DIY Dream-catchers AND Giveaway Winner!

I can't even begin to tell you how exhausted I've been today. It started at around 5:30am, because - lucky me -my anxiety decided to hit me full blown last night. I was experiencing a really rough nightmare, which woke up in sweat and tears. Lovely, I know. We had to go to my son's dentist early this morning so I just stayed awake and read until it was time to actually get ready. While I was drinking my coffee and trying to forget my horrendous dream, I got the idea to make dream-catchers. After my son did stupendous at his appointment, we got to work.

I will say this now, I still don't know exactly how to do the beautiful designs with the "web", but to be completely honest I didn't care. I wanted to do an artsy project that was personalized. All in all, I'm happy with the outcome.

I chose to create ours out of Sculpey's Oven Bake Clay, which you can find at an arts and crafts store in almost any color, merely because we didn't have anything round and sturdy to use. Also, I like that you can potentially create add on decorations AND can make your dream-catcher the exact size you'd prefer. The entire process was relatively simple. My son and I both created ours in a matter of minutes. Here's how we did it!

Things you'll need:

Clay - OR - something round and sturdy

Paint

Yarn

Ribbon

Beads

Thread

Any extra decorations you'd like to use

Process:

1. If you choose to use a sturdy round object, you can skip step 1 through . If you choose to use clay, read on. First grab some clay and roll it out like a long snake.

2. Wrap your clay snake into a circle, applying a small clay wrap around the connecting area. This will help blend the clay. You can smooth it out, but I actually like the look of it. 

3. Cook your clay (check the instructions on your clay's packaging). 

4. Let cool - usually only takes a few minutes.

5. Decorate the ring. I chose to paint mine with a really pretty blue I found for $1 at Target. My son went with wrapping his dream-catcher ring in white yarn. 

6. Start the weaving process. Now, my son did his - I added the bead for him though - and I just winged mine. HERE is a tutorial on Pinterest you can use as a guideline, which is more or less how I started mine. The whole point is really just to loop around each connecting area. You may have to play with it a few times to get your desired look, but I think it's a little fun to see how it turns out in the end. Also, if you search on Pinterest "DIY Dream-catcher", you'll find SO many beautiful creations. 

7. Add details that dangle, or gems (I added some to a different dream-catcher, as a gift for my mom), and that's all there is to it! 

I actually like the "ambiance" a dream-catcher add's to any space. I will DEFINITELY be making a few more to work on. I enjoy designing them and I assume I'll get better over time. Like they say, everything takes practice! My son absolutely loves his. He says it's a monster catcher and wards off any monsters who dare to enter. It was a really cool project that my son could really be involved in. We have a few extra's and my son plans on creating a collection of his own. Making dream-catchers make for a great quiet-time activity, even with little ones! Plus, you could get small "kid-friendly" toys, stickers, or beads, that would represent them! Maybe head to your arts and crafts store and make a day of it! 

Today is ALSO the day for announcing the winner of my Gorgeous Giveaway! The winner chosen at random is.......  @saskiasark on Instagram! I've tagged the winner on today's Instagram post. The winner has 24 hours to respond - by 10pm PST 5/18/2016. If I don't receive any word back, another winner will be chosen. Thank you so much to everyone who entered and has been wonderful support! I truly have enjoyed this experience, as it's connected me with so many beautiful people. Seeing as how I loved this giveaway SO much, I WILL be doing another one soon! So keep your eyes peeled for upcoming events!