Scrabble Headband

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LOVEing Pinterest

I admit to being a Pintrestaholic. I have several boards and I pin things all the time. I will say that generally, that is where it ends...pinned. Stuck on a virtual board FOREVER. I saw this on Pintrest and thought is was darling.

The original website this is from is located at: http://www.zestdigitalmag.com/blog/crafts-decor/love-canvas.php

I happened to have a blank canvas hanging on the wall in the playroom/my closet/ storage room and I had red paint. I traced and painted the letters in about twenty minutes. I determined I needed a small 50 light strand for this and ran to the craft store to find one. I found a 30 string and figured it would be enough.

Next, I took an exacto knife and punched a little hole in the canvas. The lights easily punched threw. I completed the L and half of the O and realized 30 lights would not be enough. I took a 100 light strand from my one of my Christmas boxes. This was too many, but I went with it anyway.

Obviously, my creation has more lights than the prototype.

I dare not show a picture of what the back looks like. It is UGLY. If I make another one of these I will use a brand new strand of lights simply because it will be neater. I know I have one somewhere....just can't find it right now.

This was an easy project and makes a big statement on our mantle. I am excited to try this technique using other words. I am kicking myself for not buying more strands of lights after Christmas. DARN IT.

New Year's Mantle

 

I admit to taking Christmas down as soon as I wake up on the 26th. When it is over, it is over. This year was no different, but I have been a little less frantic with my clean up. Generally, we go back to school on the 2nd, but this year we go back on the 7th. I think that is why I am not in as much of a hurry.

For a few days I toyed with the idea of hosting a family friendly New Year's Eve party. I decided to decorate our mantle for the event.

 

 

 

 

In hindsight I wish I would have stuck with an all black background. The patterned paper makes it looks uneven.

 

 
I especially like it when all the lights are out.

I don't think we are going to have an actual party at this point. I haven't made phone calls or invites. I imagine we will have a nice dinner with a few people and simply hang out and relax.

I also decided to keep a few of my Christmas decorations out for my front window vignette.

 

 

 I love my trophies!

 

Delia wanted to pose for a picture with her Christmas gift, Pete the cat.

It is really difficult to get a good picture of this window especially at night. I kept getting a reflection of me in it with my Christmas pajamas. No may gusta.

Tomorrow the tree will come down and all 12 bins will go back into storage. The rest of break will be spent cleaning, organizing, looking for deals and hopefully crafting and painting. I have furniture stacking up. I am excited to try out my new mouse sander and buffer Santa brought me. I was a good girl!

Failed Business Venture & Luckett's Green

I agreed to give a holiday bazaar another go this year. My husband's school was hosting one again and I figured it was a good way to get out of cleaning the house on a Saturday. I had a lot of inventory from this summer and had been making some Christmas items over the past few weeks as well.

I decided I needed something to help display my wares. I remembered this shelf I picked up at the auction for $2.

It was sturdy, but did not have the actual shelves. I pulled out my handy dandy circular saw and cut my own. I knew I was going to use a peppermint pink chenille bedspread as my tablecloth and thought Ms. Mustardseed's Luckett's Green was the perfect coordinating color.

This is not my entire booth, but this is what the shelf looked like. I kept the shelves a natural color for two reasons. First, I thought it would make them stand out and second, I ran out of paint. (Okay so they really weren't painted for the second reason.)

I didn't do too well at the bazaar. I made my table fee back and a little more. The traffic was slow and I know my items aren't hot sellers in the area we live in. I have so many people tell me I really need to take my stuff to antique shops in different areas of Portland where they will sell quickly. I know this is true, but I just haven't made the time to get serious about it. Maybe this year I will (do I have my first New Year's Resolution?).

I am pretty sure I will be selling this shelf after the holidays. For now it is sitting on my porch and is looking lovely next to the red Adirondack chair.

Here is one of my favorite pieces from the bazaar that didn't sell:

It is an old bread tin. I glued mica flakes to the back and bottom for snow. I added some vintage lace, a glitter/tinsel embellished house and some bottle brush trees. It is so cute and because it didn't sell it looks great in my vintage inspired front window.

Vintage Music Wreath

I currently have a thing for using vintage music in my creations. I love music, but am not musical. I played clarinet for a year, violin for a year, and piano for two years before I finally determined I was not cut out for a career in music. I regret this decision now, but as a kid didn't think ahead. Oh well.

I recently purchased a scoring board by Martha Stewart.

I was able to use a coupon at my local craft store (SHOP LOCAL) so it was only $14.99. I am not a tool purchaser generally, but I thought I would give this one a whirl. I LOVE IT.

I began making dealymabobs with it and have kind of been addicted. I don't know what these things are actually called (sorry I didn't buy a crafting dictionary), but I love them.

I made a whole bunch out of an old music workbook. After I had a stack I decided I needed to do something with them so I created this:

Each of the dealymabob centers has a vintage button. Next, I glued them down to one of my metal wreath frames (I sold a ton of these on Etsy. I guess they are hard to find). I had this Happy Holidays glitter ornament left over from last year. I glued it across the front and I suddenly had a lovely little wreath.

I tried to sell it at the one and only bazaar I did this season. There wasn't a lot of traffic and the part of town I live in isn't into "vintage inspired decor". Go figure. I know exactly who I need to give it to. Merry Christmas to ___________!

I haven't crafted in over a week and am trying to wrap up the last school week before the break. We are also trying to cram in our traditional holiday activities like our trip to see Santa in downtown Portland.

We have pictures with the same Santa for the past 12 years. He used to be at Macy's, but they went with a "corporate Santa". After being fired, Santa Tom decided to go into business for himself. He is now located in Pioneer Courthouse Square and boy am I glad.
The visit is very intimate. After standing in line you are taken into a waiting area and then into a little room where he resides. The camera person, Santa, and your family are the only ones in the room. They allow you to take your own pictures after they are done with theirs. We took our pictures while they were discussing lists. In the second picture you can see Delia counting down her list on her fingers.
Afterwards you go into another area to pick out your pictures. When we looked at ours I realized Delia still had her coat on. I almost said it wasn't a big deal, but the worker convinced us to take them again. She even snuck us through the back door for the retakes so we didn't have to stand in line again. I unfortunately did not get any shots of this with our own camera because I was so grateful. Ahhh. How many more years will I get to enjoy this tradition? I hope for at least a few more!

Let Your Light Shine

The events of the past few weeks have been gut wrenching. As a a young teacher I had vivid dreams of school shootings. As I became seasoned those dreams have faded, but sadly they seem to becoming a reality. I choose to focus on living life to the fullest. I tell my students we can't live in fear, but should always be prepared. I try each day to find beauty in the things around me. Simple things make me happy. I have kept a candle lit for those who passed on Friday in the school shootings.


I have been in love with jute binding for some time. I especially liked the red I found on blogs. One day while shopping at JoAnne's I found a yard shoved between fabric rolls. I couldn't find the roll it came off of and left without it. I had an idea to make some decorative using it.

These candles were purchased for $1.09 at Winco in the Hispanic Food Aisle. They are simple, cheap  and easy to work with. I had a tough time finding red jute webbing though. My local ENORMOUS fabric store had none and wasn't willing to special order it for me (boo). I searched online. Bingo. I decided to buy 12 yards of it. The price was .59 a yard so the total was $7.08, plus shipping. HOLY SHIP. Shipping was $17. Are you kidding? This meant it was now $2.00 a yard. I remembered JoAnne's and called them to see if they still carried it. They did. With my 40% off coupon it ended up being $4.00 for 10 yards. Lesson learned: The price isn't always what it appears to be.

These candles cost me about $1.50 when everything was said and done. I love the way they add a subtle hint of red into a room. The other bonus is they can be used after Christmas as well for Valentine's Day.

I have a ton left and decided to make this little number.

I spotted one like it on Pintrest. It looks great next to my red door.

Minature Tree

I spent a good chunk of a day organizing my crafts last weekend. I have stuff  in several spaces making it easy to forget what I have. One day I will have everything in one place; oh yes I will. Anyway, I finally got around to doing some crafting tonight.

I am not exactly sure what one might do with this little ditty. A gift for the music lover? The seamstress?

I took a spool (this one isn't vintage, but purchased at the craft store) and wrapped it with vintage sheet music. Next, I hot glued the bottle brush tree into the spool hole. I bleached this one myself. I embellished it with vintage buttons in cream. I added some bakers twine as a garland. At the end I added the musical rosette. I may take it off, but kind of like it. A quick and easy project.

I may get one more project done before Thanksgiving. The day after I will decorate. No Black Friday for this chick.

Vintage Christmas Boxes With a German Flair

I have professed my love for Bethany Lowe here several times. How can you not love something that looks like this:



Pintrest.

 I am getting ready for a Holiday Bazaar and after lessons learned last year I decided to focus on Holiday decorations. My style of crafting is manic as I tend to sell many different projects as opposed to "mass producing" one thing. Thus, so far I have made stockings, a few banners and these:



Bethany Lowe inspired Christmas box


I had several gold boxes stashed away in one of my many craft closets (one day I will have everything in one place). I painted them a light pink and blue. Next, I added festooning I recently purchased off of Amazon. What is festooning? It is the tissue paper fringe around the band of the box lid. Festooning isn't cheap and it is difficult to find. I have ordered some from vendors on Etsy in the past. I LOVE them, but for a single color festoon Amazon was the place to go. I paid $1.19 for a twelve foot length. I stocked up on it at this price!
The houses were purchased last year at Wal-Mart after Christmas. I believe I paid .40 for them. They were a basic cream with a silver roof. I added German glass glitter to them to fancify them. I found these great mini-alphabet rubber stamps at Wally World as well. They were only .97 and the fonts are my style.



Glitter bottle brush trees

  These trees were also found at Wal-Mart. I bought an entire bag (not sure how many were in it) for $7. I bleached them and added some glitter. I am going to try dying some this weekend. Wish me luck.


Another view



This house has a German flair to it. The glitter is German Glass and the vintage paper is in German as well. I can say one thing for the German's they know how to make fantastic decorations for Christmas. This box has tinsel garland around it's lid band. I picked this up after Christmas at Target. This is one of those crafting items that can be marked up quite a bit  when you can find it. Here is a link to some on Etsy: (http://www.etsy.com/listing/94469405/vintage-inspired-metalic-wired-tinsel?ref=sr_gallery_19&ga_search_query=tinsel+garland&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_search_type=all)

My local ENORMOUS fabric store, Fabric Depot, has carried it for .19 a yard in the past, but I couldn't find it there recently. I have found the best place to get it is in the Christmas wrapping section when things go on clearance.

 This is my attempt at a German Glass glitter crown I spotted on MissMustardseed's blog. Her's is much better than mine. I am going to try to make a few more of these as large Christmas ornaments.

First attemp...



A change in lighting


Here is Miss Mustardseed's:

 Here is a link to her tutorial: http://missmustardseed.com/2012/10/glitter-crown-tutorial/



All three of my pieces together.

 The bazaar will be December 8th at Margaret Scott Elementary located at 14700 NE Sacramento St.
Portland, OR 97230. I beleive the hours are 9-4. I will continue to share some of my creations throughout the next few weeks.

The Stores Do It So Why Can't I?

I hate it when I walk into stores right now and already see Christmas paraphernalia. Can't we just celebrate autumn already? I have to point out I am being hypocritical right now because last Saturday I spent part of the day sewing stockings....Christmas stockings to be exact.
My friend Emma has a tradition of holding a sewing bee each fall. People come with their machines, projects, food and beverages to share and get their sewing on. I have been unable to attend, but this year I was able to steal away for a few hours.
The ladies at the bee were serious sewers (not a word I know). They were making quilts and following patterns. I on the other hand showed up with a bag of fabric, my new-to-me machine and scissors. I asked Emma for some paper and she gave me a brown paper bag. I drew a stocking patter and got to work cutting out a few ditties.
Here is what I made:

This fabric used to cover a cushion for in front of our fireplace. I loved it and when we moved I couldn't bear to throw it out. I took the fabric off the cushion and am now putting it to good use.

I have a big tub of old buttons. I love to pick them out and use them to embellish my projects. Delia actually, glued these ones on.

You may remember this fabric from a cabin inspired bench I redid. I have a few scraps left that are perfect for stockings.

I am gearing up for a busy two months. This is my FAVORITE time of year. Here is a list of our annual family activities through Thanksgiving:

Pumpkin Patch/Corn Maze/Bonfire on Sauvie's Island-We go at night to avoid the day crowds. I like the beer & bonfire as well!
Fiesta Apple Trip to Hood River- This will be our 11th year attending. Kiokowa farms has over 100 varieties of apples and pears. We ride through the orchard, hit the pinata, eat tacos and load up on our fall fruit.
Harvest Fest @ my parents- They have held a pumpkin carving and eating fest for the last five years or so. My mom is known for growing huge pumpkins.
Davis Cemetery-This is an awesome yard with tons of spooky surprises and creepy sound effects. We usually enjoy a treat afterward
Trick or Treating- A pumpkin shaped pizza fuels us for a night of trick or treating. We go down our street first (eleven houses in all) and the neighbors spoil our kids. After that we go to my parent's neighborhood where there are more houses. This year Delia is going to be Punky Brewster and Drexler is going to be Raleigh Fingers. No trendy costumes for us!
Burn & Brew Day- This is a personal event. I take a day and do yard work. I make a huge fire with the yard debris, listen to my tunes and enjoy some craft beer.
Civil War Football Party- This is the annual war between the big Oregon University's football teams. The Ducks vs. The Beavers. This year will be a big one!
Drexler's Birthday Beach Trip- Each of the kids want to go to the beach for their birthday. This is part of who they are. I love it.
The Ranch- For a few years we have had the opportunity to join my brother and his wife on her families ranch in Eastern Oregon. It is a great weekend of quad riding, good food and family.

I have decided to give a bazaar another go this year as well (thus the stockings) and am toying with the idea of doing an in home sale/Demarle party as well. Call me crazy (my students do).

Basketball Widow

My husband is a HUGE Portland Trailblazer fan. My Blazer basement is a testament to this. Once the NBA season starts I become a Basketball Widow. The older Drexler gets (yes he was named after Clyde "The Glide" Drexler) he wants to go to most of the games. This leaves Delia and I home alone and left to our own devices.
To celebrate our first night of freedom we busted out the glue guns and got to work. I finished up a few projects.

I made this on Sunday afternoon with some friends. We were produced more pumpkins than the patch down the street. I admit to scavenging stems from my local grocery store (shhh don't tell). I don't actually pull stems off, but rather look on the ground for decapitated stems.



I should have fluffed the side out a bit more...looks uneven here.

Target had some great stickers to add to cups for Halloween parties. They are awesome! I had a few empty glass jars hanging around and made some potions.

 A few years ago I bought some wooden coffins and never got around to finishing them. I spray painted them black and that was the end of it. Last night Delia embellished a coffin and I found this picture from Graphic Fairy I had printed off just because I liked it. I decided to put it on the front of the coffin with decoupage. I embellished the sides with vintage tinsel garland. I added some words and some old lace to finish it off. I have a few more I may play around with, after all the season has just begun.