3 Kid Friendly DIY Projects for Any Fiesta!

Before everything turns into a pumpkin, my kids and I decided to soak up the last remaining days of summer and give the prickly pineapple its’ fair share of fun in the sun. The occasion, my husbands birthday, our plans…a little BBQ before naptime, but shhh…it’s a surprise! His birthday was actually a couple of weeks ago but this is our first weekend in town to celebrate as a family.

First up: Mason Jar Pineapple Planters 3 ways! This one is as easy as pineapple pie!

For 2 of the 3 versions, we painted the inside of the jars by dropping in the paint, giving it a good shake (Sebastian’s favorite part) and then letting it sit overnight to dry. We also painted the silver lid green to look like the stem thanks to Sawyer. In the morning we sprayed the inside with a sealer so our water didn’t destroy the paint.

To decorate the pineapple Oliver chose to leave his plain (he was napping) and Sawyer, with the help of big bro, drew on the “texture.” We were going to just use sharpies but the boys love the heat embosser so we gave the VersaMarker pen a try and embossed it! Took

And finally for the third, we left the inside clean and whipped out the washi tape! My 3 yr old is obsessed with tape so this one was crazy fun for him.

Next it was time to plant! We chose sturdy plants that looked like tops of pineapples from our local nursery and voila! Our stage is set! Well, almost…on to project #2, pineapple placemats!

Inspired by the Pineapple wallpaper I stumbled across while researching the festive fruit’s transition into fall, we decided to really impress Dad and make our own “wallpaper print” that could be used as a placemat. Dad is a bit of a neat freak and hates when the kiddos can’t keep their food within a foot of their mouthes (learning to use utensils is tough stuff!) so placemats will make him smile, that’s for sure! And hey, they make for easy clean up so why not.

And if placemats don’t exactly have a place on your life right now, not to worry! Try this on a runner or tablecloth for your next party. Or what about invitations? Save the dates? All you need to set the vibe is a regular old stamp and the ideas are endless.

No party — no problem! Insert your print into a frame or turn it into canvas, hang it on the wall and you’ve got 5 minute DIY art that looks like you bought it! Tutorial here for canvas art and Modge Podge. Cut it up, apply a little more Modge Podge and you’ve got coasters. Cut it up a little smaller and you’ve got place cards or gift tags! Think big and buy a roll of paper and stamp away to line the inside of a serving tray! Some more of that Modge Podge required here, and then serve someone with an I made this smile! Think even bigger and use a roll of paper to create custom wrapping paper. Bigger still — line a bookcase or if you’ve you got an open shelf, line the back to add some interest.

Again, you can create any motif you want and these are all awesome ideas for setting that Thanksgiving table or welcoming holiday guests with a personal touch, not to mention fantastic ideas for keeping the kids occupied and ideal for homemade gifts.

Now, if you want to get technical without getting the least bit technical, make your paper “wallpaper” your computer or phone’s “wallpaper” by uploading a photo you snap. I did this and then zoomed in to see the texture created by the heat embossing and set the banner image for my blog! See, I’m telling you, if you have a pineapple crush, or any crush for that matter, this is the easiest way to get your fix.

And now that we’ve got more than enough ideas brimming to keep us busy embossing for days, let’s get down to the how-to. The method I used to create the look of wallpaper for the placemat is heat embossing, the exact process I used for the DIY business cards, which oddly enough I also used pineapples for! Instead of card stock for business cards, I used a heavy weight linen blend paper. But you can really use any paper from printer paper to construction paper to a cardboard box!

Here’s what you need:

VesaMark Stamp Pad — it’s a sticky pad that isn’t ink, it’s how your embossing powder sticks to the design.

Embossing Powder – it comes in a rainbow of colors and also in shiny “metals”, like gold, silver, copper, platinum.

Heat Gun — I asked if this could be accomplished with a hair dryer and although they said no, I’m guessing yes IF you have an attachment that concentrates the heat.

Stamp(s) — any and all stamps will work, providing you know I’m not talking about mailing something.

Cards, paper, tags — whatever medium you are using to emboss on. Here again, I used a heavyweight linen “paper” that is somewhere in between paper and fabric. I tested this out on true fabric and regular paper and both work like magic!

But that’s pretty much it! Add in a little creativity and imagination and a few trial runs and you are good to go! Those are your 5 basic tools and now, here are the 5 basic steps.

1. Stamp your image onto the paper.

2. Sprinkle on the embossing powder to cover the image, it will be visible and sticky

3. Gently flip over the paper to remove the excess powder and give it a few flicks to with your finger to define the lines — you can even use a small paint brush to remove any unwanted powder.

4. Get out the heat gun (my favorite part) and hold it 3 inches or so from the paper and heat the powder. Do this for about 8-10 seconds. You will see the powder change color and look almost wet.

5. When the powder turns color you are done! Give it another 10-15 seconds to dry fully and embellish away if you want.

And finally for our 3rd Pineapple DIY, we have the pineapple paper straw. Again, my kids are at the age where straws, along with tape, hold all sorts of mystery, so I wasn’t surprised when this turned out to be the favorite. And if I’m honest, it’s probably mine too. It was so easy and so cute and just looks like fun awaits.

The needs: construction paper, paper straws, scissor and good ole Elmer’s glue!