GALAXY HIPPO

This is more recent than many of the items I've posted recently and will share in the next few weeks, but I just couldn't wait to share it any longer!

HGTV Handmade released this video by Meg Allan Cole several years ago, and I admired it because it used a canvas in a way I hadn't ever considered. The clean black and white look is fine if that's your style, but I like a little more color. I thought, "It kind of looks like a constellation; why not make it on a galaxy?" Of course, I'd never painted a galaxy before, so I did lots of research on that, and here's my first ever galaxy painting:

It was so much fun to paint, and it's really not very hard. It takes patience and a lot of layers, but it's a very forgiving craft.

Next, I spent a few hours adapting a picture of a hippo to make it 'geometric', and here's the final result:

I LOVE IT SO MUCH!

This goes straight into my Top 10 favorite things I've ever made.

Love and Hippos,

Leah Joy

Christmas 2019 Round-Up

Okay, final Christmas post for a while. Here's a round-up of some of the other gifts I made for Christmas 2019.

I made a few sets of leaf potholders. I love this craft - it's fun and they turn out so cool looking!

I also did some knitting and crocheting for my best friends:

We purchased an used children's tool bench for the kids for Christmas, so I sewed them each a tool belt to wear. 

Now on to something less Christmassy. :)

Love and Velcro,

Leah Joy

Christmas 2019: Jewelry Boxes

Every Christmas, I make a gift for my aunties (and some of the other women in my life). This year, I decided to make little jewelry boxes from bangle bracelets. (Idea here.)

Because I wanted to make so many of these, I actually purchased the bracelets in bulk from Etsy. I stained some of them, using a bit of leftover stain my dad was throwing away because it was old and chunky. The others I painted with gold acrylic paint. I think the stained ones look prettier. 

I made lids from Sculpey clay, and I had a blast designing all the different lids. These ones were my favorites:

The handles are just little balls of leftover clay. I left some of them unpainted, but the ones that were a real mish-mash of colors, I painted gold.

I also made discs of clay for the bottoms of the containers. Everything got sealed with Sculpey sealer. (I actually tried using a clear gloss spray sealant, but it started eating away at the clay. Yikes!)

Finally, I cut two discs of green felt for each box, one as a no-scratch pad on the bottom, and one inside the box to make it soft.

I'm really pleased with how these turned out. They took a lot of work, but were a fairly inexpensive craft overall.

Love and Glaze,

Leah Joy

Christmas 2019 Ornaments

Hey, look - I've finally caught up to the most recent Christmas!

I made both of our kids' ornaments this year. Jo is still a Daniel Tiger fan, so this year I improved on last year's design. I ordered a photo print (just from Meijer photo) of Daniel Tiger, then cut it out in a circle. I made a disc of Sculpey clay just slightly larger, poked a hole for a hanger, then baked it. I secured everything together with Mod Podge. Much cuter (and less creepy) than last year's!

Micah loves cars and trucks ("vroom vroom!"), so I embroidered him this adorable felt car.

For our en masse ornament this year, I got Jo involved. I put together Christmas tree bases with yarn, painted popsicle sticks, and wooden stars. Then, over several weeks, we would sit down with a bunch of fun craft supplies and she'd decorate the trees. I helped with some of the gluing, but everything got put right where she wanted. (With the exception of the one on the top right below - that one was my idea.)

Why, yes, my four-year-old does know the correct order for the rainbow - and will correct you if you say it wrong. :)

Love and Sequins,

Leah Joy

Christmas 2018 (yep) Ornaments

For Christmas 2018, I didn't make quite as many gift as I usually do, and those I did make were mostly 'spa' type gift (bath salts, sugar scrubs, etc.) - nice gifts, but not worth photographing and documenting. I did, however, make this awesome sweatshirt for my sister. I'm super proud of it, because I did that all with freezer paper stencils I cut out by hand!

I usually apply fabric paint with a brush or sponge, but this time, I chose to use fabric spray paint for more even coverage, and it was very worth it! It looks professional, in my unbiased opinion! :)

I also made the mass ornament. This year I went very simple and classic. I made these in a variety of Christmassy color combinations.

As this was Micah's first Christmas, I decided to stick with the idea we did for Jo's first Christmas ornament and choose something Delft. I picked up this adorable bell ornament at a shop in Holland, MI.

Jo was very into Daniel Tiger in 2018, so I really wanted to make a DT ornament for her. (Yep, that's what we call him around here.) I printed out a full-color picture of him, cut out just his face (and ears), and Mod Podged it into a clear plastic ball ornament. Once that was dry, I covered the inside of the ornament with red paint. The idea was that this would be a simple way to make a cute Daniel Tiger ornament. The result?

It's not terrible, but apparently I didn't apply the Mod Podge as thoroughly as I thought, because the red paint started to leak in around the edges of Daniel's face. Oh well. Jo loved it. :)

Love and Mod Podge,

Leah Joy

Interchangeable Wreath: Fall and Christmas

This project has been quite literally years in the making. I think I may have actually started this when we still lived at our apartment in 2012, or maybe that's just when I started planning it.

The idea is that instead of storing seasonal wreaths, I only have to store seasonal wreath accessories. The wreath base is wrapped in a neutral grey yarn, and all the accessories are on alligator clips so they're easily added or removed.

Here's the summery wreath decorations I made first: 

I've since made a fall set of decorations:

And a set for Christmas!

I also have a winter and spring set done, but don't have pictures of those yet, so those will be shared at a later date. (Probably in like 3 years.)

Love and Felt,

Leah Joy