Drop Cloth Valentines

I've got two chairs in my living room that I really love and that desperately need to be reupholstered and as I don't know the first thing about upholstery and being that I don't have the dollars for the high price of having it done professionally, I got the bright idea to make up some slip covers for them using painters drop cloths. There are tutorials out there for the process, and you don't need to be an incredible sewer to make one; you do, however, need to possess the patience of Job! After much pinning and trimming, cutting and ripping, fitting and refitting; mine ended up in the trash, sent off in irritated silence. I was only happy that I hadn't spent lots of money on some gorgeous material for the job.

Needless to say, I still had about 3/4 of a yard of the drop cloth left over which I've held onto for crafting of some sort and it really came in handy for these little Valentines Day conversation hearts. Wanna make some? Here's what you'll need:

scrap fabric
paints (doesn't need to be specifically for fabric; I used acrylic)
stamps
dried lavender
essential oil (I used sweet orange)
embroidery floss
heart cookie cutter or other template
small funnel or demitasse spoon












Aren't they cute? And they smell wonderful! I mixed several drops of sweet orange essential oil into the lavender before I spooned it into the hearts. Be sure to pack it in pretty tight before you stitch the heart closed. I put one in my purse to keep it smelling sweet and they'd be a perfect little gift for your special valentine! Or....you could get crazy and make something a little bigger like the ones I made below also using up my left over drop cloth.



Get crazy girl....homemade valentines are the best!


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Flying Home at Christmas

The day after Christmas. Sometimes, I'm sad to see it over with and other times I wish it lasted all year; I want the lights always up and the living room lit with nothing but our tree. So pretty. I know it's really a celebration of our Savior's birth and, sadly, I'll admit to overlooking that at times and getting caught up in the shopping and spending and baking and preparing. Add to that how much crafting I've been doing lately and well....I think you get the idea.

One of the things I haven't yet tried is working with embroidery hoops as a medium for art. It's so clever, all that can be done with them from just covering them with different fabrics and using them as wall art like this from Desire To Inspire



to embellishing the fabric you choose like this hoop from Under the Sycamore...



or using it as a frame for special pictures like Danielle from Take Heart...



So I knew that I wanted to make something and I already had all the supplies I needed but this was one of those projects that you don't necessarily have a clear idea about ~ at least, not when it comes to the finished product ~ just one that you keep working on and playing with; adding to and taking away from and no one in particular that you set out making it for. I just kept playing and stamping and cutting and embroidering and before I knew it, it started taking shape. I didn't want the stitching on the back to be visible so I cut out a circle of burlap to cover it up which worked out well.





Christmas morning, after all the excitement at our house had died down and the boys were happily playing with their gifts, I received a call from my mom letting me know that my cousin Helene, who'd been diagnosed with leukemia about three months ago, had passed away at about 2 that morning. Over the last week, she'd contracted pneumonia and with a severely weekend immune system and other complications, her body just started shutting down. It was a terrible shock for all of us. In spite of the loss, however, my aunt Karel (Helene's mom) still wanted us all to get together for Christmas because she felt that's what Helene would have wanted since it was her favorite holiday and she'd spent the last few weeks preparing for it.

After we hung up, I looked down at this little project I'd been working on for the last couples of days and knew immediately who it was for and why I'd been prompted to make it. That's so God, you know? I stamped the date on the back, wrapped it up and presented it to my aunt yesterday. Something to look at and know that even though her daughter isn't here with us now, she's flown home...home to Jesus. She's good now.




Godspeed, Beb. I love you...

Sophisticated Salt Dough

I can totally remember being a kid and making salt dough ornaments at Christmas time. Snowmen, hearts, stars all painted and glittered, albeit a bit lumpy, hanging heavy on the tree. Fun.

Thirty plus years later, they're still fun to make and can have a more sophisticated look. Enter Pinterest....my newest and best love. Yours too? It's okay ~ I understand. I was inspired by these from Even Cleavland


and these from Marley and Lockyer (actually of white clay)



I love how elegant these ornaments look especially knowing that they come together with the most humble of ingredients: salt, flour and water.

Here's what you'll need:

1 cup flour
1/2 cup table salt
1/2 cup warm water

I put the dough hook onto my kitchen aid, put in all the ingredients and let it go for about 8 minutes. A bit of scraping and repositioning was needed in the process. You could mix it all by hand too; just make sure it's nice and smooth and everything's well incorporated before you start rolling, stamping and cutting.

I'm doing my tree in silver and cream this year and I love the script stamp M&L used. Found one a Michael's for 50% off along with a pretty leaf and some silver ink.



I rolled out, stamped and cut the dough directly onto my silpat because I didn't want to move them once they were ready to go into the oven. Also, stamp before you cut so as not to flatten your desired shape.



I used a straw to make the holes but a bamboo skewer would work just as well. When everything was ready, I gently slid the silpat onto a cookie sheet and popped it into a 200 degree oven for about 4 hours, essentially drying them out. They'll continue to harden up over time and you can embellish them further. I rubbed some of the silver ink I used for the stamps onto the outsides and backs of my ornaments and then made ties out of torn strips of muslin. I hung them on a little felt tree that I have and I'll keep them there until we get our big tree in a couple of weeks.






These would be great tags to embellish a gift with or make a dozen and give them to a friend who likes a vintage shabby feel to her ornaments.

Favors Favors Everywhere!

I can't believe I haven't posted in over two months! It's not like I haven't been crafting ~ clearly (see above) ~ it's just a whirlwind of stuff that's been going on in my life which would require time, snacks and copious amounts of wine to tell you about so instead I'll just show you some pics of the favors I've been working on. Remember my last post where I showed you the ideas I'd come up with for our church's annual Women's Christmas Dinner? You all liked the ornament which ended up getting the most votes by the ladies putting this shindig together and I became a paper pleating, fabric rose making and glittering machine. 260 of these little babies! Fortunately, I had lots of great help which made the jump in number (an extra 100) easier to swallow.


The dinner was last night and the sanctuary looked lovely decked out in "rustic royalty": gold, burlap, red and creamy muslin. Every plate was home to a favor for each of the ladies who attended and I secretly watched several of them pick theirs up and 'ooooo' and 'ahhhhh' over them. Smile.

The jury's still out on whether or not I'll do this again next year but for now, I'm done and I can focus on decorating my own home for Christmas. Believe it or not, I'm making some of these for our tree too. They are pretty and versatile when it comes to color, fabric and ribbon.

Elegant Pedestal

I'm always amazed at what can be found through thrifting and then turned into something one might find in a fancy boutique either to purchase or as part of a display. Pedestal serving pieces are some of my favorites; they're not only easy to make ~ they can be done inexpensively and are completely customizable like this one I made a while back.

I got inspired by this post over at The Speckled Dog and really liked the wood pieces as a medium. Aren't they sweet?


So, a few weeks ago I was browsing at my local Salvation Army specifically looking for wood pieces and came across this tarnished silver candle stick and wooden plate. 30% off of everything too so these two pieces just cost me $3.20!


So, not my original plan but I really liked the idea of putting silver and wood together; kinda Colonial America.


Not that I'm versed in Colonial American decor or anything but when I put it together I wasn't as WOWED as I thought I'd be so, as any self-respecting crafter would do, I got out my paints and glue and sanding blocks and set to work.




First a creamy yellow all around. Then a creamy white. Then sanding (Hey - don't knock the emery board. It worked great. Very coarse and bendy) and gluing.





I brushed on and lightly wiped off some metallic silver paint and then put on a coat of satin interior varnish.




I like it much better this way. I have some pine cones that I'm going to do up with silver paint for Christmas (I know, I know. Just thinking ahead) but you could do just about anything with it. I went back to the S.A. last week to see if they had any more candlesticks and wooden plates and, of course, they were out. But I'm still on the look out cause I love the way it turned out and definitely want to make several more!


Makes a great gift for your friends who like things with a shabby and vintage feel! Oooo...or to hold candles or pearls or shells or dainty cookies dusted with powdered sugar.

Don't get me started!

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Embroidery Hoop Glam

I love how some of the most simple items can be turned into something glam and gorgeous with just a bit of glitter and glue. Take, for example, the humble embroidery hoop and clothespin. I saw this sweet fall wreath over at Budget Wise Home and fell in love with it's simplicity.

Seriously, who would have imagined something like this from cardboard, clothespins and an embroidery hoop with some wood stain and a bit of satin ribbon to snazzy it up? So....I started thinking about all of the clothespins that I have left over from another project (to be revealed at a later date) and an embroidery hoop and cardboard and realized I had the beginnings of my own wreath and since Christmas will be here before we know it (YIKES!) I started playing around with that in mind. And, the great thing about this project is that it's amazingly inexpensive to make and, except for the clothespins which can be picked up for just a couple of dollars, you probably already have everything you'll need on hand.

Here's what I used:

Mod Podge
Liquid Fusion
2 sheets of scrapbook paper (1 12-inch piece is enough if you just want one color)
Martha Stewart glitter (aquamarine crystal and white gold)
Cardboard
Craft Smart acrylic paint in ivory
8-inch wooden embroidery hoop (the inside piece)
Exacto knife
Charcoal gray ink pad
Ribbon (optional)
Glittered snowflake cookie cutters (optional)

Just follow these instructions, they're the ones I used and they're really straight forward and easy to follow. I have no idea why I chose these colors because I have absolutely nothing in my house that coordinates with them; I did, however, have all of the embellishments for them so there it is. I'm sure you've been in the same place before....

I cut out my cardboard circle and painted it ivory.



Then I covered the embroidery hoop with Mod Podge inside and out and sprinkled glitter all over it which gets a bit messy and leaves you looking like Sparkle Shimmer Barbie! When both were dry, I fit the cardboard over the hoop.

Then I just started working on the clothespins. I covered most of them with papers (just on the front side) which I inked all around the edges for a distressed look and some with glitter (with the glittered clothespins, I first covered them with paper then a coat of Mod Podge and then I dipped them in the glitter). I ended up using 61 but you might use less depending on how close together you want yours to be.


When all of the cardboard was covered I added knotted bits of silver ribbon, edges burned to stop fraying and distress, and two glitter-covered snowflake cookie cutters that I had left over from something else I was playing with.


Once everything was in place, I used the Liquid Fusion to glue down the snowflakes and then each clothespin and I'd like to paint the back of each pin with some silver paint and give them a coat of Mod Podge for protection. I still have to look for some ribbon to hang it with ~ don't have the perfect one right now.

What a way to glam up the holiday though, right? Love it!

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