I'm Baaaaaaaack...lol

Wow, its been a while since I was here...crazy summer...we sold our house, then moved into a rental house...who'd thought we were so picky...still hunting for the perfect home...ahem...anyway, between the move and work, who had time to craft?? Certainly not me...and even though I am working with a limited number of supplies...I did keep out a box of my faves (thanks to my friends suggestion) so I can at least quench the need to be creative until we are in our own place and I am in my wonderful scrap room!!! Yay!!! I happened to pop into the cricut mb last night and knew once I had visited RAQ's card challenge, I had to make a card.  Papers are from a new pad I bought from the Paper Studio...all kraft designs...love it...so raw and natural. Oh and yes, I am working on Christmas cards already....mostly because I plan to be decorating in the new house, and won't have time to do cards then...

Let your Light Shine!!!

I am loving making these cards...again inspired by Heather Tedford...check out her blog...such beautiful cards. This one I made myself...no copying this time...lol...so happy with the way it turned out. The stamps are all "Perfect Day" from CTMH...thanks for looking!

Back to Card Making...

Finally done my Florida scrapbook, and now back to some card making...ordered some cards from a friend who is a Close To Mty Heart consultant, couple that with an extraordinary blog I found and these cards were born...THESE ARE NOT ORIGINAL IDEAS...copied them from this blog, she is so very talented, and of course, now I had to order more stamps so I can continue this beautiful technique

Headboard

This is my headboard...wanted to redo it to match the small dresser I just finished...so basically followed the same steps as shown below in the dresser post.  Painted with Fiesta Red...two coats, waxed in spots, and then two coats of cream, then sanded. The windows are covered in textured fabric, that I folded over to the back for a clean edge and then hot glued to the window, since they were already painted. The shutters I picked up at a yard sale 4 for 2.00 last summer and have been meaning to do something with them...so here is the finished product...

Dresser Makeover

 Above is the original dresser...now...I bought this at a yard sale about 6 years ago for $5.00 and the lovely stenciling on it I did after I bought it...it served its purpose for many years, but with a new color scheme in my bedroom, it needed a makeover

 First two coats were a color called Fiesta Red by Color Your World...our living room was this color for a few years and I had a jar of leftover paint...yay...and my comforter has deep red flowers in it. so it is perfect.

Next, above...I took one of dh's candles, and rubbed it all over where I wanted the red to show through after the next coat...then above right, I painted with cream over the wax...needed two coats ...let it dry completely while I cut the grass and made dinner

 Here are the drawers after the second coat of cream

Tada....here is the finished product...after I sanded of course...I am so pleased with the finished product, and it looks wonderful in the bedroom...tomorrow is shopping for some fabric, and then on the old window headboard that dh did himself, but again the colors don't match, so it will receive the same treatment as this dresser. At the ends will be two old shutters I picked up at a yard sale for 1.00 to make it as long as my bed...will post when done

Florida Scrapbook

Whew...feel like its been so busy as of late...but I am almost done my Florida Scrapbook, about 5 more layouts to go, but I was anxious to share some of the completed layouts with you. Above is the first page...I know its hard to see, but the small strips are major cities along the way, with the time and temperature...the paper is a Florida map that I bought while down south.

This is the place we stayed...loved it, right on the beach

We went to St Petersburg to the Morean Gallery to see the Chihuly Collection...loved that...most of the photos are from a brochure as pictures were not allowed in the gallery

I think we hit this flea market 5 times in the 14 days we were there...huge, we've got nothing like this in Canada

The Pier in St Pete's...

The Long Pier, walking distance from our hotel...all kinds of wildlife and juts quite far out into the Gulf

Went to see Manatee....toooooo exciting...

Eeeeeeeeeekkkkkkk....love these gentle giants...soooooo cool to see so many of them in the wild

Beach shots

Here we rented scooters for a morning...what a blast that was...we drove from North Redington Beach to Clearwater, and back to Treasure Island...

When Rebecca and Max arrived, Dave and the kids took out the kayaks on a rather windy, wavy day...they all tipped them, but they had fun

Took some very old chip letters that were pink and black with designs on them, and painted them with Tim Holtz crackle paint...I think I need this paint in every color...love this product

Some embossing and sanding...

Starfish bought at a local shell store..

The "A" sandcastle was glued and covered in actual sand I brought home from the beach...and inked halfway up my title

Thanks for looking...most of the pages were inspired by the Page Maps books I have, love them for inspiration...the last few will be posted when I get them all done.

Handbags...soooo cute

Made these for my daughter and myself...here is the link with the directions...so easy, made both in about an hour and a bit...there are 6 pockets on the outside of these bags, perfect for all those things you need to grab for regularly..

Mosaic Wall Art

Another Art Piece for my walls...Inspired by Pinterest

 These two (above and below) are the original posts on Pinterest that inspired my project

 ...and this is my finished product below...

Wow, I have been so busy between work and doing all these projects I see on Pinterest. This one is a combination of two projects I saw. The background is comprised of paint chips...our local hardware was clearing out all the old chips, and so they had them free to anyone that wanted them, so I took a box full for my scrapping girls and myself...and they came at the perfect time. Click here for detailed instructions on completing the background of squares...I followed her instructions to the tee and it worked out perfectly. The pear was cut with my cricut out of swiss dot paper by Bazzil, the scripture was computer generated and the swirls are cut from Home Accents. I am very pleased with the finished result...and now, on the next Pinterest project!!!

Ladder Pot Rack

Made this to go with my vintage window frame art previously posted, since they are in the relative same area of the house. Found the old ladder in someone's roadside garbage (love old wood ladders, they can be used for so many things)...cleaned it, painted it, distressed it and then dh hung it up for me over our counter in the kitchen...love it...and love the extra cupboard space I have!

Vintage Window Makeover

Ok, I am in love with the old vintage wood style windows. We have several around the house, 1 is a headboard, the others hang in our skylight with stained glass in them...and today, I did my very own project (usually dh does them) I am so excited to share this with you...these are two separate windows, although we hung them side by side...I searched the net for some distressing tips and found this site, check it out, she explains everything clearly and it is very easy to do. Dh took the wire brush to the windows first to clean them up and remove any loose paint. I started with brown paint for the base, and then used the candle, and then dark teal on top...sanded them and voila...they turned out awesome! I filled the panes with some scrapbook paper and cut out a few words and dh hung it up in the dining room...so excited to share

This is a beautiful card I saw on Pinterest that I knew I had to copy...in case you are wondering, as I was...the flowers are made from a regular leaf shape and then curled at the bottom...I scavenged some stems from some old silk flowers and stuck a pearl on the end...I think it would make a beautiful sympathy card. Corners are from Picturesque Cartridge

Every time we go on a road trip, I wish I had something to do my word puzzles on in the car...something with a flat surface and a pillow underneath for comfort...so I was thinking...and voila...I had all the pieces I needed to make it already in the house. I've included some instructions for those that may wish to make one too.

Supplies:
Old pillow for stuffing, or a bag of loose stuffing
material for pillow (2 pcs. ea 12x16")
old pressboard placemat (11.5 x 15")
2 pieces of scrapbook paper 12x12
length of ribbon
hot glue gun
modge podge and paintbrush

 

Take the two pieces of fabric and place them together right sides facing each other. Sew a seam  around the pillow , leaving a gap large enough to stuff. Zig zag the raw edges or serge if you have one.  Turn fabric to right side and turn the outside…stuff to desired thickness.

 

Hand stitch the opening after stuffing is done. Set aside.

Cut scrapbook paper to fit the placemat…I chose 2 co-ordinating papers and rounded the corners as the placemat had rounded corners. Once paper is cut, grab your modge podge and a large craft paintbrush, and apply a thin, even coat on the top of the placemat. Carefully place the papers on top and smooth out any wrinkles. I use an old wallpaper seam roller to smooth it all out.

 

I cut a piece of ribbon to go over the seam. Apply a small amount of modge podge over seam and apply ribbon on top…let dry before proceeding to next step. ( I have a fake electric fireplace in my craft room and I just placed the board on the floor in front of the heat and it dries rather quickly)

Sand the edges with an emery board to smooth out edges and give a slightly distressed look to the edge.

 

Once dry, apply a thin, even layer of modge podge on top of the board, right over the papers. I find long, light, even strokes dry the cleanest rather than choppy brush marks, I go from the top to the bottom in one stroke to achieve this look. Also be sure to put a little all around the side edge to be sure the paper won’t lift at the edges.  Let dry completely

 

Once dry, apply a second coat of modge podge and let dry again. When dry, heat up your hot glue gun…when good and hot, apply a good amount of hot glue to the center area of the back of the placemat…you have to work quickly as the hot glue dries fast…center the pillow on the board and press. 

 

Run a bead of hot glue around the edge where the pillow with touch at the edges and once done, press the pillow into the glue, and use some heavy books to completely cover the pillow and leave until all glue is good and dry…and voila…you have a lap desk you can use in the car, out in the yard in the lawn chair, or wherever you need a flat surface on the go. Thanks for looking and happy crafting!!!