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....