DIY Wall Art: Bubbles

Here are the supplies you'll need:

• a stretched canvas

• big paint brush

• scissors

• white acrylic paint

• Mod Podge

• tissue paper in primary colours

Ah, that's better. Set that aside to dry and now here comes the only hard part in the whole project. Cut out 3 circles from your tissue paper. Get creative and play around with different sizes. Here comes the 'cheap' thing again, buy the cheapest, crappiest tissue paper you can find. You don't want that thick, expensive stuff because it won't be translucent enough. I got mine from the dollar store where they had a huge selection of colors for $1 each. Try to get bright colors that will pop against the white background, the 'red' in this trio is really a bright magenta.

Stretched canvases can be purchased in any arts & craft store. If you buy a cheap one, and why the hell not, they're not as expensive as you think. You can often find the store brand canvases are bundles in packages of 3 for a cheaper price. Since you're buying a cheap canvas, you'll want to paint the whole thing with a nice coat of white paint first. Even if the canvas looks nice and white, it will look even better with a coat of paint on it!

Before you make anything permament, play around with the positioning on your canvas. The secondary colors that the paper make when you lay them on top of each other will look different depending on who's on top. Also, I think it looks cool when some of the bubbles goes off the edge.


When you figure out your arrangement, spread a thin coat of Mod Podge where you want the first circle to lay. Carefully and slowly lay the circle down while smoothing the air bubbles and wrinkles with your brush. It's easier to start from one edge and work your way across.


Once the circle is smoothed out and most of the wrinkles are gone, put another coat of Mod Podge on top. BE CAREFUL with this step because the paper is wet and will easily tear at this point.Repeat the same steps for the other 2 circles.After all the circles are in place, add another coat of Mod Podge to make it look uniform.

Turban Headbands

1. I always use jersey fabric because its nice and stretchy. I've had the best luck with using men's size large t-shirts because the width of the t-shirt perfectly wraps around my head twice OR once in a while I'll upcycle something that I have on hand- like this striped maternity dress. 


2. I cut wide strips about 8-10 inches wide. I make use of the seam already sewn into the garment. 


3. I cut 2-3 strips (which becomes the headband) so I can layer them together.


To wear I start by wrapping it around my head twice and then I layer the 2nd and 3rd once the same way. This creates nice volume and is the key to creating the look of a turban.

Braided Headband

Start with a blank headband or even upcycle one that you are ok covering up.


Using fabric (pretty much anything), cut into strips a little longer than the headband and braid the strips.


Using craft glue or hot glue, wrap the headband with a strip of the same fabric.


Glue the braid to the top of the wrapped headband.


You could use just about any kind of fabric, fiber, lace, ribbon, etc to braid

Easy Stretchy Baby Headband

What you'll need:

• Pair of clean tights or thick nylon stockings (I found of pack of three bright colors at Walmart for $2!)--you could also use knit fabric, like an old t-shirt

• Rotary cutter or scissors

• Sewing machine and thread

What to do:
Measure your baby's head circumference. As a general measurement, I use about 12" for newborns and 15" for 6-12 months. But every baby is different! The great thing is that the nylon is super stretchy and soft.

Using a rotary cutter or scissors, cut your length and cut off the toe of the tights (if necessary).
Tuck one open end into the other. If you want to get all fancy, fold over the raw edge and pin. I'm not very fancy.

Using a basting stitch (stitch length of 5), sew across where you overlapped the ends.
Pull one of the bottom threads to gather slightly.

Flatten out and, using a straight stitch with a normal stitch length (not basting), sew over the top of your basting stitch to secure the gather.

Cut another piece of your tights across the leg, about 1.5" to 2" wide.
Fold over this piece around the headband and stitch together. I used a zig-zap stitch.
Turn inside out so you can't see your seam and position over your gathered section. You can tack it down with a couple of stitches to keep it in place.

DIY | glam champagne glasses

Supplies: Champagne glasses… Ikea, Cost Plus and Michael’s all have extremely inexpensive champagne glasses; Martha Stewart Mulit-surface Craft Paint in Glitter, your choice of color {my colors are: florentine gold, peridot + turquoise, and tourmaline}; my applicator of choice is also from Martha Stewart Craft’s line, the foam pouncers – so easy to use and so easy to clean!

Start by cleaning your glasses with alcohol and making sure they are completely dry before you start painting. Since we are using the Martha Stewart Craft Paint, after these glasses cure… they are dishwasher safe! As with all my DIY’s, if you create a project from one of my tutorials please email me pictures… I would love to see them!

Style 1: Gold Glitter. For the first design, I wanted to make the glitter look like it was sneaking up the glass from the base. So that is where we will start ‘pouncing’ the paint onto the glass.

Just keep dabbing and dabbing until a good coverage of glitter starts to develop. All three styles will need at least two coats of paint and at least one hour of drying time in between each coat.

Carefully twist and paint your glass. To get the look of the glitter fading up the glass, paint less towards the rim…

…and paint it more towards the base. I turned my glass upside down to make it easier to paint the base.

Add the bubbly and you are done! Remember, if you want to wash these glasses in the dishwasher you need to cure them using one of the techniques below. Also, paint should not be near where your lips will touch the glass, so try to keep the paint at least 3/4″ away from the rim of the glass.

OVEN CURE: this is the best method for glassware! Simply put your project into a cool oven on a baking sheet, making sure that no part of your project that has been painted is touching anything – the pan, the oven or each other {I put these glasses upside down on my cookie sheet}. Then turn your oven on to 350* and set a timer for 30 minutes. Your glass will not crack because it is cold and so is your oven, the two will heat up together – this is very important. Once the 30 minutes is up, turn off your oven and let your project cool down completely inside the oven. Then it needs to sit for 72 hours before you can use or wash it. This is the best method for this project.

AIR CURE: after painted, let your project air dry for at least 21 days – no using or washing. After the 21 days is up, it should be ready to use and wash. I do not recommend this method for this specific craft. The glitter paint does better with the oven cure method.

Style 2: Personalized Monogram Glass. If you read my DIY from last week I included a personalized champagne glass in the ‘will you be my bridesmaid?” box that I created… this is the glass from that box. In this example you will need letter stickers for your monogram. Start by choosing your letter of the alphabet and placing it on your glass, nice and firm


 I wanted to create a box around my monogram so I taped it off using Martha Stewart Craft Paint Stencil Tape. Be careful with the curve of the glass, measure it out if you need to and don’t get discouraged if it takes you a few times to tape it off evenly. It is worth the struggle.


 Since of course I wanted a more dimensional turquoise glitter paint, I mixed both blue and green together.


Then using my smaller size pouncer I started pouncing with my mixed paint. Since I wanted a really bold monogram square, I used three coats of paint, with an hour of drying time in between each coat. A good way to check the glitter coverage in this design is by taking a peak from behind.


Once the paint is fully dry, carefully pull the tape and the sticker monogram off. You might even want to softly slide an Exacto knife along the edge of your design and the tape to make a clean brake. If any edges pull up – push them right back down. If any paint bled under your monogram sticker, using your nail gently scratch it away. The paint will be permanent once cured. *Note: if you are using a swirly, thin edged type sticker – you might need to very carefully pull the sticker off before the paint dries, to ensure that the design shows completely and doesn’t peel the rest of the paint with it.

Style 3: Pink Glitter. For this design I wanted to create the opposite look of the gold glass… hot pink glitter sneaking down the glass away from the rim. Since the paint should be kept away from where you will sip your drink, I chose to start this design about 3/4″ below the rim. I taped my line using Martha Stewart Craft Paint Stencil Tape… be careful with the curve of the glass, it might take you a few times to get the tape line straight.

 Again, using a pouncer start dabbing the glitter onto the champagne glass. I did two coats of paint, with an hour of drying time in between each coat.

 Just like the gold glass, dab much more glitter paint onto the top of the glass and much much less towards the bottom of the glass. So that it looks as if the glitter is falling down the sides of the glass. When the paint is completely dry, remove the tape – you can even softly run an Exacto knife along your design and the tape for perfect tape removal.