A little paint and $3.60

 

     It is well established that I am not a "crafty" person. I know my strengths and I also know my weaknesses and so do my fellow bloggers! So, when I do a craft project and it turns out the way I want it to...it generally means that a first grader could do it! I found this Fleur-de-lis in the 90% off section at Hobby Lobby. It had been $36 and I paid $3.60 for it. I thought that I could throw it away if I failed. I had some Annie Sloan chalk paint that I hadn't tried yet and it seemed like a good first project. I didn't do anything except wipe the store dust off the piece before starting. I painted 2 coats of paint, let it dry and sanded a few spots to age it. I also used the clear Annie Sloan wax when it was done...I have no idea why or what it was supposed to do...but, I had it, so I used it. I was really pleased with the results! What do you think?

 

 

     Do you realize that Easter is March 31st? We actually change the clocks to Daylight Savings Time next weekend. So, I spent yesterday putting away all the snow-covered, pinecone type decorations and brought out spring. Of course we have snow coming and it is cold, cold, cold here...but, it looks like spring inside the house!

 

 

 

I am joining Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch for Met Monday

and

Marty @ A Stroll Thru Life for Table Top Tuesday

 

 

 

I've Found My "Crafty Calling"! Giveaway Reminder!

     I've found it! The perfect DIY project for me. It is inexpensive, it only takes a few minutes, I couldn't possibly mess it up and the recipient loves it! Who could ask for more?

     It starts with soft fleece. I bought small remnants on sale at Walmart. It looks best if you use 3 different colors. These would not be my colors of choice, but it is what they had. My recipient isn't as picky about color as I am.

     Cut the fleece into 4" wide strips the length of the material. This requires a ruler and scissors. It doesn't have to be exact (love that). 

     Stack the fleece strips on top of each other and secure the end with a rubber band about 4 inches from the end. I actually did the first one this way, the others I made I just tied a very tight knot and then I didn't have to worry about cutting out the rubber band. Holding the rubber band end between your knees (or the knot), tightly braid the three strips of fleece until you get the length you want. Cut the ends off with a 4" tail and either add another rubber band or tie another tight knot. If you use the rubber bands, tie the knot now and clip out the rubber band. Cut the ends into 3 sections for "fringe"!

Handmade dog chew rope! Very soft and stretchy.

It is washable and Zoe found my project to be a huge success.  

Finally something I can actually do!

Don't forget to sign up for my Giveaway!

Click Here!

Wild Weather Weekend-Small Project

Don't let those sweet smiles fool you!

     It was a very strange weekend in my part of the world. In fact, I don't really remember ever having such strange weather. We had our grandsons here for the weekend. We were supposed to pick them up late Friday afternoon about 30 miles from here, but after watching the weather reports...we met their mother at noon, thank goodness.

     I actually took this picture Sunday morning, just a reminder of what happened here on Friday night. When my husband got home from work just before 5:00 p.m. on Friday, there was a slight mist in the air. When he stepped out on our deck about 15 minutes later to take one of the dogs out...he almost fell it was so slick. Within a matter of minutes, our area was a sheet of ice. They say that we had more than 100 accidents and because I live where 2 interstates meet, many of those accidents involved semi-trucks. We can actually see the interstate in the distance from our home and traffic was stopped completely for around 7 hours. It was one huge parking lot, can you imagine? I understand that the truckers were letting people into their trucks to stay warm. Every road in and out of our town was blocked by an accident. We only left the house to pick up my son, which we would never have done if his kids hadn't been here. It was a nightmare. Saturday was still very icy and yesterday...we woke to heavy fog and black ice. The roads were clear when we returned the boys, but the fog was thick. Last night, we warmed up to 52 degrees, the fog was horrible and huge thunderstorms passed through. What is up with this weather??

     I only worked on one tiny little project last week. For many years I have had a datebook calendar on my desk. I walk past the calendar shops in the mall and while I may drool over the lighthouses, beach photos and florals...a datebook has always been more practical for me. Until I became puppy obsessed this year...

     Who could pass this up? The pictures are so cute and with a new puppy in the house, well I gave in to temptation. Of course I didn't think about having no where to put it when I got it home. I can't keep a calendar this size on my desk and since putting the stainless appliances in the kitchen, I'm just not into putting things on the front of the frig anymore. I had a wall in the kitchen with nothing on it, but I couldn't imagine just putting a nail in the wall and hanging the calendar, so I tried to think of some way to hang it where it would still be easy to write on, yet not look terribly tacky!

     I saw some small bulletin boards from Ballard Designs, for around $70. Well, that wasn't in my budget. I had a small bulletin board in my closet, so I pulled it out, gave it a quick coat of paint and added a few felt circles to "dress it up" a little bit. I knew it wasn't really going to show once the calendar was hanging. It isn't ideal, but I do get to see my puppy pictures...the felt circles add a finished look that I wouldn't have if I just stuck the calendar on the wall and my refrigerator still has nothing on the front of it. Sometimes you just have to make it work! Money spent...$0.

I am joining Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch

for Met Monday. Please visit our hostess!

Crafting and Concerting!

     I think that most of you that read my blog on a regular basis know that I don't "craft". I work with florals, I cook and on rare occasions I attempt a bit more...but, I'm not very good at it. So, for me to actually make something is a big deal! When we were in St. Charles, MO I saw something in a shop that I liked. I just wasn't willing to pay the price that was being asked, so I decided to attempt to make something similar. I didn't take any pictures of their version, but I'm happy with mine. It is probably better that I can't see what the original looked like!

     It starts with an old book. I bought mine at Goodwill and I looked for one with rough edges on the pages. I brushed a little tea along the pages to darken them and make them look more worn.

The little mouse I bought for $6.99. I loved it that he was

reading The Night Before Christmas!

     I couldn't find any wrapping paper that looked like old Christmas paper, so I bought a large gift bag and cut it to make a book cover. I left the long edge exposed, and folded the paper at the top and bottom edges of the book as if I were wrapping a gift. A touch of the glue gun held the paper in place. Brown kraft paper was burned around the edges (do this over the sink, I had to turn on the water to put out a couple of fires) and the beginning  words of The Night Before Christmas were printed on it before attaching it to the covered book with Mod Podge. After attaching the wording, go over the entire front of the book with Mod Podge and add a hint of glitter if you want to.

I tied a bit of twine around the book and added the mouse

to the top with a drop of hot glue. Easy!

     Saturday night we went to see Lee Greenwood's Christmas Concert at our local theater. Over the years I've enjoyed a few Lee Greenwood songs, but I think in recent years he has mostly been known for singing God Bless the USA at various important events. Knowing that he sang it right after 9/11 for the firefighters and police made it even more of an honor to be in the same room with him when he sang it. The entire audience (sold out theater) stood during the song. It is certainly no wonder that Lee has won many awards, his voice is like velvet.

     He has a new Christmas album and one of my favorite songs was Til The Season Comes Around Again. Click here if you'd like to hear it. If you get a chance to see him in concert, I highly recommend it.

Easy Fall Floral-Met Monday

     A few weeks ago I found these twig and wire leaves at an area craft store. The store had one displayed with a couple of twig pumpkins sitting in it. I quickly grabbed the last two in the store, one for me and one to add to my sister's birthday presents.

     I decided to add some silk fall flowers and a funky wire Halloween spider to my sister's. I simply wired the items on, no glue gun because I want her to be able to remove the decorations easily if she wants to use it for a centerpiece.

I'm using mine with pumpkins on my library table.

I'm joining Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch for Met Monday.

My simple transformation is nothing compared to

the wonderful projects you will see there!

I'm also joining The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sunday

 

It All Starts With a Plastic Egg-Met Monday

Many of you who visit me often know that I don't do a lot of "craft" projects. If it requires paint, paper or glue, I'm just not that good at it. I still make the effort on occasion and sometimes I'm actually happy with the result. I did a quick project last week that was inexpensive, easy and I was pleasantly surprised with the finished product.

Supplies:

Mod Podge Classic (the first I've bought since I was a teenager)

1 dozen plastic eggs (I used white so that no color would show through)

1 standard size sheet of tissue paper in your choice of pattern, torn into pieces

1 sponge paintbrush

I selected a sheet of tissue paper that didn't scream Easter, so I could

leave the eggs out longer. This would also work with any color of tissue.

The above tissue is still folded, you will need most of a full sheet.

Tear the tissue into pieces.

"Paint" the egg with a coating of Mod Podge. Place one piece of tissue on the eggs and smooth it out. Cover the piece that is on the egg with Mod Podge and put another piece of the tissue on the egg, overlapping the first piece. Paint that second piece of tissue with the Mod Podge and apply a third piece and so on, until the entire egg is covered. I didn't worry about lining up the pattern or making the tissue perfectly smooth on the egg. The Mod Podge will hold down any creases or wrinkles. The main thing is to avoid leaving any of the egg exposed. I used a styrofoam egg carton and placed the wet eggs in it on their sides. After one side was dry, I rotated the egg to let the other side dry.

I used an old twig basket, lined it with some moss

and added the eggs and a spring bow for a bit of color.

For this last picture I used the flash and it made the overlapping layers show more than they really do when you are looking at them. It was the only way I could get a picture that was bright enough to show you the details. This entire project took less than an hour and believe me, if I can do it...anyone can.

I am linking this to Metamorphisis Monday. Please join our hostess

Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch to see a variety of wonderful projects.