Beautiful Mannequin

I have had a simple craft paper mannequin form in my craft room for about 5 years now. I always knew I wanted to do something with her - but was never quite sure what. Thanks to the wonders of the blogosphere, I discovered the Graphics Fairy and used vintage labels from her site to decopauge the heck out of this little beauty. I am so happy with how she turned out.

I added the pink flower just to spice her up a bit more.

Goodwill Treasures

I have big plans for this lovely piece. I picked this up for 50 whole cents! I see some spray paint in its future, don't you. I love the fact that it is made in the U.S.A. circa 1977! It had a "sister" at Goodwill, but she didn't have the flowers in the center and was definitely NOT as cute.

Isn't this little angel put sweet - it looks like he is blowing you a kiss! I think he may have been a dollar - possibly 2, but I couldn't resist.
The candlestick "in its original form" was a very dark and ugly wood color. A little spray paint and sandpaper was all it took to purty her up! The bucket was in the dollar bins at Michael's a while back. I covered it with moss ribbon and made the flower from white muslin.

Just a few things to make me happy, keep me busy, and keep me sane!

Simple girly artwork

I know I need to start every post with the disclaimer, "Why don't I have a little girl?" Well, I don't. Two boys - who are definitely ALL BOY! So, in order to claim my little piece of happiness, I create in my craft room - and generally create very girly things.

I created this very simple piece of artwork with one 10x10 canvas, 1 sheet of scrapbook paper and 16 small flowers.


I believe I got the canvases from Joann's - buy one get one and I know I picked up the scrapbook paper there for about 25 cents. The flowers were a close-out special last year from Stamping Up! I bought about 6 or 7 packs of them, knowing that someday I would put them to good use. Now, If I only had somewhere to hang this little cutie!

Lavender Sachets

What is all that racket? Oh, sorry, that was just me...sneezing my head off.

I love the way lavender smells. Fresh lavender is wonderful, but apparently sends me into violent sneezing fits!

I made the lovely sachet above using a piece of linen and an image I found on the net. The image was ironed on using ink-jet t-shirt transfer paper. After it was sewn and cooled I thought a little sparkle would dress it up just a bit more...so out came the crystal stickles. I love it! Here are a few more that I whipped up...

Ruffled Roses Inspiration

This shirt, found in the Soft Surroundings catalog, serves as the inspiration for a handy new little bag I made today. I got some mens shirtware inspired fabric from joann's and started cutting out the shape of the bag - and then started ripping strips for the roses. I like the first attempt - but think future bags might need to be a little smaller?? What do you think?

Baseball - the meaning of life?

Crafting has been seriously put on hold the past few weeks. My life has been at the baseball field. I really am one of those baseball moms. I travel from ball field to ball field and yell like hell for my kids - good, bad, ugly. The picture above is Cody getting ready to hit his third home run. 2nd for the season. So far this Spring season he has hit 4 whoppers over the fence. It is great - but not the be all end all for me. I think I feel so much more proud of him - in the dugout - on the bench getting his teammate riled up for the inning.

We have been trying to instill the feeling of leadership, sportsmanship, and love of the game in him rather than just being that kid who can go out and knock one over the fence (although - let's be honest, I am sure it feels pretty awesome. I think he is starting to get it. What it means to be a positive force on the bench. Bring your teammates up - not down. Jonathan is just starting to get into baseball - all the other baseball moms call him smiley. Jon doesn't care if he gets a hit, doesn't care if he crosses home plate - for him it is the little things. Getting his bat on the ball - no matter that it went foul and counts as a strike. When he makes contact, the smile on his face truly brings tears to my eyes.

I have only missed like one or two games in my kids baseball careers. I am the scorekeeper for both teams and I wouldn't change anything about it. I love it! I love it! I love it!

Do you remember the first time your child looked at you with pure joy and pride in their eyes? I do and I get choked up when I think about it. For Cody - he was about 3 1/2 and we were at the mall. They had one of those indoor playgrounds. His baby brother was about a month old and we had gone to grandma and grandpa's for a little break. Grandpa and I were at the mall watching Cody play on the giant pieces of fruit! The huge slice of watermelon was the one piece that Cody couldn't get up. He struggled and struggled and kept falling off. He never gave up! Finally after about 3o minutes of trying he finally pulled his chubby little legs up and stood on top of that watermelon - like he had just climed Mt. Everest. He looked at me with that look - and said "I did it Momma, I did it!"

For Jon - it was during his first flag football season. Jon is more about "fellowship" that being that star athlete. Coach found a good spot for him - he played center. He could be part of the action - but didn't need to be so intense. Well, toward the end of the season he was on defense and ran down the ball holder and finally got a hold of the flag. I will never, never forget the light shining from my son's face. It was like the heavens opened and God sent a sunbeam to little Jon. I can tell you that I was not the only one in the stand with tears in their eyes. If you looked up joy and pride in the dictionary - his face was there beaming. As he ran by he asked - "did you see me mom?"

Glitter in the air

I don't know about everyone else out there - but Pink's new song "Glitter in the Air" really gets to me. I heard it two or three times before I found out it was her. "Have you ever held your breath and asked yourself, will it ever get better than tonight?" She is usually know as such a rocker chick. Glad to know she isn't afraid to show her soft vulnerable side as well. I think I will sign off and go listen to the song again!

My very First Slipcover!

I have seen so many others out there in blog land making the cutest slip covers. I finally just decided to give it a go. I am a crafty person, I like to sew, I can make a slip cover, right???

I purchased some muslin from Joann Fabrics for $2.99 a yard (?) with a 40% off coupon - so the fabric was way cheap! I didn't follow a pattern, I just started cutting pieces of muslin and pinning it all together backwards. It took awhile but turned my boring, formerly green (now spraypainted black) ladderback chair into a real charmer~

I really didn't want the chair to get lonely, stuck in the corner by itself - so I whipped up this pillow to sit on top. I made the "roses" out of some ribbon - gathered along the bottom edge. It added just that something!

More Inspiration

When I saw this picture - I knew I had to replicate in my house, somehow, some way! This is one crafty home decor enthusiast - Her blog - Imperfectly Beautiful has some great things. Here is my inspiration:
While I love the browns and blues - it doesn't really jive in my living room. So I looked around at stuff I had in various rooms and the basement and this is what I have come up with:

When I "finished" (are we ever really finished) I decided it needed a little something extra. I am having a love affair with all things French lately and wanted the look of french linens. Well, you can't just waltz into Joann fabrics and get some french linens - you know! I have looked a little online and the real deal is way out of my league. So, I decided that a little muslin, some tape and red paint will give me the effect I wanted for about $3! I am happy with it (for now!)

Ballard Designs Inspired

I love Ballard Designs. I drool over the catalog when it comes in the mail. Just a special little gift from Mike the mailman. However, I don't know real people who can afford the stuff in there! Seriously - way too pricey. So, what's a girl to do? Improvise! I decided to give the jute covered bottles a go. I have seen others in the blogosphere do it, why can't I??


So, I started with an empty Bombay Gin bottle. Just happened to have a couple of them just laying around. Hmmm....I don't drink Gin! My hubby went to his 2nd home, The Home Depot Sunday morning and made the fatal mistake of asking me if I needed anything, like DUH! Just a little jute! Yes, I had to explain what jute was - he was like "Oh, you mean twine." Well sort of! He ended up coming home with sisal string - which I had to take back for JUTE - it was in the next bin over!!!

So, with a bottle of gin and a pack of jute - a glue gun and a free hour I got to getting and wrapped my bottle. I had a little piece of leftover blue satin ribbon from some other project and thought that the color worked nicely with the color of the bottle. The jewels hanging from the ribbon was actually a piece of an elastic bracelet that I picked up on clearance from Charming Charlies. There are 5 similar parts on my craft room floor waiting for me to do something with them! I really like how it turned out. I guess we need to have a couple more parties so I can get some more bombay gin bottles!!!

Thrift Store treasure

Funky, huh? I saw it at the thrift store and just knew I had to have it. Nothing a little spray paint and fabric couldn't fix?? I was just in one of those moods...make something new out of something old. I have been hooked on watching American Pickers and it just makes you want to go junking. Here are a couple more "before shots."


I ended up paying $45 for the chair - way more than I wanted too - but I knew if I left the chair in the store, I would regret it later. The money goes to the hospice, so it is all for a good cause. Are you ready for the makeover??? Check out this beauty!

Like it? Now tell me, why do I only have boys in my house??

Valentine's Day calls for something a little special!

How do you change a drab black purse into something totally fabulous (in my opinion at least!) Add a gorgeous flower!!! Here is the before of a purse in my closet:

It works - but gets a little boring, don't ya think?? Todd and I are going to a Valentine's Day dance - a first for us. We usually don't really celebrate, but what the heck, right? He was kind enough to take me to Talbot's today to look for a sweater to wear (he did wait outside in the truck - so I did have to hustle a little!) I found a cute red cardigan with rhinestone buttons and it was on sale! SCORE!!

So, I came home and started thinking about accessories - I love purses. No, seriously it is an addiction. I knew I had this cute little number in the "bin" but it just needed a little something. TADA:
I constructed this "flower" out of some red raw silk fabric I had laying around doing nothing! I hot glued a pin on the back and added it to the purse. I just love it!!! Here is a closer look at the flower. If you want to know how I made it, just let me know!

Ok! Enough posts for today! Happy Valentine's Day.

Denise

Ummm, what time did you say it was???

It took awhile, but i realized I had no clock in my craft room - that can be a good and bad thing. Some days you can kinda forget that the kids like to eat meals - within a prescribed time frame!! I will be up there in my room, crafting away, oblivious to the sounds of starving children (yeah right) in the living room! So, to remedy the situation I made this clock. I started with a 10"x10" canvas frame (1/2 price at Joann's) I covered that with fabric (I think this particular piece came from Key West Fabrics) and then topped it all off with a clock kit (also from Joann's - used a coupon for that.) All told I probably spend about $10 to make this!

Denise

Sewing supplies organizer

Always looking for your scissors? I made this with a variety of scraps I have laying around. Took all of 30 minutes to throw this together! I think the ruffle on the bottom pocket took the longest.

Denise

Have a ball!

I know these glass balls are usually reserved for christmas crafts, but I was bored - stuck inside for the umpteenth day in a row and I decided to play around. I put about 20 drops of Green Galore re-inker from Stampin' up in the ball and swirled it all around. I then added some glittered acrylic paint and swirled that on top of the green color. Turned it upside down and let it dry. I used one of the Sharpie paint pens to paint my name and the polka dots.

Looks cute hanging in my craft room!

I have more posts for today - compilations of crafts during the snow days. Enjoy!

Denise

Another snow day?!?!?!?!?!

OK, Seriously, I live in VIRGINIA! This is our 3rd major snow storm of the year - we are all going to be a little stir crazy when this weekend is over. The latest estimates put the snow at possible 36" before all is said and done. Really - 3 feet!! Ugh! On the bright side - i am getting some crafting done. In today's post, I think you will see a trend emerging...It is the "Help me, I need Spring" theme. While all the snow is falling and we can't get out to the craft stores, the grocery stores or anything else for that matter, take a gander at these projects and think about Spring - maybe even summer and enjoy a little picnic in the warm sunshine. Can't you feel it on your skin right now?


Project one was all about the invitation! You are cordially invited to a picnic with me! Let's imagine what we would have in the basket - fried chicken, some coleslaw, biscuits, brownies - some lemonade for the kiddos and perhaps some wine for us big kids. I can hear the kids running around playing a game of wiffle ball. Right?? The stamps, solid papers & buttons I used all came from Papertrey Ink (the ant was a random stamp I have in the collection...and the picnic plaid paper I got a Joanne Fabrics)

Here is a close up of the ants marching across the picnic cloth. I love the "Let's do lunch" bit! I couldn't just leave this as the only picnic related project...I am totally in love with the next one!




Remember the recycling of my kids jeans that I have been doing? Well, I had some random "legs" left and I was trying to figure out what to do with them - so I came up with the cutest little napkin rings!! I got the overall button parts at Joanne's along with some adorable cherry fabric and some large white ric-rac. The red and white checked ribbon is just a random ribbon from my rather extensive stash of ribbons. I just love the way these turned out, can you tell? I added a couple more shots so you can see the cherry fabric too.

Hopefully, I will get some more projects done before the storm is over! Until then,

Denise!

New room, new inspirations

Now that I have my awesome new crafting space, I started to hit up on my new year's resolution - finish the multitude of craft projects I have had laying around for MONTHS!!

I looked at my facbric closet (oy!) and decided to start using some of it. I started with this cute fabric cube - it will hold some of the mountainous supply of fabrics that I own.



These purses I found 1/2 finished in a plastic bin the basement. Seriously only took me about 20 per purse to finish - why did I leave them just sitting there - for 3 years??? They turned out cute.


And finally, because I love me!! I dressed up this plain jane letter "D" with some of my ribbon stash.

Craft Room Makeover - the after pictures!

Here, finally is the room!! I would still like to paint, I have a light yellow called Shortbread, picked out. Just dont' have the energy to paint yet.

When you walk in the door you are greeted by the Stampin Up Armoire. Can you believe I got this at a yard sale for $10?? I painted it inside and out and put new hardware on it. But what an amazing storage piece for such a low price tag.


I finally have the storage space for all of my Stampin up stamp sets. I can really see what I have and start putting them to use again. I am getting excited to start doing some crafting.




The bed is dressed with a pink and white striped comforter and has a green and white polka dot blanket and pillow. Just girly enough!!! The french memo boards are one of my projects - there are three more that are almost done leaning over by the door. Just need to find the best buttons to accent them!


I do have quite a stash of buttons - they are all from Papertrey Ink and I got the cute little spice jars from World Market. They are the perfect size to hold the bag of vintage buttons. The shelf holding the buttons came from my Mother -in-law. It was a plate shelf she had in the attic. I painted it up and backed it with the blue gingham fabric. I think it is such a cute background! The white storage unit came from Target and I put it together and backed some of the cubbies with pink paper with white polka dots. Love it!
I got this storage cabinet from Target too. The ribbon holder above came from Michaels and so did the tool organizer on the top. I use this cabinet for storage for my cricut and other handy tools! Like my binding machine. Soon, my Letterpress set will go here as well. I got one for Christmas - but it is backordered until the end of January...patience!!
This is my desk. I got the desk on clearance from a kids furniture store. I think I paid $25 for it! The board on the back I covered with ribbon and it dressed it up just enough.


This unit holds all of my clear stamps and other non SU stamps that needed a home. It is full - so I may need another one in the future - Did I mention that I am going to Michaels today???