Salsa Jar/Pen & Pencil Holder

Ever find yourself with 7 half empty salsa jars in your fridge, that you know you're not going to finish? Well, it's time get crafty and transform those jars into something pretty and useful, like a pen & pencil holder for your desk! I will demonstrate how to decorate by decoupaging with magazine cut outs and tissue paper...

STEP ONE: CLEAN OUT A JAR & PEEL LABEL




Peel the label off as best you can. Don't worry, anything that won't come off can get covered up.

STEP TWO: SUPPLIES!

You will need to pick out a theme for your jar. I usually just pull out the magazines I have kicking around and go from there. I have a bunch of gardening magazines, so that'll be the theme for my jar. I also pulled out some yellow tissue paper to be used for my base layer.



You will also need:
Scissors
Elmer's Glue
Water
Mixing cup
Paint Brush



STEP THREE: GLUE & WATER MIX

Here's where we make our own "Podge". This is the mixture that will glaze over the cut images and tissue paper to adhere them onto the jar and give it a glossy finish.


Squeeze enough glue to just cover up the bottom of the cup. Then add in about 1/4 cup of water. Mix this up well with your brush.

STEP FOUR: FIRST LAYER OF TISSUE

Start by applying a thin layer of glue & water mixture to the jar. Gently place tissue paper on the glue and dab it on with your paint brush.


Make sure you cover the tissue with another thin layer of glue. This will create an interesting "cracked glass" textured look. It looks best to repeat this step a few times to build up some layers of tissue.

STEP FIVE: CUT MAGAZINE IMAGES & GLUE TO JAR



Place your cut images onto the jar in your own collage fashion and brush on a layer of glue.


STEP SIX: FINISH & LET DRY

Finish placing and gluing all of your images. Brush on a final layer of glue and let your jar dry. It helps to speed up the drying process by taking a hair dryer to it.

You are finished! Enjoy your recycled & modified craft that went from salsa container to desk organizer!

Decorative Popsicle Stick Birdhouse

After collecting a summer's worth of Popsicle sticks, I decided it was time to do something special and craft-worthy with them. My good friend is a bird lover and she would be a perfect candidate for a Popsicle Stick Birdhouse gift.
Here's the How To on crafting one yourself:

STEP ONE: GATHERING




STEP TWO: WHAT'S NEEDED
1. Something you can throw down on your table for protection, like a craft mat or some news paper.
2. Elmer's wood glue.
3. Some Q-tips to help with intricate and sometimes messy gluing process.
4. Card stock paper (or anything thicker than regular paper ie: thin cardboard).
5. Scissors.


STEP 3: FRAME & FOUNDATION
Create your square frame by overlapping the sticks & gluing at each corner.


Glue up multiple frames like this. Then glue one frame on top of the other.

STEP 4: BUILD UP THE WALLS

Cut little tabs from card stock/thin cardboard material.


Fold the tabs and glue one folded side to the bottom of your Popsicle sticks. Be sure to leave a little finger nail-like corner of the Popsicle stick peaking out so that it can slightly overlap your foundation.


Glue up the other side of the tab on your Popsicle sticks and attach to your foundation. To ensure security, hold down the sticks as you glue them down, and remember to leave an opening at the front of your birdhouse for the (imaginary and/or fake) birdies to get in.


And keep going...


After each wall is glued, you will want to glue a stick across the top of the wall for extra stability. This is a decorative birdhouse...true! But we don't want the walls to fall down once our giftee receives it.

STEP 5: THE ROOF!
There are different options for this step. You can do a traditional Pitched Roof, or you can just flatten it out and create a box birdhouse. I decided to go with a "birds nest" aesthetic. I glued together a basic frame (like the ones that were glued up for the foundation) and then I just started piling up and gluing the sticks on that frame in a controlled/chaotic fashion.


And VUALA! A nesty roof! Glue it into your house using the same tab method as was used for the walls.

STEP 6: TWINE LOOP
Cut a 4-5 inch piece of twine, string, or yarn.


Find a spot in the center of your roof to tie/glue it to. With the nest style roof, it is very easy to tie your loop in the center.

STEP 7: A COMPLETED BIRDHOUSE!


If you just so happen to keep fake birds in your craft drawer-as I do, adding one to the opening of your birdhouse will create a very special finishing touch to your project.


ENJOY!