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We Didn’t Blow Away!

August 26, 2012 By 16 Comments

Isaac didn’t turn into much, and so here I am for Handmade Monday!  I actually made this project on Friday because I had been working getting everything ready all week for Isaac and I wanted to make something easy.  So, I came up with this very simple project that I could wrap up quickly and have something to post.

Things here in South Florida have mostly just been wet and windy, and we only lost electricity at our house for long enough to make the clock have to be reset.  Otherwise, it has not been much of an event.  I have not even gotten any exciting photos.  Of course, it is still raining and blowing while I am typing this, so I suppose it might yet get worse, but I don’t think so.

Please do keep New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf Coast in your thoughts and prayers, however, as it is likely that he is going to get stronger as he heads that direction through the week.

Anyway, please go check out my Puffy Heart.  It’s just a simple little thing.  And then of course, go check out Handmade Monday.  I suspect I will be spending a lot of tomorrow there, as it will probably be raining most of the day, and I will be able to enjoy seeing all of the wonderful things everyone is making and forget the weather here!

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Get Your Boots Up

August 20, 2012 By 15 Comments

It’s Handmade Monday and I didn’t have anything really ready so I decided to share an idea I had awhile back when I was trying to organize my close.  I have a couple of pairs of those scrunchy boots that won’t stand up and are always falling over and in the way.  I don’t have room to store them in boxes so I had an idea when I was going through my closet and getting rid of hangers.  I could use skirt hangers for them!  I’m sure someone else has had this idea, but here is what I did:

I used the stick on hooks and placed them on a little wasted space (according to directions which come with the hooks –very easy to do).  I did two since I had 2 pair of boots to deal with but I could have probably gotten 4 if I had placed some below in another layer.  I just held the first pair against the wall to see where the second hook needed to go.

Then I clipped the boots onto the hanger and hung them up.  Easy!  I think the whole project took me less than 15 minutes.  And it’s nice to have my boots hanging up out of the way and I know that they won’t get damaged or stepped on or forgotten when boot season comes back.  The only real difficulty was getting a good photo, but I think you can see what I did in this series of shots.

On the subject of organizing and those little stick on hooks, I used them on the inside of my pantry door to hang a lot of my little odds and ends like measuring spoons and cups and hot pads.  It saves me a couple of drawers and space is at a premium.  They really are a space saver!

I put them up after I got my cabinets refaced and replaced the louvered doors on the pantry.  It’s so nice to be able to put my hands on my tools!  I think organization makes such a big difference when you’re working on any kind of project.

OK, so I think I’ll head on over to Handmade Monday and see what everyone’s “cooking up” over there.  I know they always have some lovely things and some good ideas.  Just click on the link and go blog hopping.

 

 

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Changing Horses Midstream

August 13, 2012 By 21 Comments

This post doesn’t have anything to do with horses, but the title is apt.  I was going to Mod Podge the frame as a gift, and didn’t pay enough attention when I bought my materials.  I was disappointed to discover that the glass didn’t come out but was affixed permanently and so I was going to have to work around it.  In addition it wasn’t “glass” but some sort of plastic or acrylic, so it wasn’t going to be as easy to clean without scratching or ruining.  Wonderful!

I’m not going to go into great detail, since I didn’t take photos along the way and most of it was just tedious stuff and things I don’t really like doing.  I had to cover the glass so I could spray paint the wood frame, as I was afraid it would soak too much Mod Podge.   I used the paper that came with the frame and cut it in pieces to fit in the front “glass” areas.  Then I sprayed 2 coats of black paint on the wood and let that dry overnight.  I ended up leaving the paper over the “glass” while I did my Mod Podging because I figured that would be a real mess to get off of the plastic.

After that was dry I let my husband cut the paper out with an Exacto, (I could have done it but he offered and he has s steadier hand).  As it was, the edges weren’t very neat on the inside, so I had to “change horses midstream”.  I hadn’t planned to do anything on the inside of the edges, but they didn’t look very good.  I decided to use hot glue and put some gold piping I had in my stash around them.  Another tedious thing, but it turned out “okay”.  Of course I got hot glue all over the “glass” which was a minor pain to clean off.

Finally done, but I won’t do another one with glass that is not removable.  I’ll check from now on.  BTW I do love the paper I used for this.  It’s actually a Christmas tissue paper I got about 10 years ago and it’s almost all gone.  I love it because it ends up looking very Americana instead of Christmasy.  Oh, and I almost forgot.  I sprinkled a little glitter onto the frame after each coat of Mod Podge and let it dry.  I love the glittery look.

 

And now, on to Handmade Monday!  I’m sure everyone there planned out their crafts better than I did.  Let’s go see.  🙂

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Glittery Mess

August 6, 2012 By 13 Comments

I am very late for Handmade Monday, I made something earlier in the week, and should have just waited and posted it today, but couldn’t wait.  You can see it here. (It’s a musical security blanket for a baby).

Today I did a simple birthday card for a friend who has a birthday coming up. I had done something similar for Thank You cards. They are really easy, altho I’m not all that good at anything that takes really steady hands. All I do is paint glue (either white glue or in this case gel school glue) on my stamp, stamp on my card stock and then sprinkle the glitter over the glue. I let it set and then tap off the excess.
I stamped the sun on some yellow paper and cut that out to glue on and hand wrote the “Happy Birthday” (not my strongest skill set!). It’s pretty amateurish looking but this is an old friend, and I think she’ll like it anyway.
Now, off to Handmade Monday to see what everyone else has been doing.

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Foxy Idea

August 2, 2012 By 1 Comment

These seem to be really popular but I really wanted to make one musical.  A music box was too heavy, but a music button was just the right thing.  I had plenty of that plaid fabric left over from the fox I made for my grandson, and I like the idea that both of his fox friends will match anyway.  Maybe it’s a trend for him!

Anyway, this was very simple to make, I hope my long winded explanation doesn’t scare you away.  The hardest part was getting the music button in (and it didn’t take long).  I think I made this entire blanket in a couple of hours and I did some other things in between.  It’s now sitting here, waiting to go to the post office so my grandson can enjoy it.  Go check Musical Fox Security Blanket and see how to make one for the child in your life!

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