Two Summery Projects

Hey all!  In the last few weeks I have actually found pockets of time to do not one but TWO crafty things that were on my crafty to-do list.  I KNOW. How this happened I have no clue but I’ve learned to take those pockets of time and just run with them because with two little people around, you just never know then it’s gonna happen again! 

First up was the front door wreath.  This was the wreath, remember, that I decked out for fall, left brown and dead over Christmas, then decorated for Valentine’s day…for four months.  LOVELY.  That’s what being very pregnant and then having a newborn will do for you! ha!

 

 

I realllly wanted to deck her out for the patriotic holidays over the next few summer months.  I have been loving the combo of sky blue and coral lately, so when my amazing husband sent me off for Mother’s Day with money in my pocket and the day off without kiddos, I headed to Hobby Lobby (of course!) and picked up some felt.  4 for a dollar – gotta love it! 

I love making these rosettes.  They are SO easy with felt! 

Seriously just trace circles of different sizes….cut in a spiral…then twist the spiral in on itself and secure with hot glue.  Trim any sharp corners.  I like to double up the flowers (nestle a small inside a big) for some depth. 

   

Voila! 

I’m really, really happy with how it turned out!  It makes me smile every time I look at my door.  Maybe someday we will replace that door with a lovely Craftsman-style one, but we’re not in the position of life right now to replace things simply because don’t like them.  They have to break or die first.  (So…anyone want to come split my door down the middle with an ax?  Kidding!  Sorta.)

Anyway, on to craft project number 2!

I found this simple little tray ages ago for 99 cents at Goodwill.  I’d been saving it to use for Olivia’s room, but I decided I wanted it for the kitchen island instead (is your island a drop-zone for everything, too?!) 

   

 

I followed the tutorial on Shanty 2 Chic about distressing with Vaseline and I love the results! 

Cheap brown acrylic paint…brush on the sides and edges…let dry, then rub with Vaseline…rub it in WELL (very important, I learned the hard way!)…then spray paint with desired color.  Distress with sanding block once dry. 

 

 

I’ve had this spray-paint for a while and I have to admit it came out a lot brighter than I was expecting.  It kinda screams “HI I AM A SUMMER COLOR!” but I do think it works for the summer months.  It’s definitely bright and happy.  :) (And NO I did not actually drink all that wine!  It’s mostly filler from Target coupled with wine corks my brother saved me from the catering company he works for.  lol) And the flowers are from a lovely friend last week when I was sick.  Thank you Amy!!

 

 

 

And to show you how bad I am at keeping non-human objects alive, here is my mother’s day pansy (MY FAVORITE FLOWER, TOO) from Luke.  It was on the counter but is now replaced by the living other flowers. 

 

It had a good run, it really did.  We enjoyed it for a while.  And then it got leggy and….I also forgot to water it.  Whooopsie!  lol

At least this one from preschool is still kickin’! 

 

{Have you seen this from Pinterest?  Story.of.my.life.}

 

Hopefully this weekend I’ll pull down all my summer decor from the attic – I’ll be sure and update when I’ve dressed my little house for the summer months! 

See ya!

 

Linking up with:

Frugal Friday @ The Shabby Nest

Weekend Wrap-Up @ Tatertots and Jello

Strut Your Stuff Saturday @ Six Sisters’ Stuff

Top Projects of 2010

Rhoda over at Southern Hospitality is having a link party that I thought would be fun to join.  Here are my favorite projects of 2010, with the links to the actual tutorials in case you’re interested!

January

My Burlap Tissue Box Cover glammed up cheapie Aldi’s tissue boxes in my bathroom:

February

I combined a Marshall’s frame and a wedding invitation to make a super-frugal wedding gift for my cousin and his wife:

 

March

Thrift store elements combined to make a super-easy framed monogram:

I also transformed a tacky flower arrangement into a topiary for all seasons.

I took the $5 Challenge at Lindsay’s blog and came up with my Ballard grass knock-off using only elements from the Dollar Store:

 

May

I improvised a menu-board and a recipe holder for my kitchen with my Double-Duty Chalkboard Frame:

 

June

I gave my “mantel” a beachy look for the summertime, using shells and other items I’ve collected over the years:

 

July

My ratty church-sale footstool was given a total French manicure makeover:

 

November

I made my own version of the popular Ballard topiaries:

 

I didn’t get to as many projects as I wanted to this year, considering a large chunk of my year was spent painting, renovating, landscaping, moving, and then living with my parents while we wait for the short sale we want.   I seriously CANNOT WAIT to be back in my own place and decorating again. 

Anyway, it was fun to remember some of the projects I did this year.  Head on over to Rhoda’s for some more creative inspiration!

Ballard Knockoff: Mini Potted Boxwood Tree

A few months ago, while looking at my Ballard catalog, I saw the cutie-pie little tree that you see below on the right. On that particular page, two of the mini-trees were flanking a mantle and I knew that at some point I would want to make a knock-off version for Christmas. Unfortunately, that catalog page is still in the office of our house in PA, but you get the idea.

The Ballard one costs $50, plus shipping (in their defense, they use real boxwood leaves, but still. That’s crazy.) Mine was only $11 (cost breakdown at the end!)

Supplies needed:

Mini urn (they usually have tons of these at thrift stores)
Styrofoam tree/cone form (mine is from Dollar Tree)
Boxwood leaves (I bought mine at Michael’s, and ended up needing two, not one)
Toothpicks
Dark paint
Hot glue gun

Short version: You’re sticking bits of the boxwood into the foam. But you knew that, right? :)

Here’s some tips if you want more info.

1. Paint your base – this will help later to hide your gaps. I just took black paint and mixed it with brown to make it a little more green.

2. Start clipping off your boxwood from the stems and inserting them into the styrofoam. I’ll be honest, this takes a while. I cut mine into two lengths. On the left (we’ll call that #1) is how it looks clipped off the brown “stem,” and the middle and the right show the pieces after I cut them so I could actually insert them. The thicker piece is obviously much easier to insert into the foam; the thinner pieces (middle below) were easier to insert with a pre-poked toothpick hole. (A pre-poked toothpick hole? Did I really just type that?! lol)

3. I personally made a ring around the whole bottom (using all #1s) to see how far they would stick out, and then I went all the way up one side. Keep poking and adding and poking and adding. Remember that you’re making a tree, not a bush, so you want there to be a gradation.

4. As you get near the top and your pieces get shorter and shorter, you’ll probably want to start hot-gluing them onto the tree. I would poke a hole with the toothpick, get 2 or 3 of the shorter branches together, hot-glue the end, and then stick it into the pre-made hole. At the very top of the tree, I just hotglued them all (no holes).

5. My brother gave me the idea to use toothpicks to secure the bottom of the tree into the base of the urn. I forgot to take pictures of this part but I’m sure you can use your imagination. :)

And here she is! How cute is this?!

I intentionally left a lot of the leaves a little scraggly because I wanted the tree to have a more natural feel to it than the Ballard one. I’m so happy I found this urn – it already had the perfect amount of chippy-ness that I was looking for. (Um, did I really just type “perfect amount of chippy-ness?” Who am I today?! haha)

And just to keep it real after my last post, here’s where my girl is residing until we actually move: on my sister’s dresser, in front of her collection of Coach boxes (for the record, I own not a single Coach item *cough* Santa *cough*) and near my jewelry, nail polish, and perfumes.

SO cute and Christmasy, right?

Here’s the final shot of her make-over from drab to fab :):

Urn: $2.99
Styrofoam base: $1
Boxwood total: $7.00 after sales and coupons
(I already had the paint, glue, and toothpicks.)
Total: $10.99!

Before I go, I would like to point out that this little tree resulted in my first honest-to-goodness hot glue gun burn. I have a blister and everything. I am a total baby but man that sucker hurts. Does this mean I’m a real crafter now? :)

Have a great weekend girls! :)

Linked to:
Frugalicious Friday @ Finding Fabulous
Frugal Friday @ The Shabby Nest
Remodelaholics Anonymous @ Remodelaholics
Show and Share Day @ Just a Girl
Just Something I Whipped Up @ The Girl Creative
Make it Yours Day @ My Backyard Eden
Show Us What You’re Workin’ With @ Me and My Bucket
Knock-Off Party @ Homebody

A Frenchy Little Footstool

I can say about 6 things in French – one of those phrases being, “I can’t speak French.”

In high school I took Spanish because I could never get all those nasally sounds to come out of my mouth the right way. (Although it did come in handy on my Mexican honeymoon and a mission trip to the Dominican Republic!)

All the cool kids at my high school took French, just in case anyone was wondering.

In college, as a choral music education major, I had to sing a number of French pieces for juries and recitals. I always dreaded the French pieces. It’s just not my language of choice or ability. It made me sweat. A lot.

However, just because I can’t speak the language doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate the way it looks and sounds! So this is a quick post to show you how I very cheaply and very amateurly married my fabulous Waverly fabric that I got for $.08:

With a yard-sale footstool that cost me $1…..

To bring me this:

Isn’t she lovely? I didn’t take a lot of pictures because a) the first part is self-explanatory and b) the second part was too hard to hold a camera with one hand while still crafting.

So I will tell you that a) I painted it with leftover ceiling/trim paint (Valspar’s Swiss Coffee), sanded it with my sanding block to make it look aged, then b) just cut fabric and tucked and hot-glued and tucked some more until I got it to look the way I wanted. I have no idea how to upholster and probably wouldn’t have the patience for it even if I did. There was just a lot of trial and error and pulling and tugging at the fabric. :)

It is not perfect but I try to remember what The Nester says about it not having to be perfect to be beautiful. There is one flaw on the stool and I considered showing you but then Chris said he couldn’t see it until I showed him so I decided to get over my need to always point out the imperfections in what I make and not show everyone.

I am in love with this thing.

She’s short, squat, cute and French. I feel like I should call her Claudette or something.

For a short girl like me, this saves my hubs a lot of calls into the kitchen to get me things off the top shelves. She’s a worker, my little footstool.

J’aime Claudette! :)

Linked to:
Transformation Thursday @ The Shabby Chic Cottage
Frugal Friday @ The Shabby Nest
Frugalicious Friday @ Finding Fabulous
Weekend Showcase @ Tatertots and Jello
Sunday Showcase @ Under the Table and Dreaming
Make it Yours Day @ My Backyard Eden
Penny Pinching Party @ The Thrifty Home
Show Us What You're Workin' With @ Me and My Bucket

A Double-Duty Chalkboard Frame

You may remember that about a month or two ago I showed you a frame I purchased at a rummage sale with the intent to turn it into a chalkboard menu:

Well, I worked on it last weekend and I’m really happy to show you how it turned out!

Painting it with the chalkboard paint was so, so easy. (Although that stuff is 12 bucks at Lowe’s! Craziness!). I researched online before painting and realized that I didn’t need to prime since I was painting a completely flat and smooth surface.

I simply removed the image from the frame and flipped the printed side over. (We really don’t eat in the garage – that plastic plate is chipped so I used it as a paint tray! lol)

I gave it a coat of paint with a roller brush, waited about 10 minutes or so, then came back and gave it a second coat. It dries really, really fast!

I seasoned/cured it (also recommended online) by rubbing chalk all over it before using, then wiping it with a damp paper towel. Then it was ready to write on! I have to say, I think it’s pretty amazing that a piece of paper is now erasable. Wonders of technology, baby!

The only “problem” with chalkboard paint is that it is SO addicting! When I finished my project, I looked through all the rooms in our house to see if there was anything else I could use it on. Even Luke got the side-eye. (Kidding).

Anyway, I told you that it had a double purpose, and this is the part I’m really happy about. I don’t have a recipe holder – I’ve been looking for one at yard sales, but I’ve yet to find one. Then it dawned on me: since this is going above my stove, why not figure out a way to use this to hold recipes? (Clearly I am no artist! ha!)

I grabbed a piece of ribbon from my stash and trimmed it to about 4 inches long. I super-glued it to the back of my frame, slightly off-center, to allow for the hanging teeth my DH attached in the back.

Then I slid a paperclip through the other end of the ribbon and hot-glued the ribbon around it.

Voila! An instant recipe card holder! And the best part is, since the ribbon and paperclip are so thin, it can easily be flipped behind the menu if I’m having people over or something.

Now you see it……

Now you don’t! :)

I’m not gonna lie, I’m pretty thrilled with how this came out! 2 projects for the price of one – can’t beat that!

Oh, and think of the potential for when I have teenagers! My kids are gonna love me, I just know it. ;)

Linked to these fabulous parties:

Frugalicious Friday @ Finding Fabulous
DIY Day @ A Soft Place to Land
Show Us What You’re Workin’ With @ Me and My Bucket
Sunday Showcase @ Under the Table and Dreaming
Make it Yours Day @ My Backyard Eden
Best DIY Projects of May @ Beneath My Heart