Wedding Gift Craftyness

 
      A good friend from my college days is renewing her vows with her hubster tomorrow. It is their 10th Anniversary and so they are reaffirming their vows and love in front of friends and family. It's kind of crazy because 10 years ago I hadn't yet met Shauna. So, I feel really lucky that they are doing it all over again and I am lucky enough to get an invite.
     The lovely couple has asked for no gifts. However, I'm a rule breaker and I HAD to bring a little something for them. I decided to get crafty. Shauna, I hope you and Shawn like your gift...if not, lie to me and stick it on a shelf in your closet.

     On with the craftyness............I had run across a pin on Pinterest the other day where the person used crayons and watercolors to create a cool pattern. I have also been seeing cool frames with words burnt into the wood from etsy. I'm also in love with bright pops of color right now. So with all these ideas in my head I came up with my gift. Unfortunately I don't have wood etching kit, nor did anybody else in my family that I could borrow. So I decided to use the wood burning idea and put it into the crayon and water color idea. I would just put my words and ideas into a watercolor that could go into the frame. I decided that the frame would be painted a fun bright color. That way Shauna could either leave the water color inside the frame or take it out and just use the frame. She can use it however it fits best into her home.....even if that is hidden in the dark closet on a shelf! ha

In order to make my water color I used a white crayon, a large piece of card stock, and a bingo dauber (I wanted a more vibrant red than water color would offer).

I used the white crayon to write and draw and then used the red bingo dauber to wipe coloring onto the card stock. Of course the wax from the crayon repels the coloring and you can then see what I drew.

Sample of the end product after the ink is added over the crayon. Let the end product dry completely before putting it into your frame.

Next it is time to paint the frames. I chose two different frames to paint. I wasn't sure which one I would like more with the watercolor, so I thought I would have two options to pick from. Before you paint, remove the back of the frame and the glass.

First coat of paint

Paint it with two coats and let it dry completely before putting the glass and water color into the frame

Shauna and Shawn, I wish you two MANY MANY more years of happiness and love.

-Jessica

Craftyness for the Wildflower Garden

     Maybe this post should be titled Pinterest inspiration #9,845. Ha! Seriously though, I just love Pinterest. I recently had run across a pin that used a ladder in a flower garden. I though that was super cute for some extra potted plants to sit on the rungs of the ladder. I have also been seeing at antique stores and such these brightly painted rickety old chairs. LOVE those too.....so I meshed the idea together.
     I was driving home a while back and along the curb was this old ladder set out for the trash man. Into my head popped that Pinterest pin so I went back to see if the ladder could serve the purpose for the flower garden. Sure enough it was perfect for that! It wasn't in such great shape for climbing on, but plants aren't heavy like people...it would work perfectly. I took it home and put it out in my wildflower garden.

     The ladder has hung out in the garden, just like it is in the picture above for a month or two now. That is, until Ace Hardware had their FREE PAINT SATURDAY!!! All you had to do was stop into a local Ace Hardware store, fill out a voucher and pick out your paint color (that is the hardest part). The folks there mix up your color and you are out the door with a free $15 quart of Clark + Kensington primer and paint in one. AWESOME!

     I was going to put off painting my ladder until next summer until the free paint bandit struck. I had a vision in my head of my ladder being a turquoise color. So I picked out a Benjamin Moore color called Tropicana Cabana.

It's really more turquoise in person...this picture doesn't do it justice.

     Today was a beautiful day so I decided to start painting. It took longer than I had expected it to take. However, I think that's because I had a smaller paint brush and I was pretty meticulous about getting every square inch painted. I love the end result though. It adds a fun pop of color to my wildflower garden. I also love that it didn't cost me a penny to make because of finding a ladder on the curb and Free Paint Saturday at Ace. (P.S. Thanks ACE Hardware for doing THAT) I just had to share my fun and FREE project with you. I hope you like it and maybe it will inspire you to do something fun in your flower garden.

-Jessica



Check out the pictures of my project:

This was the old ladder "before", not fit for climbing but perfect for a garden project.

This is my beautiful Tropicana Cabana color, yet again not showing the true turquoiseness of it.

Blood, sweat, and tears. Ok, maybe just sweat....sweat...and more sweat went into this project. It was kinda hot out in the sun after a while.

Almost done.....

Beautiful if I do say so myself! :)

Luminaria for Relay for Life

     I have been busy busy trying to get myself and my team prepared for Relay for Life. If you aren't familiar with Relay, it is a event in which teams walk for 12 hours to raise money for the American Cancer Society. It is an overnight event and it is LOADS of fun. It raises money for an amazing cause.
     New to our event this year, we are able to decorate our luminary bags. Luminary bags are bought and represent our loved ones who have cancer, who have beat cancer, and who have passed from cancer. I have been very excited about being able to decorate the bags. I think it really adds a personal touch and shows a little about the person that the bag represents. The bags line our walking path and are lit during a very emotional and moving luminary ceremony.
     I had run across an idea the other day on Pinterest that a person had used for a party. They used real cloth doilies and glued them to the inside of their paper bags for their fancy schmancy party. I thought it would be an amazing idea to make for RELAY!! The light that passed through the doilies was just awesome. So I had to make some for some of the luminary that had been purchased through our team.
     I thought that the cost of cloth doilies would be a little much, and would make the bags too heavy. I opted to use the paper doilies that are often used under cakes and such or at Valentines day to make pretty Valentines. All I needed for my little project was the white bags that are provided to us through Relay for Life, glue, paper doilies, scissors and sticky letters.

I got small doilies, cut some into pieces and some I left whole. I glued them into place on the white bag.

I glued the doilies down in different patterns and let the glue fully dry.

Once they were dry I added the names to the bags using adhesive letters.

I think that they turned out really beautiful. I can't wait to see them lining the walking path at our Relay for Life event.

-Jessica

Flip Flop Wreath.....perfect for Summer!

     You may not know this about me, but I'm a flip flop addict. I love love love flip flops!! I love to wear them. I love to wear shirts that have flip flops ON them. I love to write on note pads that have flip flops. I even have some flip flop shaped pillows for my giant chair in my office. Oh and a flip flop accent rug. I'm slightly obsessed.
     When I decided to start a Relay for Life team in support of my Mom, the obvious theme for our team was Flip Flops. We named our team Flip Flopping Towards A Cure. Our Relay camp last year was decked out with palm trees, flamingos, hoola girls, and of course we all wore flip flops!
     This year the theme for the ENTIRE Relay is TropiCURE Paradise....ummmm can you say FLIP FLOPS required?!?!?!
     I had run across the most adorable idea on Pinterest (another one of my obsessions). It was for a flip flop wreath. I knew that I HAD to make one for myself, but I also knew I had to make one for the silent auction at our Relay. It would fit in perfectly with the theme!!
     Last year at the end of Summer, I bought several pairs of children's flip flops when they were on a closeout end of season clearance. I think I paid maybe .50 or .25 cents a pair. I tucked them away knowing I was going to make this wreath.
     Soooooo I recently got the crafting spirit and pulled out my flip flops to get craftin'!

What you will need:
6-8 pairs of flip flops (depending on sizes you may need more or less)
Hot Glue Gun
Ribbon

First you want to separate your flip flops out. You want to use either all lefties or all righties for your wreath. You can essentially make two wreaths (which is what I did, I did a all lefts wreath and another with all of the right side shoes).

Next you want to lay out the flippey flops. Decide which colors and patterns you want beside each other. I ended up with several different sizes of shoes, so that was also a factor for me. I had to decide which sizes made the best shape.

Now you need to get your hot glue gun all heated up......

Next pick up a toe or heel of a flip flop and hot glue it down. Continue to glue your way around the wreath until all of the toes and heels have been glued together.

Lastly, tie some cute ribbon on and make a bow. I just made a double bow. I also made a loop on the back for a hanger. I put it up on my door for a cute summer decoration. The other wreath will be donated for our Relay for Life Event.

That's my simple summer flip flop craft!! Enjoy!

-Jessica

Lost Sock Board.......I was feeling crafty

    I have recently been having some renovations in my house. My heater died and a new one had to be put in. Long story short.......the entrance to my attic is in my laundry room. I felt I needed to really clear the clutter in the laundry room so that the workers didn't get things dirty. Well I found a jillion socks that didn't have partners while I was de-cluttering. Possibly a jillion is a slight exaggeration.........
     I did decide to make a lost sock sign. I had seen a couple of different ideas on Pinterest, but not exactly what I wanted. So I decided to design my own. Here is what I came up with......

What you need:
-Wooden Craft Plaque
- picture hanging kit (with wire and eye hooks)
-picture hanging kit or other type of hangers for the back
- Ribbon
- Adhesive letters
-Paint and brush
- Clothespins

Lay down some newspaper and paint your wooden plaque. Be sure to paint all of the sides, front, and the back. I painted mine brown and did a darker brown around the edges to break up the color.

It is sort of hard to tell in this picture because the paint is still wet, but the edges are a slightly darker brown than the front. I let the paint dry overnight and then finished everything else the next day.

I first determined where I wanted my eye hooks and wire to be. I put the eye hooks in first. I used a ruler to be sure that they were level and then installed them both. Next I strung the wire from one hook to the other.

Next I placed my adhesive letters. I had purchased these previously for another project, so I just used the letters that I had. I placed mine at a slant.

I then installed the picture hangers on the back of the plaque.

I made the bow/hanger last. I looped the ribbon through the picture hangers on the back, brought it back around and tied a double bow. I thought it looked cute with the extra ribbon hanging down so I didn't trim it off, you could if you wanted.

Right now I have full sized clothespins on the board. I'm hoping to find some smaller ones at a craft store and then I will paint them colors that match the polka dots in the ribbon. But for now, I just have the large ones.

    This project was super easy and it puts my socks without partners up there for me to see instead of having to hunt and hunt for them. I think I will be much more likely to find their mates now that they are front and center.

     I hope you enjoyed seeing my fun project!!

-Jessica