DIY Handmade No Sew Tutu

{We've moved! Visit us at our new and improved blog at: Texas Craft House}

Today's craft was so much fun! I went to my sister in law's baby shower this weekend and she absolutely loved my wooden stackable cross that I made earlier this month. I loved seeing all of her other gifts. Right away I noticed a tutu that was given to her and I quickly investgated. :) I realized it was made out of a simple headband, tulle, and there was absolutely no sewing involved. This shocked me because tutus can be so expensive! Well not anymore! My tutu craft cost LESS than $5.00! It would make the perfect gift for any little girl in your life. :)

To continue reading click here...

Elisabeth's birthday

{We've moved! Visit us at our new and improved blog at: Texas Craft House}

Welcome back to Connoisseur of Creativity. We had such a fun time this weekend celebrating Elisabeth's birthday at Painting With a Twist (paintingwithatwist.com). If you have never been here, please visit their website and find one near you. You can sign up for 2 and 3 hour painting classes or schedule a private painting party! While painting you can enjoy your own wine and snacks. They take the painting step by step and ensure that you leave with a masterpiece. This is the best girls night out! It is so much fun to go!

Below are some pictures chronically our wonderful evening! Elisabeth chose a sandy/seashell painting to go along with her destination beach wedding in Jamaica this summer. I think it turned out so cute!

I hope you enjoyed the pictures as much as we did. Please visit http://www.paintingwithatwist.com/ to find a location near you and to enjoy a night out with wine, painting, friends and family. :)!

Check back for a craft soon!

Cassie :)

DIY Wine or Decorative Bottle Stopper with Drawer Pulls

{We've moved! Visit us at our new and improved blog at: Texas Craft House}

Hope you have had a great week!

I can't wait for this weekend. Saturday is Elisabeth's birthday and we are going to Painting With a Twist for a private painting party. We will post pics in a few days and show you the artwork we made while enjoying a glass of wine. Speaking of wine... today's craft is a bottle stopper that you could use for empty glass bottles or wine bottles.

To continue reading click here...

Bachelorette Party Cookies

{We've moved! Visit us at our new and improved blog at: Texas Craft House}

I hosted a bachelorette party a few months ago and wanted to bring some cute themed treats to the party. I found this idea on Pinterest and knew right away these would be perfect. I began by getting my supplies from Target, I got Market Pantry sugar cookie dough and a whole bunch of different colored Wilton's decorator's icing. I already had a heart shaped cookie cutter and several different kinds of sprinkles so I did not buy those. I followed the directions that were on the package to make cut out sugar cookies and I began cutting. After baking them, I began decorating different styles of bras and underwear. I did learn that the Wilton's decorating icing was better for the outline of the underwear and the Wilton's sparkle gel spread better to put color on the whole cookie. Here are my finished cookies!! Hope you love them!

<3 Elisabeth

**UPDATE** Headed to my friend's bachelorette party tonight and had to make these cookies again!! Don't mind the distracting platter ;)

DIY Headband Holder

{We've moved! Visit us add our new and improved blog at: Texas Craft House}

Today I'm going to share a headband holder that I made for my sister for her birthday. My mom gave me the idea and it was actually pretty easy. First, I asked my sister what kind of color scheme she would like and then I headed to Jo Ann's Fabric Store.
 

To Continue Reading Click Here...

DIY Skeleton Key Wall Decor

{We've moved! Visit us add our new and improved blog at: Texas Craft House}

Below is a fun thrift store craft. When I was out looking for a frame for the DIY coffee table tray craft I walked by this "live" wall plaque. It was $5.00 and immediately I knew what to do with it. :) My mom just purchased a new home and I wanted to make a wall decor with a skeleton key as a house warming gift.

Here are my materials: wall plaque, skeleton key (found in the iron section of Hobby Lobby), I used metallic cooper spray paint (leftover from the coffee table tray craft mentioned above), and a gold metallic paint I got from Home Depot. First I spray painted the plaque. I had to do two separate coats. Remember when you are spray painting to spray in lines, not a continuous motion, to help keep the paint from running.

While the plaque was drying outside I painted the skeleton key the gold metallic. I love this key. :)

Then I used the same gold metallic that I used on the key to paint the middle part of the plaque. When it was all dry I spray painted a very faint coat along the inner corners to give the plaque a hazey-faded look. Some of the spray paint dripped during this so I had to go back and paint over it with gold.

Then my husband helped me drill in the key to connect it to the middle part of the plaque.

And there is the after picture! This was really fun because there wasn't any guidelines to follow... You could use any color spray paint, use other iron work for the middle part, stencil in your name or a date, etc. And to think this started with a $5.00 plaque from my local thrift store. :)

Thanks for stopping by,

Cassie :)

DIY Yarn wrapped bottles with burlap flowers

{We've moved! Visit us add our new and improved blog at: Texas Craft House}

Welcome back,

Ever wonder what to do with all those empty jars? I've got the perfect craft that once again came from pinterest.

Below is a picture of all my materials: hot glue, empty bottles (mine is a spagetti sauce jar, wine bottle and a Starbucks bottle), scissors and yarn. First I used the hot glue and spread it along the bottom rim and placed the yarn over it. I made sure the bottom layer of yarn was secure so when I started to wrap it wouldn't slip off.

Then I started tightly wrapping the yarn around and around. Every so often I would find that I needed some glue to help keep the yarn in place, especially when I reached the top part where the glass slopes into the 'neck.' If you use the hot glue make sure to use the tip of it to try and spread the glue out in a thin layer (not in a single glob) because it dries quick and the yarn shows any 'glue bumps.'

Some of the jars were a little tricky, like the top part of the yellow jar and the green jar below sloped in towards the middle. If your jars are like this just be patient and let your hot glue help you. :)

I finished off my jars with my DIY burlap flowers that were made earlier today. You could use store bought flowers, or maybe some beads to help add that special touch to your jars. You could even use different textured yarn, or yarn that alternates between different colors. These would also be cute with single flowers coming out from the top. I think these are just adorable and add color and textre to any mantel or shelf.

Check back soon for more updates!

Cassie :)

DIY Burlap Flowers with Pearl Beads

{We've moved! Visit us add our new and improved blog at: Texas Craft House}

I hope you are having a great Saturday. I am, especially after making these adorable little burlap flowers. These are even cute with regular fabric. I even thought about next time using old tshirts that my husband and I don't wear anymore.

To continue reading click here...

DIY Wedding Garter

{We've moved! Visit us add our new and improved blog at: Texas Craft House}

Good morning! :)
Below are some pictures of the wedding garter Elisabeth helped me make for my wedding this summer. Some wedding garters can be so expensive when really there are VERY inexpensive to make on your own. The one I made was about $5.00 and I love it so much.

We went to Joann's craft store and in the ribbon aisle, near the fabrics, we found this lace elastic trim/ribbon. I measured it out on my leg and gave myself a little more to work with before going and having it cut (you buy it by the yard). There were several different trims to choose from (colors, types of lace). If you are making a garter make sure to check if it has elastic, some of the white lace had it and others did not. Then we went to the shirt and fabric paint section and found this beautiful little white flower applique. The picture doesn't show it but there is little white and clear beading only the flowers and pedals.

When we got home we threaded the sewing machine with white thread. I just made a few little line stiches to connect the applique to the trim, and I was done. That was it! No prep, no mess, no fuss. It was super easy!

You could also take this same idea and make baby headbands and use pink applique flowers. If you were making a garter like I did you could also use blue thread to add 'something blue' into it. You could change up the flower color, or use fabric flowers.There were a lot of varieties of colors of the trim as well (maybe a 'naughty' one for a bachelorette party?). There is really a lot of different combinations you could make.

Thank you so much for visiting!

Cassie :)

DIY Wedding Invitations

{We've moved! Visit us add our new and improved blog at: Texas Craft House}

Here's another money saving DIY that I did for my wedding! I made my own Wedding Invitations and Save The Dates!! Since we had a destination wedding in Jamaica I decided that having a Passport and Boarding Pass themed invite would be perfect! And I figured out how I could use both options! I decided to do a passport invitation for the wedding in Jamaica and a boarding pass invitation for the At Home Reception.

To Continue Reading Click Here...

DIY Puff Paint on Canvas

{We've moved! Visit us add our new and improved blog at: Texas Craft House}

Happy Sunday! Today I am sharing a craft I did for Elisabeth over 3 years ago. It was one of the first blog posts I did on the old blog (now it's one of the most popular searches on Pinterest for puff paint on canvas!).  Wait until you see how easy it is to add handwriting to a canvas. It's a fun and easy craft and you could really play around with the idea to come up with some fun projects.

To continue reading click here...

DIY Coffee Table Tray

{We've moved! Visit us add our new and improved blog at: Texas Craft House}

Happy Martin Luther King Jr Day! I enjoyed my day off of school (I teach kindergarten) with a fun craft that my husband helped me with. :) Aww!

I found a great craft idea on Pinterest - the pinner used a picture frame and turned it into a decorative serving tray. I knew just the place to find an old frame... the thrift store! I found this one for 4.00!
Then I went to Home Depot and a quick stop to Hobby Lobby to get the rest of my materials. I already had burlap to use to wrap middle part of my frame in. You could use any type of fabric or even scrapbook paper (as the one I saw on Pinterest use). You could even just paint over the picture and maybe stencil some designs if you didn't want to use any fabric or paper. In the picture I forgot to add my hot glue gun that I used to glue the burlap to the back of the frame insert. The frame I bought didn't have glass so I had to purchase that (you really wouldn't HAVE to but if you want to set things on top it would be better protected if you did).
Next, I removed the inner part of the frame (the basket and flower painting) that was really just cardboard and paper. My frame had staples in it that helped keep the cardboard and paper down from behind, so I had to take those out too. Then I took it outside to spray paint it with a cooper metallic color that I thought would compliment the burlap.
While I was waiting for it to dry so I could flip the frame over and paint the other side, I went inside to work on the burlap. I cut the burlap into large rectangles that were about an inch longer than the cardboard on all sides. Then I flipped it over and started gluing the edges to the cardboard (the cardboard I am referring to is what the picture frame had behind the picture of the flowers and baskets).
Then, with the help of my husband I used stencils and black spray paint to stencil our last name and the year we got married. You could stencil designs or quotes instead if you didn't want to use the same idea I did.

After finishing spray painting the frame and the stenciling was dry I dropped the glass into the frame and followed it with the wrapped cardboard fabric. On the two sides I added two drawer handles that I found at Home Depot.

Here is the after picture with some simple decorations and everyday use that the tray may be needed for. Eventually I plan on using a mason jar and filling it with some small fresh flowers from the local grocery store and putting it on here to add some color. All I had tonight were some candles and wine glasses that we were using during our crafting. :)

I hope you enjoyed this craft. It did take quite a bit of time ... we had to wait for the spray paint to dry, and on top of that it was very windy which made it hard to stencil and spray paint outside. I would have done it inside if we had a garage or craft room but we live in a one bedroom apartment. Everything else was really simple, easy, and fun to do. I think this turned out really cute and has a but of rustic charm that made my husband appreciate it also. :)

I hope you enjoyed your holiday. Check back for more creative finds soon!
Cassie :)

DIY Monogram Yarn Wreath

{We've moved! Visit us add our new and improved blog at: Texas Craft House}



I found this idea on Pinterest. :) This was fun, easy, and once again inexpensive. I saw other 'pins' using this same technique on regular circle wreaths that looked really cute. You could play around with SO many different colors of yarn, the possibilities are endless.

To continue reading click here...

DIY Stackable Wooden Crosses

{We've moved! Visit us add our new and improved blog at: Texas Craft House}

Hello,

My sister in law is having her baby shower at the end of this month and I was really wanting to make something crafty for her baby girl's room. I was walking around Hobby Lobby looking for inspiration when I saw one of their little fliers with a recommended craft using stackable wooden crosses. I grabbed the flier and got everything I needed to get started. :)

To continue reading click here...

Monogram wine cork corkboard

{We've moved! Visit us add our new and improved blog at: Texas Craft House}

I made this craft for my mom and found the idea on pinterest. I collected wine corks and got several people to collect corks for me as well. All I had to buy was the frame and the gorilla glue. The 'S' was made by the corks standing up and the rest of the board had the corks lying on their side. I started by cutting several corks in half so that I would have an even amount of red tips and plain tips to make an 'S' that would stand out. I created an 'S' in the shape I loved and immediately glued that down in the center of the frame.

Once I glued the 'S' down I began fitting in the corks on their sides like a puzzle. I glued one row at a time and as soon as I pieced together the row I glued.

I realized that even though I had an overwhelming amount of corks I needed even more to finish the project. Make sure you have at least 130 corks just in case you make a mistake.

I used the monogram for my mom's first name, but you can use your last name too!!

<3 Elisabeth