Day 4

Day 4: Do some doodling... share it and write about it!

So... over a year ago I bought an old china hutch. I wanted to restore it or recycle it, I couldn't decide. I decided that having to restore the top half of the hutch with glass and broken pieces was too much. When the local curb your junk day came around the top half was graciously donated but the bottom I kept with hopes and dreams of someday doing something special with it. The bottom was weak, old wood remember,  and it needed some extra support. I added wheels because who doesn't want a piece of furniture that is EASY to move!?! It was originally a old brown stain which proved hard to remove. So it had to be painted over which was no easy task either. By the time this "simple" project is done I probably could have built something on my own and had it been easier! I really would like to say that I enjoyed this project but the truth is it took a long time, was frustrating and at times I felt like throwing in the towel. I am hoping that in the future I will be able to fully enjoy this craft desk and will post pictures (real ones unlike the sketches above) as soon as I can!

Day 3

Day3: What words or phrases do you find inspiring and why?

- this reminds me to look past what is bothering me and into what could be (if I let it). there is always a silver lining but you have to be willing to look for it!

- you can have as many dreams as you want but if you never move toward them they will always remain dreams and nothing more!

- this reminds me that being a good person and passing on my gifts to others does not diminish me in any way at all. sharing my blessings with others makes me no less blessed but instead increases my blessings and those of others.

- love isn't about the buterflies in your stomache, who would want to feel that way every day. soulmates aren't just in crazy high school dreams of love. theay are real people. if you are lucky you get to find your soulmate and live out your lives together. the endless journey two people take to constantly better themselves not for pride but because they want to be the best partner they can be; that is love.

-our lives are ever changing, our dreams and wants evolving with the circustances. when we think about the past, there should be no regrets. this is also something comical because in my youth i did decide to get a few tattoos which my parents warned that i may regret. this phrase reminds me that choices should be life long choices and to make sure that there will be no regrets later in life!

DAY 2

Day 2: What colors are meaningful to you and why?

To be truthful at first I didn't really think that many colors were meaningful to me. The sky is blue. Money is crisp and green. Snow is that innocent white. Aren't there meanings or interpretations in those simple examples? If you said no skip to the bottom , look at the pretty picture and move on because you will not be interested in the rest of this post.

So the next question... what are my favorite colors?  My favorites right now are teal, yellow, plum, red and grey. I have always been a fan of teal and aqua. I think that comes from being born in the 80's. You can't tell me that you weren't all about aqua and fuchsia when you were a kid. Those beautiful and bright colors bring me right back to my childhood.

Teal, which is a really hot color right now is everywhere!! I think of it most when I am crafting, not because its a color I actually use but because it is conducive to my own creativity! I would absolutely adore my craft room if it were teal... the dreams of a future homeowner I guess (painting walls!).

Plum or purple or wild orchid or whatever you would like to call it is another favorite. I have grown up wearing and loving purple. The bold jewel tone is very comforting to me. Something about childhood memories and that color. I am not 100% why but its very true.

Red is always been linked to love, historically and in the media. We buy red roses and candy on valentines. Red is love for me too, for those reasons and many many more!

Yellow the color of "sunshine".  It is so bright a cheerie. I have always loved the sun and basking in the rays. The sun in my face makes me smile (and squint). I just can't help but smile when I am in my favorite yellow sundress.

Grey is so calm and peaceful! The cool color which brings me back to nature and stone.

What more can I say? I really love all colors these are just a few of my favorites!

day 1 of a 30 day challenge

I have recently become OBSESSED with Stumble Upon. I get "magically" sent to all these amazing craft sites. I can not express enough how much I LOVE LOVE LOVE this site!

The reason I tell you this? I recently stumbled upon a 30 day challenge! Although I have never finished one of these challenges before but I think I am ready for the challenge... with that in mind... here is my representation of Day 1.

Day 1

Day 1: When you were a child how did you express yourself creatively?

I loved to draw! Honestly, I still do! It didn't matter what medium I used sidewalk chalk, markers, using the nubs of left over crayons, or nail polish  nor did it matter what I was doodling on (I once painted my name on my 13" TV in nail polish)!! I later grew up to buy my very first piece of furniture (a liquor cabinet) which was to be drawn on by all my friends who would visit - fun with my own kind of graffiti art! I have never really stopped drawing however, I have a new form... SCRAPBOOKING!

STAY TUNED FOR MORE OF THIS 30 DAY CHALLENGE!!

No Sew Blanket (old project new post)

As crafty as I am (or can be) sewing is not an area where I excell. I can't even thread a bobbin without instructions and a few curse words before giving up completely! In short I don't sew!

No- sew blanket concept wasn't exactly new to me. My mother-in-law made some for christmas presents, a sorority sister made one, and I have seen the kids craft kit for sale in craft stores. I decided to finally make one of my own!

as you can see this blanket is folded into 4ths

Wanna make one of your own?!? Here's what you need!

SUPPLIES:

- a trust worthy pair of fabric

- 2 pieces of fleece material (pattern/colors of your choice!)

- time to complete the project

Thats all!! I picked 2 fabrics that would be to my husbands liking... NBA Warriors pattern for the "front" and a solid navy for the "back". I picked up 3 yards of each fabric! This blanket is extremely large... my husband and I can both lay out on the couch and be completely covered.

However, the reccomended sizes are as follows:

adults- 2 to 2 1/2 yards

kids- 1 1/2 yards

INSTRUCTIONS:

-Lay the pieces of fleece on top of each other lining them up as perfectly as possible with the wrong sides facing each other. (with 1 pattern and 1 plain color I just had to make sure the Warriors pattern was visible).

-Then cut strips of about 3 inches all the way around the blanket about 1 to 2 inches apart (going all the way around made corners easy).

-Next, just tie the top and bottom pieces of the cut fleece strips together in double knots (I alternated between tying and tucking in knots- to lessen the fringe effect).

or

 follow this easy PDF to make perfectly square corners (I chose not to cut out the corner pieces but to use them). http://www.kwiksew.com/projects/no-sewBlanket.pdf

or

watch this handy video on YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59h8wgDgTRg

THATS IT!

My monster blanket took about 45 minutes to complete and we love it! The best part about this super cozy blanket is that there is no special care required... just throw it in the wash when it gets dirty!

Comments, Questions, Suggestions or Share a picture of one you have already completed!!

Christmas Craftiness

My extended family does a "white elephant" gift exchange every year.  Having gotten married two months earlier we didn't have a lot of funds left over to do something spectacular, we had to be creative.

 Our wedding favors were wine glasses (above), cute right?

Since everyone in my family already had at least a pair of these bad boys and somehow we ended up with an EXTRA 8 dozen of them!We were llooking for some way to transform these beauties into steal worthy gifts.  What do you think? Did it work?

Would you like to make some of your own? Here is what you need!

step1

SUPPLIES:  Spray Chalkboard paint (its easier than the paint on type for this project), blue painters tape, wine glasses, and paper/plastic wrap to cover parts you want to keep unpainted! First we decided the area we wanted to paint and going from that point proceeded to cover all other parts of the wine glass. Including the top, wouldn't want any paint to get into the bowl of the glass as its not food safe!

step 2

 Once we draped all the glasses it was easy to paint. The spray chalk board paint needs 2-3 coats per glass. I am pretty impatient so I did coats every 10 minutes or so (I suppose it depends on the temperature of your work space).

step 3

On another note, remember to use the spray in a WELL VENTILATED AREA!!  When the last coat is mostly dry, I peeled off the draping and tape (again, I'm impatient). If you notice in the step 3 photo there is a little bit of chalk board paint outside its designated space. That little bit was easily scrubbed off without damaging the rest of the painted square.  When they were all cleaned up they looked great! Just remember to hand wash them to keep them looking like new!

Wedding Madness!

so... it is getting near crunch time and  I have so few things left to do that it is scary! I am sure it is supposed to be the other way around but this is actually how I planned it! I was hoping that by the time it was nearly one month to go we would be set and we could relax. I am very excited to be marrying the man of my dreams! It is a little more than a month to the big day. I have already had the bridal showers... thank-you to my AMAZING family (in-laws included!)! Now it is officially time to do THANK-YOU cards/notes.  I tried making some for the first round of gifts recieved, it was lot of work. Don't get me wrong, I loved making them but it did take a while to do so. I enjoyed making them with the theme of our wedding colors too! I found out that I can run fabric through my sticker maker, which was so exciting! I do not recommend using lace in your sticker maker though because it wastes a lot of your materials (sticker roll and excess lace).  The inset picture is just an example of some of the favorite cards I made. If you have any tips you would like to share feel free to comment below!