Clearly, I haven't posted on here for a while, and I have done a multitude of crafts, which I was posting on Facebook instead of on my blog, including our Halloween Costumes. I'm definitely planning on doing a better job at posting on my blog from here on out. I'm really excited about a couple of projects I've got going on right now. A few teacher's gifts, so I won't show those until they're given. A few home made gifts for my neqhew's and nieces (some that were adopted into our family). I'm going to be working on a few Holiday decorating projects and a lighting craft that I am super excited about. I'm also trying to incorporate my children into my crafting more, which was completely inspired by Michele Klundt, who not only is amazing at planning wonderful activities for her children, but she also helped me in updating my blog as well.

Anyways, crafting with my kids has been the best! I'm truly loving this! My kiddos have been cooking with me, sewing, painting, needle working, etc. It really has been great! They're learning how to make very useful and fun things!

Byanca's Jewelry Holder

Today, Byanca and I made these two great jewelry holders for her. We got the frames at Goodwill, painted them orange, then added these cool paper backgrounds. We then attached the wire mesh, and screwed in the hooks. Lastly, we added some bling, and Voila! We were done! They Look Fantastic!

Recycled Brass and Glass Lamp

I was inspired recently to make these bird accessories. I was looking for bowls, vases, etc. at garage sales, and our buddy Jacob saw an amazing crystal and brass lamp, and thought I should take it apart and use it for them. Turns out it was a great idea, and in the process, I learned a ton about lamps as well. I will have to use this knowledge on future craft ideas.

Anyways, here is my birdbath...

and, here is the bird feeder. I think they turned out pretty awesome!

To Paint or Not To Paint? That is my Question!

I recently (ok, 3 months ago) purchased this great "Credenza"(said in my most flamboyant speaking) at the Re-Store. I really like it as it is, however I also think I'd love it in a very bold color!

I tend to do a lot of black furniture, so I probably wouldn't do that. I was thinking "VaVa Voom Red" would be fabulous!! Anyways, I was hoping for some second opinions, and would appreciate any input I receive. Thanks in advance.

P.S. I know the pictures aren't that great, but its what I've got...

Random Doodle

Shabby Chic Candle Pedestal

This is a cute little candle pedestal I made when I was making Elaine's cake pedestals for her birthday, which I forgot to take pictures of. It currently resides on my credenza in the kitchen. Anyways, see if you can guess what I glued together to make these. Probably too easy, but oh well. Perhaps I'll even make a pedestal for the first person who guesses correctly in the comment section (provided you're a local) :)!

I think it turned out really pretty, and it couldn't have been easier to make. Just take a couple pretty _________'s, and some E6000, and glue them together. Voila, you have a gorgeous pedestal! I'm seeing stuff like this all over the internet, and the options are endless. Enjoy!

Another purse!

Admittedly, this purse is pretty much like the other one, except the color is different, and because I knew what I was doing it took me a lot less time to make. I figured I'd show it anyways.

Unusual Knitting Bag!!

Upcycling is awesome! I saw the idea of upcycling old magazines to make a really pretty purse on someone's blog not that long ago, and unfortunately I can't remember where I saw it. Anyways, I really wanted to give it a try. Tomorrow, is one of my friend's birthday, and her daughter mentioned that all her knitting stuff ended up spilling out at the beach over spring break and getting all wet. That is when the light turned on. I could make her a knitting purse.

Amazingly, I designed the pattern from a paper grocery bag. I had a couple of game board boxes sitting around because we reorganized our board games, getting rid of all the boxes. I demolished one and duct taped it together to make it fit in the bottom giving it a really strong bottom. More upcycling for ya!

My kids slaved for me to cut out these little squares from brochures of things to do around Oregon and Washington. Yet again, more upcycling! I covered that with vinyl. The seams are covered by purple duct tape. The handles are simply thin rope that I twisted different colored duct tape around, and I braided them together. I glue gunned those on, and covered those seams with purple duct tape hearts, which is fitting since this purse was made with love.

The features of this purse are a couple of pockets, a place for long knitting needles, grommets in the front of the purse to run your thread through, and really cute details. I love it! It's definitely not perfect, but I learned a lot from it, and I'm excited to possibly do some more, and I'll be able to fix those things next time.

So, here's another old project. I'm kind of bummed. I thought we had gotten pictures before we put the guitars, and family picture over it. Oh well. I was really inspired by the color scheme on one of my hubby's t-shirts, and a sermon that had been done pretty close to when I did this about different way's to worship God, and how everything we do in life is a way of serving God. Anyways, I wanted to portray that in this piece of art. There are a few things you probably cannot make out easily on here, and perhaps I will take closer pics at a later time. First, I used the little sign people (you know, the ones on the men's and women's bathroom doors in public places) to portray a few different ways to worship. On the top left I have a band playing, next to that I have a skate boarder doing a sequence of tricks. In the top right corner, I have someone praying, and getting down on his knees, and in the bottom right corner, I have a ballering doing a sequence of dance moves. I also have 1 Corinthians 10:31 (just the verse reference) written on there. You should look it up-it sums my picture up perfectly. And then a couple random items: tattoos, stars, "Praise God", paint splatters, etc.

Oh, yeah, so I suppose you would probably like to know how I made it. It's the same as the table I made in my kitchen. I double layered a couple of Ikea boxes, free-handed the shape, cut it out with a boxing knife, and taped it together with masking tape. I hear using box tape from the U-haul company works the best, but I used what I had on hand, and it worked just fine. I probably wouldn't use duct tape, or clear packing tape as they wouldn't give the same painting texture. Then it took a couple coats of the grey for my background, and I just painted what I wanted.

There were a couple of things to note about this project. One, when working with a piece of this magnitude, the box did have some tendency to try to warp. I didn't worry about this too much, because I knew that once I nailed it to the wall, it would take on the shape I wanted it to. Also, it seemed best to paint the background color in sections. Otherwise, this really was a simple project, and its another great alternative to adding color on the walls when you're not supposed to. Hope you enjoy!!

These are some old projects that I never put up. I was bad, and did a small amount of painting in my kitchen. I made a few templates out pizza boxes (the non food side of course), and stenciled these chandeliers onto the wall.

Then I saw a table similar to the one on the left on apartment therapy, and decided to make one for my chadeliers. I just took some Ikea boxes, free-handed the image onto double layers, cut them out using a box knife, and taped them together using masking tape (I think. Its the tape thats not clear, its kind of a beige color-definitely not duct tape, and not packing tape, as these wouldn't get the same paint texture as the box). After that its just a few layers of paint, and voila! I hung it with finishing nails all the way around. Pretty easy. A really great way to create something bold in a living space where you're not supposed to paint. (Even though I did some painting, oops).