How To Make Sunburst Mirror using Popsicle and Ice Cream Sticks

This tutorial on using popsicle sticks to create beautiful home decor is just one of my first projects (its a first try too!)

How To Make Sunburst Mirror using Popsicle and Ice Cream Sticks

MATERIALS:

• Popsicle sticks
• Ice cream sticks/scoops
• Circular card board or Styrofoam
• White glue/Elmer’s Glue or wood glue
• Poster paint/acrylic paint (any color you want)
• Paint brush
• Mirror (circle is best of course)

Step 1 : Gather your materials

Step 2 : Take the mirror out of its original casing/frame

Step 3 : Turn the mirror over (wrong side) and smear some glue on it.

Step 4 : Press the mirror into your cardboard or Styrofoam, make sure it is centered.

Step 5 : Lay your popsicle sticks on the periphery, estimate how much popsicle sticks you need before using glue to lay them around your mirror. I choose a combination of popsicle and Ice cream scoops because it looks more interesting for me.

Step 6 : Apply glue one by one on the popsicle sticks.

Step 7 : And attach them to the Styrofoam/cardboard like this.

Step 8 : Continue working around the mirror like this. By the way, I just eye-balled the lay-out :)

Step 9 : First layer done! At this point, it looks okay, but I want to add more elements of texture and contrast so I’m going to add a layer of ice cream sticks/scoops.

 Step 10 : Put a generous amount of glue over the popsicle sticks, this would serve two purposes, one is that it will help bind the popsicle sticks better and two, this would be where you will stick the 2^nd layer.

Step 11 : Plan the lay-out of your ice cream sticks/scoops.

Step 12 : Stick them all in! You’ll notice at this point there are still gaps, so off to the 3^rd layer we go! :)

Step 13 : Put in a generous layer of glue (my favourite part).

Step 14 : Put in the 3^rd layer like so.

Step 15 : As you can see, the 3^rd layer is for added texture and also to seal in the gaps.

Step 16 : Once all in, put in another layer of glue, but make sure they look kind of nice, because this is for texture and once dried and painted, it would look like a carved design on your popsicle sticks.

Step 17 : Let dry for 12-24 hours (48 hours is better but I can’t wait).

Step 18 : Make sure your paint is smooth and has no blobs or dried paint in it.

Step 19 : Start painting! See how nice the glue looks being raised like that which creates an interesting textural element to it.

Step 20 : Paint all around the mirror, making sure to get to the nooks and crannies of the popsicle and ice cream sticks. I chose gold because it looks classier than a flat color like white, plus it fits in with my other sunburst mirrors (you’ll see later).

Step 21 : Voila! Here is the sunburst mirror family all being dried together. There’s papa mirror (at the back), mama mirror (the gold one), and baby mirror (the one in the front).

Step 22 : A close-up at the mama (ahem) gold mirror haha :) Looking great!

Step 23 : Display the mirror either resting against a wall or mounted on a wall. Hope you like this guide. Feel free to leave your violent reactions on the comment space below, Just kidding :)

How to Turn Tuna Cans into Cute Knick Knack Organizer by PinkGingerSnaps

Here is a tuna cans recycling project which  I came up with  :) 

My pets goes through tuna like there's no tomorrow, so I have tons of tuna cans and I was thinking of a way to recycle them..

How to Turn Tuna Cans into Cute Knick Knack Organizer

Materials:

• Clean tuna cans
• Wrapping paper with cute prints
• White school glue/elmer’s glue
• Raffia/ribbon in a color that complements the papers

Equipments:

• Scissors
• Ruler
• Pen

How to turn tuna cans into cute knick knack organizer by pinkgingersnaps

Step 1 : Gather the materials

Step 2 : It is better to use tuna cans with bottoms that looks like this, it makes them perfectly stackable! :)

Step 3 : Measure the height of your tuna cans using your ruler

Step 4 : Use the measurement you got to determine what width of paper you must cut off from your roll of wrapping paper. I got 4 centimeters, so I added 1 centimeter to it and marked my paper at 5 centimeters. The 1 centimeter is for the fold we will do later.

Step 5 : Here is the paper all marked up.

Step 6 : Cut the paper

Step 7 : Estimate what length of paper you need to wrap around the can by wrapping it loosely around the can and using that as an estimate where you need to cut off the excess.

Step 8 : Fold about 0.5 centimeter on both sides along the length of the paper. This would ensure that the sides would be crisp and clean plus nice to look at! :)

Step 9 : Turn it over. Looking nice! Now repeat steps 4-9 until you have enough to use as cover for your cans.

Step 10 : Here is the gang, ready to use as cover!

Step 11 : Turn the paper strip over and slather some of the white glue on it, don’t worry too much if it smudges on the sides since white glue (like Elmer’s glue) dries clear.

Step 12 : Wrap the paper strip around the can, like so.

Step 13 : All wrapped up! Let it dry for 15-30 minutes. Repeat steps 11 and 12 with as many cans as you want.

Step 14 : Get your raffia and estimate how much you need to wrap around the can and also to form a small bow.

Step 15 : Wrap the raffia around the can and form a bow, looking cute already! Repeat steps 14 and 15 with as many cans as you want.

Step 16 : Voila! Here they are all stacked up! :)

Step 17 : Enjoy your new cute-ified tuna cans. Hope you enjoyed viewing this guide. :)

Do you have tuna cans recycling ideas too? Do let me know!

How to Make a Pebble Mat using Old Carpet Rug

I happen to have an on-going love affair with rocks, pebbles, and stones, so anything with them in it are stuff that I absolutely love!

Anyway, enough of that (but more!). I have some old carpet tiles and I wanted to add more stone element to my home decor, but I did not want to cover my whole dining table with pebbles permanently. What can a girl do right? Of course, pull up her sleeves and bring out the handy-goddess in her!

How to Make a Pebble Mat using Old Carpet Rug

I came up with this idea on how to recycle and repurpose carpet tiles to use my tons (as in lots and lots) of rocks and pebbles but would not need to be a permanent commitment :)

So without further ado, I give you:

How to Make a Pebble Mat using Old Carpet Rug

Materials:

ü  Pebbles from gardening or aquarium store

ü  SILICONIZED Acrylic Caulk (It is important to use siliconized caulk because the end product needs to be flexible like rubber especially if you are going to use it as a rug or mat)

ü  Old carpet tiles (or any rubberized or carpeting material which can withstand heavy traffic

Equipments:

Caulking gun

Step 1 : Gather the materials

Step 2 : Cut off the end of the tapered end of the caulk’s tube

Step 3 : Prepare the caulking gun

Step 4 : Load the caulk tube container into the caulking gun

Step 5 : Looking nice! Don’t go trigger happy with it :P

Step 6 : Squeeze the caulk into your carpet tile

Step 7 : Just put in enough to cover surface of the carpet tiles up to about ¼ of an inch thick

Step 8 : Start spreading the caulk over the carpet tiles, just like in icing a cake or putting peanut butter generously over your toast.

Step 9 : Spread it as evenly as you can but make sure you don’t let it go over the side of the carpet tiles

Step 10 : Dump some of your pebbles on top of it

Step 11 : Push the pebbles in a little so they would stick to the caulk

Step 12 : Here it is after one bag of pebbles, looks like I need to open a new bag.

Step 13 : All covered now! Tip: If you got a lot of spaces where only caulk is showing, just put in small pebble or two. I changed the background for contrast so you all can see it better.

Step 14 : Let dry for 36-72 hours before using as an outdoor or indoors mat or rug. Just air dry it. Tip: follow the recommended drying time for the caulk, it is written on the caulk’s container. Here I tested putting some stuff over it to see if it’s set enough

Step 15 : Enjoy your new pebble rug which can double as a faux garden stone! 

How to mMake a pebble mat using old carpet tiles by pinkgingersnaps

My previously made ones are sitting outside for around 3 months now and they are still doing great so far. Over grass they do look like real garden stones. I made this one for inside the house specifically, because it can also be used as a hot pad! Pretty versatile huh :)

How to Revamp a Brown Craft Box for Lovely Storage by PinkGingerSnaps

Another one of my guides posted at Guidecentr.al :) Enjoy! :)

So I have a box, it was plain and slightly..so I wanted it to look prettier and more decorative, and here is what I came up with :)

HOW TO REVAMP A BROWN CRAFT BOX FOR LOVELY STORAGE

How to revamp a brown craft box for lovely storage by pinkgingersnaps

HOW TO REVAMP A BROWN KRAFT BOX 

FOR STORING KEEPSAKES ETC

Materials:

• Brown craft box (can be found in any craft store or gift store in a variety of shapes and sizes)
• Poster paint (I chose the gold coloured, water-based, non-toxic variety, so that smudges will be easy to clean)
• Fabric paint pens in multiple colours (or coloured glue will work just fine as well, as well as glitter glue)

Equipments:

Brush and anything you can put the paint in

Step 1 : Gather the materials

Step 2 : Place some of your poster paint (I chose one in gold) in your bowl/container and mix it up with your brush to ensure its paintable/spreadable in consistency.

Step 3 : Begin my painting the top part of your box, making sure that the paint is evenly applied, more so if your color choice is less shimmery.

Step 4 : Paint the top bottom part of your box as well, let dry completely. Since I used poster color, it was dry to the touch in 15 minutes. The drying time may vary depending on humidity and type of paint you used.

Step 5 : Paint the sides of both the bottom and top part of your box, making sure not to get too much on your hands (As you can see, I did not succeed in that part but hooray because I used a perfectly washable poster paint)

Step 6 : Let dry for around 30 minutes until perfectly dry. This step is crucial and you must ensure that the paint is really dry for the next step or else the fabric paint might smudge.

Step 7 : Draw designs on the side of your box’s lid using your fabric paint pens or coloured glue. The ones that I have come with an applicator tip, just like what you see on elmer’s glue.

Step 8 : Allow to dry for a bit and take a look at it to plan what else you can draw on it.

Step 9 : Work on the main box, allow ample time before adding design elements.

Step 10 : Here I was letting it dry. Looks like it needs more color on it to make it look more interesting.

Step 11 : I added some dots and it started to look like a mini cake, it’s cute!

Step 12 : I decided to write a word on the lid, you can chose to draw something or write your name on it as well. I named it for my dog :) Plan out the placement to ensure you got adequate space, I decided to wing it.

Step 13 : There it is! Looking nice already. Let dry

Step 14 : I decided to add some more drawings on it so the color palette would be the same all throughout. Let dry. 

Step 15 : Enjoy your revamped brown kraft box! You can use it to hold souvenirs, knick-knacks, or as a personalized gift box!

Make A Zen Inspired Centerpiece with Glasses and Pebbles by PinkGingerSnaps

This started out as one of those projects that I didn't even plan on doing. It has been years and years since I shared any of my craft endeavors on the web, but lo and behold! Someone introduced me to the iPhone app GuideCentral, and just like what happened to me with Pinterest, I fell in-love, and the rest is what you see here :)

Make A Zen Inspired Centerpiece with Glasses and Pebbles

I have some pebbles just laying around (I really have a thing for rocks ahahah!) and so what started off as a lazy morning (all my mornings are lazy by the way) turned into this, making a zen inspired centerpiece using tall glasses and pebbles.

You can look into the step by step guide with pictures in the slideshow here or just print the instructions below too :)

HOW TO MAKE A ZEN INSPIRED CENTERPIECE USING TALL GLASSES AND PEBBLES

Step 1 : Gather the materials (stones from an aquarium shop/gardening shop, paper towels, flower cuttings or water bamboo, tall glasses-the taller the better!)

Step 2 : Clean out your glasses with the paper towels. The zen feel is all about clean lines invoking a light airy feeling so this step is a must!)

Step 3 : In a clean surface, dump all your stones and start sorting them out.

Step 4 : Make sure to include stones which looks interesting in color and texture. Don’t worry if some looks a bit dull, they will look vibrant later.

Step 5 : These are stones which would look nice in your final product.

Step 6 : Closer view: look how nice the colors are! Once cleaned, they will be awesome!

Step 6 a : This shows some dust on the stones, you will need to wash the stones to make sure all of these dusty particles are not covering up their beauty.

Step 7 : These are stones you won’t want to be part of your centerpiece (note the dull coloring and the unnatural rough look).

Step 8 : Wash up your stones until the water runs clear. Don’t they look beautiful in here and seems like a mini pond in your basin?

Step 9 : Take your water bamboo (aka fortune plant), you can use flower cuttings as long as the stems are of a decent length. I chose water bamboo because they are very sturdy and lasts months as opposed to flowers which lasts only a few days up to 2 weeks. This is also the part that can showcase your creativity and change your centerpiece depending on the season or what is available. Hint hint hint! Wedding centerpiece!

Step 10 : Wash the water bamboo and separate them up, make sure not to damage the little roots!

Step 11 : Decide how many water bamboo you want in each glass.

Step 12 : Make sure there is room for the roots.

Step 13 : Fill up with rocks, making sure that the bigger ones are in the bottom part to help ‘anchor’ the water bamboos.

Step 14 : Here are the glasses all assembled! You can choose to fill it only halfway is preferred.

Step 15 : Put in some water.

Step 16 : Decide up to where you want the water level to be. I chose to fill it until about half an inch from the top of the glass.

Step 17 : Display and marvel at how relaxing it looks. Enjoy!


This would be a great and cheap way to bring in some zen atmosphere at home, and the bonus part is that it is super easy too and can lasts for months and months! Just replace the water every week or so and clean up the stones and glass to prevent bacteria and algae build up :)

Have you tried something like this before? Feel free to comment or leave suggestions :)