doodle books

I bought these blank magnetic doodle boards on Pick Your Plum. I wanted to customize them for each of my kids, so I used washi tape and fabric bows. Here they are:

Blank doodle book

Inside of doodle book

Washi tape

Girl doodle book

Another girl doodle book

Boy doodle book

save the pumps

I have these peep-toe black pumps that my sister gave to me a few years ago. I love them, and wear them with everything....dresses and blue jeans....the problem is the insides are falling apart. I'm too frugal to give up shoes just because the part no one sees is no longer presentable. I had worn them so many times that the fabric had come out, and I was now on the secondary layer. What to do?

I decided I would give them a facelift. I tore the insides out and used them as a template to cut out fabric. I ironed the edges in a quarter inch and sprayed the backside with adhesive. I pressed the new inserts into my shoes. A simple and cheap way to keep shoes looking fresh. So happy with the results.

before: pretty ratty looking

after: with a new life

capiz ring

At our local co-op, I get the opportunity to teach a class my daughter is in. Our topic this week was oceans, and I couldn't pass on a chance to share my shells I had collected at the beach this past summer. When at the beach, I love walking along the shore and picking up all types of shells, some whole, some pieces, but all with a bit of lovely to them. I took many types of shells with me and let the children play with them, talk about them, and pick their favorites. The boys strung shells on jute to make necklaces and the girls made rings. I made my ring out of capiz shells.

Here are the rings for the girls. Each was able to pick her own shells and I hot-glued them onto the ring blank.

clay pot lights

I posted about my garden shed last year, and said that I would share about my clay pot lights that I created for in the shed. We finally ran electric to the garden shed, so now they are working and I thought this would be a good opportunity to show you how it turned out.

My light fixtures working.

These lights were super easy to make and really captured the garden theme. The whole project (all supplies included) was less than $20.00.

Supplies (per unit):
12 inch clay pot
Threaded pipe
2 large flat washers
2 lock nuts
1 complete work light (remove cage)
1 black metal cage
Heavy rope, natural color
1 energy-efficient light bulb

Topside

Inside  

black cage with light bulb

First, I put the large flat washer and the lock nut on one end of the threaded pipe. Next, I put the pipe through the center of my pot and put the other set of washer and nut on the opposite side and tightened all. I then snipped the plug end of my work light and ran the cord through the pipe. Next, I pulled my rope through with the cord. I knotted the rope on the inside to securely hold the pot when in hangs. I placed the black cage on the light socket and inserted my bulb. The rope was run to the top of the shed, through an old pulley and secured to the wall with a hook. A plug was put on the end of the electrical cord and plugged to the outlet in the ceiling.

Old pulley found in our barn.

Hanging from the ceiling. 

Thanks to Jeremy and Blake for running the electric for me so these will work this spring. I'm so excited.

bling for the bull

Here is another project I did for our conference room. I found an old cow skull in my woods a few years ago while I was walking. I thought it was a rather strange find at the time, but I really liked it and saved it for a future project. The skull has been sitting in my hubby's shop so it was nice and dry now, and the loose parts fell off easily. (I did find it in the trash once....guess Jeremy didn't see the potential). Oh well. He did paint it white for me the same time he was painting another one of my projects. He really is a dear, helping me with all these. :-)

After the white paint job

After is was painted white, I added some "bling" with turquoise colored shells pieces and some rhinestones. I used Gorilla super glue to attach them to the skull. I definitely suggest using the Gorilla super glue over regular super glue because your fingers won't glue together and the glue comes off your hands much quicker. (Mom, that tip is for you). It took about an hour to glue these pieces individually, and I probably should have had more ventilation because the smell was getting to me by the end of the project.

When I do the post of the entire room I will show this piece again when I have it mounted. I thought the colors gave it a nice Southwest feel, with some cowgirl charm added.

happy LOVE day

My sweet hubby surprised me when I arrived home today by having these lovely roses in the kitchen for me.  These light pink with yellow are my favorites, and he had them in my white pitcher - nice! He had cards (which I love) on the table for us too. My mom and dad also had sent the kids cards in the mail, and my Elauna was very excited to open hers.

The co-op we attend decided to let the kids share "valentines", so I designed some today and assembled them. I pasted the kids pictures on the back side of the card. My family has called Valentine's day "love day" for awhile as we have a friend whose last name is Loveday and February 14 was her special day.

I was making valentine bags for my co-op class to put their cards into and take home. I took brown paper sacks and used scalloped scissors to trim the top of the bag. Next, I folded the top over and and punched two holes and ran a red ribbon through. My mom had been cutting hearts out of a paper towels to amuse the kids and I loved the way it looked. She cut out some more for my bags.
Thanks, Mom, for all your help!

custom lantern lights

One of our projects this year was to finish a meeting room off the shop for groups to come in, as well as a place for Jeremy to meet with clients. He wanted a rustic theme and I will do a complete post of the room when it is finished. I have designed most of the light fixtures for the room. The first group of lights are old lanterns wired to work with modern electronics. We did not want to change any of the physical features of the lamps so as to preserve their originality.

Most of the lamps only required cleanup with a rag and cleaning solution, but one lamp was so rusted it needed restored. I had found this lamp in the cellar at our house, and it is an old Dietz. I wiped it down, then took steel wool and made it smooth. Next, I sprayed it with Rustoleum polished bronze paint. The final step was to clean the glass.

before

after

To wire the lamps, I used three components: 

1. 18-2 brown lamp wire (2 feet per lamp)
2. Leviton 15-amp 125-volt 2-pole light duty plug
3. Leviton 167 outdoor pin socket

I assembled the lamps by running the wire through the top of the lantern on the backside (most were through the ventilator), down into the globe. The lanterns pull apart so the globe can be removed for cleaning. I stretched the lanterns part, wired the socket and screwed in the light bulb. I closed the lamp and wired in the plug end. All finished! The hardest part is getting the lights to hang straight in the lamp. We purchased wrought iron hooks from Hobby Lobby to hang the lanterns from the wall. (At 50% off, they came to under $3.00 each.) 

Here are some photos of the finished products:

An art-deco lamp. We left this one rustic-looking as it has a nice patina.

A Dietz fire truck lantern.

Dietz large skaters lantern.

Another Dietz large skaters lantern.

Two of the lanterns in the room.

Most of the lanterns came from Jeremy's parents collection that they purchased in Maine several years ago. We enjoy upcycling antiques, or doing the same thing they were intended for, just in a modern way. 

storage solutions

Sometimes good ideas happen completely by accident. I was cleaning my refrigerator the other day and organizing the shelves as I went. Later that afternoon I had to make a run to Meijer for something and was walking through the storage aisle. I love wire baskets and such, and saw these very narrow baskets. I remembered having taco salad this week and trying to pull out the salsa I needed in the back of the fridge. The baskets gave me a good idea: put similar jars in a basket and simply pull the entire basket out when I needed something from that group. It has organized my refrigerator so nicely.

the shelf before....organized but not easily accessible

the baskets with the jars sorted

baskets in the fridge....so tidy

The next storage solution this week was for plastic bags. We have tried using the "green" bags, but still have uses for the plastic from time to time, so we still have to find a place to store them. I have antiques in my kitchen, and one was an old malted milk container - it stands about 12 inches tall. It had been sitting empty for years. I hate to let good storage space go to waste, especially in our old farm house that has very little storage. This week I stuffed all my plastic bags inside and put the lid on. Decoration and functional at the same time! If I had only had this epiphany years ago.

plastic bags

bags in the malt container

no eye-sore bags around. Yes!

pin board

A few years ago my sister and I went to an auction {which I love to do} and the lady whose items were for sale had been an artist. She had tons of old frames, some good...others so-so. I bought entire boxes of antique frames for $1.00! Yes, I am a scavenger and I like really good deals. These frames have been in my attic waiting for good projects.

This one was made for a friend.

This project uses one of those frames. Since it wasn't in great condition and had no glass, I painted it the color my daughter chose....her favorite: pink! I used Rustoleum 2X to spray both sides of the frame until it has a nice sheen.

Next, use a staple gun and some cotton twine and zig zag the twine and staple to the back of the frame. Do this for both a vertical run and a horizontal run.

Example: pink is the first vertical run.
When to the bottom, reverse and go to the top
between the gaps of the first run (the blue line).

Next, I took scrap fabric and rolled to make a rosette. A strip two feet long by one or two inches wide will make the big rosette. After the rosette is formed, hot glue the back to hold the shape. I then glued it to the corner of the frame. Differing sizes give it some variation.

After making the rosettes, I cut triangles from the same fabric to make a miniature bunting. I hand wrote the letters on each piece, but a stamp could be used instead. If you are writing the letter yourself, use a Sharpie pen - fine tip, or something comparable.  Hand sew the pieces on a piece of cotton twine using a matching thread. Leave a few inches on either end to allow the bunting to hang natural instead of straight across.

Finally, choose a fabric for the back of the frame and hot glue to the back. I use the tiny clothes pins to hold on pictures and letters.

I sent all the components but the frame to our missionary friends in Haiti. Pat made a frame from twigs and Cheryl assembled the rest of the project. I think it looks very cute, and I love the natural look of it.