Belle’s Enchanted Book

September 25, 2020September 22, 2020 / Alex Nadell / Leave a comment

Bonjour! Today, I’ve created a cute treasure box using an unfinished wooden book box inspired by “Beauty and the Beast”. You can store your little nick nacks and hide it on your bookshelf! Here are the supplies:

Supplies List:	Tools List:
Unfinished Wooden Book	Hobby Knife
Leather Print Cardstock	Hot Glue Gun + Glue
Other Patterned Cardstock	Spray Glue
White Acrylic Paint	Pencil
Gold Foil Cardstock	Ruler
Heavyweight Drawing Paper	Paper Slicer
Colored Pencils	Bullet Tip Black Pen
Balsa Wood Plank

Transferring the Text

I don’t have a Cricut to cut out delicate and detailed designs so I did it by hand the ol’ fashioned way using carbon paper and a sharp hobby knife!

I printed out the “Beauty and the Beast” logo to the size I wanted and cut out the pieces so they’d fit on my Gold Foil Cardstock.

I also cut the carbon paper to fit the gold paper cardstock as well.

What I should have done was just print the mirror of the text, but I didn’t…so I turned it over and traced the text onto the back of the carbon paper to transfer to the back of the cardstock.

Man, I got everything backwards! It worked out, though.

Cutting out the Text and Rose

After tracing the text, it’s time to slice everything out.

It’s not the cleanest, but it works!

I also cut out a little rose to put on the spine of the book.

Prepping the Cover

This leather printed cardstock is named “Brown Leather Couch” and it worked perfectly for this book!

I had to cut out little slices of the paper to fit the book’s hinges.

Then, I bent the paper over the edges of the book so I could fold them and prep them for gluing.

I kept the overlap because I added an additional piece of paper on top to cover the raw edges. But, that’s later!

Here I only folded the side edges. Because the long edge had a lot of excess, I wanted to do that separately.

I spray glued the back of the leather print paper and applied it to my book.

To make it smooth and ensure maximum adhesion, I used this cheap brayer and rolled it over the cover.

As you can see…lots of excess. I had to cut it off, but the paper wasn’t cooperative and tore a little.

Now it’s time to cover the spine and the back cover. I used the same method as the front cover.

The inside back cover is only about a half inch, so I had to fold in my excess paper, cut it and glue it in place.

The top and bottom parts near the spine were pretty tricky to get. I just folded it as best I could and glued in place.

Attaching the Details

Here I spray glued the backs of the gold foil and red metallic foil before placing them–very very carefully–on the book. I used my left hand to hold the pieces and sprayed with the right hand. Then I placed the pieces using my right hand.

I really wanted the sides to look like a book, not wood, so I grabbed some scrap pieces of foam. Two were thinner for the bottom and top; one was a thicker foam for the long edge.

I cut the thin short foam pieces so they’d cover the length of the top/bottom plus the thickness of the long piece of foam.

Using a lino cutter, I carved out lines from the foam–it wasn’t really carving out, more like slicing.

Then I used multiple colored pencils to draw lines to make the book pages have dimension.

I tacky glued the foam pieces to the sides of the book.

It really looks like book pages in real life (from a couple feet away at least)

Prepping the Inside

I painted the inside of the book white.

A Personal Touch

I knew I wanted a background so what better than a stained glass drawing of the enchanted rose? You can skip this and simply print out a picture of your liking.

I cut a piece of Heavyweight Drawing Paper to the size of the book’s inside and used a reference photo of the rose from the movie.

I started coloring in the rose with pinks, reds, and white. Then the green stem using a light green and dark green. The rim is a pink with some red. The inside circle was a navy blue and purple-y color.

Finally, I used a Bullet Tip Black Pen to draw the lines.

Then, I added the lyrics of “Beauty and the Beast” to the background of the rose picture. I spray glued the back and fit it into the book.

Adding the Shelves

I took some scrap pieces of Balsa Wood and cut them to fit inside the book.

I marked where I wanted the two to intersect and cut slots so they’d fit together.

After cutting out the notches, I painted the wood white and glued them into place inside the book.

So, there was some white paint that had found its way onto the cover. I took this opportunity to age the book using black and brown colored pencils. Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do!

Magnifique!

This project was so fun and satisfying. I love how it turned out and it looks like a real book! I hope you can create this secret storage book to add to your bookshelf. Maybe you have a way to actually emboss gold leaf onto the cover…that’d be so amazing!

Disney Beauty and the Beast Book Treasure Box

Thank you for making it down here! Please follow us on Instagram and Pinterest for more projects like this one! Don’t forget to share with your Disney DIY loving friends and family. We’d really really appreciate it!

@mainstreetdiy

All images on this website were taken by and belong to Main Street D.I.Y. If you wish to share an image, please give credit where credit is due! Send the people our way!

Big Thunder Vista | Level 2

September 18, 2020September 18, 2020 / Alex Nadell / Leave a comment

Disneyland Big Thunder Mountain vista wall art painting

Howdy, folks! This here’s the wildest ride in the wilderness, that’s for sure! This project is an artsy silhouette painting of Big Thunder Mountain: the iconic mountain of Frontierland. It features the orange rocks, metallic gold paint, and blue and maroon contrasts. Here’s what you’ll need:

Supplies List:	Tools List:
Hanging Wood Plaque	Acrylic Paint Brushes
Metallic Gold Acrylic Paint	Black Paint Pen/Marker
Champaign Colored Glitter Paint (optional)	White Colored Pencil
Orange Acrylic Paint
Navy Acrylic Paint
Maroon Acrylic Paint
Dark Brown Acrylic Paint
Gloss Medium/Varnish

Instructions

Start by sketching an outline of the mountain with a White Colored Pencil onto your wood plaque. You can decide where you want the details at this stage as well. Because you’ll be painting over the white, you can make mistakes and changes here. It’s to get the general idea of where your blocks of color are going to go.

The shape is of a tall rocky mountain which you can draw using rounded rectangles and wonky triangles. You can copy my sketch or a picture of Big Thunder you might have/find on the internet.

Mix up some orange paint and fill in your drawing completely. I ended up painting over this part with a darker, more burnt orange. You’ll see in later pictures. This orange dried down to be too peachy. That’s what I like about acrylic paint. If you mess up, it’s okay!

Because it is a silhouette, you can add paint until you’re satisfied with the overall mountain shape.

Add in some dark brown paint in the background to give the mountain some depth. I also painted over this part to be darker than in the picture below. The paint dried down lighter than I anticipated. Again, sometimes you gotta just roll with it!

Dip into your Metallic Gold Paint and imagine where light would hit the mountain. Paint gold shapes that mimic the shape of the orange silhouette.

Think in vertical and horizontal lines for this part. Add bigger sections of gold to the lower-middle of the mountain.

Next, take Navy Blue Paint and fill in a large portion of the lower part of the mountain. The navy represents the shadows of the mountains. This area can be more abstract, though.

This time, think in vertical and diagonal lines. Leave a variety of small and large wonky triangles of gold. Smaller towards the top, bigger towards the bottom.

Fill the lower part of the mountain with navy.

To add some interest and warmth, take your Maroon Paint and sparingly, paint some wonky geometrical shapes over the navy paint. I know I’m using the word “wonky” a lot, but I really mean it! They’re weird shapes!

Also, can you see how the orange doesn’t stand out against the gold? That’s why I changed it to a darker orange. Like pumpkin orange.

Here’s the mountain separated into a couple pieces so you can have an easier time seeing the overall shapes. It’s all about the negative space!

This is where I repainted the orange and dark brown. It isn’t overwhelmed by the other colors now.

Optional: Paint the Orange parts with a Glitter Paint to add some sparkle. It adds a very subtle glimmer.

Using a Black Paint Pen or Marker, draw some lines to create a rickety fence. Avoid drawing any parallel lines.

Connect the vertical lines with horizontal lines.

Cover the painted parts with a Glossy Medium/Varnish to seal in the shiny! Leave the wood raw so it has a nice balance of glossy and matte.

You made it! Yee-Haw!

I’ll be darned! Amazing job, folks. I hope you had a good time. I really love this piece because it’s a subtle nod to Disneyland but still recognizable to any Disney fan. It’s warm, it has depth, and it’s shiny! Who doesn’t love that?

Thanks for making it all the way down here! Please follow us on Instagram and Pinterest for more projects like this. Don’t forget to share with your Disney DIY loving friends and family! We’d really appreciate it.

@mainstreetdiy

All images on this website were taken by and belong to Main Street D.I.Y. If you wish to share an image, please give credit where credit is due! Send the people our way!

Jewelry Box – Inspired by Carnation Cafe | Level 2-3

September 4, 2020August 26, 2020 / Alex Nadell / Leave a comment

Welcome in! For this project, I was inspired by my favorite place to get breakfast on Main Street: Carnation Cafe. If you’ve never been to Carnation Cafe, it’s a beautiful restaurant with lots of outdoor seating. Inside, there are tassel and stained glass adorned hanging lights, bold wallpaper, and warm wooden accents everywhere. Outside, you’ll see wrought iron fences, a little gazebo that houses a single table, and the defining red and white color scheme.

This project brings out those features in an adorable miniature dresser to keep all of your treasures or jewelry. You have the option of skipping the painting parts of the tutorial to make it a little easier. Here’s what we’ll be working with:

Supplies List:	Tools List:
For Both Level 2 and 3 Versions:
Mini Wooden Dresser	Small Precision Scissors
Embossed Flower Cardstock	Paper Slicer
Bold Red Patterned Cardstock	Ruler
Script Printed Cardstock	Spray Glue
	Hobby Knife
For Level 3:
Acrylic Paints (All Primaries plus white)	Acrylic Paint Brushes
Printable Transparency Paper
Wooden Sticks (about 1/4″ wide)

Instructions

Measuring

Start off by measuring your Mini Dresser on the side and front/back.

Take your base Red Patterned Cardstock and make the appropriate marks on the blank side to fit around one side plus the front/back of your dresser. We’ll only be using 2 pieces of the red paper so it is more seamless. Typical cardstock size is 12″x12″ so you’ll probably only have to mark the height.

Prepping the Paper

Slice your paper to the right height!

Line your paper up to the edge of one of the dresser sides. Make sure it is flush.

Create a crease where the dresser corner is by marking where the corner hits your paper, then folding it on a flat surface. Leave about a 1/4″ over one edge and bend that small bit around the second corner of the dresser. This will be overlapped when you do the other side.

Gluing the Base

Grab your Spray Glue and a flattened out paper bag. Glue directly onto the side of the mini dresser and carefully place your paper on. You can peel the paper up slowly if you need to replace it. Be very thorough with corners!

For the front side of the mini dresser–the drawers should be removed–spray the backside of the paper thoroughly and press it down onto the wooden parts.

Only apply pressure where there is wood or you might crinkle your paper!

Cutting Out the Holes

Use a sharp Hobby Knife to feel where your edges are. Slice down into the dresser and cut along the edges so the drawer space is revealed.

Finishing the Base

Do the same thing for the rest of the dresser.

The top of the mini dresser should have the Script Cardstock paper as a base.

Layer on pieces of your red cardstock for some depth.

Embellishing with Embossed Paper

Find a pathway in your Embossed Paper and lightly draw where you want to cut with a pencil. Then cut it out. You should be able to follow the flower shapes.

Cut out different pieces and place them where you like them on each side of the dresser.

Glue down with spray glue (glue the backs of the embossed paper. Remember to be thorough with your edges).

Covering the Drawers

Next, we’ll be using the embossed paper for the little drawers and the script paper for the other two drawers.

Cut the embossed paper down to size and mark where the nob’s sides are on the back of the paper. Mark both its horizontal location and vertical. Long edge to long edge; short edge to short edge.

By drawing those lines, you’ll find how much space your nob is taking.

Cut a straight line to the center of your markings and cut out a circle.

Slip it over your nob and check the fit. Adjust as necessary.

Use the same method for the remaining drawers.

Before gluing down the paper, paint the nobs white.

When the paint is dry, spray glue your paper onto the drawers. Spraying onto the backs of the paper rather than the wood.

Extra Credit:

Paint different colored carnations onto the script paper.

Carnations are easy. All you have to do is start with some tiny squiggles and continue to make bigger squiggles around and around.

Tassels and Pearls

I found these tiny adhesive pearls and I thought they’d look so cute on the jewelry box.

To get even spacing without measuring, start by placing one pearl at each corner then find the middle of those pearls.

Place a pearl there and then find the center between that pearl and each corner pearl.

Repeat until you have the desired density of pearls. You can seriously just eyeball it and be okay!

Grab your Embroidery Floss and wrap 20 times around the widest part of your hand–about 4 inches.

Fold your floss in half over a single long strand and tie a knot to secure it. Keep the excess.

Wrap another long strand around the bundle–about 4 times–and knot it. Cut off the excess.

Wrap the long piece around the nob and knot in place. Cut off excess floss. Do it again for the other drawer.

Take your extra embossed paper and cut it out to fit the back of your dresser. Glue in place with spray glue.

Level 2 Done! Continue for Level 3s:

DIY Stained Glass

Take a piece of Printable Transparency Paper and cut it down to size. Be careful to hold it from the edges or it will ruin it with smudges and no way to clean it.

Gently find the rough side of the paper. You’ll want to do your painting on that side.

I used a paint pen, but it streaked a lot. I would recommend using a liner brush and black paint for this part.

Draw out your carnations. Again, carnations are made up of squiggles so you can definitely make these!

Put a base layer of paint down. I tried to add some gradients to this, but you have to work fast!

Finish up by thickly painting over everything in the correct colors. The black is already dried and in the foreground of your painting so don’t worry that this looks bad. You can check your progress by turning your painting around.

Cut some wood sticks to fit in the back of your mini dresser. You’ll need enough for 2 sets of frames.

Spray glue the sticks one at a time and fix your transparency paper to the sticks.

Once one frame is made, flip the transparency paper over and repeat.

Place your “stained glass” into the back. It should be snug so you don’t have to glue it.

You Made It!

Fantastic job, everyone! I hope you enjoyed this project! I think it captures Carnation Cafe perfectly. You can store all your little Disney trinkets inside and think about yummy food.

Thanks for making it all the way down here! Follow us on Instagram and Pinterest for more projects like this one. Please share with your Disney DIY loving friends and family, too! We’d really appreciate it.

@mainstreetdiy

All images on this website were taken by and belong to Main Street D.I.Y. If you wish to share an image, please give credit where credit is due! Send the people our way!

Pull String Backpack – Licensed Toy Story Fabric | Level 2

August 28, 2020August 23, 2020 / Alex Nadell / Leave a comment

Hey howdy hey! This is a project for all you sewers out there! We’ll be using the Green Pepper F865 pattern and following the Small sized backpack. You may do whichever size you wish, of course. It comes with 3 sizes. This is a one-day project if you know your way around a sewing machine, but it’s a great first project as well! You will be guided by my mom, Marianne, for the remainder of the post since she is the sewer of the family.

Follow along with the instructions in the pattern. This post is not a replacement for those instructions; it is merely a guide with some helpful tips.

Supplies List:	Tools List:
Licensed Toy Story Cotton Fabric	Sewing Machine
Liner Cotton Fabric	Zipper Foot
Iron On Interface for Light to Medium Weights	Scissors
White Thread	Cutting Mat
2 12 inch Zippers	Rotary Blade
0.5 inch Cording	Sewing Pins and/or Seamstress Clips
Green Pepper F865 pattern

Instructions

Open up your Green Pepper F865 Pattern and unfold the pattern. Cut out the pieces.

Because the main fabric had a directional design, we placed the Green Pepper pattern pieces so that when sewn, the bag had the design going the correct way on the front.

Cutting out your Toy Story Fabric Pieces

Cutting out the Liner Fabric Pieces

To keep things simple, we kept the main fabric attached to the pattern and just layed that over the lining fabric to cut. However, you can remove the main fabric, set it aside and then cut out your lining fabric. It’s sewer’s choice!

Interfacing

We used interfacing (tho not called for in the directions) because our main fabric was a little thin for the project. In adding the interfacing, we were able to create a sturdier end product. Just follow the directions on the iron-on interfacing (we used medium weight). It’s super easy to do.

Prepare the Zippers

The directions called for these little “tabs” of fabric to be added to each end of the zipper. We figured out that it was so you did not sew the zipper into the seams. Makes sense.

Attach Zippers to Pockets

OK. So zippers are not my forte nor favorite part of sewing at all. If you feel the same way, be patient with yourself. Take it slowly. You’ll get them in, just like I did. These seamstress clips were very handy over using pins.

Prep the Pockets

Because the pockets are viewed from the outside, you will prep them by ironing down a thin 1/4″ seam. Keep your fingers away from that hot iron. I know some people have a tool for this, but we don’t. If you do, use it! My fingers got a little toasty. But ironging down the seams makes sewing them so much easier!

Attach the Pockets

Again. these seamstress clips made things very easy. No pricked fingers.

The directions say that pockets are optional. You can choose to add both, only one or none at all. But, who doesn’t love a pocket on their bag!?!

Sew Up the Bags

Now it’s time to create the bag itself. The instructions call for sewing a 3/8″ and then a 1/4″ seam along with a zigzag stitch. You may think this is overkill, but when using the bag regularly, you will appreciate how sturdy those seams are and be thankful you took the time to stitch around the bag several times.

You sew around the main bag and then the liner. Basically, you have been sewing two bags up to this point.

Connect the Liner

Now’s the time to actually create the bag. You place liner inside the main bag fabric, clip and sew.

Prepare the Cord Casing

This is the point where I made a modification. As most sewers know, patterns are not always perfect. In this case, once the cord casing is sewn to the body of the bag, you are left with raw seams. UGH! Not pretty. So, I modified the design to not have that raw inside seam.

I folded 1/4″ on one of the long edges and then followed the directions for the short edges. Ironed them down and then continued on.

Attach the Casing to the Bag

You can see here that the raw edges are pinned together at the top of the bag, and the one I folded over will then eventually fold over the top of the bag, into the inside edge where we will sew it down.

Add the Cording

Adding the cording can be a little tricky. If it gives you a hard time pushing it through the casing, just attach a safety pin to it to help guide it through.

We ended up having less cord than the pattern required. If you follow the pattern correctly, you’ll have enough.

Guide each cord thru one side of the casing and loop it back thru the other so that one cord starts and ends on the same side.

Secure the Cord Ends

We chose cording to keep within our theme. You can use 1/2″ backpack strapping instead.

Sewing the cording to the bag takes some patience and you may have to manually move the needle with the hand crank (as I call it). Make a couple of passes to secure the cording in place.

After you turn the bag inside out (see photo with yellow liner showing), you will then measure an inch from each side. Mark those spots and sew across to not only secure the cording even more, but to create a way for the bag to stand up easier when filled with your school supplies or items you need for your day in Disneyland.

You Made It!

Great job, everyone! Alex here, again. ‘Sup. This backpack is so cute and simple. You can make it in one day! I love the characters on this print. It’s perfect for when Disneyland opens back up or just to make for the kiddos who are distance learning right now.

Thanks for making it all the way down here! Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram and Pinterest for more projects like this!

@mainstreetdiy

All images on this website were taken by and belong to Main Street D.I.Y. If you wish to share an image, please give credit where credit is due! Send the people our way!

Golden Horseshoe Saloon Sign | Level 2

August 14, 2020August 14, 2020 / Alex Nadell / Leave a comment

Howdy, stranger! Welcome to the Thrilling Golden Horseshoe Revue. We’re creating a decorative sign to welcome all cowboys, passersby, friends and family to your saloon inspired by one of the walk-up restaurants in Frontierland: The Golden Horseshoe! This place not only offers yummy food, but fun interactive shows. It’s also a great place to cool off in the Summer. Giddy up!

Supplies List:	Tools List:
Blank Wood Sign	Acrylic Paint Brushes
Gold Metallic Paint	Colored Pencil Set
Print Out (download below)	Ruler
	Gold Paint Pen (optional)
	Painters Tape
	Pencil

Instructions

First, start of by printing out the shapes you’ll need for your sign. The sizes are for the sign I used, so adjust the size as needed for your project using the print settings.

Filigree and Horseshoe Shapes Download

Next, you’ll want to find a font! I found this free one called Rye and it is really nice for this project. I can’t find which font I used… Anyway, adjust the first letter to be bigger than the rest of the word.

Print out your letters, filigree, and horseshoe.

Next, if your sign is beveled like mine, you’ll want to paint those edges. Use the Painter’s Tape to avoid painting the face of the sign.

Transfer to your Sign

We’ll be using a transfer technique you may have used as a kid. All you have to do is flip your printouts over and use a soft pencil to trace over the lines. A heavy hand is recommended. Or simply use graphite paper if you have it!

If you want more accurate placement, cut our your shapes and words. Level them with a ruler. Place them on your Wood Sign and rub over the lines with either a pencil or something hard so the graphite transfers.

I started with the letters and horseshoe and added the filigree later. You can do this all at once.

Check to see if everything is level before continuing!

Paint Time!

I used a gold paint pen to outline my letters, but you don’t have to.

Fill in your letters with Gold Metallic Paint using a small precision acrylic brush. That way you can get into all the nooks and crannies.

Do the same for your horseshoe.

Let it dry!

Making it Pop with Colored Pencils

Grab white, black, tan, dark brown, and light brown colored pencils.

Imagine a light source shining on your sign. I decided to have my light come from the upper left, making the shadow appear on the right of my shapes.

Let’s create some depth to your letters. Use a tan colored pencil and lightly draw down the center of each letter. See the ‘H’ in the photo.

Go in with your dark brown on the right sides of your letters. Wherever you have a line on the outside right and inside left, draw a thin line of dark brown.

Shade in the lower halves of your letters using a light brown colored pencil. It doesn’t have to be too visible.

With a white colored pencil, draw thin lines of light hitting your letters and horseshoe on the center line your made earlier as well as the outside left and inside right lines. Use it sparingly!

Finally, use a black colored pencil and draw a thin line under each letter.

The Horseshoe should be colored in the same way.

Filigree Finishes

Transfer your Filigree printouts if you haven’t already.

And paint with gold metallic paint using a thin liner brush!

Final Bits

Use a ruler and light brown colored pencil to draw horizontal lines about 2 inches apart (avoiding the work you’ve already done).

Draw some short wood lines–just follow what’s already there on your wood sign–using the tan colored pencil.

You Made It!

Yippee Ki Yay! You did it! Now you can welcome guests to your saloon with that western charm. The Golden Horseshoe is an essential part of Frontierland at Disneyland. I love the immersive theming!

Thank you kindly for making it all the way down here! Do us a big favor and follow us on Instagram and Pinterest for more projects like this and photos from the park! Don’t forget to share with you Disney DIY loving friends and family. We’d really appreciate it!

@mainstreetdiy

All images on this website were taken by and belong to Main Street D.I.Y. If you wish to share an image, please give credit where credit is due! Send the people our way!

Yeti – Inspired by Harold of the Matterhorn Bobsleds | Level 2

June 19, 2020July 29, 2020 / Alex Nadell / Leave a comment

Speed past the yeti at Disneyland, but don’t pass up this little guy! We’re celebrating the anniversary of the Matterhorn Bobsleds –which opened June 14, 1959– with this needle felted yeti. If you’ve never tried needle felting before, I suggest you don’t do it while angry or distracted! We’re working with very sharp objects!

I’m no expert at needle felting. I have no idea what kind of needles I used, so I apologize to those who actually know what they’re doing!

Let’s get it started by looking at what things you’ll need!

Supplies List:	Tools List:
Batting	Felting Needles
White Wool Roving	Red Thread
Dark Grey Wool Roving	Blue Thread
Light Blue Wool Roving	Sewing Needle
Needle Felting Mat	Scissors

Instructions

We’re starting off with a good big piece of batting. Mine’s about 7 inches long and 5 inches wide.

Grab a Needle Felting Needle and start punching away! The more you punch the denser the batting will get. Think of it like you’re sculpting with clay, but you’re using a needle to direct where your “clay” goes.

The goal is to create a dense oval-like shape that’s tapered towards the bottom. This is the body of the yeti.

Tear off a smaller piece of batting (about half the length of your body piece) and start rolling. Felt the rolled parts, folding the outsides to the middle to create a dense ball. It’s not a sphere… more like a rounded cube. Now you have the head!

Use some loose batting and fix the head onto the body.

The Arms and Legs

Grab a couple chunks of batting about the length and width of the body.

Roll and needle felt until a dense log has formed. One end of the arm should be punched in, but not too much. The other end will have loose batting.

Make one more arm.

Fix the arms to the yeti shoulder using the loose batting on the top of the arm all the way around, under his armpit.

Repeat the steps for creating the arms to create the legs, except they are a little shorter and thicker. The loose batting at the tops of the legs should go all the way around the bottom of the body, but a good portion of it should go to the butt.

Position your yeti in a seated position upside down and needle felt his booty towards his legs.

The Fur

Grab some Dark Grey Wool and tear off small pieces. Punch your needle into the pieces onto the body and shape them into little leaves. We’re only doing this on the chest and back to create dimension. This step is optional if you don’t have grey wool.

Use the Light Blue Wool and lay it onto the yeti’s face. Punch in your needle and direct the edges of the wool into an oval shape. Layer and repeat.

Create a ball with the light blue wool by rolling up a piece, felting it, and pulling in from the sides to the center. Keep felting until the ball has formed. Leave some loose wool at the back to fix it onto the face.

The White Wool will be used for our yeti’s fur.

Separate thin bits of wool and punch your needle into the pieces so they stick together at one end. Use your other hand and pinch the bottom end together to shape it into a triangle. Punch your needle down to solidify the shapes.

Tip: Grab from multiple places on your smaller pieces to create more tangles.

Cut a slice of white wool and cut sections without cutting all the way to the top. Needle felt the pieces into triangles like before to create icicle-like pieces.

Take the separated pieces of white wool and felt it to the sides of the face, the upper back, and the shoulders. The face pieces are short, the back and shoulder pieces are longer.

The strips of white wool will be used to cover the rest of the body in layers. It’s going to take a lot of these! You can either layer top-to-bottom or the other way around. Just make sure you’re not punching in the individual hair locks.

Hands and Feet

Grab your light blue wool and roll and felt two small balls. Keep rolling, grabbing in from the sides to the center and punch your needle in until a dense ball has formed and cut off so that there is some loose wool left.

The feet are the same, just cylinders so you don’t have to pull in from the sides.

We want a crook in the foot (for the ankle) so take the loose end and fold it up with some of the dense part and punch that in place.

Fix your hands and feet in the loose ends of the arms and legs. You should be able to nestle them in and needle felt them together.

Take the loose ends of the arms and legs and felt them to the sides of the hands and feet. You can direct the wool to look more pieced.

Finishing up the Body

Continue cutting those strips of wool. You’re gonna need a lot. Layer them onto the arms and legs either bottom-to-top or top-to-bottom until the white batting is covered. Be thorough with your felting or the hair will fall off!

I worked both directions and it was fine either way, Again, don’t felt the individual locks of hair until your layers are complete. And when felting the locks of hair, don’t do it too much or else there won’t be any definition.

Personality!

Take a small piece of white wool and roll it in your fingers. Punch it on your yeti’s face where his brows should go and trim the excess.

Using your Red Thread, tie a knot at the ends after threading it thru your Sewing Needle. Punch in and out of a very small area under the eyebrows. Criss cross your stitches to create circles for the eyes.

The mouth is just a normal stitch. You can go over it again if you want a consistent line. Tie a tiny knot at the end.

The nostrils are made by punching in near the mouth and pulling back out at the top of the muzzle. You’re going to want to do this two times for a consistent line and tie a knot.

I had a tough time getting the knot to not pull thru. It takes a little patience.

Add some more eyebrow and punch in loose threads for a more appealing and cute face.

My additional brows made him look much friendlier.

You Made It!

Amazing work, everyone! It’s time to find a good place for our yeti to hang out. Some place high? Maybe near a mountain? This little guy is so cute and cuddly, maybe you don’t want him to be anywhere but by your side!

Thanks to everyone who made it down the mountain! Be sure to follow us on Instagram. We post pics from the park on there as well as the final pics of our projects. Follow us on Pinterest and add some of our pins to your inspiration boards! And please share with your Disney, DIY loving friends and family. We’d really appreciate it!

@mainstreetdiy

All images on this website were taken by and belong to Main Street D.I.Y. If you wish to share an image, please give credit where credit is due! Send the people our way!

Tea Party Lampshade – Inspired by The Mad Tea Party | Level 2

June 5, 2020July 29, 2020 / Alex Nadell / Leave a comment

Clean cup, clean cup! Move down, move down, move down!! Today’s project is inspired by The Mad Tea Party ride at the Disneyland Resort. I love the lanterns that canopy over the teacups and light up in all sorts of colors at night. I wanted to recreate that feeling with this project. We’ll be using some watercolor techniques, but don’t worry. You can definitely do this! Here’s what you’ll need:

Supplies List:	Appx Cost:
White Fabric Lampshade	$10
Black, Blue, Purple, Orange, Red, Yellow, and Green Paint Pens and Acrylic Paint	$5-30
Colored Pencil Set	$10
Approximate Cost of Supplies:	$25-55

*Cost is approximated with coupons/sales and if you don’t already have all the supplies. You may have leftovers!
If the cost is $0, I’m assuming you already have these things.

Tools List:	Appx Cost:
Ruler	$0
Pencil	$0
Jar of Water	$0
Paint Brush	$3
Scrap Paper	$0
Approximate Cost of Tools:	$3

*Cost is approximated with coupons/sales and if you don’t already have all the supplies. You may have leftovers!
If the cost is $0, I’m assuming you already have these things.

Instructions

Measure your Lampshade and decide how tall you want your teacups to be. They should be less than a third of the lampshade.

Take a piece of paper and fold it in half. This will be the template for your teacups.

Draw a line to double check the size and sketch in some circles to represent where your “guests” will be sitting.

With the paper fold on the left, draw a diagonal line curving in a little towards the bottom.

Cut out your teacup template. Adjust if necessary.

Trace your template around the base of the lampshade. There should be ample space in between each cup to accommodate handles.

The teacup handles are in the shape of an ear. It’s rounded at the top and curves hard towards the cup.

To make your cups look different, you can change the width of the handles or not have handles at all, as if the cup has turned away from you.

Adding Character

To draw your guests, start with a circle a little bit above the rim of the teacup.

Draw two lines underneath the head to represent the body.

Draw two sets of stick arms and fingers for some guests who are having a really good time.

You can add small tufts of hair, ponytails, or smiles to make each guest unique.

The Lanterns

There are three shapes for the lanterns that will go on the top rim of the lampshade.

Each shape has two thin rectangles on the top and bottom.

The first shape is a diamond, next is a long oval, and finally a double diamond.

Draw these lantern shapes around the top of your lampshade.

If I make this project again, I would make my lanterns a little bigger.

Take your Paint Pens and start outlining the lanterns. Fill in just the outer most part of the lantern. You can alternatively do this with regular acrylic paint and a liner brush.

Use Colored Pencils to fill in the rest of the lantern shape.

Once dry, use a black paint pen or acrylic paint to fill in the rectangles on the top and bottom of the lanterns.

The diamond shaped lanterns have this squiggle design on them.

Complete your lanterns all the way around the lampshade.

Warning: Because the lampshade is fabric, paints will bleed if wet!

Fill in your teacups and guests with black. Make sure everything is bone dry first!

Paint Time

To make the lanterns come to life, we’ll be using acrylic paint and water.

Using a wet Paint Brush, dip into your color and paint a circle under each lantern. The color should match the lantern’s color.

Quickly get more water on your brush and soak the spot you painted while rubbing it around where you want color to go. Repeat as necessary.

Here’s a step by step of how to apply your paint. Make sure the black is completely dry before doing this or it will bleed.

Do the lantern’s lights first and then fill in around with different colors.

Tip: Be careful! Colors opposite on the color wheel will turn grey and muddy when mixed. (yellow + purple, red + green, blue + orange)

Use paint pens to draw lines of colored light on your guests depending on which colored lantern they’re under.

Cover all white spots with color.

You made it!

Fantastic job, everyone! This is a fun project if you have a room that needs a little color and a touch of madness. It makes me happy seeing this all lit up just like the ride at the park. I can’t wait to ride it again and hear those whistling teapots!

Close up of a lampshade with people riding teacups

Lampshade with watercolor like background and people riding teacups lining the bottom.

Thanks for making it ALLLL the way down here in Wonderland! Please be sure to check out our Instagram and Pinterest. Follow us for more projects like this and photos from the park! If you have a DIY, Disney loving friend or family member, consider sharing this with them. We’d really appreciate it!

@mainstreetdiy

All images on this website were taken by and belong to Main Street D.I.Y. If you wish to share an image, please give credit where credit is due! Send the people our way!

Incredible Collage – Inspired by “The Incredibles” | Level 2

May 15, 2020July 29, 2020 / Alex Nadell / Leave a comment

Pow! Whap! Bam! We’re celebrating all of the super moms (and dads) out there this week with this Pop Art, Roy Lichtenstein influenced piece featuring the incredible Helen Parr. You can really make this your own a variety of ways including picking different paper, color scheme, and including other mediums as well. Here are the things you might need!

Supplies List:	Appx Cost:
Heavy Duty Paper/ Bristol	$0.20 ea
Red, Black, Orange, Yellow, and Dotted Scrapbook Paper	$0.80 ea
Black&White Graphic Scrapbook Paper	$0.80 ea
Other Graphic Scrapbook Papers	$0.80 ea
Total Approximate Cost:	$5.80

*Cost is approximated with coupons/sales and if you don’t already have all the supplies. You may have leftovers!
If the cost is $0, I’m assuming you already have these things.

Tools List:	Appx Cost:
Scissors	$0
Hobby Knife	$5
Glue Stick	$1
Black Brush Tip Pen	$3
Total Approximate Cost:	$9

*Cost is approximated with coupons/sales and if you don’t already have all the supplies. You may have leftovers!
If the cost is $0, I’m assuming you already have these things.

picture of differently colored scrapbook paper, pens, pencils, and glue stick

Instructions

First, find a picture of Helen that you like and size it up–in Photoshop or eyeball it–to fit your Heavy Duty Paper. I turned mine black and white and upped the whites so I wouldn’t waste ink. Print it out!

As you can see above, mine took 3 sheets of paper to get the size right.

Using a light box or window, trace your pieces onto the appropriate colored Scrapbook Paper. Ben-Day Dotted paper for skin. Red for the suit and lips. Black for the hair, mask and eyes, logo’s negative space, gloves, briefs, and boots. Orange for the logo and belt.

Cut everything out. Take your time!

Line everything up. You can use the light box/window again to make sure everything is in place before gluing down with the Glue Stick.

Decide where you want your highlights whether indicated by your photo or by your own creativity. Use the Yellow Scrapbook Paper and cut out the pieces. Glue them in place.

Oops! Realize you’ve made a color mistake and fix it.

Finish your subject by adding in facial details like the lines to her lips, nose, and ears using a Black Brush Tip Pen.

Cut out your effects shapes. You can do zig-zags, explosions, thought bubbles, anything comic book looking.

Feel free to add action words like a big ol’ “BAM!” or “WHOOSH!”.

Grab your Graphic Scrapbook Papers and decide where to place them as your background. I used three different papers. Two were for the effects in the corners, the other one was mainly for the background.

Arrange your layers and see if you like it. Cut to fit if necessary.

Glue down your background.

Glue down your subject.

Finally, do some outlining!

You Did It!

I hope you all liked this paper project. It’s sort of like putting a puzzle together with all the different pieces. I was thinking about the Incredicoaster and how the mural is really graphic and dynamic. Then I thought about Pop Art and Lichtenstein’s work. They’re in the same decade so I felt it was a perfect fit! “The Incredibles” is my favorite Pixar film of all time. I love the realness to the Parrs as a family and–of course–their super powers!

Thanks to everyone who scrolled all the way down here! Please check out our Instagram and Pinterest! Follow us for more Disney inspired projects and pictures from Disneyland and California Adventure. Let us know if you made this craft by tagging us and share with your Disney DIY loving friends and family!

@mainstreetdiy

All images on this website were taken by and belong to Main Street D.I.Y. If you wish to share an image, please give credit where credit is due! Send the people our way!

“Make it Pink!” Bracelet – Inspired by Sleeping Beauty | Level 2

April 10, 2020July 29, 2020 / Alex Nadell / Leave a comment

Hail to the Princess Aurora! She was raised by three good fairies, two of whom had very strong feelings for which color is the best. Pink or blue? With this project, you might have to make that decision for yourself…or maybe not?

Here are the supplies and tools you’ll need:

Supply List:	Appx Cost:
Pink Opalescent Beads	$3
Clear/Frosted Seed Beads	$2
Owl Beads	$2
Iridescent Clear Glass Beads 6mm	$3
20 Gauge Silver Plated Wire	$4
Tree charm	$3
Lobster Clasp + optional Jump Ring	$3
optional Castle Charm	$5
*Approximate Cost of Supplies:	$20 – $25

*Cost is approximated with coupons/sales and if you don’t already have all the supplies. Please note that you will have leftover materials.

Tool List:	Appx Cost:
Round Nose Pliers
Flush Cutters or Nippers (wire cutter)
Chain Nose Pliers or Flat Nose Pliers
*Approximate Cost of Tools:	$12 in a Set

*Cost is approximated with coupons/sales and if you don’t already have all the supplies.

These beads are pink, but when the light hits them *just* right….the color shifts to blue!

Instructions:

Cut a length of the 20 Gauge Wire that is 4-5 inches longer than the circumference of your wrist using your nippers. It’s better to cut more just in case! 14 inches is a good length to start at if you aren’t sure or don’t want to bother measuring your wrist. I gotchu.

Use your Round Nose Pliers and wrap the end of your wire around to make a loop. You should have about a 2 inch tail to wrap around the base of your loop to secure it in a coil. I didn’t make my tail long enough so it was a little difficult to wrap around. The tail should wrap 2-3 times. Squish the wrapped coil closer together using your Chain Nose Pliers and then smoosh it down around the main wire. Those are technical terms.

Flush Cut the end of the coil. If it’s still sharp, you can file it down.

String on your beads!

Start out with 1 Iridescent Clear Bead followed by 3 Seed Beads.

1 Pink Opalescent Bead and another seed bead.

String on an owl, iridescent bead, owl, iridescent bead.

The middle is made up of 3 pink opalescent beads.

‘The rest is the same in reverse starting with the iridescent bead.

The Charms

Take your chain nose pliers–I used flat nose in the picture–and bend the wire upward.

Use the round nose pliers to loop your wire around.

String on your charm(s). The loop doesn’t close completely so your charms may come out and travel on the wire up to where the clasp goes–unless you decide to add more beads to that portion.

Finishing Up

Wrap what you have around your wrist, shaping it into a circle. Take note of where you’ll need to attach your clasp.

Create a loop and coil like you did to start the bracelet. If you don’t have a jump ring, make sure your lobster clasp is inside the loop before you coil the tail around to secure it.

If you do have a jump ring, you can end your loop with the coil, flush cutting the edge so it isn’t sharp.

Open the jump ring by pulling each side in opposite directions. Insert your lobster clasp and attach it to the now closed loop. Close the jump ring.

If you have a different clasp that’s more accessible for you, by all means use that! Lobster clasps can be difficult to use. These magnetic clasps or toggle clasps could be a good alternative!

The fairies gave you a gift! You made it!

Fantastic job! You just made this Sleeping Beauty inspired bracelet. I hope you enjoyed jewelry making. I know I’m not the best at it, but I’m glad we got to try something new.

I chose to use a thick wire for this project so it holds its shape. It reminds me of the adjustable bracelets you can get at the Parks. In fact, that was my intention at first. I tried it out using memory wire, but didn’t end up liking it as much as the clasped one. Maybe you can try it out with the memory wire and see what you think? Or possibly elastic instead of wire. There are so many options!

Thanks to everyone who made it this far! If you have any tips for jewelry making, let me know. I would love to hear! If you made this please share with us on Instagram. Tag us and share with all your Disney loving DIYers!

@mainstreetdiy

All images on this website were taken by and belong to Main Street D.I.Y. If you wish to share an image, please give credit where credit is due! Send the people our way!

Spring Wreath-Inspired by Daisy Duck | Level 2

March 20, 2020July 29, 2020 / Alex Nadell / Leave a comment

It’s the first day of Spring 2020 and it’s the first project we’ll be doing here on Main Street DIY! I’m so excited! I hope that this project is something you can enjoy even if you can’t go out to the craft store to pick up supplies right now. I hope that this is something you can look forward to making.

Without further ado…this is the Daisy Duck inspired Spring Wreath and the supplies you’ll need!

Supplies List:	Appx Cost:
12″ Floral Ring	$3
6ft Garland with Purple Flowers	$10
9 Large White Daisies	$5
Long Stem with Leaves	$4
4 Yellow Cattail-Like Flowers	$1
3 Small Yellow Daisies	$2
White Feathers	$3
1.5″ Pink Wired Ribbon	$2
*Total Appx Cost:	$30 + tax

*Cost is approximated with coupons/sales and if you don’t already have all the supplies

Tools List:	Appx Cost:
Clear Hot Glue + Hot Glue Gun	$10
Wire Cutters	$4
*Total Approximate Cost of Tools:	$14 + tax

*Cost is approximated with coupons/sales and if you don’t already have all the supplies

(Please note that the supply links may not last forever since flowers tend to be seasonal items at craft stores. I will update as needed.)

Instructions:

Place the Garland with the purple flowers on the Ring, following its shape. The first wrap should be placed towards the opening in the ring, the second should go outside of the first–and so on if your garland is super long. Make sure you like the placement before hot gluing down.

Tip: I put one of the plastic ends of the garland thru a hole in the ring and glued it down in the back before wrapping and gluing.

Use the wire cutters to separate the branches from the Long Stem with Leaves. You should have enough to fill in most of the gaps left by the garland. Concentrate most of these leaves where your garland didn’t overlap twice. We’re going to have this be the top of the wreath. Glue ’em in place!

Tip: I placed the leaves pointing up. Those on the right side of the ring curve counter-clockwise and those on the left curve clockwise.

Create a hidden mickey with the three Small Yellow Daisies in the lower right corner of your ring. Mine had wires in the back so I wrapped them around the ring.

Next, use the wire cutters to separate each Large White Daisy from the bunch. Keep the stems if you want to fill in more space or finish the edge of the ring. Arrange the daisies around the ring on the outside. These flowers typically have wire in the stem so you can manipulate how they’re angled and curved.

Tip: Hot glue ended up melting the outer coating of the stems, separating them from the inner core. Make sure you hold the stems down to the ring until they’re set.

Nearing the end! Go ahead and stick some Feathers around the bottom half of your wreath. A dab of hot glue on the bottom of the feather should do the trick. Add the Yellow Cattail-Like Flowers on the left inner-circle.

Tip: I added the two leaves that came with the white daises to fill in more space.

Finish it off with a bow made from 1.5 inch Pink Wired Ribbon. Cut two 15 inch lengths of ribbon. Remember to fray check the ribbon ends. Fold the ends to the center and sew or glue one side so that there’s a little peak and the loops make a shallow ‘V’ shape. Do this for both pieces of ribbon.

Tip: To get center, I folded my ribbon in half to make a crease then folded each end to that crease.

Layer one piece on top of the other with the peak on the outside, scrunch the centers, and sew or glue together.

To finish the bow, cut a small length of ribbon–about 3-4 inches–and wrap that around the center over the sewed pieces, sewing or gluing the ends in the back. Leave space to feed thru an additional length–30-32 inches–of ribbon for the tails. You can cut little triangles in the ends of the tails for a cuter look.

To attach the bow to your wreath. Either thread craft wire thru the part where the tails fed thru and wrap around the ring or hot glue in place.

YOU MADE IT! Congrats!

Took a couple hours didn’t it. Phew!

I would like to thank every one of you who made it this far. I know I don’t read everything on blogs, so if you did I’m so proud of you! Let us know if you made this Daisy Duck inspired wreath by tagging us on Instagram @mainstreetdiy!

@mainstreetdiy

All images on this website were taken by and belong to Main Street D.I.Y. If you wish to share an image, please give credit where credit is due! Send the people our way!