Marbled Skull Canvas Art DIY

Haven't blogged for awhile, oh well! Not going to get into it. 

Halloween is my favorite holiday. And though I set the boundary for decorating and wait until the 1st of October, that doesn't mean I can't prepare.

I found this felt decoration at the dollar tree and knowing I had a blank canvas at home, this is what I came up with. I have a picture ledge above the bed that I like to redecorate occasionally so once I give myself permission, that's where it can go. 

You'll need:

• Canvas size 18x24
• Felt decoration
• Nail polish in colors of your choice
• Water and container big enough for canvas to lie in

The totals cost of this for me was $1 since I had everything else on hand. Depending on if you need to buy a canvas and nail polish or not, I'd say it might range from $5-$10. Get your Michaels coupon for the canvas :)

To do the marbling effect I used this tutorial. 

I want to stress three important things when using this method:

1. Use gloves! Otherwise you WILL get nail polish all over your hand. 
2. Use a disposable container, or one you don't care about. It will get dirty.  
3. Once you start pouring the colors, I would pour, then swirl, pour then swirl etc. I poured all my colors at once, and when I went to swirl, they had already set. I liked what came out anyways, but it could have been even more swirly than this. 

After doing the marbling, I let it dry overnight. I tried every combo on the skull overtop the design before glueing down, trying to line it up so the design would be able to show through the teeth and eyes in the best way.

After adding glue to the entire backside, I placed it down as centered as I could, and gently rubbed into place.

A very easy project, and a cool modern halloween vibe. Now to wait for October 1st!

DIY Tripod Christmas Tree

      Today I noticed it was already the 3rd of December and after dealing with the inevitability of time constantly passing I thought to myself "should I do a tree this year or not?'

      Last year I bought a sad 2 foot tall, pre-lit tinsel tree at a dollar store and it was so dumb. The year before I tacked up string lights to the wall in the shape of a tree. That was much cooler, but man.... did I leave some holes in the wall. Sorry landlord.

      So for this year, I wanted something a little more grand, but that was still doable in our teeny apartment. Oh, and also cheap. Like dirt, cheap. Nothing says the holidays like being flat out broke.

      My solution at first was going to be to go out and buy dowels. But that requires money! Instead, I went outside and found sticks on the ground. For free!

      You obviously can use dowels if you want. And the length depends on the  height you want the tree to be. I wanted something decently tall, so these are about 6 feet long. 

      It's been raining here for the past few days so the sticks I found were yucky and damp. It you find nice dry, pretty sticks, you don't have to go to the troubling of whittling them unless you like that look. This took me a long time! But I wanted to get this done today, and I like the lighter wood underneath the bark. 

      I am no perfectionist, this is what I ended up with. I did some light sanding, but I'm sure with more effort I could have smoothed them down much more.

      Now you can choose your spot, and prop the sticks up against each other. Using some string, I then wrapped it around all three sticks at the top, and tied them together. 

Make sure to pull tight!

      Then I wrapped the string around, under, and over the sticks in varying ways. This will make it nice and sturdy. It might wobble a little bit, but as long as nothing is pushing or bumping into it, it won't fall down. 

Then I added a string of lights. I tucked in the end of the cord into the top of the tripod, and then wrapped it around, keeping to the outside. I tried to keep the lights taut, but don't pull too hard or you might collapse the tripod into itself. 

      Then you can really decorate it as you see fit! I stuck with a silver and gold motif since I used only white lights. A vintage string of pearls from my childhood also added to the metallic look. 

For a tree topper, I just made an origami paper star and hung it. 

I used this tutorial, here. 

So for a grand total of FREE (sticks were found, and everything else was on hand) I have an impressive little display. What I like most about this, is there's room for presents inside the tripod formation as well as around it. So more space saving for apartment dwellers!

      I guess it's a little more bohemian than the average christmas tree, but I think it'll suit us just fine this holiday. 

Hectic Holly Days

      I had the most eventful whirlwind of a holiday weekend. Between having a snow day before Thanksgiving, to going home, back to work, back home for a baby shower, to a xmas gift show, and back to work again, I'm certainly glad to have a chance to sit and reflect. I have a very nice Nikon camera that I took tons of photos with, but I think I captured some sweet moments with my iPhone as well. 

Finding time to decorate on the Snow Day.

Lunch feels more special on a snow day, no?

Making crafts too!

Sparrow always enjoys when we can stay home with her. (more treats!)

Home :)

Snail rolls!

A Thanksgiving mantel I threw together for my mom.

Being home means time spent with my baby cats.

Managed to squeeze in some time at Christmas Village. It was FREEZING. 

My convoluted plan to make it all work out.

I hope everyone enjoyed the holiday! Now to do it all again at Christmas! Oy vey :)