Wall Hanging

I've been wanting a piece of art of some sort for above my bed, especially now that I will be moving into a larger bedroom in a week.
I didn't quite know what I wanted to do, but I wanted it to be cheap, colorful, and fit into the crazy color scheme I have going on in my room.

This part weekend I was one of the volunteer coordinators for a health fair. We had boxes and boxes of toothbrushes, toothpaste, and floss donated to us. There was a lot of cardboard waste when we consolidated these boxes. The floss had many thin cardboard separation pieces that I just couldn't let go to waste. I was originally thinking they would make good bookmarks for kids to design but ended up having an idea.

So of course I ran to Michaels (with my 20% off entire purchase coupon!) and picked up some colorful 99 cent bottles of acrylic paint (SO CHEAP!) and decided to see what I could come up with.

This was the first step. Painting each piece of cardboard... it really didn't take long at all and it dried super fast, so 2 coats took no time at all!

Then I started thinking of what I could do. I picked up a foam board when I was at Michaels because it was the perfect size for an above the bed hanging, so I started stacking the colorful pieces on:

I thought it was looking pretty cool but couldn't figure out the best way to attach them. Luckily I had recently fixed my blue bedside table and had lots of wood glue leftover. I knew that would be really strong but was still unsure.

Out of the light

With the light

So, this is what it turned out to look like! I was very satisfied and it only cost me less than $8 worth of foam board and paint. Definitely cheaper than this cool wall hanging!

Now I just have to figure out how to get it to Colorado without the edges bending... I didn't really think of that until afterward! I'm going to keep my eye out for extra large boxes and sandwich it between 2 pieces probably. Wish me luck!

Stay crafty! :)

F for Mr. F

I saw this online (surprisingly not Pinterest!) and decided to give it a go!

I purchased a wooden 'F' at Michaels. I then took Elmers glue and made swirls on the front of it then let them dry completely. Once dried, I wrapped the letter in tinfoil and painted it a greenish brown color.

It was really easy but it makes it look really pretty cool and old! (Thanks AJ for the artsy photo!)

Enjoy! :)

Good thing I like taking pictures...

I just went through my iPhone to find some more photos of what I've done the last couple months, well, the stuff I still have photos of at least.

This is more or less a "before" shot of my $1 side table. I started this one in April!

I didn't take an official "after" photo, but this is basically what it looks like now. I finished painting the thing blue, removed the vice grips (it does add though, doesn't it? haha!), and then I went over the swirls on the front and lightly painted them white!

I can take ZERO credit for these... but my crafty side rubbed off on my wonderful boyfriend AJ! He made these for me... the three places I've lived so far: Greece, Minnesota, and Iowa. Boy, Colorado will look silly when it is added to the mix!!

This is the "before" picture for my other table. I made this one in October/November-ish

And the "after" Chevron table. It matches my wall perfectly!

This isn't crafting, obviously, but rather a wonderful loaf of yummy bread that I made in my roommates bread machine! :)

A brief sampling

Here are just a couple of the things I could find to show you all... I'm in the middle of packing up my life to move from Clive, IA back to Maple Grove, MN for a week and then I'm moving out to start grad school in Denver for 2 years!
Needless to say, my life will be pretty crazy for the next 2-3 weeks or so until I am settled in Denver!

Some fabulous (but kind of fray-ing) burlap placemats. My no sew fray gel didn't work so well... I'm going to get a sewing machine to these babies once I get home to MN!

Made this last summer... but it's a piece of old barn wood that I treated and added hooks to! (Oh, and that awesome coat? A $4 Goodwill find!!)

A quick (and bendable) bracelet. This one is mine but I also gave 1 to my mother and 1 to my aunt for mother's day!

Some earrings, I've made about 4 pairs of these... the other 3 I have as gifts

Made this last summer as well... and please don't mind my packing mess... but this was a cheap $5 Target mirror at one point. I added an old closet door to the back for support and some painted trim as a frame around it! Good thing my family was doing a house remodel at the time because all the materials were free! 

As I said, I have a few clothing pieces that I will be making once I get back to MN. I am looking to buy a sewing machine of my own eventually, but I'm pretty low on cash (thanks AmeriCorps!!)

I really hope someone reads this because I truly love these little side projects of mine even though people think I'm crazy sometimes! :)

First post

I'm mostly starting this blog because AJ told me to do something to showcase my crafty side.

So for my first post, I would like to show you the beginnings of my craft basket. It's a bit small but works for me for now! :)

I have been a bit crafty recently but haven't taken many photos of my work so far... but I promise to take more pictures and upload them soon! But as a heads up, get ready to see 2 or 3 skirts being made, a dress, a wall hanging, a water pitcher, and I will "showcase" some jewelry and other stuff I've made in the last couple months.

Until then, stay creative! :)