Picture This

As I mentioned a few days ago, my husband has been renovating his office this past month, which looks awesome!! Now the fun (in my opinion) begins....Decorating!! We have so many ideas to incorporate and I have a wonderful picture in my mind...just hoping to bring that all into play.  For now, I am working on small pieces here and there to fill the spots.  For any of you who know Rick, you understand why this next project entirely fits him :) For those of you who have not had the pleasure to meet my wonderful, amazingly, talented husband, he owns a marketing company and is always into something creatively new.  I tell you what, it is hard to keep up :) But being that he is creative, always on the computer, and LOVES his Apple products...here is what you get :) 

Very simple, all you need is an old keyboard and a picture frame!

Pull the keys off the keyboard....and see how dirty these things get!! Gross!!

Glue the keys to the picture frame....and here a great picture frame for your computer geek :) 

Fancy Table Chalk

The chalkboard paint seems to have made a front shelf appearance recently, and for good reason.  Chalkboard paint can be used in SO many different ways to create a fun, unique look! Thanks again to DYI, the creation of a fancy table menu is now complete. 

I found old china at the local goodwill to be used. The gold trim adds to the elegance of the piece. It is best to trace an outline of the intended painted area. Takes two coats of paint for best results.

Final pieces! Great to use for any mean or event that needs a little extra dress up. 

All chalkboard plates are available for purchase.  Each item is $10, shipping would be additional. 

Distressed Love

There are some projects I thoroughly enjoy and there are some I just fall in love with, this is definitely a love item! A friend, Becky, found this distressed window frame at a yard sale and asked for a touch of flare to be added.  This window frame is beyond perfect-- the wood is old and chipped away, and still includes an original latch.  The aged look tells a story from the frames time period....perfect!

Below is the before picture...

First step was to stencil lettering on each pane, then painting 

The paint was originally very bold and strong.  Since the frame was old and distressed, I used sandpaper to add the same look to each letter. Be careful to sand only the paint and not the actual glass.

Final project, "Distressed Love"! 

Hideaway Greetings

Months ago I purchased old books at a resale shop near my house and have had them on display on a 1937 record player purchased at a yard sale.  The look is dated / adorable and I absolutely LOVE it!! However, they served no real purpose until today.  This idea comes from Better Homes and Gardens: Do It Yourself and I thank them for that!! 

The book casing stays untouched and therefore doesn't lose the traditional look.

Measure out the size cards you will be storing and draw a pattern.

Then begins the cutting process, this part can be quite time consuming with all the corners!

But end results are worth it! I can now store greetings cards in a convenient, hidden area :) 

Flea Market Coasters

My husband is in the middle of office renovations and I thought to contribute a few items, here is the first. The domino set was purchased at a flea market for a total of $1! After gluing them together and adding a nice moisture absorbing bottom, this is what we have...

Dumpster Diving

Last year my husband and I put our focus on the outside entertainment areas of our house.  We put down a patio with a swing and colorful chairs, a walkway to the pool, had a friend help with landscaping, and filled in an open peak on the front of the house.  A lot of work, but all worth it!! For the entertaining areas, I really had wicker furniture in mind.  We looked at a few stores for a set to purchase, but none of them were to my liking.  I was wanting to go for the colorful, kind of hodge-podge look.  So the next step was visiting yard sales and resale shops to look for wicker furniture.  We searched, and searched, and searched!! We did not find one single piece of wicker furniture last year- not one piece the entire year! However, I am happy to announce this year has been a completely different story!! It seems this is the year for my neighbors to just throw away all of their wicker pieces!!  Nothing like a check to your pride, but yes, I went through so many of my neighbors garbage! From doing this, I have no acquired FIVE pieces of wicker and could not be more ExCiTeD!! It is important to check the stability of these items and have a good idea of what you want the outcome to be- or else you are just collecting other people's trash :)

From the dumpster dive, I have created a nice sitting area of  my colorful wicker furniture.  Below you will find pictures of my first chair that was refinished and now nicely "sparkles"!

From the Beginning

Welcome to my blog!! For sometime I have been tossing the idea of starting a blog around in my mind, but was not entirely sure what I would share with the world :) Then the ideas started pouring in...I would share my crafty side to the world.  This maybe like other blogs you currently follow; however, I hope to make this as original, creative, helpful, inspiring, and fun as possible!

A little on my background.  I am by no means an expert in the crafts department, but I sure do enjoy trying anything new!  My interests in arts and crafts started when I was in the 6th grade and have continued to grow since.  I must say, after looking at my artwork from the the 6th grade, my abilities have been greatly enhanced!  I have worked on crafts such as canvas painting, wall paintings, interior decorating, outdoor landscaping, refurnishing furniture, and sewing - just to name a few.  The ideas come in no order or specific way...sometimes I will go weeks without a new creative idea and sometimes I have too many going through my mind at once.  When creating crafts, I like to keep the monetary expense to a bare minimum. To do this, one has to be creative with the household items they may already have, being creative with flea market finds, or find the neighbor that throws away the "nice" items....No, this is not a joke! (In a later post, I will share the results of my dumpster dive)

I hope you enjoy the blog and stop by often!!