The Elephant in the room

My parents purchased a beautiful 6 bedroom, 3 bathroom, 2 level home in the country a few months ago that was decorated in what I like to refer to is Country Hoarding.  The owners of the home ran some kind of decorating business and it appears that 90% of the merchandize ended up on their walls.  There was literally no space or wall in the house that wasn't accessorized with something. 

 
In the den aka Man Cave was a stuffed bear, a mounted deer head, and other assorted dead things.  After much deliberation we decided that the Man Cave would be a play room for the grandchildren.  Keeping the feel of the country house was essential to the room and decorating it was no small task.  

Mom who is a master organizer purchased these from Ikea to hold all of the kids assorted play items.  

Trofast Frame Ikea 

Trofast Storage Combination

The buckets come in 4 different sizes and range from $2 - $5 a piece.  The slide tracks are adjustable so you can personalize each one for your needs.  The frames themselves come in different sizes and finishes as well.  Head on over to Ikea to check out the different options.  

We started by using the bins to put like items together.  We ended up with a bin for legos, balls, trains, matchbox cars, blankets (you know for the play fort!), and everything else we could find.  The kids love costumes so they have assorted ones including a football player.  There was a Dallas Cowboys helmet that was now too small for either of my nephews so we decided to hang it on one side of the wall instead of tossing it out.  We added an inexpensive desk from Ikea that we already had for an arts and crafts station.

We had a cute little table that had a scratched surface.  So I went by Michael's and got chalkboard paint.  I taped off the sides of the table and sprayed the top.  Viola chalkboard table!  I found the little buckets at Target for a dollar and they hold the chalk for their upcycled table. This project literally took 15 minutes. 

I was on Pintrest and had seen this awesome stuffed animal head on the iLoveToCreate Blog that I was all over:

Hello there!

I collected stuffed elephants since I was a child so I didn't actually have to purchase one for this project.  You can use any stuffed animal you choose I just wanted to give my old animals a new life sort to speak, later on that.  

I went by Lowe's and purchased a pre-cut round pine base for my project.  It was $7 after my mom's military discount.  I picked up two cans of spray paint in Dallas Cowboys Navy and Gray to paint the base.  I also snagged some painters tape and E6000 Industrial Strength Glue while I was at Lowe's.

Stain Kiln-Dried Elliotis Pine Round

Elephant Head Mounting 

Supply List:

Stuffed Animal, obviously an Elephant in this tutorial

Pre-cut Round Pine Base

Scissors

Navy Spray Paint

Gray Spray Paint

Painter Tape

Piece of a cardboard box

E6000 Glue

Staple Gun

Hanger for the back

Step 1 - Prepare base by wiping off any dust from the base.  Spray with 2 coats of the Gray Spray Paint.  Let the coats dry in between for a good hour.  After coat 2 let dry over night.

Step 2 -  Starting at the bottom of the base tape a solid line across.  I used a small piece of tape as a guide for the next stripe.  Continue taping until you are done with the base.  You may have to piece around the edges because of the roundness. 

Step 3 - Spray 1 coat of the Navy Spray Paint over the base.  Depending on the paint you use this may need 2 coats.  Let it dry for an hour or so.  If you can see the grey through the base you need another coat.  If not, you're good to go.  FYI, always pay for the better quality spray paint.  

Step 4 - Remove the tape carefully from the base.  You should have some seriously awesomeness when you are finished. 

Step 5 - Not for the faint of heart, just be warned.  Take your stuffed animal and decapitate him.  Gruesome yes, worth it definitively!  I actually cut him under the legs to give me room to work with.  Be aware he's going to bleed, stuffing that is!  It's kinda messy so do this over a trash can if possible.  You should be left with his head and I threw away the rest of him, I had no use for his butt!

Step 6 - Cut out a piece of cardboard big enough to shove into the hole in his back.  You are going to use this to bond the head to the base.  Its easier doing it this way trust me.  I tried to glue him to the piece of cardboard at first, craft FAIL!  My mom recommended doing it this way and for once I listened.  Thanks mom!

I used the E6000 to glue all his edges to the cardboard so there is only a small opening in the back that is the cardboard.  If there are places that the glue won't stick because of the stuffing, try using a staple gun to get him nice and flat on the cardboard.  Make sure you do this in a well ventilated area, E6000 is potent!  After you are satisfied let the glue dry/set for a while. 

Step 7 - Using the E6000 glue the cardboard to the wood base.  I used a few heavy books to help hold the head in place while it dried.  Let this dry for a while too. I put in staples around the perimeter to give it extra support.  Don't worry the fur will hide the staples.

Step 8 - Using a picture hanger, nail the sucker on the back so you can hang your one of a kind masterpiece on the wall.

Came out too cute!  My stuffed elephants had been in storage for probably close to 15 years maybe longer.  I loved them so much when I was a child that I had a hoarder episode meltdown every time I tried to get rid of them.  I feel this was the best way to give them a new life.  I'll see how the kids react to him.   

DIY Animal Keychains

After making my Animal Jars I ended up with a bunch of left over animals but had no clue what to do with them.  I was on Pintrest today and saw this tutorial by Ginger Snaps on making DIY Animal Keychains.....

what you need: plastic animal(s), small screw eye hook, paint/brush, key ring, *optional: clear sealant spray or clear nailpolish, safety pin, small bowl

I bought a new batch of animals because a coworker wanted a elephant so I used a 40% off coupon from Michaels to get them. 

This is my selection of animals that I am going to work with.  I decided on the parakeet, elephant, chimpanzee, giraffe, panda, corgi, polar bear, and rat.   

Next I got all my supplies together so I could get started.  I purchased Martha Stewart High Gloss in Black and Sea Glass in Satin.  I also picked up Glitter Acrylic Paint from Martha to jazz up the overall look of the key chains.  I bought a pack of Metallic Sharpies for decorating. 

 Let's get to painting!

You lookin at me?

Before

 

These are one coat of paint.  Some of the animals will only need one or two coats.  The giraffe and elephant required 4 coats.  Be patient and let each coat dry thoroughly before applying the next coat.

 3 coats of paint

After 2 coats of paint

Mr. Polar Bear only required 2 coats and I was anxious to see how the glitter was going to turn out so I applied a coat to  him.  The 2nd picture is after one coat.  Didn't really do too much but I let this coat dry and applied 3 coats of the glitter.

Time to switch to the animals that will be painted black.  I selected the chimp, gator (which I added later), and rat to paint black.

The animals painted black only required one coat of paint.  I let them dry for 4 hours once all the animals were evenly painted then cruised Pintrest looking for decorating ideas.  I found a few things but decided to go with the flow of each animal. 

Once they were all decorated it was time to put the small screw eye hook into the animal.  I used a safety pin to start the hole I found it was easier this way.

 I grabbed a pair of pliers to assist with the turning of the screw because just be warned it will hurt your fingers after you do a few.

After the gator had his screw I grabbed a key ring and slid it through the hook.  So the pictures below are the finished products.  I think they turned out fabulous!!!

The Grinch - Valentines Edition

After all the work that went into making Sir Grinch I felt that he needed to be part of my office decor 365 days a year.  Since Valentines Day is around the corner Grinchy Poo has been dressed accordingly.

Using the template I already had for his coat I cut out a piece of white felt.  I used Word to make 2 different size hearts and got to work cutting out the pieces. 

I glued hearts down the middle and smaller hearts on the sleeves.  I cut trim for the V-Neck and 4 stripes to put on the sleeves. 

I wanted Grinchy to have some fly kicks so I made him some Nikes from the template I made his Santa booties from.  

I stopped by the dollar store and picked up some hearts to embellish the background and here he is, all ready for V-Day.

The Grinch - The Beginning

During Christmas our office has a Door Decorating Contest which I have won 2 years running.  Last year we made a Frosty the Snowman out of Styrofoam cups after seeing something similar on Pintrest.  

2012 Door Contest Winner

All of the snow flakes were cut out using a Cricut machine and all together took 3 people 40 hours total to make.  I love the way he turned out and since we had won I knew we had to step it up a notch. 

I was all over Pintrest searching for inspiration on a door design.  Everything I saw was ok but nothing that was like BAM this is a winner.  I saw a Grinch door that looked ok but wasn't a winner.  

Then I came across this picture and I KNEW it was a winner:

Since there were 3 of us to do the door I assigned my coworkers the background and the Arrest Plate. I took on the enormous task of pulling the Grinch himself together. 

I spent the day researching what the Grinch's body looked like and started sketching out templates to use for his head, hands, belly, and legs.  I pulled up a full body pic of him and discovered the Grinch has some scrawny legs.  I used our office copy machine to enlarge his head to a good size then went from there.  I sketched out a pattern for his coat since it was going to be the focal piece of him.  From there I did a half oval for his belly.  I used my hands turned sideways on a piece of paper to use for his hands.  The legs were pretty easy.  I copped out on his feet and decided to cover them with booties instead.

I went by Michael's to get green poster board but found bulletin board paper instead.  I got green and red.  Using my templates, I cut out his hands, legs, and head using the green paper.  This really helped because I was all set with my basics and it was time to get supplies.  

I enlisted my mother for help and we hit Joann's Fabric Store to find some green felt or fun fur to use as his body.  I found neither.  I was so discouraged but my mom being the every optimistic light of my life said let's go look at the yarn.  Seriously mom but ok.  We're perusing the yarn section and they have 2 aisles full, who knew?  She found this very weird yarn called Fun Fur in the exact lime green that the Grinch is.  Then she says, "Hear me out, how about we crochet him?"  I said yeah no.  "Trust me he is going to be awesome."  Who am I to argue with the woman who gave birth to me?

We purchased 5 skeins of this stuff.  Thankfully I had a 40% off coupon so it ended up being $15 for the yarn. I also picked up Pipe Cleaners, foam sheets that had sticky stuff on the back in yellow and black, and some felt in red and green.  

My mom and I went back to her house to get started.  I was going to do the hands and feet, mom was doing the belly.  She taught me how to do a single chain stitch so I got busy.  After I had a chain long enough I started hot gluing to the background for his leg.  

Fingers + Hot Glue = OUCH

I burned my fingers more than I am going to admit on this blog.  It took me 4 hours to make his hands and legs.  My mom crocheted his belly for 6 hours.  We did this all day Saturday.  So Sunday we finished up and my mom started a circle for his head.  I had to go so she didn't get a chance to finish it up but my coworker knew how to crochet so she said she would help finish it.  

Go to work the next day and start the task of assembling.  My other coworker put up the background for the police lineup and drew in the lines for his height.  I cut out his coat using felt and lined the edges with cotton balls.  Using the head template as a guide, I used double sided sticky tape to put up the coat, belly, legs, and his booties. 

 
I started assembling his face using the head template and got a little silly

Then got it back together and this was the outside of his head.

His eyebrows and mouth are pipe cleaners that I shaped.  His eyes are made from the foam I purchased from Joann's.  My coworker was finished with the middle of his face so this is it put together.  

I used hot glue for the eye brows and mouth.  The foam for his eyes, nose, and forehead were already sticky.  So now came time to put his head on. I used a cheap dollar store hat embellished with cotton balls for his Santa hat. 

Next up was the sign.  My coworker made it at home and I strung it using satin cording.  This is the finished Grinch.

He is FABULOUS!  We won first place again!  I was out of town during the announcement of the winner so I received a text from my mom asking who won.  She had really gotten into it since she was a huge contributor to making this happen.