DIY Fridge magnets and pushpins

Step 1: gathering the supplies - you will need largecrafting "bubbles" with one side that is flat. You can use any size you like. Magnets - make sure your magnets are large enough to support the size of your bubbles. If they are too small the finished magnet will slowly slide down your refrigerator when you try to use it to actually hold any papers. Small pushpins with a flat head if possible. Craft glue - I prefer E600 - it's great for many projects, is clear and dries fast too. And then of course your fabrics or patterned scrapbooking type papers if you don't have fabrics on hand. Scissors, and something to trace with - I like using a fabric marker. Fusible interfacing or fusible fleece - optional.

Step 2: Layout your fabrics and place your bubbles over top moving it around until you find a pattern that you like. Cut around the pattern in a small square and continue with as many fabrics and patterns for the magnets that you want to make. Optional step: Fuse interfacing or fleece to the back of your precut squares on the wrong side of the fabric. This will give the back of your magnets a finished look and keep the fabric from fraying when you cut it and use your magnets.

Step 3: Trace around your bubble and cut out your circle. Repeat with all your cut squares.

Step 4: Using a toothpick, squeeze out some glue and use the toothpick to apply it to the right side of your fabric. Place a nice medium sized glop in the center of the circle. Take your bubble and place it on top of the glue and press firmly and evenly down. The glue will race for the outside edges - be sure to push out any or as many glue bubbles as you can. Set aside to dry and repeat until finished.

Step 5: Using craft or hot glue adhere your magnets to the back and place them right side up to dry. Remember to use a large enough magnet for the size of your craft bubble.

Step 6: Once dry they can dot your fridge, metal file cabinet, etc. Another great idea is to place them in a small container like an altoids tin, wrap it up with some ribbon and you have a great personalized gift to give away! Enjoy!


Push pins
To make push pins for your bulletin board simple use the smaller size craft bubbles and follow steps 1 - 4 as outlined above. Then, instead of gluing a magnet to the back glue a flat headed push pin. Set pin side up to dry.

If you give this project a try be sure to let me know, send pictures or blog about it too and post the link so we can all check out your handwork!

Diy Wednesdays: Stamped Dishtowels

here’s what you’ll need:
-rubber stamp set
-dish towel
-fabric-friendly stamp pad
-iron
-paper towels

1. prewash your towels.
2. decide on your arrangement.
3. using the fabric stamp pad, stamp your design onto the towel. (if you decide to use multiple colors for each stamp, be sure to clean the stamps between applications. glass cleaner works great for this.)
4. once ink is dry, heat set with an iron. you may want to place a paper towel between the iron and the ink to avoid getting ink on your iron.

Batik Silk Scarf

Adding designs and patterns to your next dye project is a breeze with a simple batik technique that’s guaranteed to turn some heads.

Materials:
double boiler (or glass bowl and slightly larger saucepan)
prewashed silk scarf
wax
cold-water fabric dye
clothespins
small cookie cutter
plastic tub or metal sink
kraft paper
iron

1. Using a glass bowl and a saucepan as a double boiler, heat the wax until it's melted.

Safety tip: Be sure to tilt the inner container; otherwise a vacuum could form and you could receive a nasty burn.

2. Clip the clothespin to the side of the cookie cutter and dip the cookie cutter into the wax for at least 20 seconds.

3. Place the wax-dipped cookie cutter onto the scarf and press lightly until the wax is transferred to the scarf. Allow the wax to cool.

4. Mix the dye (following package instructions) in a large tub or a metal sink. Wet the scarf and place it in the dye bath; stir and let the fabric sit in the dye for about an hour.

5. Rinse the scarf in cold water until the water runs clear; hang the scarf to dry.

6. Place the fabric between pieces of kraft paper and press with a hot iron to remove the wax.

7. Rinse in hot water with a mild detergent to remove remaining wax, then let the scarf hang to dry.

Gilded Potpourri Box

What You Need:

• Tracing paper
• Pencil
• Scissors
• 5-inch-square thin cardboard box with separate lid
• Small piece of tile
• Utility knife with #11 blade
• Paper
• Ruler
• Gold spray paint
• Glitter gold paint pen
• 1-foot cloth window screen
• Thick white crafts glue
• Pearls on a string

Instructions: 1. Trace design for box lid. Trace a simple, seasonal pattern you like onto tracing paper. If necessary, use a photocopier to make the design larger or smaller to fit.
2. Transfer design to lid. Center tracing paper pattern on top of the box lid, pencil side down, and retrace over the back of the design. Remove the pattern.
3. Cut out the design. Place the lid on a piece of tile and use a utility knife to cut out the design. (The tile will allow the knife to glide.)
4. Cut diamond shapes. Cut a 2-inch-square piece of paper for the diamond pattern on the sides of the box. Center the pattern on each side, 1/2 inch up from the bottom edge, and trace around the pattern. Use utility knife and a ruler to cut out the diamonds.
5. Paint box and lid. Spray the box and lid with gold spray paint. Use glitter gold paint pen to outline the lid design with dots.
6. Cut screening. Cut a 5-inch-square piece of window screen and glue to the inside of the lid. Cut and glue a 3-inch square of screen to the inside, behind each of the diamond cutouts.
7. Add pearls. Glue a row of pearls around the outside edge of the lid and another row of pearls around the bottom edge of the side of the lid. Glue a row of pearls around the diamond shapes on all four sides of the box.

More Ideas:

• Books of stencil patterns are one good source of pattern ideas for the lid design.
• Present wrapped candies or baked goods in these beautiful gift containers.
• Replace the screen with colorful cellophane if using for a gift box.

Winter Welcome Mat - Quick Gift Projects

What You Need:

• Brown grass mat
• Painter's tape
• Crafts knife
• Green latex spray paint
• Blue latex spray paint
• White latex paint
• 1/2-inch rod dowel

Instructions: 1. Cover entire mat with painter's tape, leaving a 2-inch border. Using a crafts knife, carefully cut and remove triangles from the tape to create treetop shapes. Spray mat with three coats of green paint, letting mat dry between coats. When last coat is dry, remove tape.
2. Tape over green border and treetops, then add a strip of tape where the tree trunks will be. Spray mat with three coats of blue paint, letting mat dry between coats. When last coat is dry, remove tape.
3. Dip a 1/2-inch dowel into white latex paint to apply random dots to the mat as snowflakes.

Garnished Gift Boxes - Quick Gift Projects

What You Need:

• Round white sticker labels in 1-inch and 1/2-inch sizes
• Round white reinforcement stickers (used to reinforce punched paper holes)
• Snowflake stickers (available at crafts stores)
• Art markers
• Spray glue
• White glitter
• White Chinese food carton (available at crafts stores)
• Square frosted box (available at crafts stores)
• Coordinating tissue paper

Instructions: 1. Use art markers to color white polka-dot stickers. For snowflake stickers, spray the sheet of stickers with spray glue, and sprinkle on glitter.
2. Randomly apply either circle stickers, reinforcement stickers, or snowflake stickers to a Chinese food carton or a frosted plastic box. Tuck coordinating tissue paper and a seasonal treasure inside.

Tins All Trimmed - Quick Gift Projects

What You Need: 

• Round white tin for snowman tin (ours is 6-1/2 inches in diameter and 5 inches tall)
• Black buttons
• Hot-glue gun and glue
• Red paint pen
• 17 inches of 2-inch-wide orange felt
• 36 inches of 2-inch-wide baby blue felt
• Scissors

Instructions: 1. Hot-glue black buttons to the top of the lid to create the eyes and mouth.
2. Cut a carrot shape from orange felt, and add detail using a red paint pen; glue to tin as the nose. Wrap baby blue felt and tie in a knot around the front of the tin as a scarf.
3. For stripes, cut fifteen 1/2-inch orange strips from orange felt. Hot-glue orange strips 1 inch apart onto the tied scarf. For scarf ends, cut two 2-1/2-inch lengths of orange felt. Hot-glue one piece to each end of scarf, then cut 2-inch splices every 1/4 inch to create a fringed look.
4. For the rectangular tin, use a pencil to draw a grid of 1-inch to 1-1/2-inch squares on the surface. Paint squares using a checkerboard design and your choice of glossy latex paints. When dry, add stars using a white paint pen.

DIY: Jewelry Display from Old Stair Spindle

Jewelry / Small Item Display Idea

Materials: old wood stair spindle, wine corks, wood glue, sand paper, stain, painters tape

Tools: saw, drill

When Artistry Day Spa & Salon asked to have a display of our wine cork key chains, of course I said yes!  Now, I have never made a key chain display before but I wasn’t going to say no. How exciting someone wanted to display our cork key chains in their shop!  I drew up some ideas and showed them to the quiet half of The Wooden Bee, my husband Kyle.  We collect a variety of materials in our recycling efforts and I always like to consult him on new projects. After discussing several materials, we settled on an old stair spindle.

I cut it up before I thought to take a picture, but here it is pieced back together.

We made three cuts for three jewelry displays and an extra wood block (that I’m sure will be reused for another project).

Then we drilled a hole through the stair spindle. We used a wine cork as grommets to secure a wood pole.  Simply drill out the middle of a wine cork and cut it in half to make the grommets. You can use a little wood glue to help secure the grommets (& pole) as well.

Next, I sanded and stained the wood display and wood pole, after covering the wine cork grommets with painters tape. We should have waited to fit the cork grommets until after staining, but we wanted to make sure we could secure the wood display pole before we got any further in the process.

I added little cork “caps” to the wood pole so nothing could slide off. Simply use cut and hollowed ends of wine corks. We have three more displays to make, so I get more detailed with our new idea in future posts!

I loved this project… just another reason to save the wood!!!

Happy Upcycling, Bee (source: thewoodenbee.com)

Wine Cork Key Chain

Making Wine Cork Key Chains

What you’ll need to make one key chain:

1 wine cork

1  key chain ring

1 screw eye

jeweler’s pliers

glue (optional)

This is a simple and quick craft, making it easy to do with friends or while matching a movie, etc.

First, select the wine corks you would like to use. Synthetic or oak wine corks can be used for this project.  I prefer to use synthetic corks for key chains. They are easy to clean and seem to withstand use better.   We had a variety of unusual synthetic corks that we have saved over the years, so I made them into key chains for some of my best friends for Valentines Day this year.  They would make great party or wedding favors as well.

Next, I got out some screw eyes and some key rings I purchased at the craft store.  We used an actual key chain assembly but standard split rings also work.  Screw the screw eye into one side of the cork.  If you are using oak wine corks, I would recommend using a little craft glue on your screw eye thread.  Both types of corks allow you to simply use your hand to screw it in.

Then use small pliers, or jeweler pliers, to open up the ring on the screw eye and attached the split ring or key chain pieces. Then use the pliers to close the screw eye.  I like to use two pairs of pliers to do this step, one to hold the metal and one to open and close it.

I like the key chain assembly since you don’t have to thread your keys through the ring, it just unlocks and opens. Split rings are much cheaper though. I purchased a pack of 28 split rings for $2.50 , and a pack of key chains was $2.50 for 12 pieces.   The solid wine corks are also fun to use since you can customized them with permanent markers or decoupage.

Happy Crafting!

Please note: wine cork key chains will float…but probably not with your keys on them.  

(source: thewoodenbee.com)

Corky Wednesdays: Love is in the Cork

If you’re like me you’re just putting away holiday decorations! However, Valentines Day is around the corner and if you want to get crafty you have to plan a head, just a little.
Here’s some corky ideas to get you in the mood…

Get crafty and create your own heart cork stamp for your Valentines cards this year!

This post offers a quick cork stamp tutorial using foam hearts and synthetic corks.

Happy Wine Corking! Look for our January wine cork tutorial later this week!
~Bee (source: thewoodenbee.com)

Wine Cork Magnets Tutorial

We have been making magnets ever since. Each set is a little different, so I wanted to share a new style of wine cork magnets that I enjoy making.

Materials needed:

Oak Wine Corks

Knife (or hand saw)

Drill

Glue

Magnets

First, cut the oak wine corks in half.  I have used a perforated kitchen knife and my husband’s hand saw, both work well.

Once your corks are cut in half, use the drill to hollow out a small hole the size of your magnet.  The hole needs to be on the opposite side of the cork you are wanting to display.  It doesn’t have to be a perfect hole either, just big enough to fit the magnet with a little glue behind it.

Once you have a hole dug out, put a drop of hot glue, or other permanent bonding adhesive like E-6000, in the hole and place your magnet on top of it to dry.  There are several types of magnets you can use. I use Neodymium Rare Earth Magnets, size 3/8 x 1/16.  I purchased a set from a cute little Etsy shop.  Each little magnet can pull a little over 2 pounds and holds down several sheets of paper .  What is important in magnet selection, is that they are strong enough to hold what you would like, and small enough to fit nicely into your cork.

It is important to note here that the magnets will attract to each other while you are doing this project.  Once glue has entered the picture, I would keep the corks with magnets drying in them, far away from other corks with magnets drying in them!  I use some old wood moldings to separate them.

Allow the magnets to dry in the corks for 24-72 hours and you’re DONE!  For this particular set of wine cork magnets, we used our shop’s colored cork supplies.  You can also hand paint each cork by cutting acrylic paint with blending gel and allowing them to dry overnight. Please note, our shop’s colored cork supplies are dyed in a special permanent solution, the acrylic paint method will bleed unless you seal them.

Happy Crafting! (source: thewoodenbee.com)

Indoor/Outdoor Wall Vase Tutorial

Last month we made 20 wall vases for baby shower favors!  Today I wanted to share how we created them. You don’t need to make twenty, but inside one or two can make beautiful wall sconces filled with candles.  Or place a wall vase with fresh flowers from the garden by your front door. There are many ways to use these eco-friendly vases.

Materials Needed:

wood

saw

gloves

outdoor stain, and rags

drill

stainless steel clamps

lath screws

any medium to large glass jars

wall hanging hardware

First we cut some wood rectangles.   We decided to use some curved reclaimed wood molding we had saved.  Any size wood will do, but the idea is to have the wood wider and longer than the glass jars that you want to use. We cut two sizes of rectangles for two different sized jars: one 8.5″ by 5″ and one smaller 7.5″ x 4″.

Next I sealed the wood with outdoor deck stain. We prefer Sikkens but any outdoor stain with sealer will do.  After the wood dried, I added wall hardware to the backs.

Then my sweet husband drilled and secured the stainless steel clamps to the wood.  There are many different size clamps. We used clamp size #56 (3 1/16″ to 4″). They can be found in the plumbing section of your local hardware store.  We used a lath screw and a drill to hold the clamps to the wood.  Lath screws are great all purpose fasteners. The exact screw label: truss washer lath screw 8 x 9/16.

To add the glass jars, I used a screwdriver to tighten the clamps around the glass. You can use all sorts of recycled glass jars. Wide mouth pickle and salad dressing glass jars are a favorite, if we’re not using mason canning jars.

I added some pink flowers (it’s a girl) and then packaged them up with an ultrasound picture of the baby. The mom to be loved them!!! (source: thewoodenbee.com)

Decoupage Paperweight Craft

How to Decoupage a Rock Paperweight

Materials Needed:

• Rock (around 4" x 4")
• Decorative Paper
• Felt
• Decoupage Medium
• Craft Glue
• Foam Brush
• Scissors

Instructions:
Start out by selecting a rock that is around 4" x 4". You want it to be big enough to hold down a pile of papers, but small enough to handle. Wash the rock with warm soapy water and let it dry completely.
Tear your decorative papers into pieces around 1- to 2-inches big. Use the foam brush and these decoupage techniques to completely cover the rock with paper pieces. Don't worry about covering the bottom of the rock though. Once you have the rock covered, let the decoupage medium dry. Once it dries, seal your paperweight with a few thin layers of the decoupage medium. Let it dry completely before you move on to the next step.
To finish your paperweight, cut a piece of felt to fit the bottom of your rock. Use craft glue to cover the bottom of your paperweight with the piece of felt. This will protect furniture from being scratched by the rock.
As a finishing touch to my paperweight, I wrote "Imagine" on my rock using white acrylic paint and then sealed it with a few squirts of clear acrylic spray. Enjoy!

Blooming Flower Pen Craft

How to Make a Pen That Look Like a Flower

Materials Needed:

• Pen
• Silk or Plastic Flower with Stem
• Green Floral Tape
• Scissors

Instructions:
Hold the flower next to the pen. The flower should sit on the end of the pen. Clip the flower stem so it is about 2-inches up from the tip of the pen. Remove and leaves from the flower.
While holding the flower stem tightly against the pen, wrap the entire length of the pen with floral tape. This will secure the pen and flower together. The floral tape is tacky so you do not need to use any other tape or glue to hold it in place. You now have a flower topped pen.

Bottle Cap Frame Craft

How to Embellish a Frame Using Bottle Caps

Materials Needed:

• Metal Bottle Caps
• Paint
• Clear Acrylic Spray
• Miscellaneous Pictures, Letters, or Stickers
• Double-Sided Tape or Adhesive
• Strong Glue
• Paint Brush
• Scissors

Instructions:
To decorate your bottle caps, think about what picture you will be putting in the frame. If it is a picture of you and a friend, consider using 7 bottle caps to spell out the word FRIENDS (one letter per cap). If it is a picture of a pet, you can spell out its name, or use small pictures of items related to your pet such as dog bones, a mouse, etc.
You can start out by painting your bottle caps. Once the paint is dry, you can seal the paint using the acrylic spray sealer. This is a good idea if your finished project may be in contact with any moisture, plus it can add a nice shine to your painted surface. Of course, if you prefer, you can leave your bottle caps unpainted.
While the paint/acrylic sealer is drying, find the letters or pictures you will use to embellish your bottle caps. Your best options are to use magazine pictures or stickers. You can use photos or pictures printed from a computer, but you should get copies made of these because your printer ink may run. Cut your pictures down so they are a small circle which can fit into the bottle cap. Use double-sided tape or adhesive to secure these inside the cap.
Once your newly-embellished bottle caps are dry, you can glue them onto your frame in whatever positions you like.