Valentine's Day, you either love it, or you hate it? Personally I enjoy the holiday, whether people think it's silly and made up or not. I take it as a day to celebrate the ones I love by making fun little gifts, or treats for them, and you guys know how I love a good craft project! Plus for some reason, more than most other holidays, I'm always able to come up with Valentine's Day projects. Today I'm rounding up some of my favorite posts for the holiday celebrating love. I hope that maybe you'll be inspired to create something special for one of your favorite people!
The first project, pictured above, is my glitter heart pin/hair clip DIY. Just a few simple steps add up to this adorable accessory, and you can even attach it to a card for easy gifting.
I was contacted in 2014 (just after Eleanor was born) by BuzzFeed to create a simple DIY craft project for Valentine's Day. I wanted to make something that was super easy for anyone, and also could be a unisex gift. I came up with these I Love You Tea Towels, because who doesn't love a little seasonal charm in their kitchen?
Next up, baked goods, duh! These rich, chocolate espresso lava cakes are one of my go to desserts. They're so yummy, and decadent, but way easier to make than you might think! Check out the recipe and give it a try yourself this year!
This guy, the Heart String Art Decor DIY, is still one of my most popular blog posts to date, and it's not really hard to see why. String art and weaving have been all the rage for awhile now, and with a few nails, hammer, a wood board, and string, you can create a decor piece that makes a statement in your space. And it's not just for Valentine's Day either!
Who needs an excuse to party? Not me, but Valentine's Day certainly a good reason to decorate the house, bake a cake, and eat lots of candy (or drink cocktails). I loved creating this fun Modern Black and White Valentine's Day decor. This theme is fun because it's whimsical enough to work for kids, or classic enough for adults.
And last, but certainly not least, one of my first attempts at You Tube. Ugh, I hate watching, and hearing myself on film, but this felt jewelry DIY is a fun little gift idea for anyone in your life who loves jewelry.
That's it guys. I hope that you'll check out, and try a few of these fun Valentine's Day ideas, and if you do, be sure to tag them with #emmyraydesignstudio so I can see what you've created. I've got a few new ones coming in the next two weeks too.
I'm sharing one more gift wrap DIY (since Christmas is only a week away, woop, woop!). For this one I wanted to incorporate this awesome vintage fabric. I found it in my grandmother's stash a few years ago, and was waiting for just the right project to use it on. Using it as ribbon on a gift for someone special seemed perfect. This gift wrap, much like the hand stamped version I shared last week, this DIY can be customized to match any theme you want. Just find your desired stencil and paint away!
Here's what you'll need:
White craft paper.
Craft paint.
Stencils. I chose a leaf motif from the Martha Stewart stencil line (at Michaels Arts and Crafts).
Stencil pouncers or paint brush (also Martha).
Vintage fabric, and ribbon
Scissors and tape
A damp sponge for cleaning off your stencil.
Optional: fresh greenery, or you could use silk as well.
Much like the stamped version you could do this project two ways. You could either wrap your gifts first, then paint them, or you could roll out your paper and paint it all at once. Just a note, if you are wrapping your gifts first, make sure you are using thickish craft paper, not thing wrapping paper. Otherwise your paint might bleed through.
Place your stencil onto your gift or rolled out craft paper. Load your pouncer or brush up with paint. Carefully fill in your design. Try to hold your stencil as still as possible.
Don't worry about being perfect, you want that hand made feel. Now let your paint dry completely. With craft paint it will usually only take an hour or two, but for maximum safeness I'd just wait overnight if possible, so you don't get any smears or smudges.
I wanted a rough edged feel for my fabric strips, so I went ahead and tore them instead of cutting them. I think it adds to the vintage/rustic look of the wrapping. I also used black velvet ribbon to compliment the gift tags I was using and colors in the fabric. I think velvet adds a wintery touch.
To make your package extra special, right before you head to your get together add some fresh greens. Evergreen will smell amazing and of course is perfect for the season. I added a sprig of rosemary.
Now it's time for giving! Thank you guys so much for tagging along with me in my little holiday gift wrap series, I hope you loved my ideas and got some inspiration for your own gift giving this year. Happy Holidays everyone!
It's yet another holiday gift wrap DIY, and this is one I loved working on because it touches with my roots as a printmaker. This step by step uses brown craft paper (the perfect blank canvas) and spices it up. You can even match it to your holiday cards and gift tags. Yay! Now I know what you might be thinking, "Emily, ain't nobody got time for that". Well I assure you, if I do, you do (it's called wait til the baby is napping). Come on, I'll show you how easy it can be!
Here's what you'll need:
A roll of brown craft paper.
ribbons and twine in your choice of colors. I got the satin ribbon from paper source and the twine from a craft store.
Pencil and Sharpie, and scissors.
Printmaking supplies: Speedball Speedy Carve rubber blocks, relief carving tools, relief ink, and roller. You can buy all of these in the art supply section of the craft store. (I got mine at Michael's Arts and Crafts). Piece of glass, or plexi glass to roll your ink.
Optional: If you are using a color other than white, you could use a stamp pad. Mine didn't work out so great, more on that later. The stamp pad is the easier route.
First we'll make our stamp. You can do any pattern under the sun. I was trying to match mine to the holiday card picture don the right, so I decided to use an aztec print theme. You can free-hand a design, use text (make sure to write it out backward), or find a design or stencil you like and trace it onto your rubber block. Whatever works for you!
Color in the parts of the stamp that you want to remain raised. This is so when you're cutting, you don't ruin your design (I know this from experience). Only cut the un-colored parts.
Begin cutting your design with your relief carving tools. It's pretty self explanatory, but if you need a demo, pop on over to this video. Watch your little fingers,and always cut away from yourself.
Once you're done carving, use rubbing alcohol, or hand sanitizer to clean the sharpie off your stamp. Then it's time to ink your stamp. If you're using a stamp pad, simply press the stamp to the pad, then add the design to your craft paper. I tried a white stamp pad originally, but the color did not show up white, it just made a dark brown, moist impression on the paper. No bueno., so I opted to try the ink. If you're using actual relief print ink, start by squeezing a bit of ink onto your piece of glass. Then spread the ink in a line with a piece of think cardboard, spatula, or a putty knife.
Then take your brayer (roller) and roll your ink out onto your glass until you have a smooth even coverage on your roller. Then roll onto your stamp.
You can either press your stamp onto a pre-wrapped package, or you could roll out your craft paper and apply the stamp to the whole roll. Apply nice even pressure to the stamp, then lift one corner to see how it's transferring.
I remember doing this project with my mom as a kid, and we would roll the paper out in the dining room and stamp all over it, then let it dry, and wrap gifts later. If you are using a stamp pad you will probably only need to let it dry for an hour or two. If you are using relief ink, I'd give it overnight to be safe.
Once the ink is dry, it's time to add your trims. I used a combo of satin ribbon and twine on my package. I also added a fun little arrow that I DIY'd, or I always love tying an ornament to gifts as a special extra touch.
Now give your gift. Watch your friends ooooh, and ahhhhh, over your incredible gift wrapping skillz. They might not event want to open their present :)
Having a baby is awesome. There are so many wonderful things about it, but one of my favorite parts of watching Eleanor grow up is experiencing everything for the first time through her eyes, including the holidays. She loves looking at Christmas lights, and everytime she sees ornaments she reaches for them. I know she's too little to remember any of it, but I hope to make this year, her first Christmas, really special. I thought our front steps was the best place to take some pics for our holiday card, and of course we all wore coordinating (but not matching) outfits. Thanks to my brother in law for helping us take these pics!
This pic is so funny, I think Eleanor's face says it all.
I love watching these two together, they have such a sweet father daughter bond.
When it comes to hand made projects I'm all about experimenting. I came across a wire wreath form for sale on one of my favorite home decor sites. The form alone was $25, and that didn't include any decor for it. I thought, hey, I'd love to give that a try, so I came up with this DIY modern wire and ornament wreath. I say it was an experiment because before I started, and as I was working, I had no idea how it would turn out, but I have to say, I loved the results. It's a little bit modern, a little bit messy, and a whole lot of colorful. Just my style!
Here's what you'll need:
Wire wreath form $3.99
Aluminum wire (I had some leftover from floral work, but you'll probably need about 20 feet). $3.49 for 3 yards.
Needle nose pliers, and wire cutters. Mine tool was a combo of the two.
Silver spray paint.
One box multicolor lights with white wire. $2.99
25 ornaments. I used silver and clear, in large and small. Got the boxes on sale for $4.50 each, but platic ones would have been even cheaper.
Total cost: about $30
Start by spray painting your wreath form silver. Next it's time to start wiring your ornament. Start by wrapping your aluminum wire twice around the base of your ornament. You want to wrap them tightly, but be careful if you're using glass ornaments not to wrap them too tight or they'll shatter. Or you can go ahead and use acrylic or plastic ornaments and avoid this worry altogether.
Next twist your wire about 3 or 4 inches. Then bend the wire, and do these two steps again. You'll want to keep your wire as one continuous piece if possible. You'll essentially be creating an ornament branch.
Once you have enough of your ornament branches to cover you wreath form, play around with the configuration you'd like to use.
Before you add your ornament branches you'll need to add your lights to your wreath form. This was the part I struggled with the most. First I wrapped the string around and around the wreath form, but it was too much wire, and looked messy. So I decided to wire the lights to the outside edge, and was much happier with the results.
Now add your ornament branches. I clipped pieces of wire about 2.5 inches and bent them into a U shape. Wrap them around your ornament branches, and then twist them to the wreath form.
You may want to bend, and re-arrange some of the ornaments once they're attached to the wreath. Now it's time to plug it in.
As soon as I plugged it in, I think it really came to life. I love how the colorful lights reflect off the silver ornaments. Eleanor loved it too, it might be her favorite decoration in the house. Have fun making your own diy modern wire and ornament wreath. If you give it a try I'd love to see your pics (tag me @emmyray on instagram).
It's Christmas, woooooooohoooooooo!!!!! Does that accurately describe my excitement for this season? No, not quite, It's one of my favorite times of year. There are so many things I LOVE about it, decorating the house, celebrating with friends and family, but giving gifts is just the best. I really like making special gifts and then wrapping them up for someone to open. I like adding a special touch to my packages too, and each year I pick a different theme for all my gift wrap. I thought it would be fun to share a series of different wrapping DIY's this holiday season, and to kick it off is this modern black and white gift wrap with pops of bright red.
Here's what you'll need:
Black gift wrap
Red masking tape
White card stock
Pencil, scissors, tape, ruler
Red yarn
Black and white bakers twine
Needle with an eye big enough for the bakers twine
Optional: snowflake paper punch
Measure and cut 1.5 inch strips from the card stock. Next measure out triangles with 1.5 inch bases, and then cut them apart.
I got a fun snowflake paper punch from Michaels Arts and Crafts, but this is definitely optional. I punched a bunch of snowflakes out to mix in with the triangles, but I think that this design looks good even without them.
Begin stringing the triangles and snowflakes onto your bakers twine. You can do this per package, but I think its easiest to just make a bunch all at once. Then as you wrap gifts you can cut and add the trim as needed.
Wrap the gift up in the black paper. Next add the black masking tape as a decorative accent. I added mine as if it were a ribbon that I had tied around the package, and then add the triangle trim on top of that.
Next make a pom pom, one of my favorite, easy ways to dress up a gift. Wrap your red yarn around your hand about 20-30 times. Then tie it around the middle and snip the ends. Trim any stray strings so you have a nice even looking ball.
Top the package with your pom pom, and add a fun gift tag, and you're done. Now hand your gift over and enjoy this season of giving!
Thanksgiving is just around the corner guys! It's always a bittersweet time of year. It signals the end of my favorite season of the year, but of course kicks off the holiday season. I love our families traditions, and something I enjoy every year is coming up with fun decor for the dinner table (when we host at our house). I came up with this project after arranging some flowers inside a pumpkin. I figured, hey, if you can put flowers in a pumpkin, why not use mini squash to create a fun Thanksgiving Centerpiece!
Here's what you'll need:
Mini pumpkin shaped squash in a few sizes. I got mine at the grocery store.
Taper candles (mine are from Creative Candles an awesome local business I love supporting)
Knife
Melon baller. This is much easier to use than a spoon to scoop out the inside of your little squash.
Optional: modeling clay, or play dough and straight pins
First cut a small hole in the top of your squash. It might be helpful to place the base of your taper candles on top of the squash and draw a circle around them so you get close to the right size hole.
Use your melon baller to clean out the inside of your squash. You don't need to get it pristine, just get the stuff out of the way so you can easily insert your candle.
If you cut your holes too big, have no fear, this is where your modeling clay or play dough comes in. Stuff some of the clay or play dough into the squash to help create a tighter fit for your candle.
If you want to layer two squash on top of each other, just stack them up, and then I inserted straight pins through the bottom of the smaller squash to secure it to the larger squash, then added my candle. Style it up with some other fun elements like feathers, leaves, wood slices, and succulents. Play around and layer the different pieces until you get the look you want. If you're feeling ambitious you could even create a whole row of squash taper candle holders down the center of your table. Wouldn't that be gorgeous!
Have fun making your own custom Thanksgiving squash centerpiece, and if you try this project out for your celebration I'd love to see your pics! Share them here or tag me on Instagram or Twitter @emmyray
I don't know about you, but when I was a kid I used to love making cards for family and friends for their birthdays, holidays, etc. I even would put my own name on the back like the cards you buy at the store. There's something extra special about a hand made card, and these ombre stamped ones can be used for any occasion depending on the message you stamp on the front.
Here's what you'll need:
Blank note cards and envelopes
Acrylic craft paint
Stamp pad
Stamp with Happy Birthday, Thank You, or any other wording you'd like.
Stencil pouncer (smaller size 1/2 inch or less)
Start by putting small amounts of your craft paint onto your palette or paper. Dip your pouncer into the paint, and then on your craft paper dab it a few times to est out the amount of paint. You want just enough, but not too much that you will saturate the card. Start with your darkest color first, or in my case I started with the gold.
Even the scrap paper ends up looking pretty.
Begin dotting the note card with your paint. Between each color you'll need to let the paint dry. It works great if you lay out a bunch of cards at a time, that way when you're done with the last one, your first is probably dry. Next dot over with your next color, and then your lightest color.
Allow your paint to dry completely, then add your message. I also decided to make a coordinating envelope. Now you have a mini work of art to give someone special for a special occasion!
Surprise cakes are my favorite! Did you see the polka dot cake I made for Valentines Day? I figured why not make one for 4th of July too? It was super easy too. If you've every made a layer cake before then you already know most of the steps.
Here's what you'll need:
White cake batter, and follow the recipe on the box.
White frosting (I used the marshmallow whipped kind, delicious).
Blue and red food coloring.
Three 7 or 8 inch round cake pans.
Make your cake batter according to the instructions on the box. Divide into three different bowls with just a tiny bit extra in two of the bowls. Add a few drops of red food coloring and a few drops of blue to each of th bowls with a bit extra. Mix until you achieve the desired color. You'll want them pretty dark, or else you'll have a pink, white, and baby blue cake.
Begin by pouring about 1/3 of the white cake batter into your pan, and smooth to cover the bottom of the pan. Add a few drops of blue and red batter. You want the drops to be about a teaspoon full. Layer more white on top, and again add drops of color, and then the last third of the white batter. Carefully take a toothpick and drag it through the batter to create a marbled effect. Don't go overboard with the marbling or else you'll end up with a purple layer.
Take your two other pans, grease and flour appropriately, and then add your red and blue to each separately. Bake according to instructions.
Once the layers are baked let them cool completely. Then it's time to frost. I used a rough frosting technique to get a stucco like effect, and the patterned tissue papers from my drink pick DIY is making an appearance again. Garnish with your blueberries, and I added some fresh flowers from the garden as well.
I guarantee guests will love looking at this cake as much as they love eating it. So festive! Happy 4th of July! See more 4th of July entertaining ideas here, and on my Pinterest board.
