Personalized Initial Letter Art on www.orsoshesays.com. A fun project to do with (or without!) the kids. #initialart #letterart #lettering #homedecor #DIY #crafts
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Personalized Initial Letter Art (she: Darleen)

ByDarleen

I love anything with a personalized touch, and you can see that in many of the jewelry pieces I design. We recently moved, and I have slowly been decorating my youngest daughter’s bedroom–making the transition from crib to bed. I have wanted to add a little something to personalize her room. Usually for wall decor in my other children’s bedrooms, I have displayed a piece of their artwork in their room. So, since my youngest daughter is at that toddler’s age and she loves to make “messy” artwork, I thought it would be a fun project to create an abstract piece together using a large canvas initial letter.
This is just your basic painting project–paint brush, acrylic paint and canvas painting board. But the one who is making the personalized initial letter art is your child.

Free, Customizable Spring Printable (she: Anne)
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Free, Customizable Spring Printable (she: Anne)

ByAnne

It is hard to believe, especially with the snow still falling, blowing, drifting, and staying in WNY, that Spring is actually here. But it is and regardless of what is out my window, I am seeing bright and cheery days ahead. I just can’t wait to get out and start my spring planting, to see the roses start to bud, and to be able to get out of the house without layers on. Inspired by the coming Spring weather (it IS coming, right?), I decided to switch out some of my usual wall art up with something a little more fitting given my anticipation.
I made these fun prints using the Janda Flower Doodles Font. For a little bit of experimentation, I printed one on kraft card stock, one on plain white card stock, and one on vellum. Then I colored each with a different medium. I admit, sometimes I am not quite sure what I want until I try some things out.

easiest way to display photos
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The Easiest Way to Display Photos Anywhere (she: Amy)

ByAmy Lee

Hello again! It’s Amy from The Connection We Share. Thanks for letting me join you for another month on OSSS.

Like many of you, I have thousands of photos sitting on my phone and my computer.

I’m a firm believer we need to surround ourselves with photos of the people we love.

In our home, we have large collections of photos of our family together and I also make photo books with pictures of the kids. (You could see my Blurb photo books examples here). It warms my heart to see happy pictures of my kids and helps me remember what is most important =)

Being a busy mother, it takes a lot of time and energy to put together a collection of photos to display in my home. From deciding which photos to print and in what size, to framing and hanging, the whole process takes me a good week! Yes, this can be a daunting endeavor even just thinking about it and I do this for a living as a professional photographer!

dresser mirror
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Dresser Mirror Tutorial ~ So Simple! (she: Jeanie)

Byjeanie

I recently painted a chest of drawers that is in my bedroom. You can read about that Ikea Hack on my blog. Anyway, I was thrilled with how it turned out but it was missing something: a mirror above it. Through a series of craft fails and happy accidents, I ended making the mirror using a cheap plastic tray that I keep in my craft closet as a template for large circles. The round mirror I bought months ago in hopes of jumping on the starburst mirror bandwagon, but I couldn’t come up with an original idea! I’ve had the glass beads forever.

The mirror was incredibly easy to make. I just put it all together with E6000 glue and Glu6 Original and let it cure overnight before propping it up in the stand.

personalized bucket
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DIY Spray Painted Flower Pail (she: Carmella)

ByCarmella

Before I share my very first craft with you {gulp} I wanted to let you know a little about me. I am a southern girl, born and raised in Alabama. I spent some time traveling this great country of ours but finally settled again just outside of Nashville. I met the man I would later call my husband just two weeks after I moved here and the rest, as they say, is history. Fast forward many years later and I am now a momma to three beautiful kiddos that keep me very, very busy. Two and a half years ago… somewhere between the diaper changes and play-dates… I began to feel like I was starting to lose myself a little. What I needed was a creative outlet… and from that thought, the Creative Carmella Blog was born. Also known as my “happy place”, the Creative Carmella blog is my little corner of this blogging world where I share stories about our life, DIY crafts, and all things creative. Finding my creativity again also opened the door to jewelry design too, you can see the designs that I have for sale now HERE in my online shop.

Now, on with the craft!

Today I am sharing with you how to pretty up a tired metal bucket.. with my favorite paint, spray paint!

Ruler Frame Chalkboard Sign Tutorial by The Thinking Closet
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Vintage Ruler Frame Chalkboard Sign Tutorial (she: Lauren)

ByLauren

So, when Mariel told me that the blog hop theme for this month was chalkboard and asked if I wanted to tackle it, I jumped at the chance! I mean, chalkboard and I go together like Jackson Pollock and splatter paint, like Martha Stewart and apple pie, like Marilyn Monroe and subway grates. I’m sort of a chalkboard fanatic. And I had just the idea of what to create!

Here’s the tutorial, so you can play along at home! And I’m going to be sure to tell you what not to do…because this project definitely almost became a craft fail! *Click ‘Full Article’ to read more, discover 9 other fabulous chalkboard craft ideas, and enter this week’s ‘Your Great Idea’ link party!

Faux Sea Glass Vase Tutorial (she: Allison)
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Faux Sea Glass Vase Tutorial (she: Allison)

ByAllison

I’d never heard of sea glass until I was an adult (perhaps that is due to living in landlocked Oklahoma?) We went to beaches very rarely when I was a kid, and even now I’ve never found sea glass when scanning the beaches in the Gulf of Mexico. But I did buy some at a craft store once and it was so much prettier in real life than it was in the pictures I’d seen online. Once I’d actually handled the stuff I kind of became obsessed. It’s so pretty and such an amazing little thing that the sea kicks out.

I decided that I wanted to make a faux sea glass vase to hold daisies and other pretty things. At the craft store I spied these gigantic mason jars. I’m talking bigger than my hand and as tall as a can of potato chips – to say I was a weensy bit obsessed by the large-ness of my new mason jar is a bit of an understatement! I decided to try and make the mason jar my faux sea glass vase.

Gold Animal Place-Card Holders by The Thinking Closet
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Animal Place-Card Holders (she: Lauren)

ByLauren

Growing up, when my parents hosted company, it was always my job to create place-cards for the dinner table. My favorite set were made using soft clam shells that we spray-painted gold and wrote on with paint-markers. However, in the four years since I’ve gotten hitched and moved out of my parents’ home, I’ve grown lazy on the job. Our household has been painfully lacking in the place-card department…until now, that is!

My inspiration came from the variety of projects I’ve seen out there in blogland involving plastic animals from the Dollar Store covered in spray paint. Do you know the ones? I’ve seen these animals become bookends, wall art, jar tops, even magnets. One day, it just struck me that some gold spray painted plastic animals would be the perfect bearers of place-cards.

Watercolor Silhouettes ~ Children’s Artwork Turned Home Decor! (she: Amy)
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Watercolor Silhouettes ~ Children’s Artwork Turned Home Decor! (she: Amy)

ByMariel

Hello!  I’m Amy the blogger ‘wearing the heels’ at While Wearing Heels.  I’m a stay at home mom to a sweet and sassy 4 year old little girl, who is honestly the one ‘wearing the {dress up} heels’, while I chase after her.  I’m an avid DIYer that dabbles in home improvement projects, crafts, self…

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DIY Glitter Animals ~ Easy & Cute Decorative Piece! (she: Natalie)

ByMariel

First things first, glitter is awesome. It can take anything from drab to fab, and it doesn’t have to be a constant shedding nightmare either! Here’s how to add glitter to any favorite thrift store find, and how to keep the mess at bay. I keep seeing these adorable glitter animals and creatures in trendy…

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Pottery Barn Lantern Knock-Off (she: Beth)

ByMariel

Large lanterns are a decorating trend I’m seeing just about everywhere lately. From Pottery Barn and Ballard Designs, to Williams-Sonoma and Restoration Hardware, lanterns are a popular accessory that look great in just about any room.   I especially like the Pottery Barn’s Weston Lantern. They are asking $39.50 – $119 for them, though, which…