DIY Rustic Carrot Easter Decor
ERIN MCBRINE PHOTOGRAPHY
MASSACHUSETTS FAMILY & WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER
DIY RUSTIC CARROT PHOTO PROP HOME DECOR PIECE
Welcome back to the blog peeps! Today’s blog is going to focus on a fun diy project. If you love crafting keep on reading. If you know me you know that I love crafting and doing diy projects! Most of the time it's cheaper for me to make a prop myself rather than go out and buy it especially when I can get my materials from none other than Dollar Tree!
Almost all materials used in this project were purchased at Dollar Tree! I did use greenery that I already had at home but you can absolutely find various types of greenery in the floral/craft section of your local Dollar Tree. These adorable rustic carrots can be used as a prop for photography or for decor in your home or office. Below is a list of items you will need to do this project.
STEP 1: PREPARE YOUR FLORAL FOAM
If you can find a larger block of foam to use for this project I would highly recommend it. It will make this process A LOT easier. My Dollar Tree only had the smaller blocks of foam and so that is what I got! If you have a larger block of foam you can skip ahead to step 2. First, I started by gluing together the individual sections of foam to make 3 cohesive blocks. Each package had 4 pieces of floral foam. I knew that I wanted 3 different sizes of carrots so I used 5 blocks of foam on the largest carrot, 4 blocks of foam on the medium sized carrot and 3 blocks of foam for the smallest carrot. You can make any size carrot you would like. Mine ended up being 8 inches, 6.5 inches and 5 inches without the stem. If you are gluing make sure it dries completely before moving onto the next step.
STEP 2: CUT YOUR FOAM
I started by first marking the middle point of the bottom of the foam block. This will end up being your pointed end of our carrot. Next, you want to draw a carrot shape onto the foam on parallel sides with the pointed end directed toward the same end you made the middle point on. This will give you a general guide as to where you need to cut. I cut a pattern on a piece of paper to make sure they were the same on both sides but you can wing it if you are comfortable. I knew that I wanted my carrots to be oversized and chunky so I chose to draw an exaggerated shape. Next, you want to grab your utility knife and start chipping away. I cut my foam over a large tupperware container to catch all of the cuttings. I started at the corners first. I recommend making smaller cuts because you can always make your carrot shape smaller but it's harder to fix if you take off too much. Try to get it as smooth as you can but it doesn't need to be perfect. You want to do this very carefully. Watch your fingers and cut away from your body. I did also wear a mask because the debris from the floral foam cuts can be very fine and I didn't want to breathe it in.
STEP 3: ATTACH YOUR GREENERY
Next, I attached my greenery. The greenery I used was wired so all I did was stick the wire end into the rounded top part of the foam carrot form and secured it with a little hot glue. If the greenery you use does not have a wire, you can simply take a tool like a wood skewer, pencil or screw driver and make a channel for the stem to sit in and secure it with some hot glue.
STEP 4: WRAP YOUR FOAM CARROT FORM IN JUTE CORD
After you have attached your greenery it's time to start wrapping! Take the end of your jute cord and secure it with some hot glue at the top of your carrot. I wrapped it around my stem first but you can certainly start at the pointed end. Then you want to work your way down the rest of the carrot by placing some hot glue and then wrap the jute cord around and around your carrot form. You don't need to wrap the cord perfectly and don't worry if you have some hot glue that bubbles out between your wrapped cord. I wouldn't leave large gaps in between wraps but it's not a big deal if you can see some of the foam through your wrapped cord since you will be painting it anyway. Once you make your way all the way to the opposite end of the carrot you can cut your jute cord and secure your end with some more hot glue.
STEP 5: PAINT YOUR CARROT
Simple as that. Take your paint and your paint brush and brush on the paint all over your wrapped carrot. You will want to use a pretty thick coat as the jute cord can absorb the paint. I wanted the rustic look so I only did one thick coat of paint so that some of the jute cord color would pop through. If you want a more solid orange color you can do multiple coats of paint. If you want a lighter shade of orange you can mix in some white paint until you have your desired shade. If you want your orange to be darker you can do the same thing with black. If you don’t have orange paint or can't find it at the store you can simply mix red and yellow together to get an orange color.
And there you have it! An adorable piece of Easter decor! You can add any kind of finishing touch you would like. You can leave it as a bare carrot or dress it up with a bow. I finished my carrot by tying a few strands of the jute cord into a bow. I plan on using these carrots in my upcoming spring mini sessions along with a little furry friend! This year's spring mini sessions will feature an adorable bunny provided by my friends at Channell Homestead here in Hanson, Ma.
I hope that you enjoyed this diy blog and even had a little fun! I Look forward to sharing many more diys with you in 2021.
