Book Page Wreath

I love old dictionaries and books in general. So it’s a little hard for me to tear pages out. But I love the end result!

The patina of the pages mixes in perfectly with my fall decorating.

I’ve been adding a few pumpkins and fall type accessories here and there.

I’ve really gotten away from any “over the top” seasonal decorating lately. A more natural, organic theme has suited me (and my cottage) best over the last couple of years.

The turkey plates I bought  from TJ Maxx last year. I was going to add some pieces for this Thanksgiving but I haven’t seen them. Just as well, because I like to mix it up a little anyway!

A little bit of whimsy with an Apothecary jar of miniature hay bales.

More fall decor to come. Rob is going to put a new tabletop  on my farm table before Thanksgiving. Can’t wait to show you. Poor guy, his list never gets shorter around here!

Project No. 1 for the Living Room & Spray Painting Tips.

My first project in my living room makeover is just a simple spray paint of a piece of furniture that I “shopped the house” for. Whether she’s going to hang around for the final reveal, remains to be seen. Here’s the before.

I know that you may be gasping right now that I would paint a piece when it’s already a lovely white. But I warned you, times they are a changin’. Truth be told, I’ve lived with white painted furniture for so long that it’s a real leap for me to change it up. But here it is…

 

Yes, she went to the dark side. Granite gray Rustoleum spray paint to be exact. I love this table but it never felt substantial enough. Like it needed to be in a little girl’s room or a conservatory for ladies that take tea. I don’t have either of these spaces at this point, so I decided to change it up and hopefully give it a touch of industrial. Now it reminds me of those wrought iron fences that you see around ancient Victorian homes. I think I like it.

You’ll have to use your imagination concerning accessorizing at this point.

 

I also wanted to give just a quick primer on spray painting furniture. I’m no expert but I’ve learned a few things over the years.

First choose the correct paint for your project. If it’s metal you’re covering make sure that it says you can use it for metal on the back of the can. If you’re painting wood or plastic…you get the idea.

Next find a good place to paint that’s out of the wind but has good ventilation, such as a garage with the big door open. If you must paint outside, make sure it’s not too windy or humid. Also don’t paint in the direct sun unless you want a crackled look because the top layer will dry faster than the bottom.

Give the piece a  light sanding and wipe it down with a soft rag. You’ll need primer if it’s a particularly shiny surface or if it’s raw wood or metal.

Spray your first coat on lightly after you’ve shaken the can very well. It’s NOT going to cover in one coat and if you try you’ll end up with a drippy mess. Not that this has ever happened to me or anything. Always keep the can moving when you’re spraying. Parking it in one spot too long causes drips.

Above you can see my table with it’s first coat. I waited about twenty minutes before putting on the next one. It took about three light coats. If you do get drips, wipe them off right away and lightly sand before your next coat.

Finish with a spray on polyurethane to protect the finish. If you want to do some sanding (distressing) on the piece, do that first. On wood I also love to use a paste wax finish or a wipe on polyurethane for a hand rubbed look.

That’s it! You’re done.

I’ve also started to play with some mantel ideas.

After taking the picture, I realized that I didn’t like the books at all and it mostly looks boring. I’m also mulling over changing the finish on the mantel. Any suggestions?

In the meantime, I love this for my dining room and I have a piece of furniture right now that I might repurpose for this look.

So stay tuned for the next project or two and eventually, the big reveal!

Calendar Wall Art

  I started with a full color calendar from Kate’s Paperie. Unfortunately, I don’t see it on the website anymore. However, any calendar that you like will work. Even a book, if the pages are big enough, would be beautiful. Unless you’re like me and buy old books to cut up into art and then can’t do it. Another story. Anyway, I flipped over the black cardboard thing in the frames, which are from Wal-Mart. The black will also work and I might change them in the winter. I just centered the pages and put the glass back in place. It’s a no brainer but I love how it fills out this wall. I added a couple of my moss terrariums and a wonderful box of gems and minerals that I picked up at a garage sale.  This is formerly where I had put my twig mirror.

What do you think?

Repurposed Twig Mirror

 As soon as you walk in my front door there is a blank wall that was in need of "something."  I decided to take an oval mirror, which was a garage sale find, and cover it with branches from my woods.
 

 Before:  painted brown metal, Victorian looking frame.

 After: Liberal amounts of hot glue and twig pieces put together like a puzzle.

The perfect woodsy, organic touch. Cost: already had the mirror and hot glue. Branches, free.

Homemade Cookies Gone Bakery

I baked a couple dozen cookies to take to our Church Home Group tonight. They taste delicious (in my unbiased opinion). However, I wanted to present them in a special way. The way you feel when you go into a lovely, little patisserie that makes you feel like you’re having a special little indulgence with your coffee or tea. I’ve never been in an authentic French Bakery, but I have a good imagination. A flirty little French skirt is just what my glass cake stand needed.

 

Making it was simple and you probably have the supplies on hand already.

* A length of ribbon that fits around the edge of your cake stand.

* Double stick tape (in a pinch you could use a hot glue gun as long as you think that you could peel the glue off later. Glass is a pretty safe bet).

*A ruler, quilting or standard

*Exacto knife or scissors

* Old dictionary pages or any other decorative paper

*Parchment paper or plain wrapping paper to cover your cake plate, a paper doily would also work (this step is optional)

 

 

    

I first put my pink wrapping paper on top of the cake plate and cut around it with my Exacto knife. I’d be lost without it. Next I cut my dictionary pages in half lengthwise. Fold them in half lengthwise and put the folded edge (Important) under the ruler. Cut with your knife or scissors. I spaced the cuts about a half inch apart.

 

 

Apply the ribbon to the folded outside edge with double stick tape.

 

Apply another piece of double stick tape to the back. Here it is before I pulled the backing of the tape off.  Next apply it to the edge of the cake plate and she’s dressed for dessert! It’s easiest to get it started onto the edge and then pull off your backing as you move around it. If I can do this,while my 7th grader passes back and forth complaining about his writing assignment, you can too. I hope you do because it’s cheap and easy (but doesn’t seem that way!).

 

 

Just had to show her again and this time with a little leg! Frenchy.

Nature Crafts: Autumn Banner

My son and I discovered that a fun way to welcome fall is with a banner made from all the little gifts of nature that are abundant right now. For this banner we used Acorn caps, dried moss, sticks, Sunflower seeds, dried beans, and small pebbles. We cut out six pieces of card stock from old folders that I found in the closet. A cardboard box or  recycled cereal boxes would also work well. I lightly penciled in the letters and simply hot glued our finds over them. I just “eye-balled” it. No measuring necessary unless you just want to.

 

 

 

 

 

To finish it off I used pages from an old Children’s dictionary, cut with decorative scissors around the edges. A couple of holes punched in and some heavy twine made it suitable for hanging on the mantel.

 

 

 

I think my favorite letter is the “u” made out of moss. It was a happy accident that I ended up with the acorn picture on the edge.

Making this banner was easy and fun. There are so many variations possible. Pressed leaves, dried corn, bird seed, or whatever you come up with.

Send me a picture if you make one. I’d love to see it!

Tanya

Upcycled Apron Made From Men's Plaid Shirts

Since I'm on the subject of aprons, I thought that I'd show you one that I made for a sweet girl's 13th birthday. I used two men's plaid shirts and their pockets. I made it reversible and put a little decorative stitching on the bottom. It was a fun project and I hope she uses it for many years to come! Have a great Monday.

 

I'm participating in Blue Monday over at Sally's blog. Thanks Sally!

Make a Candy Bouquet.

There's a certain someone that I know and she loves her some candy! She also has a special anniversary the day before Valentine's Day. I wanted a lot of candy in this bouquet and if I ordered it at a certain store, it would cost a small fortune. So, I decided to do it myself. I rummaged around in my craft cabinet and found the cute red container. The rest of it was mostly from the dollar store (actually Deals). The finished arrangement has lots of fun candy and fluffy stuff. I used flower foam, the kind for artificial flowers, not fresh. I had some floral tape on hand which I put over the top after hot glueing the foam into the container. This one will be shipped, so I wanted it extra secure. I used a little dab of hot glue to adhere skewers to the candy. It's only on the paper so the candy is still edible. It didn't even melt any of the chocolate! Bravo! I put two candy hearts together and glued them back to back on a skewer to look like little flowers. I then took a square of cellophane (the kind that is on the roll and it's used to wrap baskets, etc) poked a hole in it with the pointed end of the skewer and then scrunched it under the chocolate heart flowers. I secured it with a small piece of scotch tape. Then I covered each skewer with some leftover white tinsel garland that I had from Christmas. However, you could use a Valentine garland or florists tape or whatever suits you. I just put a dot of glue, applied the garland, twirled it around the stick and then finished with another dot of glue. For the candy rings, I just gathered the wrapper around the stick and secured it with scotch tape. Firmly push all of your skewers into the foam and cover the base with shredded paper, color of your choice. I used white. I also added some lollipops, just pushed in the foam and cupcake toppers that look like little Valentine cards. The possibilities of color combos and things you could add are unlimited. I would like to do another one that is very vintagey looking and use a milk glass vase and white chocolate, and a retro one with old fashioned candy and cards. Let me know if you make one!

Quick Decoupage Project

Last Christmas my oldest son and his wife gave me the cutest tea box full of a variety of tea bags. I decided to practice decoupage on it. I'm no expert but it was really simple and only took about 30 minutes.

It's a very nice box but you know I can't leave well enough alone! I noticed some wooden tea boxes at Hobby Lobby if you want to do this project for the tea lover on your list.

First I just cut out various rectangles and squares of scrapbooking paper that I liked together. I applied it with slightly thinned white glue (such as Elmer's). Then I smoothed it out and kind of burnished it onto the box. I used my fingers, the back of a Christmas card, and a paper towel. I'm sure there are more professional tools for this job but I just grabbed what was on hand!

I used scissors and a razor knife to trim the edges.

Here's the finished box. I'm letting it dry overnight and then sealing it with Mod Podge. I've also heard of using varathane, which I'll probably use on a tray that I plan on decoupaging because it will get harder use.

Inside of the box. I just love it. Can't wait until tea time!

Another quick project is sachets. I made these for a raffle this weekend. I stuffed them with fiberfill and added a few drops of Lemon Sage & Ginger essential oil to each one. The smell was heavenly. They're great in your drawers or out in a basket but wouldn't they be nice to run in the dryer instead of chemical filled dryer sheets! I'll definitely be making more of these! Well, gotta go work on that tray, and wrapping, and baking, and cleaning.....

A Quick Coaster Project

I found these glass photo coasters at a Thrift store quite some time ago. They were new in the box and included a wooden holder which I didn't keep. But for a couple of bucks I liked the color of the glass and the option to put my own photos in them. With company coming, I needed a quick fix. I rummaged around in my small, decorative paper collection and found something good! At Michael's I had purchased the sheet music and this paper that has little collage squares. They're about four times the size of a Postage stamp. I simply used the paper insert in the coaster for a guide to cut the background paper. Then cut out my favorite squares and used double stick tape to adhere them. Slide them into the back and Presto! I have new coasters. It was so quick that it's probably taking me longer to write this post than to "make" the coasters. My kind of project! The fun part is that I can change them out with the seasons or whenever the whim hits me. I think they would look great with a piece of burlap as the background and a stamped monogram or black & white picture in front. Yes, someday they might actually hold pictures! Happy Monday. Bye for now! Tanya