Thing 1 or Thing 2?

Well, as promised, I’m posting pictures of a (not so pretty) project.

  Thing 1 (as I lovingly call it) was the one I made yesterday, before checking with the actual directions.  My son (the ham) begged to be holding it in the picture (he’ll do anything for a laugh).  Plus, as a bonus, hopefully you’ll be looking at him, and not the wreath…

 

 

 

 

Thing 2  is the one I made this morning, after reading the directions again on Honey Scrap (I don’t know why they show a dark ring, it doesn’t look like that in person.  Weird).  Sadly, I must admit, this is one craft I was not meant to do (at least I only spent $1.42 on all of the supplies! woo-hoo).    I just wanted my wreath to look like hers, and I did what she did, but alas, mine doesn’t look anything like it.  I am insanely single-minded, and everything in my world has to be symmetrical, or I go nuts.  These wreaths just wouldn’t behave.  As you can see on Thing 2, I didn’t even bother to try and fluff it up or make it pretty, no bows or ribbon or anything. I think I’m pretty much done with this craft.  I absolutely love all the ones I’ve seen out there, but mine:  not so much!  That’s ok.  The stubborn side of me wants to go and try another, and keep trying until I get it perfect.  But, the practical side of me says there is a craft bazaar fast approaching, and I need to be spending my time on that.  Maybe I’ll attack this project again after Christmas, when (hopefully) there is a bunch of snow on the ground, and I can just sit in my living room with a roaring fire, and find somewhere within myself the ability to let go of the perfectionism (at least for this one project), and have fun with it.  Maybe…

Well, thanks for joining me on this disaster adventure.  It’s a bummer to have a failure, but it’s real life (at least in my world!).  Without disappointment every now and again, I guess success might not taste so sweet…

Alright,  so here’s the deal:  if you have made one and are happy with it, please share a link with me!  Please give me some tips for when I attempt this one again!   Better yet, if you want to zip on over here and have a craft night with me, I’ll bake some cookies and make you some cocoa!  Crafting is always more fun with a friend!

You know I love to read your comments, so let me know you were here, ok?

Autumn Block

Well, I seem to be a little behind everyone else in the Autumn decorating projects ( I’ve been working on Christmas ones for the Bazaar and haven’t had time!).  Today I made a Coffee Filter Wreath (pictures tomorrow, hopefully), and a cute little block.  This block was one I got from a  building site a couple of months ago.  They had a huge pile of wood out front with a FREE sign on it…so I drove by every couple of days to check it out.  This piece is damaged and I wouldn’t use it for what I’m going to sell, but for my house, it’s ok.

Cutest little Owl paper I got at Target in the dollar section!

A close up of the tag…

I spray painted the block (didn’t even sand it!), then applied the paper with Mod Podge.   It’s amazing, the Mod Podge made for paper actually works beautifully.  There were no bubbles or wrinkles or anything!  Who knew?  I didn’t even realize there was such a thing, till I went looking for a different product, and stumbled across it at Michaels.  Anyway, it works wonderfully!!!.  I then made a little tag and added the flowers, ribbon (and tag), and finished it off by distressing the edges of the block just a bit.  It’s small, but it looks cute next to my pumpkins and harvest scare crow.

The wreath is another story…I didn’t look up the instructions before I started…which is where I made the first mistake.  I just went ahead and glued and glued and glued.  It’s not too bad, but that’s not very comforting.  I’m a bit picky with my finished projects, and this one is not making me too happy.  I’ll play with it some more and post pictures tomorrow, good or bad.

So, tell me what you think??? Do you use scrap wood for impromptu projects?  Have you made a Coffee Filter Wreath?  Share the scoop…

Thanks for stopping by!  Please leave me a comment, I really appreciate them!!!

I’m linking up:   Get your craft on Thurs          http://www.houseofhepworths.com

JOIN THE PARTY!!! Be sure to check out all the amazing crafts, there is surely something there to inspire you!

I’m a Dork!

REALLY?  Did I just do that??  Ok, so I was trying to find a way to follow someone (I couldn’t find the “follow” button on her blog), but when I went to her profile, I saw a “follow” button in the upper right corner, so I clicked it, put my info. in, and figured I was good to go.  So happy to be able to follow this lady!  Then I go back to my blog, and realize that I actually clicked to follow myself!  REALLY.  I’ve tried and tried to change it, delete my picture, etc, but I cannot figure it out!  Does anyone else know how to delete a follower?  Not that you’d ever want to do that normally, but when you accidentally follow yourself, it’s a bit embarrassing!!!  Please tell me someone else out there has done this, and that I’m not the only total dork in blogland!!!????!!! 

On a crafty note, I was all ready to heave the beast (aka the miter saw) out of my hubby’s shed, so I could get some wood cutting done today. But…as soon as we finished school, it started raining.  Seriously?  (minor temper tantrum here).  So, now I don’t get to paint, cut or sand the wood, like I had planned.  I guess  I’ll have to work on some other projects today.  Hopefully tonight I can post some results for you.  Sorry it’s been so sparse, but with us starting school, I haven’t had as much time for my crafts, and even when I’m doing them, by the time I finish at night, I don’t have the energy to take/load/edit/post the pictures.  It’s taking some getting used to (school schedule, that is).  I am not a morning person (slight understatement).  I would be perfectly happy staying up til 1am every night and getting up at 9 or 10 every day.  Sadly, when I do that, it’s even harder to get school done.  So, for the sake of my sanity, I’ve been getting up around 6:30 every morning, reading a devotion, and spending some time with the Lord, preparing my heart and mind for the busy day ahead.  He is SO GOOD!  My days have been amazing (other than my complete exhaustion from lack of sleep, but hey, my attitude during school is more important at this point than a few hours of sleep, right??).

Please leave me a comment (especially if you’re a ‘dork’ like me!).  I love to read them!

Have a great day.

Frosting, anyone???

Ok, I know, that wasn’t nice…especially if you’re a sugaraholic, like me, you were probably thinking this was going to be some amazing (cupcake) frosting recipe or sugar cookies with yummy frosting…but no.  Sorry, but I couldn’t help it.  (insert mischievous laugh).  But it really does say “Frosting” on the Valspar can, so don’t be too mad at me.  Alright, I’ve gone enough off track. So, here are some more pictures of frosted glass (sorry I didn’t get them up yesterday, but school is kicking my behind right now).  I used regular votive jars, that I found at GW or another thrift store, and did the same technique as with the Mason Jars (you can see that here)  They are so cute.  They can be used for much more than just candles, too.  The ones with lids could hold “cookies in a jar” (or any other gift in a jar recipe), you could add someone’s favorite Starbucks coffee and give it with some Biscotti.  You could fill them with Reese’s Pieces, or M & M’s (or any other fave candy).  The possibilities are endless!!!  I apologize, in advance for these pictures…they aren’t the best.  I just couldn’t get a good photo of them with a lit tea light (does anyone have tips on that?  Please let me know!).  The last picture is just the jars, unlit, so you can see the shape, and that they were just plain votive jars.  I guess I should have titled this post “Hi, my name is Kelli, and I’m addicted to Frosting”.  Sadly, it’s true.  It’s so much fun!!!  Have you frosted anything lately?? 

(this one is my favorite!)

I hope you’ve been encouraged and inspired to try something new (and so easy!).  Please leave me a comment and let me know you were here (and what you’ve been up to!).

Thanks for stopping by!!!

Does it have to end???

No, I don’t mean ‘summer vacation’.  Since we homeschool, we don’t run on the typical ‘school schedule’, so I don’t worry about back to school and all that stuff.  What I really didn’t want to end was our family vacation to the Oregon Coast.  (We always go in September, to avoid the crazy summer crowds).   We just got back Friday night (I know, I know, it’s already Monday), and I’m wishing we were still there.  We spent the last week in ‘our house’, a little vacation home away from home, in Nehalem.  We took our boat, so the big boys went crabbing every day and me and the littles went to the beach.  We found a ton of agates and shells, and even some whole (intact) sand dollars.  It was fantastic!!!  Wednesday, I took all 5 kids to Seaside, to the aquarium (where we fed the cutest seals ever!), and the Carousel, and of course, to the Candy Man  for some ice cream and salt water taffy.   It really was a little slice of heaven…now, it’s back to the house, school, chores,  cleaning, blah, blah, blah.  Although, I must admit, part of me is glad to be home, but I think most of me wishes we were still at the beach.

 

 

 

Dad and Zoya

 

Nik, Sasha, Eliana and Zoya

Me with some agates (this is the very rare photo of me, I hate having them taken!)

 

 

 

 

The cutest seal at the aquarium

Dima helping Zoya on the carousel

Eliana on the carousel

Sasha on the carousel

Our family…

Before we left, I worked really hard to frost more of the jars (non-Mason types), but I just didn’t get  a chance to share them with you, so after school today, I’ll post more pictures, so you can see how other types of jars turned out!

I hope you are having a great Monday!  Thank you for stopping by.  :)

Home Depot Love

My latest trip to Home Depot was AWESOME!  I went looking for (cull bin) 1 x 4s, but found something else as well!

Oh yeah, baby…I only paid for the two pieces with green paint, so for all of this, I paid$1.02 (plus tax).   I found the 1x4s in the bottom of an empty garbage can, next to the cut station, and since everything under 12” is free, I rescued them.  They are perfect        (11 1/2”),   I’m not sure why they threw them out, but I’m happy they did.  Then, as I was walking away, I saw this huge pile of 6 x 6 (actually 5 1/2 x 5 1/2) scraps…another customer must have had a ton of wood cut up, and didn’t want these scraps.  I couldn’t believe how many there were, and even though I know the 12” rule, I felt guilty about this pile, so I went to the lumber customer service area and asked if I could have them (pretty please), just to be sure.  The nice lady said ‘absolutely’,  so I ran back to my pile and had my helper scavenge (from under the table saw) all this woody goodness.  There are 29 squares.  I left about 10 there, just in case some other crafty person would happen along.  I know, I know, I could’ve left more, but with the craft show coming up, I just saved a TON of money!  OK, as if that didn’t make my day (or week), that little ole 1 x 3 (on the left) was in the cull bin, but not marked…the cashier gave it to me for FREE.  So nice!  Now I have no excuse for sitting around…I have a bunch of projects just waiting for me!  I love you, Home Depot. 

Frosted Mason Jars

A few months ago, I saw a fantastic craft on Recaptured Charm (you can see it here).  So, I went to Michael’s, and using my 40% off coupon, I bought a can of Valspar “Frosting” paint.    I had gotten a few glass jars free from an ‘after yard sale’ sale, and figured that would be the best place to start.  Of  course, I was a bit scared to try it, so they sat, and sat, and sat.  Until now!  I used my Cricut and some Clear Contact Paper, and cut out a couple of owls, some snowflakes and a cup of cocoa (there were some ‘fails’ too, but I didn’t put pictures of them up).  After making sure the glass was clean and dry, I adhered the contact paper image to it, then sprayed the ‘frosting’ on.  I did about 7 super light coats on each jar…I think even more coats would look better, but I was too impatient to wait.  I LOVE how they turned out.  I let them dry for about 30 minutes, and then carefully (I used a toothpick) peeled the contact paper off.  I am making more of these for gifts, and for the craft show (yes, I got approved to be a vendor!  woo-hoo!!!!).  For now, I’ve tied jute around the top (like she did),  but I may change that to some cute Christmas ribbon or something, we’ll see.  I went to Goodwill yesterday and scored some more Mason Jars and other types of jars, that will work!  Unfortunately, today it is raining…maybe tomorrow I can finish those up.  It’s such a quick and easy craft, with instant gratification, that it becomes addictive.  Some crafts take hours or even days until you get to see the finished product and feel that sense of accomplishment, but not with this one.

 

So, what do you think???  I promise, this is one of the easiest crafts ever!  Oh yeah, and if you don’t have  a Cricut or other cutter, you can use stickers…

Please leave me a comment, I really look forward to reading them, and I love to visit you back and see what you’ve been up to!

I’m linking to:Get your craft on Thurs

Show and tell Green

HookingupwithHoH