upcycle (Amy, this is for you)

My friend Amy is the most amazing recycler I have ever seen, not to mention a great mom and teacher. For their family of 5, they only have 1 bag of trash a week and they have a small child in diapers.  AMAZING!! (Umm, we have way more trash than than I hate to admit)  So in honor of Amy, I recycled some pop-tart boxes, you know, the ones you get at Sam’s with smaller boxes inside, the ones that totally waste cardboard with multiple packaging. They were the perfect size to make some baskets for my super unorganized shelf.  The result is pretty awesome and I’m planning to make a few more for the T’s rooms.

I have another basket project I can’t wait to do out of this wire fabric stuff.  I will eventually get that bookshelf under control.

The following two pictures are just for fun, but sometimes I can’t help but share.  What happens when T3 & 4 are quiet in their bedrooms for an hour? The Avenger happens.  The decoration on this costume is notebook paper they colored, cut out and TAPED to T4s shirt and face.  They taped a yellow t-shirt around his middle to make the diaper looking thing.  Yes TA stand for The Avenger.  Makes me laugh that they included the T.

This last photo is from T1.  She pinned this little note to the wall above one of my craft tables.

Precious!

sharing at :: Tatertots & Jello :: Craft Envy :: Be Different, Act Normal :: Lolly Jane ::

vinyl and spray paint and clearance, OH MY!

This past weekend it was over 50 degrees.  Now to most people that just means and unseasonably warm January day, but for me in means SPRAY PAINT!  I have had a few projects that needed some attention and I was able to get them done. My a to z bookends didn’t show up against the dark wood bookshelf.  Green paint to the rescue.

And since it’s such an awesome color of green, I decided to paint a small table that color too.

I also painted a old brass floor lamp a rubbed bronze.  Hopefully I can show you that soon; it needs a new shade!!!

I ordered some vinyl form Expressions Vinyl, my favorite vinyl place.  They ship SUPER fast and are very reasonable.  I needed some green and gold  to embellish some travel mugs for my sister and her husband.  They got these mugs on clearance after Christmas.  Stainless steel (inside and out) with a leather like removable cup holder.  She sent them home with me so I could put their favorite teams on them.  The rounded sides are tough to put vinyl on but they turned out pretty good.  It is permanent vinyl that is hand washable.  Since the sale was so irresistible (ridiculously cheap!) my brother-in-law got me a few (quite a few) more mugs thinking I could dress them up and put them in my shop.  I played around and made one for myself, replacing the leather like holder with a quilted one.  Obviously I will have to use non-licensed ideas for the ones I sell, but for personal use, I love mine. Dr. Seuss rocks!

Speaking of clearance, I scored a king sized quilt at Target for $24.  T2 needed heavy curtains to block the cold in her room and she really liked the orange in the quilt.  We also found some tie back bars on, you guessed it- clearance, at Lowe’s that we still need to mount, to hold the heavy fabric back.

One last picture – our dog Latte, who insisted upon having her picture taken while I was taking pictures of the table.  She’s something.

Silhouette Fun

I love my Silhouette. No it’s not the Cameo but it still does what I want it to do. Here are a few projects I’ve done recently with my favorite little machine.
We’ve only lived in our house a year and a half. It’s about time I got some house numbers on the place!

This is a glass etching order we filled recently.

And my favorite project, a picture inspired by my amazing pastor. This past Sunday he preached about anxiety and worry, something I struggle with.  This was a favorite quote of his so I made him a picture.  I am also making one for my wall as a constant reminder.

Working on a window frame project… can’t wait to share it.

Last group of Christmas Presents

We had our last Christmas gathering yesterday and I can finally post the rest of my pictures.  I have included a few orders that I have filled too.  I’m getting ready to work on some SNOW projects, just being hopeful :)!

This first project came from Dog Under My Desk and I added personalization to the back.  Thanks for such a great tutorial (although I wasn’t near my printer so I didn’t use her pattern, but I would have been easier if I had!) T2s friends loved them at their gift exchange on New Years Eve.

We also put vinyl on A LOT OF STUFF.  The monkey nightlight is for my nephew to match his monkey themed room I made the goodies for. The others are gifts and orders we (my friend Steph has been helping tons!) have filled.

created by Jen during Crafts & Spirits night 🙂

nightlight for T3 & 4s bathroom

gift for my grammy

order

Zach's nightlight

I made a marker roll & marsupial for my nieces as well as these dry erase frames for their rooms.

And last but not least, how about some Angry Birds with blocks.  T3 & 4 used the little Angry Birds that T4 got in his stocking and filmed (no I didn’t include the MANY videos they made) each episode of the Angry Birds game.  They worked on this for hours.  I love how creative they are!

I go back to school tomorrow 😦 but I am trying to adopt a new attitude toward all the changes coming down the pipe in education.

Source: Uploaded by user via Mandi on Pinterest

Sharing at :: Sew Can Do :: Skip to my Lou :: Sumo’s Sweet Stuff :: Craft-0-Maniac :: Boogie Board Cottage :: Singing Three Little Birds :: Embellishing Life :: The Girl Creative ::

Happy New Year

Wishing you the best 2012! Happy New Year!!!