DIY Monstera Leaf Backpack | We're Going to Make it

Monstera Leaf Backpack for Back to School

DIY Monstera Leaf Backpack | We're Going to Make itLearn how to make this fun (and super easy!) monstera leaf backpack so you can stand out at school. I can’t believe that I am already typing up back to school posts.  Where has the summer gone? It feels like just yesterday that I was posting about pineapples and beach towels and now it’s time to dust off those notebooks and update our backpacks with a fun new design like a monstera leaf pattern.DIY Monstera Leaf Backpack | We're Going to Make it

The best part about going back to school is getting new school supplies. Though backpacks can be a bit expensive and quite generic looking, that’s why I wanted to share with you all a simple upgrade to a plain bag. Keep on reading to find out how to make this monstera leaf backpack!

DIY Monstera Leaf Backpack | We're Going to Make itDIY Monstera Leaf Backpack | We're Going to Make it

Materials:

  • Plain backpack
  • Acrylic paint
  • Paint brush
  • Monstera leaf stencil
  • Paper
  • Pencil

How to make a monstera leaf backpack:

  1. Start by making a stencil so you can easily paint on your leaves. I did this by drawing out a monstera leaf on plain, thick, paper. Then I carefully cut out the leaf. You can also make the stencil by copying an image from online.DIY Monstera Leaf Backpack | We're Going to Make it
  2. Once you have your stencil, take a pencil and trace around it directly onto your backpack. Do this several times in different areas to cover your backpack.DIY Monstera Leaf Backpack | We're Going to Make it
  3. Taking some green paint and a paint brush start to paint in the leaf. I first began by going around the edges of the leaf and then filling in the center of it. I used a pretty small paint brush to do this.DIY Monstera Leaf Backpack | We're Going to Make it
  4. Continue to paint in all of your leaves.
  5. Let the paint dry completely before you use your backpack

DIY Monstera Leaf Backpack | We're Going to Make itTime to throw your books into your new  backpack and get your butt to school! If you want some more back to school DIY’s be sure to check out our Pinterest and while you are there pin this image!

DIY Monstera Leaf Backpack - perfect for back to school | We're Going to Make it

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Wood slab serving tray

Thanksgiving Wood Slab Serving Tray

Keep reading to find out how to make this Thanksgiving wood slab serving tray.

Wood slab serving trayWant to hear a completely unrelated Thanksgiving story that has to do with this wood slab serving tray? K, cool, I’m not giving you a choice anyways. Flash back to when Rose and I were wee ones at Skidmore college, I believe it was our senior year (Rose can fact check this for us). We made it a habit to go to A.C. Moore and just look around without having any specific crafts in mind… and yes we ended up buying random bits and pieces that we still haven’t used.

Wood slab serving tray

On one of such trips we saw these wood slabs and thought we must have these in our lives. ‘Cause this is how our brains work at the craft store: There isn’t time for rational thoughts. Well once we came home with the wood slabs and let them sit around for a couple of weeks, we finally came up with a fun way to decorate them – use some painter’s tape and just paint in random squares. Let’s just say there is a reason that craft never made it to our blog. They weren’t the prettiest… and truthfully i’ve been a little scared to pick up a wood slab again.

Thanksgiving wood slab serving tray

I think, I hope, this diy Thanksgiving wood slab serving tray has redeemed our original wood slab fiasco. You can head on over to Homedit to find the full instructions on how to make these wood slab serving trays.

Thanksgiving wood slab serving tray

Let us know in the comments if you ever had a craft go horribly, horribly wrong.  We’d like to know we aren’t the only ones who’ve graced the #pinterestfail list.

Learn how to make these Thanksgiving wood slab serving trays here on Homedit or pin it below for later.

Thanksgiving wood slab tray

Jewelry Trinket Dish | Popcorn & Chocolate

DIY Astrological Sign Trinket Dish

 

Astrological Sign Trinket Dish | Popcorn & ChocolateHave you ever been shopping and pick something up and look at the price tag and then gently set it back down and walk away because no way Jose? Most often the item doesn’t look like it should be that price to begin with, and usually if that item is some home decor thing I think to myself I can make that.. and probably for only a couple of bucks. Welp, this here is one of such things.

Jewelry Trinket Dish | Popcorn & ChocolateRose and I were casually perusing Antrhopologie, as you do, and saw these super cute astrological sign trinket dishes. We both really liked them and wanted to figure out a (less expensive) way to make them at home.

Anthropologie Hack Jewelry Dish | Popcorn & ChocolateAfter rummaging through our craft supplies and making a general mess of our apartment we found some sculpey leftover from who knows what project. And after about an hour of kneading it, as it was very old and dried out, we were able to start a rolling!

Painted Star Clay Dish | Popcorn & ChocolateSupplies:

  • Air drying clay
  • Acrylic paint
  • Paint brush

Instructions:
First we rolled out the clay with our hands, trying to make sure to get an even thickness. Then we used a round bowl and pressed it into the clay to get a circle. Once the dish was cut out, we plumped up the edges a bit by pinching around the sides gently. Next we used a small pokey tool (a sharpened pencil would work too or the back of a paint brush) to poke stars (dots) into the clay and connected them with a gentle line. We suggest you practice your design a couple of times on paper first as it was harder to center and even out in the clay (except for Aries – that one needs minimal practice, sorry Rose).

Once your design is to your liking, pop it in the oven to bake. Make sure to follow the instructions on the clay packaging, but I believe you bake at 275 for 15 minutes per 1/4 inch thickness. These guys wound up taking a bit of time, so be patient. Once out of the oven, make sure the dish is completely cool before you start painting. Start by painting the inside (blue for us) first, this took us several coats to get the desired opaqueness we wanted. Once the inside coat is finished and dry you can move onto painting the rim and the astrological sign. For this we used a smaller paintbrush, and for the stars we dipped the end of the paintbrush into the gold and then dipped that into the tiny hole. We tried to mimic the anthro version of this dish by using blue and gold, but feel free to paint yours whatever color strikes your fancy! We used this paint.

There you have it – an easy DIY that totally looks just like the real thing. A perfect gift to give to your friend for their birthday. Let us know in the comments below if you have ever seen something in a store and thought, I can definitely make that myself. Crafters unite! Also, do you think your astrological sign fits you?

DIY Christmas sign

DIY Christmas Sign

DIY Christmas signYou know that section of Target right when you walk in that has little gems for $1 or $3? Welp, that section is my downfall. I cannot resist picking up a fun holiday decoration and, well if it’s only $3, what harm does it do?? Fast forward a couple of years of always picking up that $3 item, and somehow you start to realize you might not want to put that item in your cart this time. This sign was based off of something we saw in said section. However, instead of paying for it, we decided to use our crafty little brains and DIY our own sign. DIY Christmas signTo make this fun little sign all you need is some foam poster board (cardboard works too), some letter stencils or vinyl letters (which is what we used), and paint! Cute reindeer to hang beside the sign are optional, although highly recommended. We got these cuties at T.J.Maxx… another store I can’t resist!DIY Christmas signFirst we outlined an arrow shape onto poster board and cut it out using an x-acto knife. Next we laid down our vinyl letter stickers to spell out santa, reindeer, and elves on each of the arrows. Now time to paint! We painted two coats over each of the arrows.

As a bonus step that isn’t necessary, we outline the letters once they were completely dry with a thin sharpie so they would stand out more. Finally, peel off the letter stencils to reveal your beautiful sign!DIY Christmas signTo hang the sign we taped string to the backs of the arrows, but you could also hang them individually or even put them on a festive pole! DIY Christmas signWhich way should I go? DIY Christmas sign

Tell us – do you have any holiday decorations up? Do you get sucked into the $1/$3 bin at Target or is it just us?

DIY Christmas North Pole Sign | Popcorn & Chocolate

DIY Color Block and Ombre Wooden Pencils

DIY Painted Wooden PencilsBack to school. Yes. It is coming. For you. Or it already has?? Going back to school was always about 75% scary/stressful/no don’t make me go and 25% exciting/yay I get to see my friends/have something to do other than Netflix. At least that’s how I saw going back to school each year. It seems to get more stressful the older you got, especially once you were in college and had to deal with physically moving all your stuff. I do not miss those parts of going back to school, but I do miss certain things that I don’t get now that I am working and out of school (for now).

Color Blocked and Ombre painted wooden pencils perfect for back to school

One of those things I do miss is being able to buy all new school supplies before the academic year starts. In grade school you would get a list sent to you with everything you might need, including things such as crayons! Crayons! My mom would load us all up in the car and take us to Staples to pick out new binders, folders, pens, pencils, and anything else we might think we would need.

DIY Painted Wooden Pencils

We would roam the aisles looking for our favorite colored binder or the assignment book that had the best cover. Everything was so shiny and new and smelled like office supplies. It made me maybe an extra 10% more excited to start the school year.

DIY Painted Wooden Pencils

We thought we would share this simple painted wooden pencil DIY with you all to get you eager about the approaching school year, or to just keep in your office or at home for pretty decoration/use. This DIY adds a fun flare to the regular yellow number 2 pencil so you can write in style. Plus, it is completely customizable so you can decorate your pencils to your binders, notebooks, even your outfit! It’s all up to you!

What you will need:

  • Different colors of acrylic paint
  • Paint brush
  • Water cup
  • Scotch blue painters tape

DIY Ombre Painted Wooden Pencils

Ombre: To ombre the pencils we used a color (such as pink, blue, or green) and white paint. We squirted out some of the color and then started to paint the top of the pencil with that color. Once we were about a third of the way down the pencil we mixed the color with a little bit of white to get that faded effect and painted that onto the pencil, blending it a little with the previous color. We kept adding more white to the color to get the shade lighter and lighter and added that onto the pencil. Once you are happy with the results leave the pencil to dry completely before using.

DIY Painted Wooden Pencils

You can also fade or ombre two colors together as we did with this blue and green. Just start with the blue at one end and the green at the other and use the same lightening trick by adding white paint to each. Once you are in the middle just blend the two colors together so it looks coherent. This may take a few tries or a few coats but be patient and it’ll look awesome!

DIY Color Block Painted Wooden Pencils

Color block: To color block the pencil we used painters tape to mark off the edges of each stripe. For the first stripe you can just put the tape however far along the pencil you want your first color to be. Then paint it in! We did two coats because we wanted it to be more opaque. Let dry completely before taking the tape off, otherwise the paint will rip off or smudge. For the second stripe, use the tape to block off the end of the first stripe. You’ll need the first stripe to be completely dry before putting tape over it or you’ll peal the paint off when you peal the tape up. Also put tape on the pencil where you want the second stripe to end.  Paint the part in between the tape and continue taping/painting for however many stripes you want!

We played around with different styles of painting the wooden pencils and liked the ombre effect and the color block effect the best, but feel free to take the creative reigns on this project and paint whatever inspires you! Both of these methods were really easy to do and we had a lot of fun making them; it got us in the mood to pack up our stuff and make a visit back to Skidmore College!

DIY Painted Wooden Pencils

Quick & Easy Halloween Gravestones

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Here’s another fun DIY for our Halloween series. As Halloween approaches, we are busily trying to make fun and spooky decorations. These are super easy to do and really fun!

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Last weekend we went to Salem, MA to walk around to be inspired for Halloween. We saw a memorial for the Salem Witch Trials in a very old graveyard there.

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We took a lot of cool, and a little bit creepy, pictures of the gravestones for inspiration for ours! It’s really intriguing to be in such an old town, especially around Halloween. Unfortunately, it is also very busy, so we did not get to see as much as we wanted to. But, just walking the old cobblestone streets transfixed us back to a different time.

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For these gravestones, all you’ll need is cardboard, scissors and/or an X-acto knife, and paint. For the cardboard we used flattened boxes, and for paint we used grey, moss green, and brown acrylic paint.

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The first thing you’ll want to do is look at different designs of gravestones to get inspired. We sketched the designs onto the cardboard using a pencil and then cut them out. The simple designs are easier to cut out since cardboard can be difficult to cut, but for the more complicated designs we found the X-acto knife made life easy. Make sure you leave extra space on the sides of your gravestone to fold back so it will stand up. You could also tape a long triangle-shaped strip of cardboard to the back as a stand if you don’t want the sides folded back. Once the design was all cut out we realized they were a bit top heavy and just flopped over, to remedy this we taped a toothpick to the back where the top was flopping.

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After your have your shape, start painting. We painted a base layer of grey over the whole gravestone and then added splotches of green and brown to give it more dimension. We found it good to paint a few and let them dry because once you’re inspired by spooky phrases to put on your gravestones, you’ll want to do them all at once!

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We started looking online and thinking about what to write on our gravestones next. Here are the ones we used:

  • Barry D’Alive, 1802-1868
  • Can you hear me now?
  • Underneath lies Aubrey Jones, sadly now a bag of bones
  • Ashes to ashes and dust to dust, here lies someone I wouldn’t trust
  • Myra Manes 1824-1890 by body and bones are buried down here so I will come haunt you year after year

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Next we used chalk to write out the phrases. This was easier than painting, plus you can just use a paper towel or your hand to dust off mistakes. You could either use the chalk to stencil or just leave it like we did. I personally liked the look of erasing it a few times because the dusty white chalk left a nice effect.

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After that you’re all ready to set up your graveyard! Comment with any other clever phrases you decide to use.

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Thanks to Tatertots & Jello for hosting!