*Tutorial by Heidi @ greendoodle for her win of the Outdoor challenge of season 15*

You will be surprised how quick and fun this project is.  It has a definate wow factor!  Hopefully this tutorial has the information you need, however, feel free to contact me over at greendoodle if you have any questions.

*Tutorial by Heidi for her win of the Duct Tape challenge of season 15*

*Tutorial by Jess @ Spool & Spoon for her win of the Kids Can Do challenge of season 15*

I have always been a big fan of Earth Day so I was delighted to create a kid-friendly and planet-friendly project this past week.

To make your own set of hand stamped seed sacks you only need a few supplies: a foam sheet, wood blocks, linen bags, double-sided tape, paint/ink pads, and scissors.

1. Let the kids loose on the foam sheet. Instruct them to draw small blossoms and stems all over:

2. If they are old enough, let the little ones cut them out. If they are not, use a small pair of scissors (or even an xacto knife) to cut them out yourself

3. Gather an assortment of small wooden blocks that  are just the right size for the cut shapes (mine ranged in size from 1 to 2.5″ cubes)

4. Attach a piece of permanent double-sided tape to one side of the cutouts.

5. Take the shape and put the tape side down on the center of a wooden block. Push down on the foam shape to adhere it securely to the block.

6. Repeat steps four and five on all of the remaining foam shapes

7. Before letting the kids go crazy with the stamps, stick a piece of scrap paper inside the sacks to prevent colors from bleeding through.

8. Now it’s time for the kids to go wild. Using thin layers of paint or pigment ink pads, the stamps work either way. I like the mix and match aspect most of all since your little ones have the freedom of expression — they can use a variety of colors and combinations that is only limited by their imagination.

Let the paint dry completely and pack the sacks full of wildflower seeds or whatever plants you adore.

And just think, those stamps can be made into any shape your babes can dream up! Think mix and match monsters, faces, weather patterns, etc. I hope you and your little munchkins have a blast with this simple springtime project.

*Tutorial by Amber C @ The Craft Project for her win of the “Scrap”tastic Challenge of season 15*

To create my “Butterflies in the Wind” project you will need:

• A picture frame with a wide mat and the glass removed (mine was 16″ x 20″)
• A piece of good watercolour paper
• A selection of paint chips in a range of colours (grab them from the paint section of a hardware store)
• Black and white sharpie paint pens
• Thin wire
• A strong glue, like E-6000
• Three sizes of butterfly punches (2″ wide, 1″ wide, 1/4″ wide)
• A bone folder helps, but isn’t necessary

I started with punching out a wide range of butterflies from paint chips. I wanted the piece to be very 3D so I folded each of the largest size of butterflies in half with the bone folder. To add a bit more visual interest to the piece I added geometric patterns with alternating white and black paint pens to one half of each of the larger butterflies.

I put the watercolour paper and mat into the frame after I pulled the glass out of it. I wanted to extend the piece beyond the rigid boundary of the frame so I twisted a some wire into tight curls and glued them to the back of the frame, with the plan of using these as extra bases for the butterflies.

I then arranged the butterflies in a swirl across the entire piece – working through a range of colours. I set the butterflies in a swirl that started on the wires and went across the piece, touching the paper, mat, and frame throughout the piece. I used E-6000 glue to put secure them in place.

I hope you enjoy making your version as much as I did with this one.

*Tutorial by Heidi @ Green Doodle for her win of the Spring challenge of season 15*

First off, thank you to Missy for hosting SYTYC and giving me the chance to test my creative limits. Next, thank you for supporting the Twirly Girl Easter Frocks.  These dresses were very rewarding to make, and with a few pattern modifications you can make a dress (or two) as well.

*Tutorial by Kim @ Maiden D’Shade for her win in the Finale round of Season 14!*

Once again, thank you all for this amazing honor of winning season 14! But I’ve got to say, even though it was fun, I’m glad it’s over!

Here’s how I transformed this “seen better days” clock from my husbands side of the family and gave it new life.

This clock was built in 1987 by a friend of my in-laws. It has spent many years in my basement. It had some damage (bottom corners and the weight sleeves are scratched and oxidized) and some missing pieces (pendulum bob and tall door glass) likely due to many moves over the years.

First thing I did was clean the surface. I wanted to give it a more commanding presence so I added some molding along the front edges to give it more interest. Because the molding wood is “raw” I sprayed it with shellac so the surface wasn’t as porous and would be more like the surface of the rest of the clock when I went to paint it. I also thought this front molding piece matched the molding on the top of the clock quite nicely and gave that “blank” space some interest! I added the molding with wood glue.

I took it apart and laid it down, using some really Read more

*Tutorial by Catherine @ CathGrace for her win of the RIT Dye challenge of season 14*

And then gently roll over the Lego base plate, you can get a feel for the amount of pressure you want to place on the roller, as you go. I moved the plate around randomly so that sometimes it was skew, and overlapping where I had already rolled. I covered the whole yard of fabric this way. (My other two base textures, not pictured here, are the suction cups on the bottom of a $1 store, rubber bath mat, and just rolling on the surface of the fabric with the foam roller, alternating the amount of pressure.)

Here’s what the pink and green fat quarters look like once smeared and waiting to dry. By the way, the print table has a couple of old flat sheets pinned to it, so that my canvas surface doesn’t get Read more

*Tutorial by Catherine @ CathGrace for the Elegant challenge of season 14*

Hey everyone! Last week’s voting was a total nail biter, I cannot believe how close it all was! I want to thank everyone for all the votes for my laptop bag!