Mosaic Heart Artwork- Using Paint Chips

   With Valentine's Day quickly approaching (seriously, where did January go?),  I've been itching to create some heart artwork. After looking at some other paint chip art that I've done in the past, I decided to try and make a mosaic inspired piece. Even though this was made with Valentine's Day in mind, it really could be displayed all year round. It's just that pretty!

What You'll Need:
-pencil
-scissors
-glue (I used a hot glue gun)
-wallpaper, or scrapbook paper for background
-paint chips
-piece of blank paper, for heart template
-picture frame


1. Cut your background to fit inside the picture frame. Using a piece of blank paper, draw a heart that's large enough to fit onto your background. Cut it out, this will be your template for the paint chips.

2. Cut your paint chips into different shapes and sizes. Start laying them out onto your template, evenly apart, trimming where you need to to make them fit.

3. Once your heart is covered, start gluing the paint chips onto your background.

4. Put your now finished mosaic heart art into a frame, and enjoy!




   What DIY's are you doing for Valentine's Day?

Canada Day DIY- Patriotic Cork Board

   Canada Day is just around the corner, so why not show some Canadian pride with a fun DIY. To get into the spirit, I've made a Canadian flag cork board. It's simple to make, and can be used all year round.

    What You'll Need:

• cork board
• red and white acrylic paint
• pencil
• ruler
• painters tape
• paint brush
• sandpaper (optional)

1. Use a ruler to measure out equal rectangles on either side of the cork board. Use some painters tape to help you paint a straight line. For the maple leaf, I created a template by tracing the leaf off of a Canadian flag that I had. If you don't have a flag to trace, you can print a maple leaf off of the internet, or if you're feeling artistic, you can draw a maple leaf onto the cork board.

2. Using a pencil, trace or draw the maple leaf onto the center of the cork board. Paint the two side rectangles and maple leaf red.













3. Once the red is all painted and dry, you can either leave it like this, or start painting the remaining empty space white.












4. When the white paint is dry, you can use sandpaper to lightly distress the flag if you want a rustic look.

5. Hang in your favourite spot, and enjoy your new patriotic cork board!

   What to show some more Canadian pride? Here are some Canadian inspired accessories to help celebrate this beautiful country we call home.

Canadian Flag Pillow- Alamode Home

Moose Pillow- Alamode Home

Red Paint Colour- AF-290 Caliente, Benjamin Moore

White Paint Colour- OC-17 White Dove, Benjamin Moore

Driftwood Pendant- Restoration Hardware 

Wooden Moose Head- Restoration Hardware

How are you showing your Canadian pride this Canada Day?

Yellow- My Spring Colour

   It has been a VERY long winter this year, but alas, it looks like spring has finally arrived! A little later than we'd all had hoped, but she's made it none the less.
 With spring, comes the transition from wintery pales to brighter and more playful spring colour palettes. My spring colour this year is yellow. It's bright, cheerful, energetic- and after that never-ending winter, I think we could all use as much sunshine in our lives as we can get!

Here is an assortment of yellow items that will help bring some sunshine, inside.

1. Print- Chapters Indigo 
2. Candles- Ikea
3. Pillow- Bed Bath & Beyond
4. Paint- 2021-30 Sunshine, Benjamin Moore
5. Rug- Ikea
6. Side Table- Ikea
7. Duvet Cover- Ikea
8. Chair- Lowes
9. Vase- Chapters Indigo
10. Fabric- Tonic Living


What are your favourite spring colours this year?

For the Love of Rugs

   Rugs, rugs, rugs! So far this month, rugs have become my favourite piece of decor. I'm not sure what has caused this latest obsession, but I'm going with it!
 
   Rugs are like pieces of artwork for your floor. They can help visually define a space, reduce echoing within a room, and add comfort to your feet, all while adding texture, pattern, and colour to help bring a space together.
 

   I could post a bunch of pictures of rugs that I've found -and believe me, they're all saved on my computer- but here are just a few that have caught my eye.

1. Ecarpet Gallery, Afshar
2. Home Depot, Painted Zig Zasg Multie

1. Restoration Hardware, Sofia Hand Knotted Rug
2. Ecarpet Gallery, Capri ECGSCP0R351A

1. Ikea, LAPPLJUNG RUTA
2. Home Depot, Bright Floral Toss

1. Weavers Art, Ikat 80718
2. Restoration Hardware, Cordoba Rug


Which rug would you use in your home?

Holiday Gift Wrapping- A Homemade Feel

   It's that time of year again! You've survived the dreaded crowded stores and now it's time to start wrapping your presents!

This holiday season, for me, has been all about rustic decor. So naturally, I've decided to wrap my presents with the same rustic, homemade feel.

   For my wrapping paper, I kept it simple and used brown kraft paper. I bought my paper from my local Target. It wraps well, and my favourite added bonus, it has a grid pattern printed on the inside of the paper to help with straighter cutting and a tidier wrapping job. Perfect for any perfectionist, like myself! Another bonus, if there's any leftover wrapping paper, it's neutral enough that it can be used for any other occasion.

To decorate, I used:

• twine
• gold decorative cord
• pine cones
• faux berries
• gold glittery ribbon 
• salt dough gift tags

                                          *I made the bow in the fourth picture using left over wrapping paper. 

To attach the decorations, I found using a hot glue gun was the best and easiest way. 



Here are some more gifts that I decorated for a window display. 

Brown kraft paper, tissue paper, and ribbon go a long way to make some impressive gifts!


How are you decorating your presents this year? 

Glittery Silhouettes- Add the Sparkle

   When I think about Christmas, I always think about twinkly white lights and lots of sparkle. There's something magical about all of the sparkle and shine during the holiday season. Let's face it, it wouldn't be Christmas without a little glitter. It's easy to add it to your Christmas tree, shelves, and tables, but your walls are often overlooked. Here is an easy way to create festive artwork that anyone can do, and is full of glittery goodness!

What You'll Need:

• Picture frame
• Glittery scrapbook paper
• Paper for background of picture
• Double sided tape or glue
• Scissors
• Pencil

-Cut the paper for the background of the picture to fit inside of the frame.

-Trace the background paper onto the back of the glitter scrapbook paper. This will be your guideline on how large to draw your silhouette.

-Draw your silhouette of choice onto the back of the glitter scrapbook paper. Make sure you draw the reversed image. For more complicated designs, you may want to create a template on a separate piece of paper first. I had to do this with the deer silhouette, and then trace it onto the glitter scrapbook paper.

-Cut out your silhouette.

-Use double sided tape or glue to secure the silhouette onto the background paper.

-Put your picture into the frame.

-Hang, take a few steps back, and enjoy your new glittery masterpiece!     

                  

   Will this DIY be a new addition to your holiday decor? What silhouettes will you try out?

Salt Dough & Sharpie Ornaments

   
   Salt dough ornaments are fun, super easy to make, and look great on any christmas tree. They add that personal touch to your tree that you just can't buy from a store. 

   This year, I decorated mine by drawing on them with a fine tipped Sharpie. This gave me more precision and control to add a lot of detail to some of my designs. Whether you want really intricate designs on your ornaments or something really simple, they all look great!

What You'll Need:

• 1 cup of flour
• ½ cup of salt
• ½ cup of warm water
• Mixing bowl
• Rolling pin
• Cookie sheet
• Cookie cutters
• Straw or toothpick
• Ultra fine point Sharpie
• Twine or ribbon

Preheat your oven to 250° F

Combine flour, salt, and warm water into a bowl and mix with your hands until it becomes a dough.

Prepare your rolling surface and rolling pin with a dusting of flour. This stops the salt dough from sticking.

Kneed the dough well before rolling out to get rid of any air bubbles trapped inside the dough. 

Roll the dough to about 1/4” thick. 

Use cookie cutters to cut out your ornament shapes (I used a cup to create my circular ornaments). 

Use a straw or toothpick to create a small hole at the top of each ornament. This will be used to string ribbon or twine through later.

Place ornaments on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 2 hours. 

Once done, let cool completely before drawing on them. 

Use an ultra fine point Sharpie to draw on your designs. I decided to do a mixture of both intricate and simple designs on my circular ornaments, and left my star shaped ones plain. 

String with twine or ribbon, and they are ready for your christmas tree! 

   With leftover dough, I made gift tag shaped ornaments using a knife to cut them out. They look very impressive on your gifts and will surely impress anyone who receives one. 

The cookie cutter ornaments also make great gift toppers. They double as a decoration and a gift for their tree.