Country Style Luau Mason Jars

Summer is here and it's time for backyard barbecues and parties!  This month's Designer Craft Connection theme is Party Decor - so it's a perfect time for me to share these Country Style Luau Mason Jars I'm using to hold silverware and straws for our country style backyard luau!   Be sure to follow the DCC clickable link in the right column of my blog to see what other creative Party Decor projects our amazing designers are sharing to inspire you!

Materials:

Ball Mason Jars - Heritage Green pint size (you could use regular - but I love the combination of the green glass with the red & yellow - seemed more tropical to me!)
BurlapFabric.com Red Burlap
Westcott® Titanium Bonded® Non-Stick Scissors, Self-Healing Cutting Mat
DecoArt® Americana® acrylic paint - White Wash
Small paintbrush
Yellow ribbons (I used 3 different styles)
Wood Attitude® printable craft film
Conputer & printer
Wooden tags, string
AdTech Glue Gun & Glue Sticks
Elmer's Craft Bond Glue stick

Instructions:

Use cutting mat as a guide to measure out 4" x 11" strips of red burlap - cut with scissors.

Use small paintbrush and white acrylic paint to paint hibiscus flowers onto red burlap (I found an image of a hibiscus flower online to use as a guide).  Let dry.

Following manufacturer instructions, type and print Hawaiin words onto sheet of Wood Attitude® printable craft film (I googled Hawaiin words, then printed off words to create a custom message on my tags….. can you figure out what the message says?)

Trim words and mount to small wooden tags using glue stick, add string to tags.

Fray edges of painted red burlap by removing threads about 1/4" in on top and bottom edges.  Wrap around mason jars and adhere with small amount of hot glue.  Add decorative ribbons to top rim of jars, tie on wooden tags.

Be sure to come back on July 13th for 20 more creative projects featuring burlap products in a DCC Blog Hop sponsored by BurlapFabric.com - and enter to win their fabulous prize package valued at $100 that includes a really nice variety of natural and colored burlap yardage, ribbons, embellishments and totes.  They will have several ways to enter including leaving a comment on my blog and following the DCC, BurlapFabric.com, and Craft Foxes on social media!  

Smoothfoam Moss Cube Vase

Make this simple moss covered cube vase with Smoothfoam™ - Find out how on the Smoothfoam blog - http://www.smoothfoam.com/blog/moss-cube-vase/

Faux Succulent Wreath with Smoothfoam™

This week in my Cindi's Simple Solutions article for When Creativity Knocks I created this faux succulent wreath with a Smoothfoam™ base - find the instructions here.

Summer Heat with Connie Crystal

The heat of the summer is in full swing this week on the Connie Crystal - here's a peak at my latest project. Visit the Connie Crystal Sparkle blog for instructions on how to create your own captured flame!

Designer Craft Blog Connection July Hop - Vacation Crafting!

Welcome to the July Designer Craft Connection Blog Hop!  This month’s theme is Vacation Crafting.   While many of us may use vacations as a time to sit back, relax, and actually not craft, for many of us it’s a time to spend MORE of our time crafting.   Whether you are on a trip to the mountains, a lake, the beach, a theme park, or are exploring a new state or country, if you look closely I promise you will begin to notice creative inspiration everywhere.  It’s in the color palettes of the scenic views, the textures and unique architecture of the buildings and clothing of the people around you, the wonderful tiny found elements to incorporate into your projects.   If you are enjoying a vacation in your own home and yard - take the time to notice all the details that make it special to you too, capture them and let them inspire your creativity!

Beach vacations tend to be popular - and who hasn’t come home with a bit of beach sand, and a few (hundred) seashells to help remember the good times along with fun photographs?     These Beach Memory bottles were a project I shared on an early episode of When Creativity Knocks - You can view the full episode here.    I repurposed shampoo bottles from hotel rooms, along with beach sand, tiny shells, assorted embellishments, and a tiny memory message in a bottle to create these pretty little reminders of fun beach vacations.   It’s a craft you can start working on while you are enjoying your vacation and helps you remember the good times in a unique way.   And, they look so pretty on my studio windowsill with the sunlight shining off of them and through the colored bottles.

Be sure to click through the Designer Craft Blog Connection link on the right to see the other creative vacation crafts being shared by this amazing group of talented designers.  There is always, literally, something for almost everyone in these hops and one of the best parts is seeing everyone’s interpretation of the monthly theme. 

Designer Crafts Connection Blog Hop - Summer Picnics

Popsicle-itis - A common ailment in our yard during the summer.

This month’s theme for the Designer Crafts Connection Blog Hop is summer picnics!   When I started thinking about a project to share I decided it would be fun to go back and look through some of my older scrapbook layouts to see if anything summer picnic related caught my eye.   While browsing my books, I was glad to notice that I hadn’t only focused on capturing the summer memories focused on trips to the pool or beach, but also those captured some of  the sweet tasting joys of summer and the unexpected fun activities the boys have enjoyed through the years.  Here is a peak at a few of those to hopefully inspire you to capture a few summer memories that may seem “out of the box” and scrapbook them for your family’s future reminiscing!

For lots more summer picnic inspiration visit the blogs of the participating designers by clicking on the Designer Crafts Blog Connection link in the column to the right! 

Ahhhhh waterlmelon - sweet, juicy summer picnic fun!

Strawberries - more summer yummy fun!

Water Wars!  Squirt guns, water balloons, buckets & hoses - add together with a yard full of mischievous boys and you get one fine (soaking wet!) day!