guy is totally kicking my butt.  He's got tons of energy and wants to touch break eat do everything.  

Hope you're having a good Thursday!

DIY Egg carton wreath

Hi everyone.  Did you vote yesterday?  I took Baby Chuck into the voting booth.  He wasn't too sure about the candidates, but he was very excited about pushing the buttons.

As I sit here and watch the results coming out on tv, I thought I would post my adventures crapting this egg carton wreath.  Since this DIY involves crap (egg carton), it technically should be posted on Friday.  But, I was so happy with how it turned out that I just couldn't wait.  (I also took a bunch of photos of the flowers for my blog facelift.  Do you like it?)

I think this is my favorite crapt so far.  It's pretty, cheery, and colorful.  It's also super easy to make.

Materials:
- egg carton (<--crap)
- cereal box
- craft paint
- paintbrushes
- hot glue gun (or possibly any other strong glue)
- scissors

Directions:

Step 1:  Get yourself an egg carton.

Step 2:  Cut the lid up into leaves.

Step 3:  Cut the egg cups up into different flower shapes.

RIP Egg carton- This is all that's left

Step 4: Cut out a ring from a cereal box (I traced a bowl and plate to create the ring)

Step 5:  Paint and let everything dry (I also doodled "hello," cut it out, and painted it)

Step 6:  Glue everything onto the wreath (I glued the leaves first, then the "hello," then the big flowers, and then the small flowers)

Happy Wednesday!

 Let's keep in Contact!

Like kids crafts and activities?  Then you'll definitely want to check out this awesome craft ebook!  It contains 115 pages of unique crafts written by 18 kid craft loving moms!  And, it costs only $12.99!

   

And, you can always find  fun ideas on my Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter accounts!  (Or subscribe to my email mailing list by filling out the pink bar at the top of your screen.)

Happy making, friends!