Valentines Arrow Art Tutorial

As you can tell from my most recent posts, I have been feeling a little bored with the usual Valentines Day decor. I do like it, but find it ultra girlie, which I do like, as I am a girl... Sometimes I just wonder how the boys feel about all the fruffy stuff on Valentines Day. The boys outnumber the girls in our house, by 3 to 2. So, I decided to try something a little more on trend this year, with a bit of an unexpected twist.

 Arrows have been super popular as of late, with movies like The Hunger Games, and Brave. I have been right on board with that trend. Another trend that is everywhere, is color blocking. You see it all over the place, from fashion, to home decor. I decided to give it a whirl this year. I wanted my Valentines decor to be a little more on trend, and even masculine. My son is a big fan. Score for me.

 

 My inspiration for this piece can be found HERE. I wanted to take it to another level, by making it 3D.

This is the collage wall in our family room. I love having a collage wall, because I can add holiday items with minimal effort, while achieving the same overall effect. 

 And, I have a whole Valentines Day pinterest board, bursting with arrow themed ideas if you want to take a peek.

Let's get started, shall we...

You will need:

5/16" x 48" dowels from Home Depot $.86 each

1/4" x 2 x 4 Birch Hardwood Plywood $8.97 at Home Depot 
You can ask them to cut it to whatever size you choose, depending on how many arrows you add.. I started with 2x3, and actually ended up cutting it smaller at home, as the project evolved.

3/4" x 3/4" x 4' nail on corner guard - Home Depot $1.98

Valentine Craft Hearts - Hobby Lobby $99. You could also use paper.

Craft Paint in whatever colors you choose.

Hot Glue

Feathers

Paint Marker - I got mine at Bennion Craft. Galaxy brand.

Paint pen, again, Bennion Craft. Precision Pen.

Part 1 - THE ARROWS

Paint the first layer on your dowels. I left a natural part on each dowel for our names. Can you see how my collage wall normally looks in the background below?

 Paint stripes in whatever colors you choose on the dowels. I wanted mine to be bright and fun.

 

Decide which feather you want to go with which dowels. I had a bunch of feathers, but most of them were colored. I called my friend Lisa, and she just happened to have a pheasant in her freezer, and plucked more feathers for me. Who knew?!? I love you even more Lisa, after that experience. You are AWESOME!

 

 Cut your feather in half down the spine, and make them as long as you choose. Glue your feathers on. I used three pieced for each arrow, and glued them on with hot glue.

 

Hot glue the wooden hearts onto the tip of each dowel, opposite the feathered end.

Write names or greetings on your arrows. I chose to write our family names. I used a paint pen called precision pen, and it worked really well. I got it at Bennion Craft.

Part 2 - THE BOARD

Use your leftover piece of wood as a ruler. Place it on your large board, and with your galaxy marker, draw a line to show where you will paint later on.

Do this for the whole board.

 Once you have the outline, fill it in with paint. The goal here, is to make the black part look like a frame. while keeping the inside natural wood.

How to hang the arrows, you ask? You have two options. You can simply hot glue them on, which will work fine, or use the corner guard.

 Cut two pieces of corner guard for each arrow.

Hot glue them into place. The hot glue holds really well.

I did this first, then ended up just hot gluing the arrows to the board, because the feathers made them turn slightly, and the tips weren't straight. You can decide the look you want to have.

You can see, I shortened my board, before hanging it on my wall. The smaller size and shape just worked better for the space.

I hope you are feeling a little arrow inspired!

I will be sharing this and other ideas on Studio 5 Friday. You won't want to miss it!

Have a Happy and Creative Day!

Risa

Valentine Pillow Tutorial

 I have shown you part of my Valentines Day Porch. And, as promised... Here's the rest! I had to give my bench a little love as well. I kept the same red chevron pillows out that I made for Christmas, and they work great! This arrow pillow was SO easy, it took 5 minutes, and it was basically free, because I made the pillow sham out of an old paint drop cloth... Yes, there is dried paint on the inside. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, right? My tutorial for a super easy pillow sham can be found HERE.

 

You will need:

Pillow Sham

Galaxy  marker

Painter's or Masking tape

Ruler or Paint Stirrer

Let's get started!

Place two strips of tape across your sham, where you want your arrows to be. Mine strips were about 4 inches apart.

Use your paint stirrer as a ruler to draw and space your lines, and set it perpendicular to the tape. I used the side of the sham to get my first line straight.

Draw all the lines you need.

Then, pull the tape off!

Take your marker, and freehand the arrow tips and feathers. I alternated the tips and feathers for variety.

You are finished!

Put a pillow form in it, and place it where ever you want!

Now, wasn't that easy?

Be sure and come back for more of my arrow addiction. Maybe I need to join AAA (Arrow Addicts Anonymous).

Have a Happy and Creative Day!

Risa

Valentines Day Target (tutorial)

 

In my quest to have Valentines decor that is a little different this year, I decided to make a target, complete with Cupid's arrow. Admittedly, I am a bit obsessed with arrows this season, and this is another great way to tie the arrow theme in.

This project cost under $9!!!

(for what I had to buy.)

You will need:

Laminated pine round - 1" x 17 3/4" from Home Depot $6.98

5/16" x x48" dowel from Home Depot $.86

Wrapping paper - I got mine at Target in the dollar section for $1

Scrapbook paper - I already had mine on hand.

Craft paint - black and cream

Mod Podge

Hot Glue

Random sized plates and bowls

 

Instructions:

1) Lay out your supplies.

2) Trace a circle onto your wrapping paper, the size of the wood.

3) Cut out the circle. I cut mine a little smaller, because the wood was bigger than the wrapping paper.

4) Lay a plate that is 1" to 2" smaller  over the wrapping paper, trace a circle, and cut it out. This will make a large hollow circle. I did this, because I wanted the paint to show through.

5) Cut your next piece of paper using a bowl that seems to be the right size.

6) Cut two more small circles, using more round objects.

7) Paint the side of your wood black, and the top of the wood cream with craft paint.

8) After the paint dries, mod podge the circles into place.

9) Make your arrow out of the dowel, by painting it however you want, and gluing feathers on the end. I cut the point at an angle, but it is not necessary, because you can cover the point with a heart. 

10) Hot glue the arrow to the center of your target, and you are finished!

I hope you enjoyed this fun, inexpensive and easy Valentines Day craft!

Head on over to Home Depot, and get everything you need!

See the banner above? It took under 20 minutes to make, and was SUPER inexpensive, like under $5.

The tutorial is coming, so come back to visit!

Here is a peek at the rest of my porch:

This pillow was so easy to make, and cost me NOTHING!!! The tutorial is on it's way as well. You won't want to miss it!

Have a Happy and Creative Day!

Risa

Quiver and Utensil Arrows

This darling quiver and arrow utensil arrow set is sure to please any little cupid on your list. It's easy enough, that your little lovelies can even help you make it. 

With it's fun colors, and unexpected functionality, it's sure to bring added whimsey to any Valentines dinner table.

All you need is :

Felt, 1 sheet for each quiver. You can find it at any craft store. You can get the sheets at about 4 for $1, that's cheaper than scrapbook paper.

Tape, use anything you have... I had 2 kinds of duct tape, painters (blue) tape, and masking tape.

Feathers, I don't know why, but I have a hoard of these.

Ribbon and/or rope.

Plastic utensils

Stapler

I literally thought this idea up, and went through my craft stash. If you were a little more planned out, you could do it with darling washi tape. And, yes, I thought this up at bed time, so the photos were taken when the light was not the best.

ARROWS

It's as easy as it looks... Simply wrap the tape around the end of the utensil, to hold the feathers in place, and you are finished...

 Easy Peasy.

 QUIVER

Cut your felt to size, by cutting 3 to 4 inches off the bottom (the bottom is opposite the feathers in the photo above). This will vary depending on the size of utensils you are using. See in the photo above, that the arrows are engulfed by the felt? I simply laid them where I thought they should go, leaving room for the staple on the bottom, and cut off the excess. I used pinking sheers for variety. Cut the ribbon to the same length.

Lay the ribbon on the felt, having it slightly displaced, by 3/4" .

Flip the ribbon under the felt, and staple.

Note on the stapling. Don't be shy. Hit the stapler hard and fast. if you are doing it softly or slowly, your staples won't go all the way through, and you will be annoyed when you unpick the danglers.

It will look like this.

Flip the other end over, and staple the ribbon down.

Next, lay your rope or ribbon (handle) where you want it. Tie knots on the end, to ensure they won't pull out when it's lifted by the handle.

 

Staple it in place.

 Now, fold the side that is wrapped with the ribbon over, and staple the whole thing in place, by sticking the bottom of the stapler in the middle of the quiver.

Staple the bottom shut. Wasn't that easy? You could probably do this with hot glue as well.

Now for the fun part... Time to put them on your table! 

For the place mats, I simple layered a piece of  8 1/2 x 11 piece of scrapbook paper on top of a 12 x 12 sheet.

The white plate comes from a regular, cheap pack of paper plates.

The heart plate 8/$1, plastic heart drinking cup 4/$1, and paper treat cup 6/$1 are all from Wal-mart. I love them!!!

I already had the paper straw.

Look at what you will see if you sit across from one of these adorable settings...

And... Have you ever wondered what my photography studio looks like? We are high tech, with dollar store foam, and tons of natural light!

If I make more of these in the future, I will probably sew them, but this is a nice alternative for those of you who don't feel the love when it comes to sewing. Another variation is that you could make the quivers, using paper instead of felt. You could even make the feathers using paper instead of real feathers. I am looking forward to having something we will use year after year, as part of our Valentines Day meal tradition, so I am happy with the felt.

Thanks for stopping by.

Have a Happy and Creative Day!

Risa