iLoveToCreate Retrofabulous Embellished Straw Tote

iLoveToCreate Retrofabulous Embellished Straw Tote
Margot Potter
'These ARE your grandmother's crafts...ya gotta problem with that? 
I didn't think so."

I'm afraid I have always had a serious soft spot for retro beachy looks.  Straw hats, straw totes, sundresses and seersucker rompers all make my little heart go pitter pat.  When I saw this plain straw tote in the dollar section at Target, I could not resist.  I knew immediately how I would DIY it into a retrofabulous summer bag!  Some felt, rick rack trim, pom-pom fringe and a judicious smattering of sparkly crystal accents take a plain bag from drab to fab and with the help of Aleene's Tacky Glues literally in seconds flat!  Now THAT's retrofabulous!

Materials
Plain straw tote
Craft felt in four colors
Coordinating pom pom fringe
Coordinating rick rack trim
Tulip Glam-it-up Crystals in Metallics
Aleene's Quick Dry Tacky Glue
Aleene's Tacky Glue Dots Singles 3/16"

Tools
Scissors
Ruler
Marker

Hand draw a simple 4"lx1.5"w fish shape, cut out to use as a template.

Place template on felt, trace and cut out four fish.

Cut rick rack and adhere to fish.

Glue fish and pom pom trim to tote with Aleene's Quick Dry Tacky Glue.  Finish one fish with metallic crystal accents using Aleene's Tacky Glue Dots.  Allow it all to dry, toss on your favorite vintage or vintage inspired sundress and sunglasses and ta da...go get 'em, you retrofabulous creature, you!

iLoveToCreate Retrofabulous Crafts: Spring Peepers Easter Topiary

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Spring Peepers Easter Topiary Margot Potter for iLoveToCreate

Straw Flower Topiary Copyright 1963 Better Homes and Gardens Christmas Ideas Magazine

iLoveToCreate Retrofabulous Crafts
Spring Peepers Easter Topiary
Margot Potter
"These are your grandmother's crafts...ya gotta problem with that?"

I love topiaries.  It's true, I do.  Yet, inexplicably, this is my very first topiary craft!  There are a plethora of handcrafted topiaries in my stash of vintage craft magazines, mostly Christmas themed like the one above.  I've been meaning to make one and well, the time came.  Two years ago Avalon and I bought these little Easter chicks on super sale at Michaels after Easter.  We thought we had a lifetime supply, until this idea popped into my head.  I ran out of chicks mid-project and had to make an emergency tiny chick run to Michaels, thankfully they had more. What made me want to put tiny chicks on a styrofoam ball? I can not say.  But I love it so much it's staying in the living room until after Easter. 

This is so easy and fun to do.  Aleene's Tacky Glue Dots make super quick work of attaching the chicks.You can either use a pot that is already decorated or just mix up some fun colors with your Crafty Chica paints, add some fun trims, toss some Easter grass and either pre-made eggs or jelly beans on the top, add a bow and instant cute!  I love this as a centerpiece for Easter, you could make a couple more smaller ones for either side to make a trio.  I'm a big believer in the rule of threes.

Spring Peepers Topiary Materials

Materials
3" Styrofoam ball
8" Wooden dowel
Approx. 115-120 3/4" fuzzy chicks
4.5" Clay pot
Coordinating clay pot saucer
Easter grass
Glittered foam eggs or jelly beans
Styrofoam block for inside of pot
Decorative ribbon for pot rim
Ribbon to tie beneath topiary ball
Coordinating scrapbook papers
Coordinating button
Layered flower die-you could use a pre-made flower here if you prefer
Crafty Chica Paints (I used green and yellow mixed and red and white mixed)
Aleene's Acid Free Tacky Glue
Aleene's 3/8" Tacky Glue Dots

Tools
Die Cutting Machine
Scissors
Foam brush

Paint the pot pink and the pot rim and dowel green.  Allow to dry.  

Use glue to adhere ribbon trim around rim of pot.  I used super thick rick rack trim.

Die cut layered flower and adhere to conceal spot where ribbon ends meet using Aleene's Tacky Glue.  Use a Tacky Glue Dot to adhere button to center of flower.  Allow ribbon and flower to dry.

Take a chick and press it's feet on a Tacky Glue Dot.  Press the chick on the styrofoam ball.  Work from the center out, making a ring of chicks all facing the same direction.  Work to the center on one side (this will be the top of the topiary) and the center on the other leaving a space for the painted dowel.

Once pot has dried, cut styrofoam to fit inside.  Add some easter grass to hide foam.  You'll insert the dowel into the bottom of your topiary ball and insert that into the center of the foam in the pot.

Tie a bow around the bottom of the topiary ball.

Make some coordinating decorations to dress up the table...and if you love carrot cake...get the recipe for these Easter Bunny Nest Coconut Carrot Cake Cupcakes today on Your Grandmother's Crafts!

iLoveToCreate Retrofabulous Crafts: Dazzling Dahlia Dimensional Canvas

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Dazzling Dahlia Dimensional Canvas Copyright Margot Potter 2012

Pop Art Pillows from Christmas Helps 1966 Family Circle

Christmas Helps 1966 Family Circle

iLoveToCreate Retrofabulous Crafts
Dimensional Dahlia Canvas
Margot Potter
"These are your grandmother's crafts.  Ya gotta problem with that?  I didn't think so."

The idea for this canvas came from a fabulous pillow project featured in this 1966 Christmas Helps magazine from Family Circle. I LOVED these pop art pillows and plan to make some of my own, but these Anna Griffin vintage patterned papers were so yummy, I thought why not make a canvas using the same idea? I am a huge fan of Lilly Pulitzer’s vintage fabrics and these papers have a very similar appeal. Think about making a series of two or three of these using the same color scheme but slightly different patterns (maybe a full flower, half flower and butterfly.) Use recycled paper or fabric remants if you like; this could be stunning using say Coca Cola can boxes or old book pages. This was super simple to create using Fiskars ShapeTemplate™ tools and the new Aleene’s Dry Adhesives! For a final touch of whimsy, I added some dimension using Tulip Beads in a Bottle. I am knee deep in the winter blahs, so this is a cheerful reminder that spring is on the way! (If you want more precision, mark and measure placement with a ruler before layering petals.)

Materials
10x10 mini canvas
Anna Griffin Carmen Collection scrapbook paper pack
Saturated pink and yellow cardstock
Aleene’s Tacky Dot runner
Tulip Beads in a Bottle sparkly pink and pale yellow

Tools
Fiskars ShapeTemplate™ Circles
Fiskars ShapeCutter™ and Mat

1. Cut out 22 patterned yellow and pink floral paper 2” circles and 11 yellow and 12 pink 2.5” paper circles using the Fiskars template, cutter and mat. You could also use circle punches or trace and cut by hand. I am impatient, so anything that makes it easier works for me!

2. Layer the patterned circles in the center of the solid color circles and adhere using Aleene’s Tacky Glue dots runner.

3. Begin on the outside, I found it helped to lay this out first and then reassemble just to get a sense of the layout before I committed to it permanently. The flowers overlap slightly and work around in a circle and repeat on the inner layer overlapping slightly.

4. Tape just the right side of your petal and start making a circle overlapping on the outside. Continue this process until you reach the final circle, which will get full tape runner coverage. Repeat for the inside layer. There are 14 petals on the outside and 8 on the inside. Finish with a large pink petal in the center.

5. Use Beads in a Bottle on the solid color edges of the petals in a color that coordinates. I used sparkly pink and pale yellow and found that the sparkly beads were a skootch less puffy than the solid color, I like the slight variation. You can take great care and put the exactly same amount of dots on each petal, but as I mentioned earlier I am impatient and simply thrilled I made it around every petal without a craftastrophe. It’s the little things.

6. Allow to dry overnight before touching or hanging!

Mandala Flower Copyright Margot Potter 2012

(PS: I love this flower so much, I am going to use it on some other projects as an image! Too fun!)