A Shelf for Ev

I always love a good before-and-after project! This started as a rummage/vintage/garage sale find. I only bought it this past summer, but I cannot remember how much I paid for it! After a little work, it became a nice shelf for my daughter's newly-decorated bedroom.

Even before buying a house, I always loved the idea of putting a piece of wood on some decorative brackets to make an easy shelf. Well, here was a shelf that already had the decorative brackets, so I didn't even think twice before picking this up at the sale!

First, it was time to sand. 

Then, I used some above-ground-pool supports (that have since been sold to a scrap metal place) to make a nice spray-painting station in the back yard. 

The only black spray paint that we had on hand was some super-tough-on-rust stuff that my husband previously used on our SUV hitch. All I cared about that it was black :)

After spray painting the brackets, I primed and painted. The final paint color is one shade away from the wall color. It was the same paint that I used for her dresser and desk (upcoming post).

I topped it off with my hexi-scrap table topper and a few special frames and pictures of E. 

Project complete :)

A Window Project

While my photography of this project is not as good as I would like it to be, I've decided to share the project anyways! 

I'll chat about the whole window process a little next, but since you can see it the best in this picture, I'll just talk about the saying here... I used my same go-to method of charcoal transfer before using a black paint marker. The lyrics are from one of my favorite hymns :)

Dan saved this window for me from a building they were tearing down on the farm. Isn't he thoughtful?! He even helped me by caulking the panes to the frame, as they were quite loose. 

(Look how little E used to be?!) At one time, we thought to paint it, but we decided to keep the rustic finish on it instead - one less step... yes, please!

I added burlap to the back and used upholstery nails to attach it to the back. Also, a few sawtooth hangers to help hang it up on the wall. Of course, I had to add the 8x10" photos prior to adding the burlap (the three pictures are from my photo collection... two are of Montana scenes while the sunrise is from my parents' lake cabin). 

The first way I tried to attach the pictures was to use double stick tape between the pictures and the burlap. This worked for awhile but they eventually started to sag. Then I bought some clear photo corners (from Walmart) to use to attach the photos to the glass. If you look close enough, you can see these, but at least they won't be sagging anytime soon!

Ignore the few totes/boxes that I still need to organize, but otherwise the photo window looks quite nice in our bedroom!

More Shirts for E

Delia recently posted printables for making diy graphic shirts. That gave me the itch! The crafty itch! 

It was time to make some shirts using freezer paper stencils for my daughter!! :) 

Shirts: Walmart

Paint: Walmart

PLAY: Delia printout here

JACKS: A logo from my college athletics

SNOWFLAKE: Google Clipart Search

A Young One's Wall Art {E's Room}

I decided that Evelyn needed more on her walls, so I browsed Pinterest for some wall art ideas. Ever since I learned how to create my own using this tutorial, I have felt more confident in making more (here was my first project).

 

There are a lot of great ideas on Pinterest, so I kind of picked and choosed before I went to Photoshop and created a print-out that was the exact same size as the wood board I found out in the wood pile that came with our house. 

The piece had been done for several weeks (and annoying my husband for just lying on our kitchen island), before we put up the mirror. I couldn't hang the art before I knew how tall the mirror would be. But now, the mirror is up, the art is up and my husband doesn't have to be annoyed by my projects lying all over the kitchen... well, until I come up with another crafty project :)

Sing to the Lord a new Song {DIY Wall-Art}

 For the longest time I thought I had to have a vinyl letter cutter in order to paint my own wall-art (because I certainly cannot free-hand it!). However, this post that I found through Pinterest showed me there there is a better (and easier!) way :) My crafty life has not been the same since!!

So, following the instructions from that post, I made this... :) 

 I can't wait until I have a piano to set it on!

Until then, here is the sign on the stack of wood where I originally found my board (thanks Tim!). 

I also thought it looked pretty good by my mother-in-law's yard decorations :)

Oh, and this butterfly did not mind me getting up close and personal to it's beautiful yellow wings! Yay Spring!

Sticking with the yellow theme, here's a gold finch at my parents' house. I had a lot of fun taking lots and lots of pictures of the many birds that frequent my dad's feeders :)

A Covey of Quail Shirts

A group of quails will be getting together this summer, and now they'll have shirts to match the family name :)

I cannot wait to show you pictures of the cousins together... but we'll have to wait until June!

 

I had so much fun finding the clipart of a quail, making the freezer paper stencils and painting with fabric paint (there are lots of great tutorials out there; in the past I used this tutorial to learn the process). I first learned this technique so I could make Evelyn some fun onesies... you can see a few of those here.

Seriously, this is such a quick and easy project... I love how they turned out! Evelyn has already worn hers a few times :)

Abandoned House = Abandoned Gifts

Remember that old abandoned farm place that I showcased on Monday? 

Well, there are lots of treasures inside the house! We've slowly been dissembling pieces that we want to keep for our future house (or pieces that I think will be fun to craft with!).

Gorgeous (but with many layers of paint) trim around the door frames and windows...

Amazing floor boards, which are sadly in three pieces, so reusing them as their original purpose probably won't happen... but, it is nice wood that I'm sure that I can find some use for ;)

I have lots of plans for the old doorknobs! So pretty...

Hmm... I think I'll pass on trying to save the kitchen wallpaper, but it sure does make me smile!

Several nice, thick doors... lots of ideas for these, too :)

Here's what the doors should look like under all that paint!

Look at the detailing on this door! (And ignore the pink walls that are falling apart, ha!)

Trusty Dan is ripping up the floor in an upstairs room. One of the rooms upstairs had too much water damage, but this floor is still in decent condition. We think a few of the floors downstairs would be able to be ripped up and reused, but getting the upstairs floor out was of major importance... you know, in case the roof starts leaking even more... or even falls inwards ;)

Slowly, but surely, this pile is growing...

Working, working, working.

Last but not least, there's a claw foot bathtub in the basement! It's in tough shape, but the dream is to refinish it a bit and try to sell it. Anyone out their want a vintage bathtub?!

January Goals.

 Enough of this only-sewing-to-repair-cloth-diapers from December. Enough. I'm going to sew for enjoyment, and that is that. (Well, as long as Dan can take some time away from bookwork and farm work and dismantling a rundown house and watch Baby E for me!) But truly, I plan on sewing this month!

My official goal is to piece, baste, and quilt two table runners. 

You can see in the picture that I already started the piecing, so I should be able to achieve my goal. And if things get real productive around here, I might even get the binding attached! But... don't hold your breath... Evelyn rules the roost, and she's not too keen on letting Momma have a lot of free time. It's a good thing she's cute ;)

~*~*~*~*~*~

And just for fun... a little sneak peak... 

I've got big plans for this garage sale find from several years ago! It involves hammering and stamping and bending. Can't wait to have some crafty fun!

Pumpkin Painting Party

I had one sewing and crafting friend back in Montana, and we had lots of fun sewing and crafty together. But I have to admit... an entire crafting party... with 7 other fun crafty ladies... was pretty fun, too :)

 You can't have a party without some yummy goodies! Of course I needed a close-up of the yummy apples! Aren't they fabulous?!

 The hostess had the tables set out in her garage, prepared with lots of fun supplies... spray paint, craft paint and brushes, thumb tacks and ribbons! We all love Pinterest inspiration, right?!

We did the spray painting outside, and yet the fumes were still very strong...

Here are my creations! I added the pink paint after some of the black spray paint got under the tape. I'm not usually a hot-pink type of gal, but I thought it looked pretty neat with the black. And of course, GO JACKRABBITS! (The real SDSU... aka, South Dakota State...)

 Finally, here is the entire collection. It was such a wonderful afternoon! 

We're already planning our Christmas-themed get-togehter :)