Snow Friends Holiday Ornament Project

 

These sweet ornaments are something I've been making for years - but every time I make them - I add a little twist! :)

I've always been a fan of watercolors - even years ago before they became the primary medium for my children's book illustrations.

In order to make these sweet Snow Friends Ornaments, you will need:

- Chroma Blends watercolor paper

- Chroma Blends watercolor pencils

- OOLY Dot-A-Lot craft paint

- a pencil, permanent marker (thin tipped), eraser, scissors

- paint brushes

- hole puncher

- string

- a mug or glass to trace

Trace around the rim of a mug or glass with a pencil in order to make a perfect circle. Add a little handdrawn loop on the top as the 'cap' for the ornament.

Next, add a cute character inside your holiday ornament. Polar bears and foxes are a great choice for the holidays - and are somewhat easy to draw, as you only need the 'bust' or top half of the animal.

Trace around your pencil drawing with permanent pen and erase the pencil lines.

Next, comes the really fun part! Add some color using watercolor pencils. I love these colored watercolor pencils from OOLY because they offer a wide variety of colors, and it's easy to get precision within your artwork when using them. 

The concept pictured above is to use three similar colors blended together to achieve a stormy winter background.

After you're happy with your fully colored ornament, add some dimension with what I like to call 'puff paint'! OOLY's Dot-A-Lot neon colors are perfect for adding 'snow' and sweater embellishments to these sweet characters. 

(This step was the 'twist' I tried this year ;) )

After your art is completely dry, cut it out and add a hole and string for hanging on the tree!

As always, I hope you enjoy the ideas on this blog, and would love to see your creations on social media! Don't forget to tag @LinzerLane and @weareooly if you do decide to try out these sweet ornaments!

x

Ashley

Festive Shells & Stones DIY Project

 

I've been totally enraptured with living near the seashore, and tend to carry home shells, sea glass, and found objects nearly every day with my 3 year old son Leon.

Now that the holidays are fast approaching - I wanted to share a sweet and simple idea that anyone can make this season!

You will need:

• Flat stones or clam shells 
• White acrylic paint and a brush (optional)
• Marvelous Multi-Purpose Markers by OOLY

You can either 'prime' your shells and stones with two coats of acrylic paint as I did, or keep them unpainted for designing.

I have been using OOLY markers and paints for year, and these multi-purpose markers are great for drawing on natural materials. I would even say they worked even better on my unpainted shells - so the less prep work - the better ;)

Some easy ideas for round stones are penguins and snowmen. Clam shells lend themselves very well to hand lettering!

These festive stones and shells can be displayed on tables or shelves this winter. I tend to always leave my decorated shells out on the front stoop to greet passersby.

I hope you enjoyed this fun idea, and don't forget to say hi on all my social media pages @LinzerLane - as I've been posting ideas like a mad woman lately! (it must be all that fresh air by the sea). And give a friendly look over to OOLY as well - as their newsletters are always a joy to open!

xo 

Ashley

Miniature Dime Cakes DIY

I tend to get really crazy ideas when it comes to crafting. Just like the day I looked at my cereal and saw fairy donuts ;) Well, I'm an avid ear plug user since I'm a very light sleeper. The other night I realized if I cut a set of new foam ear plugs up - they might look exactly like miniature sponge cake!

My experiment worked! All you need to make these adorable dime cakes, is a pair of beige colored foam earplugs. Cut them into sections as shown above.

Trace something small and round to make the plates for your cakes. I used watercolor paper for this. 

Add some acrylic paint for icing and add some mini berries to complete your cake. I made my berries out of red crepe paper, but you could use clay or even red seed beads.

These dime cakes would be perfect for any fairy garden, dollhouse or miniature setting. 

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!

xo Lady Lucas

P.S. - Need a last minute gift for you sweetie? Check out my online shop and snag something special! Your support means so much to me and helps me keep this blog rollin'!

P.S.S - What are your plans for Valentine's Day this year? Anything special? ;)

How to Make Fairy Donuts

I posted a little video about a month ago on my Instagram feed sharing how to make these adorable fairy donuts - perfect for the tiniest tea party you can imagine. I thought I'd re-post them here to share with you all. If you love cute things, I know you will love this!

All you need to make these adorable miniature donuts are some round cereal pieces (Cheerios work best!), acrylic paint and glitter. That's it!

Using a small paintbrush, carefully decorate each Cheerio with some bright, acrylic paint. For donut frosting pink, blue, peach and lavender work best.

Pinch a little bit of glitter with your fingers and add to the top of each donut for sprinkles while the paint is still wet. That way, no glue is needed! 

Display your 'fairy donuts' on a tiny plate and display in your dollhouse, a fairy garden, or as a centerpiece on your table with a tiny tea set. 

Love this craft idea? Leave a comment below! I'd love to hear from you...

DIY Sticker Trees for Christmas

This Christmas my husband and I are living in a New York City sublet and couldn't bring our hundreds of decorations with us, I didn't want to buy anything too large to decorate with - so I was quite happy to find a tiny, tabletop Christmas tree at the dollar store;)

To make your own cute 'sticker tree', all you need are some cute stickers (preferably similar to these sturdy plastic bubble types from Flyer Tiger).

Using a glue gun, attach one sticker to the end of each tree branch like so:

 One sheet should be enough to cover the whole tree fairly nicely. Don't forget to add one nice ornament to the top for a finishing touch.

I used a little coffee filter as a snow skirt and added some of my paper and clay characters below to add some cheer under the tree ;) 

Display all your gifts next to the tree for a super festive  look perfect for any small space or apartment dwelling. Add tinsel and lights to complete the look!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

xox Lady Lucas

Stoney Owls Craft Tutorial

Stoney Owls

brought to you by resident craft expert Zoë 

what you need:

- smooth stones (cleaned and dried)

- permanent marker

- acrylic paints

- small paint brushes

- decoupage medium

1) Select a grouping of stones that are smooth and free of cracks.

2) Draw the outline of an owl with permanent marker. Need inspiration for drawing owls? This might help!

3) Add some color with acrylic paints.

4) Allow your owls to dry for a number of hours or over night.

5) Carefully coat the painted side of the stone with decoupage medium.

6) Let dry and then display outdoors or inside as table decor.

I hope you enjoyed this really cute summer craft! Please let us know if you try it by using the comments section below and don't forget to share this post!

Love & Buttons,

Zoë

PS - For another great stone painting craft, check out this post on Art of Crafts!

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Happy New Year!

Wishing you all a very wonderful New Year! I have some pretty lofty goals for this blog in 2016, so I'd be delighted if you considered following Little Owl Lane by email so you don't miss a single craft tutorial, video or free download!

Much Love,

Lady Lucas