Hello everyone. I’m so glad being here on GHTR today to show you one of my easy project tutorials I’ve made recently.My name is Lou and I live in Frankfurt, Germany. I have a blog named Happy Serendipity which is all about crafty inspiration, handmade markets, I have a DIY tutorial each week and a free digital download as well. Being a sewing addict I have an Etsy shop – named HappySerendipity as well. Please stop by and have a look. I will donate 50% of all purchases to the German Red Cross these days to support the victims of Japan. Thank you.

 
Materials needed:

- Slices of birch tree (available in craft stores or flower shops, I found these at Dawanda)
- Acrylic paint or crayons or sharpies
- Printout of artwork
- Tracing paper
 

 
Trace the artwork on the wood by laying the tracing paper between the draft and the wood.
Use a pencil to draw the lines.
 

 
After tracing everything it should look like this.
 

 
Now you can start to paint. For some I drew a black outline with a black sharpie before painting but that’s
totally up to you.
 

 
I used either acrylic paint and crayons.
 

 
The final result looks like this.
 

 
you can even use them as coasters!
 

 

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hi everyone! please welcome guest poster, belinda from the happy home! i hope you enjoy this diy project, how fun and adorable!

Paper leaves

Your toolkit
1. Coloured and patterned paper. I used some scrapbooking sheets from my stash.
2. Twigs – from the garden or those long willowy brushes you see in the $2 store and wonder what on earth you’d do with.
3. Gee, what could these be? A glue stick and scissors.

Step-by-step
1. Fold the paper in half so when you cut out your shape, the two pieces you’ll be sticking together are exactly the same.
2. Open the two pieces like a book, glue the wrong sides, lay the end of a twig in the centre and stick the pieces back together.
3. Press the pieces together firmly, particularly along the stick to hold it in place.
4. Repeat as often as you like with different sizes, colours and patterns. Cut the ends to slightly different lengths and arrange in a vase.

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please welcome, guest poster: lana from joey and lana make a house a home

First I want to say how delighted I am to do a post for Going Home to Roost. I love this blog so much, it’s silly!  I wanted to share with you, exceptional artists who inspire me on a regular basis. From fine art to home goods, I am going to cover some of my favorites from head to toe!

I would like to explore an artist I have loved for so many years. I first discovered his talent when he was focusing on acrylic work of creatures and whimsical landscapes. Then and there I fell in love. Duane Hosien , a native of Trinidad and current New York City resident, has expanded his work into the most deliciously detailed pen-work you have ever seen. Glamour, Germany has just discovered him and commissioned him to do a shirt for a give-away! You can see his work in his etsy store, flickr account, or his blog! I am sure your socks will be knocked right off by his style and detail to attention

Great  for both children and adults! Buttercup Bloom has the sweetest little Etsy shop! The selection is small yet perfect. These make perfect gifts and I love to decorate my home with the owls when Fall comes around.

Super functional and amazingly stylish in a woodsy way! I have been craving these desk accessories for sometime. I promised myself as soon as I buy a new desk, I am getting both! Woodtec provides a simple craft with loads of function.

These handcrafted bowls are the work of Isabelle Abramson! They are so delicate and beautiful. Imagine them in the center of your table filled with delicious fruit or pinecones! I could only imagine the amount of time theses took to make!

So this is just a taste of some of my favorite hand made crafters! I hope you enjoy them and are inspired by their work as much as I am.

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hello lovelies!  i am so excited to introduce to you a new going home to roost contributor, chelsea rogers! i’ve always been taken by her projects and writing style, and now she’ll be sharing the occasional craft project and recipe with you!  i did a little introduction interview with her to help everyone get to know her, and she’ll be back next week with her first recipe (yum).  she’s a sweetheart and total genuine rooster, so i know you’ll enjoy her as much as i do!

tell us a little about yourself, what path led you to where you are now?

I’ve always been creative, but just never really had a focus to it.  I
was always up to something – quilting, acting, painting, baking.  In
university I studied film and thought I’d go into costume design.  But
then I was bitten by the pastry bug and fell in love!  I was a pastry
chef for 13 years, the last 4 making wedding cakes.

About 2 years ago we decided to make the move out of the big city.
The husband got a great new job but my job prospects were slim to
none, which combined with crazy work related respiratory problems
meant I needed to find something new.  A lot of soul searching later
and I started sewing clutches!   I love the wedding industry and this
was a great way to stay in it while working from home.

I still love baking and (to the detriment of my waistline) keep doing
it for fun!  We’re doing some renos and once those are done I’m
planning on teaching baking classes, and maybe making the odd wedding
cake.

what 5 words describe you the most?

sneezy * introspective * colourful * stubborn * silly * enthusiastic

what does your typical day look like?

Hmmm, I don’t really know anymore!  We just got a puppy on the weekend
so everything’s changed!  I work from home so it’s going to be awfully
difficult to actually focus and work for the next few weeks!  We’re
focusing on crate training so that I’ll be able to head to my sewing
room and get some work done every few hours!  Caesar makes it look so
easy!

where are you from, and where do you live now?

I’m originally from Vancouver, BC.  A little over a year ago we made
the big move to Kamloops, a small city about 3 hours northeast of Van.
We wanted to live somewhere where we could actually afford a house!
The plan is to move again in about 4 years – Kamloops is in the desert
and we’re both coastal rainforest kids!  And yes, Canada has desert!

what inspires you?

Other creative people!  I’ve never been able to create out of a
vaccum.  I’m always reading – books, blogs, magazines.  I go on
research binges then the ideas just flow.  And there’s nothing like
gardening or taking a walk to clear the mind of all the clutter and
let it wander.

what’s one thing people usually don’t know about you?

I’m such a blabber mouth they probably wish they knew less about me!
But I guess the fact that even though I’m a really girly girl and
pretty lazy I seriously considered joining the army after high school.
I’m not really patriotic I just like the idea of the extreme
challenge!  And hot guys in uniforms.

tell us a little about your etsy shop and blogs:

My etsy shop is basically an excuse for me to play with pretty fabric!
I’ve got shimmering silks in a rainbow of colours, and my faves,
Liberty tana lawns.  I also love that I get to chat with so many
brides and help them plan the perfect accessories for themselves or
their girls!

Right now I have 2 blogs, prettylulu and an abundance of apricots.
Jamie’s always making fun of me because I have a magpie’s eye – he’s
always saying “shiny things, shiny things”!  And it’s true!  Pretty
Lulu is where I can write about all the pretty, shiny things that I’ve
found and loved, and maybe stop myself from buying all of them!  An
Abundance of Apricots is more of a personal blog about what’s going on
in my garden and kitchen.  This is our first growing season in our new
house and I have so many plans!  I really hope I can grow about 50% of
the food we eat this summer and share some of the recipes there.

what makes you smile?

My sweet, goofy cat Lulu.  I’m hoping she’ll stop hiding under the bed and be herself again soon.  She and her brother are not happy about the new addition to the family!

chelsea elsewhere: (etsy shop) (pretty lulu blog) (an abundance of apricots blog)

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please welcome, guest poster: handmade evolution

1). Parrott Design Studio 2). Wicked Pen 3). Percy Handmade 4). Bliss in a Teacup

1). Free Wedding Invitation Kit found via Paper Crave 2). He Knows my Name 3). Red Light Studio

For those of you who are already married, you may have loved deciding all of the details for your wedding! I know I did. I was in heaven with all of the cake tastings and time spent picking out colors and favors and of course – the dress.

I got married almost 5 years ago, before I had even heard of Etsy – yet we still managed to have a handmade wedding. I designed and made almost everything myself for our wedding – from favors to invites to table numbers and beyond. From there I knew I had to find a job that was more creative, I considered becoming a wedding planner or even a baker, but ended up deciding that web and graphic design was the direction I wanted to take.

I am amazed at everything that is available online now to help brides have the perfect handmade wedding – whether you decide you’d like to make things yourself or to purchase from the many vendors on Etsy.

I’m especially excited to share the Free printable wedding invitation kit pictured above with you! For those of you currently planning your wedding – I hope everything goes smoothly and you have the time of your life!

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