Do you love straw sunhats in the summer, but can’t find one that is the right colour and size combination? Accessories can make or break an outfit and on hot, sunny summer days, a hat is a practical accessory. but you can’t have just any hat. A baseball cap at a summer wedding just won’t do. Nor will a hat that clashes with your carefully chosen outfit. But what do you do when the stores only carry black, white, or tan hats and you love a punch of colour? Make your own! No really. Make your own. It is very easy and inexpensive to find woven straw placemats in a variety of colours. A little patience and a sewing machine and you can have a custom sunhat that you can brag to all your friends about. If you can wield a seam ripper and sew a straight stitch on a machine, you can do this! Follow the tutorial below to see how!
Today’s craft post is another Bob Ross painting video. Unlike most of his videos, which tend to focus on nature and rarely feature buildings or other man-made structures, today’s video features a delightful dock scene. The scene captures an abandoned shipping boat against a pier, complete with some charming old dockside storage sheds. Hopefully you find it as charming as I do.
If you try your hand at making your own version of this painting, send us an email at wallaceburgseniorcentre@gmail.com with pictures of your creation!
Do you have an old coffee table at home that needs some new life breathed into it? Do you like to play games while you chat with friends and family? Then this solution is for you! Update that old coffee table into a pretty gaming table with some stones and a few different paint colours!
Sand down the coffee table (or whatever you have decided to use). Wipe all the dust off.
Paint the table. In this example, the tabletop was painted black and the edging was painted an off-white and distressed, but you can paint your base colour whatever your heart desires. Allow the paint to dry.
Paint the gameboards. My example has both a checkerboard and a tic-tac-toe board, for which I have included the directions below. You can customize yours to accommodate your favourite games. For the checkerboard: Leaving at least an inch around all sides, draw out a square with pencil or chalk. For my example, I made my square 16″ on each side to make the math easier. (Don’t paint these purple lines – I have only included them to show the length and width)
Measure the square and divide it by 8. This will be the size of each playing square (example: my square is 16″ so each square will be 2 inches by 2 inches). Mark this measurement on every side and connect the opposites. I made mine purple so it is easier for you to see. You would do this step in the same pencil or chalk as step one.
Using a small paintbrush, paint in every other square, making sure that you offset each row to achieve the checkerboard pattern. Traditional checkerboards have the bottom left corner for each player white and colour alternates from there. Again, I have used purple on my diagram to make it easier to see. Yours will be a thin pencil or chalk line which you can either paint over or erase.
For the tic-tac-toe board: Measure out the space you want for the board, again making sure to leave at least an inch around all sides. I made my board 15″ on all sides. Lightly mark out your square in pencil or chalk. Be careful not to go too dark, as this square will not be painted! (Don’t paint the purple lines. I have only included them to show the length and width. Same with the light gray. That is here just to show you what your pencil line will look like.)
Measure the square and divide it by 3. This will be the size of each playing square (example: my square is 15″ so each square will be 5 inches by 5 inches). Mark this measurement on every side and connect the opposites. Carefully paint over your lines. You can use painters tape if you want a really crisp edge, but I find if I go slowly, it’s still pretty good. And little errors are part of what makes it handcrafted! Don’t forget to erase your penciled outer square!
Seal the table with your favourite clear coat or wax finish.
To make the playing pieces, you will need 34 stones total. You can either buy a bag of stones from the dollar store or see what nature can provide you with. Just make sure they will fit in your squares! Paint half the stones in one colour or design and the other half in a different colour/design. This example has ladybugs and bees, which I think is adorable, especially if you place the table on your patio or deck. The checkerboard will need 12 of each design and the tic-tac-toe board will need 5 of each.
Once all the paint/clearcoat/etc. is completely dry, place the table in your living room, family room, deck, or wherever you want to game and have fun!
It’s summer and now that we are in Step 2 and are allowed to have larger gatherings outdoors, people are starting to gather for barbeques and pool parties. But it’s always an annoyance when you set your drink on the table and when you come back, there are 3 other identical glasses. What to do? What to do?
I have the perfect solution for that problem – chalkboard paint!
That’s right! This craft is so useful and easy that anyone can do it! And your guests will thank you for making it easy to keep track of which drink is theirs!
Supplies
To complete this craft, you need a couple of basic supplies:
Wineglasses (however many you need, depending on your party size)
Chalkboard paint
A container for the paint. This container must be able to fit the bottom of the glass inside it.
Painter’s tape for a clean upper line (optional)
Waxed paper
Directions
Pour the paint into the container. Fill it to roughly the depth you want the paint to come up the sides of the glass.
Optional: Wrap the stem of the glass with painters tape at the point you want the chalk paint to stop.
Dip each glass in the paint, being careful to only get the outside of the glass. Do not get any paint on the interior of the glass or on the top few inches of the exterior (where your lips will go when taking a drink) as most chalk paint is not food/drink safe.
Remove from the paint and allow all the excess to drip off.
Place on waxed paper to dry. Alternately, you can stand them upside down or use a couple of flat bamboo skewers to elevate the glasses off the table slightly.
If needed, remove the painters tape after about 15 minutes and allow to dry completely.
When party time comes, write each person’s name on the chalk paint and voila! No more mixed up drinks!
You can experiment with this technique too! You aren’t limited to wine glasses. Tumblers, highballs, etc. would all look great. Don’t stick with just a standard straight line either. The glasses below were dipped at an angle, giving the glasses a high end look. Lastly, chalk paint is available in many colours – you don’t have to stick with just black (unless you want to!). The possibilities are endless!
Summer is nearly here, and with outdoor activities allowed again (hopefully for good!), people will be heading for the beach to cool down on those hot summer days. If you’re like me, you want to be able to relax and soak in the sun. But how do you do that while supporting your head? You can’t bring your actual pillow with you. That would look silly. And think of all the sand you would bring back with you! The solution? Add a built-in pillow to your beach blanket! Even better, add straps so you can easily roll the whole thing up and carry it back to the car with no hassles. Think of what a great gift these would make too! Happy tanning!
If you try your hand at making a Beach Towel Pillow Bag, send us an email at wallaceburgseniorcentre@gmail.com with pictures of your creation! We would love to see it!
We post a painting video once a month here on our webpage. But it’s been a while since we’ve featured a video from the iconic Bob Ross. I grew up watching him paint and always marveled at the way he could make a plain canvas come to life in half an hour. He never made mistakes, just happy accidents that became part of the painting. Today’s video walks us through painting a pretty little bridge over a beautiful forest stream, complete with lots of happy trees. Follow Bob as he really does show us the Joy of Painting.
Is your home looking old and tired? Does it need an upgrade? One of the biggest impacts you can make in a house (after paint and flooring) is your doors. But they can be expensive to replace. So why not upgrade them instead? Evan and Katelyn show you how they took their plain slab door and turned it into a custom piece that looks very high end on a very reasonable budget. The price of lumber is higher now than when they made the video, but it is still much more cost effective than replacing your doors.
If you try your hand at upgrading your doors, send us an email at wallaceburgseniorcentre@gmail.com with pictures of your creation! We would love to see it!
I love a beautiful outdoor space, don’t you? My only problem is being able to enjoy it at night without spending a fortune to make sure I can see it while still having it look good. That’s when Do-It-Yourself videos come in handy! A few things from the dollar store, a can of spray paint and a couple of hours of work, and you can have a pretty chandelier so you can enjoy your backyard after the sun goes down!
Summer is just around the corner and everyone is getting their backyards in order, from cleaning up the garden to decorating the patio. And what better way to cheer up your backyard than with this fun, colourful wreath made with just some Dollar Store flip flops, a pool noodle and some hot glue? This tutorial from Princess Pinky Girl will have you making this cute summer decoration in less than an hour!
Materials
Pool noodle (you can use a wreath frame instead if you like)
Duct tape
Glue gun
Flip flops – I used about 12 pairs (you can add more if you want a “fuller” look)
5 printed pairs in the largest size available
5 plain pairs in a smaller size
2 toddler-sized pairs
Instructions
Duck tape the pool noodle in a circle and cut it in half or if you have an already circular base, even better! You can skip this step!
Arrange and lay out the flip flops on top of the pool noodle
Glue gun the flip flops to the noodle
Start by gluing the largest sizes as the bottom/outer layer
Glue the smaller size on top of the bottom/outer layer. For the best/fullest look, arrange the flip flops to cover the gaps between the largest flip flops
Glue the toddler-sized pairs in the centre.
Let dry completely
Create a hook for hanging by twisting a metal wire around the circular frame (pool noodle or whatever you are using) or find a brightly coloured ribbon to loop around the top of the wreath.
Quilts are always so beautiful and make a wonderful heirloom gift. But they always take so long to make, and if you aren’t 100% accurate with your cuts and sewing your seams, the whole thing can go wrong quickly. The beauty of this quilt – besides the way it looks! – is that it is fast and if you make a mistake, it just adds to the charm! This video features a quilt made in a minky fabric, but you can also use flannel (or flannelette) or any fray-resistant fabric you have.
Flowers are always so beautiful to have on display around the house. But real ones wilt and die. Fake ones are expensive – plus we cannot get them right now under the Stay-at-Home order. So what can you do that looks pretty, can get easily, and won’t break the bank? Make your own! Using coffee filters and food colouring, you can easily make these pretty roses and hydrangeas for just pennies using items you can still buy at the store. Just follow Suzy’s great directions and you will have a beautiful bouquet in no time!
It’s the second Tuesday of the month, which means it’s time to highlight a woodworking project! With everyone getting their outdoor spaces ready for summer, I thought this would be a great project for a woodcraft enthusiast to tackle. Outdoor furniture is so expensive. If you have the time and skills (and a few tools!) you can save yourself a LOT of money by making your own outdoor sofa. And what is a custom build without a little extra oomph? Storage space is always at a premium, so why not build it in?
Mother’s Day is coming up, so it’s the perfect time to make these amazing bath soaks for the moms in your life (or yourself)! Claire shows you how to make a soothing Oatmeal Lavender soak and a moisturizing Coconut Rose bath salt. Add these to your bath to help you relax and moisturize your skin while you decompress after a long day.
This beautiful, flowing top is great to make for summer. Made in light-weight linen or cotton, the natural fibres are very breathable, perfect for those hot summer days when a tank top just won’t do. Using just a couple of measurement taken on the body, it is very easy to adapt for any size. And, since it only uses a yard or so of fabric, plus scraps of interfacing, it’s a project that is easy on the budget too. Look great and feel accomplished, all without breaking the bank? Yes, please!
Today’s craft tutorial shows us how to make our own jewelry trays out of air-dry clay and imprint them with leaves you can find out and about now that spring is here. I love this craft, as it is not only easy to make, but you can also customize it. Pick colours that match your home. Don’t care for the leaf designs? You can use flowers or anything with an interesting texture to truly make this project your own!
It’s April and that means that, while we can’t plant our gardens just yet, we can get everything prepped and ready to go. I love gardening, but I hate how my back and legs hurt after a morning crawling around on the ground. I’m no spring chicken anymore! That’s why I love today’s DIY project – making your own Raised Planter Box! All the joy of gardening, all the satisfaction of growing your own food, the sense of accomplishment from making something, and none of the aching muscles!
Have you liked the look of stone vases but not the weight (or the price) of them? Then we have the perfect solution – create your own! Follow Caro’s tutorial to take any old vase or jar from the back of your cupboard and give it new life by painting it to look like the stone vases that are so popular now, and at a fraction of the cost!
If you try your hand at making your own DIY stone or ceramic vase, send us an email at wallaceburgseniorcentre@gmail.com with pictures of your creation!
I love sewing and I always fall in love with fabrics and usually buy more than I should (which is something I picked up after not having bought enough for a project before!). This Tote Bag Tutorial is a great way to use you that extra fabric up. If you like the look of this Tote Bag, but not the size, you can also adjust it to suit your needs. This bag is so easy to make and is cute too! I love the little pop of interest the contrast top gives the bag!
If you try your hand at making a Two Seam Tote Bag, send us an email at wallaceburgseniorcentre@gmail.com with pictures of your creation!
Follow Jennifer of Jennifer Decorates as she shows you how to make this beautiful spring wreath. Hang it on your front door to help welcome spring to your neighbourhood or hang it on a wall inside your home where you can see it more!
This Easter decoration is simple to make and adds a simple elegance to your home just in time for Easter! You should be able to find all the items you need at any dollar store. I think this is just adorable and can’t wait to make one for my home!
