14 days of love: project recap {+giveaway}

this giveaway is now closed, thanks for participating!

Its time for our 14 Days of Love Project {a joint venture with Dana from Wonder Forest & myself} to come to an end, with just enough time for you to create some fun stuff from the tutorials we provided here and here for Valentines.

Today instead of showing you another project we want to offer up a thank you for all of the sweet comments and encouragement during this project.  A lot of you pinned these projects on Pinterest and gave us some new visitors {thank you!!} and we hope that you found them useful and fun.

Today you get a chance to win something from each of our shops:

Love.Giant Wool Felt Headband {winner chooses color & band type - metal or elastic}

Hedgehog Brooch Pin {check out adorable Illy rocking a Fox Brooch!}

and from our new shop that launches on Feb. 14th..

www.fawnandflora.com

To qualify for this giveaway please go and follow our new shop {shameless plug, we know!}

Fawn and Flora

Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest

 -You get one entry for each of the Fawn & Flora links that you follow so leave seperate comments,

and head over to Wonder Forest because you get 3 entries for telling her you did it too!

(6 entry chances in total, get it?)

 -For two more entries go like our facebook pages here & here!

(if you already follow either just leave a comment saying so for your entry)

 -And for a bonus entry link up a Valentine Inspired Craft from your own blog.. or if you tried any of our projects link them up below (on mine or Dana's page, but you only need to link up once) and leave another comment telling us you did so.

So we are giving you 9 chances to win, you must be a public follower of BOTH of our blogs to qualify and this giveaway is open til 11:59pm Sunday.  

I'm totally looking forward to seeing the link up's so don't be shy!

xoxo, heather

14 days of love: image crush

It is day 12 of my 14 Days of Love project with Dana from Wonder Forest, you can catch up on all of the previous projects here and here.  Today I'm keeping it super simple and sharing some computer love with you.  These images I created below are all able to be saved as desk top backgrounds or printed for however you choose (give as a card, place in a picture frame, stick on your fridge..etc.)

To use any of them click on the image you like, which should take you to photobucket, then click on the image again for a larger size. However your settings on your computer allow to make a background or save an image.. do that! (mine is all a right-click feature)

14 days of love: flower topiary

Whoa.. is it that time already? I feel like I just made something yesterday.  We are seriously kicking ass at these tutorials (not gonna lie!) today is day 10 of our 14 days of love project.  Dana from Wonder Forest and myself have been all kinds of crafty lately as you can see from here and here.   Today I'm showing you a little home project that can for sure be used any time of year.  I originally created this project 3 years ago for my wedding, flowers were outrageous so I made my own centerpeices and I thought I would show you how to make a simple flower topiary or flower ball to place anywhere.. (table, shelf, mantel)..

Supplies needed for this project:

glue gun

styrofoam ball - i used a 6" 

artificial flowers 

(i purchased mine in stems with 5-6 flowers from dollar tree)

and if you choose to use a base, a milk glass vase or a candle stick holder work great!

If you dont have milk glass, but love the look check out this tutorial on how to make your own.

I'm showing you the steps after I've already done a few flowers, but it is super simple.  Take all the flower heads off the stem, if you can get them off with their little head still attached to the bottom that will make things so much easier for you.  Start gluing the bottom of the flower to the ball and keep them sort of close together.

Um... please excuse the funky-ness of my glue gun.. it obviously gets used a lot!

Your topiary should start taking shape and look all kinds of cute at this point.  Keep this up except don't do the entire ball, leave out a spot at the bottom to have either a space to lay flat if you don't want to create a base or to lay on a base.

At this point you will decide where you want the flower topiary to sit, if you choose a stand for it you can either glue it together for durability or you can carefully decorate with it sitting on top so that your options can be open to change when you want a new look.  Below I've shown what it looks like on two different stands, but I've also had these sitting alone on shelves and my mantel.  Even you wanted you could even purchase the tiny styro balls and make a little basket of flowers..ohhhh the options are endless, so have fun!

14 days of love: lip balm

Thanks for joining me for Day 8 of the 14 Days of Love project!  If you have been following along you know that Dana from Wonder Forest and myself teamed up to shared 7 projects each (over the course of 2 weeks) with a sort of 'love' theme to them.  What's great is that practically all of the projects we have shared, which you can view here and here, can be used for anytime of year!

Today I'm sharing a little 2 ingredient beauty recipe for you that is so insanely easy, honestly the worst part about this project is the clean up.. like I'm talking greasy ass clean up so either use disposable supplies or get ready for some dish washing fun.. I originally found this recipe here.

*UPDATE* 03/22/2012

This tutorial is the most popular post on my blog with thousands of page views and pins from Pinterest (thanks so much!). I  do however want to re-iterate that I found it online and just decided to post a tutorial based on my experience doing it and was originally sharing this for a DIY series we had going on here in Jan/Feb. I would also like to mention that you can substitute the vaseline, so please don't leave negative comments with your opinions about vaseline and/or artificial sweetener, this is simply a tutorial to show you what you can make with these products. If you dont like the products used either find a more favored alternative for your lifestyle or don't make the product.. super simple =) 

SUPPLIES

Vaseline or a petroleum free alternative 

(if you want something more natural)

kool-aid or crystal light

microwave safe bowl

spatula (spoon)

lip gloss containers

(I purchased 4 for $1 at michaels)

First up.. because the Kool-Aid is what supplies the color to your lip balm I would suggest you purchase a flavor that comes out red.  I mixed cherry and tropical punch together.  I have also done this recipe with Crystal light which tastes much better, but sometimes the crystals don't dissolve as well as the Kool-Aid ones do so it can be tricky.

Gather your supplies and in a microwave safe bowl (I ended up using a mixing cup) put a glob <--- that's a proper measurement right.. ok about a cup into the bowl and heat on high for about a minute. Stir. Do again. This is the repetitive part, I usually browse pinterest on my phone while standing next to the microwave.. or sometimes I eat raw cookie dough from the fridge.. whatever works for you!  Keep repeating this step and make sure to stir, stir and stir some more in between each heating. If you plan on making a lot of these I would suggest doing it in batches as it will be easier to melt down.  **please do in small increments to assure that you do not blow your microwave, also if you have access to double boiler that works great too!

Take your bowl of liquid greasiness =) and let cool for just a few seconds, stir in the kool-aid a little at a time and make sure it starts to dissolve (keep stiring!)  The more you add the darker it gets so this is up to you and what you want your lip gloss to look like, I used two whole packets for this pretty color.

Now if you use Crystal Light the flavor is so much better, since the Kool-Aid is bitter I simply pour in a couple packets of stevia just for a little sweet on my lips.  Oh and it's zero calorie in case you ingest the stuff!

If your vaseline looks like it's getting too cool or solid again, put in the microwave for another 30 seconds, stir again and then get ready to pour into your containers. You can use plastic containers like this, or even the cute little tin balm containers. Most of which you can find at crafts supply stores.

Let cool before using or giving as gifts, and for something extra fancy use a custom sticker or even a sharpie to write on the lid.  Have fun, kisses!

*please monitor this project if doing with children or clumsy friends as the vaseline gets hot, and the Kool-Aid stains, as always safety first people... safety first!!!*

*i would use crystal light or for sure add sweetner to the mix, or it will be very sour!*

*if cyrstals are not fully dissovled you will have grainy lipbalm so stir lots!!*

14 days of love: fabric cans

Thanks for joining me for another project in our 14 Days of Love series that I'm participating in with Dana from Wonder Forest.  We decided to take the weekend off, so today I'm back with another simple DIY.  If you are new here or just want to catch up on our previous projects check them out here & here .

Today is day six of our series and I don't know if you have noticed my obsession for Mod Podge, but as I was preparing this post I wondered to myself if I have a problem?  I love that stuff! I made these almost 2 years ago, but with paper for a bridal shower I helped decorate and I still have some of them, they last and they stay cute!  So I know the fabric will hold up even better.

Gather your supplies, take one of your fabrics and lay flat with the right side down.

Lay your can on top of the fabric with the end of your can meeting the end of your fabric.

Roll your can with the fabric to mark where you will need to cut, 

to be safe you can add a little extra to that measurement. Then cut.

Do this for as many tin cans as you are decorating, then set the fabric aside.

Apply a thin layer of Mod Podge to your can.

Do each can one at a time so the Mod Podge doesn't dry to quickly.

Wrap your cut piece of fabric around the can and smooth out any bubbles or wrinkles.

Apply another thin layer of Mod Podge over the fabric.  

Set aside and do the same to the other can(s) if you are doing more then one.

Allow them to dry.

When done you can decorate more with ribbon or twine...

I used a skinny braided rope to tie around them then filled em up 

with some pretty dried flowers and a candle <-- don't worry no fires here!

I think Dana's fabric flower bouquet from day one would be perfect in these.

This project is easy to do (takes about 10 minutes, without dry time).

Start saving those cans and have fun creating ♥  

14 days of love: love banner

If you are just stopping by or want to catch up on the 14 Days of Love Project that I'm participating in with Dana from Wonder Forest then you can view our previous projects here and here.  Today I'm sharing with you another easy & affordable tutorial, this project only cost me $2 for the poster board and stencil as the other supplies were items I had on hand.

Supplies Used: $1 Love banner (turned into a stencil), posterboard, scissors, pencil, 

glitter {via fawnandflora}, spray adhesive, clear sealer, wax paper, hole punch and string.

Optional Materials: any glitter color of your choice, other types of adhesives, any stencil of your choice

The banner (which included hearts) I found at Dollar Tree was cute, but just wasn't what I was looking for. I decided to turn it into a stencil, placed it on the poster board and cut it out. (i used a pencil but for photo purposes traced over it again in sharpie).  You could very well just spray and add glitter to this stencil, but I wanted a lighter color then the red so I made a new stencil.

Next up I laid my wax paper over the left over poster board and I lightly sprayed adhesive in sections then coated with glitter.  I wanted an ombre look so I layered the dark into the light. Let it set for just a sec, then pick up your piece and lighting tap against your work surface to get off any access glitter before you move on to the next part.

I then picked up the newly sparkled love letters and moved the wax paper out of the way to have an additional clean surface to work on, then sprayed a thin layer of clear sealer to keep in all those glitter pieces safe! The layer was thin enough that it didnt need much to dry.

You can call it good and place the letters somewhere, they would look cute in a frame or even sitting on a mantel.. I decided to punch holes in the corners, thread some string through it and make it a cute banner!

A quick, easy and affordable craft that is perfect to do my yourself, with friends or even kids!

And think of all the different types of projects you could do instead of using a 'love' sign.. 

Have Fun! xoxo