Category Archives: Crafty Adventures

Apr24

upcycled cookie box…

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upcycled cookie box…

So a friend of mine gave me a challenge – eat a box of Girl Scout cookies.  Ok – I can do that – no problem!!!

Then she challenged me to do something with the empty box…  well that proved to be a little more difficult.

However, after enjoying my cookies, I found that was ready to make something fun with the box.  So, I printed out some Instagram pics and got busy.  I made a little box to hang on the fridge that holds a mini-book of Instagram pics.

It was a great and fun project to do.  Here are a couple of pics and a link to the Fiskateer Blog where you can see a video of how I made it!  Hop on over there and check it out!!!

Apr5

it is finally done – my new crafty space…

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it is finally done – my new crafty space…

or as the boys are calling it – “the lounge.”

As some of you might know, my craft room is in our furnace room.  Not exactly a great space.  I have two tiny windows, a water heater, and a furnace, as well as pipes from the upstairs bathroom (I can hear anytime anyone uses the restroom…)  It is definitely not fancy – that’s for sure.

Last year, in an attempt to make it prettier, I had my dad help me hang some fun Ikea chandeliers, with full intentions of redoing the room.  Then, while I was on a trip last spring, we got water through a basement door that subsequently flowed into my room.  The lousy carpet that was already in here had to be cut out in weird places and Matt in an effort to save what he could tossed stuff into corners and shoved this here and that there…  Until this week I have been working out of a mess…

The walls were either painted an odd beige or were such old unfinished wall board that they had turned a shade of beige that matched the painted cement ones.  It was drab and dirty and dreary and less than inspiring.  I had gotten really good at trying to carve a path to get what I needed and then take it upstairs to work at the kitchen table.  My computer was in another room, basically unused, and nothing at all was organized which, for me, is painful.

So, for spring break I had a plan to work on updating the room.  It took 2 days longer than I had hoped, but it is finally done.  I would now even let me friends come over to craft (hint hint!!)

Here’s what we did:

  • Painted the cement walls bright white.
  • Installed new Ikea shelves that I got as Christmas presents from Matt’s parents and mine.
  • Installed my new Olivia sewing cabinet (soooo in love with it!) from Arrow Sewing Cabinets here in WI
  • Sorted and purged -  A LOT!!!!
  • Organized every drawer and cubby
  • Decopauged the nasty old drywalled walls with Vintage Marketplace papers by Margie (hope she doesn’t mind I took them in a whole different direction…) along with vintage music and book page and sewing patterns in the sewing corner…
  • Added an old loveseat from my mom and dad (bought an inexpensive slip cover)
  • Made covers for the existing garage storage units to pretty them up a bit.
  • Added curtains around the essentials and non-movables of the room (furnace and water heater) – and, don’t worry, they are plenty far away so they don’t cause a fire hazard.
  • Pulled out all of the remaining carpet

 

So, now that is all done, organized, and clean, it is time for me to break it in and get my craft on… just not sure where to start – I found all sorts of fun stuff I forgot I had when I was cleaning!  I see some great craftiness in my future!

Happy crafting!!

Mar5

an exciting announcement

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an exciting announcement

Well, it is official.

I am going back to where it all began for me – the Fiskateers!

While I will continue to be the content and education manager at Fiskars, starting today, I will be taking over primary responsibility within HQ for the Fiskateer program.  And, eventually, all of our social media efforts.  There is a lot to transition and a lot that needs to happen, so we are starting with the Fiskateers, as it is the biggest of the programs to move over.  In the next two months, however, I will also be managing our facebook, twitter, and Pinterest accounts as well.

I am very excited and thrilled to be getting back into even more communication with our end consumers, especially where the Fiskateers are involved.  It feels like I am coming home…

 

Feb1

project 365

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project 365

Now, for those of  you that know me, you know that it is a big BIG HUGE deal for me to commit to something everyday for a year.  I decided that this year, however, I could commit to doing a picture a day – it can’t be that hard.  Thanks to my iPhone, it has been actually much easier than I thought it would be.

I started out January, just taking one picture a day and then joined Instagram and started to post them there.  As the month rolled on, I realized that some people have special challenges each day.  So for February, I will be adding that in as well.

So – Here are the challenges for February that I will be doing…

And, I started adding my pics to a Flikr account, which is now on my sidebar.  In addition, here is the slideshow that shows my first 32 days of the year…  not that it matters much to anyone but me, but I thought I would share.

If I can do this, trust me, anyone can!!!!

 

Jan30

cha winter 2012 by way of wisconsin…

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cha winter 2012 by way of wisconsin…

So, for the first time in 6 years or so, I am not actually at the show.  However, I am trolling the web to find the goodies that I am falling in love with, so I might be blogging a lot the next few days!

First up – Bazzill Basics!

Pleated Antique Papers

New Buttons that are gorgeous!

Paper tape!

Vintage Market Place by the amazing Margie Romney-Aslett!

Wayfarer Paper by Janet Hopkins!

 

 

Jan19

craftin’ by the creek

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craftin’ by the creek

This past weekend I had a blast with a good group of girl friends “testing” a new craft lodge about 30 minutes from my house.  It was a total blast and the house was amazing.  They are right on a beautiful creek in Rockdale, WI.  They were looking for people they knew to give them some feedback so they could make a few adjustments prior to opening…  Here are some pics of the space – it was great!

I had a wonderful time crafting and cooking in the kitchen and just relaxing and laughing (a LOT) with my friends.

Here are two of the layouts that I completed from the weekend:

 

 

For being gone for a day and a half, I didn’t get much done, but I did have a blast and I got three more layouts done in addition to these, so it was successful from that respect. 

Anyway, just wanted to share some pics of what I made and share the link for the Craftin’ by the Creek stuff in case anyone is looking for somewhere to craft!

 

Oct31

spark – project #2

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spark – project #2

As promised, I will continue to give you guys all of the low-down on the classes and how-to recreate stuff as much as possible – or at least hook you up with the links with those who can.

So…  Amy Tan.  aka Amy Tangerine.

I adore this girl.  She is about the cutest, nicest, sweetest, funniest, and honest people I know.  She is a riot in a tiny package and I am always smiling when I am with her.

She was also a Spark instructor this year and graciously taught us all her reverse applique technique.  Now, the boys each have had an Amy Tangerine original – which they adored and wore out.  Now I can attempt to recreate – but no one will ever out-do the original Amy…

So, in class, here is what I made:

And, since costumes are always on issue for school – you run the risk of them having a destroyed one for trick or treat – I decided to give it another go and made them each shirts for school today…

Now, if you want to learn to do this yourself, or purchase an Amy original,  just visit Amy’s blog for shopping and workshop info…  *** click here ***  

Stay tuned, more Sparky follow-ups and giveaways are coming soon!!!!!!!!!

Oct25

spark – project #1

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spark – project #1

So, as promised, I will be recapping all of the great classes and tutorials and fun that I had by providing you with the where-to/how-to info you need to try and recreate some of the Sparkiness you might have missed.  I always want you to feel like you were part of my crafty adventures, too, so here is as much info as I can provide!

The first class I had was with the wonderfully talented and amazing Emily Falconbridge.  Last year she taught how to wet felt scarves.  That project was disasterous for me, but this year’s felting of a bar of soap went somewhat better.  At least it all made it home in one piece!

What I loved about this class was how relaxing it was, turning and turning the soap and felt over in my hands.  I enjoyed the amazing wool and colors Emily provided from Australia, and just the ease of mindlessly doing this while talking with friends.  We all agreed that these make great gifts – in fact, stores sell them for a pretty little penny, so making your own might be more enticing and appreciated. 

We first wet felted the outside of the bar itself and then she quickly taught us to needle felt.  That is supposed to be a bird on the top – not sure it is great, but not too bad for my first try.  I definitely enjoyed the needle felting – that was fun.  We then needle felted our little birds, etc… to the top of the bar.

When you wash with it, it should keep shrinking as the bar shrinks.  The wool is naturally antimicrobial so it won’t get icky and is a great exfoliator, too. 

Emily currently has an online version of her felting classes available for those who are interested over at Big Picture Scrapbooking. You will want to hurry, however, as registration closes on Nov. 2!!!  I am not sure it includes the soap project, but you will learn a lot – I am sure!