Wrapped "E"

This project started out with a pretty sad looking letter "E" which I bought for next to nothing over the summer at one of my favorite hotspots. Olde Factory Antiques. And by sad I mean, chunks are ripped out (which you can see by the parts that aren't blue). I really wanted to wrap this with, what else, burlap, but wasn't sure if my husband would appreciate this too well. Instead, I tried some ribbon I had on hand that just didnt work either. Finally, I remembered this random black fabric that I don't remember what I used it for but had quite a bit of. (see below)

 



From here, I cut strips abotu 2 inches wide and the length (width??) of the fabric and just begin going to wrap town.

I really thought I took more pictures of the "during" process, but apparently this is it- OOPS! Either way, I think you get the point.

So here it is, all wrapped and ready for some decoration. From here I actually initially purchased some random items from Party City in hopes that something would work out. I bough some rub on tatoos which I used and placed on paper to rub on. This worked out wonderfully and I had them all cut out but by the time I came back to the project to finish up, some (ok, most of them disappeared. BOOO! Thankfully my mom came to the rescue since I still haven't been able to take the time to figure out why my color printer won't work, and since I was going over to work on Christmas cookies, I used hers while I was there.

I cut out every little piece, laminated and cut again. I wanted to make sure the little pieces would last. I also wanted them to be sturdy and durable. It worked! Then figuring out a way to attach them was next. I flipped each picture over, put down a straight pin and added a glob of hot glue, after they dried I slid each one into its designated parking spot . WALAH!

So here there you have it... make any rough looking wooden letter into a personalized gift :) (also, my apologies for the strange looking pictures, it was the best I could do in SECRET before Christmas to ensure hubby did not see. That being said, he almost saw anyway because I accidentally clicked SHARE on my cellphone and it got posted to facebook. OOOPS!! Luckily he isn't as obsessed doesn't go on as often as me and was very surprised on Christmas)

Handy hubby feature

So I think I have meantioned before that I have a pretty darn handy hubby. Here is some supporting evidence. To preface, I will apologize that there are no BEFORE pictures and not really any during pictures either because I wasnt around for all steps of the process. It is really too bad because the shutters that he started with had lots of old pastel yellow and kind of a kelly green underneath. (we do still have some of the wood with the original paint colors on it that I will post later)

So, are you ready to be amazed??

 The fun part about these shelves, is hubby made 2- one for my mom and one for my sister. Sister wanted her shutter to stay all together and be wider, as seen here. Hubby didn't like it plain and we dabbled with the idea of these stars  (which funny enough came from a string sister gave me a while back and has been seen on other projects here).

 We chose these types of hooks because they were sturdy enough to hold heavy items such as coats, or light duty items too.

This is just a side view to show off a little more of the detail on the side pieces of wood and how he worked it so it looks great!

Hubby, a while ago, experimented with creating this really neat look on wood by burning certain parts before staining to really pull out the awesome grain and make it a great showcase. Great job, right??
Now onto Mom's- she wanted her shutters apart to make a longer shelf (like the original she had seen at a craft store near Sister's house. The reason this was a challenge, is because, as you will see below, it changes the whole game of putting the pieces together.

 Now this one you can see has shaker pegs- Mom just wants it to hang crafty items on and this will serve to replace an older, shorter shelf she already has.

 A nice little side view. Hubby stained the boards and shaker pegs a different color, which you cannot really tell here and either way I think they are a nice compliment.

 Stars were also added to this shelf, but very different ones at that! These were stars Hubby created a while ago using his jigsaw (yes- made by hand folks) and stained differently before putting together. They also complimented the colors well and I think really gave a great look.

 

 

Once again, Hubby used his burning technique. Same kind of wood, different stain and different burning technique. Gorgeous, right??

 

We finished these up at about 2am Christmas eve morning and I took these photos around 10am in the freezing cold outside before wrapping them up and loading them up on the present mobile. I was glad I did it when I did because it began to snow just a few hours later.. and boy was it nuts!!

 

Needless to say they both loved their shelves but hubby really wanted to keep them both!! I guess we will be in the prowl for more shutters soon because now he is dissatisfied with the shelves we already have, which he also made a few years ago (before he had so much experience). 

 

There you have it, the Handy Hubby's creations. Aren't they gorgeous???

Thanks for stopping by. See you all on Monday for a fun sports-enthused project I created for Hubby for Christmas. 



Snow globe DIY

Hey everyone!! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday.  I thought I would make it back on Wednesday, however until the end of the day Tuesday I was battling a full fledged sinus cold AND was exhausted.  We went to bed about 1:30am Tuesday morning and those kiddos were up by 6:30am (although I blame my BIL and his brother who was visiting). Needless to say Wednesday we got a late start and headed out to spend the money dad gave us for Christmas.  I really just bought running gear (YAY!!) and for the first time in years, I didnt really recieve any craft items. Kind of sad but excited for the running gear definitely. Anyway, today I am sharing a post that I actually wrote BEFORE the holidays and never got a chance to share :) Even though these are trees, I might switch them out for someother "wintery" items later once I take down Christmas deco.

I have noticed a big trend right now are these awesome little DIY anthro inspired snow globes and I just love them!! Although I have seen them all over blog-land, when I searched while out and about, I found a tutorial on Whipperberry and went with this.

I originally had actually put these on my list of things to make in prep for NEXT year thinking I would never find trees this late in the game. Leave it to Walmart, a place I despise and try to go to as little as possible, to have a few for $1/each. Hubby and I were actually there for other things and I just mosied into the holiday section and scored a few. I made out even better because 2 were broken (aka no base) and the cashier just popped them in my bag. I also got a wide mason jar there ( I had the typical big and small ones already) and picked up some more epson salts. So this is what I started with.

From here, I trimmed up some of the trees so that they appropriately fit into the jars- since I am soooo spacially challenged and just grabbed whatever trees I could.

Since two of the trees didn't have bases, I improvised a little and attached some cardboard to the bottom so that I could attach my glue dots to keep the trees in place on the mason jar lid. So basically, glue your trees to the lids, put some epson salts in the jar, put the lid on tight, and flip!! I could have used bufallo snow and I guess it would have stuck the trees a little better, but just going with what was easy and cost/time effective considering my last minute decision to make these.

And finished product pictures- GO!

 Side note is that these lights were SO weird- Christmas lights I think of being white- they actually look ORANGE!! I kid you not. So so weird.

Either way, I was pretty tickled about making these- even if it was 1am (monday  , after being up since 6am (Sunday) and then we proceded to be up until after 4am working on this that and the other thing. Color us crazy and you'd be right.

Hope you enjoyed my little project!

My little tree and homeade cards

Well with it being Christmas Eve, I thought it was high time I share my tree and cards with you. I was a little late on the boat to getting a tree and by Saturday (last weekend) was teetering with not even  getting one. I made the mistake of telling my mother this and since she was visiting my sister, I got the disapproval of this thought from both of them! Since I was still out running around I stopped at this little place close by some of the stores I had been shopping at and low and behold they had $15 trees- PERFECT. So I picked one out, they netted it up and off I went on my merry little way.

 Isn't it purty?? The ribbony stuff was a last minute purchase at Christmas tree shop and at 1.49/pkg I couldn't step away. They were really the perfect addition to my tree since I really didn't have anything to just pull it all together. You can't see it here, but my tree skirt is new too, because I somehow misplaced mine a few weeks ago when I got out some lights to take pictures of my handsome baby nephew.  My mom told me this is because I am destined to make a burlap tree skirt that we keep oogling over. Maybe for next year??

This little guy was an ornament I forgot ALL about but made me smile. I am not even 100% sure who gave it to us last year but I am a fan of all things sock monkey and this is snowman themed one.  

The story behind this wreath ornatment is a short but cherished one. You see, I had a Great (Great?) Aunt Sereta who I who I don't think I ever met, but was devestated when she passed away. You might ask, why in the world??? Well, it is because of little treasures such as this one that she would send us at Christmas and I will cherish forever. She made all kinds of cool crafty things and a few years when we were younger she sent us these felted ornaments and some little felted dolls (which I still have as well). She also was known for creating these little curled up paper (which apparently is called Quilled paper and you can see examples here) which my mom still has.

 This last little guy I wanted to highlight is also a favorite. This is my little scrapbooker marshmello pal. Isn't he cute??

I have seen lots of other fabulous and gorgeous trees out there- great job to you all!! My tree may be small and simple, but it was decorated with love and memories.

Now a quick look at cards made for coworkers and family.

 

 

Merry Christmas everyone :) I ran out of time to share with you all my Christmas treasures, so there will be a few more to share later this week, and hopefully some good shots of those tiney hineys on my poufs!! I sure hope everyone has a joyful and safe holiday. Talk to you all on Wednesday!!

Mom's wreath project

The other week, I shared mom's Mini Christmas Tree so I thought I'd share her wreath that she made as well. This is made similarly to my Welcoming the Holidays- Burlap wreath but a little different and wanted to share her pretty little piece too.

Mom wrapped her burlap a little differently and tighter than mine which gives it a neat look that I am pretty fond of. instead of the berries like I did, she picked these pine pieces with red berries.

These are two close ups of the pine with berries and the fun red bow I made for her.  My mom wasn't really wanting to learn and was working on something else (I think helping dad, not screw up the tree- which he did anyway- which was really pretty entertaining actually!!) I really like how it turned out!

Before I go though, a little funny story. We actually had to make two trips for ribbon for two reasons. One, because mom isn't a craft hoarder like I am and doesn't just have supplies in case something goes wrong. Two, because apparently the little elf that does quality control for Dollar tree - assuming there is such a thing- didn't do his job too well. Don't get me wrong, I am all for some good deals at the DT, but I am now a little hesitant to buy ribbon. Why? Well, we bought a 9 feet roll of red ribbon which should have been totally sufficient, however, in reality the ribbon was only about 5 feet!!! It was very strange when I had just 2 loops done and wham I was out of ribbon!! Needless to say we were going over by Walmart and picked up the fabulous ribbon shown here :)

Now on to make up Cookie dough to take down to moms for or little mini cookie making party. I swore ThursdayI wad going fora run this morning, but the wind sounds as if it could rip our house down, so I think I will pass and work inside before running errands.

Wine bottle makeover

Yet another fun and fabulously inexpensive gift idea brought to you by ME!! For this project I didnt take step by steps because, well there really wasn't much exciting to report! I had hubby help me drill the hole in the back, I strung lights through then grabbed my hot glue gun and these stones I got at a store closeout sale for about 1.50 per bag and here you have it. An awesome stinkin gift. The best part about it- I got to drink the wine and then the stones were a few bucks and the lights were from the dollar store. Doesn't get much better than that does it?? I cannot wait to give this to my mom since she mentioned seeing one at a show and loving it.

Isnt it beautiful?!?

Loving on the glow the peachy and tan stones give off

Ignore me being akward in the reflection and this is a little better idea of the colors of the stones. So fun!

So my question to you all is- are you still scrambling to finish making or buying gifts for Christmas? I know I for one have a project or two to finish up. On the plus side, half of my wrapping is done and I should be able to finish up in another hour or two. Wish me luck!

POUF POWER!

Back in August or September I was parusing the internet and came upon the amazing POUF tutorial at Living with punks and although I haven't even touched a sewing machine in (literally) over 10 years I was determined that my nephews HAD TO HAD TO HAD TO have these for Christmas. I realize this is a tad ridiculous because the youngest will be all of 2 months old, but really if I was doing this I was going to do all three at once.

So seriously I message my sister and asked her what she thought and she agreed these would be awesome. I thought that the tutorial seemed simple enough so I made this my mission. I think I shared at one point the fabric options I have my sister during one of many trips to Joann Fabrics where I got a fabulous deal on this really nice & thickish fabric. I debated for the longest time because I didn't just want a really basic cotton fabric and I wanted it to be kind of age nuetral considering the 5 y.o, 2 y.o and 2 months.

I did this in two phases- I got my stuff cut out one day and the trim put on (which I bought the wrong thing first, so the wrong stuff is on in these pictures)

 I rigged a little way to make my circles- yes really high tech with the card board right??

 I then pinned my felt circle to the fabric and cut out 6 big old circles.

 Circle # 1- oh my goodness!!

All 3 sets of all the pieces for this crazy project. I'd say it easily took about 2.5 hours for all the "prep work"

I didn't take pictures of the "during" process, but the tutorial linked above is amazing and she did a fantastic job that even a dingy slacker sewer like me was capable of following! (see, there is hope!!!)

Now, onto the finished products. I made one the first evening and then the other two the next afternoon. To say I was ecstatic with the finished products would be a complete understatement. Are they perfect? No. Do I really care? No! They each have a little flaw were something went a little wonky but I am so pleased with my DIY that I really didn't even care.



Ta-daaaaaa!! I think they are so stinkin cute and cannot wait to see those little tiny hineys on these. at least there will be some extra super fun seating to open gifts from :)

And if I wasn't crazy enough, I decided to make a few teeny pillows for the kiddos to add to the mix. Sorry for the weird coloring, I took this on my cell and I think I had it on a weird setting. Either way, still loving how these turned out!

Clearance frames turned personal

Well I took an unexpected 2 day break from blogging which even included visiting my favorites out there in blog-land. Unexpected because I have been SO busy trying to finish up projects for Christmas presents and getting my house decorated (finally!!) I worked over the weekend and tried to squeeze in as much as possible after work as well as Monday and Tuesday when I was off from work. So today I present to you one of MANY projects I have been working on.

Dont't you just love Target clearance? I sure do!! The frames I am about to show you were originally 12.99/ea and I got all 3 for under that. Really doesn't get too much better.

Once we found out, my sister was going to have her third child, I decided I would do some kind of frame gift for Christmas. I didn't know how I would do it or what I would do it with, but I would do it.

With the help of my cricut, modpodge and spray glittery glitz I think they turned out pretty darn cute. The little boys in the frames help the cute cause too for sure.  So how did I do it? Well, the story is really simple and it goes a little like this. Cut letters with Cricut in whatever size and font suits you and the frame. I wanted to make the color bold but not too plain. Since all I had was plain flat blue, I had a little help from these guys- Glimmer Mist and Ditto spray.

I actually initially just sprayed with the glimmer mist though it was pretty, it was a little too subtle by itself. I dug into my drawer with these types of supplies and found the Turqouise-ish ditto and sprayed them all over again. After they were totally dried, I modpodged them and stuck the letters right onto the frames. I took a few close ups of Adam's letter's since they are thicker and the glimmer is a little easier to see

I guess it is still a little hard to see, but seriously, I love these. You can kind of see how they look a little speckled, but there is a slight shimmer too. My goal was too make them kid friendly, but not too juvenile so that they can be used for years to come.

Here is close-ups of how the other ones turned out. Pretty cool huh? Any one else have fun projects they have used spray glimmer/shimmer/color on? I am still playing around and nerous about using them so I'd love to see what you have done.