Golden Birthday

Last week one of my good friends celebrated her Golden Birthday and I helped her husband get the party ready. As I was looking for a few minimal decorations I came across these adorable little metal buckets that I'm sure were being marketed for Independence Day hence the fact that they were white. However, white wasn't going to fit into the theme of Golden Birthday so I decided that I would simply paint them so I purchased two acrylic paints, one solid gold the other gold sparkles and set to work. 

Before

 After

The buckets were a smooth surface thus painting with strokes was not going to work. I had to use my sponge brushes but they worked perfectly! After two coats of the solid gold and one of the gold sparkles the buckets had been transformed from Independence Day white to Golden Birthday Gold! I must say I was quite pleased with myself for looking at something and seeing in a split second what I could do to make it fit the theme. 

Beer Cap Coasters

Today I was eager to finally make some beer cap coasters so I went garage sale-ing to find exactly a cork board. As a child we went to garage sales and second hand shops which I must admit were of little interest and of slight embarrassment as I entered jr. high. Then throughout high school and college the only reason I went to such places was when looking for a costume and this has carried into my adult life. Now, with my new direction of crafting I have started sale-ing again at least a little. My favorite sales are those at churches because they often have loads of goods for very little money. I searched high and low but there was no cork board to be found at the sale. Then as I was nearing the end of my search I did come across 2 foam place mats and decided they would be perfect! 

When I got home I gathered my materials, sorted out all of our beer caps as we've been saving them with the help of friends for a year and a half and had over 225, and then I began working. All in all my project took about an hour and a half and when I was done I had 12 completed coasters or 3 sets of 4. Below is the full picture of what I completed but I've divided them into sets of Coors Light/Bud Light, Shiner and Leinenkugels/Schells. 

Envelopes

As summer is here and June is my slow time of the work year I have a lot more time to work on some re-purposed crafts. So yesterday as I was sorting through some of the items I have had for an extended period of time I came across a Road Trip Calendar. I recall when I first got it that I thought I would cut out the pictures and transform them to coasters. As I began thinking I knew I didn't have a supply of coasters on hand and was reminded of a wonderful letter I received  from a friend a few years ago that came in a unique envelope. After I read the letter I took apart the envelope and realized that it was a calendar! It was awesome and so my calendar has now become 11 envelopes. 

A Busy Weekend

I have been negligent in posting and crafting these past few weeks as I have been traveling a lot. But this weekend I made up for some lost time and completed a few projects. I finished another toss pillow that is perfect for anyone who loves red, cupcakes, cherries or just wants to add a splash of color and character to a room.

My other project was my second picture frame for a monogrammed letter. This time I went with black paint and the glitter glaze. I haven't selected a letter yet so it is ready to be customized! These monogrammed letters are versatile as they can hang with a cute ribbon, the hooks that come with the frame or they can stand on a piece of furniture.

 

Easter

I wish I could claim this idea as an original but it is definitely not. I found this idea from a The Creative Homemaker blog via Pintrest and immediately put these pillows on my to do list! So far I have two Easter pillows completed and am in progress with some Valentine ones and an Autumn one. They are fun to sew both with machine and by hand. They are made of 100% cotton hand towels with a 100% polyester filling so they are super easy to clean if needed. 

Finished!

I have finally finished my monogrammed A that I began while my husband was away, as first mentioned here. When I posted my first picture I was happy with what was taking shape but now that I am completed I really like the end product! I completed a few more coats of paint and then did to clear goats of glittered glaze and added the boy. It is amazing how much glitter and a bow can do for anything! I plan to do a few more of these with different letters, based off the popularity of baby names, and in different colors of buttons. If you would like one let me know and check them out at my Etsy shop.

Husbands Away

This past weekend my husband was away so I had a full day to do some crafting which was fabulous. My living room was a disaster with glue guns, glue sticks, cardboard, fabric, buttons, paint, canvas, and more! Unfortunately, I did not take a picture of the mess for you all to see but through the mess game a few new items from re-purposed materials and a few truly new items. I must say I am looking forward to when he is gone next month so I can do the same thing again. I love my husband dearly but feel so much more free to leave the living room a disaster when he is gone than when he is home and I know he appreciates me not leaving it a disaster when he is home.

This monogrammed A, which isn't finished yet, was made using buttons I've been collecting for years. Every shirt with buttons that you ever buy always has extra buttons which is great and fortunately I never need the extra buttons so this is what I have started.

I also made this pair of items which was a lot of fun for me! When I look at them I see the works of someone who is finally willing to express their artistic side no matter what the results. I also see areas of improvement which is great. In the words of a brilliant educators "Anyone to busy to reflect on one's practice is too busy to improve." Robert Garmston