Daydreams and Pretty things

One project down... a million to go!

2011-07-20T15:19:00.000-07:00

I posted earlier today, ~~whining~~ explaining about how I have a million projects to get done, so i decided to just jump right in today! I think I am going to try to do (what I am calling) a "craft marathon"! My goal is to do 20 projects in 10 days! I know that it is a big goal but some of them are really little things and some of them are made up of other projects.

I grabbed this little bird that I found at a garage sale this last weekend and this is what it looked like:

I painted it, glazed it, and added a little ribbon. Here it is:

Well it is nothing major but at least I managed to get one done!

Am I the only one???

2011-07-20T09:09:00.000-07:00

Unfinished projects

I am sure that I am the only one who has this problem, but I seem to have a serious problem with finishing projects! I get an idea and I get super excited so I run to the Lobby or Lowes and get everything I need for it and then I come home and I ~~watch dr. phil~~ do dishes.... I never get around to doing the projects that I was dying to do before. If I made a list of all of the projects I had started around this house, I would probably get laughed right out of blogland!! Seriously. Here are a few examples:

This is a big piece of wood that I started for some subway art that is just sitting in my front livingroom.... Josh asked me if I was trying to make some kind of statement... guess thats a hint I should finish it!

This is our back livingroom... I know it is super sad! We call it "the catch all". We never use it so what ends up happening is that I end up putting all of my "projects" in it until I can get to them!

This is another area in the back livingroom. This is where I keep all of my craft stuff and I would really like to turn it into my craft area.

This is the ugly eye sore of a filing cabinet that we have to have for our business. Can I tell you that I HATE this filing cabinet but promised ~~butthead~~ prince charming that I would just work around it and decorate it to make it look better... still not done yet

All of the totes that you see throughout the pictures are literally totes full of home decor stuff. I just need to find everything a place but when you have done as much remodeling as us, it gets daunting.

Last picture is an example of all of the empty shelves I have around here. Need to get them filled.

So, I am vowing, from today on to get busy on these projects!! Hopefully this result in a lot of posts for you to see and a prettier house for me!

Garage Sale Finds

2011-07-18T10:55:00.000-07:00

I decided to go garage saling this weekend (like I need more stuff to sit in my craft area untouched... but I promise to get to it all very soon) because I really needed some lamps. I had a really successful day! I got this lamp (ignore the shade), little bird, cookie jar, floor lamp, bread box (a project for a friend) and a floor lamp. The best part is that I only spent $13.00!!! I can't wait to start on getting it all refininshed!

Vintage Newspaper Holder

2011-07-17T08:08:00.000-07:00

I have wanted one of these for a really long time and even though it is only about $10.00, I knew with it being round, I didn't really have a place to hang it. So, my solution was to make one for cheaper than $10.00 and also one that could sit on a shelf!

I started with this 4" craft wood from lowes: (It was around $4.00)

I cut down the strip of wood into (4) 12" pieces. These are some of the other supplies you will need:

Next, I glued one of the pieces to the other with the liquid nails and let it sit until it set up, then I repeated with the other two pieces.

(Psst. I was very proud of myself for letting it set up because I am EXTREMELY impatient when it comes to craftng because I get sooooooo anxious to see the results... its a horrible weakness!)

Once I had two sets of the two pieces glued together, I glued the two sets together to make a box. Once this had set up, I sanded all of the edges.

Next, I painted the box black.

I then painted "New York Times" on the box.

I drilled holes into the top of my box and then sanded it all again.

The last step was to put the wire into the holes and wahalla I was done! It was very easy and about half the price as the one I originally liked!

Here it is on my entry table!

Roman Numeral sign

2011-07-07T19:14:00.000-07:00

I love all of the accents out there with the roman numerals! I have seen a lot at the pottery barn and then some online so I decided to make my own. I happened to have this piece of scrap wood that is about 2' long so I painted it white and then painted on the letters. I sanded it down pretty good and I plan on putting it on either a shelf in my living room or in the dining like in the picture!

Very Easy!!!

Thrift Store Find!

2011-07-07T17:16:00.000-07:00

I have been praying to come across one of these little babies for a long time so when I came across it for 5 dollars today at the thrift store, I picked it up immediately! I couldn't wait to get it home!

The first thing I did was paint the wooden base black. I had a couple of different ideas floating around but as soon as I thought of painting polka dots on the glass, I knew what I wanted to do for sure. I used a really cool tool that I found in my moms craft room since I was at her house today. (She has more crafting stuff then the craft store...) I really need to find me one of these because it made the dots EXTREMELY easy!

Next, I chose the ribbon and decided to pick out an embellishment to attach as well. She actually does have her craft room kind of set up like a store so I quickly found some really cool skeleton key embellishments and chose one to use.

I looked through this stash of ribbon...

And then this one...

And then finally found some in this one... (believe it or not, there is two more stashes...)

After everything was dried and tied on, I was done with probably one of the easiest projects I have done in a while and I could not be happier with it!

Outdoor Thermometer!

2011-07-02T07:50:00.001-07:00

I have really been wanting a thermometer for my back porch but don't want to pay an arm and a leg. I found some really cute ones at hobby lobby for only 9.99 which I could have got for 50% off; however, I live in the Texas panhandle and you just cant leave light weight objects outside or they will very quickly be blown to oklahoma! I needed something sturdy so this is what I did:

I found this BIG thermometer at the dollar tree and then bought the large wooden plaque at hobby lobby for 50% off! Cheap!!

First thing I did was paint the wooden plaque. I am about to repaint my house and I know the shutters are going to be black so I went ahead and painted it black, trying to plan ahead! (yes, I put things on soup cans to paint.... that a whole other post tho!)

About half way through painting, I realized I hadn't drilled holes so I went ahead and did that. I knew I was going to be using ribbon so I did a little bit of a bigger hole that I would normally do.

This was the first paint job I did... which I loved... because I loooooovvvvvveeeeee mamoth ANYTHING! .... but once I got to the next step, my entire design was covered up and it made no sense. So I had to sand it down and regroup...

This was my second paing job. This time, I was sure to figure in room for the thermometer.

Next, I tied a cute little bow through the two holes and curled the ribbon. I tried to glue the thermometer using gorilla glue but it just wasn't working out and I am pretty sure I just got impatient waiting for it to dry so instead, I ended up attaching the thermometer with 3Ms removeable velcro strips. I also used the strips to hang it up outside.

Mini Flag

2011-06-21T14:10:00.000-07:00

A while back, I made a small sign holder to place on my buffet and change out seasonally, you can see it here. I hadn't made anything patriotic for it yet so I decided to make a distressed flag.

I started out with a small wooden plaque that I buy from walmart for only.97. I used a ruler to measure for the lines and drew them on with a pencil. As you can see in the picture, I made the blue box, 2.5"x 3" and the lines .5".

The next step was to drill the holes for the wire so that it will hang. I have used these plaques for a lot of different things and I have found that if you try to make a very big hole, the plaque will split so I used a 1.98mm bit. Next you want to sand any rough areas. Its important to do all of this before you paint, just in case it does splinter.

Here it is on my sign stand (sorry its a little blurry):

Inspired again

2011-06-21T12:49:00.000-07:00

I came across a new blog today that I had never seen, her name is ginger over at ginger snaps and she has the best ideas! I had been trying to find a super cute idea for some 4th blocks but was hitting a wall when it came to my own ideas, that is when I saw hers that you can see here. I loved them (she is so clever) and so I decided to make some of my very own and here they are:

"LOVE" Blocks

2011-06-21T08:46:00.000-07:00

I was walking through hobby lobby a few weeks ago when all of a sudden it hit me!!! I got the idea for this block set which is actually nothing spectacular except for the fact that I am extremely crazy about houndstooth right now.... so I HAD to make it!

I know what you are thinking, "you've seen one block set, you've seen em all", but I really liked the way they turned out so I had to show them off! I actually don't really have a place for them but seeing as how my mom also fell in love with them, they are about to be packed up and moved to her house. She has a craft room that makes you feel like you have just walked into a craft store on crack so I promised her the blocks in exchange for a little shopping in her room! I probably came out on the better end of the deal but don't tell her that!

BHG Lovelies

2011-06-20T18:37:00.000-07:00

I was just strolling around on Better Homes and Garden website and came across some really cute ideas that they had and I wanted to share some of my faves:

I have been seeing a lot of red, white and blue, color combinations that people have adapted the shades to match their decor instead of going with the traditional basics. I think its a really great idea, especially if you want to keep your patriotic gear up all summer!

source: bhg

I absolutely love this bunting! I feel like it is something I could use on my own porch and make it mine and unique! I might have to try to make that one!

source: bhg

I really like the "column-like" piece in the back. I think its very cool and very diy doable!

source: bhg

This one stuck out to me because of the wagon. It would be super cute in a garden with some potted plants in it!

source: bhg

I just liked the way this tablescape turned out. Very cute.

source: bhg

I hope that maybe I can get some tutorials going very soon on some of the inspiration I got off of here!

2x4 Fire Crackers!!!

2011-06-20T14:07:00.000-07:00

I came across a very cute idea over at oopsey daisey! I loved he firecrackers and decided to make some of my own! Here are mine:

The sizes that I cut my wood was 8", 10" and 12". I used scrapbook paper from Michaels Craft Store and of course I used modge podge! I cut out the star with my cricuit and the black bead in the middle is a furniture brad. Hope you like it!

2x4 Flag

2011-06-18T13:34:00.000-07:00

I came across the cutest 2x4 flag idea over at brown paper packages. I had to make myself one and I thought I would show it off a little!

It was suuuuuuuppppppeeeeerrrrr easy and I was very pleased with how it turned out!

Summer of projects!

2011-06-18T06:53:00.000-07:00

So I have decided to really crack down on my crafting! My house is desperate so I need to get serious! You would think that being a stay at home mom would allow for plenty of crafting time but it is definitely not the case!!!

Anyways...

Me and my neighbor, Kandus, have decided to hold each other accountable and work together to get some much needed projects done around our houses. What was our first project??? Her office!

Her husband, Jason, was going to be out of town for four days so we decided to get serious and surprise him.

Here is the before:

The people that lived there before attempted to do the paper bag texture on the walls (where you glue crinkled up paper bag on the wall) and although it can be a cool texture, they did not due it right and they also put it in about HALF of the rooms in her house.... it needed to go! We later discovered the reason that they had done this texture, was to cover up the fist sized holes that someone had put in the wall... thats right, they stuffed wrapping paper into holes and covered over it with brown paper bag... classy!

So on day one, we got to peeling... and we peeled... and peeled:

After you peel off the big pieces, you have to wash off the smaller pieces and all of the glue... oh the glue! Then we primed:

Next we painted. We decided to do a deep color on the bottom and a lighter on top to give the room some depth but not make it feel smaller. She also wanted to put a chair railing up with some baseboard to create clean lines. Here is the finished project:

THE Desk

2011-02-10T15:35:00.000-08:00

Ok so I know that I have MIA AGAIN!!! ... but I have a good reason. I have been refinishing a desk for an old client of mine. It is for her little girls room and it matches her bedspread perfectly! This things just about killed me but I am finally done and it is FINALLY out of my house!! You don't know what a relief it is to be done! Here are the before and afters:

Zebra Garland

2011-01-05T06:30:00.000-08:00

So I have a long built-in right next to my table in the dining room. I refinished the ugly blue laminate to black stained concrete recently and I was wanting some type of garland to go across it. I already have a berry garland on the table so I decided to do light up garland from a strand of christmas lights that I had left!

I got a couple of different spools of red, black and white ribbon. I also found some zebra print at the Lobby so I used two spools of it as well! This takes A LOT of ribbon so you want to get it on sale. The more wired ribbon you have the better because you can play with it to make the garland look fuller. I cut all of the ribbon to 8" and then just figured out a pattern to tie it on. It takes a while to get it tied on but that is pretty much the hardest part! I love the way it turned out!!!

Texas Decor

2011-01-04T12:47:00.000-08:00

So I had a neighbor that wanted me to make some things for her little boys room. They are big Texas fans and that is how his room is decorated so this is what I came up with:

Its not much but I wanted to share so here ya go!

Live Laugh Love Stackables

2011-01-02T18:17:00.001-08:00

These are my live laugh love stackables:

I just used the basic 2x2s and painted on my words with a khaki color. I got the thin ribbon from wally world and I had the little black wire. I just tied it all at the same place and added some little colorful beads that I also got at wally world!

Very easy!

Its been a while!

2011-01-02T18:13:00.000-08:00

I am so excited to be back and to be blogging! This was the hardest holiday season that I have ever had! My brother was diagnosed with Leukemia on June 1, 2010 and it didn't take it long to get him down. I tried to visit as much as I could (he lived 120 miles away). We lost him on December 9th, four days before his little boys 3rd birthday. I have not felt like crafting, or posting, or really doing anything. I finally feel like its time to get back up and going and am excited to be back in the blog world! Sorry for my "bad blogger behavior"!!

Oh Christmas Tree!

2010-11-02T17:22:00.000-07:00

I know that you all probably think that I am jumping the gun on Christmas but I promise that I am not crazy... PROMISE! No, I have a craft show coming up this weekend and I wanted to make these little Christmas Trees for it. I used a 2x2 and some Emerald green Krylon spray paint. After I painted them, I sanded the edges and corners and then I used some watered down brown to glaze. I hot glued them together and tied on some ribbon! I am really happy with how they turned out!

Easy Fall Decor

2010-11-01T19:20:00.001-07:00

So I just wanted to share a couple of really easy and inexpensive ways to decorate for fall.

The first way is to decorate any candlesticks that you might already have. I did have these decorated for Halloween but now that it is over I had to change it up. I tied two silk leaves that I already had to the big candlestick with some raffia. Next I just placed some pumpkins on top in lieu of candles.

Next, I just took a glass vase from the Dollar Tree and put some pot pourri in it. I got the little candle from the Dollar tree as well and tied some raffia around the glass.

Lastly, I had this glass bowl and the little scoop and I usually change this out seasonably as well but usually with candy. I decided to fill it with cotton bowls this time which was great for me since it was free!

Just thought I would share since I know that everyone is always looking for new and inexpensive ways to decorate!!!

Is Halloween Over???

2010-10-31T14:38:00.000-07:00

This was the first year that I have ever decorated for Halloween and I really enjoyed it! I really got into making stuff for the holiday and it was really fun but I might have, kinda sorta over did it... lets just say I got a little burnt out! Ok, to be honest, I can't wait to take down my Halloween stuff... I am Halloweened out! However, I am pumped to start in on Thanksgiving and Christmas crafting!!!! Here is one of the first of many Thanksgiving crafts that I made today. I really like the way that they turned out!

Mini Sign

2010-10-31T14:33:00.000-07:00

If you have been following me then you remember that earlier this month I made a sign stand. I wanted to make a little fall sign to hang on it so hear it is. I just got a little wooden 5x7 plaque from Walmart and painted it the tan that I wanted. I tore the shape of the pumpkin out of scrapbook paper and inked the egdes. I used wire to hang it and tied a burlap bow. I think it turned out pretty cute!

Keep calm and gobble on

2010-10-28T13:37:00.000-07:00

I found this really cute printable at Craftily Ever After and I just knew that I had to do something with it! I got some more of the scrap wood and printed the printable to fit. Next, I painted it the golden color and glazed in with some brown. I decoed on the printable. I wanted to add something different so I put an old drawer knob on the top and added some raffia and crinkled up brown paper bag. I love the way that it turned out!

Pumpkins sign

2010-10-28T06:37:00.000-07:00

I really wanted a rustic looking sign to put on my porch so I got some old scrap wood that I had out in our shop and just started playing around with it. I cut it down to 24" and then painted it white. I played with different sizes of lettering and I was so excited because the word PUMPKINS fit perfectly! Here it is:

I sanded it by hand once I was done painting it to give it a vintage look.

Candy corn candlestick

2010-10-10T07:54:00.000-07:00

Sorry I didn't take pictures as I went with this one. I made a candy corn out of felt using the yellow as the base and sewing on the orange and white. The back is solid yellow. The bottom of the yellow has a little "stem" on it. I stuffed the candy corn with fiber fill. I found this little candle stick at the Dollar Tree. I glued the candy corn "stem" into the tob of the candle stick.... I used a lot of glue. All I did next was tie some ribbon around the candle stick and I was done! Very easy! Just thought I would share!!!

Witchs broom!

2010-10-08T08:12:00.000-07:00

I really wanted a witch's broom for my Halloween decor but I wanted something really whimsy since I am not into the creepy. I found this broom at the dollar tree and thought that it would be perfect!

I spray painted the broom part black and then I wrapped the handle in masking tape.

My next step was to paper mache the handle. I wanted it to be bumpy and wavy to give it that whimsical look: (disclosure: do not stare directly at the ugly blue countertops! I repeat do not stare at the ugliness!)

Ok I forgot to take pictures of the next few steps but here is what I did: I painted the handle exactly how I wanted it. I did orange and purple stripes. Next I tied some raffia and ribbon to the base and added a little glue! Viola! I was done!

Sign stand

2010-10-06T20:07:00.001-07:00

Ok so I have been seeing sign stand all over blogland and I wanted to take a crack at it! Here is what I came up with:

It was really easy! Here is all that you need:

2"x2" cut to desired size
base: I got mine from the fencing department at Lowes
Hook: I got mine at Lowes but you could use whatever you want
finial: I got the finial in the unfinished wood department at the Lobby
whatever color paint you want

I screwed the base into the two by two and used A LOT of hot glue to attach the finial to the top. After that I just painted it and then added the hook. I made a really cute little halloween sign for it but unfortunately, both sold before I got to take a picture! I will make another one and post a tutorial for it soon! Hope you enjoyed!

Are you a good witch???

2010-10-06T20:03:00.001-07:00

So I really wanted to make something that said "Are you a good witch or are you a bad witch?" I had some 2"x2"'s laying around so I decided to use them! I cut them to be 6" long and printed my sayings out on some purple and green paper. I painted the wood black and inked the paper. You know what comes next.... Modge Podge! They were obviously super easy and I think they turned out cute sitting on my shelf!

Candy corn sign

2010-10-06T11:36:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I had a lady contact me and she wanted for me to create a Halloween themed wooden sign for her front door. I thought about it and here is what I came up with:

I was soooo sad to have to give it to her... I wanted to keep it! Luckily for me, since I made it, I can make another one!!!

I made it out of the free plywood that I got from Lowes. It is 10"x8" for the top piece and the bottom piece is 2". It was really easy and I will definitely be making another one. I am not posting a detailed tutorial because it was very simple and I am so behind in my posts from my computer being sick, that I can't post a tutorial for all of my stuff today! If you have any questions feel free to ask though!

Here is another sign that I made for the same lady:

I'm baaaacccckkk!

2010-10-06T06:24:00.000-07:00

Oh my gosh I am so glad to be back! My computer has been down for over a week and looking at blogger on my blackberry is just not the same! Meanwhile, I am so excited to post some of the projects that I have been working on over the last week so don't give up on my quite yet! I will be definitely posting a lot over the next day or so! Can't wait!!!!

Love love love this topiary

2010-09-22T10:43:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love this topiary! I found it at Southern Living. I live in the Texas panhandle and unlike the rest of the state, we get all four seasons. This year, however, it has still been hot!! Average temps this time of year are normally 60s and 70s but it has been in the high 90s still! Its getting old. The very worst part about it is that nobody is selling pumpkins yet!!! You better believe as soon as a pumpkin patch opens, I will be making me one of these!

The ban wagon

2010-09-21T18:33:00.001-07:00

So there are a couple of little projects that have invaded blog land and I thought that I would post pictures of my versions of them. Here you go, hope you enjoy...

My halloween topiary...

My block letters...

Corn on a stick

2010-09-20T14:09:00.000-07:00

So I decided that I wanted to make some of the wooden candy corns that I have seen invading blog land and that was when it hit me... corn on a stick!

What you need:

plywood

1/4" dowel (I got mine from walmart)

Paints

rafia

gorilla glue

wooden base

Here are the steps that I took to make it:

I printed off a candy corn clip art and cut it out for my pattern. I made the pattern three different sizes varying just a little before I printed each out.

I traced the pattern onto my free plywood that I have been bragging about and cut it out with my jigsaw.

I painted my candy corn and used my sander to round the edges.

After that, I drilled a 1/4" hole in the bottom of the corn to match the 1/4" dowel that I bought from walmart.

I cut the dowel to three different lengths that I wanted which were 6", 9" and 12"

I found the bases at Lowes in the fencing department and they came with 1/4" hole drilled already.

I glued the dowel into the base with gorilla glue and painted them white

When it was all dry, I attached the candy corn to the top with a little more glue and tied raffia around the base

It really was sooo sooo easy!

My not so spooky, spooky sign

2010-09-19T18:32:00.000-07:00

Ok so this is the first year that I have really decorated for halloween and I love it! This being my first year and all though, I just can't bring myself to add the "spook" factor that some of you brave girls do, BUT I did really want a sign that said spooky. So although I am not brave enough for the spiders just yet, this is my take at a "spooky" sign! It was really easy!

I got this plywood for FREE from Lowes the other day because it had been in the scrap bin for a while!! I was excited! I cut it down to 6x15 and then painted it with my acrylic paint. I just scrapbooking ink to give it the stained look (just because I am lazy and it is waaaaay easier). Next I deco'd the "spooky" on and walla I was done!

Inspired by 2x4's

2010-09-16T18:47:00.000-07:00

I was completely and totally inspired by brown paper packages (as usual) and the 2x4 pumpkin that she made. I decided to try to make one too and I was really pleased with the way that it turned out! Tell me what you think! I am also thinking of making a smaller one and a bigger one too!!

Chandy for my dining room

2010-09-13T17:42:00.000-07:00

I found this ugly brass chandelier at a garage sale for $5.oo. I bought it and refinished it to be brushed nickel. I bought new globes at Lowes for only $2.oo a piece. The whole things was less than $20.oo and I think that it turned out pretty good!

Before...

After...

My very first blog!

2010-08-04T14:02:00.000-07:00

Ok for my first blog I decided to post a picture of a project I did a couple of weeks ago (the date on my camera is waaaay off!). I found these candlesticks at hobby lobby on clearance for $3. They were cute and all but not really my style so I decided to paint them and wrap burlap around them! I think they turned out pretty dang cute and they look great in my living room!

Before:

After: