Decorative serving pieces

Decorative serving pieces

I'm not sure where I found the inspiration for this craft. I might of seen it in a store and thought I could do that.

Materials:

Silverware, lead free wire, decorative beads, wire cutters, and needle-nose pliers.

Time to complete:

Depending on how fast you can thread the beads and wrap it around the spoon will determine how long it takes. I find I can do it in under an hour.

Steps

1. Thread the beads on the wire then wrap long the the. Bottom first. Make sure to leave enough of a tale so you can come back and tie off the wire.

2. Then work your way up the stem of the silverware make sure to wrap as tight as you can, if you want you can have the beads on the front only or continue them on the back as well. ( I found this to use up too many beads and raised the cost of the project).

3. Then tiring off the wire. You will have to wrap it as tight as possible, feeding it threw some of the beads and back around. Like tiring a know with thread. If you can slide the beaded wires around its not tight enough.

4. Make sure you do the same at the base of the silverware. And snip off any extra. If you have a sharp wire use the kneedle-nose pliers to bend it under.

I found a few challenges along the way, I'd like to share them with you incase you decide to tackle this craft on your own.

1. String the beards on the wire fist, make way more than you think you will need. You are surprised how long of a needed strand you will need.

2. Don't cut the wire until you are done wrapping And have securely ended the wire. If it too short you will have to start over.

3. Always hand wash, the dishwasher will not be nice to the beautiful work you have created.

If you find this too challenging/ time consuming or just would like to buy the ones I have created take a look my completed serving pieces.

Humming bird feeders

This project started as a mission to find an inexpensive hummingbird feeder that looked interesting. I was at a craft show where I was inspired but didn't want to pay the $50 price tag. I thought I could make one that mimicked the one I had seen.

The material I used:

Decorative bottle ( I found mine on clearance at pier 1 imports), copper tubing (menards), rubber stopper (menards), clear tubing (menards), food(menards), cordless drill, knife or scissor.

Time to complete:

The part that takes the most time for me was the problem solving of the rubber stopper and clear tubing. After I figured this out it was a snap. It's a madder of drilling the rubber stopper and feeding the tub threw, and then the assembly and bending of the copper tubing.

I found a few challenges along the way, I'd like to share them with you incase you decide to tackle this craft on your own.

1. Of course the hard part for everyone is going to be finding the decorative bottle you want to use. You may. Find the bottle to be the most challenging. I wanted to find a red one, I just to happen to find it on clearance at pier1 imports.

2. Finding the rubber stopper to fit in the bottles opening. I tried cork at first but it absorbed too much liquid and then started to leak. I would redo mend taking the bottle to the store and matching the stopper that way.

3. Bending the copper wire, you have be be careful the tubing is easily to bend but it will also kink, I found that this was ok with me because I didn't have the correct tiles to bend solid copper wire.

I have made 3 of these but, I don't have the desire to make anymore. It's too difficult to sell on this blog.

Coaster

Coasters
I was inspired by the site Houzz,where I came across a DIY project where leftover paintsamples were made into coasters. craftycpa.blogspot.com had a wonderful blog page where she described how she made these. I thought I could do the same with expired walpaper.


Materials I used:
Tile, walpaper, super77 spray adhesive, foam brushes,modpodge, clear acrylic spraypaint, Knife or scissor.

Time to complete:
The modpodge takes the longest to dry, and depending on the amount of coats you put on will dictate the length of your project. but other than that you can make these quickly. The longest part for me was finding the walpaper combination.

I found a few challenges along the way, I'd like to share them with you incase you decide to tackle this craft on your own.

1. Although its nice to find a great deal the tile you use can make a big difference in the application.
-If the tile has a bit of texture you can see the texture come threw on thin materials.
- If the tile is too smooth, some materials have a hard sticking. It will just peel off.

2. If you are using walpaper try to find some with texture, I found the textures hold upbetter. The fun contemporary patterns look good but are harder to apply.

3. The edges are the hardest part, keeping the edges smooth, even, and cleanly cut. I found myself cutting the walpaper larger than the tile then trimming it later.

If you find this too challenging/time consuming or just would like to buy the ones I have created take a look at my completed coasters.