cute keys

                                                     I have a "thing" for old keys, you know skeleton keys and such. I don't have many, but I really like them. I found these keys at Michael's the other day. I really like them. I figured I could use them somehow. At $1.00 each I picked up two. I don't think a dollar is too bad, do you? I thought they were cute.



They are NOT pink, don't know why they look it.

 

                                      I took the ribbons off and used a little wire. Fan pulls it is! I used them in my craft room. I think they look good. I might need to make the chain a little longer so you can see them better.



See, not pink!

                       
                                     I like it! Think I'll keep them around for awhile. Have a sweet day!

This + That

                                                        
                                               THIS
                                         

                                         

                                               PLUS

                                      

                                            EQUALS
                                            

 

 

           Just a small kitchen project I got finished this last week. I love this color of paint! Pretty easy to do also. Just a couple quick coats of paint and a few nails. I see need to move the small one on the left down a bit. Didn't notice until I took the picture. Go figure. Oh well. Got my molds at the thrift store for about  75 cents each. I think they look pretty cute. Have a sweet day!

It's been awhile.....

 

                                          It's been awhile since I have done a review. So, let's change that right now! I am all for new local businesses opening close to my home. Imagine how excited I was when this new shop opened! Not only do they have tasty cupcakes, they have a food menu as well. We just had to try the cupcakes. I didn't know they had food until I got there, by myself I might add. This is just about cupcakes right now. Cute little place, cute cupcakes. They were $2.00 each or 3 for $5.00. I chose a Buckeye, a Banana Split, and a Peanut butter & jelly. They had several flavors to choose from. I went on Saturday around 12:30 they were running a bit low. I bet they bake more as needed. It was somewhat busy when I went. I am terrible I didn't get their hours or anything. You can find more info
here. So if you are in their area come and visit and EAT. Have a sweet day!

A kitchen night light

                                     

                                         

 

 

 

 

 

I don't know why but I really like Smucker's grape jelly jars. I just think they are the cutest things.

I decided it was time to do something with one, other than put it in the recycle bin (not that there's anything wrong with that). So I made a night light out of one. I sprayed it with frosted spray paint, added some decorations, and put some tiny lights inside. I poked a hole through the lid and put the lights in that way. I used to to sell the lighted wine bottles some time ago and my Hubby drilled the holes for me. This time I "cheated" and put the hole in the lid. You can't see the cord coming out of the top because I added the decorations to hide it. The lights are small enough inside that the jar doesn't get hot even when I leave it plugged in all night. Here's what it looks like in the light.

 

  I thought about hanging a bunch of grapes on the side, but I wanted to use what I had here and all of my grape bunches were too large and looked a bit awkward on there. Another project made with things I already had on hand. I really like it! What do you think?  Have you made any night lights? Or light up jars. I want to try a solar one next. We'll see.... Have a sweet day!



 

Summer Decor

                                 
                                          This may or may not be my last wreath. I am not even sure I would call this one a wreath. What would you call it? A door decoration. Ok. Whatever we call it, I think it might be my favorite one so far! What says summer more than flip-flops? I mean really? I know. All this one took was flip flops, a base, and some decorations. I got my flip flips at the Dollar Store. I would get them quick, I don't think they stick around long. I painted a wooden "welcome" from the craft store and everything else I already had in my craft stash. The base is just some cardboard strips I glued the shoes to. Total cost on this one $5.00. I have to say another one turned out better than I pictured in my head. Since only 3 people live in our house, I wanted to do a pair for each of us. But I think 4 balanced out better in the long run. It took a whopping 20 minutes to make. I spent the most time cutting the card board strips. Hot glue holds everything together. Yep, my favorite so far! As I said I can't promise there aren't anymore "wreathes" in my future. I really like something to decorate the front door. Since I have been feeling better i have gotten a few more projects done. Some more summer decor. I will be back to show them to you soon! Have a sweet day!

A wreath.....finally!

 

 

                                         Well, I finally finished the wreath for my front door. It really didn't take me long to make the wreath, only a few hours. Once I chose a paint color ( which happened today by the way, you know you can't rush genius ;) ) it wasn't long until I was actually finished. Now it hangs on my front door. I'm so happy it all went as planned and turned out pretty much like the picture in my head. I started out with coffee filters (I believe they are the 8-12 cup pot size) I got these at the dollar store along with a square piece of  Styrofoam. That's right a 3 buck investment. I will say I used about 1 and 1/2 packages to make my wreath. I also cut a piece of card board to cover the back of the Styrofoam.

 

 

 



                                         
                                          I used the pencil method to make mine. Put the coffee filter around the end of a pencil. Put some glue on and stick it!

                                                   
                                                    I started with a row around the outside of my base. When that was finished I did rows across of four continuing all the way around until I was finished.

                                        

                                                
                                                   I knew I had to do something else with it because it looked a little like wedding decor. My hubby said it looked like a carnation. That's where the paint came in. I had to figure out what color I wanted before, because like I already said, there was no going back or repainting this one. So I chose brown leather spray paint. You will see where the pink comes in later.

 

    
                                                    I used a very light hand when spraying. I like the way it looks. I am happy with how it turned out.



a close up to show paint detail

                                         Remember I only used 1 1/2 packs of filters. I made a ball with some of the rest. I guess I didn't realize how big this was going to turn out. Bigger than I thought it would. This is where the pink paint came into play. I used the ball as a test for the paint. I went a bit heavier handed with the pink. I just started gluing the filters around the center of a Styrofoam ball I already had. Continuing in "layers" until one side was finished and then flipped it over and finished the other side. What do you think? Not sure where this is going to go yet, because of the size.

                                         I knew this would need some paint, too. Kind of a bit wedding-ly. Is that even a word? Oh well you know what I mean. Here it is after adding some paint.

                                                    The paint is a bit thicker on here. They both dried beautifully. Pretty easy. Not bad for about $3.00 for both. I really like the wreath. In all I worked on the wreath about 3-4 hours. It took so long to actually finish because of my fear of paint commitment. I am working on this, no really I AM. I hope you enjoyed today's post.Thanks for visiting! Come back soon! Have a sweet day!






                                         



How to make a twine covered letter

                                  
                                        This idea started out as a wreath. Once I finished it I thought it would look better by the fireplace. I think it might be too small for a front door wreath anyway. Now I have to come up with a new wreath idea for the front door. I made my letter from recycled cardboard boxes. I drew a W on some cardboard and then cut out several of the same shape and size. I added a few layers in between with left over pieces to make it thicker.

 

 

 

                                        I decided it might be easier to cover with the twine if the sides were a bit more even. I cut small strips of cardboard to wrap the edges with. Like this:

 

 

 

                                         I started by gluing the end of the twine on the back and then just  wrapped. I soon realized you could notice the colors a bit through the twine. I covered the colors with white sticky vinyl. You could probably spray paint the cardboard. Just make sure you use cardboard that isn't too colorful. Unless you like that look. It's possible.

 

 



 



 

 

                                            It takes a bit of time to wrap, depending on the size of your letter. This is a good time to watch some t.v.. Or not. Whatever.  I won't judge what you watch. Once I finished I wasn't sure how I was going to hang it anyway, so just leaning worked out for me. I got my twine at the Dollar store. I used 1 and 3/4 rolls. I was smart and bought 2 so I wouldn't have to go back. See I do learn sometimes. So, this letter cost me $2.00.  Like the window, I see a theme emerging here. I thought it might be interesting to spray paint it, but found I liked the twine color too much. I think some small shapes covered with twine would be cute for Christmas ornaments. Maybe I will try some and some painted too. Here he is all finished.

 

 

 

                                          Another fairly easy project to make. pretty cheap to make also. I like the way this turned out. How does it look to you? Do you think you might try one? Oh go ahead you know you want to. Have a great day!



The faux frosted window

       

                                       Remember this?  I would hope so, it hasn't been that long. Well, I am here today to tell you how I made my "frosted" window. I'm not sure I should call it a frosted window since I made it in the spring.  But oh well, that's what I'm going to call it. I started with an old window. I have quite a few because I can't bear to leave them to get thrown away. I have to stop and rescue them. I cleaned it all up and  decided it was already a color I liked so I left it alone. I could have painted it, but wasn't sure what color ( I seem to have that problem a lot). I'm really glad I left that part as it was. It goes well with everything else. Here it is before:

                                   You can see it was pretty dirty. It has been sitting around just waiting to be used.  I couldn't decide how to treat the windows. I knew I didn't want to leave them clear. I knew I was going to add lights to the back and wanted a glowing effect when I was done. I decided to use clear vinyl decorative covering. I got my roll at the dollar store. My window panes were slightly larger than I expected, so I had to go get a second roll. Still, not bad for 2 bucks.

                                       Measure and cut the vinyl slightly larger than the panes, I trimmed mine off  after I applied it to the glass. You can see here how the clear vinyl makes the glass look frosted. Of course I forgot to take pictures while I was applying it. It was a bit tricky. Had I read the directions I would have known to dampen the surface with water and detergent. So I guess what I'm saying is to read directions. Maybe I could have done a better job keeping the bubbles away. Hind sight!

 

 

 

                                          Here is a closer shot of the finished "frost". I wasn't too worried about the bubbles. I still think had I used the water method it would have gone on easier. I am pleased with how it turned out anyway.



                                                I added a string of lights to the back. I used little metal hooks that were screwed onto the frame to keep the lights in place. I also added some cut dowel rods to hold the frame in place so it won't fall over in my fireplace.

                                         Again, I had to take pictures after it was already in the opening. Oops. I do that a lot. Do you ever forget to take a picture until you need it and then have to "make do" with the best you can get? I really need to work on that! So one more shot of the finished product.

 

 

                                          That's it. I hope you find this helpful. I think it turned out better than I thought it would.  Happy about that. If you have any questions or comments feel free to put them in the comment section. Thanks. Have a sweet day.





A faux fireplace redo

                         I don't have a real fireplace in my house, so I have to make do with the faux surround. I got it for a steal a few years ago $15.00 brand new. Here's what it usually looks like.

               I decorate it for Christmas, but this is what it looks like most of the time. Pretty boring. I decided it needed a little something. Here's what it looks like after I tweaked it a little. The top stayed the same. I have to keep it somewhat clear so we can see through the "window" into and out of the kitchen. I completed a few more projects this week ( yay me) and now that they are done I added them to the mix.

                  I am really pleased with how it turned out. In the next few posts I will share how I made the window, the family banner, and the letter. It may not seem that different, but the lights glow at night and it looks pretty. What do you think? Better? I believe so. Have a wonderful day!

Paint chips please

                                                I think everybody has seen these lately. I saw one on Pinterest and really thought it was cute.  When we took our last trip to Home Depot I decided to pick up a few paint chip cards. By a few I mean 30 or so.  And I wonder why the Hubby thinks I'm crazy? The Boy eagerly helped me pick them out, my "partner in crime". You never know when we might need more paint cards for something. I had everything else on hand to put this little cutie together. You can't really tell from the picture too much, but the background is blue sky with some clouds. I'm happy with how it turned out. I did use some of the other cards to make a book mark too. Sorry no picture of that.

 

 

 

                                           It would be easier to use a punch to make the hearts, but I don't have one that is big enough so I used stencils. Now I need to come up with something to make to use the other 20 or so cards. Have you made anything you've seen on Pinterest? I just love looking around there. I have some other ideas for some projects. If I could just get them finished started.  Have a sweet day!

                                                                                                                                                                                     

Measure my love

               
             
                  I found these super cute new in the box measuring spoons at the thrift store the other day. They are heart shaped and upon closer inspection, the handles look like this: 

        
                 They have cute little sayings on them. I didn't really need anymore measuring spoons, but they were so cute. I couldn't pass on the price either 90 cents.  I used the black marker trick to make the letters pop a bit more. You know that one. Color over the stamped letters with a black Sharpie marker let sit for about a minute then carefully use a damp cloth to remove the excess marker. I had an old wooden sign that I repainted and hung the spoons on. I'm not sure about the color yet, but it is growing on me. What do you think? I wanted brown or tan or something. Here's how it looks after I hung it with some cute ribbon.

       For a little bit I was really into making stamped jewelry. I was pretty excited when I saw the spoons! It hangs in my kitchen, of course. I really like it, not completely sold on the color yet. I think the whole thing cost me about $2.00 to make reusing things I had here. Have you finished any projects lately? I love when a plan comes together, like the picture in my head. Doesn't always happen like that the first time. I had fun making it too! Have a wonderful week. It's spring break here. I hope to have some good family time this week.

Etsy Shop

                        I am in the middle of a creative slump. I am finding it hard to get my cupcake on. That sounds funny.  Need to find my crafting mojo so to speak. My Etsy shop has been on vacation for some time now. I haven't created anything new for the shop for so long, I almost forget how. Well, not really. This cupcake car mirror ornament was one of the last things I made for the shop. I am hoping to find the mojo soon. Have you seen it? Maybe with spring here ( even though it snowed and was pretty chilly today) I will get in the crafting mood soon. I need to get some new things made! What do you do to inspire yourself? Gotta get my bum in gear. Smile it is spring!