Things I've Made Archives - Page 76 of 136 - Ashley Hackshaw / Lil Blue Boo

A Mini Birdhouse Fairy Village (A Tutorial)

June 12, 2011 by Ashley Hackshaw

This total cost of this project was approximately $10…..not counting trinkets and paint I had on hand already. An inexpensive and endless possibility project for a large range of ages. We purchased the mini birdhouses from Michael’s craft store for $1 each!

Update: The little fairies are from Disney. There are several different sets you can get from Amazon, Target, Toys R Us or Disney.

Boo and I had so much fun this weekend turning these inexpensive mini birdhouses……

….into a realistic neighborhood for her tiny fairy dolls:

I couldn’t resist adding the tiniest of details like a “welcome” sign:

Potted plants:

Copper accents:

Vintage stamp bunting:

A clock made from old watch parts and a tiny twig ladder:

The first step was to cut open the birdhouse holes to make larger doors. I marked the opening with a pencil first:

I used a small electric saw but you could also use a hand saw. Don’t have a saw? This wood is so lightweight you could cut through it with a serrated knife as well with a little more work……or just ask a neighbor!

I carefully cut out my door opening:

…..and the bottom of the door opening will pop right out:

Use a file or sand paper to smooth the edges:

The new houses:

I spray painted the houses different colors:

For the mushroom house, I painted the base color of off white first and then cut small circles out of adhesive shelf paper to block a coat of red spray paint:

I had some small watch parts on hand from Silver Crow Creations and I used them to make a realistic clock:

Tiny letter stamps and part of a popsicle stick…..

Note: Micheal’s also has a ton of these tiny letter stamps in the dollar bin section! ($1 for 26 stamps….in many fonts!)

…..made a perfect sign for Tinkerbell’s new house:

Boo helped me glue some silk plant leaves to the roof of one of the buildings:

I used a hot glue gun to add some bark to another roof:

Copper adhesive tape (from the craft store) was added as an accent:

……as well as some copper hinges (from the scrapbook section of the craft store):

Some small twigs and a some hemp twine made perfect ladder:

Boo painted some small wooden pots (from the wood hobby section of the craft store):

…..and we filled them with silk flowers. I filled the bottom with hot glue to keep the flowers in place:

A few vintage stamps and an airmail envelope……

…..made some mini bunting:

Mr. LBB helped out by spray painting a plastic tub dark brown……

……and filling it with dirt, bark and plants. Our friends Walker and Amy sent us a beautiful pot of these mixed houseplants for my father’s memorial…..and they were the perfect little forest setting:

The fun part is you can add to it all summer long! Use an existing garden to make a huge fairy village. Michael’s has a bunch of intricate birdhouses of the same scale in their clearance section right now….pirate ships, temples etc. It would be a great project for so many different ages. You could tailor it to a boys liking too for lego people!

Tinkerbell in her new house:

Fawn in the town square:

Silvermist at the clock tower:

Hours of entertainment:

I love miniature. I could go on forever. Try to visualize what you would reuse around the house if you were “fairy” sized:

Make a mini pond with a jar lid.
Paint mini wood plates and milk bottles.
Add in thimbles for buckets and trash cans.
Pennies or broken tile bits for stepping stones.
A small stamp for artwork or a poster.
Popsicle sticks and toothpicks for signs.
Wine corks cut in half for stools.
Small beads and trinkets hung from plants for wind chimes.

A Donut Necklace (A Tutorial)

June 10, 2011 by Ashley Hackshaw

I ate a glazed donut this morning. It just didn’t seem like the right pastry to make an “inspired” necklace out of…….so I chose a sprinkled donut for this project. I would love to have a donut themed party one day for Boo……and I thought a donut charm necklace or bracelet would make the cutest party favor. This one is for Silpada…..the sweet girl that works at the Swiss Donut shop and fills my order cheerfully every morning:

The donut was made using these little pre-cut wood disks from the craft store:

I used a standard household drill to add a hole in the center. I had to tightly hold the disk still with two fingers and drill very slowly to keep it from turning.

I used a pipe cleaner to hold the disk as I painted it with a base “donut” color:

I used a small paint brush to add a layer of pink icing:

I used basic acrylic craft paint in colors Almond Parfait and Baby Pink:

I used a tiny brush (actually a brush I cut most of the bristles off of) to add several colors of sprinkles:

I used my tiniest drill bit to drill a tiny hole for a jump ring:

Then using a pipe cleaner to hold the finished donut I sprayed it with a clear gloss varnish. I stuck the pipe cleaner upright in a jar to hold the disk until it dried.

The last step was to add a silver jump ring:

Finished donut charm!

With rainbow sprinkles!

*****

Wine Barrel Lazy Susan (A Tutorial)

June 7, 2011 by Ashley Hackshaw

Make a lazy susan look like a vintage wine barrel, DIY Tutorial via lilblueboo.com

I recently found this old wood lazy susan at a thrift store for $2.99…….

……and painted it to look like an old wine barrel lid using a wood aging technique I used back in my college studio art days:

I love the look of reclaimed wine barrels used in home decor…..they are just so expensive. With a few simple household products and some spray paint I was able to recreate the wine-inspired look for under $5.

Materials needed:
Wood lazy susan, tray or plaque
White distilled vinegar
Steel wool
Spray paint
Adhesive vinyl shelf paper or paper stencils

Step 1: I used my Silhouette machine to cut a stencil out of vinyl adhesive shelf paper. If you have a Silhouette machine you can click on the image below to save my .studio file for your own machine. If you don’t have a Silhouette machine you can use basic stencils from the craft store and paint each letter or you can save the image below and enlarge it to cut it out as a stencil by hand:

Step 2: Place the stencil on the wood and mask off any other areas you don’t want to get paint on:

Step 3: Spray a layer of paint onto the stencil and let it dry thoroughly. Once dry, carefully peel off the stencil.

Step 4: Mix white distilled vinegar into a bowl and submerge a steel wool pad (just like the one you wash dishes with) into it.

The steel wool reacts with the vinegar to create an “aging” wash. Let the steel wool soak in the vinegar for about 20 minutes…….the steel wool pad will begin to disintegrate a little.

Use a paper towel or gloves to grab the steel wool pad and some of the liquid and “paint” across the wood. Let dry and apply a second coat. As the liquid becomes discolored in the bowl you can also use a paint brush to apply the vinegar.

Step 5: If the color is a little too gray for your liking you can steep some basic tea bags in hot water……

…..and use a paint brush to add a few coats of concentrated tea. It will add a slight natural brownish tinge to the wood:

Once the wood is dry you are finished! Use a rag to clean off any bits of steel wool left behind. Spray with varnish or add a layer of polyurethane if you like to protect the color:

Looks just like the real thing:

Behind the scenes: Boo and I taking photos for this tutorial…..Lisa snapped this photo from the office as she worked:

Let me know if you make one for yourself! Would love to see it!