DIY Wall Display for Children's Artwork

I love to display our daughter's artwork, to me it teaches her that her creativity and expression is a gift and should be valued. But, I'll admit, I have struggled with the best way to display her artwork and crafts. 

There are lots of very cool ideas around the web but what initially worked great for me was a gallery wall of Ikea Nyttja frames in a variety of sizes and colors. I would just tape the artwork to the front of the frame, right on top of the glazing (acrylic), because I know myself... I would never ever have the patience to constantly be opening up the frame to change out the artwork! This was a great solution because it also allowed me to tape up thicker pieces of artwork, like paper plate crafts, things painted with 3-dimensional paint, paper crafts with flaps, etc.

I still love the gallery wall but I grew tired of all the taping and really wanted something that was easier to quickly change things out or move things around. I still wanted something that could accommodate artworks of various sizes and thicknesses as well as hanging craft necklaces and little paper ornaments.

What I came up with was a vertical hanging display made out of tree branches and jute cord! The artwork is attached to the jute cords using colorful mini-clothespins. I made sure to select a branch with a bifurcation so I could easily hang crafts with cords. I love the rustic feel of it! It is 75 inches (190.5 cm) tall and 26 inches (66 cm) wide. The spacing between the jute cords is 2.75 inches (7 cm) and there are 9 cords total. 

This is probably one of the cheapest DIYs I've done because I found the tree branches and only had to purchase the jute cord because I had the other materials on hand. Here's what you'll need:

• Tree branches
• Jute cord
• Sandpaper
• Acrylic paint (optional)
• Polycrylic protective finish (optional)

Process:
I just wanted to mention safety before getting into the process. I used a saw, a utility knife, a power sander, and a drill to get the tree branches the way I wanted them. Please, always use personal protective equipment when necessary. Safety glasses or goggles, face masks, half-face respirator masks, gloves... be safe when using power tools, it's very easy for something to go flying and hit you in the eye. Here I am ready to use my power sander (I love this picture!! I put on my gloves after I took the picture.):

1 - Find some fallen tree branches in a public area.

2 - Define how wide you would like the wall display to be. In my case, I opted for 26 inches and marked it on my tree branches.

3 - Saw the tree branches down to size.

4 - Remove the bark (optional).

5 - Sand the tree branches.

6 - Mark the drill points where the jute cord will run through the branch. I had 9 cords in total, spaced 2.75 inches apart. (Another option is to just tie the jute cord around the branches instead of drilling holes, but I believe this is a sturdier solution... there is no chance of the cords slipping around this way.)

7 - Drill, drill, drill!

8 - The branches are now ready to paint! Painting is optional, I almost left them bare, but ultimately thought the display would look better in white.

9 - I used white acrylic paint and watered it down a bit. I wanted to retain some of the characteristics of the wood, so I figured a white wash would be most appropriate.

10 - Paint!

11 - Allow them to dry.

12 - Apply a sealer. I used Miniwax Water-Based Protective Finish.

13 - Now it's time for the jute cord.

14 - I made a Bowline knot to create a loop for hanging the display to the wall. In total, I had two loops, one at each end of the display (at the ends of cords 1 and 9).

15 - Pass the jute cord through the drill hole in the branch and secure it with a Figure 8 knot.

16 - The top of cord 1. Tip: The end of the jute cord can fray and make it difficult to run it through the drill holes. Cover the end with some white glue and allow it to dry. It will be stiff enough to run through the holes without a needle and will not fray.

17 - Space the branches evenly and run the cord through the drill holes. Secure the cord with a Figure 8 knot after exiting each drill hole.

18 - Repeat for cord 9. Cords 2 - 8 do not require a Bowline knot, only Figure 8 knots.

And here it is ready to be hung up on the wall! It took roughly half a day to complete. The longest part was definitely getting all of the cords attached to it... The branch prep and painting only took about 2 hours to do.

While I was running the cords through the branches, I decided to dye some mini-clothespins! I used liquid watercolors made from dried out markers (I think these watercolors are absolutely brilliant and just about the easiest project ever. And as an added bonus you have a use for the piles and piles of old markers kids go through!).

I just dunked the clothespins in the liquid watercolors and let them dry. I repeated the process two more times.

The colors turned out beautifully!

I love how versatile this wall display is and I know it's going to get a lot of use! I still plan on using the frames, but probably for special pieces (like the Pressed Flower Children's Art) and this time around I will probably put them inside the frames!

Colored Pencil Inspired Cork Board DIY

 

I needed a cork board... As I mentioned in a previous post, I am a collector of papers, I will keep anything that catches my eye. The problem is finding a place for my treasures that will keep them alive in my mind (the final destination of most of my papers is in piles on my desk or stuffed in a sketchbook). So a cork board seemed like a good solution for me! 

I found some hexagon shaped cork board tiles while at Target and the wheels in my mind immediately started spinning and thinking of ways I could personalize them for my little creative corner. 

I noticed that when you look at the tops of colored pencils, they are hexagons and I thought that a colored pencil cork board would be just perfect for our office. I also think it would look great in a studio space, a child's art corner (to hang up their masterpieces), or in a teenager's room.

This is a really quick and easy DIY, all you need are the cork board tiles and some acrylic paint in your favorite colors. You can use either a foam brush or paintbrushes to apply the paint. The glitter glue is optional (I wanted to add a little sparkle here and there!). 

I made a paper template to mark off the areas to paint (the outer edges and the circle). I traced the template onto the cork board tile with a pen. You don't need to make a template, just find something round, like a cup or bowl and trace its rim in the center of the cork tile.

Then it was just a matter of painting all the cork board tiles! When the paint was dry, I added a little glitter glue to some of the circles for a bit of sparkle.

And here it is!

I used 7 cork board tiles and arranged them like a color wheel. I love it, but I keep thinking it would be fun to add a bunch more and make it look like a large stack of colored pencils! Or cut them to fit a frame (or even just paint a sheet of cork board to look like colored pencils). We'll see what this evolves into (especially if I end up needing more space to pin stuff up)!

Back to School DIY: Elastic Notebook Strap with Personalized Shrink Plastic Emblem

My sketchbooks and notebooks are what I'd call an organized mess. I'm a bit of a collector in the sense that I'm always sticking pieces of paper, doodles, our daughter's drawings, lists, magazine clippings, and anything that catches my eye into my sketchbooks. They end up getting really chubby and unruly pretty quickly. I always tell myself I will get around to gluing things in place but more often than not the pieces stay where I left them. And to tell you the truth I love them that way and, surprisingly, I know where everything is! But it is a little unnerving to think of the mess I would have to contend with if they ever fell on the floor...

I thought it would be useful to have some elastic straps to secure them. But I wanted to add a personal touch and a bit of whimsy to them with a small illustration or one of our daughter's drawings. My mind immediately went to shrink plastic!

These elastic straps would be a fun accessory for school notebooks and binders. And kids can personalize them with their own drawings or tracings of their favorite characters. They are also so easy to make and a fun activity for a rainy August day!

Here's what you'll need:

• Shrink plastic
• Permanent markers such as Sharpies
• Acrylic paint and Paintbrushes (optional): I felt that the colors of the permanent markers weren't vibrant enough after baking the shrink plastic, so I colored the drawings with acrylic paint.
• Craft Polyurethane Varnish (optional): I wanted to give the acrylic paint a layer of protection so I covered it with a coat of varnish.
• Craft felt
• Elastic: Braided elastic, knit elastic, soft waistband elastic, ruffle elastic, glitter elastic, whichever one you love!
• Hot glue gun and glue sticks
• Sewing materials (optional): Necessary if you want to add pen and pencil holders. I sewed the elastic wherever needed but the elastic could just as easily be glued to the shrink plastic.  
• The Reluctant Dragon (with Robert Benchley) (not part of the process but so much fun!): A really cute Disney movie with a tour of the Disney studios and a good look into how cartoons were made in the 1940s. While painting the shrink plastic, I kept getting flashbacks of the lady painting Bambi on a cel (transparency film)! If you want to watch this great movie be aware that there is another "Mini Classic" version that cuts out the entire studio tour part of the film.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

I made two different types of elastic straps, illustrated by the Creative Bug and the Piggy Ballerina. The former has a few additional steps because the elastic is secured to the shrink plastic by "wings" and has pen/pencil holders. The latter is a much quicker and simpler design (a better option if you are doing this with kids).

I'll start by explaining the process of making the Creative Bug elastic strap:

1 - Select the image you want for the shrink plastic.

2 - Trace or draw the image using a permanent marker. If you don't want to use acrylic paint later, color in the drawing with permanent markers.

3 - To create the "wings" I made a template that I traced onto the shrink plastic. During the baking process the shrink plastic will shrink to at least 50% of its original size. With that in mind, I made the holes in the wings 0.75 cm wide, which, once shrunk, would give me plenty of room to slide the elastic through.

4 - This is what the final design looked like.

5 - Time to cut it out!

6 - Cut only the outer border with the scissors, do not try to cut out the holes yet.

7 - Using an X-acto knife, carefully carve out the holes in the wings.

8 - Holes successfully cut out! You can erase any permanent marker that was left over from the "Cut Here" guides by carefully wiping it with rubbing alcohol (be careful not to let it touch your drawing!).

9 - Bake the shrink plastic according to the manufacturer's instructions. Here it is, fresh out of the oven! 

10 - My daughter was doing her own along with me! Hers was a family portrait (she's the one in the middle hugging us)!

11 - (Steps 11 - 18 are optional. If you colored your drawing with permanent marker in Step 2, then skip ahead to Step 19.) Start painting! I painted my drawing "backwards", starting with the tiny details and then moving to the larger areas. The side you paint on will be the underside, this way you don't have to worry about painting over the black outlines. Start by painting the highlights and tiny details. Flip the shrink plastic over every now and then to make sure everything looks the way you want it to. You will need about 3 coats of paint to achieve a vibrant color. 

12 - This is my first layer (details and highlights).

13 - Move on to painting the small areas. As long as the paint is dry, go ahead and paint over the previous layer.

14 - Then paint the larger masses.

15 - And, finally, paint the background.

16 - Flip it over and this is what it looks like!

17 - I wanted to protect the paint because I didn't want to risk the hot glue messing up my paint job. So I pulled out my craft polyurethane varnish.

18 - I applied one coat of the varnish to the painted side of the shrink plastic.

19 - To hide the messy underside and to make the shrink plastic slide easily on a notebook or binder, I selected a piece of coordinating craft felt.

20 - I cut the felt to match the shape of the shrink plastic.

21 - And I hot glued the felt to the shrink plastic.

22 - Slide the elastic through the holes in the wings of the shrink plastic. Measure out the amount of elastic you will need by wrapping it around a notebook. If you are creating a pen/pencil holder, leave some excess elastic on one side.

23 - Sew the elastic in place.

23 - Measure the size of the pen/pencil holders and sew the elastic loops shut.

25 - Once sewn, this is what the pen/pencil holders will look like (I made three loops).

The finished elastic notebook strap with a Creative Bug emblem!

Now onto the simpler design! Preparing the shrink plastic is the exact same process as before (Steps 1, 2, 5, and 9 - 20), except here there are no wings. 

26 - Measure out the amount of elastic you will need by wrapping it around a notebook. Sew or hot glue the loop shut by laying one end of the elastic on top of the other.

27 - Position the elastic so that the seam you made in Step 26 is in the middle of the felt. Hot glue the elastic to the piece of felt.

28 - You are now ready to attach your shrink plastic design to the elastic loop and felt.

29 - I put the elastic around a notebook so the felt and elastic would be nice and flat for the next step.

30 - Hot glue the shrink plastic design to the felt and elastic.

31 - This is what the final piece will look like.

The Piggy Ballerina elastic notebook strap!

And here is our daughter's masterpiece!