The Ribbon Tree

 Hi, and welcome back to my little world!

I recently found that little tree in the picture in Walmart (it's an ornament), and something about it I just loved!

I then decided that I needed a bigger one, but without a bigger price!

So, while I was at the store, I went ahead and grabbed this ribbon......

It's just so cuuuute!!!!!!  And, as you can see, it was 25ft. for $2.48...you can't beat that!  It's a beautiful red/white gingham with a "sugary" look to it!  I just loved it!

This is quick and easy guys, so let's just jump in!

Once I had my ribbon, I grabbed a piece of cardstock, rolled it into a cone, taped it in place, and then trimmed the bottom so that it would sit level! 

Next up was to prep the ribbon.

I cut the ribbon into 3" pieces, and then I looped them over onto themselves (you'll wind up with the ends front facing and stacked)...it sounds more complicated than it is!

See ???......

Now, we just glue, glue, glue! 

On the first row, I did put a glittery red ribbon (also from Walmart) around the top edge only because I was afraid that you might be able to see through and I didn't want it raw.  This step turned out to be completely unnecessary so feel free to skip it! 

Let's glue up the layers.....

I didn't take pictures of the other layers, because it's just repetitive gluing the next layer above the one beneath it!  Super easy!

You will see that as I got to the top of the cone....I did!....I ran out of ribbon! hahaha.....25ft went quick!

Because crafting is all about making it up as you go, I grabbed the sparkly red ribbon and finished it up!  

Not tragic, and I actually like it!

Now, we're just gonna embellish!

Ribbons, a bow and a single ornament, all from the Dollar Tree and truthfully, I couldn't love it more!

What do you think ??!!

I love it!

  I hope you guys love it too, and I REALLY hope you'll give it a try!

I'm going to make more of these, I can already feel it !! haha

Thank you again for stopping by to spend some time with me today!

If you have any questions or comments, please free to either leave them below, OR come find me on my 

Facebook page ---->  My Artfelt Moments !

You have once again blessed with your presence!

Please know that I am grateful and YOU are loved!

With my heart,

Dollar Tree Deer Makeover

 

My newest Dollar Tree Makeover!

I saw this deer, and just knew he needed that Mackenzie Childs touch!  I could see on his face that he wanted it !!! hahaha

I gotta tell you guys....the artisans at Mackenzie Childs just inspire me so, so much !!! Their details and caliber of workmanship just astound me!  And, while I may never reach that level, I hope that I at least let them know how grateful I am for their inspiration!  If you guys have never visited their website, do yourself a favor and click here:  Mackenzie Childs !  You won't be sorry !!

So, back to our deer!

I found this guy at my local Dollar Tree, and....I just loved him!

I loved him completely gold, but me being me, I can't leave anything alone ! hahaha....so I broke out my trusty Waverly white chalk paint.

I did no prep work on him.  I liked the texture that the glitter gave him, so I just left it and painted over it!

I knew I wanted him edged in the gold, so I began painting about a 1/4" in from the edge. And, I filled him all in!

Next, I grabbed a sharpie and began drawing lines.  I knew that because he was pretty big, he could handle a bigger "grid", so I used my ruler which is a smidge over an inch wide, and starting in the center, I drew a line down each side of the ruler.  Then, I used each line as a marker for the next one, moving my ruler to draw my vertical lines first and then started back in the center to draw my horizontal lines next. 

I did use a fine line pen to draw the inner line of his ear and tail, and I just drew some stripes in to fill those areas.  I wanted them different from the checks.

Next, was to begin painting my checks.  I used FolkArt black and a 3/4" flat brush from Plaid Online to fill them in.  

Then, using Yellow Ochre, Medium Hauser Green and Black Plum (all from DecoArt Americana), I used one color at a time to make my "streaks" in the blocks.  I also did both white streaks in the black checks and black streaks in the white checks.  That probably sounded confusing and you may need to read it again ! haha

Once everything was dry, it was time to embellish!

Always my favorite part!  I took a piece of tartan plaid ribbon from the Dollar Tree, cut off a section and rounded the bottom edges a bit for his saddle blanket.  Then, using wide gold ribbon (also from Dollar Tree), I cut a piece about 5" long, and twisted it where it would rest on each corner and in the center of the blanket to edge it out.  Then, with a thin gold ribbon also from the Dollar Tree, I put 2 bows.

I hot glued all of them in place and then used bits and bobs from around the studio to give him some greenery at the top and a bell around his neck.

To hang him, I did hot glue a pipe cleaner with a craft stick over it to the back!

And, that's it!  He only took a couple of hours, and I just couldn't love him more!  I hope and pray that I make the artists at MC proud! I wanna be them when I grow up !!! lol

Here's my little guy in the Parlor, and I love him so much, I think he might even need some "friends"!! (*wink wink*)

As always, you have blessed me with your presence today! Thank you for spending a piece of your day with me!

If you have questions/comments about this project or any project you see here, please don't hesitate to message below, or come find me on my Facebook page -----> My Artfelt Moments and message me there !

Don't forget to subscribe here and "like" my Facebook page so that we can make some more fun stuff together in the future!

Until next time, keep sharing your gift with the world!

With my heart,

Stacked Books

 Some cute little mini books given the farmhouse look, complete with my favorite quote from St. Padre Pio!

This quote is one of my favorites because it speaks to my heart!  

This is a reminder that I need constantly and consistently, and so having it "front and center" helps tremendously!

These books, I have had for FORever! I think that years and years ago I got them from Home Interiors or one of those companies.  They were in the deep jewel tones, like burgundy, deep green, and I believe a deep blue.  They were pretty, but I just felt it was time to update them!

Once again, it is time to break out my favorite Waverly Chalk Paint in white. 

I did give the books a very light sanding first, but it still took about 3 coats of the chalk paint!  

These books weren't going down without a fight! lol 

After they were completely dry, I stacked them to see how I wanted them first, and once I decided, I hot glued them together using my trusty Gorilla glue sticks.  Guys! I love these! 

They work like a charm!  And no, they don't pay me to say that!  But, when I find a product I can stand behind, I'm gonna share it ! :) 

Now, it's time to add my favorite quote!! 

Eeek...I'm actually so excited about this part!!! 

Because I didn't trust myself to go straight to ink, 

I did do it in pencil first.

Using my Promarx Ultrafine 0.5 pen from the Dollar Tree 

(don't miss out on these guys, they work really well!)

I inked it in.  I just freehanded the writing, but you could get some mini letters from Dollar Tree or use a stencil, just whatever you want!  Just make it your own and think outside that box! 

Next up, I decided to wrap the ends in jute twine, also from Dollar Tree.  I wrapped the twine about 4 times on each end, and then hot glued the end to the bottom.

At this point, with the writing and twine in place, I had to stare at it for a few minutes!  lol....I knew it needed something.......

I found these crosses at Walmart in the ornament section, and I just loved them!  I also found these wooden beads!

I just strung a few beads on the end of the plain cross, and then tucked the ornament twine under the twine I had already wrapped.

And, really, that's it!

I just love, love, love how they came out!

So, if you aren't a hoarder like me and save things for 30 years, and you don't happen to have a set of these books, don't freak out!

First off, I see these in thrift stores ALL the time.  Like, ALL the time.  Aaaaand, I have seen and done this same project with full size, regular books!  You just do all of these exact same steps!

I hope you guys will give this one a try!

It was quick, easy, and so much fun!

As always, if you have a question or comment, just leave it below, and/or come find me on my 

Facebook page --->  My Art-felt Moments .

Thank you for spending some time with me today, and for gifting me with the blessing of your presence!

If you like this project or any other, please don't forget to subscribe to my blog, and visit me on Facebook to "like" and "share"!

I am grateful, and YOU are loved!

As always, with my heart,