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DIY Colorful Coffee Stirrer Keychain

coffee stirrer keychain

Hello Pretty Handy Girl readers, Jaime from That’s My Letter back again to share a fun craft project.  Today we’re making DIY wood keychains using coffee stirrer sticks.

If you love coffee just as much as I do, what could be better than a nifty craft made from coffee stirrers!

coffee stirrer keychains 1

The pattern possibilites are endless, stripes, diagonal, rainbow, chevron and on and on.  And what a great gift or favor idea for a party – you could paint them to match the party color scheme.

coffee stirrer keychain sticks

I may or may not have borrowed a few wood coffee stirrer sticks from my local coffee shop with a green and white logo.  Of course, I let my daughter do the dirty work but you only need about 5 sticks for one keychain.  Or more appropriately you can purchase coffee stirrer sticks or thin wood craft sticks from most craft and hobby shops.

coffee stirrer keychains 3

The painted coffee stirrer sticks are sealed with clear gloss varnish which gives a super hard finish that will hold up to everyday wear and tear while protecting the wood and paint.

Try one and I guarantee you’ll be hooked — then you’ll be making different styles and versions for everyone you know in a school or team color scheme ;-).

coffee stirrer keychain 4Materials:

coffee stirrer keychain supplies

  • 5 wood coffee stirrer sticks
  • acrylic craft paint
  • small paint brush
  • basswood (purchase one stick at 36″ l x 3/32″ thick x 2″w)
  • super glue (gel version is best)
  • scissors
  • rubber bands
  • clear gloss varnish (Americana DuraClear or similar)
  • sandpaper
  • clear gloss polyurethane spray (optional)
  • drill & small drill bit
  • keychain hardware

 

Instructions:

coffee stirrer keychain step 1

Step 1: Paint wood coffee stirrer sticks desired colors using acrylic craft paint.  Paint the edges too but not the back. Read more

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Valentine’s Day Garden Flag from a Placemat

I love making unique garden flags. My go-to material for these outdoor accessories are Dollar Tree placemats! You read that right. $1 fabric placemats! But, if you don’t live near a Dollar Tree and you have old placemats, you could upcycle them into a Valentine’s Day garden flag!

A few years ago, I made this Let it Snow flag:

Although it doesn’t seam to convince Mother Nature to bring us some white powder, it has held up nicely in the cold and rain. I’ve since set out to create a garden flag for each season. I have a Fall themed flag and a Summer flag. So, why not a Valentine’s Day flag?!

Start by collecting some supplies. Feel free to substitute what you have on hand.

Materials:

  • Dollar Store placemat
  • Ruler
  • Soap sliver (pencil or disappearing fabric marker)
  • Letter stencils (I chose a set by Martha Stewart Plaid)
  • Round paint brush
  • Tulip Fabric paint (white and black)
  • Tulip glitter fabric paint
  • Tulip glitter transfer sheets
  • Fabric scraps (red, pink and white)
  • Polyester stuffing
  • Scrap fabric, towel or rag (for ironing the glitter iron-ons)
  • White thread
  • Scissors

Begin by ironing the fabric you will be using (including the placemat). Use caution when ironing the placemat, the DollarTree ones I bought are polyester and needed a cooler iron. Read more

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All You Need Is…Valentine String Art & Engraving

All You Need is...Valentine String Art | Pretty Handy Girl

All You Need is...Valentine String Art | Pretty Handy Girl

All you need is some scrap wood, and maybe a little string. And a few nails. And how about a gum wrapper? If you had all those you could be like MacGyver and build some kind of cool device that would catch fire. But, since I had everything except the gum wrapper, I decided to make a Valentine art project. Follow along and I’ll show you how easy it is to make your own heart string art and engraving art for Valentine’s Day. If you need any of the materials, you can pick up most of them at your local Lowe’s Home Improvement store (probably the same place MacGyver shops because they have gum at the registers.)

(I’ve included affiliate links for your convenience. I earn a small percentage from a purchase using these links. There is no additional cost to you. You can read more about affiliate links here.)

Materials:

Instructions:

Start by painting your wood red.

All You Need is...Valentine String Art | Pretty Handy Girl

After the paint has dried, draw a heart with chalk. Read more

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How to Decorate a Candle with Tissue Paper

how to decorate a candle with tissue paper

One of my favorite and most versatile DIY gifts to make are decorated candles: they are inexpensive and easy to personalize! Today I’m going to share a basic tutorial for how you can use tissue paper to decorate a candle for your home or as a DIY gift.

supplies custom candle decorating

Supplies:

  • Tissue Paper
  • Plain Candle
  • Scotch tape
  • Heat Gun
  • Wax Paper

Instructions:

decorating candle tissue paper

Cut three strips of gold tissue paper long enough to wrap around your candle with a slight overlap.  Vary the thickness of the three strips for added interest. For a 3″ pillar candle the strips were approximately 10″ long and widths were one quarter inch, three quarter inch, and 1 and 1/4 inches wide.

attaching tissue paper to candle

Wrap the strips of tissue paper tightly around your candle and secure with a small piece of tape.  It is very important that the tissue paper be in contact with the candle with no wrinkles or space between the wax and tissue paper.

how to decorate candle

Cut a piece of wax paper wide enough to wrap over the entire candle-approximately 8″ wide for a 3″ pillar candle.  Wrap the paper tightly and secure with tape or hold with your hands.

using heat gun on candle

Use the heat gun to slowly begin melting the wax on the wax paper into the tissue paper.  You will see the change as the wax paper melts and begins to soak into the tissue paper.  Don’t stay in one spot for too long, once you see the wax melt move on slowly and steadily.  Don’t forget to watch your fingers, heat guns are capable of causing burns if not handled properly!

**I know many will ask if a hair dryer will work for this project and in my experience it does not get hot enough.**

After you have melted the wax into all of the tissue paper, gently peel the wax paper off of candle and discard.

how to decorate candles with tissue paper

This easy DIY can be changed to create any number of decorated candles.  Try stamping designs on tissue paper the same color as your candle for another easy way to decorate.  I even had my boys draw pictures on tissue paper to attach to a candle for their Dad when he was deployed-the possibilities are endless!

MelissaSignature~Learn more about Melissa~

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10 DIY Gift Ideas for the Rock Star DIYer

10 DIY Gift Ideas for the Rock Star DIYer

10 DIY Gift Ideas for the Rock Star DIYer

Christmas is next week? Christmas is next week! Who else is still running around buying those last minute gifts? {Me raising my hand.}

If you have someone on your list who is an avid DIYer, I have a new list of the Top 10 Gift Ideas for the Rock Star DIYer in your life! These tools will transform the newbie DIY junkie giving them better street cred and true rock star status! (Results may vary.) In all seriousness, these are the tools and products that I found helpful this year.

In order from  least to most expensive Top 10 DIY Gift Ideas: Read more

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