Pallet Style Pumpkin

 I made myself a little something today!
 I had been looking at all the fun fall decorations and the cute pumpkins, and my mom sent me a photo of a pallet pumpkin she had made.....and I decided to get on the bandwagon!

I started with a few slats of wood that my dad had given my husband years ago to make bird houses with, but we'd never gotten around to those projects. I thought they would be perfect for this because they are rough like pallets. So I got out his chop saw and got to work. I cut equal angle pieces from two side boards and cut the middle to length, then cut a smaller piece for the stem. I then gave them a quick sanding and took a photo....

I watered down some orange paint and 'stained' the pumpkin boards orange. Then grabbed an golden oak stain that I had and darkened up the stem, so it would have a nice contrast.

Then....I love all the monogramming that I am seeing around and thought the big monogram would help my pumpkin to pop. So I layed it all out like this:

Then I flipped it all sideways and liked it even more! So, after we put the kids in bed, I asked him to get me a couple thin slats for putting the thing together, drilled the holes and screwed the boards all together.

I actually used Velcro to put the "T" on the front, in case I decide to make a pallet style tree for Christmas, or an egg for Easter......

Frame Repurposing

While I love to show off my kid's artwork....this 'clothesline' type spot behind my table was beginning to bother me. It always looks messy. And when you open my front door, it is directly in your line of vision.  But, I also use this to hang Christmas cards and things on too at different times of the year...so I knew I couldn't get rid of it all together. Then I saw an excellent idea in a Woman's Day from 2012 that I'd ripped out....

So, I went down to the local Salvation Army store and found the biggest frame I could find. They had this beauty for $13! (outside dimensions: 43x31 inches) I set to work. I removed the print, pulled off the gold foil covering the frame and sprayed a coat of Kilz on top. Then I started to paint it silver. In the middle of painting it silver I decided I wanted to keep it white....so I started back with the Kilz primer! :)

I finished up with a coat of white spray paint, and stapled in some chicken wire. In the idea from the magazine, she was hanging cards with what they were thankful with for the Thanksgiving holiday. I will probably do that with the family too...and it will look great with Christmas cards!

Another Multi-Strand Bracelet

I really liked the look of the multi-strand bracelet I posted last week, and had another birthday to celebrate this week, so I decided to make her a bracelet too! I wanted to make it all browns and yellows, glass beads that shine. I used beading wire, made three strands of glass beads that were different colors/sizes/lengths and put them all on one ring. Then I added a little chain to give it a different medium. I had this great, large glass bead with all the colors in it and  added it as an accent to one end. I love it!!

Now to take the time to make one or two for myself!! ;)

Ashley's Bracelet

It was my neice's birthday and I checked out her Pinterest for ideas. I found a couple bracelets that were multi-strand, leather and charms, trendy. I looked around a few stores and didn't see anything like what I was looking for. Morning after the frustrating shopping trip, I decided I would try to make her one instead! It looks nothing like the ones she pinned....but I wasn't actually looking to make it just the same. What fun would that be? I like the multi-strand look. Chain, leather cord, beads, charms. Fun! 

Grandma's Bracelet

I wanted to make something personalized for my mom for her retirement gift. I had these gold discs and some metal stamps and decided to try my hand at stamping the grandkids names on them. It was tricky for me to line them up well, but eventually I made a disc for each child. I had originally intended to make a necklace, but half-way through decided to do a bracelet instead. I had to go out and buy some gold wires, o rings, and clasps, because all I have is silver! :) I decided to keep the colors very neutral so that it would match almost anything. This is the result:

Pallet Egg

We started with a pallet. I sanded it a little, so there would be no splintering in little hands. Then I quick coated it with a light spray of Kilz sealer, in a sort-of egg shape.

 Then we gave each of the kids a section to decorate with craft paint, and taped off the area that was in between so that when they went over their 'lines' it would peel right off. This is the result!

Then I cut an egg out of paper until I got the shape I wanted and traced it off. My hubby cut it with a jigsaw, and we got this:

We still need to cut off the bottom and middle boards from the back, but I am super happy with how it turned out!

Pallet Wood Ornament

This is one way that I am passing on a legacy of homemade Christmas to my children: I make an ornament each year to give to family. This means that my children each have at least as many ornaments as they are old! I am really enjoying doing it and they are enjoying putting them on individual trees in their room each Christmas season!

This years ornament was inspired by some I saw for sale at the Daisy Festival this year. They ended up completely different than what I saw there, but I love to improvise! :)

I cut lengths of pallet wood, sanded and stained them. Then I used ModgePodge to attach a paper to the front that has the names of Jesus all over it. I scoured the craft store and did not find a manger that was bold enough, so I used some scrap stamp rubber to make my own manger stamp and stamped it in brown ink on the front. Then I drilled two holes in the top, used clothesline wire (because that is what I had and I hate running to the store for more stuff when I can use what I already have!) through the holes and twisted them around with my jewelry pliers. The last touch was a little bow made of twine that I tied on one end of the wire. I am so excited about the result!

Cork Christmas Tree

 I made three of these and gifted two to my Mom and Sister for Christmas over the weekend! They were quick and easy, and they turned out better than I ever thought!

I had my mom and friends collect corks for me, and then cut them all to about a inch and a quarter length. Then I rubbed a few in some metallic ink pads I had (silver, copper, gold) and one in brown. I hot glued the triangle for the tree and a twine bow on top for hanging. Then I cut a trunk to a point and glued it to the bottom. I am really enjoying the natural look and it pops on the tree.

Pallet Christmas Tree

 My husband picked up this pallet from me in the trash pile down the street because I had seen some great Christmas trees at the craft fair I went to recently. Then I looked online and found an idea that I knew would be just right for me.
So we cut the pallet, increasing 2 inches on either side, to look like a tree and removed the back boards. The middle piece is 4x4 and perfect for a sturdy stand, so we left it just like it was.








Then I stained the middle piece with a mahogany stain (painting carefully between the slats). Next I used a little white paint I had left from a house project, mixed it with water, and did a little whitewash on the slats.

After that, I had to decide on lettering, and ended up choosing to use my Cricut to cut vinyl and and adhered it to use as a stencil. I spaced them out, gave the letters one good coat of brown paint and let it dry.









Lastly, I cut a few twigs, formed a star with wire on the tips, nailed a little nail in the top section and hung the star on it. (I figured that little star would never make it in and out of the attic without breaking apart, so I wanted to be able to remove it and put it away safely!)


Now I just have to wait until after Thanksgiving to be able to display it!!!

Elegant Swirls

It took me a long time and a lot of different tries, but I finally feel like I was able to copy the elegant swirls of this beautiful wedding invitation. I loved the asymmetrical swirls at the top and the pair of hearts! I like to add them to wedding projects like this because they add a punch of color without putting flowers on.

Less is More

I have been enjoying my time working on wedding invitations this week. I always try to see something in the invitations to 'copy' into the quilling so that it all coordinates. This time, it was the flower in the background that I picked. I put this together, thinking that it was just the beginning of the project, but the more I looked at it the more I thought "Less is more!" It just didn't look like it needed anything else. I thought it looked so elegant with just a couple flowers filling the corners.

What do you think? Is less, more?

Green Necklace

A little green for me to wear on St. Patrick's Day...

and hopefully a lot more days too!

Quilled Shamrock

I quilled a little shamrock for St. Pats Day...

St. Patrick's Day Wreath

I have a couple friends that I have been talking with for months about making a wreath. We talked about it so much, that we bought the supplies back in the beginning of December!! I never did get that Christmas wreath made...but still wanted to work on one. So I tried to make one festive for St. Patrick's Day! I got out all the green fabrics in my stash, and while my hubby watched a seriously lame movie about California splitting in two, I made flowers. This morning, I thread each button for the centers on a piece of floral wire and threaded it through the flower. This way, I have a wreath I can easily change! I think if I take out a couple green ones, and add in a few pastels, I have all the flowers I need for an Easter wreath! I had this grapevine wreath hanging around from fall (I think) and just wired them on where I thought they looked nice.

A few more lame movie nights, where I can concentrate on my flower making, and I could have a wreath for every season! :)

String Heart

I have seen these string art projects popping up, and wanted to try one. A Valentine heart seemed perfect. I had my hubby cut a board to size and traced around a foam heart we had sitting around. Then I gave it one coat of white paint. Because I couldn't find a hammer or nails, I improvised with some thumbtacks I had sitting around...which worked out just fine. Actually, they made the project much quicker. I pushed them in part way and then gave each of my girls (8 & 4 years old) a color of embroidery floss - red & pink. They wound them around which was a great way to make this look random! :) After they finished, I pushed the pins all the way down in, so they were tight and put it on a shelf. Two hour project - and that's just to let the paint dry in between!