Tag: Stamps

Nautical themed backgammon | Popcorn & Chocolate

Nautical Hand-Painted Travel Backgammon Board

3 Comments

IMG_1591Hello lovelies! We told you in our last post that we had some fun summer DIY’s coming for you to end your summer with good memories. Well that is just what we have for you today with this nautical themed hand-painted backgammon board we made.

Nautical themed backgammon | Popcorn & Chocolate

I love playing backgammon. My mom taught me how to play when I was younger, and once I got to college I roped Rose into the fun of the game and we have been addicted ever since.

Handmade backgammon board | Popcorn & Chocolate

We have this silly old fashioned board that I swear is 50 years old. It gets the job done, but some of the pieces are missing their backs, and we have to lug this whole mini suitcase around wherever we want to play, which is a problem when you like to play on the beach and need room in your bag for the 5 towels and 500 snacks you are bringing too.

Travel Backgammon Board | Popcorn & Chocolate

Being the little crafters that we are, we decided we could easily make a travel friendly hand-painted backgammon board of our own! This way we can easily transport the game and play it on the beach or wherever our hearts desire! Since we had the beach in mind, we thought it appropriate to have a nautical theme to the board – but you can do any colors/designs you want! Keep reading to find out how to make this nautical hand-painted travel backgammon board!

IMG_1566

DIY Nautical Themed Backgammon Board | Popcorn & Chocolate

Nautical backgammon board | Popcorn & Chocolate

Materials:

  • Canvas fabric
  • Acrylic paint
  • Ruler
  • Paint brush
  • Wooden pieces (you’ll need 30 total) – we used these
  • Fabric paint pen or a sharpie
  • Stamps and ink (optional)

How to make this nautical DIY backgammon board:

  1. Start by measuring and cutting out your canvas fabric. For reference, our whole fabric sheet is 16 x 21 inches and then our board within that is 12 x 19 inches. You can decide how much extra fabric you have along the edges of the actual board. But don’t forget you need space on at least one side for your home pieces!
  2. Once your fabric is cut out, now you can make the actual board. Our board is drawn about 2 inches away from the outer edge of the fabric on the longer side and about 1 inch on one of the shorter sides and 2 inches on the other in order to leave room for pieces you take off while playing. Use a very light pencil mark to measure this out and then using a either a fabric pen or a sharpie and a ruler, connect the marks so you have a rectangle.
  3. Now that you have the outer edges drawn, make another light pencil mark that divides your board exactly in half. For us, that meant measuring 9 inches away from one of the shorter sides. Then using the ruler and the black paint pen or sharpie, make the center black line.
  4. Now that you have your board in place, you can start making the triangles. Each of the triangles are 1/4 inch apart and the triangles themselves are 1 and 1/4 inches wide. So starting on one side of the board, measure 1/4 inch and make a light tick mark. From that tick mark, measure 1 and 1/4 inches and make another light tick, then measure another 1/4 inch and make a tick. Continue this alternating between 1/4 inch and 1 and 1/4 inches all the way across the board. You should end up with 12 triangles on each side.
  5. Now that you’ve mapped out where the triangles will be drawn, measure halfway between the 1 and 1/4 inch triangle base (which is 3/4 inch from one side). From this point, measure up 4 inches for the short triangles and 5 inches for the taller ones. Don’t forget to alternate between these! Make a tick mark with your pencil at what will be the tip of the triangle, and then using your ruler and black pen connect that tick mark with the left and right tick marks representing the triangle base. Continue making triangles like this, alternating between 4 and 5 inches long, until all 24 of your triangles are made.
  6. Now your entire board is mapped out and you can start painting. Choose 2 colors: one for the short triangles and one for the long triangles. Using a ruler and a paint brush, fill in each of the triangles with your desired colors. Note: if you want your lines really precise you could use painters tape to outline the triangles. I wasn’t too worried about being precise, so I just used a ruler and a steady hand.
  7. If you want stripes like we did on the the short triangles, you can use the ruler to outline the triangle and then once that is dry use the ruler as a straightedge to make stripes across the triangle. Important: make sure you let the stripes dry one at time otherwise you might stick your ruler in wet paint and smudge it!
  8. Now to make the pieces. To make the stamped anchor pieces, all you will need is a rubber stamp and ink. If you don’t have stamps, you can just paint the pieces a solid color like we did with the yellow ones. If you were feeling fancy, you might even paint interesting designs. Just don’t forget to make 2 different sets of 15 pieces.
  9. Now it’s time to play!

IMG_1558

There you have it! A fun way to end summer by playing backgammon with your friends on your new hand-painted backgammon board! You can even pair it with some Lucky Charms Popcorn for some extra luck. Let us know in the comments below what your favorite games are and if you have ever played backgammon before!

Travel Nautical Backgammon | Popcorn & Chocolate

Now I can whoop Rose’s ass in style 😉 That is if I’m not sleeping…

IMG_1599

Nautical Travel Backgammon Board | Popcorn & Chocolate

DIY Stamped Clay Flower Pots | Popcorn & Chocolate

Fruity Flower Pots

5 Comments

DIY Stamped Clay Flower Pots | Popcorn & Chocolate

All throughout college I have desperately wanted to get a dog. However, my mom does not think I’m responsible enough to have a dog yet even though, proximity aside, I am the preferred child called upon to take care of my family’s dog whenever my parents are away. This is no small dog either. We have a great dane, and yes she does walk me rather than me walking her.

Hand stamped succulent pots | Popcorn & Chocolate

Nonetheless, I have to agree that taking care of a dog for a weekend is completely different than having your own to take care of every day. As a compromise to not getting a dog the second I stepped out of college I got the next best thing: succulents!

Fruit stamped flower pot | Popcorn & Chocolate

I remember the day Rose and I drove to Lowe’s and picked up our little babies like it was yesterday. I was so excited to get these little guys and decorate our apartment with them and watch them grow.

Strawberry stamped succulent holder | Popcorn & Chocolate

Cut ahead 2 years and an apartment move later and they are still kicking and still growing, some a little bit out of control. Our succulents are doing so well that we have decided to add a few more to our ever growing family. Rose is also always determined to propagate our old succulents into new plants (still hasn’t worked yet but I’ll keep you all posted). This means we need new planters to house our little guys.

DIY stamped flower pots | Popcorn & Chocolate

Cherry stamped succulent pot | Popcorn & Chocolate

These succulents are too cute that no ordinary planter will do. We thought in our crafty little minds to make some planters ourselves. We went to our local craft store and picked up some terra cotta clay pots for about 79 cents each. The rest of the supplies we already had at home and chances are you will too – if not they are easy to buy as well! These stamps are from Studio Calico, and we highly recommend checking them out for stamps and other craft supplies. This is not a sponsored post, we just love Studio Calico. They always have the cutest selection of stamps! Keep reading to find out how we made these fruit stamped flower pots.

IMG_0761

Supplies:

  • Terra Cotta clay pot
  • Paint
  • Stamps & ink

Instructions:

  1. First things first you want to clean the clay pot and make sure that annoying sticker isn’t on the bottom anymore. Next, go ahead and paint the pot any color you wish. We used a circular sponge paint brush and dabbed the paint on.
  2. Let paint dry completely (a couple of hours) and then paint a second coat on. You can continue to do this until your pot is covered nicely in paint. Ours took 3 coats of paint until you couldn’t see the sponge paint marks anymore.
  3. Once your pot is completely dry you can start stamping your design on. We gently pressed the stamp to the pot and gently pressed along the top of the stamp to make sure all sides were stamped onto the pot. Don’t worry if it smudges or you make a mistake – you can easily paint over that area and do it again.
  4. Let the ink dry for about a day before you plant your little succulent or flower into the pot.

These guys came out so cute and the fruit theme is perfect to give your house an extra summer-y vibe. Now my new succulent babies can grow wild in their new pots. Hows that for responsible? I think I’m well on my way to being ready for my own dog. I mean look how well all my plant babies are doing! Much better than Roses’ air plants.

Fruit stamped flower pots | Popcorn & Chocolate

Comment below if you have any succulents and what fruit would you stamp onto a pot??

 

Holiday Gift Tags

3 Comments

IMG_4363Happy countdown to Christmas! We’re starting to get in the holiday spirit and thinking about how to wrap our presents in a fun and creative way.

IMG_4334Every year I like to come up with a fun and different way to wrap my presents for my family. Last year I made pop-out card gift tags for everyone. It’s a way to make all the presents you give unique, plus it makes it easy to identify which presents are from you when they’re all under the tree.

IMG_4276We decided to make gift tags that could be used not only for Christmas but for all sorts of occasions. We have a ton of stamps, washi, and fun shaped punches that we used to make each tag unique! These are so easy and fun to make. We used the traditional gift tag shape, though Haley was inspired to change up the tag shape up for a few.

IMG_4419

IMG_4285

You can get really creative with these and go all out, or you can always keep it simple, whatever your preference. Even just stamping letters would look nice. This craft is so simple and you could make some really fun stuff with just a few different colors of paper, some good markers or pens, and scissors. The stamps, punches, and washi add a personal touch to the tags, but are no means necessary to make some cute gift tags!

IMG_4297What you’ll need:

  • Colored paper (TJ Maxx always has a good set of 6×6 scrapbook paper that would be fun to use. We used this paper for our Advent Calendar)
  • Scissors
  • Glue
  • Stamps
  • Washi Tape
  • Metalic Pens (we used Gel pens)
  • Fun Shaped Punches
  • Hole PunchIMG_4339 IMG_4301

What we did:

We started by cutting out a bunch of gift tags out of paper in different colors and sizes. You can either free hand the design of the gift tag like us, or trace an image from offline. For the designs on the tags we used several different methods. For some we stamped out simple shapes and would either leave them plain, or would color over them in metallic gel pens. Other tags we used washi tape to create stripes and other shapes. Lastly, we used punch out stamps to create unique designs, such as the snowflakes.

IMG_4370IMG_4406

As you can see, we made all sorts of different designs such as ornaments, Christmas trees, stockings, presents, snowmen, tea cups, macaroons, and cupcakes. We also made ones that aren’t just for the holidays. These are some of the striped ones and others with a simple stamp or a cute cut out. Go wild and let your creative juices flow!

IMG_4323 IMG_4302IMG_4309

Halloween Snack Tags

3 Comments

IMG_2837Happy October everybody!
Now that it is October, I feel like it is an appropriate time to start bombarding this blog with everything we have been working on for Halloween this year. We are planning on having a small Halloween party at our house with some of our friends, and so have been busy little bees gathering supplies, planning, and crafting everything Halloween. And now that it is October, we will start sharing some of the things we have been working on with you in case you wanted to join us!

IMG_2824This first craft, as you can see, is similar to our clothespin DIY. However instead of using washi tape (which you can definitely do as well), we decided to paint the clothespins some fun Halloween colors.First we painted the clothespins whatever base color we wanted (white, silver, or green) then once that completely dried, we taped off stripes using painters tape and then painted the rest black. Again, let dry completely and then peel off to reveal some fun stripes! Make sure you press the tape down tightly because otherwise the paint will creep underneath and mess up your straight lines.IMG_2809 IMG_2819

You can also use stamps to stamp out a fun Halloween saying or food – We chose “Witch Treat.”IMG_2806 IMG_2814

Once the clothespin is done, you can create a name tag for the food or drink you plan on serving at your Halloween party. This is when you turn to your friends or family members to help generate some spooky names for common foods. My mom and I always love a good word game, so we texted back and forth several different possible names one could give popcorn. I decided to go with Bat Brains, but here are some of the other names we came up with: toad warts, Frankenstein teeth, Goblin blobs, Ogre toenails. After I got sidetracked coming up with gory names for popcorn, I then stamped out what I wanted my place card to say on some orange paper. IMG_2804IMG_2827IMG_2825Now all you have to do is stick the paper in the clothespin and display it next to the food or drink you are serving! Easy as pumpkin pie.IMG_2855 IMG_2846 IMG_2853

We have been busy creating all sorts of Halloween goodies to display for our party. Check back shortly for some more of the ideas pictured on this table! Comment with any creepy names for food and drinks you come up with and maybe we’ll use some of them!

IMG_2834

Halloween Clothes Pin Snack Tags | Popcorn & Chocolate

Clothespin DIY

2 Comments

IMG_1474Hello!

Today we are going to share a DIY with you all! We thought we would deviate a bit from all the food posts we have started out with. This is a fun and simple DIY that you can do mindlessly do while you watch TV or listen to music. We desperately needed chip clips in the Popcorn and Chocolate household, but whenever we went out in hopes to buy some, none of them were pretty enough for our liking. So instead we scoured pinterest (as per usual) and found some fun ways to make your own chip clips. We went out and bought a box of clothespins and then used what supplies we had at home. Now since we are a crafting household, we already had many of these supplies on hand, but you might need to make a trip to your local craft store to pick some goodies up!

IMG_1473 IMG_1481This craft is a lot of fun and you can decorate your clothespins in a variety of ways. We are going to show you two different methods we enjoyed by using washi tape and stamps. We also have several pictures of how we decorated using paint and nail polish, the possibilities are endless!

IMG_1483

Supplies:
– Wooden clothespins

– Washi tape

– Small stamps and an ink pad

Other supplies you could use: stencils, sharpies, paint, nail polish, craft paper, etc!

IMG_1478For the washi tape clothespins: start at the top of the clothespins and wrap a piece of washi around it so all the sides are covered. Trim any excess tape you have with scissors and make sure everything is securely taped down. Do this same thing on the next section, overlapping the first just a tiny bit. Keep doing this all the way down the clothespin. Some places can get tricky due to the wire, sometimes it is helpful to trim off small pieces of washi and put them around the wire edges. Or, if you are like us and get frustrated easily, it’s best to just cover what you can and move on. If the tape is not sticking very well, or if you just want to make sure it will last for a while, we would suggest to modge podge the whole thing with a light layer. This really helped on the tricky places to get the tape to stick better.

IMG_1490 IMG_1491 IMG_1492 IMG_1493

For the stamp clothespins: This one is pretty self explanatory. All you need to do is figure out what design you want and then start stamping! We used these little letter stamps we bought at A.C. Moore. They work perfectly if you want to write something sweet. We also recently purchased this set of stamps from Papersource, that although were a bit expensive for what they are, they work nicely on these clothespins because they are so tiny.

IMG_1485 IMG_1487 IMG_1488Other ways to decorate:

– Use a stencil and paint or sharpie a fun design

– Marble nail polish in water and run the clothespin through it (DIY on marbling to come!)

– Take some craft paper or any paper you enjoy and Modge Podge it to the clothespin and cut off any excess. You can also do the same with ribbon.

IMG_1475

We hope you enjoyed our DIY clothespin post! It is a deviation away from the food, but hopefully it was a good deviation. We certainly love our crafts as well as food. We would love to hear what you guys decided to try out with your clothespins!

IMG_1489