Paper Bag Coffee Table

Hey Guys

So this weekend i finally got around to redoing our coffee table.  I've been wanting to do something with our coffee table for a while but never really knew what i wanted to do.  Until i was browsing on pinterest one day and saw this flooring technique using those brown paper bags.  And i thought what better way of testing it than to redecorate our coffee table.

So this was our coffee table before, a very worn green table.

So first things first, you need to go pick up some brown paper bags, i got mine at Dollarama for $1.25 i actually picked up two packets and only ended up using about half of one, so lots left over.

• I used Mod Podge, i did a 50/50 split with water.
• You also need a stain, we had some left over from a speaker box my fiance was painting, its in a deep red.
• And i also used some left over paint my sister had lying around in the basement.

To get that worn leather look make sure you crinkle up the paper and rough it up a little

Then your going to mix your water and mod podge, i just used an old Tupperware container.  I then took a piece of crumpled paper flattened it out in my hand, dipped my fingers in the glue and evenly distributed onto the paper on both sides, then just paste it onto the table, or what ever surface your doing.

This is how it looks once its dried, i had to do the table in two days as i ran out of glue the first day...all in all you will use a whole bottle of mod podge if you buy the smallest size.

This is the stain i used its called Bordeaux, its a really nice deep red.

This is after the first coat

And a close up after the second coating.

This is the color paint i decided to do the legs in.

It comes out as a creamy kind of beige white.  It went really well with the red.

Does't that look so much better!!! I was so happy with the results,  It took two days to complete with waiting in between coats and gluing all the paper down.  But well worth it!!

I used this Polyurethane gloss to finish it all off.  To add some shine and a protective coating.  I did two coats as there wont be to much wear and tear on it, it's not like its a floor people are walking on daily.  It said for maximum durability do three coats, so with the two i think it should stay nice and shiny for a while.

And here is the before and after look...What do you think?? i think its a huge improvement!!! so much better than that green haha.

xoxo Amber

17 Easy and Cute Things To Do With A Mason Jar

Hey Guys!!!

How are you? any fun plans for the weekend?

Now i for one am a pretty big fan of mason jars, i recently purchased 80 from Walmart for our wedding this July.  And for all of you Mason Jar fans here are some cute and easy crafts to make.

1. Use a stencil and chalkboard paint to customize Mason Jars

This is what we are doing for the wedding, for our guest drink cups.

2. Sewing Kit

3. Wall-Hung Bathroom Storage

4. Wall Planters

5. Children's Craft Storage

Glue a toy animal to the lid and paint.

6. Yarn Dispensers

Drill a hole into the top of a mason jar for cute, colorful yarn storage.

7. Painted Vases

8. Cupcakes in a Jar

9. Make a Terrarium

10. Store Salads for a Picnic or a Quick Lunch

Click Here for a tasty recipe

11. Label with a Hot Glue Gun

12. Make a Soap Dispenser

13. S'mores in a Jar

14. Glue Jars Together to Create an Office Supply Organizer

15. Create a Snow Globe

16. Herb Planters

17. Sippy Cups

I hope this Inspired you to go create something cute and adorable with some Mason Jars, i know its made me want to, i might even go pick up another care so i can have some to play with.

I got my pictures from Pinterest, If any of these photos are yours, please email me so i can give you the credit!

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xoxo Amber

Scrapbook Art

Hey Guys!

Whats everyone's plans for the Easter Break?  I have 5 days off and i'm so excited to have a little stay-cation  We have a couple Easter dinners with family then i'm going to try and get through some of our packed up boxes and sort through them, i want to make a keep, throw and give away boxes so that way when we get into our own home we will fingers crossed not have as much stuff.

So i finished up my Scrap book art project, it turned out well i'm pretty pleased with it.  I still need to get a frame for it so i can actually hang it up, its currently leaning on a window sill just waiting for a cat to knock it over haha.

So this is the finished product, like i said it just needs a frame, i'm pretty happy with the results its colorful and cute and adds a nice touch to our very artless basement.  And it was really easy to make.

1.  Like i said in a previous post first you cut your strips about 2 inches wide
2. Then cut your strips into squares about 4 per strip.
3. Then cut each corner into a curved angle to form the leaf.

4.I brought a plain white canvas from a Dollar Tree actually and black paint from there also,  i was going to go to Micheal's but i figured as this was a first time project i didn't want to spend big bucks on my supplies.

5. I did two coats of the black and watched a tv show while it dried.

Once you have painted your canvas, and cut out your petals you then plan out your flower.

After that you just go through and pick up a leaf, glue it and go on until all the petals are glued down.

I then just used Mod Podge to go over the whole canvas to seal everything in.

Th e Mod Podge also gives it a glossy look.

So thats my finished art project.  If your looking for something fun and easy to do that adds a little fun to a room try this one, its super cheap to do, this project maybe cost me $5 to make.

Do you guys have any fun cheap crafts you like to make?  If so leave a comment down below..i love learning about new crafts 

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xx Amber

Project in the Works

Hey Guys!

So i have started a new craft project, a nice easy one to ease me into the Crafters world.  I saw this on Pinterest  of coarse ha ha and really wanted to make one.  We don't really have much art and buying some right now is a little expensive as we are saving for our wedding, coming up soon!!! just under 4 months, can't believe it.  But anyways so with saving for the wedding and hopefully buying a house our funds are a little tight.  So making my self some pretty art would make this place a little more decorative without having to spend to many pennies.

So this is what i'm planning on making, all you need is:

• 1 12x16 inch canvas
• 1  4oz acrylic grey paint (or what ever color background you would like)
• 5 pieces of scrapbook paper
• hot glue gun/glue sticks
• foam paint brushes
• mod podge

This is how far i've gotten at the moment. 

•  I took my pages of scrapbook paper and cut them into about 2 inch strips...don't worry about being accurate it looks better if there is a variety of sizes.
• You then take the strips and cut them into squares i got 4 from a strip, you then just cut one corner edge to edge, then the other one to form a leaf shape.  And again if they are not all the same size thats fine in fact make sure you have some larger ones and smaller ones.
• Then in the left corner i have my pile of cut out leaves all ready to go.

So all i need to finish my project is the canvas, paint and some more mod podge as i can borrow my sisters glue gun :)

So this is my project in the works, i'm so excited to see the outcome i will hopefully be able to get the rest of the supplies this weekend perhaps!!! (fingers crossed)

Once i have it all finished i will write up a tutorial and post my finished art project on here so you can make your self something pretty too!!

If you'd like to keep in touch you can follow us with google friend connect under the Be Kind button.

With twitter our username is @thethreemagpiez

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or shoot us an email- thethreemagpies@gmail.com

xx Amber

Focus, Blog, Craft...

Hey Guys!!

So i know we have been saying this for a while now that we want to really focus on this blog and craft more, but its just been really hard to sit down and focus on what we want to do.  I know my mom is in full force of crafting at the moment, but now myself and Jamie need to get our butts into gear.  Our goal and dream would be able to really focus on this blog, open up an Etsy store to one day sell our products, once we have some inventory built up that is.  Go to craft shows around the city and sell there also,  I mean we all love crafting so much that why not try and make a living out of it, i know its not going to be easy and it will probably take us some time to get everything sorted, but i invite you all to come along on our journey!  Learn with us, experience it all with us and hey maybe even teach us a few things.

I have a couple things that i want to get going, i'm obsessed with minky blankets so that's something that i want to make more of,  as well as some cute baby swaddling blankets, i-phone cases, jewelry, cards, scrapbook art and get some more knitting done.  I have a huge list on Pinterest full of crafting inspiration that i want to start on.

I Finally finished my second minky blanket, it gave me a lot more issues this time, mainly because i didn't take the time to pre-stitch so the fabric stretched a lot more which made it hell to sew on the machine.  But i finally finished it and it turned out great, i am currently snuggled under it while i'm writing this post, and it is so soft and warm!

Seriously greatest blanket to snuggle under

I hope you all had an amazing weekend.  You can follow us through Google friend connect, in the sidebar.  Leave a comment to say hi :) and we will be back with another post shortly...fingers crossed!!

xx Amber

Easy Minky Blanket

 Hey Guys,

    Today i am doing a minky blanket tutorial, i saw these cozy soft looking blankets on my browsing of pinterest, a daily addiction of mine!! anyways i saw these blankets and was determined to make one for a friend of ours who is expecting a baby in December.  Now i am new to the sewing world so i have been keeping to easy usually squared items such as pillows, so my next step was a blanket...my mom warned me that sewing a minky was not a pleasant experience as the fabric is very slippery and likes to move alot...so i made and did every precaution i could think of, i pinned every centimeter it felt like, and then pre stitched all the edges so when i did my final machine run fingers crossed everything goes smoothing.

First your going to choose your fabric, so as you know i went with the minky for one side in a cream color, and for the opposite sides i did an owl print fleece...i figured as this little bundle of joy is being born mid December it can be pretty cold here in Winnipeg so at least it will have this blanket to cozy up to.

Next you want to measure out your fabric, i did a 42 inch square but by the time you take into account your seam allowance my blanket probably ended up being around 38 inches (being new to sewing i'm not good at doing small seam allowances so half the time my project is actually like 5+ inches smaller than its original measurement so i always take into account of cutting my pieces just a little bit bigger.

  

  Next up is the long process of pinning, remember to pin right sides together!!! now as you can see i did a lot of pins just to be on the safe side...if you are a more confident sewer than you could probably get away with less pins but as i had never dealt with minky i really really wanted to be on the safe side...after i pinned i then proceeded to sew around all the edges but remember to leave a gap so you can turn in the right side round again.

Next up, get that machine out...sorry for my messy sewing area, we just moved and i have yet to completely sort though and put everything away.

Then just sew away...i did it slowly, make sure you take your time try not to rush it certainly if your new!!! I would sew until i hit a pin then take about 5 out then sew till i hit the next pin then take another 5 out and so on so on until you are all done...remember to leave a gap one one side i think i left about a 5 inch gap on one side to turn the blanket the ride side.

Look at all those pins it felt like it went on forever!!!

Next up once you've finished sewing, before you turn it the right side, your going to cut the corner so you can a nice pointed corner on the finished project.

It should look something like this...make sure not to cut over your stitches!!!

Then all you need to do is sew up the opening that was left and your all done!!!! You could also sew around the edges to add a little extra support that i may still do...but thats about it...easy peasy if you take your time at the prepping stage!!!

   hope you enjoyed and go give it a go...i am in love with the finished blanket, i don't want to give it away!!

xoxo amber