Inspired by a recent concert surprise, this week's DIY has us giddy for a get-together.  We Elva Gals have long loved a reason to celebrate--whether a fun mail day or a more monumental milestone--and with New Year's Eve just around the corner, we figured there was no time like the present to put together a party favor both fun and festive.  Colorful confetti seemed just the ticket.

 

And this one couldn't be any easier.  Truly.  All you'll need are scissors, a hole punch, some tissue paper, a brown bag, and some glitter if you're feeling glamorous.  We were.  (I mean, we work at Elva Fields surrounded by sparkly jewels...how could we not?)

 

Get crazy with some fun cut-outs.  Hearts, triangles, random snippets with the scissors.  There's no wrong answer here.  

 

Mix the shapes together (you could put 'em in a bowl if you're making a big batch) and sprinkle in the glitter if you're going for it.

We divvied up the delights in paper bags lined with tissue and sealed 'em with one of our signature stickers...but you could snag some cellophane treat bags or even small envelopes, depending on how exciting you want to make this thing.  It's your party, so we say do what you like!

 

Toss and laugh and sip some bubbly...and happy celebration, friends!

 

We're continuing our craftiness in the studio this week with our third DIY of the month...and, though this one turned out NOTHING like the images that first caught our eye for the project, we had such fun improvising and think the results turned out unexpectedly awesome.

For starters, you don't need much.  A plain white, loose-weave cotton fabric (muslin), rubbing alcohol, a spray bottle, scissors, and Sharpies.  (You might also snag a plastic bag or piece of newspaper to place under your fabric while you're working...just to keep the colors from transferring to your work surface.)

Start with a bit of the fabric...depending on what you plan to do with it (we'll be framing ours) cut the size accordingly.

Live it up with some free-hand decorating...think about how colors might blend and run together...and just go for it.  No rhyme or reason, just do what strikes your fancy, friends.

Here's a close-up of our artistic genius: (truly, our five-year old could have done this, I think!)

Now spray the fabric with the alcohol...really drench it for the best blurring.

Here's a pic of another design we drew, showing just a small section that has been sprayed...you'll see the effects immediately, but set it aside for a few minutes to let the magic really happen.  

And here we are with a few of our designs...a bit tie-dye, a bit watercolor, entirely fun.  (You can iron them at this point to rid of wrinkles and semi-set the color in the fabric, but we opted to leave ours alone.)

Framed and placed as part of a gallery wall, this could be such a cool addition to a colorful collection of art! (We snagged this frame at a dollar store and spray-painted it gold...looks so much fancier than that, right?)

Or in a simple IKEA frame...the matted presentation makes it seem like legit art.  And it is...yay, you for creating something unique!  Have fun!

 

 

 

 

We're kicking off week two of our December DIY series with a fun and festive drape of delight that we stumbled upon on...where any clever gal gets her craftiest of motivation...Pinterest.  We fell hard and fast for an adorable tissue paper tassel garland created by the lovely blogger over at Linen, Lace, & Love, and knew it would bring instant fun and charm to any setting.  (We started smiling before we even began folding the tissue paper!)  Check out her tutorial for an incredibly easy and detailed step-by-step (and far prettier photos than ours...) and we'll give you the basic run-down here, too.  (And if you'd rather pass on making this yourself, simply spend $100 with us this week, and we'll send you one that we created here in the studio...they're pretty fantastic, if we do say so ourselves!)

Materials are fairly straightforward:  tissue paper (we went a little overboard with color options...), glue gun, scissors, and twine or ribbon for stringing the tassels.

Start with a single sheet of tissue paper and start folding (one sheet will make four tassels.)

Then cut some fringe...

Then roll it up...

and then a twist at the top to make a little loop.

And, just like that, you've made a tissue tassel!

String them on your twine and you're ready to hang it somewhere fantastic...

We loved it on our studio mirror for some everyday fun, but think it would be perfect for a party, across bookshelves, above your desktop screen (every office needs a bright spot!), or over a doorway or two. Hope it brings you some happiness wherever you decide to decorate!  Enjoy!

 

We're kicking off our Holiday Collection's handmade theme with a series of DIY's, each inspired by a design from our Elva, June, Deb, or Original Vintage lines.  We'll walk you through how to make the item yourself  (if we can do it, literally ANYONE can do it) in a step-by-step tutorial, and (the best part, we think) if you spend at least $100 with us this week, we'll include the crafty creation with your order as long as we have the goodies still in stock!  (So first come, first served!)

We took the lead from a favorite Elva necklace in the Holiday Collection...

...and decided on making salt dough stars!  (Seemed an easy start, especially since we plan to make these at home with our toddlers soon...needless to say, that adventure will not be documented on the blog...no telling what kind of a disaster our kitchen will be after flour, water, and preschoolers are involved.)

 

Here's what you'll need to make the fun happen:

flour / table salt / rolling pin / mixing bowl / measuring cups / parchment paper / baking sheet / cookie cutters

paint / glitter / brushes / twine

To make the dough:  

Combine 1 cup salt, 2 cups flour, 1 cup lukewarm water.

Knead for 5 minutes until smooth.

 

Then:

Roll out on parchment to desired thickness.

Use cutters to create star shapes.

Pierce with hole for stringing.

Place on parchment-lined tray for baking.

Bake for 45 minutes at 350˚ and then place on wire rack for cooling. 

(We let ours dry overnight to ensure hardening.)

 

Then the decorating begins!  No rules here...it was a free-for-all fun time.

Last step--string with twine, and you're good to go!  Shine on, superstars!