Sculpey Bug

My youngest daughter, Abby, has caught the crafting/Sculpey bug. I don't know how she got started on it, but she has had the best time this holiday season making all kinds of different food items with Sculpey clay. She's made a variety of things and has also filmed a few of her tutorial sessions using her new video camera.  Here's a shot from a session this morning:

Some of the items she has made include this hamburger and waffle which are this morning's projects:

She's also made ice cream cones, pop tarts, pizza slices, hot chocolate drinks, rainbow cakes, donuts and popsicles.

A few have been turned into pendants and put on strands of ribbon to make necklaces. I told her with a little time we might actually invest in a few purchases from etsy of actual ribbon necklaces so that she can give them away to friends.

I'm working on getting my Valentine inspiration basket put together as well as organizing a few projects for the future.  See you in a little bit!

Shark's Teeth Displayed

I'm working a few projects today, including a bulletin board for school and this piece to display on a shelf in my foyer:
This shadow box houses the 17 shark's teeth we found while vacationing at Amelia Island a few weeks ago. I thought it would be nice to display them and found this perfect-sized box at Michael's this morning.

I also included a few of our really pretty shells in the bottom of the frame.

$39 Bedroom Redo

So, maybe this doesn't fall under the creative category, but I just had to show off the new bedding I picked up at Ikea for $39!!! I couldn't believe the price when I saw it. Here's a shot of the duvet cover:
I also picked up a pair of pillows that I fell in love with. They were a tad on the pricey side I think because they are handmade and have down inserts. They were priced at $24/each but I just had to have them to complete the "set" and all the colors went together so well with what I already had.

I also picked up the prettiest color of natural "straw" colored sheets but I need to get them washed and ready before I pair them with the new duvet. Next up is new lamps, curtain and blinds. How soon until we go back?

(click on the photos for a larger peek)

Craft Cabinet Re-Do

I think in a previous post I showed you all the interior of this white cabinet. It holds all of the craft supplies my daughters are allowed to use, on their own, without asking for permission. My stuff, now that's a different story. This cabinet holds plenty of stuff: rubber stamps, paint and brushes, books, felt, foam and pom poms, glue, glitter, beads, etc. I actually lucked out and found the cabinet in the trash and I knew exactly what I was going to do with it.
The front of the cabinet was a little roughed-up, but I quickly disguised it by using some Pottery Barn art clips a friend gave me. You can see 1 of 3 still left on the front of the right door. Well, the other day I was browsing for a birthday gift at Michael's and I came across an entire row of new products designed around a line of chalkboard paints they are now carrying. Lots of really cute colors including, pink, orange and the traditional black. I went back with a 50% off coupon and purchased a container of the black-colored paint for $3.50 (regular price is $6.99).

My husband was kind enough to paint the doors for me and then he added a little bit of trim, which was less than $10 and now we have a new craft cabinet! My girls saw it soon after it was done and immediately added the smiley face and cupcake. BTW, I added the carrot knobs after we got the cabinet. I found them at a discount store for $1.00/each. I didn't like the cheapy plastic knobs it came with. Now what am I going to do with the Pottery Barn art clips? Anyone interested?

Ribbon Board

This morning, after I read the newspaper, I got started on one of many "projects" on my "Project TO DO list." I found the perfect sized bulletin board at a garage sale a few weeks ago, it measures 23 x 46 and it was a steal for $2.00! My youngest daughter wanted a new ribbon board for her room to go above her new full-sized headboard. Well, where are you going to find one that big? You've got to make it yourself! I can't believe I started it this morning, and with one break in the middle of the day, I actually finished it this afternoon. The first thing I did was cover it with two layers of batting. The first layer was stapled on, the second layer I hot-glued to the first. (My second layer was too short to wrap around the board.) Next, I covered it with the fabric she chose..."pink, please!" I used the staple gun again for that. Then it was time to apply the ribbon pattern to cover the board. I had 4 spools of ribbon and used only 2 (they were 15ft. each). Lastly, the trickiest part was deciding how to tack down the ribbon so that we could get that puckered look. We decided to use a longer staple and needle-nose pliers to curl the ends of the staple once we put it through the front of the board. To finish it, I used a needle and thread to give my pink buttons a "faux-sewn" look and hot glued them to the intersecting ribbons to hide the staples. I can't wait to hang it above her bed. I think the total cost for this project was approximately $10.00.

Homemade Goodness

We tried our hand this morning at cooking up some homemade donuts. Well, not really homemade, when you consider they are made from pre-formed biscuit dough....but who really has an extra hour or so in the morning to wait for dough to rise? Anyways, this recipe was shown on the Paula Deen show a few days ago. We went to Publix and got the same biscuits she used. After we rolled them out and punched small holes in the middle using my apple coring tool, we fried them up at 350 degrees for about 3-4 minutes each. After they cooled off a bit I dunked some in powdered sugar and then glazed some with a sugar+milk icing. Well, I can honestly say I've never tasted a "bad" donut and these sure were yummy.....but right now my walking shoes are calling me because I'm going l-e-a-n for the rest of the day. Try some, you'll like them!

"I Want it Painted Blue"

I was able to get my hands on a really adorable chandelier via the freecycle website. I saw the posting and I knew right away what I wanted it for...."Abby's room." The owner of the chandelier picked me and even delivered it to my house. After a few modifications, turning the lights in the opposite direction and painting it a really cool color of blue (which Abby chose herself) it is now hanging as the focal point in Abby's room. I had hopes to really snaz up her room this summer, but I've come to realize it will have to get done during the school year, because we have simply been busy with "other things." Sometimes, that happens. She doesn't seemed to be too bothered about it anyways. I just thought I would share the pictures from her room. I really love the color she picked out...I would have gone with the standard [and safe] white or maybe the pink option....I love it!

Messenger Bag Re-do

We've looked everywhere for a backpack for my oldest daughter, Cayla. She wants a character backpack but we are not having any luck. Yesterday, while shopping, my husband came up with the brilliant idea to buy our own embellishments and make Cayla a "customized" messenger bag. So, off to Michael's they went. What she picked out is really cute, however, I knew that it was too good to be true. This morning, because we are having one of those "lazy" days with no plans, I thought it would be the perfect time to get the iron out and begin the process of putting this messenger bag together. I had the sneaky suspicion that the "Easy Instructions" wouldn't work as well as they said it would. Yeah right, iron for 15 seconds and voila! it's done....nope, not the case. After I ironed and waited the required 3 minutes, only half of the froggy rhinestones stuck to the bag. So, I ironed some more. This time only a few more of those little boogers decided to attach to the bag. Next, I tried the frog and monkey patches....those things NEVER stick the way they are supposed to. Well today, the monkeys decided to stick but the frogs had to be applied using fabric glue. I also, for the love of my daughter, and for the fact that I know she had her heart set on this being her "back to school bag" glued the remaining 50+ rhinestones onto her bag by hand using tweezers and a toothpick to help me out.

An Inside Look

One of the things I love to do is to take an organized space and make it even BETTER by fine-tuning. Yesterday I got in the purging mood and decided to work on my girls' craft cabinet. I'll admit they have a lot of stuff, so much stuff that most of it doesn't get used because I have found that they always go back to their favorites time and time again....colored pencils, markers, crayons and drawing paper. Every once in a while they will pull out the paint or the pom-poms or the rubber stamps, but not very often. And, while I have one daughter who has a terrible time getting rid of anything, I decided to organize, on my own, without asking them their opinions. As I usually do, I put a ton of stuff in a box in the garage and I'll see if they ask questions...if they don't ask questions by a given period (a few weeks or so) I'll put the items on Freecycle or donate it to the school. Anyways, I wanted to show everyone an inside look at their craft cabinet once I got done with it. I try to be very simple with the labelling so that they know what's inside each storage box. I also wanted to move down all of their craft books and flash cards [from a higher shelf] so that they could help themselves to whatever they wanted to do. They know the rule - once you're done with it, put it away. Our craft room has gotten smaller and we need all the space we can get.

New Year, New Design

I decided this year, once we removed the holiday decorations, to rearrange some of my furniture pieces. The layout of my great room does not allow me to move much, but when I get an idea I go for it! One of my favorite things to do is decorate and re-design living spaces. The changes I have made a very subtle, and may only last a month or two, but right now I am enjoying the "new" look on my "old" spaces. And that's exactly how my interior spaces are styled, I enjoy new and I enjoy old. Take me to the Pottery Barn store or to the flea market any day!