Pinterest Overload!

 

I was sick last week.  A strange kind of illness- didn't feel good sitting... so I kept busy (not working on the wedding invitations I should have been working on but they require sitting).  But look what else I got done- all kinds of Pinteresty things.

 These signs over my kids' toilet.  These things I've said to them probably 9,482 times since they were old enough to do them.  As soon as I saw THIS on Pinterest I knew I had to try my hand at making my own.  Not too hard with My Digital Studio and a HUMONGOUS stash of Designer Series Paper!  Want to try them yourself?  I have shared my files HERE so you can! 

Best part:  recycled frames so cost is $0.  Worst part:  daughter accidentally kneeled on one of the frames at the VERY last step and shattered the glass.  Even worse:  Walmart no longer carries these.  So the WASH sign is laminated with no glass for now.  UGH! 

Notice the ribbons on the shower curtain?  Those are new too.  I went a little nutso!

 Trash to treasure!  An old bookcase of my grandfather's (who passed away in 1995) that my uncle no longer wanted.  The glass is missing from the doors, but I will replace it eventually.  For now, in my haste, I just added some black & white wrapping paper to line the back for FUN and visual interest.  It looks like I've painted it in the after picture, but I haven't YET (just different lighting for the pictures).  I need to take a photo of the vintage, retro door pulls- they are AWESOME!!

Had some left over wrapping paper and this "M" already hanging on the wall so just added a piece to the back for a little change up!  Took less than 2 minutes!

And finally, have you seen all the pins for cleaning up and repurposing old jar candles that are black with soot and have very little wax left?  Well I had a ton of those just taking up needed space.  Wish I would've taken pictures of the process- it was interesting!  I tried a few things and can say- the freezer method did NOT work for me.  I poured boiling water into the candles which melted the wax so it floated to the top and hardened when cool.  Then just take it out and pitch it... or if it is still warm you can roll it into balls and save it to reuse in your wax warmer.  I had a few candles that were much fuller but I was on a roll so I sat those in a pan on the stove with water (maybe 2") and heated until the wax was completely melted then poured the wax into an old ice cube tray.  Again, saved them for my wax warmer. 

 

These two jars worked perfectly for cotton balls and cue tips in the kids' bath, and I did something similar in my bathroom.  The rest of the jars were put to various other uses, some still empty waiting on a genius idea to strike!  Ooh, already found the idea:  Pinterest to the rescue again!  So doing this one next!

 

 

All the while, here is my table of wedding invitations just waiting for me to buckle down.  Actually, I took this picture maybe a month ago.  Happy to report they are all in the final stage (ribbon tying) and I am ALMOST DONE!  If I can stay off Pinterest for awhile I could even finish today. 

Then will be back to stamping again!

Thanks for stopping by!  Sorry for the long absence!!
~Kristin

PS- If you've tried to subscribe lately and it didn't work, well it is working now!  Please try again (in the sidebar on the right!)  UGH:  STILL NOT WORKING.  SORRY- NOT SURE WHAT THE PROBLEM IS.

Gift Ideas: Baby & Home Decor

 

Good morning!  I hope you've had your coffee because I have lots of pictures for you today!  First up is this baby mobile I was honored to make recently.  It was requested to match THESE things I made a while back for a good friend's new baby.  It is entirely made of Stampin' Up! papers, old and new, Stampin' Up! felt ribbon and a piece of plumbing pipe insulation that I bought and cut then wrapped with the dotted ribbon (not SU). 

 

The long pieces of felt that the circles are attached to were wrapped around the circle and held in place by either a button (which is hand sewn on for safety!) or a knot of tempting turqhoise ribbon.  They all very in length and the circles are different too.  I think I used at least 20 different patterns of paper. 

EDITED TO ADD:  I completely forgot to mention that the circles (all punched with SU's punches) were done like this... I punched two circles in matching paper and glued one of them to a punched chipboard circle (thin enough chipboard that it would punch).  The one with the chipboard backing was the outward facing circle.  The other was glued to the back of that with the ribbon sandwiched in between.  Some of them had chipboard behind both sides, but that was a mistake.  They didn't stayed glued nearly as well and I had to clip them with small binder clips for hours while they dried completely.  The glue I used was Tombo Mono.  Hope that helps!

 

I didn't take pictures of the entire process because I was under a time crunch.  But I have a few tips on using the pipe insulation.  It is much cheaper than using one of those wooden rings ($4) for needlepoint and doesn't have that clamp part to figure out what to do with.  I bought a piece about 5 feet long at the hardware store ($1.75) then cut off the length I needed (you could probably make 2 out of one piece).  In order to make sure your circle doesn't end up oblong here is what you should try:  hold the tube in a loop then slightly overlap the two ends.  Eyeball the angle at which they overlap then try to cut that angle off one end.  (Don't panic with my vague instructions, it isn't an exact science).  Then the two ends will meet flush and your tube will stay more circular.  Tape the connection with duct tape then cover with whatever material you want.  I used ribbon! 

 

On to project two: 

This project doesn't involve Stampin' Up! products at all (even though it could), but since I gather you are somewhat crafty or you wouldn't be here, and since I need a place to brag to a captive audience, you get to enjoy this one as well.  

So I found this frame in my barn.  No idea what it was for- square is an odd shape for a frame. 

 Decided to cover the cardboard backing for the frame with an old map (I've got tons- you'll see that in the future).  Chose my favorite saying of all time and cut it out with my daughter's Cricut in two different fonts.  Then used temporary adhesive (I used removable Dotto) to apply the letters just where I wanted them.  I also wanted a faux matt around the final project so I used painters tape on the edges.  Here's another TIP:  Be sure to destickify (yep, made it up) the tape by sticking it to your shirt or pants or couch over and over before applying it or else your map might tear (mine still did a little). 

 Then spray the entire thing. 

 We used black spray paint.  I was a tad worried that the paper map wouldn't hold up to the wet paint and let my daughter make an executive decision to not go solid black, but just enough to see the letters.  I like that you can not only see the map through the font, but also behind the paint a bit. 

 Here is how it looks on the wall.  We barely let it dry before we got it up there!  Just couldn't wait! 

 

If you're curious about where on earth we hung this... you probably don't recall but in 2010 we bought a 12x16 foot playhouse for our kids.  It has taken us two years, but it is now livable.  We've painted the entire outside, stained the deck, wired it (with a little help from an electrician), insulated, boxed in plywood walls and painted the crap out of it.  It has kept us crazy busy for many many hours!  I'll do another post on it if anyone is interested, but this is one shot of the inside.  The table, chairs and ladder were all paint projects I've worked on all this week and last.  Hopefully I am DONE painting for awhile.  Thanks to Pinterest we have many more ideas to come!

 

I am going to link a few of the ideas that inspired these projects: 

 

mobile:

http://pinterest.com/pin/198932508511198064/ 

http://pinterest.com/pin/198932508511198077/

paint over letters: 

http://pinterest.com/pin/198932508510004081/

http://pinterest.com/pin/198932508511282904/

 

Thanks for stopping by!  If either of these projects inspires you to do something I'd love to see it!  Leave me a link to your online photos or blog post!

 

Have a great day!

~Kristin



Lattice Votive

I am so excited to share this with you today! Yesterday while trying to come up with some teacher type gifts I made this. The lattice is cut with chipboard sheets that come in paper packs etc. It went through the Big Shot with this die just fine- although to make punching them out easiest I did go back and forth 2-3 times through the machine. Worked like a charm! I used three Lattice pieces for each votive holder- tying them together at the corners with the Riding Hood Red Taffeta ribbon. Rolled up a piece of vellum cardstock (about 3.25x6 inches I believe it was- will have to double check), taped it shut on one end and slid it in. Put one of those little battery powered tea lights inside and voila! Oh boy, I love it when I can make things that are pretty and useful.

Here is a picture of the three I've made so far. They are actually very fast to make too. You could make this with various shades of cardstock too and change up the ribbon to any color. Can you imagine these in black? I think they'd look like wrought iron. Ooh, I'm gonna try that next!

Anyway, I've made a few ornaments and some little boxes too. I'll post those in the coming days.

Hope your holiday preparations are going smoothly!

Stampin' Hugs,

~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Lattice Die, Big Shot, Chipboard remnants, Riding Hood Red Taffeta ribbon, Vellum Carstock

Inspired by Nature Home Decor

As promised, here is a picture of what I've been working on. It hasn't gone exactly as planned but you'll get the idea from the pictures. The frame is a shadow box that I bought years ago and spray painted with a textured paint. On top of that I sponged Chocolate Chip and some Black craft ink so it kind of looks like leather. The 2x2 tiles inside were bought at Lowe's and stamped on with craft ink as well. In this case I've used Inspired by Nature and also Stem Silhouettes (which you can't see in the picture real well). Normally I would spray these with an acryllic sealer but since they are framed and I was in a hurry, I didn't. I used Crystal Effects to glue them to the bottom of the frame. This was supposed to hang from a neat hook with a bird on it from the new wide stitched chocolate chip grosgrain but it wouldn't hang right so for now it is just hanging on a nail. I'd like to further embellish this somehow, but not go over-board... suggestions?? I've also considered putting some dried stems of some sort tied in a bundle in the shadow box but not sure what to use...

In the next picture are the matching candle and 4 1/4" tile I made. These were made with the same colors and stamps so they coordinate. If you've tried to stamp on a candle, you must! It is fun and fairly easy. Here is a tutorial in case you'd like to try it. The tile was also purchased at a home improvement store and on the back I have glued on a clothes pin so it stands freely. These are fun to make for a variety of occasions! Here is a very basic tutorial for the tile coasters, however I would add that you should use craft ink or Staz-On (not classic or markers as they will bleed) and that 2-3 coats of acryllic spray to seal is critical!

The colors for each of these are Chocolate Chip, Ruby Red, Mellow Moss and Always Artichoke. To determine those colors I took my cardstock color sampler around my house to match up the colors. It's kind of fun to see which SU colors you've used in your home... I've also used Apricot Appeal, Close to Cocoa and Really Rust to name a few! Guess I'm an Earth Elements type of gal!

I've got many more ideas but just can't get to them all at once. Thanks for stopping by!

PS- can anyone tell me why spacing in Blogger is ALWAYS a problem?? There is no rhyme or reason to the spaces that are randomly either added or deleted. Grrrrr!