TIle Coasters - an easy DIY project

Last weekend we had our annual Scrap and Craft time at church. I was asked to plan a couple of make-and-take projects. I quickly found two card ideas, but I also wanted another craft. So I went to my favorite place, Pinterest and finally found this tile coaster project. I tried one at home, and it turned out well - not quite like the picture (does anything turn out just like the picture?), but I liked the end result.
So I bought more supplies: tiles at Menard's (for only 12 cents each!), sharpie pens, rubbing alcohol, spray fix and spray, clear acrylic, and pads for the bottoms.
The ladies at Scrap and Craft had a good time making these. The tiles were a bit time consuming, just because of the time needed for each step to dry, but everyone liked trying something new.
Here are the tiles I made. I think they'd make good gifts, don't you?

Mother and Daughter Crafting

My daughter and her family came up to celebrate New Year's with us. Every time she comes to visit we always make sure we have some time to craft together. We usually prepare for the weekend by looking up potential projects online - especially on pinterest. 

Here are a few of our projects so far...

Project #1 - heart pictures. We painted white card stock, used a punch to cut out the hearts, and used Mod Podge to glue the hearts to another piece of card stock.  Click here for out inspiration - we used hearts instead of circles)

Here's Carrie's finished picture . . .

and here's mine.

Project #2: Word plaques. We used the silhouette to cut the words out of white card stock. Then we applied washi tape to another piece of card stock and layered the cut out piece on top so the tape shows through. On the second one I just put patterned card stock behind the word "Love." (Click here for our inspiration.)

Project #3: Cards using my new Stampin' Up feather bundle (stamps and framelit dies). (Click here  and here for our inspiration)

And here are our finished cards.

We have one more day to do some crafting. I wonder what our project will be.....

Finally - A Craft Closet

It's been a while since I've blogged...we've been pretty busy. Our daughter, son-in-law and grandson lived with us for two months after they moved back to the States and I soaked up the time with them, knowing that they'd be starting a life apart from us soon. Mardo got a job, they found an apartment, and they got a car. So we helped them move about 140 miles away. And while I am happy for them, and I know that they need to continue on the life God's planned for them, I am also a bit sad.  It's pretty quiet here without them. I miss my grandson meeting me after work, saying "Nana!" I miss the talks and shared chores with Carrie. I miss the steadiness and gentleness of my son-in-law as well as his music and creativeness. I miss shared meals and card games on the weekends.
However, the past couple of weeks have also been happy ones - as Craig and I readjust to having the house to ourselves. I enjoy time spent with my husband. We have some projects planned. We have been sharing dreams and hopes. We've watched football and hockey games together, worked on our Bible study lessons and just spent time together in the family room with a fire in the wood stove.
Some of our talks have centered around the holidays, and how much we are looking forward to spending time with all our children and grandchildren. We talk about how thankful we are for our boys - now men - and how proud we are of who they've become... their good hearts, their generosity, their good work ethics, etc. We love our daughter-in-law and one who will become our daughter-in-law next fall. We love and cherish our other grandchildren, marvel at how quickly they're growing up, and wish we could see them more.
You're probably wondering - what does this blog have to do with the title, "Finally - A Craft Closet"?
Well, I'll get to the point. For a long time (years, in fact) I've wanted to finish the closet in the guest bedroom and make it my craft closet. I've wanted a real craft closet, a place to store all my craft supplies (and I have a lot, I admit) where I can easily get to them and find what I need. There just always seemed to be other projects with a higher priority. When Carrie, Mardo and Micah moved into their own place I decided it was time for a craft closet makeover. I talked with Craig, and he agreed to help me.
I wish I had a "before"picture. I guess you'll just have to take my word for it that it was pretty bad. I think I'll let pictures do the rest of the "talking." I still want to organize my supplies a bit better, and I need to arrange the room... but I love my new craft closet! I have to say thanks to my husband, Craig, for all his help. He even put a light in the closet with a light switch outside the door!

 

Finally, here's a peek at my newest furniture piece - my craft island. I plan to paint it to coordinate with the room. It's on wheels, so it moves easily, and has a towel bar a paper towel bar. I'm thinking I could use those to hang other things using S hooks... like a glue gun or embossing gun maybe?

DIY Paperweights

Last year we remodeled our kitchen. In the process I ended up with several samples of granite and solid surfaces. So tonight I decided to make paperweights out of them. I used my Silhouette machine to cut some words out of vinyl. After sticking the words on the squares, I glued felt on the back using E6000 glue.
So easy - and so cute!

Magnetic Picture

I have two necklaces whose pendants are metal and are made to fit a magnet. I have bought many special magnets to fit in the pendants. That way I can have a necklace for lots of different outfits.

Up until yesterday I kept the magnets in a regular jewelry box. They stuck together and I was always hunting for the one I was looking for.

Last weekend I decided to make a framed board for the magnets. I had bought an old little door with glass in it several years ago. I had always thought that I was going to use it to frame a picture - but until last weekend it sat in storage in the garage. I retrieved the frame from the garage, cut a piece of sheet metal to fit inside of it, and spray painted the metal a dark grey. I actually used magnetic paint, even though it was already made of metal. Then I spray painted the frame a cream color. I found a new handle, which my husband mounted on the frame. (The frame had come with a handle, but someone has painted it and I didn't like the way it looked.) Last night we hung the frame in the bedroom, added the magnetics and hung the necklaces from the handle. I love it! It looks so pretty and I won't have to hunt for the magnets any more.

Monogrammed Cutting Board

I am loving my Silhouette Portrait - a very special present from my wonderful kids last Christmas.

My latest Silhouette project was this cutting board.

I got the idea from Pinterest (isn't Pinterest just the best?). When I saw the personalized cutting board from Kelly's blog I knew that I wanted to try to make one for myself. My husband had a wood burning tool - he and my son-in-law had used it when making some Christmas presents. I already had the cutting board, so I used the Silhouette to make a stencil. I traced the stencil onto the cutting board with a pencil, and began burning the initials into the board. I have a bit to learn about using the wood burning tool, but I'm pretty happy with my monogrammed cutting board.

Bring on summer!

We are so excited - because today we bought ourselves a camper!

We have been talking about camping for about a year now. Several friends have invited us to go with them, and we even have a reservation to go to a campground in Duluth this June. So we started looking for a camper on Craigslist and eBay. As soon as we saw some pictures of vintage travel trailers, we knew that we wanted one... that it would fit us. About two weeks ago I found this one on Craigslist. It was close to home so we didn't need to travel far to see it. And we fell in love with it. Our "new" camper is a 1959 Mallard. It is 15 feet long - just perfect for the two of us - and Percy, of course. So today we went and picked it up. It fits perfectly in the space next to the garage.

Our little beauty is in pretty good shape. There are a few things to be fixed, but if we wanted to, we could go camping in her this weekend. With windchill tonight forecast to be at least -30 I think we'll wait a while.
But we're as happy as can be to look out the window and see her parked in our driveway.

Here are a few pictures of the inside... I will be looking for fabric to make curtains and slipcovers for the banquette. We are going to put a full size mattress in back, and I'll be looking for a cute bedspread. Craig has to do a little work on a couple of the regulators for the front windows, and the inside of the door needs some work. But can you see the possibilities? I have been doing research on Pinterest, and have seen so many cute trailers... I can't wait to put our personal touch on this one.

The bonus is that this little trailer can serve as overflow sleeping when we have all the kids and grandkids ( or any other company) here for a weekend. 

Just call if you want to make a reservation to stay in our little trailer!

Another DIY Adventure - Tote Bag, Anyone?

Last weekend a friend and I went to Crosslake Days. This special day happens every September, and I like to go because I get so many ideas for crafts and DIY projects. This year, as in the past, I wasn't disappointed. One of the churches had a holiday bazaar, there was a craft fair, a flea market, a chili cook-off, and lots of sidewalk sales. My friend and I decided to go to the church bazaar first. Wow - was there a lot to see! I saw so many things I wanted to buy, some to give as gifts, and some to have as samples.

Here are two samples I picked up that I plan to make for gifts: the reindeer has a candy bar inside and is made from paper and pipe cleaners. (I think I have all the punches I'd need to make this.) The note pad on the right is made on a magnet so it can hang on the fridge (or on any other metal.) All I need to get for that one is the post-it note pad.

I bought some other things to give for Christmas, but I can't show you today or they won't be a surprise for the friends and family who will be receiving them.

Watch future blogs for pictures of some DIY ideas I got....

Later that day we stopped at a home furnishings store, and found out that they had their older fabric samples on sale - 5 for $4. My friend and I spent quite a while looking through the samples and picking out our favorites.

I couldn't wait to get home and start sewing. I wanted to try making some tote/book bags. Or maybe a pillow? However, I didn't have all the supplies I needed... and we live in a small town where there aren't many stores. So I had to wait until I made a trip to Brainerd, where I picked up the things I needed. I spent a couple of evenings on the Internet, looking at tote bags and sewing directions. I finally decided to try making a bag using directions from HGTV here.
Today was a perfect day to spend sewing and crafting. The weather was cloudy, misty, windy and cool - a perfect day to be inside.
I gathered up my sewing machine, iron and ironing board, and all the other sewing supplies and settled in at my dining room table. The directions online were easy to follow, and a couple of hours later my bag was done!

I added the tab with the button to add a bit of decoration and to have something to keep the bag shut. The button is purely decoration. I sewed a piece of Velcro underneath the tab to fasten it shut.

You can see that I bought some contrasting cotton fabric to use for the liner. The hardest part of the process was turning the whole thing right side out. The directions called for interfacing, so I used it. I ironed it to the outside pieces, per the directions. The interfacing made the fabric so stiff that it was hard to pull through the opening I had left between the lining and the outside. I will do a couple of things differently for my next bag. I will not use interfacing. I thing the upholstery fabric is stiff enough. I will also leave a bigger opening for turning. I may also use a big snap instead of Velcro on the tab.

It was fun sewing this bag today - and I can't wait to try making another one.

I love my laundry room!

Our laundry room is not completely finished, but it's getting there - and I love it. We started last fall by painting the block walls with waterproofing paint. We got a new washer and dryer, and installed a shelf above them. We bought base cabinets and a laminate top from Home Depot. That's as far as we got last fall. And that's the way it stayed until this week.
We are in the middle of a major kitchen remodel - and we are getting new kitchen cabinets. But we really liked our old cabinets and didn't want to get rid of them. So we've been looking for place to use them - and the laundry room was just begging for a couple of upper cabinets.
So here's a couple of pictures of the laundry room today.

 We still need to stain the base cabinets. I want to do a darker brown for a contrast. I am also thinking of painting either the back wall inside the upper cabinets or one wall turquoise.
 

I added some pussy willows and a plaid bag I got from my daughter-in-law for Christmas. It makes me happy to walk into the laundry room and see them.

One problem I had with the laundry room was that I didn't have anywhere to hang things to dry. we tried an over-the-door hanger, but that only holds 1-2 shirts and doesn't really allow air to move around the shirts.
So I created something myself.
I went to the hardware store and bought a length of PVC pipe and some white chain. I screwed hooks into a joist, and hung the PVC pipe from the hooks using the chain.
I think it will work fine - as long as I don't hang too much at once. The PVC pipe isn't as strong as I thought. it would be. Perhaps a metal pipe would be better. Time will tell....
At least for now I have somewhere to hang the things I want to drip dry.

New Garden Features

We have been working on our back yard garden. Several years ago I saw a magazine article about making your own bubbling fountain, so I saved the article. I was cleaning this spring and came across that article and got inspired again. I showed the pictures to Craig, and before I knew it he had found a stump for us to use for our own fountain. We bought a liner just a little bigger than the stump, and a small pump with 1/2 inch tubing. We dug a hole and put the liner in. Then we put the pump in the bottom of the liner, with brick on either side of the pump for the stump to sit on. Next we attached the tubing to the pump and threaded it up through the hole in the middle of the stump.One slight problem we had was that the hole was a lot bigger than the tubing. So Craig fashioned something to hold the tubing in the middle of the hole as it comes out of the stump. We filled the liner with water and plugged in the pump.

 As you can see, by this time it was getting dark, so my picture is a bit dark.
We sealed the wood, and put flagstone around it. We still need to adjust the pump a bit to get the right about of water bubbling up, but I love it. The sound of the water is so nice!

Just a few weeks ago we were in the cities for the weekend, and we drove back to our old neighborhood to take a look around. As we were leaving the area, we noticed that there was a pond liner out on someone's driveway with a sign that said "Free." Craig looked at me and said, "Should we?" So we did. We brought that liner home, and have been working on installing it and landscaping around it. I have lots of inspiration pictures on pinterest, as well as information from friends about taking care of a pond so I have an idea of how I want it to look eventually.

The next step is to get an aerator or fountain for it, as well as some water plants and chemicals to keep the water clean. Then we will fill it with water, turn on the pump and begin to enjoy it.

Washi Tape Projects

Here are my first two projects using washi tape - a bulletin board, and a hat holder. The tape was easy to use, and really adds a lot of fun to these projects.

I decided that I wanted a bulletin board in our pantry/office area, and remembered that I had an old bulletin board in storage.

It was pretty plain looking - but perfect for a DIY project.
I found some stencil letters and sprayed the back with adhesive. I followed the directions on the can for temporary use - and let the letters sit for 5 minutes after spraying them. Then I attached them to the bulletin board.

After that I painted the bulletin board and frame using a small roller. I removed the stencils very carefully right after painting because I didn't want them to end up sticking permanently. The next day I realized that the whole thing needed a second coat of paint, so I repeated this whole process. I let the board dry for a couple of days then I got out my washi tape. As you can see in the picture below, I used two different tapes - orange on the front and turquoise on the sides.

After that I searched my craft room for some embellishments, and found these fabric flowers I had bought from the Pick Your Plum website. (If you haven't been to this website yet, check it out. They have one item on sale each weekday. Their prices are good, and they have fun stuff.)













Here's one more look at the finished bulletin board. Isn't it cute?

My second washi tape project is a hat holder that I'm going to hang in my office. I keep telling my coworkers about all the "hats" I wear at work - so I'm going to display hats with labels on them.

I found a nice sturdy wooden yardstick at a flea market for 50 cents. I attached wooden clothespins to the yardstick with E6000 glue.Since I'm only using it as decoration, I think the glue is strong enough. If I would be using it every day to take hats off and put them back on I think I'd add a screw to hold each clothespin even better.
After the glue was good and dry (72 hours, according to the label on the glue) I added washi tape to the front of each clothespin.

My hat holder is ready to hang on the wall of my office. Now I just have to get some hats!

A side note: I found that when I added hats, the yardstick wants to stick out from the wall, so I'll be drilling a hole in the bottom of the yardstick and using two nails, one on top and one on the bottom, to hang up my holder.