Display Kids Art with Clothes Pins in Old Frames

This is a common and decorative way to rotate art on your kids walls with some easy-to-come-by materials:

-Jewelry Wire

-2 Thumb Tacks or nails about the same size

-A hammer 

-2 clothes Pins

-Yardstick

-Pencil

-Standard sheet of paper that your child draws or paints art on
-A picture frame without glass or a backing.  Make sure the frames are at least several inches larger than the standard sized paper that your child is drawing or painting on.  I like the look of old frames that you can find at yard sales or thrift shops.

-Jewelry pliers (Diagonal cutting jewelry pliers work well, if you need to buy some)

Step One: Center the paper within the bare frame on your work surface.  Have the frame faced down.  Get your paper and add 2 clothes pins to the top of the paper and lay it down inside of the frame to figure out how much space you will need to give (so that the clothes pins are also within the frame).  

Step 2:Take a yardstick and line it across the mouth of each clothes pin to figure out where the wire will need to be stretched.  Make your pencil marks where the yardstick lays across the back of the frame, making sure that everything is even.

Step 3: Cut a piece of jewelry wire with the pliers after stretching the wire across the frame where you made your marks.  Be sure to leave at least an inch of extra wire hung off the sides of the frame on either end.  

Step 4: Twist the excess amount of wire from one end around a thumb tack about 2 times, and then twist the excess wire around the loose wire like in the photo below.  (You will repeat this step on the other side of the wire, but first do Step 5...).

Step 5: Press the thumb tack in the center of one of your pencil markings.  If the wood is firm, you may have to use the hammer to get the tack in.  Of course, you can always use small nails if the tacks just won't do the job.  Pull the wire across to the other side and repeat Step 4.  Make sure your wire is tight enough for the art to hang on it.  You may have to twist more wire around the thumb tack to tighten it.

Step 6: Hang the frame on the wall like you would a picture frame.  You may need to use the ruler to add some nail holes if you just want to hang the frame off of two nails.  In my case, I had a cinder block wall to work with, so I added more jewelry wire with tacks to hang it from a ceiling beam.

I added several of these random frames on the walls of my art studio where I teach art to children ages 2-6.  I rotate the work, and I also started hanging them to dry by pinning a ruler to the bottom of the art with extra clothes pins.  To get a visual on what I mean by this, check out my post from my artist blog here:
Drying Watercolor Paintings on Display

Thanks so much for your support by checking out my blog!  I hope you learned something practical and simple!

~Angelique Buman

Decorative Bottles Wrapped in Rainbow Yarn

Rainbow yarn wrapped bottle by my friend Carrie Ann

Here is a simple craft that I'm sure many of you already know how to do, but sometimes we just need reminded just how simple it is to decorate our home on a low budget.

Before you throw all those beer and wine bottles in the recycling after after your next party or gathering, consider all of the gifts you could make for friends and family!  Next time wash them out, tear off the labels, and follow these simple steps below:

What You'll Need:

-Glass Bottles such as beer and wine bottles
-Multi Colored Ball of Yarn from your local craft store
-Craft glue such as tacky glue or Modge Podge
-Scissors
-Paint Brush
-Soapy water for clean up

Directions:
-Cut a few long pieces of multicolored yarn anywhere from 2 feet to a yard long (Cutting pieces is not necessary, just easier to wrap the bottle in sections).
-Begin by painting the lower rim of the bottle with craft glue. Do not paint entire bottle as the glue may dry quickly.  Paint sections as you wrap...
-Begin wrapping the yarn gently around the bottom edge of the bottle, working your way up the bottle.  You may need to use your finger tips to gently press or align the yarn at times and to make sure it is hugging the bottle. When you reach the end of the tacky glue, paint on more glue and keep spiraling the yarn up the bottle.  Once you run out of yarn, take another piece and begin wrapping from where you left off.
-Trim the last piece of yarn when you reach the top rim of the bottle, and let it set to dry for an hour (or however long the glue takes to dry).
-Put your new colorful bottle out for display, present it as a gift, or use it as a vase by adding water and a fresh cut flower.

          Yarn wrapped bottles by my friend, Carrie Ann.  Thanks for sharing!

Microfiber Colors Give Life To Old Chair Seats

One of my readers recently expressed an interest in the colored cushions on some chairs I used in a photo from an old post, "Fun Places to Put Your Potted Plants," so I thought I'd share more about this seating arrangement.  Originally, the padded seats on the chairs were all black and worn, and they didn't go with my color scheme in my living room, so I reupholstered each one in different colors of the same type of fabric. The seats come right off, so I stretched the fabrics over the padded seat frames and stapled the fabrics as an artist would when stretching a canvas.  Here is a link I found on how to stretch a canvas:

Stretching Canvases

Take note of how the stapling is done, since you have to jump around your frame a bit.  Consider your seat cushion a "padded canvas" so your material isn't going to lay flat like a painted canvas would, so you don't need to stretch the material so hard that you are effecting the shape of your padding.

 My fabric of choice was microfiber as I found that it was very easy to work with since it has a nice stretch to it that easily eliminates any wrinkles or folds.  Once the fabric was stretched and stapled, I trimmed back any excess material that was hanging down.  I was a little hesitant to use the red fabric, since there is absolutely no red in my living room, but I'm so glad I did!  I find that it makes a bold statement, leaving a classy finish to the room.  

Below is the original image from my blog, "Fun Places to Put Your Potted Plants."

Try This for a Splash Board

Try using a decorative glass cutting board as a splash board for your kitchen sink to keep your walls protected.  The sink below has some old faucet handles that I've been meaning to replace, but for now, I thought that this cutting board works as a great distraction.  I was pretty lucky to find Vango's "Starry Night" print on this cutting board at a second-hand store. I also used a colorful serving tray as a splash board in our bathroom.  It's a nice look with easy clean-up!

Hide Those Ugly Electrical Wires In a Colorful Bin or Basket

I can't stand how electrical wires can make a room look sloppy, but sometimes you just can't avoid them.  In cases like this, I find that the blanket-in-the-basket trick works quite nicely.  Plug everything into a power strip to minimize the amount of wires coming out of the basket.  If you have handles on your basket, pull the power strip chord through like I did in the second image below.  Take a lightweight cloth, small blanket or a pretty scarf and gently pile it over the wires.  Here I used a small table cloth, but sometimes I use some light mesh material, depending on what looks best with the rest of the room.  Coordinate your color choices of bins, baskets and fabrics with your surroundings to help tidy up a room.  Note, check all chords and don't overload your power strip as this idea is likely a fire hazard.   If fabric does not appeal to you, try a picnic basket with the double lids that you can allow the chords to come through either side.

And here you can see how nice they all fit in the basket.  However, you should probably take the time to untangle your chords (I need to work on this):

Simply place a light cloth on top and your problem solved!

Cover Your Toilet Tank with a Bamboo Placemat

Treat your Toilet tank like a table top or alter top with candles and calming scents by covering it with a nice place mat, such as a bamboo place mat.  By turning the place mat so that it drapes over the front and back of the tank, it will look more like a peace of furniture.  Especially when dealing with a plain and small bathroom, a little detail like this can go a long way.

Drape the place mat over the lid:

And Voila!  Add some calming items to personalize your new surface.

Rotate out different place mats and items to keep your seasons fresh.

Fun Places to Put Your Potted Plants

Bring new energy to your room by moving your plants in unique places, like say, under chairs or coffee tables.  Here I placed some small potted plants under decorative chairs that sit up against the wall.  As long as the plants are being rotated and the sunlight is still able to reach the plants, this is a fresh and playful look for a seating area.

Earrings on Display

Any type of wire art such as this decorative birdcage can be hung from the ceiling for your dangly earrings to be displayed on.  Sometimes you can find crafty wire art like this at craft stores, bargain stores, or the home decor section of a departments store. Small wire baskets and wire pencil holders could make another nice alternative.  Hang the wire in a corner of a room and be sure to hang it low enough so that you can reach it and high enough that it is out of the way so you don't bump into it.  I hung this wire art in an empty corner of my bathroom, which created a nice focal point.  If you notice, I was also able to add my feathered hair clips to the wire.  I don't wear them enough, but at least I can appreciate them by keeping them on display.