DIY Marbled Paper

Marbled paper has been everywhere lately. From wedding decor to home accents, this trendy and stylish look is one that’s not going away anytime soon. If you’re looking for a fun project you can occupy the kids with that will double as decor or gifts, look no farther. Marbling paper is a fun way to recreate this trendy look at home.

To help you get started, FTD walks you through how to marble paper in 7 super simple steps. An added bonus? You probably already have most of the materials at home. This is a fun craft to get creative with. You can transform simple white piece of cardstock into a work of art by exploring different color schemes and trying new patterns.

So what are you waiting for? Let the marbling begin!

Materials: Baking sheet Shaving cream (must be foam not gel) Watercolors and acrylic paint Cardstock Paintbrush Dropper Scraper (paint scraper, ruler or any flat edge) Step 1: Fill the baking sheet with shaving cream.

 

 Step 2: Smooth out the surface of the shaving cream.

 

 Step 3: Add in two to three colors with a dropper.

 

 Step 4: Swirl the colors in a figure 8 pattern.

 

 Step 5: Lightly press the cardstock into the shaving cream.

 

 Step 6: Remove and scrape off the extra shaving cream.

 

Step 7: Let dry and put on display!

 

DIY Wrapping Station

Who else is a total sucker for the $1 a roll wrapping 

paper at Target? I am! A place to store my rolls without

all the bent ends which was easily accessible was on my

to-do list and this wall needed a bit of color...

Found this open frame at an antique shop, although it's

not antique, it was perfect and snatched up for a great

price. A box of cup hooks, some mini metal rods

and a finished usable piece that isn't too shabby

to look at when coming down the stairs to the basement.

We already had the bar, hooks and buckets, so hung

a few for washi tape, stickers, etc. I moved the markers 

and scissors onto a high shelf in a closet, since we

still have littles and that would just be a catastrophe

waiting to happen!

A few jars for ribbon scraps and bakers twine. 

The green locker, which will be getting a paint face 

lift hopefully this summer, holds tissue paper, 

small boxes, bubble wrap and other packaging items.

The metal rods have a small hole in each end and are 

easily removable when you need to change out the

rolls of paper. A small piece of washi tape is also

a great way to keep the paper from unrolling.

Coffee Filter Flowers

With the leftover coffee filters from my 3-D Heart, 

I whipped up these super simple and fun coffee filter flowers.

I used the same technique as before, essentially folding each

filter in half and then pinching to make a stem in the center. 

I stuck the first flower inside the top of a paper straw and then

added two more filters for a fuller floral look.

Careful with that hot glue gun on this project,

it just might bite a little!

A scrap of ribbon glued on the bottom of the flower

 helps to hide any odd layers as well.

These would make a fun gift for your Valentine!

3-D Coffee Filter Heart

 I needed to make something large for an open frame 

the hubs built for me and decided to try my hand at

tackling coffee filters. I  used only one stack from my 

coffee filter bag for this project with a few filters left over.

A bottle of red reinker dye (that I have for my stamp pads)

was used along the edges. I wanted the color to flow down 

the filters so pulled out a glass of water and a straw.

I soaked the entire stack of filters until I was happy

with the color saturation and then let the stack dry overnight.

Make sure you do this on a plate, paper works fine

and you can toss in the trash when you are done.

I was going to cut out a large cardboard heart but

saw this stiff felt one at Michael's and it was 1/2 off

so I used it as my base. Once the coffee filters were 

completely dry, I started forming them into flower 

shapes. Just fold in half and then twist the bottom 

into a little stem. You can fluff the tops if needed.

 Once you get some flowers made up, whip out your

hot glue gun and work with one flower at a time

gluing them onto your form. Make sure you squish

each flower down a bit (without crushing) till the

glue can catch or harden. 

After covering my heart, I went back and filled in

the spots that I thought needed a bit more fluff.

Hope you'll try your hand at a coffee filter project

the possibilities are endless!

DIY Valentine Decorations on a Stick

Looking for some easy and fun Valentine Decorations? Well, you are in the right place!

If you  have any tulle or yarn lying around, wrap it around 

two or three fingers, tie the center (really tightly) with another

piece of thread or ribbon and then cut the loops until 

they poof into a nice little pom pom (you can give them

a little haircut if you aren't happy with the shape). 

I hot glued mine to paper straws to add a little height 

to my Valentine mantle display this year.

If you don't have any yarn, ribbon or tulle, a bit of

cardstock will work as well. I die cut these hearts and 

glued them onto fun brightly striped paper straws.

More Valentine fun to display around the house!

My LeroyLime Workspace

Well, I guess you could say, you can't pinch me in my LeroyLime workspace, 

as my pop of color amidst all the white is non other than GREEN!!

and since Spring is right around the corner, a bit of organization inspiration

for you all - sit back, check it out, enjoy & pop over if you want to create

or just gab over a cup of coffee!

I'm not going to lie...my desk RARELY looks like that

but I just moved a few things to a folding table I use every

now and again when I have large projects I'm working on.

My carpet is either littered with baby toys or cleared for 

my workouts. Where I'm standing to take the photos, 

there isn't a wall, it's an open room, which makes it a nice

space for me to work. I can still be present, not hidden 

away and my kiddos are extremely good about keeping

their tiny paws off Mama's goodies!

I'd love to hear what you think...comments with any questions

you have about something you're struggling with organizing in

your craft room or home. I'd love to help!

Circus Bebe Sign

I can't take credit for this adorable sign...it was made for my baby shower from a dear friend and is proudly hung on sweet Alivia's door. I love how she incorporated washi tape on the chevron ribbon and the letter layering is divine!

Gotta love what you can do with a little fabric, paper and ribbon!

Shop ReOpened

Happy September 1st!!

LeroyLime is back open on Etsy...can I get a woot woot! I've been working on new product, photos and listings, so swing by when you have a chance. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the new as well as the old or what you'd like to see in the future. 

The new norm is settling in here at home, school is back in session (yea!). So two of my chickens are in school while the other two run circles around me. Well one of them anyway... the other just lays there and smiles.

Summer is coming to an end and the sweet crisp air of fall will be here before we know it. I have to admit, I'm in no rush to rid the warm away this year. Even though I love fall, I know what is soon to follow...the cold, BRRR.

I'll be hosting a giveaway this month on the blog, thank you for being patient with me as I've taken maternity leave. Our little girl couldn't be more perfect!

Vintage Circus Themed Baby Room (Part 2)

There are so many fun and whimsical features in our Vintage Circus Themed baby room, so I decided to split the photos up into a few different blog posts.

Below, I picked this canopy up from IKEA and pulled the nursery room colors from the pennants. Since we didn't know the sex of our baby, there is only a bit of pink in the room, on a few of the little circles on the canopy. But now that we know a little girl will be living here, the pink is perfect!

When we lived in Newport, I scored two of these old windows on someone's curb during trash day...they've traveled all the way to ND before one of them was transformed into a beautiful piece for the nursery. My hubby sanded down the window and then painted it a grey. He then aged it up a bit on the edges and then I lined the backs with some fabulous Circus paper I purchased through Stampin' Up!. As soon as I print out a few of the baby photos of our sweet little girl, I will put them inside a few of the window panes. I used washi tape to attach the papers inside the panes to make it easier to pull out when I'm adding the photos.

I added a sweet little paper banner for a bit of whimsy...

more to come...stay tuned!!

Washi Owl Tags

It's almost been a month since our forth little peanut was born, hard to believe! and I'm way overdue for a blog post...here are some washi tape owl tags I whipped up to attach to some homemade goodies for a couple of friends.

Teacher Gift & IG reCAP

The end of the year quickly snuck up on me. I have a fab Pinterest board with all sorts of fun teacher gift ideas and loved the one of a plant or flower in a chalk painted container with a note, "Thank you for helping me grow!". I bought a bucket that I had all intention of painting but the plant I found wouldn't fit, so I just fancied up the tag a bit, added some sparkle amidst the flower petals and voila, something special for my daughters 2nd grade teacher!

What did you create or gift for your end of year teacher gifts?

and although the blog has been pretty quiet for a bit and will be while I take a little break for maternity leave, I have been keeping quite busy over at my Etsy shop, LeroyLime. Here are just a few of the many orders I've tackled...more to come!

Washi Tape Diaper Cake

I'm back with another Washi Tape project, coming soon to my Etsy shop...diapers cakes! I made this one for a dear friend who's having a Circus Themed Baby Shower (on my Birthday, I might add). I added a bit of Circus flair with none other than, tada..Washi Tape!..around the centers of each cake tier.  

Cute eh?! I made sure the Washi wouldn't come undone at each end by adding a tiny piece of double sided boloney tape, which holds uber strong.

If you haven't gotten on the Washi Tape bandwagon yet, DowntownTape is a great place to start, you can buy a few rolls without breaking the bank!

Quick Paper Rosette

Here's a short little video of my very popular rosettes...of course they take a BIT longer than

6 seconds to make but I kind of like the quick version! grin

find these and other coordinating party decor
at LeroyLime on Etsy

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
photo courtesy of: Valerie Ott Photography

Hanging Wish Lists

My kids love cutting pictures out of magazines, so last year I made them some hanging wish lists. You can view those HERE. I wasn't too keen on how the photos turned out, so I made new ones this year and they filled their ribbons to the brim!

These have been featured in Kangaroo Mama's Holiday Guide

and will be a tradition in our family for years to come!

Vintage Cowgirl Party

If you've got a little cowgirl on your hands, head on over to Kangaroo Mama's blog and have a galloping good time checking out all of her fun party decorations and ideas. I enjoyed creating coordinating party decorations for her and they will soon be listed in the shop!

photos courtesy of Kangaroo Mama

Decorations (Treat Bag Toppers, Cupcake Toppers, Mini and Large Rosettes, Birthday Banner): Leroy Lime

Featured

Truth- Who can't stop smiling when they see something they've made snag a hot spot on someone else's blog?? 

ME

L :: Plush Camera Pillow
R :: Bling Camera Cupcake Toppers

Thank you Jenny for the fabulous shout out!!

click on my featured tab above to see where else LeroyLime has made a mark!

How-To Make a Paper Bag Rosette

I recently made decor for a cowgirl themed birthday party. A request was made for much larger rosettes than what I typically make for my banners, so I decided to try my hand at a paper bag rosette. It really is quite simple and I took photos of the process to help guide you during this fun project. They make a great natural backdrop, hung from different lengths of ribbon or twine and you can add any color in the center to make them match your own party or wedding decor.

1. I only used one side of the paper bag and cut the entire back off (the part without the bottom) then cut the large rectangle in 1/2, straight down the middle, so you have two long rectangles.

2. start folding an elementary fan fold, back and forth, back and forth, just try to keep the folds the same size.

3. Attach a strip of adhesive to the inside fold of the ends. I use double sided strong sticky tape (or what crafters call boloney tape, since you peel off the red backing), you can find this at any craft store and it really is amazing stuff! and then depending on how full you want your rosette, you keep attaching more to the ends, to get your desired length. I used three strips of paper bag per rosette.

4. Peel off the last piece of backing from your tape and now you'll have a full folded circle, which you form into a lamp shade shape and then lightly push down the center to form your rosette.

5. Have a hot glue gun handy and insert glue into the center hole and around the top edges where you will be covering with whatever shape or stamped image/message you'd like. Attach that right away.

6. Punch a hole in one top side and string up for decoration. 

You can also make smaller versions of these for your Christmas trees, a fun project to do with your little kiddos or young cousins! Have fun folding!