Fabric Paper Glue v.2012.4

Featuring florals, largely because this time of year has me yearning for some spring weather and blooming flowers.

Fabric:  Man, I love the fabric on these dining chairs.  There is just so much about this room that shouldn't work that just utterly does.  I'm sort of obsessed with the softness and femininity of the upholstered chairs with the very raw dining table and industrial steel pendants.  And in a white room, those chairs really shine.
(Pinterest via House of Turquoise via Rue: Issue 2)

Paper:  These simple, bright botanical prints are so fresh and effortless.  The beauty of this art display is that anyone can do it and basically for free.  There are a lot of great free botanical illustration sources around the internet -- including The Botanical Magazine that I used for my bedside artwork.  Early this week, I discovered the treasure trove that is the New York Public Library Digital Gallery, which provides access to over 700,000 digital images from their collection.  So much amazing stuff there!  Anyway, just print your favorite images off on some card stock and slap those babies on your wall.  Done and done.
(Pinterest via Desire to Inspire via PhotographerJames Braund)

Glue:  This little sewing corner is adorable, no?  And the real star here are those cute little decoupaged cabinets.  A simple cabinet + fun floral paper + glue.  So cute. 
(Pinterest via Apartment Therapy via Thompson Family Life)

find me elsewhere

Try This: Dipped Dot Mugs Tutorial

In keeping with my "Twelve in 2012," I'm back with another tutorial.  This and my last tutorial have used some random stuff that I'd been picking up over the years with nebulous projects in mind.  In fact, the mugs used in this tutorial I mentioned on the blog nearly two years ago when I'd picked them up with this very project in mind.  So, um, yeah, a long build-up for what is a super easy project. 

I call them "dipped dot" because (brace yourself for how clever this is) they're the dipped effect that we all know and love on the DIY circuit but...with dots (gasp).  Also, it sort of makes you crave Dippin' Dots, no?

Materials: 2 - white mugs (picked up from the thrift store), porcelain paint, applicator bottle with metal tip, painters tape (and an xacto knife if you're messy)

Directions:  Tape off a "dip line" on the mug, which is where you want your dots to stop, and put a bit of the paint into your applicator bottle.  Be sure to press your tape down.

Now, I know this next step may be a surprise, but using your applicator bottle of paint, you put little dots all in the area below the tape.  It's okay if your dots run into each other a bit.  It's sort of adorable. 

While the paint is still a little tacky (think like 5-10 minutes after you're done), take the tape off.  This will leave little half dots on the border, which helps achieve the dipped look.  If you wait too long, it'll take the dots on the border right off.  The great thing about this paint is that if you mess up (see those completely unadorable blobs there?), you can scrape them right off with an xacto knife.

Now, you let it cure for a day and bake it according to the directions on the paint bottle.  You can legit use these mugs.  Since I bought them, I'd started using them to store some craft supplies, so that's what they'll go right on doing...but they'll be doing it way more fabulously now.  Sort of embarrassingly easy, no?

find me elsewhere

Baby Quilts Galore

A few baby quilts from the last six months or so that I never shared...

Baby Edwards

Baby Crews

Baby Brown



Fabric Paper Glue v2012.3

The theme of this series in absolutely no way foreshadows anything in my near future.  Now that that's out of the way, I can declare my love of children's decor unfettered by assumption.

Fabric:  This little room is about the most adorable thing that I've ever seen.  A demure white with super bright accents.  And those fabric flags?  Well, I'm a sucker for those.

(Pinterest via The Boo and the Boy via Skona Hem)

Paper:  Wallpaper seems so sophisticated for a nursery, no?  But this works so well.  It's childish and fun, but feminine and mature at the same time.  I'm usually all about some gender-neutrality on this kind of thing, but I can't get over the bold patterns and bright colors.

(Pinterest via Spearmint Baby via Natalie Clayman)

Blue:  The fun and lightness of this room with such a dark, heavy color seems inconcievable, but I love this nursery.  And I really think it would age well with the child. 

(Pinterest via ohdeedoh)

Try This: Copper Skewb Napkin Rings Tutorial

Introducing another new series here on Fabric Paper Glue called "Try This."  It's a pretty simple concept, some might even call it a tutorial or DIY series because, well, that's what it is.  Anyway, why don't you give this a try:

Copper Skewb* Napkin Rings

*Michael suggested this name.  I humored him.
Skewed cubes = skew + cube = skewb.

Materials:  4 - wooden napkin rings, 12 - 1" wooden cubes, glossy white paint, metallic copper paint, craft paint brush(es), gold or copper bead wire, electric drill, tiny drill bit (~1/16")

First off, let's all brace ourselves for how cheap this project is.  Braced?  Alright.  $2!  (assuming you have some basic supplies already on hand) 

Directions: Using just about the tiniest drill bit you can find (I used 1/16"), drill a couple of holes through your rings and a couple of holes all the way through two adjacent sides of each cube.

Now, you get to paintin'.  Give each ring and each cube a few coats of the white and copper paint, respectively.

Let everything dry. I'm uber impatient, but you gotta do this or you'll just muck everything up. I gave mine a little less than a day to dry.

To make each ring, start with three cubes and about a foot of bead wire.

Thread the wire through all three cubes.

Gather the cubes up tightly and give the wire a twist or two.

Thread each wire end through the holes in your napking ring.

Bend the wire ends in opposite directions.

Wrap each wire end around the ring and between the cubes.

Inside the ring, twist the wire ends around on themselves a few times and clip off the ends.

That's it, my friends! Now put 'em around some fun napkins, place it atop some layered plates, invite all your sophisticated friends over for an uber-trendy dinner party, impress them with your crafting skills, and dazzle them with your use of the word "skewb."