Pinterest Project Parade

This week my spectacular parents have entertained Will-zilla during his Spring Break and mommy has enjoyed her own break.  Of course I haven't really relaxed...I've been completing pinterest projects!  I know I will never accomplish all my pins but I feel a great sense of accomplishment for what I have done in 3 days!

Monday Projects

 

 

 

 

 

On Monday I got out my sewing machine and my hole punch.  Usually those two tools don't go together but I am loving my new garlands of paint chip circles all sewn together!  They will look great for our Spring mantel and Will's birthday next month.

Find the inspiration here

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I also
1. completed all of Will's birthday invitations (more on our color changer themed party in a few weeks)

2. cut dog design from too small long sleeve shirt and sewed onto just right short sleeve shirt...I'm thrifty and proud of it!

3. refashioned a sweater I no longer wear into a baby hat...so easy but I will have to test out to get the perfect fit



and 4. Mod podged the Fruits of the Spirit

I tried my hand at transferring a copied picture to a canvas using Mod Podge and I'm pretty happy with the results.  I would love to try using Gel Medium next time but I was too impatient to wait to buy when I had Mod Podge sitting right there.


It is distressed looking and there are a few places where the yellow print rubbed off completely but it will look great on my new display wall....that project is waiting for the next Mimi and Pops are in charge.

Find inspiration here

 

 

 

 Today I was in a baking mood so I:
1. made all Will's "4" cookies for his birthday party...can't believe he will be 4!!!
2. baked my first NO FLOUR, NO WHITE SUGAR, NO BUTTER cookies

Recipe here

3. Made HOMEMADE CADBURY EGGS!

recipe here

I am thrilled that I had the time to try out all these projects but I am more thrilled to bring Will-zilla back home tomorrow! 
What pinterest projects do you have waiting that you could accomplish in a day?
Let me know if you try any of these!:)
Love,
Andrea

Tie-Dyed Easter Eggs

I seem to always need to make projects more challenging than they need to be so when I found an idea to color eggs with silk ties I was up to the challenge.  Who wants dye tablets and vinegar, right?!?!

Check out this tutorial here:
Tie Dyed Eggs


I am pretty happy with how they turned out for the first try.  I will be trying again soon and searching for more cheap ties too!:)













Although I don't think Will-zilla would be much help with sitting at the table and waiting for the colors to work he was thrilled to help...um...steal my ties!

When you get your ties back...here's what to do:

1. Find some 100% silk fabric and cut to size to cover the egg tightly.










2. Cover a fresh egg tighly with the fabric, trying your best to cover all of the surface.  As the fabric overlaps or creases it may add swirls to the design and add to the character of your finished egg. 

3. Tie with a twist tie or string.













 4. Wrap again with plain cloth. I used a knit tee and tied with a string.  This helps to hold the dye close to the egg.

 5. Boil for 20 minutes in a pot of water with 1/4 cup white vinegar.

 

6. Cool then reveal!

The navy blue was my favorite of the three.  The red one was textured already so it added to the uniqueness of the transfer.  I was slightly disappointed in the paleness of the green but I do think it fits into pastel Easter motifs!:)  So....I will be trying again this week after 1. Finding great steals on brightly patterned ties (remember 100% silk) and 2. concentrating more on the wrapping for the best outcome.

On a side-note, the same day I dyed these eggs my Nana sent me a magazine clipping on this VERY project!  Great minds think alike! 

Let me know if you try it too!
Love,
Andrea

HELLO! WELCOME!!

This weekend we had about 35 guests working out in our garage gym.  Although most were men and probably didn't even notice my new welcome sign I worked a little each day on this new artwork to add a warm, quirky "hello" as everyone entered. 

It's not perfect!

It took a little longer than planned!

It was basically free!

I used my new circular saw!

I was inspired and hope you are too...
Johnny in a Dress



So....first I used my circular saw to trim the wood down a little on the side.  Extra thanks to my hubby for the moral support and the huge tire to use as my work station! 

Then I stained with Rustoleum we had left over from my Christmas gifts. 
I sketched the lettering on large paper and cut out my "stencil". 

Another way that made it free was using the yellow paint from our front door makeover.  If I were to do it over I would probably free-hand the lettering on the sign and hand paint it without the stencil.  I ended up needing to touch up all the edges after removing the paper and still have a few yellow smudges. 

After finally getting the yellow done I coated with polyurethane.  Again my hubs came to the rescue and recommended using glossy poly (he even applied it for me) and I love how it makes the letters stand out even more. 

The last step also took a couple days as the board I used was super thin so we had to glue a wood shim to the back and then attach hangers with small nails. 

Overall I love it!  The imperfect-ness kinda goes with the rest of my projects. 
Hope you are inspired to embrace your imperfect side and make something welcoming and quirky too!

Love, Andrea

Valentine Peg Doll Love

Happy Valentine's Day...four days ago!  Of course I have excuses for not posting sooner...I'm a lazy blogger...it was my birthday!  You choose which excuse is better!:)
I worked all last week on these peg doll Valentine's for Will's preschool class. Of course I added to his list of 12 and included our boy cousins and his teachers! 

I was inspired by this Valentine Peg Doll post here and researched more peg doll ideas here. I kept looking at pinterest to make sure I was creating my superheros correctly...you know from all my comic book experience!  Just search superhero peg dolls and you will see a wide range of ideas and detail to choose from.

How to:

1. I painted each peg doll according to design I envisioned.  I pretty much just free handed the painting.
 Disclaimer:  I cheated and used a black paint pen to help with the outlining and facial details.

2. Create cards with cheesy sayings and glue to cardstock.

3. I used small hole punch to make two holes in left side then tied doll in place with ribbon.

Unfortunately I didn't get pictures of my teacher look-a-like peg dolls...hope they recognized themselves! 

I'm slightly inspired to create some more...ideas?  Would you like a peg doll representation of yourself?!? 
Let me know what you think!
Love, Andrea

DIY LOVE sign tutorial

February means one year since I started changing up our mantle for the holidays.  Of course I am looking to Pinterest for inspiration and of course other bloggers.

My latest LOVE sign is actually a compilation of two different ideas.  For Christmas I made these wooden picture holders from Shanty 2 Chic DIY Wire Picture Holders.

Of course I even changed that idea a little too!  I am looking forward to creating even more signs with my growing lumber supply.  Just because much of it is pallet wood doesn't mean it's junk, hubby!:)

So for now, here is my tutorial for your very own Valentine's LOVE sign.

Needed:

• 1 piece of wood 2x6x12
• wood stain
• craft paint
• red buttons
• hot glue gun

1. Sand your wood and stain to desired color. Let dry.

2. Create stencil for lettering.  I am still without a Silhouette machine so I traced by hand and used my good ol' exacto knife to cut letters.

3. Tape stencil to front side of wood and use sponge brush to blot with paint.

4. Use hot glue gun to attach buttons in heart shape, layering as needed to fill in gaps.

I "love" the simplicity of this sign and the simplicity of the process!:) 
I'm already thinking of ideas for March and Easter...ideas welcome!
 Let me know if you have questions!
Happy February! Love, Andrea

Decoupage+Glitter+Thrifted Flats

So last week I promised a new blog about my new ventures into refashioning.  I had high hopes to feature a new tunic shirt I was working on this week but I'm still debating whether to keep working it or trash it!  The good thing for this cheap-skate is that I'm only out the $2 from the thrifted men's shirt.  The bad thing is the time I've put in to sewing.  I really should make improving my sewing skills a goal for this year but right now I'm too impatient!  So, the verdict is still out on the striped tunic.
BUT...I do have a sort of refashion I did a few months ago that doesn't involve sewing at all...just a lot of glue!:)

Add caption

Before

After

I found this project from Sweet Verbena DIY Bow Tie Glitter Flats and wanted to give it a try.  I found a canvas dressy navy flat at the thrift store for $2.99 and got started.  I pretty mush follwed her tutorial using Mod Podge and mixing in fine glitter then brushing all over the shoe.  It took 3-4 coats to cover all the navy and I was so surprised how that worked!  They are completely glitter-fied!

Instead of making a bow tie embellishment I opted for a scrap fabric rosette.  I used my glue gun and cut small circles, folded each into a an s-like cone then glued onto a slightly smaller fabric circle.  Completed the circle with 5-6 triangle pieces then arrange 2-3 in the middle to fill in.  See this felt flower post for better directions Felt Flower Pins .  To attach I used a glue gun initially but have since used E-6000.

I am very happy with how they turned out!  I have to say I've only worn them once and am a little nervous about wearing in the rain but otherwise they seemed to hold up very well!  Teaching three toddler music classes and still going strong.

What do you think?  I think silver was a safe color for this 33 year old!  Let me know if you try it for yourself or maybe a little girl needs some pink sparkly ones!:)
Love,
Andrea

Still on Christmas Break...DIY overload

Well, here it is January 16th and I am finally getting around to posting all my DIY Christmas gifts!  I had a blast making all of them and adding personal touches (even at 1 in the morning!) but I have been on overload since then and taken a big break from crafting and obviously blogging.  It's very hard for me to sit and do nothing (just ask my husband) but I have been filling my time with my new iPad.  Sometimes looking up new crafting ideas is better than actually doing them!:)
Here's the gallery of Christmas presents made by yours truly:

Infinity scarves for my beautiful niece...
Above: refashioned from a thrifted polo
Left and Below: Pashmina scarf embellished with painted circles (toilet paper rolls of course) and transformed to inifinity!

Freezer paper stenciled tshirts for two cool dudes!

Dollar store composition books cute-i-fied with some iron-on fabric and ribbon!

 Wooden picture holders...two ideas combined.
2x6x12 + wood stain + paint marker + wire ornament hangers + your favorite pictures =

Inexpensive and Unique gift!

Unfortunately I didn't get pictures of the subway art teacher quotes and fruits of the spirit before giving away. Hoping my m-i-l is enjoying this one!

Magnetic Scrabble Board!!!

What more can I say?  My parents loved it and I loved adding personal touches with the dictionary pages in the background.  Can't 

wait to leave messages each time we visit!

Last but not lease I can't take full credit for these hand painted canvases.  These gallery worthy paintings were created by 17 month old Emerson and 3 1/2 year old Will and will be showcased in Pop's office. He loved them but this is as excited as he gets!:)

I think my next post may include some more refashions I've been working on.  As always I have so many ideas in so many genres!  I had a blast gifting all these projects!  Maybe I should pick a creative mode for each month this year...painting, sewing, hot gluing, paper, felt, wood...

How can I use all those for February?  Stay tuned!

Love, Andrea