Foam Board Ice Cream Front Door Hanger

Lynn Lilly shows you how to make a DIY Ice Cream Front Door Hanger!

I love switching up my front door decor on the regular and I have been experimenting with creating front door hangers with foam board. A lot of die-cut front door hangers are made from wood but they can be pricey. So I thought why not give foam board a try and it has worked great and withstands weather! Whether you are an everyday crafter or someone who makes occasionally, it definitely helps to have your supplies organized. My go-to organizer for projects and long term storage is my DeflectoStackable Storage Caddy. It is great for general storage or if you are making a lot of the same type of project that uses the same materials like I have been with front door hangers it works great to dedicate a caddy with all the supplies.

Featured Storage Container: Deflecto Stackable Storage Caddy

Materials:

●     18" x 24" Foam Board

●     Pencil

●     Ruler

●     Box Cutter or Craft Knife

●     Acrylic Paint and Brush

●     Dimensional Puffy Paint

●     Decoupage

●     Hot Glue Gun & Glue or Industrial Glue

●     Rope/Twine

Project Directions:

1. Draw the shape of a cone, ice cream scoop, and a cherry on the foam board.

2. Use the box cutter to cut out each piece.

3. Paint the cone brown acrylic paint and let it dry.

4. Once the cone is dry paint criss-cross cone lines in gold acrylic paint. Add texture with squiggly lines over the brown. Mix white into the original brown to create a light brown. Let the cone completely dry.

5. Paint the ice cream scoop pink. Let it dry. Next mix the pink with white to get a lighter pink and paint polka dots all over the ice cream scoop. Next, use the dimensional puffy paint to add sprinkles. Let it completely dry.

6. Paint the cherry red and the stem black. Let it dry. Once it is dry add some reflection lines to the cherry with white.

7. Glue the ice cream scoop to the cone and the cherry to the scoop.

8. Paint the entire piece with decoupage to weatherproof.

9. Glue a string to the back to hang it on the door.

TA-DA!!! You have your very own fun, front door hanger. You can take this same technique and make so many other shapes. I have already made a watermelon slice and a popsicle. The popsicle has been hanging on my door for weeks and withstood so many storms!

The best part about this project is that clean-up was so easy as I just popped all my supplies back in my Storage Caddy!

Share your projects and ideas with us using #DeflectoAtHome #DeflectoCrafts on social media.

Easy Embroidery Project Ideas for Beginners

A couple of Easy Embroidery Ideas from Beth.

Before Deflecto, Design Team Member Beth Watson used to store all her embroidery supplies in plastic bags. Beth says, "Now that I have all my Embroidery Supplies neatly arranged in the Deflecto Stackable Caddy Organizer, I can take my stitching with me where ever I go, like from my studio to my couch."

Materials Needed:

• Embroidery Hoops – I prefer wooden ones
• Embroidery Floss
• Pearle Cotton Spools
• Pearle Cotton Skeins
• Embroidery Needles
• Needle Threader – this one is a must!
• Scissors  
• Cotton Fabric Fat Quarters – pick a fun print
• Muslin Fabric  
• Kunin Felt Craft Cuts
• Stamps and Stamping Ink

Featured Storage:  Stackable Caddy Organizer

Project One:  A Stitched Sampler

The stitch sampler is my recommendation on the best way to begin your embroidery journey. It will give you hands-on experience with basic stitches as well as be a reference guide for future projects. 

Project Two:  Stitched Felt Ornaments

Felt is an easy and forgiving medium that is sturdy and won’t fray. Cut these bright colors of Kunin Felt into basic shapes, then layer, and then join together with a variety of fun and quirky stitches. Perfection is not a goal with this project, but rather let the rustic nature of the felt and embroidery shine through. Stephanie Ackerman has a great tutorial for Stitching with Felt and using what you have over on her blog Homegrown Hospitality.

For more embroidery ideas and how Beth organized her supplies, visit Beth's blog here.

Share your projects and ideas with us using #DeflectoAtHome #DeflectoCrafts

Organize your Craft Cabinet with Deflecto

Organize with Deflecto Storage Solutions

If you're lucky, a designated craft cabinet with closed doors can be awesome. That means you've graduated from your kitchen table. One potential problem: with closed cabinet doors, even the neatest and the tidiest person might be tempted to stash and run when it's time to clean up in a hurry. Those well-meaning craft cabinets can easily be ignored and get out of control without the right organization.  

(the Prismacolor pencils are in a medium stackable caddy container)

Organizing doesn't have to be tedious and overwhelming if you take it one space at a time.

Once you've cleared out the cabinet, you'll need to find the best storage that works for you. Deflecto has several great storage options to fit your needs.

Organization Tip...Labeling the bins is a great way to ensure supplies go back where they belong. They not only look good, but it also helps when looking for supplies.

The bins are easy to take with you when you need to work. They keep your workspace clutter-free and your supplies close at hand.

Deflecto Products used in the Craft Cabinet:     

• Deflecto 2-Drawer Stackable Cube Organizer
• Deflecto 4-Drawer Stackable Cube Organizer 
• Deflecto Open Stackable Cube Organizer
• Deflecto X-divider Stackable Cube Organizer
• Deflecto Medium Stackable Caddy Containers
• Deflecto Expandable Marker Accordion

 Make sure to check out the New Deflecto Website for our entire list of products.


You can see more details on Sue's Craft Cabinet here.

Create Store, Create More or #Cr8StoreCr8More for storage

Washi Tape Heart Card

Washi Tape Heart Card

If you're a fan of clean and simple cards, you're going to love how easy the Washi Tape Heart card is 
to make.

To make the Washi Tape Heart Card:

• Create the cut-out heart layer by cutting various sizes of hearts on a 4 3/4″ x 6 3/4″ piece of white cardstock. I used a Silhouette Cameo Electronic Die Cutting Machine. (You can also use punches or dies to create the hearts.)
• Center the cut-out heart layer onto a white 5″ x 7″ card and lightly traced the hearts with a pencil.
• Cover the heart outlines with several different strips of coordinating washi tape pieces.
• Use a tape runner to adhere to the cut-out heart layer onto the front of the card, aligning it with the washi tape.

If you love using Washi Tape, then you're going love the Deflecto small three-drawer organizer. Each of the three drawers is divided and is perfect for holding a lot of washi tape. The small three-drawer organizer is also great for holding small ink pads, paintbrushes, spools of thread and a whole lot more.

Create Store, Create More or #Cr8StoreCr8More for storage

Fall Wall File Holder

Spruce up your office cubical or craft space with these Fall wall file holders.

Materials Needed:

• Deflecto Wall Mounted File Holder
• Fabric, Wrapping Paper, Tissue Paper or any type of covering (we used a vinyl table cover) 
• Scissors
• Hot Glue or Tape

Take your preferred fabric or cover and cut to size of the wall file. Leave a little extra to fit sides as needed.

Apply cover to the outside of the file holder and wrap around the sides. Tape or hot glue to the inside flap as you go making sure everything is smooth. Cover the entire surface and secure it before cutting the screw holes. It's easier to poke through the fabric with your nail from the wall file to create the hole needed for hanging the holder.

Tip: It was easier to do the sides of the tray first before fixing the front to make sure it was smooth and the fabric would cover the entire surface.

If you used glue, let dry. Once dry, use a credit card to flatten out any lumps that could be on the surface.

Hang the wall file in your space following the manufacturer's instructions! If using tape, you can change out the paper for the different holidays and seasons to really get festive!

Marker Storage Solutions

Happy National Craft Week!

Saturday was National Card Making Day and now we have National Craft Week? Be still my crafty little heart. (Seriously, I thought every week was craft week.) Since we’re talking all things “crafty” this week, I’d like to ask you a personal question.

How do you store your markers?

When it comes to markers, we all have our opinions and preference on which are our favorite. Lately, I’ve been curious about how everyone stores their markers and what works best for you. I started rubber stamping in the mid-'90s and slowly built up a nice collection of Art Markers. Personally, I have been using Tombow Markers for over 20 years and some markers in my collection are almost as old.   

Up until recently, my marker storage system was just about as old as my collection. A wobbly little holder (with a slight lean) and an extra basket for the overflow. It worked, but it wasn’t quite as efficient as I wanted it to be.

Recently, I started doing a lot more cardmaking and using my markers again.

That’s when I started using the Expandable Marker Accordion* from Deflecto. It is the ultimate in marker storage and portability! It has 80 slots that hold markers, but because my Tombow and Marvy markers are skinnier than Copic markers, I can easily put two markers in each slot.

The Expandable Marker Accordion comes with a clear lid that easily snaps in place and a handle that makes it easy to take your markers with you to classes and crops, keeping everything secure.

Depending on your workspace, you can use it in a straight line, a U shape, as a cube or in my favorite, a zig-zag pattern. Whatever combination works best for you and the project that you’re working on.

Let’s talk another option.

Maybe you’re just starting out your marker collection or you need a little more flexibility with your marker storage, you might like Deflecto’s Interlocking Marker Organizer. This little marker holder can be used solo or because it has an interlocking design it can be connected to additional units, making it perfect whether you use it upright or horizontal.

And the best part, the Interlocking Marker Organizer also fits into the Stackable Caddy Organizer. You can fit six marker organizers into the Stackable Caddy for the Ultimate Grab and Go. So many great options to fit your crafting style.