Mini Modern Art

I asked the girls if they wanted to make something for Dada for Father’s Day. They said they waited to draw him a monkey and an astronaut. Behold…


What, you don’t see it? Maybe if you look at it this way…



I had two pieces of wood that I picked up at the thrift store. I cut two pieces of white fabric just slightly bigger than the wood, squirted out some fabric paint, and let them have at it.


While they painted their “canvases”, I sanded the wood then I painted the sides. I chose a sage green color, as I thought using pink or turquoise would be too Miami Vice-y.


When everything dried, I trimmed off the excess from their canvas and applied a layer of Fabric Mod Podge to the wood and a thin layer to the back of the canvas.



Then when that was dry, I applied a DISChanger to the back of the wood for hanging.


And you’re done. Super easy…I had everything on hand and it took longer to wait for everything to dry than the actual doing. And we have two little pieces of modern art to cherish for always.


That was pretty much the girls’ actual contributions to We Love Dada Week, though they did give their input on our next project. Come on back tomorrow to check it out!

It’s We Love Dada Week!

Who loves Dada?

In honor of Father’s Day, this week is

We Love Dada Week

on The Silly Pearl!

This is just something I decided to do at the last minute, so the projects I’ll be sharing each day starting Tuesday will be super simple and quick. And I figured since Father’s Day is just around the corner, maybe some of you are looking some fast but fun little projects as well.

A little bit about my husband: He’s an IT Guy, loves gadgets and reads blogs about gadgets just as I read blogs about crafting. He loves to cook, grill, read spy novels and watch movies. When he gets the chance, he rides his bike along our local trails to unwind. He loves God, loves his little girls, and for some reason, loves me.

He cut my toenails when I was pregnant, cheered me on as I recovered from their delivery and built up my milk supply, tirelessly washed bottles and pump parts when the girls finally came home from the NICU, and still today puts us first before anything else.

And of course his girls adore him. I could feel resentful when they ask me “Where’s Dada?” before they say good morning to me each and every day, but I don’t. I don’t blame them. I miss him when he goes to work too.

So are you gagging yet from all the mushiness? Okay I’ll stop now. Can’t wait to show you all the little projects I’ve been working on (and the girls too!). First one will be later today! While I can’t afford to buy him the big screen TV he wants, I hope he still likes these little tokens of our love.

Winner of the Clock Pillow!

Thank you so much for entering my Clock Pillow giveaway! I was so excited to read your entry comments about which kiddo in your life would receive the pillow if you won.

I was pleasantly surprised to read that you would use it for your classrooms, daycares and for homeschooling. I’m so happy that you think the clock pillow would be both fun for the kiddos as well as useful for teaching time. Thank you so much for your input…it really made me happy to read it!

I am glad I was picking a winner at random and not based on your comments. I would have had to make a clock pillow for each of you.

Congratulations to

Mommyof2girlz @ A Pocket Full of Buttons! I’ve emailed you!

Thank you again everyone for entering my giveaway! And a million thanks to Sew, Mama, Sew! for hosting Giveaway Day.

Ok gotta go pick up my girls from school now! Coming soon…some fun Father’s Day gift ideas!

Giveaway Day: Clock Pillow

{This giveaway is now closed}

As part of Giveaway Day hosted by Sew, Mama, Sew!,

I’m giving away this Clock Pillow!

I made a pair for my girls over the summer when they were curious about clocks. The hands are moveable…a cuddly way to introduce the concept of telling time. This time I chose some less girly but fun fabrics so this would be a great gift for both boys and girls.

Click here for the tutorial if you’d like to learn how to make one yourself! 

And to welcome Sew, Mama, Sew! readers who are new to my blog, I hired professional staging company for this photo shoot. Please excuse the almost plumber’s behind from one of the crew.

Speaking of which, here’s the back of the pillow.

Staging services and/or goofy spokesmodels not included in giveaway.

 

Ready to win?

Leave a comment for each thing you do below, up to three entries total. First entry is mandatory, second and third are optional. Please leave an email if it is not connected to your profile somehow, as I need to reach you if you win.

1. First entry (mandatory): Just leave a comment. Maybe tell me to which kiddo in your life you’ll be giving this clock pillow.
2. Second entry: Follow The Silly Pearl via Google Friend Connect, RSS Reader or Email subscription
3. Third entry: ‘Like’ The Silly Pearl on Facebook.

Giveaway ends May 25 at 11:59pm Pacific Time and is open to everyone (internationally). I’ll select a winner via random.org. I’ll notify the winner via email. Again, make sure I can find your email somehow or leave it in your comment. The winner has 48 hours to claim the prize by responding to my email with a mailing address, or I will select a new winner.

Be sure to check out the zillions and zillions of other Giveaway Day giveaways. Thanks Sew, Mama, Sew! for hosting the event.

Have fun and hope you win!

Coming Soon: Giveaway Day

I’m participating in Giveaway Day hosted by Sew, Mama, Sew!

Here’s a little hint at what I’m making to giveaway, this Monday May 23:

Any Guesses?

Come back here to see what it is and enter the giveaway on Monday (or maybe Sunday night if I can swing it??)! Then visit the Giveaway Day page for hundreds more goodies (handmade goodies and crafty supplies…wooooo!) on Sew, Mama, Sew! Remember that all giveaways end of May 25 so there’s not too much time to enter. And this will vary by giveaway, but mine in particular will be open worldwide!

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Blog Swap Today with Hani at Craftionary!

What do I love about blogging? Among many things, it’s the friends you meet along the way. I am so thrilled to introduce you to my very first guest poster on The Silly Pearl, Hani from the adorable blog Craftionary! And as this is a blog swap, I have the privilege of sharing a little about myself and my Spring Yarn Embroidery Hoop Wreath tutorial on her blog today as well.

 

Here she is…the darling Hani!

 

****************************************************

 

Hello! lovely readers at The Silly Pearl

I am Hani from Craftionary

I blog about crafts, decorating and organizing home. But of all the things I do. I love to make new friends the most.

At craftionary, it's all about tutorials. I post a new craft project every week and feature other bloggers. You can also find pre-made blog designs, and have your blog designed according to your preferences too. I hope you all will come by to say Hi! and like my crafts. :)

I am so excited to share the calla lilies I made using nylon net

Calla Lilies are famous for wedding decoration specially due to their white color and elegance.

Here's how I made it.

There are two parts of a calla lily, the yellow spadix and the spathe (the petal). To make the spadix, take a piece of tissue paper, fold it twice and cut it as shown below

• Roll a piece of tissue paper, fold and cut it in the shape shown above. This will help you roll in on the stem wire without shaping it as you go.

• Now dab some glue at the starting and start rolling it over the stem wire. Close and secure at the end with some more glue. Let it dry. Then wrap 2-3 layers of nylon over the tissue paper and your spadix is complete.

• To make the spathe, tie the rings sizes (6) and (8) together using a piece of wire (You can use anything round with the indicated diameters as substitute). Now wind the wire around the two rings to make a big oval-shaped ring, twist and cut with the plier. Wrap nylon wire over it, be careful not to ruin the shape of the wire. 

Follow the instructions for making petals and assembling the flower for

starters in the post Basic Nylon Flower

and complete details about material and where to buy Nylon Material

You will also like the wedding lilies bunch that I made using the nylon net with a smaller petal method

See how to make it here

A few of my recent projects are:

Dry erase list frame

Handmade Sunflowers

Outdoor Butterflies Frame

Simple and rare envelope

Multi Task Message Board

Thanks Steph. I enjoyed being here

 I also do giveaways to encourage small businesses every week. I hope you will stop by to say Hello! at Craftionary

Love

Hani

 

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Told you you’d love Hani. Make sure you head on over to Craftionary soon to check out her unique and lovely crafts. If you had to twist my arm to choose, my favorite is her lovely Outdoor Butterflies Frame Art. Which is your fave?

 

Thank you Hani for visiting today and thanks for having me on your blog as well!

 

 

Craft Tutorial: Vintage Wooden Spool Cork Board

One day at the thrift store, I found this yellow sewing box. It was the same as one my mom used to have but hers was a little bit bigger. I would have bought it for the box alone.

But when I opened it, I found such a treasure…spools and spools of thread from long ago.

I recognized some from my mom’s stash…these styrofoam spools from Thrifty’s are from the late 70s/early 80s, when we first moved to the suburbs. Thrifty’s also had the most awesome ice cream…the scoop was shaped like a cylinder. Mmmm loved their orange sherbet on a hot day.

So all these wooden ones must be from before then. Many of the spools were labeled “Boil Fast”, so I looked that up and found this vintage thread chart and photo gallery. Several of my spools are pictured among those photos, and it looks like they date back to the 50s to the 70s.

I had this cork board with a ledge for a pencil, also a thrifted item. I thought I’d make a message board or inspiration board or whatever board for my craft corner.

The ledge and the corkboard are all held in with screws so things were easy for even me to remove.

I covered the ledge with jute twine. First I covered the sides with some short strands. I used hot glue on the edges to keep them in place.

Then I wound the twine around the short way, covering the short strands and leaving the sides finished.

All covered up.

For the frame, I wanted to keep the background white so that the wood spools and the thread colors would stand out, but I also wanted to add some texture and interest, particularly on the sides of the frame. So I wound the twine around the frame going one direction and criss-crossing over in the other direction. I used dabs of hot glue in the back to keep the twine in place.

Screw the corkboard and the ledge back in. As you do this, think about the time you told your mean manager that “You have a screw loose.” When he said “WHAT?” to you, you picked up the screw that fell out of his chair and handed it to him, saying “A screw fell out of your chair.” Giggle to yourself as you twist all 10 screws back into the frame. Teehee. Heeheeheeheeheehee. He has a screw loose! Teeheehee.

Now it’s ready for the spools! I sorted my spools into small/medium/large. There were mostly large, some small and only a few mediums.

I actually wanted to turn all the labels out, but the large spools were sticking out too much for this project. So I turned out a few of the small ones, and left space in between the large ones so you could still see them if you looked closely.

I hot glued the spools into place.

There were two small spools that were almost empty. I removed the thread and glued thumbtacks onto them.

And I couldn’t resist doing the same with some vintage buttons.

All done. It looks so fun as an inspiration board in my craft corner.

I purposely put the two largest spools at the bottom to hold a pencil and a pair of little scissors.

 

But…check out how it looks with this art work from Mandipity! So this is how I left it, and I hope to hang it up on the wall soon. Looks like I’ll have to get another corkboard for my inspiration stuff.

This was such a fun project. I had never seen actual wooden spools before and I can’t believe I was so lucky to find a whole box full! They are so lovely to look at and now I’m glad I can see them whenever I like. And it was so cool to learn a little bit about sewing history.

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