Category Archives: Crafty Project

May6

new craft room table…

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new craft room table…

My dad has a phrase that he likes to use… “It was too good of a deal to pass up!”  That is exactly what this was.  $20.00 and 2 leaves.  It’s about 8′ long.  I love it.  Crafting and updating is was a ton of fun and a project that kept me busy for the week.

Here is the before:

Here is the after results:

I painted it pale pink and decopauged the heck out of the top then sealed it with lacquer.  I have already broken it in with some fun crafting and scrapping projects.  I think it will work out fantastically!!

 

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!!

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!!!!

 

Jan3

2011 in review

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2011 in review

Well.  It is over.  2011 has come and gone and now it is already the third day of 2012.

Here is where I land on 2011.

Eh.

I think that sums it up.  It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t stellar either.  My word for the year was “soar.”  And while, at times, I felt I started to soar higher, I often leveled off and then soared back to normal levels.  What I have found in picking my word for the year, is that if there is a passive or negative version or definition of that word, that is how it tends to apply to my life for that year.  So while “soar” has great definitions and connotations, I lived the part that is more like gliding along…  rather than actively soaring to new heights.

With that in mind, I am still deciding what my word will be for 2012, or if I will do a word at all, or if a quote or phrase might not be better…  I will decide, hopefully, in the next day or so.  Until then, however, here are some grateful bits that I have  from 2011…

  • My family is amazing and truly makes me feel loved.
  • My boys are growing, healthy, happy, and smart.
  • Matt is settled in his job, is enjoying his new bowling buddies, and finally seems happier about our move north of the cheddar curtain.
  • I got to meet some amazing new people this year and got to hang out with some great friends.
  • My friends are supportive and great listeners and I love you all dearly.
  • I got to create fun crafty goodness, as well really start to have fun in the kitchen cooking away and enjoying some fun foodie moments.
  • I laughed - a lot.  I cried less than I laughed.
  • I played with the boys and watched them have an amazing summer at the pool every day with summer camp.
  • I started bowling with Matt – honestly I am still on the fence with this one as I suck at bowling, but I do enjoy that we are doing something fun together.
  • I started to take pride in being the oddball that I am and stopped always second guessing myself – I still do, but with each passing year, I am starting to just be me more and more.

I am sure the list is much much much longer than this, but this is a good quick list of the stuff that matters most.

I hope you had a great holiday season and that 2012 is a great year for all of us!

Happy New Year and hello 2012!!!!!

Thanksgiving

Breast Cancer Walk

Superhero Madness

Food

 

 

Dec19

last minute teacher gifts

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last minute teacher gifts

Every year I struggle to find just the right gift for the teacher.  Every year I make something.  Every year I wonder if it was a good gift. 

I have this feeling I am not alone in this and that we all struggle to get our teachers something just right for all that they do.

As I have said before, I am trying harder and harder to do more handmade gifts this year and so the teachers are no exception.

Jacob’s teacher is the same teacher that Owen had a few years ago and I had to think of something different to do this year.  Normally I do, but I realized I needed to make sure I didn’t repeat myself.  Also, the boys wanted to help and make something for their teachers, too, so we worked it out yesterday.  After a quick trip to Michaels, we were set!

Teacher Shadow Boxes

My gift to the teachers this year is a little shadow box with their initials.  Now Owen’s teacher is from Florida originally so he wanted to have shells in his.  I grabbed the hot glue and some pretty paper and set out to work…

I made the shadow box with pop dots, paper, scissors, and hot glue, along with a bag of shells.  It was all pretty easy and only took about 20 minutes to complete.

Once this one was done, the second one went even faster.  Jacob wanted to use buttons for his teacher, so that is what we did.  He helped pick out the paper and art direct, while I wielded the glue gun…

 

Quick Ornaments

Now, since the boys wanted to make their own gift, we settled on ornaments.  They may not be lasting treasures, but it was important to them to make something special for each teacher.

Owen’s, as you saw above, was filled with sea shells, while Jacob went the subtle Wisconsin Badger route, since his teacher is a huge Badger fan…

Once they were done, I hot glued the lid shut – Owen’s was pretty heavy so I was afraid it would pop open if I didn’t.  I also hot glued Jacob’s stickers on, as they were peeling up on the edges.  We filled his with red tulle and both got a ribbon and tulle bow at the end.

All in all, I think it took us about an hour to get these all put together and our mess cleaned back up, which isn’t too bad.  Plus the teachers are getting personalized and unique gifts from each of the boys for Christmas.  I think that is success!

Dec14

quick wine bags

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quick wine bags

This year, I am attempting to do more handmade gifts than ever – either purchased from an artisan or made by me.  There will be those gifts, however, that cannot be handmade, but for those, why not put a little something extra into the wrapping itself to make if feel a bit more personal.

With the onslaught of holiday parties and get-togethers, a cute way to show your hostess you care is a custom wine bag for that quickly purchased bottle of wine you grab on the way to her house! 

 

Now, I have started to keep a stash of these, making several at once, so that all I have to do is grab them and go.  Here is a quick and simple way to make that bottle of wine a little more personal without taking hours to make something. 

(I do apologize now for the rather lack-luster photos.  I crafted these over lunch and took pics in my office – not exactly the best photography lighting.)

Quick and Simple Wine Bags

Supplies:

  • Plain jute wine bags – I order mine here
  • Dark color printable iron-ons, computer, and printer
  • Scissors and a craft knife
  • Iron
  • Wax paper
  • Hot Glue Gun
  • Bling, tulle, ribbon, etc…

First you need to create your iron-ons.  Now, if you know ahead of time where you are going, you could do a name or monogram for your bags.  I never plan that far out so I went with some vintage images and cheeky sayings.  I created it all in Word on my computer and then printed them out, following the iron on directions. 

* It is important to use the dark color iron-ons.  These will give you the best image transfer onto the jute.

Insert a piece of wax paper into the bag.  This will prevent your glue and your iron on from sticking to the back of the bag, rendering it useless or ruined.

Next cut out your iron-ons and, well, iron them on!

Next, embellish away.  Grab your hot glue gun and get busy decorating some fun and amazing bags. 

Now you are all set to craft away and make a little something special for your next gifted bottle of wine…

Happy Holidays and Happy Crafting!

Dec13

cookie time!!!

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cookie time!!!

Ok.  Seriously.  I LOVE making cookies at the holidays.  It is my favorite tradition and one I carry out each and every year.  It is a tradition that allows me to share a bit of myself, my heritage, and my passion with friends, family, and co-workers.  It is a chance to spread a little holiday joy here and there with plates of yummy deliciousness and small bags of decadence.  I do it because it makes me happy and often makes those round me happy.  It is my way of spreading a bit of holiday cheer each year.

Last year, on the day after Christmas, I went a bit nutty at Target, buying all sorts of brightly colored decorative goodness that is the opposite of the decor I used on the table last year, which was vintagey and off-white.  I decided that it had a bit of a Dr. Seuss feeling to it and quickly fell in love with the glittery and furry goodness that I found.  I quickly snatched a bunch up and put it aside and have been saving it ever since.

Today is the day that I broke it out and did my second annual cookie bar at work.  Now, under the wonderful fluorescent lights, the photos aren’t stellar, but you will at least get the basic idea.  I had so much fun putting it all together and I hope that people enjoy destroying it…  that is the point!

Seriously easy… using command hooks, a glue gun, and a dowel rod, I made a fun wall decor piece with bits and baubles and ribbons and cheap ornaments, I made a fun wall backdrop above the cookie table.

I just realized that I am single-handedly enabling the 2-3 pound holiday weight gain of my entire department.  Oops.  Oh well – tis the season!

 

Dec6

peppermint bark video

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peppermint bark video

This is, BY FAR, one of my top 3 holiday cookie/candy recipes.  It is simple.  It is cheap. It is easy. And, it is delicious!

Now, quick note to all baking or cooking this holiday season…  if you are making food for gifts keep a couple things in mind:

  1. Keep your hair back – you will see in the video my lovely slicked back hair.  I plan on sharing food with others, so for a lot of these I will look absolutely hideous, but there shouldn’t be a blond hair in anything.  Think about how you want the people who cook for you – remember to give what you would want to receive.
  2. If your kids are helping, make sure they wash their hands.  Don’t let them lick, drop and use, etc…  you don’t anything “extra” ending up in the food.  Jacob has a bit of a tickle in his throat.  He was asked to leave repeatedly while making this and had to wash his hands several times because I didn’t want anything added.
  3. Make sure all of your counters, trays, etc… are extra clean and food safe.  If you cook a lot, they should be, but just make sure.

And now I will step off my soap box and give you the recipe and video!

Stephenie’s Peppermint Bark

  • 1 package of candy canes – I prefer Bob’s brand from Walmart (best flavor I have found and only $0.98)
  • 1 package of Almond Bark
  • optional 1 package of Chocolate Almond Bark

Open the candy canes and then plop them in the blender.  Pulverize.

Follow package directions for melting the almond bark.

Mix together, spread on wax paper covered cookie sheets, and refrigerate to harden.  Remove and break into bite sized pieces.  Can be stored on the counter (I love it cold, so often keep some in the fridge for me, but it is ok if you don’t.)

Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

Happy Pepperminty Dreams!

Dec6

burlap wreath

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burlap wreath

This past weekend was the weekend we put up all of our holiday goodness. 

We bought our tree.

We carried up box after box from the basement full of decorations.

We hung stockings.

And then I changed my mind. 

After several years of the same old same old, I had a creative breakdown and realized I wanted new stuff.  Budgets, however, being what they were, I knew I had to find a cool and inexpensive way to do some new stuff.

The new wreath for the door was the cost of the wire frame – $2.99.  I already had everything else in my stashes of crafty goodness!  It was quick, simple, and fun! 

I have added all of the directions for this project at craftsy.com in case you are interested in checking it out!