619 miles

bachelorette party - gift bag goodies

Kerry shent me several blog updates and I'm so excited to share them with you!

My sister's wedding is coming up this weekend and that means bachelorette party! My other sister and I are hosting it so we are putting together a little survival/gift bag. Here is one of the items I made for the gift bag:  

I took some old expired aeronautical sectionals from work and cut them up. The cute little airplane decal on the front is the work of my sister Kate and her creative genius. After she made the airplane towing the banner on adobe she sent me the file and I just printed them out on envelope label stickers. I then mod podged the sectional and stickers onto some flasks I purchased on Amazon. I used the outdoor mod podge but after a few days of drying it was still tacky and had a little more ridge lines then I wanted. So I took some light sand paper to it and then sprayed it with the mod podge matte sealer and it was much better. Since my sister is a navigator in the Air Force and most of the bachelorette party gals are aviatrix of some sort I think they will really get a kick out of these! 

pinterest project - cute containers

Sometimes I pin something that I want to make or eat and I feel compelled to do it immediately. This was NOT one of those projects. I pinned these cute containers 31 WEEKS ago and finally got around to making it this weekend. I purchased a couple of jars and two little toys from the trusty Bargain Center and they sat around for a few weeks on my countertop. I finally grabbed the paint, paint brush and glue and got to work. Here are my supplies:

I used Martha Stewart Crafts paint (beach glass & pond), and some of her labels from Staples. The black ones are chalkboard lables and the white ones say they are dishwasher safe!

Here is what I started with:

After I attaked with paint and glue (I did wash them all first) this is what I ended up with:

and I made these too:

These are planned to be reusable water bottles. When I was a kid, my best friend Emily's mom kept plain glass bottles in the fridge filled with water for us to come and grab when we were thirsty. I always thought this was the coolest thing. Emily's mom also kept a large packet of gum in the "gum drawer" right next to the fridge and I remember sneaking pieces of gum from that drawer. Oh the things we remember from childhood.

A couple notes about this project:

• It did take several coats to paint the toys and the lids. 
• I painted them separately and then glued the animals to the lids after it was all dry. 
• I used regualr 'ol super glue, but I'm not sure it's holding all that strongly. I may have to get something stronger.

Check this one off the list of the 477 pins I have on my DIY pin board! This one was super easy and fun I don't know why I waited so long.

 

Michael Ann says:

 This month long blog series is meant to help us ALL, no matter your perceived level of skill, become a little more confident in our crafting capabilities!

 

before & after: side table + mod podge

I purchased this cute little side table at a yard sale last June! I started painting it white shortly after I bought it, but as is does, life got in the way of me finishing this. Until a couple weeks ago, when I came up with a plan. Now, as you may have experienced yourself, things don't always go according to the plan. I am great, I mean, super awesome fantastic at coming up with plans. Good plans too. I have an abundance of ideas spilling out of my brain at nearly all times. It's just... well.... I'm not always that great at execution. But hey, we learn from our failures, right?!?!

Anywho... this little side table is an example of a project going nothing like my plan and actually turning out even better. Sometimes going with the spur of the moment decisions works out better than any plan.

Here is the table before & during the sanding process. The feet and legs easily twisted off so I was able to sand it more easily. For sanding the legs I used a sanding sponge.

The plan was to paint it white and then do a woodgraining technique using a bright contrasting color, like maybe blue (shocker) or yellow. I purchased this Martha Stewart Decorative painting tool kit from Home Depot and I was looking forward to trying it out. I used the Martha Stewart multi-surface paints. I thought I would just flip the table over and practice a few times on the bottom and then be finished. Well..... things didn't quite go as planned.

 

 

The wood graining tehnique was totally messing up. After googling it I realized that I didn't have any glaze to mix with the paint to make it glide more easily. If you're interested in doing this technique check out this video. I was determined to finish the table using what I had on hand, so I tried a coulple of the other tools with the paint, but just wasn't feelling it. So I went to my stash of scrapbook papers. I just purchased some new stuff from Studio Calico and I really like the combination of those two papers together, the floral and the stripe. I had no plan this time, I just cut up some strips and started laying it out. The stripe seemed too bright, so I went back to the stack of paper and found another more subtle pattern to coordinate. I finished the top with 4 layers of mod podge. I wet sanded between the last two layers with a sanding sponge and finished it off by buffing with some super fine steel wool. 

 

 

I absolutely love how it turned out. The top feels super smooth too. It's even better than I had planned. I love it when that happens!

Here is the cost breakdown:

• yard sale table: $5
• primer & white high gloss paint: on hand from other projects
• scrapbook paper by crate paper (story teller collection): on hand, probably under $1 for each sheet = $2
• TOTAL: $7

 

 

 

handmade holidays 2011: the rest of the goodies

The last two projects are completely unrelated, but I wanted to wrap up the handmade holiday posts. My Mom is always hot and my step-dad has to life with the air down pretty low in the house. So I made him a small throw blanket with some left over jersey knit and then some quilting cotton fabric. I used some leftover fleece to cut out his initials and monogram the blanket.

I don't have a whole lot of "boy/man" fabrics, but I know he likes blue, so I wen with that. I made the throw pillow case style.

For this last project I took inspiration for the ridiculously cute angry birds that Kerry stitched up. I used the exact same patterns that Kerry used, only I was being cheap and bought 34cent sheets of craft felt.

These angry birds are sooo fun! Like I said, I used felt instead of fleece like in the tutorial, but I think it was just as easy and they are holding up just fine so far. Tossing of the angry birds in Reese's precence is not advised. Lesson learned.

handmade holidays: pintrest project revisited

A while back I made these coasters that were inspired by a project I saw on pinterest.

my first tile coaster project

At work we do a secret Santa gift exchange and I decided to re-use this project to make somehting fun. I originally planned to make this for myself, but I needed a gift fast, and in the spirit of using what I had on hand, I whipped up these tile coasters using some left over instagram photos from my week in the life project.

I wrapped the coasters up in some scaprbooking paper and added a really cute printable reindeer tag from Eat Drink Chic.

The original tile coaster tutorial came from The Cottage Home.

Holiday Sewing projects

I've got some super cool projects to share from Kerry. While my sewing machine has been gathering dust, her trusty Bernina has been workin' it!

"Here are my holiday sewing projects.

First is the new Anna Maria Horner Art Student Tote.  My sister-in-law was a little jealous of the bags I made my nieces and wanted one. She is an elementary school teacher so I thought this pattern would be perfect Christmas gift for her to carry all sorts of supplies and projects in. I made it with the extension panel option. This was my first pattern from Anna Maria Horner and it was really easy. There were a few spots where I had to read and re-read the directions because they were a little confusing, but the pictures helped out. I'm still not sure that I applied the zipper for the extension panel the right way (she has you mark the start and stop dots for sewing the zipper which weren't on the actual pattern but I eye-balled it and it worked out fine). I like how the d-rings give the bag some more shape than just a square tote.  The fabric is also from her Innocent Crush line. This bag has tons of room and I think I might have to make some more it was so easy.  

The next project came from the Obsessively Stitching Blog.These Angry Bird plushies were so fun to make and I'm still in the process of making more.  My soon to be brother-in-law is currently going through pilot training and his class patch (or theme) is Angry Birds.  I think these will provide his classroom with some stress relief from those 12 hour training days.  They have even been fun for me and my husband to throw around the house...raawwrrrgg! (I'm not really sure how to spell what those birds are always jabbering). 

Oh yeah the picture is also my amateur attempt at bokeh with our Christmas tree, I'm hoping to get some more practice this weekend at the Zoo Lights display at our local zoo."  -Kerry

sneak peek

Kerry sent me this photo as a hint to what she's been working on in her spare time:

I wonder if making them is as addictive as the game.

book wish list

So.. I really should be doing homework right now, but instead I am dreaming about the business I am going to start. For real this time. This idea has been brewing for a while. Kerry: remember when I called you while I was sitting in the airport on the way home from the cruise??? That's when the idea struck, and I have been slacking too much to make it happen.

I attened my last grad school class last Thursday, and after this coming Tuesday I will be finished with ALL coursework. Thesis is still in progress, but the business is going to come on the front burner with the thesis.

I saw this video, and I think I need/want this book: Craft Inc. Revised EditionThe Ulitimate Guide to Turning Your Creative Hobby into a Successful Business. I read the first edition, bought the planner, and also read Creative Inc and I loved them all, so I am sure I'll love this latest edition.

 

disclaimer: I am an Amazon affiliate. I get a small amount if you purchase anything through these links. I'm not paid to recommend anything, just sharing things I love and thing you might too.

even MORE washi tape

I told you that sometimes I get obsessed with a project and just run with it. Tonight I was cleaning/organizing/getting rid of things in the craft/sewing studio. I had this Heiniken metal can with a lid that I got way back on a trip to Amsterdam. Anywho... I was not diggin the Heiniken logo

So I covered the side of the can with white paper and then attacked it with the tape. It looks rather nice sitting next to my paint brush vessel. The lid was a little harder to do that the main part, but not too challenging.

I am also trying to clear off my desk so I can get to some refashion projects. I purchased some fun stuff at the goodwill a while back and I'm itching to get sewing. Maybe tomorow if I can get some school work finished first.

washi tape strikes again

OK... It may be getting a little out of hand over here with the washi tape. I flew on Wed night and was complaining that I didn't like my red checklist cover.... and I immediately thought, "I should cover it with tape!"

It is so pretty and the most ridiculously easy way to spruce up/change/beautify pretty much anything.

Here I decorated a plain blue bag for my brother, Jesse's, belated Bday gift.

I used it here to hang my "I love NC" print (by The Wheatfield) on my pantry cabinet door. 

And finally, check out this thrift store glass vessel I transformed with the washi tape. I think it makes my paint brushes look even more special.

{all photos by Jenn}

Past washi tape projects include my planner and some magnets. Sometimes I seem to get on a roll with certain kinds of projects, what about you?