Crafty Imaginings & Silly Things: February 2012

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

I'm a Liebster Blog Awardee!!

I received an award!!
I am so excited and happy to have received this blog award from another blogger, Marilyn at 4YouWith Love! I am a newbie to the DIY blogosphere and am having so much fun learning the ins-and-outs of it all. To be recognized and thought of as creative is an honor! Thanks, Marilyn!

According to Marilyn at 4YouWith Love, "Liebster is German and means 'dearest' or 'beloved', but it can also mean 'favorite'. The idea behind the Liebster Award is to bring attention to blogs with less than 200 followers."

The rules of the Liebster Blog Award are:
1. Acknowledge the blogger who gave the award by linking back to them.
2. Give this award to five other bloggers (who have fewer than 200 readers), and let them know through a comment on their blog.
3. Post the award on your blog.
4. Best of all – bask in the glory, have fun and share the love!

The hard part is picking just 5 blogs. I follow so many great ones (big and small). I enjoy reading so many, but I finally narrowed it down......So, I am gonna share the love (and the joy of receiving an award) with the following awesome bloggers:
1. Katie at Thrifty Finds and Redesigns
2. Holly at Bella Nest
3. Amy at Four Corners Design
4. Kindall at Kindall's Creations
5. Brandi & Meig at Crafty Girl Squared

Happy Blogging!

Monday, February 27, 2012

DIY Dragonfly

I posted about this project a couple of weeks ago when I found the parts on my treasure hunt at SA Architectural Antiques. For my first time making one, I think it came out pretty darn cute! We named her Daphne Dragonfly:

To make Daphne I used:
1 table leg
4 fan blades
wood screws
leftover paint
2 black screws
2 washers
craft wire
I purchased the table leg and the fan blades for $1.00/each. Everything else was laying around the garage…..a $5.00 dragonfly, cool huh?

First, I cleaned-up and sanded the parts. Then I gave the table leg a coat of spray paint (That pretty blue that I used on my DIY Two Chair Bench).

I sanded the table leg “body” a little and then removed the hardware from the fan blades.

I then spray painted the fan blades. These were white to start with and I layered them with the Blue Ocean Breeze blue and some Sun Yellow. This made some pretty green shades too!

After everything dried, I used some old screws and washers…found in the bottom of my tool bag.. to make Daphne’s face.

And, I nailed some craft wire to the top to make her antennae.

The wings were secured with wood screws to the back of the table leg.

I also added some swirly white designs to her wings as a last minute thought…to give her a little “something”. A hangar placed a little at an angle was screwed to the back so that she can “fly” on the backyard fence.

My son (and the neighbor kids) think she is pretty cute…and so do I! Now she can buzz around my landscaping and add a little color to an otherwise boring fence!
Happy Crafting!

Friday, February 24, 2012

No Limits: I bought a TRUCK!

I was going to post another one of my recent projects (using some of my great finds from last week), but time got away from me.

I spent the past two days (I was off from work) helping my mother lay laminate (wood-look) flooring in her soon-to-be craft room! It turned out so nice. Then, I did something a little on the spontaneous side.....I bought a new (new-to-me) truck!!

I have been itching to trade-in my SUV, but wasn't sure what kind of value I would get on my old vehicle and the ones I like are so pricey. But, the sun was shining on this gorgeous Texas day and I thought: "Why not just get an estimate?"....that is where the trouble began. Needless to say, they offered me a great deal on my trade-in and I found an AWESOME F150 TRUCK too! So, I got it!

My mother said that the only problem is that now I have NO LIMITATIONS.....no more: "I shouldn't get that because I have no way to haul it home". LOL!

Now to find some projects to pick-up....... ;^)

Monday, February 20, 2012

Old Window Photo Display

I LOVE Old Windows, don’t you?

I have been looking for one for awhile…paned, with glass intact. I saw all of the photo display ideas on Pinterest and decided I would do one if I ever found the right window. Well, this past rainy Friday…..I found my window on Treasure Hunt day. If you read that post, you know that I also found some other great treasures that day too (more on those projects to come...).

Here is the window in all of its peely, dusty, grimy glory (actually, I’ve already wiped it down once):

I like the old peeling paint and discoloration. I think it adds to the piece’s story. So, I tried to leave it as “authentic” as possible. I did have to re-caulk some of the panes though.
After I got it cleaned-up (as good as it gets), I screwed large picture hangers into the top corners.

Then, I printed 6 photos using the “old photo” setting in Photobucket and mounted them to the back of the window using clear photo corners.

I had planned on using this in my hallway, but I liked it so much that I hung it on the wall in the living area. LOVE IT!

The view from the couch:

My son (9 years old) wants to frost the window panes next Christmas…..I kinda like that idea too!

Happy Monday to you all!

Friday, February 17, 2012

Treasure Hunting in the Rain

I went on a treasure hunt today and found some awesome stuff! I am sooo excited to get started on this week’s projects! My son was out of school today and my mother was off of work too……so it was off to do a little shopping/junking today! We are having a lot of rainy days this winter, but the wet weather didn’t stop us.

Our first stop was the Habitat for Humanity store where we found some awesome deals on wood for my mother’s upcoming craft room re-do ($2 for a 3 ft x 5 ft piece of particle board) and some pegboard for my garage organization (only $5 for a 2ft x 8ft section) project (see pic below...it's behind my awesome window and door panel).

Some of my treasures!

Then, we went to one of my favorite places: Architectural Antiques. I first went to this warehouse before Christmas and fell in love. You never know what you will find! This is where I picked up my antique tin ceiling tiles that I use to display photos (see below).

Today, we walked in and saw the cutest project idea on display: a dragonfly. The owner had made it similar to these on Lucy Designs.

So, my mother and I each bought dragonfly body parts! We found spindles for $1/each and old fan blades also for $1/each. I can hardly wait to put one together and display in my garden/yard. I’ll keep you posted…..

Dragonfly Parts

I also found an old paned window (only $25...see it in the first pic) for another Pinterest project idea (see below).

We also picked up a piece of a door panel ($5).…great for making subway art, maybe?!?!
So many ideas, I can hardly stand the wait. Now to decide which to start with……

Pin It

This post is linked to: http://youngancrafty.blogspot.com/2012/02/free-for-all_17.html
http://tatertotsandjello.com/2012/02/weekend-wrap-up-party-and-gracies-pillows-giveaway.html
http://staceyembracingchange.blogspot.com/2012/02/inspired-creations-linky-party.html
http://lovelycraftyhome.com/2012/02/17/lovely-crafty-weekend-60
http://www.niftythriftythings.com/2012/02/nifty-thrifty-sunday-45.html
http://www.homemakerinheels.com/2012/02/weekend-craft-soiree-blog-hop-37.html

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Gone Sewing!

I've been in my craft room for the last two days (minus trips to and from my son's school, the store, and the laundry room!) working on sewing projects! I haven't done a quilt/blanket in awhile and it felt good to get started again. I can't reveal anything yet because these projects are gifts....don't want to give the gals a sneak peak!! Coming soon though....

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!

As a single gal, Valentine's Day is not that big of a deal to me. However, I do have a 9-year old and I always do something special for my best Valentine! This morning, he received a little gift and a bowl of cream of wheat with a heart drawn in honey. And for his lunch, I packed him a quesadilla cut into a heart shape. Silly, but fun, right?

Since I worked yesterday (I don't typically get home until almost 9pm), we kept the class cupcakes simple this year. I made Devil's Food cupcakes with store-bought Strawberry Whipped Icing. I topped each with a chocolate candy heart. They came out pretty and I heard that the frosting was to die for!

My sweet boy (with some help from Grandma) made me an awesome paper-craft box with two jars of some of my favorite snacks. He also made me a pretty card at school. Super cute and sweet! The chocolate rose was a gift from my Dad.

I made some treats for my parents and grandmother too! For my peanut loving Dad, it was just an easy baggie topper made in Microsoft Word. For my mother and grandmother, I loved the Valentine's bookmarks from Thirty Handmade Days. She even included the printable to go with them for free! Here are my version:

Hope you had a SWEET day!

This post is linked to:
http://www.uncommondesignsonline.com/2012/02/uncommonly-yours-link-party-15.html,
http://www.gingersnapcrafts.com/2012/02/wow-me-wednesday-38-50-pick-your-plum.html,
http://www.oopseydaisyblog.com/2012/02/wednesdays-wowzers-7.html

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Linky Followers Blog Hop

The blogosphere is all buzzing about GFC going away, so many of the blogs that I follow have started using the Linky Followers Tool. I added it to my blog a week ago too. I came across this Blog Hop at "It's So Very Cheri" and thought it might be a good idea to help spread the word.....
Here are the rules (copied from It's So Very Cheri):

1. You MUST have the Linky Followers tool on your site to participate.
2. You MUST follow the person who has the party on their site as a "thank you".
3. Just add your blog button to the Linky Party below.
4. Then grad the Blog Hop code.

(You will find the code right under the Linky Party where it says CLICK HERE TO ENTER–

just under that it says: WHAT IS A BLOG HOP? GET THE CODE HERE

Click on GET THE CODE HERE and enter it into a post on your site.

You can grab the party button code in the FOOTER at Its So Very Cheri

You can grab info from my post if it helps you with your post.)
5. Then, you follow other bloggers (as many as you want). Leave each one a comment letting them know that you are following them and asking them to follow you back!

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

DIY Two Chair Bench

I have loved this idea since I first saw it on Pinterest! The first pin I saw was from a magazine and the bench was made using two matching chairs.

It didn’t take long to find other pins and blogs utilizing the same concept. I particularly liked this one from Kindall’s Creations.

She made her bench using three mismatched chairs…even more to my liking than the one made with matching chairs in the first pin.

I decided that I had to have one of these in my entryway! I’ve been eyeing chairs for months. My mother texted me about an awesome turquoise blue chair she saw at a Goodwill Store yesterday , so I ran out first thing this morning to get it before it was gone….a steal for $4.99! Then, I picked up the second one at another Goodwill store for $9.99.

I loved the color of the blue one, so I decided to just sand it down a little rather than re-paint it. The red one got a new color though!

I primed it with an inexpensive white spraypaint, then I sprayed it with a beautiful color: Krylon Ocean Breeze Blue.
I fastened the chairs together with a small board across the back and a metal bracket behind the front legs.

I’m sure there are other (maybe better) ways to do this, but it worked for me.
The bench from Kindall’s Creations (see above) had a cushion made with king-size pillows. I looked at foam cushions but they were too pricey, so I also went with pillows. For $2.50/each, I purchased two standard pillows at Walmart . It was probably unnecessary, but I sewed the two pillows together before making the cover.

To keep a rustic/casual feel, I sewed the skirt strips together and just trimmed the edges with pinking shears.

After cutting the cotton fabric large enough to make a pillowcase, I pinned the skirt inside….pleating every few inches.

I put the pillows inside and stitched up the end….and I liked it. The cushion needed something though…..tufting!! I found a couple of buttons and placed them on either end.

Now I love it!!!

I just want to make a bunch of cute little throw pillows for it! Maybe holiday pillows….or monogrammed pillows….or ????

Pages