As you may or may not know, when I’m not here at IndieSpotting, I spend a lot of time creating ZEST Digital Magazine! It’s a real labor of love for me, combining all of my interests: great food, diy & crafts, and entertaining.
Just in time for Valentine’s Day, our Winter 2012 issue is now available for you to read online or on your mobile/tablet device. Best yet, it’s completely free, so if you like what you see, be sure to subscribe.
Inside this issue, you’ll find a delicious and romantic dinner for two that you can make at home, lots of yummy, chocolaty baked goods and a fun little DIY!
Kayla at Sweet Anne Designs has come up with an adorable Valentine’s Day DIY project that makes use of recycled iced coffee bottles. Kayla is a graphic designer, so she’s also provided a free printable you can download to make the little labels for the bottles.
For the full tutorial on how to make these Sweet Candy Bottles and the link to the free printable, click here.
Make sure you stop by her Etsy shop, too ~ she has some really cute printable templates and quick craft projects!
This little project is absolutely perfect for Valentine’s Day, but I definitely intend to keep it up all year long in my house! Inspired by the famous Philadelphia landmark, this illuminated LOVE canvas is relatively easy and surprisingly inexpensive to make! I bought the 16×20 canvas in a two-pack on sale, so it only cost a couple of bucks. The white lights were on clearance after Christmas for around a dollar, and the paint is only about a dollar. I already had the awl on hand, but I think your average scratch awl is only about five bucks.
What you’ll need ~
- 16×20 canvas
- Strand of 35 white lights
- Awl
- LOVE template (download here)
- Scotch tape
- Pencil
- Red acrylic paint
- Paint brush
How to make it ~
Start by printing out the free LOVE template (link above). Each letter prints out on a 8.5×11 piece of paper and is perfectly sized to fit the 16×20 canvas. However, if you want to do your own LOVE design, have at it!
Cut out each letter and tape them in place on the canvas. Take a pencil and lightly trace around each letter. Once you’re done outlining the letters, remove the paper templates and paint inside each letter with your red acrylic paint (I used DecoArt Tuscan Red). Allow to dry thoroughly, probably about 30 minutes.
For this next part, you can use the templates again, or you can just eyeball it. Gently tape the letter templates back in place on the canvas and use your awl to punch through each hole that is marked (these are spaced just right for a standard string of lights).
Once all your holes are made, remove the paper templates and start adding your lights! Start at the lower right corner – the letter E – and place the light closest to the plug there. Push a light through each hole. Now just plug it in and let it shine!
I love shoe clips ~ they’re such a simple way to dress up plain shoes or to give new life to an older, well-loved pair. I decided to make magnetic shoe clips so they’re easy to take on and off, plus they don’t damage your shoes at all like certain clips do.
You only need three materials to make these “tuxedo bow” shoe clips, and they’re inexpensive to boot (no pun intended)!
What you’ll need ~
- Ribbon
- 4 small round magnets (the stronger, the better)
- Hot glue
How to make them ~
I bought a velvety ribbon with a bit of sparkle for my shoe clips, but this works with just about any ribbon, though I do recommend choosing one that’s right around an inch wide. Cut two 8″ lengths of ribbon and two 2-1/2″ lengths.
Lay out the longer piece of ribbon front side down. Fold each end in toward the center and glue in place with a dot of hot glue. You should have the two loops of your bow now.
Take the shorter piece of ribbon and wrap it around the center of your bow and glue it in the back. The bow is finished, so repeat for your second shoe clip.
Finally, attach a magnet to the center of the back of each bow with hot glue. Once they are completely dry, you can attach your clips to your shoes with the other two magnets.
Note: Before you attach your magnetic shoe clips to shoes that are light in color, be sure that your magnets are nice and clean and won’t leave any discoloration on your shoes.
