Feeling tropical?

(by Kelly)

A few weeks ago I went to a luau party with some girlfriends.  It was a great way to take our minds off of the cold with some laughter & relaxation.  Who can let the -30 windchill get them down when you are surrounded by good friends?  I HIGHLY suggest throwing a tropical party in the middle of winter.  A perfect escape. 

This also was a great excuse to sport my pink peacock caftan.  Not enough reasons in this world to wear it.  My good friend Linsdey and I say we are going to grow old together, wear caftans and drink wine.  Until then, my caftan makes rare appearances at theme-parties. 

I needed a Lei to complete my ensemble for the evening.  I ran to the local party supply store and oh my...was I disappointed.  Not only was everything junk, but it was way over-priced.  Even the expensive ones were not what I was looking for.  Sure, I could have walked out with one and called it a day, but that's just not how I roll.  I knew I could do better.  My caftan deserved something pretty.  So...

Off to the craft store.  I knew I could create the look I had floating around in my head.  I browsed the fake flower section and found the perfect colors.  Everything was 40% off, I picked two bunches of flowers and spent less than $5.  I went home to create.

Here are my pieces...



I started to pull the flowers off the stems to lay them out in the order I was seeing in my head. 



I used Illusion Cord to string through the center of the flowers, but you could use any string (I would double it, personally) or a thin elastic would work too. 



This took like 10 minutes.  If that. 

Done!



I even had enough left over for a bracelet and a cute little flower for my hair...



So, don't get taken by the ones at the party store.  If you have a few minutes & some string, you can make your own.  For far less money and you can create the exact look you are going for. 

I had so much fun at the party that I forgot to take pictures of the completed look.  Oh well.  I will gladly leave you with a picture of my kids from our little get-away I mentioned in my last blog.  See how sunny and tropical it is up here?  See how much my boys like to look at the camera?  Ha!  Thanks for stopping by!  Enjoy!

WORDS with Friends...

Kelly here...I'm back!  Thanks, Amy.  Slowly digging out from the snow and cold in MinneSNOWta.  The kids are on spring break this week and the fam is taking a little road trip to visit one of my favorite places to get some R&R.  But, enough about me.  That's not what you're here for. 

Okay, more about me...I love decorating with words & letters.  My last name starts with an "E" so if you come to my house you get to spot all sorts of random "E's" in various locations.  Very fitting that Amy shared this pretty link from The Black Chandelier with me a few months ago.

Ten blocks...60 words!  So cute!   How fun are her music notes? 

I had some girlfriends who also showed interest in this little project so we are having a girls night with blocks...aaaaannnnd probably some wine...but, mainly blocks.  I decided before the few of us dive into this little experiment I should give it a whirl first.  Nothing like telling everyone to come on over and then spending the night with the blind leading the blind.  Just kidding.  My friends are smart.

The basics for this project are: A piece of wood (I used a 2x2"), Modge Podge, sponge brush, decorative paper, solid paper or stickers (for letters) and sandpaper. 



I had everything else, I just had to buy the wood...a whopping $3 at the Home Depot AND the piece I got was long enough to cut like 60 blocks.  Wood overload.  I am assuming craft stores carry blocks.  I'm also assuming my super long piece of wood was cheaper than pre-cut blocks.  Thankfully, I have a very nice father-in-law that was willing to cut everything for me...because I don't do saws.

PSA: MEASURE THE SIDES OF YOUR WOOD TO MAKE SURE YOU ARE CUTTING EVEN LITTLE BLOCKS.  Turns out, I am not well-versed in wood and the basics of wood cutting & measuring.  I will leave it at that.

After my 11 blocks were cut (I cut an extra in case I happened to mess something up) I did a quick sanding on the edges.  These are going to be covered with paper & depending on how clean your cut is, you might not even need to sand.  Your call.

I cut the paper to fit the size of the blocks.  So, because I had 10 blocks with 6 sides, I had to cut 60 little squares.  I cut a little more just in case.  I used a very pretty Damask pattern I had laying around that was begging to be used on a project in my home. 

I used Modge Podge to adhere the paper onto the blocks.  I did have to do a little trimming here and there.  No big deal.  For the most part, everything fit.  Pretty, huh??





Let's talk letters.  I cut mine on my Cricut using the SchoolBook cartridge.  I was able to cut all the required letters from one 12x12" piece of paper.  I played around with sizing a little bit in order to get my letters to fit perfectly. Make sure you pick a color for the letters that will really stand out against your background paper.  You can also use stickers, rub-on letters, or even stamps...whatever you think you have the patience for.  The letters go in this order so you can get the maximum number of words: 

Block One: H Y E D
Block Two: A C R S
Block Three: R P E T
Block Four: V N L O
Block Five: E O M D

Block Six: S M K I
Block Seven: T F B W
Block Eight: U A G L
Block Nine: P J I H
Block Ten: F P S C

Then, I used Modge Podge again to stick all the little letters onto the blocks...


The color for the letters turned out to be a little too bold for me.  I used some brown eyeshadow (yes, eyeshadow) to darken them a bit and make them look a little more distressed.  I was too scared to try paint and I didn't have the right color chalk.  You just never know when all that eyeshadow will come in handy. 

I then did a couple more coats of Modge Podge and let everything dry overnight. 



I put them on my wine rack...



You can spell:  Harvest, Welcome, Faith, Family, Spooky, Friends, Winter, Freedom, Bless, Snow, Home, Hope, Monster, Mother, Dream, Easter, Lucky, Love, Santa, Glory, Romance, Pumpkin, Frosty, School, Autumn, Spring, Summer, Father, Fall, Happy, Merry, Fairy, Fairies, Jolly, Flower, Wishes, America, Birthday, Flake, Hearts, Christ, Jesus, Bloom, Flag, Irish, Sun, Swim, Pool, Ghost(s), Witch(es), Vampire, Fright, Thanks, Leaf, Treats, Turkey, Jewels, Cuddle, Party, Heart, Smile, Wonder...and MUCH MORE! 

My kiddos already played with their names. 

I also played around with what I could do...



Don't worry, in the end I stuck with the "SMILE" layout. 

So, there you have it.  Pretty simple.  I am really looking forward to trying this project again with friends & making a night of it.  I hope you have as much fun creating this as I did. Be creative with your sizing and letters!  As always...Enjoy!!

Dare I say it...Spring?

I realize it's only February. And, looking out my window right now I see endless piles of snow. But, we had a sort of heat wave over the weekend (40 balmy degrees, folks!) and the Cadbury Cream eggs have hit the shelves at my local Target...so spring IS coming. Eventually. My house is in that awkward in-between-holidays-phase. Not yet Easter, but I've packed up all the hearts and cupids.
Speaking of hearts, I made this little hanging thing-y for my front window over Valentine's Day...


Please excuse the glare. Crafts are my thing, not photos. Obviously.

I just cut some little hearts out of fabric, stuffed them, stitched them up and hung them on a ribbon.


So, I decided to give this little project a whirl again and share it with you guys. This time...I am tackling Easter. The fun thing about this craft is you can really make one for any holiday and use any colors/fabrics you choose. Pumpkins for Halloween? Little trees for Christmas? Shamrocks for that day we all drink green beer? Whatever floats your boat.

All I needed was: fabric (I used a 1/2 yard of each fabric and I had MORE than enough), stuffing, marker or pen, thread and needle (which I forgot to photograph, so sorry) and ribbon. I also used a big plastic needle to thread the ribbon for hanging, but you don't need that. Any long object will do.



First, I cut my templates. I just used a 4x6" piece of cardstock and cut it into the shape of an egg & the same for the little bunny head.






Then, I traced the little eggs and bunnies onto the fabric & cut them out. I just used my gray Sharpie to trace. My fabric pencil would have probably worked better with less bleeding. Oh well. Lesson learned.






I cut enough for three eggs and 2 bunnies. Bunnies are harder to cut...so I made less of them.

Time to stitch these babies up. I did a simple stitch all the way around the shape leaving about a 1/4" of fabric on the edges. Keep in mind you are going to thread a ribbon through them so you don't want the stitching to be too close together or else you will have one heck of a time getting that ribbon through.



Let's stuff. These take VERY little stuffing. If you don't want to go out and buy a big ol' bag o' fluff...does your kid have an old, unused stuffed animal laying around that you have been secretly wanting to cut the head off? No? Okay. What about that old throw pillow you keep meaning to put in the yard sale? You could even stuff with Kleenex or tissue. Anything to give them a little puff.


I stitched them closed. Cute, huh??





Then, I put the ribbon through. Like I said, I used a plastic needle, but you could even tape the end of the ribbon to a skewer or something similar and push it through. Any spare chopsticks laying around? They work too.



And, there you have it, folks! My little Easter hanging. I did sew some little pearl-like beads onto the bunny's faces. Buttons would be cute too.


This took me all of about 2 hours to complete. If that. I put it together while watching a movie and my kids were napping. I like to create things that are quick or else I find I lose interest. I also like to make things that can easily be created while I park my rear in front of the TV. Have fun "Thinking Spring"! Amy will be back next week (Yay!) and I have enjoyed sharing a couple of my basic ideas with her faithful followers. Thanks for looking! ~ Kelly

Guest blogger with the easiest project you will ever create...

Hi everyone!  My name is Kelly.  I am Amy's friend from Minneapolis and she has kindly asked me to step in for her while she is away.  (Thanks, Amy!)

I have her locked in my basement. 

I kid.  I kid. 

But, I swear, she will return soon with many great things for you to enjoy.  In the meantime...you are stuck with me. 

Here is a pic of Amy's little guy and my little guy from over the summer.  Cute, huh?



Okay, back to what you came here for...CRAFTS!

I am going to show you the easiest thing you will ever make.  A simple frame & chalkboard paint...

 

It can be a very cute addition to your home.  And it has many functional uses.  Like, a reminder to "buy wine" and we all need one of those. 

I had seen a wall of these in a little boutique I frequent.  They wanted $20 (US dollars) for one and I told my friend I could make the same thing for cheaper. And I did.  MUCH cheaper. 

The one I made for my home I spent about $10 on.  I bought a frame on clearance, the chalkboard spray paint with a 40% off coupon and a $1 pack of chalk. 

The one I am about to show you is one I made for my mom for Valentine's Day.  A simple and pretty gift. 

All I needed was the frame, some ribbon, the chalkboard paint and some chalk. 



Now, before I confuse you with my next photo, like 99% of the frames out there have the glass that just pops out.  All you will be doing for this project is spray-painting the glass.  I like to use old Christmas wrap for my painting workspace.  When I did this the first time, I just elevated my glass on a small cup and sprayed it three times in about 10 hours.  I let it dry for 24 hours.  BUT, because I like a challenge, I happened to buy a frame where the glass was not removable and I had to just tape it off.  It was actually very easy, but I assure you, when you grab your beautiful frame with the pop-out glass...it will be 10x's easier for you.  Swear.

What you are looking at is my glass piece with the tape and my trusted old wrapping paper. 



Now, I have sprayed it...



Remember, spray 3x's in about 10 hours and let dry for 24 hours.  I live in the frozen tundra so I let mine dry inside.  Thankfully, the chalkboard paint has very little odor. 

Ta-da!



I added the ribbon & the chalk and gave it to my mom...



Hope you enjoy making yours and much as I did mine.  And, guess what?  You are not done with me.  I have another craft to share this week before I let Amy out of my basement.  Stay tuned for an Easter craft.  A super easy version of something I made for Valentine's Day.  As always, THANKS for looking!