wood you hang me on your wall?

  I got this staple gun for my birthday last year and it’s come in mighty handy. Most recently I used it to makeover some canvases that were hibernating under my bed. The last project I posted got me thinking about all the bad art projects I have hanging around my house and how I could put them to use without actually destroying them. Who doesn’t have a well meaning distant relative, sibling, younger-self from art school maybe, etc. who has eagerly given you a piece of her sweat and tears? It’s a lovely gesture but maybe doesn’t fit in with your decorating scheme? That doesn’t mean they have to pile up in storage.

In addition to unused canvases, frames, or stretchers, I have also amassed a large cache of printed tea towels that I refuse to actually use for fear of getting them dirty. Put the two together, and you’ve got some colorful wall art! I also used some clearance fabric from my last Ikea trip, but a  favorite t-shirt or handkerchief would work equally well. Just stretch the fabric over the frame with the pattern composed as you like it, wrap it up like a present, staple to the back, and then either cut off the excess or conceal it behind the frame. If you’re careful, both the fabric and the original canvas will be able to return to their original states if you change your mind. I made three of these puppies and combined them with some smaller framed images for a gallery wall in my overly-white kitchen. I’ll show ya the whole shebang soon.

On a roll…

This project photo is a two-fer!

Firstly, we’ve had this cheapo hardware store baker’s rack dealy for some extra storage in our kitchen. It does its job just fine: holds the toaster and microwave and is a good sandwhich station for packing our lunches. The only problem is that any wayward crumbs would fall down onto all of our pots and pans. I tried remedy this “temporarily” by laying down some uber classy lenticular kitten placemats that we had. They had been there for more than a year when, last weekend, we finally said enough kitties was enough kitties. We picked up this board for $7, and the hubby chopped it down to size and cut off the corners so it would fit perfectly in the shelf. We oiled it up with some mineral oil and now we have a somewhat fancier and definitely more practical sandwich station.

 

Secondly! I am prone to scouring the clearance aisle at TJ Maxx for ridiculously cheap junk. My latest find was this stretched canvas wall art for $2.50. The girl at the checkout even commented on how thrifty all my purchases that trip were. Cha-ching. It came complete with some weird abstract popcorn design, which may have been fine for someone’s family room but wasn’t really my thing. So I started out by painting over the original image with white acrylic paint for a blank…canvas. I’ve been working long hours lately though, and haven’t exactly had the time or inspiration for a masterpiece. I just needed some color on my walls, pronto! So I proceeded to go to town with some masking tape and a couple more layers of paint. It’s always a fun suprise to take the tape off at the end! Now, I’m not in love with how this particular piece turned out (still an upgrade from popcorn) but that’s the beauty of this project. For just a couple bucks, I’m not afraid to paint over it again and again as my mood changes. So keep your eye out in clearance aisles and thrift stores for cheap art that needs a good makeover.

(Oh and this project inspired me to overhaul some other canvases I had around, in a slightly different manner, so check back later for those updates!)

“Lattice” ring in the new year…

…with decorating projects!

Truth be told, we’ve been using most of our long holiday weekend to lay on the couch under cozy blankets and sleep all day. But that much-needed rest also is giving us some energy to work on some projects that have been on the docket for far too long. This lattice was scrounged from outside our building’s dumpster, originally to be used as a place-card holder for our wedding day.  It served its original purpose beautifully, may I add, but ever since it has been laying around our living room because I can’t seem to part with the rustic hunk of junk. Now, we’ve long been hankering for a big affordable piece of wall art to hang above our couch. The need to break up the gray has grown more dire  since my overwhelming love of neutrals caused me to inadvertently buy a couch the same color as our walls. But large pieces aren’t cheap, and I’ve already got the salon wall going on the other side of the room, so it’s pretty much been bare since we moved in. Until now! We hit up the hardware store on New Year’s Eve (yeah, we know how to party) to pick up some drywall anchors and threaded hooks. Up she goes!

I think it’s still calling out for a little color, though it would make the perfect display for year-round decor. We missed out on hanging ornaments from it this year, but maybe some flowers threaded through come spring, or leaves in fall…or…..? Suggestions?

Cocoa

Two big ol mugs, vegan marshmallows, and a healthy dose of peppermint schnapps.

Runners amok.

  Did I mention how many table runners I have? I decided to decorate them! Some for me, some for gifts andddd some for my Etsy shop that I had completely let fall to the way side over the past year or so. But I’m getting my crafty act together now! So head on over here, and check back in the next couple weeks for more goodies.

Now this was a process that gets you a lot of visual bang for your buck. I had originally been at the art supply store looking for block printing ink that you could heat set, but there is evidently no such thing (if you know of one…let me know!). I didn’t want to deal with the oil based kind, so I picked up a jar of fabric paint in the next aisle over. I did some tests when I got home, and the consistency of the fabric paint really wasn’t stellar for block prints. (Side note: I also tried regular acrylic paint from a tube, and that worked reasonably well and although it’s water-based I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t wash out…but that’s an experiment for another day.) So I scrapped that whole idea, and instead used masking tape to make a design on the runner and painted it in with a brush. Now it’s dry and I just have to heat set it with an iron to make it washable! Hoorah!

Re-Re-Use

Going in to our wedding planning process, I knew that doing it from afar would mean using things I wasn’t particularly attached to and dropping it all off or foisting it on our friends after the event. So I focused on accumulating decor that was as cheap as possible while still being earth-friendly and cute (duh.) What I didn’t know was that my mother-in-law is arguably better at hoarding things than I am. So when they came to visit for Thanksgiving, they brought along an SUV full of mugs, table cloths, paper goods of all sorts, etc. I was powerless to say goodbye to these goodies twice!

Now I have four times as many mugs as we could both use if we were drinking out of both hands and probably both feet. And several more for the cat. I also have probably 60 fabric napkins and 10 table runners. Considering we break out the big formal dining table (aka work desk aka two saw horse legs and a piece of wood) only about once a year, I figure that leaves me at least 6 extra runners. (Yep, by my conservative calculations I still NEED four. Ahem.)

So I set to work getting some more use out of this fabric. If you remember, it was initially a dropcloth, because you’d be amazed at how cheap dropcloths are for a linen-looking fabric source. Then it was a table runner. And now it’s pillows! We had some cheap Ikea pillow inserts lying around that attract cat fur like whoa. With just a couple simple stitches they can at least add “-chic” to their shabby. But wait! There’s more. As soon as I can get up from this comfy couch with these commmfyyy pillows, I’m going to print on them with some spicy pop-color designs. I bet you can’t wait.

Now down to business!

Now that all that weddingschmedding stuff is out of the way, I can really get down to crafting! Get ready in the next couple weeks to catch up on all those projects I was keeping under wraps this past year. And maybe some new stuff, too.

For starters, these little numbers are the gifts I made for my lovely bride’s maids. I tested out a manly khaki one awhile back, but here’s the cute version, made from the vintage sheets that I also made my napkins from. (Shhh, those are just dollar store notebooks under the thrifted fabric covers.) Then I stuck an orange pen and some retro style orange-wrapped gum so the girls would have all the essentials at hand to simultaneously remember all my bidding and have fresh breath. With Christmas around the corner, these can be easily customized by switching out the fabric or even adding an embroidered or printed monogram. Because who doesn’t love notebooks? What’s that you say? Not everyone likes to make lists as much as I do? Nonsense.

make like a tree and leaf

I assure you I HAVE been crafting, it’s just mostly top secret! But here’s one little ditty than I can share, and I assure you anyone can make it. In one minute. For free . I saw the original version here, and thought it would be perfect to use up the scraps of scraps that I just can’t part with. I have a bunch of tiny pieces of cute prints on hand from making our wedding napkins from old thrifted sheets. I actually already used the biggest of the scraps for another (secret) project, but then there were smaller scraps from that project that were “still good.” (As my Dad would say, about things in the back of the fridge.) I didn’t have any floral wire, so I cut up an old wire hanger, which made these a little more substantial than the original version. All you do: rub a glue stick all over a piece of fabric, then make a sandwich out of that piece and another piece, and stick some wire (or a toothpick…or a pencil would be cute…) in the middle. Then cut it into the shape of a leaf with some notches around the edge for veins. (Ok it was originally a feather, but leaves go better with my fall color scheme, so I have donned mine “leaves.”) I normally hate glue sticks, but bonding fabric together like this is actually a pretty cool way to use one. Not sure what these leaves will be for, yet.  Boutonnieres? Cake toppers? Either way, I’m just happy they’re not in the trash.

Oh and we’re taking a little road trip to the Brimfield flea market tomorrow, so hopefully I find some goodies to show you!

look at me go!

Two posts in one week! I’d say that’s pretty impressive considering the hours I’ve been putting in at work.

I’ve been wanting to make some notebook covers to gussy up cheap drugstore notebooks. In case you hadn’t noticed, I love lists. And I love writing lists in beautiful notebooks. But sadly, I cant afford beautiful notebooks all the time. That’s where this re-usable cover comes in.

My sleepy-head boyfriend is basically dead to the world on Sunday mornings, but I can never sleep in much past 7. So last Sunday I decided to be productive and start working on a test version of a notebook cover. I used the remnants of some “khorts” (that’s khaki shorts, yall) that I had elegantly ripped off for Brad. The fabric was rugged and contrasted nicely with the little hint of paisley that I used for the pen pocket. I like the diagonal pocket shape, but I must admit it was only because my bobbin ran out half-way through and so I just folded it that way instead of changing out the thread. Laziness is the mother of invention. It took me less than an hour to make before I was back to jumping on the bed in an effort to roust my breakfast partner. Crafting on an empty stomach is dangerous!

 

je regrette!

I know, I know, I haven’t been blogging lately. All my labors lately have been wedding-related, and I don’t want to give it all away yet! Rest assured, in October you will see recaps of many wedding-day surprises.

Until then, be satisfied with this quick post about my latest obsession. I don’t normally get caught up in tech trends. I don’t have a twitter, or an iphone, or play Angry Birds. BUT. I did recently join Pinterest, and I’m loving it. I have a ridiculously long bookmark folder, full of recipes, inspirations, craft ideas, and lots and lots of wedding junk. But it’s hard to find what I’m looking for when I scroll down through a list of titles with tiny icons next to them. Enter Pinterest, a virtual inspiration board. I use it mainly how I would use my browser’s bookmarks folder, but it stores pictures, so I can see everything at once, broken down by category. Perfect for visually-oriented people who’s bookmark folders contain headings like “color I like for living room” or “cute kitten.” Now I can see all those colors and kitties with one click! Plus it shows me everyone else’s pins, so there’s a dizzying wealth of ideas available.

Check it:http://pinterest.com/oopsydaisy528/