My Kitchen Window Decoration

I made this cute sign in May sometime during my time of unemployment. I really love the way it turned out and I think it looks fabulous as an accent for our small kitchen window.

Sorry for the lack of photos, when I made the sign I didnt take step by step progress photos, and now my camera seems to be eluding me. But it was a super easy project.

I started out with an old weathered, beat up board. My Boyfriend, who works at a lumber yard, snagged the awesome piece for me (among some others) and after holding it up to the window I saw this particular piece was just the perfect sign.

With funds limited and not one who likes to spend money on projects, I scrounged around the house for some sort of excess paint I could use to slather on for the background. It needed something else besides just letters painted onto the board. Fortunately, there was a half gallon paint can left from the previous homeowners of our house (we have lived here over a year, by the way, so the integrity of the paint was yet to be seen), and after stirring the displaced paint, I discovered that it was just the perfect off-white color I was looking for. Without a large paintbrush (only small intricate ones), I used a stick to scoop some paint from the can and onto the board, then selected the largest brush I had (which was about half an inch) to smear it across the board.

Once I was satisfied with the paint coat, I let dry and took the dog for a trip to the lake. Upon returning I found the board was dry and ready for the lettering. I hand drew the lettering and stenciled it onto the board, then hand painted each letter with acrylic craft paint. I stenciled out the design for the chicken as well, and painted him in the center.

After all dry, I screwed some hangers to the back and hung the beauty on the wall. It was only at this time did I realize the "Kitchen" on the board was not straight.

I nearly wanted to paint over it and redo it. But I decided to let it stay in it's askew fashion, only adding more charm to the piece, right?

Boo Spider Wreath

From my latest Dollar Store, Wal Mart, and Good Will adventure, I had a whole lot of Halloween inspiration and ideas floating around for cute Halloween decoration. I am not very into the gory, creepy, or dark side of Halloween, but I do love the "cute" pumpkins and ghost side. I suppose, the more child friendly decor.

What items were used from the shopping binge to make this?

The blogosphere has been teeming with Halloween wreaths, and I took a few ideas from them all to come up with my own design. I started by cutting a cardboard wreath form from an old frozen pizza box. I free formed (didn't trace a plate or anything) because I wasnt too concerned with a perfect shape knowing it would be covered up. I then wrapped it with spider webbing I nabbed from the Dollar Store.

I had multi colors of tulle fabric from my scrubbers (post for them to come), and snatched the purple, orange, and lime green strips for this project. I ruffled up a tuft from each color, and glued it onto the wreath form.

I only had wooden letters for my "BOO", and wanted them to have a little more flair and just painting them black. So I used a sharpie to color the edges...

And traced each letter onto Halloween scrap paper, then cut out the letters and got glued to the wooden base.

I hot glued two googly eyes to the base of each O, then glued the letters into place on the wreath.

Now it was time to decorate!

Glitter spiders adorned the tulle fluffs, more googly eyes were attached to ribbon,  and shiny pumpkin "convetti" were included in the mix as well. My favorite thick spider ribbon was used as a hanger, and the wreath was done!

I found a doorway at the entrance of the hallway and easily seen from the front door for this season's "haunting" location.

                     

                     

Googly eyes adorn the festive ribbons.

                               

Mummy and Spiders Vases

I picked up three square glass candle holders from my shopping binge at the Dollar Store, having some sort of idea in mind to spruce them up for Halloween. But after working with the spider webbing in my Boo Wreath, I had a great idea for the candle holders.

What items were used for the Mummy and Spiders Vases?

I started with three "sheets" (if you will) of spider webbing. 

When you first pull this stuff out of the bag it isn't pulled apart yet so it doesnt look much like webbing until then. For the Mummy, I made sure not to handle it too much to ensure it didnt get pulled apart. This made the webbing look more like bandages used on a mummy. I just took the sheet and wrapped it around the square glass vase, then tied it in a knot in the back. 

View of the knot in the back...

The bandaged look from the front.

Then I simply slipped some of the larger googly eyes right into the webbing. No glue or adhesive needed. 

I stuck with the theme of no tape or glue with the next two vases. I figured it would make these little vases more versatile for other seasons to come. 

The next two vases I used the spider webbing for it's intended purpose: to look like spider webbing. So I pulled the fibers apart but just enough to give it the soft look but without reducing it's strength. Because I didnt want to have to glue to the glass, the webbing had to be strong enough to hold itself up. I wrapped it around the glass and simply secured it in the back with a single safety pin. 

Using green and black glitter spiders, I adorned the webbing with the spiders, who had enough "grip" to them that they stuck to the webbing on their own. 

Aren't they so cute lined up together with the pumpkins?

This project took...maybe ten minutes! Quick and easy!

My Shopping Binge

Anyone who knows me knows two things:
1. I love to craft.
2. I love to shop on a dime.
    a. shopping is fun, but with a very tight budget, sweet deals and freebies are what I live for.

I should add too that anyone who really knows me knows that my horse is a huge part of my life...fyi.

Back to crafting now.

Many of my projects, naturally, include some sort of material that has to be purchased. And for those projects I turn to the cheap stores before heading to the more pricey craft stores. Dollar Tree, Good Will, and Wal Mart are among those first few locations, but I try and enter them with certain items in mind to avoid over buying (HA! Such a thing!). I also try and only spend whatever cash I have on hand, not succumbing to the plastic temptation. This keeps me on target for the right items at the right price.

I was able to make a few stops for my crafting finds, one at the Dollar Tree where I picked up a multitude of Halloween and Fall themed ribbons, small decorations and must have craft items. Good Will produced a worn book, the Halloween serving platter, and a couple rustic candle holders. And finally, Wal Mart provided more Halloween cheer, glue sticks, and spray adhesive.

Stay tuned to find out what projects I make from this recent loot!

Up-cycled Paper Mail Boxes

So I saw these really nifty mail holders at WalMart that are magnetic and stick to the refrigerator. I thought it was a super cool idea, but I didnt want to spend $5 on each. So instead, I thought I could muster some creativity and make a couple of my own.

And Lord knows the dumping ground at the entrance of the kitchen could not keep looking the way it did:

Although in all fairness, it is not just mail dumped here....I need my craftroom done!

So, I used what I had on hand. A cereal box, scrapbooking paper, glue sticks, ribbon, and cut out letters. Oh, and scissors. :)

(Photos are dark as I was working in the kitchen in the evening. Poor lighting and poor work surface...again, need the craftroom done!)

I cut the cereal box in half - this would give me two mailboxes. Then I cut the chosen scrap paper to size for the boxes, and hot glued them onto the boxes. I selected the embellishments I wanted adorned on the mailboxes, and began with the real fun part - decorating!

I cut another sheet of scrap paper to size for a backdrop for the corkboard letters, then selected the ribbon pattern to give each mailbox a little uniqueness.

The plan was for a "His" and "Hers" set, but I discovered I didn't have the letters needed for those words. However, I did have the right letters for Boyfriend's name and my own, so I went with that.

Letters in place, ribbon glued on, the cute little mailboxes were almost done.

The only supplies I had to buy for this project were magnets. I found the perfect magnets at WalMart for a whopping $2.47 (set of twelve) with sticky adhesive backs. Making them all the more easier to attach to the backs of the mailboxes. I stuck three a piece on the boxes to assure that the weight of the mail (and boxes) wouldn't result in the boxes sliding around the fridge.

Pretty cute, I must say.
You like that tractor hook on the wall too? I know, cause I'm diggin' it too. 

And the boxes, doin' their thing:

This was a super easy, super fast, and super fun project. And the payoff is a cute, out of the way organization solution. Boyfriend even helped me pick out the paper to use for the boxes. I think he made some good choices.

Giveaway Over at The Country Chic Cottage!

Anyone else LOVE to scrapbook? Then head on over to The Country Chic Cottage where Angie is holding a giveaway for a My Memories Suite Software! It has digital scrapbooking templates and kits available, and is a software compatible for Mac and PC.

Check it out!

A Boo-tiful Cake

I picked up this little cutie at my last Goodwill Hoard (among a few more adorable fall decorations, more on those later) :

This cute serving plate just begged to be rescued from the shelf!

And because I just had to christen it into the household, a cake was made in it's honor. And for a "spooky" theme, a chocolate cake was used (closest thing to black, I guess...?). I slapped one onto the plater:

Smoothed on some cream cheese frosting (on only half of the cake, and the Boyfriend didnt wanna have cream cheese frosting - too bad!):

So ... the frosting might be on a little more than half the cake...what of it?!

I think the finished picture is a festive and tasty one. I coulda, ya know, iced some spooky letters onto there or something, but with no party being held, I just dove into the cake. Before the cute little ghost did....

Who Else Is In The Mood For Halloween?

Well, not just Halloween, but fall in general?

Fall is my favorite time of year. Leaves changing, beautiful colors, brisk lovely weather. What more could you ask for?

So, I am getting pretty excited for the endless design and craft opportunities for this season/holiday. I have been surfing around and have found some real inspirations. I thought I might share a few.

This super cute and super easy small wreath, from The Country Chic Cottage:

Another incredibly sweet and cute Halloween sign, also fast and cheap from A Pumpkin and a Princess:

A great idea, plus you could use any variation of text, color, background, whatever!

I am super in love with a couple of projects over at Alderberry Hill...

The Halloween Treat Box - so many possibilities!

The Candy Corn Sign - another MUST DO: 

and the Halloween Paint Can - I have so many various sized paint cans lying around. I see many season decorations in the future!!

Lastly, how adorable is this Boo Wreath from Craftaholics Anonymous?

I know I said "finally", but I HAVE to add these Monster Jars from Crazy Domestic:

What are some projects that spark inspiration for you? 

Stall Signs

I really enjoy woodworking. Not that I have much talent in cutting wood, but I love painting on it and I love the textures and feel that wood provides. I use a lot of wood accents in my home (you will see more of that as the blog develops). For a short period of time in spring, I was unemployed and therefore had a lot of spare time to putz around the house and revive my creative juices. It was then that I made my horse trainer and friend a barn sign for her barn and business.

Using an old piece of lumber my Boyfriend brought home for me (fortunately, he works at a lumber yard so I get most of my wood pieces for free) with the straps already attached, I crafted this hand painted sign for my trainer. I simply slathered some old house paint onto the old weathered board, stenciled the type and image onto it, and voila! Finished. She loved it and it is hanging on her barn now.

She wanted me to take this wood sign painting one step further and create for her Stall Signs to be displayed when the group attends horse shows. She gave me a list of the horse's names (including a sign for my own horse) and I set to work. I measured the boards she gave me and got the Boyfriend to oblige by cutting them to size. Then the painting went into effect. I underestimated the amount of time this project would take, but the signs were finished by the horse show Labor Day weekend. I did not get a photo of the signs proudly hanging on the stalls, unfortunately, but many compliments were received.

Justa Cool Milo is my horse's. 

The stall signs were painstaking in their labor required. I stenciled the type onto the plain board, then painted the black boarder around them all. After dry, I then hand painted all of the lettering with tan crafting paint. Many needed two or three coats of black or tan for me to be satisfied. Once all the signs were painted, I got the Boyfriend to again assist by drilling two holes into each so I could weave the twine hangings through them. No set size was measured for the twine so they all have a little individual flavor of their own when hanging.

You'll see I also got a little creative with the first two signs I made, using wood letter cut-outs for Joe's and painted stars for Cascade Captive (or Rhett Butler's as is his "barn name"). I had plans to give some individual character to each, but as I progressed through them all the time and labor needed for each one just drained me of the extra efforts. Nonetheless, my trainer was very pleased with them, as were some of the horse's owners who saw their horse's show stall sign.

My trainer has now "commissioned" for me to make her a few more stalls signs and another barn sign. I will blog about those I'm sure as I tackle them.

The Lasso Welcome Sign

Keeping in theme with lasso ropes from yesterday's post, a wedding gift I made for a friend this last June:

The Lasso Welcome Sign! I wanted to give the newlyweds something special and completely unique. It also had to be something personal and with a little flair of "wedding" to it. They are country bumpkins like myself, so I knew this piece would work in their decor and style. This was a fairly simple project as well, with supplies I already had on hand.

Supplies Needed/Used:

A used lasso rope - spent $5 on rope off craigslist.
Old beat up and weathered wood
Black paint
Rustic wire and embellishments
Hot glue gun
Twine

Create!

The first step was to create the wording for the welcome part of the sign. Because I dont have my own stenciling machine, or even stencils for that matter, I had to create my own letters to use. I actually found an A to Z letters page from this font that I liked online, enlarged to size on my computer screen, then traced it onto a piece of paper. That's right, traced it off of the computer screen.

With my letters on paper, the second step was to transfer them from the paper to the wood by writing over the lines firmly while on the wood. This left an imprint of the lettering in the wood. It was faint, but I could see it and follow the lines.

Now it was time to actually paint the letters. This third step was the most labor intensive of it all, but still only took about an hour or so. I hand painted the letters in a next-to-black acrylic brown paint, then simply, let it dry.

The board looked a little plain to me, so that's when I added the twisted rusty wire (just the faithful ole method of twisting wire around a pencil for the look) and rustic heart embellishments to the wood. I simply hot glued the wire to the back of the board to secure in place. In hindsight, there probably was a much more effective way of attaching it, but all I had on hand was got glue and it seemed to do the trick.

Next was the fifth step; the one that really baffled me. How was I going to attach the wooden board to the lasso rope? With the rope already secured to shape with unseen twine, I just had to find a way to attach the two items together. This is where my handy Boyfriend came into play. He screwed two small holes on the upper part of the wood, at an angle in the back to allow the twine to run through. Clever Boyfriend! Can't even see it from the front!

So this final step was to run the twine through the holes, and secure it to the lasso rope. I then cut another piece of twine and ran it through the lasso ropes in the back and tied it across to create a hanger to hand the welcome sign by. I signed and dated the back of the board, and wrapped it up in festive wedding attire for the big day.

They opened the gift and were floored by it. So I knew just what to make for the next country couple getting married only a few months later....although I did not get a photo of the second design.

Linked up to The Craft-O-Maniac.

The Lasso Rope Clock

I have some catching up to do, to get this bog up to speed with some of my creations. I guess I will begin with the incredibly simple and adorably country, Lasso Rope Clock.

I found my inspiration for this from a seller of a western clock online. I actually found a few variations of it, but knew what kind of end product I had in mind. I wish I had taken more step by step photos of the process, but here's how to get the look:

Step One: Gather Materials
I had a few sets of lassos already that I purchased for $5 each off of a craigslist add. I selected the one from my stash that felt most suiting for a wall clock (how I came to the decision is beyond me, this one just had the right "feel").

I also had an old clock lying around that was left here by the previous home owners. It had a green border but I liked the numbers in the clock face and wanted to revamp it. I ended up using old house paint and covered it with a layer. Excited about it, I showed the concept to the Boyfriend when he arrived home. He did not want the old clock used for the project and insisted I get a different one. I must admit, the house paint was peeling and odd looking after dried. So I scrapped that clock and found the beautiful one pictured at WalMart for only a few bucks.

Step Two: Create!
With the two items in hand, all I had to do now was set the rope to the size of the clock. Easy enough.

I then discovered I needed something to secure the lasso in it's new shape. So I tied twine around the back loops to hold it in shape without seeing it from the front. I ended up using the twine to also fashion a way to hang it.

Next, I simply shoved the clock into the loops of the lasso. It sits in place in the coils perfectly and when rested against the wall, doesnt budge.

Simple as that!

As I walk by it on the wall everyday now, the yellow wrapping on the end is starting to bother me. I must find a way to remove the eye-sore.


Linked up to The Craft-O-Maniac.

Hello and Welcome!

I'm a long time blogger of my own with a current blog, all about my horse Milo and the love I have for him and the journey we have embarked upon. Although it seems my life revolves around all things horse (and in the majority, it does), there are some elements to my activities that don't quite fit into the category of that blog. That is the purpose of this second blog.

I come from a line of crafting women. My mother and grandmother are quilters, sewers, crafters, and jewelers. I suppose I got the creative bug and the tools in place to pursue those endeavors from them. My mother used to own her own small crafting business called "Stitches to Sawdust" and growing up as a kid I tried to emulate her; helping with her projects where I could, wanting to learn to sew, paint, and create.

Here I am now years later, with the same creative drive I had as a child sitting at the sewing machine with my mother. However, now I have my own home to decorate with my own decor and style. I get a lot of inspiration from other blogs and people, as well as on my own, so I will always give credit where credit is due. This blog is a way to record those creative projects, and share with others. I will try my best to stay on top of this blog, but I know that sometimes life gets in the way even with my other blog. I do, however, love to write and photograph, so that drive helps me stay updated. I hope you join me in this endeavor into the world of all things "craft", and share your ideas with me as I share mine with you.

For now, craft away!