More Stocking Boards

So last December I never got all my crafts posted. I wanted to, but.... Then by the time I got around to it in February I thought no one really wants to see Christmas, so I posted them for a year in the future.

I already posted these boards, a year and half ago. 

My sister added the holy to this board, and I have to say I love it.

My sister in law made these stockings not me.

Thanksgiving Heart

I needed a different thanksgiving wreath for my wine rack this year. I had no interest in recreating last year's. 

I decided to use my heart shape foam wreath. I covered it in burlap and tulle like last year. I made my sign from copying an old pin on pinterest. I'm so unoriginal, I'm pretty sure that is what pinterest is all about copying other people's crafts.
I took some leaves off this wreath. Three years ago when I made that wreath I was so obsessed, but now its on my front door and I'm so done with it. I'm considering making a new wreath and throwing away that one. There is only 16 days until thanksgiving I'm not sure its worth it to make a new one.

Stocking Boards

A few Christmases ago I made myself a stocking board since we have no fireplace. I used an old family home evening board. Well a few months ago someone we knew moved and gave Brent two propane tanks. When she dropped them off she said, could you use a family home evening board? I said I already have one, she said come on, you know you know someone who needs one. I said sure, because rule one of getting free stuff from someone: you have to take more than you want. Two of my siblings don't have fireplaces either, so I turned these two give away boards into stocking boards for them. I really really love them. 

 I peeled off the vinyl, scrubbed off the leftover adhesive and then added one more coat of black paint. I traced/free handed the lettering, with a silver sharpie just like I did with mine.

 Did I mention I love both of these boards? My siblings both picked out their fonts. Also turns out you could use a stocking board on your fireplace. *Say what? mine blown*

Another link to my board.

Boy Sign

Many months ago I made this sign for my boys' bedroom door.

I slightly copied the idea, but it wasn't in a sign form. My husband is 10 years younger than his older brother and my boys are 7 years apart. My 7 year old loves this sign, and asked for a picture on it. I on the other hand am not too happy with how it turned out. But such his life, now that I've done this type of craft I would have done many things different.

Would you like to see the before? Many many months ago my friend was getting rid of stuff and told me I needed this sign. So I reluctantly took it. Months later I then turned into my boy's door sign. 

Cup Coaster

After 1 week of summer vacation it became apparent we needed this.

A cup coaster for everyone. I added extra tiles because the board I found fit seven tiles. In retrospect I only needed a three tile board, my husband and I already only use one cup a day. 

I used modge podge, scrapbook paper, stickers, and sealant for the tiles.
This is hardly an original idea.  Search pinterest for family cup coaster.
I also used drawer pulls as decorative handles on the outside like someone else on pinterest.

Love Sign

Here is the end of my valentine crafts
A love sign, like the ones all over Pinterest. I recycled the letters from an old craft so I just had to glue! So easy!

I made these love birds for a wreath, but it just looked too old lady and kitschy, in a wreath, but I thought they were cute on their own.

Lastly these hearts I didn't make, I bought them years ago in clearance. Turns out they are my favorite decoration this year.

Eek Frame

Back on the craft day my friend and I had at the beginning of the month, we made these eyeball frames, when we made the snake wreath.  We got them from pinterest, but we added a spider instead.  It took me until two night ago to get a picture in it. I'm lame I know.

New But Who Knows If Improved

Ends up I hated my last key hook.  I decided imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so just do it exactly like the girl did in the pin, and here is the results.

 I used the same H as in my other monograms.
I'll be honest I'm not sure I like this, but I definitely like it more than my last three attempts.  Attempt 1 and 2 were so bad I didn't even post them. Attempt 1 even broke my color printer.

Key Hook

I saw this key hook on pinterest and wanted one, but I thought I had plenty of monograms without more, so I went with something else in the frame.  I can not tell you how many times I redid the inside of this frame. Well actually I can, its my third attempt.  I still am not sure I like it. Maybe I should just go with the monogram after all. I'm also not sure I like my mini rosettes.  Maybe I should just chuck the whole craft.  Any thoughts...

The end of Christmas in July

I finished my stocking board and I'm so very proud of it.  I can't wait until December, but mostly because my baby will be four months, and so life will be easier, and he will be more fun than he will be say in September.

 Need another shot?  The board looks really pink in the pictures, but it is red.  Remember how I like my finished wood project variegated. If you scroll through my painted wood label at least half are variegated paint.  Its just so much fun to only sand off half the paint off, and the do a wash with the paint.

 Once again no cricket, so I did the lettering the old fashion way.  Traced a print out, like this tutorial, then re-wrote over the tracing with a silver sharpie.  Then it wasn't thick enough for my taste, so I cut off the tip of the sharpie, to make it wider.

I love my holly.  I made the same flower rosette as I've in the past, except for smaller and wider, so they look more berry like and less flower like.  Then cut out leaves and put batting inside.  I'm really quite pleased with my free motion sewing leaf veins.

Wooden Firecrackers

On pinterest I saw craft firecrackers, and knew I wanted to make some.  This is what I came up with.

Turned out to be a great year to make wooden firecrackers since we won't be seeing any real ones lit with the forest fires the way they are, out here in the west. 
I wanted my Independence day crafts to be about the "true meaning of the holiday" that is why I wrote freedom, independence, justice and liberty on them.
Also I have no vinyl die cutter, so I free handed my letters because I'm old school like that.
I also really wanted to make this wreath, but I ran out of time. :(
I would have put it indoor.  I've realized there are indoor and outdoor wreaths.

Subway Art

There are only so many lifetimes you can spend on pinterest before you start to feel left out that your house has no subway art.  Actually I just really liked the Fourth of July subway art and wanted to embrace the fad. Plus I'm low on Fourth of July crafts/decorations.

Also this year I'm on the Relief Society Activities committee, which means I had to come up with a craft for Freaky Friday.  That is not the name, I can never remember it, they changed it from Super Saturday to Friday night.  I was really quite trilled, I couldn't wait to find a hip new craft, not the same ol' same ol'. By the way I was suppose to come up with multiple ideas.  I thought of a subway art frame, where you can change the pages.  Here is what I made.  As I stayed up finishing this craft the night before the meeting, at 11 o'clock that night I knew they wouldn't pick it.

I think overall it was too hip.  Instead, I am in charge helping ladies of making my wreath. Maybe I was just more bossy when it came to a wreath, pretty much every Mormon who walks into my house, tells me we should make a wreath like that for a RS craft. Funny thing is a wreath is hardly the new hip craft, but they have made a resurgence in the craft community and a widely popular. 
Back to the subway art though, don't you love that summer subway art?!  I think its fabulous! I'm sure my idea is not original but I realized, why.. why why why would you want a different frame for each holiday, who wants one more thing to store even if its only an 8x10 frame, plus why buy 10 or 12 frames?!  That is a waste of money.  So this frame matches with my kitchen, and I can just trade them out from behind, its perfect.  I love the rosette I made for it, it is left over fabric from my kitchen curtains. Plus I decided to add pearls this time.  Here is the tutorial for the rosettes, I don't use fabric glue, I just use glue gun on low, and burn my finger tips.

Although the frame is not that easy to open, so maybe, one day I will change it up.  Its on top of my hutch.  I also spent hours pinning all the most perfect subway art pictures in my opinion.  Slightly a waste, but I didn't realize it was too hip of a craft until the night before, hours after I searched down a unique subway art design for each month. Check out my subway art board.  (I mean unique as in I didn't want the same designer month after month.)

Remember These

Remember these?  I made them for my sisters/sister in laws I that I saw last Christmas.  Well my mom felt real left out she didn't get one.  So we bought frames at goodwill, since I wanted one too, and then I couldn't bare to sand the frames, oh the thought of it sounded so nauseating to me.  Finally a month ago, I just grinned and bared it, outside during nice weather.  Oh course it only took about 5 minutes to sand them, but then a good 15 minutes to clean the glass. The frame color and painting is definitely different then the last set, but that's the way I craft.

This is my mom's, she wanted a big one.  The print is only 8.5x11, but I think the frame is a 11x14.

 Here is mine.  I used a different background then the others, I'm not sure if I like it better. There is a pretty good chance, I just like mine the least amount, maybe I need a mat.

We are Crumby

My husband was worried our brooms and mops would rip our drywall, so he suggested putting a board on the wall with screws instead of in the drywall.  I decided I wanted it pretty.  This is what I came up with.  I thought it was perfect, my family is SO crumby!  It actually helps to see the board every time I bring out the broom.  Instead of despising their messiness like I was, I just sweep and think nothing of it. 

 I wish my camera would have focused on the wood instead of the dry wall, but its cheap. I thought we could mass produce them and start selling them on etsy, I haven't ever seen anything like this. By the way I have no cricket or silhouette so I must do it the old fashion way.

Lucky

I painted these lucky letters years ago for St. Patrick's Day, but what I had done with them fell apart.  I finally re-purposed them into this sign. I love it, the frame has a little bit of glitter in the paint but not as much as the letters.  The rainbow picture was taken in our backyard.  Not the best ever rainbow picture, but definitely not bad.  I was surprise how well it went with the frame-- at least in my opinion.

This is pretty much my new favorite thing in my house, until March 20th.
Once again I'm a fan of the variegated paint job.

Last Minute Sister Gifts

At the last minute I decided I wanted to make all the sister/sister in laws that I would see at christmas a present.  So a week before christmas I began franticly searching Pinterest for something I could make for cheap.  Then I thought just get over yourself, get them monogrammed note cards, at least its something.  But then all at once, or not at fast, it came to me, and I got super lucky and found four frames at Goodwill, and three quart-sized bags of legos for 6.50 each.  I sanded and painted the frames the same afternoon, I found the frames. Then used this tutorial to help me make the fabric rosettes.

  I absolutely love them, and can't wait to find another frame to make one for myself, I know exactly where I'm going to hang it.

This is the text of the photo: 

In this home...

We do second chances.

We do Grace.

We do real.

We do mistakes.

We do I'm sorrys.

We do loud really well.

We do hugs.

We do fun.

We do family.

We do love.

I have been so in love with the text for a few months.  I appreciate the idea to say its ok to make mistakes, but emphasis the sorries.  I am like giddy in anticipation to make myself one.  I'm going to make mine a little bigger. 

Grammy's Present

I have a sickness.  I think Christmas should be more about sharing with people, then spending money.  So then I end up making pathetic homemade gifts.  There are lots of good things about homemade gifts but the worst is you feel bad getting rid of them.  So I'm sorry all you out there who receive homemade gifts, probably the best is you know the person actually cares enough to spend way too much time on something that would be very cheap if it came from another country. This is obviously for my mom, when I saw the idea on Pinterest I thought it would be perfect since my mom got to have five out of her seven children at her house in December.  Its probably been close to 10 years since that has happened.

And now we know now that I'm no longer making christmas gifts that I should spend my time touching up my baseboards.

Treasure Box

The whole reason we had bare wood and paint out.  The whole reason we had pinkish/purple glitter: my son's friend turned 5.  She like him, loves all things junk and finding treasures, and adoring what other people would toss.  Since they share their love of treasure, sparkly things, and collecting, we had to do a treasure box for her birthday.  My son picked out the glitter at the store to cover her treasure box with.  The paint job is suppose to look antique so its white washed, err purple washed.  It was a huge success.  Everyone loved it especially the birthday girl.

 We even put some treasures in to start with.  But left plenty room for more.  Stupid blogger won't let me fix the direction of this picture.  I double checked it was flipped the right way before loading, and it still came like this.

Everyone loved it so much and it was so easy, I was thinking about making two more and giving them to my kids as christmas presents.  They BOTH actually help in this creation, but it would be a surprise for christmas. They both adore the birthday girl.

I'm going there someday...

If you remember how in April of this year during General Conference, President Monson said,

To you parents of young children, may I share with you some sage advice from President Spencer W. Kimball. Said he: “It would be a fine thing if … parents would have in every bedroom in their house a picture of the temple so [their children] from the time [they are] infant[s] could look at the picture every day [until] it becomes a part of [their lives]. When [they reach] the age that [they need] to make [the] very important decision [concerning going to the temple], it will have already been made.” 

Well needless to say I've felt like a sinner since we moved in, because my daughter didn't have a picture of the temple in her room. My son has a picture of the Logan Temple, so I wanted my daughter to have the Salt Lake Temple.

  Lil' Luna has a great tutorial of cute temple art. I've been waiting to try it for probably a year.  I mixed it up a bit, you know I can't follow directions!  Anyway, I "save as"-ed the picture from Lil' Luna, then turned it a pink/purple-ish hue, printed for 10 cents on Winkflash, to a 5x7.  Then bought a frame at Hobby Lobby, painted it green and purple, with purple/pinkish sparkles.  I love variegated paint jobs. Then I found some ribbon in my closet that was first used on the vases from by brother's wedding lunch, right after his marriage in the Salt Lake Temple.  But the green was too green with variegated paint, so I streaked purple paint on the ribbon to match the frame.  

 I added the ribbon because I thought oh, it needs to hang on the wall, then it looked so perfect on her dresser, so thank goodness the ribbon is wired, because I love the bow.

I love it!
Lil' Luna's tutorial is so great, its everything that is wonderful about the internet.  Great free pictures of the temple. I wanted a picture of the Denver Temple so I used the antique non- word for my living room.

Alpha Wall

Here is my last creation/completion.  It took a few months, but I love it, and so glad I spent the money collecting the alphabet in our game room. I got the idea here.

I was so pleased with myself, when I hung 24 letters and had to finish making the last two.  Two friends were over and one said, oh my sister-in-law did that but, all her letters matched color scheme, it didn't quite work.  But I could see where she was going with it, I love the way yours turned out.

I think mine is actually extremely chaotic in comparison to the examples, but that is me right?!

The real eyesore, is that R S U are so large all together, but I loved them all, so they stayed. 

P.S. I know this picture is too big for the template, but it needed to be done.