Pinterest Craft Party

Of course my addiction to Pinterest started nearly two years ago when my tech savvy sister told me to sign up before most people knew about it. I have always loved to craft, DIY and decorate on a dime, and Pinterest fuels my obsession even more. I'd been eyeing so many projects but never had time to sit down and tackle until I proposed to my lovely sisters-in-law that we set aside a day together and each bring a craft. I love that you can see something you would love to try and just save it for later on the World Wide Web! That saves the extra paper clutter in my house. With the four of us being artsy, crafty and a whole bunch of other adjectives...we came up with some really great projects. We each brought the supplies and ideas for one (or two) crafts and worked away. Mod Podge was the theme of the day. We LOVE that stuff. Here is what we came up with.

Sam: Distressed chalkboard frames. We cleaned and spray painted the glass of some Goodwill picture frames with spray chalkboard paint. Some of us distressed the wood with spray paint. We also embellished with a T-shirt flower and rolled up ribbon.   

 

Hannah: Hannah brought a variety of really cool glass containers and a stack of magazines. We each chose a theme and cut out magazine parts and used Mod Podge to adhere them to the bottles. They turned out really unique.

 

Lindsey: Lindsey brought mugs. We each researched our favorite Bible verse or quote and wrote on the mugs with Sharpie. After baking the mug, it's supposed to be permanent. She also brought a large bag of T-shirts and we made T-shirt headbands. With a little practice, these things are the coolest. She also showed me how to make a T-shirt flower (as seen on the Jesus chalkboard), but I ran out of steam to try that one.

Me: I brought the canvas for quotes. We each chose a quote or verse that we loved, cut the letters out of decorative paper on the Cricut and pasted them to the canvas with Mod Podge. I love how we each chose something to make ours different and stand out. Sam used her paper snow flakes as a stencil before she sprayed her canvas pink and I used a mixture of light blue and gray spray paint to make mine a little textured. Hannah used decorative paper and Lindsey used the Cricut to add a bird and branch. I also brought large aluminum cans and covered it with decorative paper. They make for great storage on shelves and in cupboards.

 

Can't wait to do it again!

Shabby chic success

I have been drooling over shabby chic furniture on Pinterest, Blogs and Web sites for weeks. I knew I had it it me to tackle a piece on my own, but I just needed the right one. Enter: My Dad Chuck. While bidding at an auction on a dresser for Ayla's new big girl room, he also came across this kid-size bookshelf for $1! The quality was really very good, and the only features I didn't like were the metal legs and the collection of spider eggs that came with it. But, those are easy fixes. The legs screwed right out and the shop vac took care of the spider sacs. I had everything I needed at home for this lovely project so I didn't even have to trek to Home Depot. Two coats of primer, a coat of white paint, some serious sandpaper action, Mod Podge (oh but of course), decorative wrapping paper and Polyurethane was all I needed to make my drooling days end! It took me a few trips to the basement between Ayla's naps today to add each coat and this is what I came up with. It's for Ayla's bedroom, but

the photo I took of it finished in the basement didn't do it justice, so I staged it in my living room. And, I actually love it there for now. I haven't added the coat of Polyurethane yet, but I wanted to make sure I really did like it before I made it permanent. My original idea was to do the backs silver or gray, because that is the theme of Ayla's room...Shabby Chic Glamour, but I loved the way the green turned out. I am sure the little addition of color will just steer the theme into a different direction. So, I write this blog with a happy heart that I tackled something new and it turned out just as I had imagined.

Recycled Christmas Cards

I save every card I've ever been given. I save them in shoe boxes. A few years ago, I decided to try to do something with them. So, I make recycled Christmas cards (I plan to do it for birthdays, etc, but I have yet to remember to do it on a regular basis.)

Last year after Christmas I bought red and green cards, envelopes and card stock at the craft store for a greatly reduced price. I stored them in my craft closet. I dug out all my old Christmas cards. I reread them before I use them, so it bring back great memories.

Then, I get to work. I separate the front of the card from the part that was written in. Sometimes, I save the little message or small photos for gift tags. I usually cut out an accent color to add some color. I attach that to the card, then the photo to that and voila, you have a new, homemade card. I use mono adhesive. Why? Because that is what my mom (the art, craft, stamper queen) told me to use. You can buy it at the craft store.

All the cards look different. Each is colorful. And I can create my own message, since I am a writer and all.

You can also use the cards to decorate plain gift bags. Using card stock and cards, make a creative display on the bag. Dress it up with matching ribbon, bows and jingle bells.

My other tip to save money is to shop after the holidays for the next year's Christmas cards. You can get huge boxes of cards for a few dollars. They don't rot. In fact, they store quite nicely with your Christmas supplies.

Cheers, to creating great holiday cards!