Christmas Crafting (part 2)

I got this awesome frame at an estate auction I went to a long time ago.  Well, I thought it was really cool, but I only got 3 sides of the frame instead of 4 so I couldn't use it for it's created purpose.  Since it was green I thought it would look great for Christmas to display the Christmas Cards we received.  I tried a few different ideas before I decided on putting magnets on it and sticking it to a piece of metal I had left over from another project.  I sawed one of the pieces into a few more to make a tree shape.  Then I hot glued magnets to the back.  I like the finished product even without the cards, but love what they add to it!

Christmas Crafting (part 1)

I realize I'm a little behind for a Christmas post, but it's better late than never, right?  And, yes (part 1) means there's at least a part 2 and maybe even a 3... I'm just going with it.  We've been a little busy around here (more posts on that coming soon).  For now, I'm going to share our Christmas stockings and their holders I made.

I'll start with the stocking holders.  I'd seen several wreaths wrapped with yarn and really liked them, so I thought it'd be neat to try that.  I found these letters, made of cardboard, at a super discounted price at Hudson's.  It pays to have Q start your last name... Q and Z were the only letters left that weren't damaged.  Anyway, I decided to wrap them in yarn and here is the final product:

 
I wrapped Justins Q in red and mine in green (of course).  I really like the way they turned out.  All of our Christmas decorations turned out a little Old World and we both liked it.  After wrapping the letters in yarn I hot glued them to simple stocking holders I bought at Walmart.  I think the whole project cost about $11.  

On to the stockings, I ended up making them twice.  I thought I had some process pictures, but if I do, I can't find them now.  I first made them without batting between the outside layer and the lining.  (I had made some before with it and I thought they were too think.)  However, these were too flimsy and did not look good hung without the batting and quilting.  So, I took them apart and added it in then quilted them and sewed them back together at the top with the white cuff in between the outside layer and lining.  I didn't use a pattern, I just sketched the shape I wanted onto the fabric and copied it over to the rest so they would match.  They look a little different than traditional stockings because of the curled toe.  We like the whimsy of the finished product.

 I also wrapped yarn around a wooden letter and attached it to the stocking by tying it to the loop used to hang it.  The J was a little difficult to wrap, I had to undo the first attempt, but got it on the second!











We really enjoyed our mantle decorations this Christmas.  I'm looking forward to decorating it again... Christmas will be here again in no time!

Dryer Duct Wreath

I recently saw this mason jar wreath on Pinterest:

Pinterest

I think it looks really cool, but I don't have that many old mason jar lids, nor do I know where to find them.  I've had a "Q" shaped wreath that was covered in moss hanging on the chapel door when we got married that I've wanted to use for a while.  I wanted to do something different with it and this was a great inspiration.  I looked around in the home improvement section of Wal-Mart today and saw a dryer vent hose.  I remembered we had some we didn't use in our laundry room cabinet and got excited.  So, I covered the wreath this afternoon!

This is the wreath I started with:

I had two different dryer ducts we weren't using.  I ended up only using the one on the left. (another project later for the one on the right?)

I cut the duct down the center and pulled it apart at the seams:

Then I wrapped it around the wreath and squeezed it into place.

And here's what I ended up with:

I think I'll add a little something to it for Christmas, but here it is on the door for now:

Is it too early to start decorating for Christmas?

I haven't decided my answer to that question yet.  But it surely isn't too early to start sewing for Christmas! I made this pillow cover a few days ago and I wanted to share.  I think I'm going to cover all my sofa throw pillows for Christmas this year.  Pictures to come when I finish that.

As for my exciting announcement from the last post... well, it fell through.  But I am using the Christmas fabric from this post to make lots of Christmas goodies, which is lots of fun.  More projects to come, I just want to share my first since I have been a little "blog quiet" for a while.   


Here's a closer photo of the pillow:

So, what do you think?  When do you start decorating? 

Getting Organized

We always seem to have paper everywhere.  I'm not really even sure where it comes from, but I know it gets on my nerves.  So, I decided we needed a designated place to put things that need to be dealt with besides the dining table.  That's where I got the idea for this mail pocket/cork board.






I started with some planks from a wood pallet.

I cleaned them and played with the arrangement.    Then I nailed them together.

Next I cut a piece of sheet metal I had from a project I did several years ago.  I folded over and hammered the edges so they wouldn't be sharp.  Then I worked on the placing of the pocket.

Next I place a plank on the bottom, so the papers won't fall through, and nailed it into place.

I had to have Justin help me nail the metal to the sides of the boards.  I kept bending nails... he was awesome.

Next, I used a staple gun to attach the cork to the back of the planks.  Then I hot glued a "Q" I had painted yellow to go with the other yellow accents in our house.  Then, I glued a magnet to some yo-yos I had made and put it on the metal.

Here it is on the wall:

Here it is already in use!

Message Board

In my quest to make our house look like we live here I've been doing several projects.  This is one I just finished.  I used another frame from the estate auction I went to a little over a year ago (see here, here, here, and here).  I really got a lot of awesome junk from there!  Anyway, I took out the glass, then cleaned it and the frame.

Then I covered the cardboard backing with fabric and put it all back together. 

I think it turned out pretty well.  It will be a great place for Justin and I to leave sweet messages and reminders for each other.  Here it is in its new home:

I'm still working on a cute way to attach the marker... more to come on that.  The cross is from this post. 

Cross

I've been working on a few projects from wood pallets.  This is the simplest one and the first one completed.  I just pulled apart some of the planks, cleaned, and primed them.  Then I painted the planks in layers, sanded them, and nailed them together.

Here's how it turned out:

New Knobs

The pulls on our half bath vanity were nice enough, but nothing special.  So, I've been looking for something unique to use in their place and I've finally found something awesome.  Well, I think they're awesome, you can let me know what you think.

Here's the before:

Here's the after:

Interesting, huh?

I'm pretty excited about them.  Oh, they are old sewing machine attachments.  I got them from the same estate auction as the treasures in this post, this post, and this post.  Kinda makes me want to change the kitchen knobs... :)


I'm linking to:

Tick Tock

I'd seen a clock kit in Hobby Lobby several times and thought of trying to make one.  So, finally, one day when shopping with a few friends, I bought it.  I covered a piece of cardboard in fabric and top stitched on another piece for some interest.  I put it into a frame I got from the estate sale (same one the treasures from this post and this post came from).  I wanted to stitch on the buttons because I liked the look of the green thread, but it was difficult to get it tight and in the correct spot.  So, I just threaded the buttons and hot glued them in place.  It turned out kinda shabby chic.  I think I like it, and it actually works!