Thursday, March 8, 2012

Some bunny loves Easter and Spring! ;)

Ok, I just couldn't help the title for this one. I've been procrastinating on making a door decor item that is fun and funky for my front door. I've seen the painted burlap decorations at some of the boutiques around here, but honestly, for some paint and burlap, I'd rather keep my $40+ in my pocket and create my own for about $5. Just what kind I wanted is my predicament. Easter egg? Flowers? Heart? Monogram? So frustrating, not to mention I change my mind 99.9% of the time before I actually get around to create something.

Anyone else like that? You plan a project in your head, and it seems 'perfect' and then you decide later- but before you make it- that it simply won't do. No? Ok, I guess I'm the only crazy one. ;) ha ha

So... I was hopping around blogland tonight, and found this adorable chenille bunny toy for a little girl. Perfect for my little girl's Easter basket, but that's not what I had the wheels in my mind churning at. :) This is the perfect shape for my door decor! :) A little bunny! Very Spring-y and Easter covered too!

If you want the pattern for yourself, hop on over to UCreate's blog and get it there. She also shows you how to make your own custom colored chenille with flannel! Sweet!!! I know what save me some $$ for my next quilt project! :)

Now, I have to print out my pattern and blow it up to size. I will post pics of it when it is completed.

Trash to treasure...

We moved a while back into the house we're at now, and until recently, I hadn't really ventured into our attic. No need to really, the garage was my storage place of choice. :)

Rewind to about a month ago, and the need/ability to house nearly 2,0000 boxes of Girl Scout cookies popped up. Hmmmm... where to store them? Our house is not a good option, because we have a 190# dog that has figured out how to open doors and he would happily consume all of said cookies. The only reasonable place was the garage.

There goes my storage area... we underestimated how many cookies *and* the amount of real estate needed to sort them out (good for the troop- bad for my lack of space). What to do, what to do? Oh wait! We have an attic!!

I grew up in a house that we didn't have an attic for storage. We used the basement/garage/shop/outbuildings for that. What didn't fit in those ended up at Goodwill or other local donation charities. So, I grabbed the cord to pull down my ladder to the attic to store all of my seasonal and misc. stuff- e.g. Christmas tree and decorations, Halloween decorations and all of the empty reusable bins we use for moving. Pretty sweet deal, out of sight *and* I get a cleaner looking garage in the process.

Well, apparently for some, out of sight truly is out of mind, because when I climbed up the ladder, there was stuff already there!! W-w-what?!? Books, posters in frames (you know the kind you had on your dorm walls), Christmas stuff, misc. stuff... Um, this is *not* what I wanted to find. Oh well. A quick call to the last resident proved that she didn't know about that stuff either, so it was at least 3 years old up there, and she didn't know how to contact the previous resident before her. So, I guess it is time to donate. In the last box of stuff- which happened to be a box that I have no idea *how* they managed to get it up there. It is bigger than the opening, unless they flattened it, popped it back open and then filled it...? Anyhoo... It had a *ton* of Christmas stuff in it. Not my style at all, but among the garland, wreathes, lights and ornaments was this little beauty.



Not too pretty, but she definitely had potential to be cool again.

I sanded the frame, pulled out the glass and removed all of the cracked and chipped paint.

Decided on how I wanted to paint it again and give her new life.

First attempt- epic fail. :( I was so disappointed in how it looked, I didn't even take a picture of it. It took almost 4 hours to paint and about 10 minutes to remove all of the evidence of my efforts. :( *note to self* must get a silhouette vinyl cutter for my birthday.

Second attempt- much easier- took about 10 minutes, but not what I really want. It will work for now, until I get said vinyl cutter. At which point, I will update this post.



So, there you have it. Huge long novel about repainting a window hanging- turning some trash into something that is cool... for now anyway. ;)

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Jumpin' on the pallet wagon... sort-of

I love some of the pallet art that I've been seeing on the web lately. So... I decided, I can make it myself and save some $$ from buying it from someone else. :)

Pallets are pretty cheap, sometimes even free if you can find a builder that is willing to give you one. I've even heard of asking places like Home Depot and Lowes if they are willing to part with one or two... I haven't done that yet. I'm too chicken honestly. ;)

So... what I did do, was go to Home Depot's bone yard of misfit boards. You know the ones, that have been declared unfit for someone's project. Some are scrap from boards that people have them cut, some are just warped to the point they can't even be useful- to me- they are the diamonds in the rough. Just perfect for what I wanted to do. :)

I snagged two boards for $1.14 (including tax) my two boards were just over 8' in length. One was a little over 4' the other a little under, but they were cut and worked out perfectly. My newest piece of wall art cost me a whopping $1.14, and I am so happy with how it turned out. :)

Finished dimensions approx. 15" x 20"

How to:

Cut 1" x 4" to 15" long. Repeat 6 times.

Use scrap board (e.g. a stake or paint stir stick for a 5 gal. bucket- you're not going to see it anyway) cut to 19". Repeat 2 times.

Line up your boards how you like. Smooth side out, to become the front of your sign.

Flip over and tack the strips vertically to hold your horizontal slats in place.

Paint the entire front of your sign in desired color. Let dry.

Free hand your saying on boards (as illustrated in picture). Let dry.

Hang on your wall and admire your work.

Seriously. It is that easy.

Stay tuned for even more cool wall art from the lumber yard... ;)

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Craziness of life...

There is always something going on in my house. Whether we have Girl Scouts, sports, school activities... something... time always seems to escape and I end up remembering when I'm about to fall asleep that I forgot to do this or that. Grrrr! So, I have forgotten to write on here, haven't done much of projects lately- been super busy with Cookie Sales for Girl Scouts. For example, I've had the same project sitting on my dining room table for almost a month now, in the same state of completion because other more important things that are time sensitive have cropped up for some reason or another. I really ought to finish it up... maybe I will today... I'm feeling a bit more ambitious than usual. :)

So... with that being said, I also have a couple of projects that once they are finished, I will share them with you. Why? Oh, because I know you all just can't *wait* to see them, and do them for yourself. Really. ;) They are super easy, and you can customize them to your own liking very easily- and on the cheap too! BONUS! :) I love cheap- *cough* ah-hem inexpensive... projects- so does my hubby, because my craft addiction can add up fast! 8^/ Luckily, I have a decent stock of things now that I can almost whip up stuff now for less than $10. Unfortunately, my craft room needs to be organized something fierce- I'm tackling that project today, and hope to finish two other projects too. :) Like I said... a little more ambitious today than usual. ;)

Grabbing a cup of coffee... and signing off for now. Have a great day!