I know a lot of you may still be surrounded by snow and cold but Spring is just around the corner.  Even if it’s a little further off for some of us, it’s still a great time to start bringing Spring into our space. For me, Spring seems to bring a renewed sense of fresh starts and new beginnings. It’s usually time for Spring cleaning, organizing, and new growth.

For Spring I like to decorate with those things in mind. I keep things muted usually in colors that remind me of a Robin’s nest. Of course I incorporate a good amount of moss too. I love moss and Spring is a great excuse to bring it out in full force! I have decided to round up some of my favorite and most popular Spring DIY projects to share with all of you.

 DIY Spring Round Up…..

Nest & Egg Cupcakes

Moss Wreath

Square Grass Wreath

Nest and Egg Specimen Art

Moss Birdhouses

Spring {Robin’s Egg} Subway Art

Spring Moss & Glitter Glass Banner

My Spring Mantel 

Succulents & Thrifty Finds

Now I’ve showed you how I like to decorate for Spring, I’d love to know how you usher in the season???

Linking up to these great link parties!!!

]]> http://adiamondinthestuff.com/2014/02/diy-spring-round-up.html/feed 0 http://adiamondinthestuff.com/2013/06/framed-4th-of-july-subway-art.html http://adiamondinthestuff.com/2013/06/framed-4th-of-july-subway-art.html#comments Fri, 21 Jun 2013 07:00:23 +0000 http://adiamondinthestuff.com/?p=2089

Last year I created my Framed 4th of July Subway Art and posted it over at Crafts Unleashed. I love to decorate for Independence Day with every bit of stars and stripes as I can manage! I wanted to create a 4^th of July decoration that would look great in any home, office, or would make a great gift. Once I spied the Word Collage Cricut Cartridge, I knew exactly what I wanted to create.

Supplies:

Cricut Die Cutting Machine
Word Collage Cricut Cartridge
Darice® Premium Canvas Texture Cardstock
Cricut® Cuttables Craft Vinyl – Raven Black
Cricut® Cuttables Craft Vinyl- Transfer Tape
Picture Frame (I used an 8×10)
Glue Stick
Paper Cutter or Scissors

Directions:

To start, I grabbed 3 pieces of cardstock in red, white, and blue. I cut them down into three strips that fit onto the back of the picture frame. It took a little bit of measuring and math to get each color to be proportional and even. But I’m just a perfectionist like that!

I used the glue stick to attach the three cardstock pieces to the back of the picture frame. I went in the traditional order of red, white, and blue. Once they were glued down I set that aside. It was time to cut some vinyl.

Here is my black vinyl all cut out. For those of you that are going to give this a try, here are all the numbers and details. I cut out the subway art at 9 1/2in. It fit perfectly inside my picture frame. Obviously this number would need to be adjusted for different sizes of picture frames. Before cutting out the vinyl, I set my machine to low speed, mid/high pressure, and I used a #4 setting on my deep cut blade.

Once I had the vinyl cut out, I “weeded” out all the unusable vinyl. Meaning I basically just pulled off all out the surrounding vinyl that I was not going to be using. Including the centers of letters like “o’s”, “a’s”, etc. Then I applied my transfer tape on top of the vinyl. You will need to use something to rub over the transfer tape to adhere it to the vinyl. This can be a credit card, large popsicle stick, or my favorite a Pampered Chef stone scraper! Once all the vinyl is attached to the transfer tape, it is time to pull the transfer tape off of the vinyl backing. Once this is done you should be looking at the reverse of your image.

Before applying your vinyl to your surface make sure it’s clean and dry. Also, I recommend taking your time applying the vinyl to the glass. Once you begin to lay it down it will start to adhere and it’s hard to get it pulled back up and adjusted. So take lots of time to make sure it’s as straight and it’s going to get before applying the vinyl. Once you do lay the transfer tape down on the glass, you will rub it again with your tool of choice. Begin to pull off the transfer tape nice and slow, watching for any stubborn pieces of vinyl that are not adhering. If that is happening, just lay the transfer tape down again in that area and rub it down a little more.

Once you have completely pulled off the transfer tape, you should have beautifully applied vinyl. Pop the vinyl covered glass back into the picture frame and add the cardstock covered frame backing. Proudly display your new patriotic project and sit back and relax!

Or in my case take a ton of pictures like it’s a modeling shoot! I absolutely love how it turned out and it goes great with my Patriotic Ribbon Topiary!

I think I’m just about all set for the 4^th of July!!! I hope you give this project a try and maybe even put your own spin on it!!!

Hope you liked my Framed 4th of July Subway Art!!!

Linking up to these great link parties!!!

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While your here…come take a look at my latest patriotic inspired project: My Wood Flag Wreath!!!

Father’s Day is just around the corner. Do you have a hard to buy for Dad on your shopping list?

I know I do. My hubby is almost impossible to buy for. If you ask him what he wants it’s almost always “nothing” so then I’m left to get creative. If your looking for a creative way to spoil a daddy in your life why not create some subway art and Sports Subway Art may just be the way to his heart!!!

For the golf lover….

For the basketball lover….

and for the baseball lover….

I had some others that I wanted to create but just didn’t get to with this nasty cold (or whatever) I have. I whipped these up to put in my booth for some Father’s Day gifts. Looking for a tutorial to makes one of these for the dad in your life? Here is my step by step tutorial for creating painted subway art: PAINTED BASEBALL SUBWAY ART.

So what are you getting or making for the father’s on your list this year???

Linking up to these great link parties!!!

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The Time to Shine link party is OPEN!

I’d love for you to come link up and check out the other links while your over there!!! Lots of good stuff already linked up!!!

]]> http://adiamondinthestuff.com/2013/06/fathers-day-sports-subway-art.html/feed 2 http://adiamondinthestuff.com/2013/05/painted-baseball-subway-art-signs-tutorial.html http://adiamondinthestuff.com/2013/05/painted-baseball-subway-art-signs-tutorial.html#comments Wed, 01 May 2013 07:00:49 +0000 http://adiamondinthestuff.com/?p=1766

A dear friend who is having her second baby contacted me to make some custom signs for her baby boy’s room. I was super excited to try out a new technique and make some adorable signs for the new bundle of joy. I’m breaking the process down and sharing how I made these Painted Baseball Subway Art Signs.

I started with a couple of 12in pine boards cut to 12in and 24in.

I painted the boards with some white paint that I had lying around. Each board got two coats of paint for good coverage.

Once the white paint was dry I gave the whole boards a good distressing. I hit the edges and went over the front of the boards with a sanding block to expose some of the wood underneath.

Then I fired up the Silhouette and cut out my vinyl. Can I tell you that it took me like 6 months to get brave enough to use this thing? Oh and I love it!

I used some transfer tape and applied the vinyl to the front of my boards.

Once the vinyl was on I used a foam brush to apply 2 more coats of my letter color, which was white. I was hoping that this would help prevent any bleeding from the top coat color. It worked like a charm too by the way.

After the white paint was dry I added the top color. The soon to be mom of two wanted classic Americana colors so I choose a dark red and dark blue.

After I did a couple coats of blue and red it was time to remove the vinyl lettering. I waited for the paint to dry fully, then I started the long process to removing every letter.

Once all the vinyl was removed it was time to distress! The mommy wanted the signs to have a vintage feel to them so heavy distressing was in order! I went over the entire sign with my sanding block, paying close attention to the edges. Both signs got a matte clear coat to protect them and they were done.

I am so in love with them!

Isn’t the Little Slugger sign just precious?

I had a lot of fun making my Painted Baseball Subway Art Signs and I hope you enjoyed them too!

Linking up to these great link parties!!!

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Since your here….I would love if you’d pop over the this week’s Time to Shine link party and link up! Or just give some fabulous link ups a visit!

]]> http://adiamondinthestuff.com/2013/05/painted-baseball-subway-art-signs-tutorial.html/feed 29 http://adiamondinthestuff.com/2013/03/spring-robins-egg-subway-art.html http://adiamondinthestuff.com/2013/03/spring-robins-egg-subway-art.html#comments Wed, 27 Mar 2013 07:00:00 +0000 http://174.132.189.156/~adits/2013/03/spring-robins-egg-subway-art.html