Christmas Lantern

So far, this is my absolute favorite Christmas project I've done this year.  I'm not sure this one will be topped.  Even J loves it and he seriously hates Christmas decorations.

I got the original idea from Welcome Sunshine Home via Pinterest (of course!).  I was obsessed with making this lantern.  When my sisters and I went shopping this week at several local thrift stores I found this lantern for $2.92.  Score!

It took me about 30 mins (and most of that was fussing around with it) to make it all Christmas-y!

It's so shiny and pretty it may just have to be one of those things that sits out in my craft room year round.

Have you started on your Christmas crafts yet?

K

More Fall Fun

I'm still busy crafting!  Yesterday I made this cute wreath:

I wanted to keep it simple and I like that the star pattern on the wreath is visible. 

I also found a tutorial for this cool star ornament from House Revivals that I kind of modified for my tastes. (Which totally means that I did not follow the directions and ended up with something different...twice!)

Both were pretty quick to make by using cardstock quality scrapbook paper. 

I'll be spending the day doing a few more crafts, so check back soon for another update!

K

Linking to:

Pumpkin Trio

There is no better time to catch up than fall.  I have finally climbed out of the mojo-funk I've been in and have been crafting away at fall and even Christmas projects!

Today I wanted to share the pumpkin trio I made for $3.  I found these cute lil pumpkins at the dollar store for just a dollar each and everything else I already had "in stock" as my sister says.

How cute are these guys? They were pretty quick and easy too, which is a huge plus in my book.

I'll show you some close ups and hopefully you will love them as much as I do!

The polka dot pumpkin was the easiest.  I just made a little ribbon from a tutorial I found on Pinterest (OMG, I am addicted to Pinterest, aren't you?!?) and added the dots by dipping the eraser of a pencil into black paint. 

For the ribbon pumpkin I used dressmakers pins that I had gotten in a batch of stuff picked up from freecycle to pin the ribbon to the top and bottom of the pumpkin and tied another ribbon on the top. The orange ribbon looks kind of off in this picture because of the lights but it matches much better in person.

This one is my personal favorite.  I call it a doodle pumpkin.  I drew the doodles onto the pumpkin with pencil then used more dressmakers pins to complete the designs.  The light really dulled them down, they are very bling-ish in person!  I'm not sure the aqua ribbon will stay.  I was trying to do something diffferent instead of a bow and I think I will have to find something else because I'm not loving the ribbon.

Check back this weekend for some more crafty updates.  I have lots to share thanks to my revived motivation!

K

PS  I'm linking to my sister, Quilted Cupcake's, new feature, Thrifty Thursday's.  Pop on over and check it out and add your thrifty/low cost craft projects!

Better Late Than Never?

Yes, yes, I know, I have once again dropped the ball and let too much time pass before an update.  And this little post will attest to it, since I've been wanting to share the wonderful present my oldest sister made me for my birthday....last October.  Can you say procrastinator?
It's wonderful to have crafty sisters who understand the need to be creative and who give the MOST AWESOME handmade gifts.
This is just one example:

I love this for a ton of reasons, but mostly because my sister cared enough to make it for me.  It was one of the best birthday gifts I've ever received!  Now I just have to clean up my studio and get back to my crafty ways!

The weather is supposed to be in the high 60's tomorrow and I'm hoping to get some quality painting time in.  There is a small bookcase in my hallway that is just begging to be painted and distressed.  I wish I could share a pic with you now, but, honestly, I didn't realize just how dusty the darn thing was in the picture and I'm way too embarrassed to post it.  I'll make sure to take before and afters if I do get to work on it tomorrow though!

always,

K

Have you seen my mojo?

I took a bit of a break...okay, a bit more than a bit...let's face it, I dropped the ball.    But after much badgering from my sister's I'm trying to get back into being a crafty girl.  I'm starting small, like peeking at my favorites on Flikr to see what inspires me. 

Honestly, a lot inspires me, but I can't seem to find the motivation to get started.  I actually have worked on a few things here and there, mostly Christmas stuff (told you I was slacking!) that I hope to share later this week.

For today I thought I'd share some of what inspired me on Flickr then go from there, so here goes!

I'll start with my sister, for obvious reasons.  You may know her as Quilted Cupcake.  She inspires me on a daily basis.  She runs her own business, runs a house with two boys (nuff said), hosts a crafy podcast and makes time every single day to be creative.  Below is her candy display from this past Christmas.  I just love how she puts things together. (By the way, I have two other crafty sisters that I plan to post about in a separate post.  See, I'm planning ahead!)



Rick Cheadle inspires me too.  I know I've shared some of his whimsical painted furniture before, but he keeps coming out with more stuff I love.  I think this one is my favorite so far:


I love pillows as well.  This one by monaw2008 is right up my alley with the red and teal houses:



I have to admit, zipper flowers entrance me.  I can't figure out how they turn out so darn cute from just a zipper!  Love this one from The Queen of Re:


This quilt from lalasmom is a hoot!  I love applique and although these owls are probably meant for a childs's bed, I'd love to have this on my bed!


So that's it for now.  Just my way of dipping my feet back into the world of blog land.  I'm going to try my best to go back to posting more regularly.  I know once summer gets closer and I start going to yard sales  and pull out the spray paint I'll be back in the swing of things!

Always,
K

Halloween Wreath

I'm so excited to have finally finished my Halloween wreath!  I have a Scarlett O'Hara complex.  You kow, the whole "I'll think about it tomorrow" kinda gal.  I usually get in the mood to do Halloween crafts right about November 1st.  Seriously.

This year I was determined to complete my take on Piccadilly Peddler's Christmas themed wreath but for Halloween. 

I am so pleased with how it turned out that I may have to make another for Christmas.  It took a lot of time to cut the circles, but I think the final product was worth the effort!

Also, a few of you have asked me how my dog is doing after her eye injury last month.  Sadly, she ended up losing her eye due to a condition called a melting cornea.  Trust me, is just as gross as it sounds.  The good news is that she is 100% back to normal and is dealing well with the loss of her left eye.  I thought I'd share a before and after pic of her.

***WARNING: The after picture is not gross, but it is a little shocking, so stop right here if you are the slightest bit squemish***

Blair before:

And after:

By the way, her eye does not always bulge like that, but she hates having her picture taken and gets all wide-eyed when the camera comes out!  Our gal is a real trooper and it's so good to have her back to her playful, loving self.  (I know my sister will disagree with the loving part, but honestly, her son only had to have 2 or 3 stitches and that was years ago!) She just turned 11 on Sept. 11th, so to bounce back so well at this age is a huge relief to us.

We are thinking of dressing her as a pirate for Halloween...eye patch and all!

I still have a few projects in the works, so I'm planning to do some crafting today and hope to post them later this week!

Always,
K

Linking up to:

Sunday Sundry

It's been awhile since I took the time to sit down and browse through all the wonderfulness that is Flickr.  I found so many things that inspired me today that I thought I would share some. 

Rick Cheadle Art and Designs wowed me with this wall mural painted on paneling: 

I think I love it most of all because I rent a house that has the tacky 70's paneling and I dream of doing something like this to it.  Alas, my landlord is cool...but not that cool.

I love these adorable pincushions from mamacjt:

And this sweet wall hanging was also made by mamacjt:

I am amazed by this life-sized quilted Pink Panther shared by King Kong 911:

Big B always inspires me with her sweet embroidery work.  I already bought both her "Merry Christmas" set and the "Gingerbread" set from her etsy shop!

And last, but definately not least is this wonderful softy created by Kell Ingram from the Melly & Me pattern "Magoo".

I absolutely adore Melly & Me patterns and vow to one day attempt one.  I'm afraid that my limited sewing skills wouldn't do it justice.  Magoo is my favorite, but the mushroom backpack runs a close second!

So you can see my mind is mostly on sewing right now.  My sister's and I are headed to Lancaster on Monday to shop for fabric and donuts.  We cannot go to Lancaster without going to Shady Maple Farm Market for their awesome donuts!

Always,

K