Crafts – Melodrama

Easy Peasy Vintage Valentine Wreath

Published on February 12, 2019 by KrysLeave a comment

Happy Valentine’s Day, sweeties! I’ve teamed up with Treetopia to make this cute and colorful vintage valentine wreath and I think you’ll love it.

All you need is a wreath in the color of your choice (I used Treetopia’s Pretty in Pink wreath) and a few vintage valentines. If you don’t have any true vintage valentines, you can find images of some to print online.

Just use some double sided tape to stick them directly onto the wreath. Add a bow and voila! Easy peasy.

Speaking of Treetopia, they’re having a giveaway where contestants can get a chance to win a $100 gift certificate from Treetopia. Visit their Facebook page or Instagram to find out how to enter!

DIY Mid-Century Inspired Felt No-Sew Tree Skirt

Published on December 19, 2018December 19, 2018 by Krys11 Comments

One of my favorite things to do each year is make new no-sew felt tree skirts. They’re super easy and fun to make and don’t require any skills except being able to use scissors and glue.

You can see past tutorials with measurements and instructions here and here, and my latest space age themed one here.

For my main tree (the pink tree) I wanted to bring in colorful shapes based on a vintage Christmas cards I fell in love with.

I used the images to create templates and then used my Cricut to cut out the shapes, but you can totally use scissors!

And there it is! Go ahead and play with sizing and adding some other little embellishments to make it your own design!

Be sure to tag @melodrama or #krysmasgram on Instagram to show me what you made!

DIY Mid-Century Inspired Colorful Metallic Sputnik Ornaments

Published on December 12, 2018December 12, 2018 by Krys8 Comments

When I was gathering decorations for my space age tree I knew I wanted to try and find some vintage or retro style colorful sputnik ornaments. Unfortunately my search game up empty for exactly what I was looking for in my price range, so I got crafty with an easy DIY version.

I gathered everything I needed from my local craft store including:

Mini wooden dowels
Metallic round beads (the dowels should fit perfectly into the bead)
Glitter Styrofoam Ball Vase Filler
Metallic washi tape
Metallic embroidery thread
Craft glue

First create a loop with a piece of embroidery thread and insert both ends through the bead opening. Next, insert the mini wooden dowel into the bead opening. This should hold the thread in place.

Then wrap the wooden dowel in metallic washi tape. The best way to do this is cut strips the length of the dowel and wrap it lengthwise like you’re rolling a j….nevermind you get the idea ;).

Finally dip the end of the dowel into craft glue and insert the dowels into the styrofoam ball in a sputnik type pattern.

You’ll end up with ornaments like this!

Told you it was easy! Get creative with colors and patterns! Be sure to tag me at @melodrama or use the hashtag #krysmasgram on Instagram to show me your creations!

DIY No-Sew Retro Atomic Space Age Tree Skirt

Published on December 12, 2018 by Krys10 Comments

One of my favorite things to do each year is make new no-sew felt tree skirts. They’re super easy and fun to make and don’t require any skills except being able to use scissors and glue. You can see past tutorials with measurements and instructions here and here.

This year I needed something to match my office’s retro space age theme, so I used flying saucers and atomic shapes like boomerangs and starbursts.

I used the method detailed here to cut my skirt out of green felt. Then I cut my shapes out of sheets of different colored felts. I used silver metallic rick rack to add rays to my flying saucers and shiny snowflake starburst buttons for a little extra shine. I finished off the edges with silver metallic fringe! I always use standard craft glue to adhere all of it.

Here are the shapes I used to make your felt cutting life a little easier! Print on a standard piece of paper. (Opt to scale to fit paper on your print settings if possible.)

Tada!

Make sure to tag @melodrama or use the hashtag #krysmasgram on Instagram to show me your creations!

DIY Retro Inspired Christmas Space Age Reindeer

Published on December 12, 2018December 15, 2018 by Krys12 Comments

As you saw from my previous post I went full on atomic space age for my home office. I had to do a few DIYs to make it exactly what I wanted it to be, but my favorite is probably this astrodeer!

This project required some Frankenstein style surgery, but I’m really thrilled with the way it turned out. Here’s what I did!

Supplies

Paper Mache Deer
6.5″ Round Glass Terrarium
Aluminum Foil Tape
Utility Blade
Hot Glue
Craft Glue
Silver Tinsel Garland
Silver Tinsel Stems
Craft paper or paper bags

Ok I’m going to admit right now I didn’t take process photos because I’m the worst and I wasn’t even sure it was going to work, BUT luckily it’s a pretty straight forward process. (Note: I’m going to make one for a friend so I’ll try to update this post with photos when I do!)

In order to get the deer’s head into the terrarium, but still have the helmet in the position I wanted, I had to make cuts on the points shown below.

I added paper ears and eyes and placed the head in the terrarium. Once the head was in the terrarium (from here on known as the helmet) I reattached the bottom part of the antlers, and the upper part of the neck with craft glue and used chopsticks to help get where I had trouble reaching. Once it was dry, I used wet strips of paper bag and glue to cover the cut seams.

Then I used hot glue to attach the rest of the antler to the top of the helmet, and the helmet to body. I used a black sharpie to draw on the hooves and a nose, then I covered the body in foil tape, and covered all the glue joints with tinsel wire and garlands.

There it is! My new spacey pet. Isn’t he a cutie?

Spring Wardrobe Update with Rit Dye

Published on April 24, 2018 by Krys2 Comments

Hey, fam. I’ve been busy at updating some rooms and my back patio for spring and thought it would be a good idea to update some of my wardrobe too! While going through my closet I found this white dress I got last year from Tatyana that I haven’t worn in foreverrrr. Rather than giving it away I decided to try to dye it using Rit’s new coral color. I love that they came out with this color because I used to have to custom mix a few different shades together to make color, but now it’s ready to use! I figured if it didn’t work out I could just use Rit’s color remover, which I’ve had a ton of luck with in the past.

The cool thing about this dress is that the fabric has an iridescent sheen and a subtle retro bubble pattern. My hope was that the dye would bring out the bubble pattern and leave some of the sheen.

The fabric is mostly polyester so I was worried it wouldn’t take the dye, but as soon as I dunked it into the dye bath it soaked it right up and I was not disappointed.

The way I like to dye everything, including synthetics, is to make a very hot dye bath in my sink with hot, hot water and a few drops of liquid soap. I let the garment soak for about an hour, stirring and shifting the fabric every 15 minutes or so for an even dye. Then I rinse with cold water and Rit’s color fixative. Then I line dry.

See how the fabric took the dye and made the pattern pop? I love the way it turned out!

Now I have a spring-y new dress to wear while pretending I’m good at gardening.

This post was sponsored by Rit but all ideas, opinions, and words are my own.

DIY Vintage Christmas Ornament Throw Pillow

Published on December 8, 2017December 8, 2017 by KrysLeave a comment

If you don’t know by now, I’m totally obsessed with vintage Christmas ornaments.

My favorites are the ones with the indented reflectors in the middle. I just love how unique each one is and how they sparkle and reflect colors when hanging on a lit up tree. It’s magical! You might remember that Ornament Tree Skirt I made a couple of years ago, but this year I wanted to bring that theme to life as a throw pillow.

What you’ll need:

-Fabric. (The amount depends on the size of pillow you want to make. I used fleece, but you can use any non-stretchy fabric you want. I got two 18″ pillows out of 2 yards of 45″ wide fleece.)
–Metal Christmas light reflector cups
-1” Silver buttons
-Snowfake shaped crafting buttons
–Metallic Braid Trim
-Ribbons, rickrack, and felt/fabric to decorate
-Embroidery thread and long needle
-Fabric glue
-Sewing Machine and thread (or you can glue the edges for a no-sew attempt)

What you do:

First draw a circle. The best way to do this is to use a tape measure or ruler and the compass method. Remember the way we learned in math class? HA I bet you thought you’d never need that. Then sketch out a little top piece (about 5″ wide), like an ornament would have. Then cut it out!

Sew the edges together leaving an opening at the top. Turn it right side out and iron. Stuff with polyfill through the top and then close the opening using a slipstitch. (You can try gluing all of these edges for a no-sew attempt, but the results won’t be as clean.)

In order to make the indented middle you need to tuft. Use a silver button and a light reflector to do this. Put the silver button in the middle of the reflector and use embroidery thread and a long needle to pull the button and reflector through the middle of the pillow. Pull it tight to make the indent, and use a triple knot to make it stay. Trim the excess thread. You can also use another button on the other side to keep it all in place if the triple knot isn’t enough.

Now you can have fun decorating it! Glue the snowflake buttons around the indent for extra sparkle. Use the metallic trim around the top to make it look like the ornament cap. Use rickrack, ribbons, and fabric scraps to create lines and shapes.

And voila! A cute little ornament throw pillow!

DIY Cellophane and Bottle Brush Tree Wreath

Published on December 4, 2017December 4, 2017 by Krys4 Comments

In this installment of Krys’s craft corner I’m bringing back an oldie but a goodie. When I was a kid I always made some version of a DIY wreath using a coat hanger and some sort of household product like tissue paper, felt, plastic bags, or in this case cellophane.

This is a totally retro craft that was really popular in post-war households. During the 50s and 60s companies like Alcoa, Reynolds, DuPont, and 3M sent out pamphlets full of ways to use their plastic and foil products for other household uses such as holiday crafts, including cellophane wreaths. They were usually dressed up with foil flowers and an electric candle stick. Companies even sold them already made, for the non-DIY crowd.

(photo: Etsy)

There are a few different ways to make these wreaths. You can use a wire hanger and shape it into a circular shape, or you can do what I did and buy a metal floral hoop. Most ready-made versions were made by layering round, crimped pieces of red cellophane (almost like cupcake wrappers), but other versions and the easier DIY method are made by tying strips of cellophane to a metal ring.

What You’ll Need:

-a metal floral hoop or a wire hanger shaped into a circle

-cellophane in your color choice, cut into strips approximately 1″ wide by 7″ long

(I used a 14″ wire wreath form, and 3 rolls of cellophane wrap)

I unrolled the wrap on my floor and cut strips 1 inch wide. Then I cut those strips into 7″ long pieces.

Crumple up the strips to give them more texture. Then tie them onto the metal ring. Push each piece tight against the last.

Continue working all the way around until the metal hoop is completely covered.

Instead of the traditional candle stick I used dyed bottle brush trees from Distinguished Flamingo.

And thats it! Use a ribbon or a wreath hanger to put it on your door or in your windows.

DIY No-Sew Mid-Century Inspired Christmas Tree Skirt

Published on November 27, 2017November 27, 2017 by Krys7 Comments

It’s that time again! Christmas time! I love this time of year. No matter what is going on in life, good or bad, decorating my Christmas tree always cheers me up. This year we switched things up a bit and used our fake pink tree instead of trying to find a natural, flocked one here in the desert. We even got a rotating stand so the whole thing spins!

I badly needed a new tree skirt since my last DIY one got ruined during our move. Wahhh.

I used the same tutorial and materials as my previous no-sew felt Christmas tree skirt (pictured above), and put a different spin on it.

First you need a couple yards of 72″ felt. Then you make a circle in your desired size. I explain this in more detail here.

Then use pieces of felt in various colors to create curved rhombus shapes that were popular in the 50s and 60s.

Like so!

Then just simply use fabric glue to adhere them to the felt skirt in whatever pattern you desire.

And there you have it! A quick and easy DIY tree skirt for your retro tree.

Happy tree trimming!

Be sure to tag your Christmas photos with #Krysmasgram on Instagram!

Halloween Decor Idea: Pumpkin Succulent and Cacti Planter

Published on October 19, 2017October 23, 2017 by Krys7 Comments

If you’re a plant lover, here’s a quick and easy way to incorporate succulents and cacti into your fall decor. Use a (faux is best) pumpkin as a planter! I used a cinderella pumpkin because I love the shapes and colors of them, and they’re usually wide enough to make a great shallow planter.

Update: I got a real one for really cheap at Trader Joe’s so I originally used that, but quickly transitioned to a faux pumpkin once the inevitable mush set in after about a week. Bummer.
Just cut off the top (and hallow it out if you want to try a real one) like you would when making a jack-o-lantern. Poke some small holes in the bottom for drainage. Then fill it with a variety of succulents and some extra soil or sand.

I layered cacti and different types of succulents in mine. Since the fuzzy cacti looks like a spider nest I added some plastic Halloween spiders. I can easily remove those to transition it into November. If the little guys lasts that long. Fingers crossed.

I love it as our dining table centerpiece.

So easy and cute! I hope it lasts at least another month.

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