Thrift Store Score

As I mentioned yesterday, my sister's and I were getting together on Black Friday to craft.  We had a great time, even if we barely got anything done!  We decided we needed to go shopping, which threw off most of our crafty time, but I got a bunch of goodies from the thrift store so that made me happy. (And of course the bonus was that even though we didn't craft much, we did spend time together and that was what was most important!)

One of my favorite finds was this Candy Cane Softy.  As a lover of anything polka dots this was right up my alley.  It was in great condition, but I wasn't loving the lace.

After a bit of pretty white rick rack and 5 minutes of my time, it looks much better and is all ready to hang....somewhere!

I also scored a free 6' bookshelf compliments of my sister.  It was headed to the thrift store and her wonderful hubby (Mr. Cupcake) and my nephew finagled it into the back of my Rodeo so that I have more fabric storage in my studio!
Today I'm going to attempt to make the Tulle Tutu Tree from the tutuorial on Quilted Cupcake.  I got the prettiest vase to use as the base!  We'll see how that goes, I've never worked with Tulle before!
Always,
K

My Not-Quite-Martha Mat

When I first saw this awesome door mat a la Martha Stewart over at Say Yes to Hoboken, I was immediately in love.  I was going to make that mat! 

I ran to Home Depot the next day and had the nicest boy cut my wood for me.  Hmmm, the sizes Martha suggests for the length would cover my whole tiny porch!  No problem, I'll improvise and lay my slats length-wise.  Spray paint?  Those are some pretty cool colors, I'm going to get each of them.  Check.

Then, I left all of those pretty colors at my sister's house for, oh say about 6 months?

Not being known as a big improviser (or being known for improvising or coloring outside of the lines EVER) I took this opportunity to give it a try.   I'm not completely pleased with the results, but I am very happy that I did at least complete the project.  I ended up using it indoors by my basement door since I didn't get as far as weather proofing it..

I still have another set of 8 slats that I'm going to do another mat with...maybe go for all the same color or one or two colors instead. If I get the motivation up I may do a blue/gray combo for winter.

Tomorrow I'm off to craft with my sisters for the day....I can't wait!

Always,

K

Natural Tree

So this styrofoam tree was made specifically for J.  He is NOT a "Deck The Halls" kind of guy.  He's a bah humbug, Christmas is too commercialized kinda guy.  So This basic tree made with jute, a stick star and just a couple of pearl beads is right up his alley.

He liked it...even though he just HAD to point out the star reminds him of the Blair Witch Project stick piles.  Thanks, J.

Oh, and after a trip to the dentist this morning, I already stopped at the dollar store for more styrofoam trees.  (The last two they had...I wonder who's been buying them all? Oh yeah...me!)

Enjoy your week!

Always,

K

Pink Christmas

I admit it, I have an addiction to the styrofoam cones from the dollar store.  I cannot go there without walking out with one (or three).  I man, they're a DOLLAR.  Do you know how much Michael's or AC Moore charges for the same thing?  Well, neither do I, but I assure you, it's not a dollar!

This is the first creation for my stryofoam tree display this year:

Can you say cuteness?  I used up most of my left over pink Prima flowers from back in my scrapbooking days and added a few random pink and white beads to give it some depth.  The pink polka dot ribbon topper is some of my favorite ribbon. 

I admit this took some time pinning all those darn flowers, but I just love the outcome!

Stay tuned for more styroform trees to join the display. Would love to hear any ideas anyone has for decorating the half dozen or so I still have to do!

Always,

K

Candy Jar Christmas

Yes, I've gone a bit Christmas crazy this year.  Christmas is normally a pretty sad time of year for me snce the passing of my Mom, but I'm really trying to get into the spirit this year.  Mom loved Christmas and I know she wouldn't want me to be sad.

I've been wanting to do more ornament jars and this Candy Jar fit the bill.  I picked it up a year ago at a yard sale for .50.  How I beat my sister to it, I'll never know!  This one is going to be the centerpiece on my dining room table. 

What have you been working on?

Always,
K

More Homemade Christmas

I made this apothacary jar last year because I saw a really cute tutorial for it.  Unfortunately, once it was done and filled with gum balls I didn't like it so much.  For one thing, the ball on the top is too big.  It's sat in my craft studio trying to fit in but not quite making it.  I decided the other day that it was time for it to get donated to the thrift store to make room for something I really liked. 

Then I came across a cute idea on Pinterest (where else?!?) and I decided to repurpose it for Christmas instead.  Ditch the gumballs, add some epson salt "snow" and a couple of vintage ornaments and I'm kinda liking it again.  I'm going to leave it as is for now, but I think once Christmas is over I'll repaint it white and scuff it up some.  Maybe fill it with felt hearts for Valentines day?  We'll see!

Here's a close up of the vintage ornaments I scored at a yard sale last summer.  A box of 9 for .50 in perfect condition. They were originally bought from Valley View Farms for those Maryland locals who may know where I mean.  I couldn't find a date, but the box of 8 was 6.99 originally.

I still have several Christmas projects to share, so stay tuned!

Always,

K

Linking to:

Deck The Halls With Buttons!

I love buttons.  What crafter doesn't?  But I tend to horde them, not use them.  Lately I've seen tons of ideas on Pinterest for using them up so I decided to try my hand at a simple button tree.

I'm really happy with how it turned out.  Out of pocket cost was $0 since I used an old frame, buttons, beads and some linen fabric I already had on hand.  This has definately made me want to make more and more Christmas projects early. 

I usually wait until, around December 24th at 2am to start making Christmas projects, so I'm over 2 months early this year.  I will have some more Christmas projects to share in the next few days.  And maybe another fall project or two before it's too late to use all those yummy fall colors in some projects!

K

As usual, linking to  
I swear I wouldn't get my posts done if my wonderful sister didn't remind me that I forgot to link to her weekly blog party!