Flowers for Elva!

Hello Readers!!!

Zebra Vase with Flowers

I'm back with some more awesome crafts!! My good friend Elva recently moved in to a new apartment and I immediately thought it was a perfect time to make her something for her new place.  Elva is obsessed with Zebra print so I knew for sure I had to incorporate that into the gift.  I decided to give her some flowers in a vase, but not just any flowers or any vase!

Things you will need:

• Clear vase (any size and shape you want)
• Assortment of Flowers
• Acrylic paint
• Flower tape
• Wire cutters

I went to Michael's to get all my supplies because they had the best deals and I had seen zebra print flowers their before.  The red flowers are peonies.  After you have gathered all your supplies, then I suggest starting to paint first.  I decided to paint Zebra stripes on the vase, I also decided to paint her name as well.  First, I painted the whole vase with a layer of white.  After it dried I went back over with black paint, making stripes.  Her name was the last thing I painted on.

As I let the paint dry, I arranged the flowers.  I gathered all 6 stems peonies in my hand.  Then I slid the 2 zebra print flowers on top.  When I felt like they were in a good position, I used the flower tape to hold them together.  With my wire cutters, I cut the stems the length of the vase.  And presto a custom made vase with flowers!!!  A very easy way to make a center piece or simply add some flare to any room!

Keep reading for more crafts...

-Jess out!

Love Birds for Love Birds

Hello Crafters!!

I started an awesome new job at a craft store and it has given me some awesome ideas.  The first being painting.  I decided to take it up.  I love to draw and why not use paint to draw.  So my next project was inspired by my favorite couple in the world LT and Leiah!  Their 3 year anniversary was February 28th and I wanted to give them a special gift, since I was the maid of honor at their wedding.

Leiah's original picture

When I need inspiration on gift ideas, I like to turn to Pinterest.  Leiah is always talking about how she wants things for her house and pins the stuff she really likes.  I remember a certain picture she really liked and decided that would be perfect.  Hope you like it, Happy Anniversary guys!

Things I used:

• Canvas 24 in x 36 in
• Acrylic paint (green, blue, white, peach, black, brown, yellow, turquoise)
• Paint brushes (I bought a variety pack of brushes)
• sponges 

I started with a base layer of blue and turquoise.  This is relatively my first time painting so I mixed colors and just started to paint.  I knew I wasn't going to get the colors right since I was using acrylic paint, and I'm sure they used a different kind of paint.  I decided I wanted it to have more of a green feel to it, so I went over it with a layer of green.  I mixed in colors like white, peach and different shades of other colors to get the shade I wanted. After I had a base layer of green and blue, I took the brown, yellow and some green used a sponge and just went crazy.  After, I was satisfied with all the colors, I let it dry for the night, and the next day I painted the birds and wire.  It was surprisingly hard to paint a straight line across the painting, that part took a while.  The birds were relatively easy. 

I hope you enjoyed this post.  As I get some more experience, I can give a little more detail on how I create some of these paintings.  But most of the time I just wing-it and hope for the best.  Remember you can always make requests and I will be happy to help/create something for you!

Thanks for reading, Jess out!

Finished painting, Happy Anniversary LT and Leiah!