Southern Scraps

Welcome to my little "love shack"- one for love birds. I have a small stash of unfinished birdhouses and decided that now would be the perfect time to add one as part of my Valentine's Day decor.  I started out with this:  An unfinished wood birdhouse from Michael's and some sandpaper. It's always a good idea to sand these down smooth. It's a little obvious after painting that I should have done a little more sanding.  This was one of those projects where I had an overall idea of what I wanted but didn't have the details together. They just sort of came together as I worked. I knew it was going to be red and pink. I used Americana paints Baby Pink and Craft Smart cherry cobbler. Both are acrylics.   My original idea was to have hearts on it somewhere. I have also been itching to try out some new stencils so I went to Michael's with a gift card in hand. I purchased the Martha Stewarts adhesive stencils in the scrolls set. (no he...

  Do you love stripes? A quick look through my wardrobe and you know I do. Stripes are easy to add to home decor as well. Grab some paint and painter' tape.   I'm working my way though a stash of plain wooden frames and getting some Christmas gifts knocked out. I found this cute dragonfly cut out at Michael's and  have some dragonfly fans in the family. The dragonfly was already striped, so I knew it would be a perfect accent to a striped frame.   To make your stripes, first paint your frame in your base color. I started with Delta ceramcoat acrylic in purple dusk. When that dried, I marked off about every inch with painter's tape. Note: Use a quality brand painter's tape. I used a cheap one and had to do some touch up.   I painted the exposed part with  Craft Smart acrylic paint in purple. I peeled off the tape and let it dry. Once dry, I added a top coat of Mod Podge for sealer and shine. I glued the dragonfly on and was done. I...

 Did you see my new canvas art on display with my summer mantel ?  I had so much fun with the chevron ladybug frame , I decided to do another painted chevron piece but with a coastal theme. Here's a quick run down of what I used: Blank 11X14 canvas chevron shape Frog Tape craft smart acrylic paint (Michael's) in Robins Egg blue Delta Ceramcoat acrylic paint in Laguna blue craft smart satin acrylic paint (Michael's) in coral reef Silhouette Summer Sea Life foam brush I first painted the entire canvas with the Robins Egg blue. I find it easier to paint the lighter color first. It's easier to cover with the darker. After the first color thoroughly dried, I placed the  Frog Tape. Next I painted the Laguna blue. I peeled the tape off and let it all dry. I cut a stencil for the seahorse with my Silhouette and then traced the seahorse lightly onto my canvas with pencil. I filled it in with the coral. This took several coats. I went back with the Laguna ...

  I've got a stack of unfinished wooden frames that need to be turned into fun usable frames, so I dug in and created this chevron ladybug frame with the help of chevron shaped Frog tape. I don't know why I didn't try it sooner for chevrons. It's great! I got a nice clean finish with it.

Since I'm having so much fun with photos lately, I'm going to need some frames to display them. There's nothing better than decorating a frame to suit your own needs. You can pick up plain frames at Michael's or Joann's and decorate them yourself for $1 to $5. Here are ten ideas for decorating frames: Pencil eraser dots- HGTV

With all the summer entertaining opportunities, it's time to make some coasters to set under all those yummy summer drinks . Here are 10 ways to DIY your own coasters. 1. Dress up some cork coasters with paint .   Homey Home Design   2. Make mini pallet coasters with popsicle sticks .     Cooking Like Lou 3. Mod Podge some scrapbook paper to cork tiles. via twelve o'eight 4. Make coasters with fabric . two shades of pink 5. Paint a chevron pattern on square tiles. Shanty 2 chic 6. Mod podge dictionary pages on tiles.   Southern Scraps   7. Make coasters from Scrabble tiles .     Shabby gals   8. Mod podge your favorite photos to cork tiles.     aka design + life   9. Make coasters from mason jar lids .     via Tidy Mom   10. Make coasters from felt .     The Purl Bee   Linking ...

  Painting or refinishing an old piece of furniture can be fun, but what do you do about the hardware? You have two choices- replace the knobs and handles with new ones, or clean and paint the old ones. I chose to paint the old ones on my student desk makeover.   Here they are before- pretty gross!   I took a sheet of 600 grit sandpaper and started sanding away the grime. Make sure you don't use too coarse of  sandpaper or you will leave scratches that will show through your paint. You want to sand just hard enough to remove the grime and scuff the handle enough for the paint to stick. Here it is after some sanding: After sanding I cleaned each handle with alcohol and then let it thoroughly dry. I painted my handles with Rustoleum satin nickel, according to the directions on the can.   I'm happy with my new updated handles and  a can of spray paint was cheaper than new hardware. Sharing here: Think Pink S...