Flock of Seagulls

This weekend I completed the kind of arts and crafts project I love. Quick, easy and with maximum payoff. I found three sassy brassy gulls at a thrift store this weekend for $3.25. Think 1982 beach house decorations. I almost balked, thinking it too expensive, but thank goodness I reconsidered. All I did was clean the birds off with a moist paper towel and then give them three coats of a key lime spray paint. Total investment was the cost at the thrift store. I had the spray paint left over from another project. Total time invested was about three hours, including drying. However, when you break it down I probably spend four minutes cleaning the birds, and five minutes each time I spray painted. The rest of the time was dedicated to waiting (not so) patiently. I hung them in my littlest babes room above his crib on a gray and white striped wall. They look magnificent if I do say so myself. Just the thing that the space needed. The pictures I took are a little dark so I may try to retake them during the day, I just couldn't wait. Patience is not a virtue of mine which is why this project was perfect.

 

 

Dynomite Necklaces...

Here is another arts and crafts project that I failed to properly photograph. My dinosaur friend was kind enough to model these new wares for me and I must say, the color really shows off her skin tone. I made two necklaces and a pair of earrings as you can see by scrolling down. These were a lot of gratification with very little work. I got the idea from a Pinterest post on my "Things I Would Do if I Had the Time" board. I made it my own by using different colors in my necklaces, I also arranged them differently. All you need for this is washers (got them at Home Depot), 10mm jump rings, chain, a lobster clasp and nail polish. First, I laid out my design on a piece of paper and painted the washers with the nail polish colors of my choice. As you can see, I used yellow, orange and gray (which looks a little brown in the pictures). Once these dried I linked them together with jump rings based on my original design. I attached a chain and a lobster clasp and VOILA!! A pretty cool necklace in about 2 hours total. I was impressed by how well the nail polish covered the washers and remained shiny.

For this necklace I used spray paint. The colors were strong but I did not like it as much because it chipped off much more than the polish. It had a matte finish which was kinda nice.

And the earrings...

Hope you enjoy these arts and crafts...I think they are Dynomite (no dinosarus were harmed in the making of these necklaces)!

Pushing Buttons

After I completed three Pinterest projects and thought about putting them on my blog I realized that I did not take pictures of my process or progress. Boo...rookie mistake. So, tell you what I'm gonna do. My favorite project was the necklace that I am putting on this post. I liked it so much I wanted to show it off as soon as possible. Later this week or next I am going to make another one and show how I did it, step by step. The idea came from Pinterest (where most of my ideas come from these days) but there were no directions. Just a picture of a necklace and a picture of the supplies used to make the necklace. I used a few more supplies in mine and I think it turned out to be a sturdy little piece. Finally, a good use for my vintage button collection. I have used my buttons on bobby pins and earrings but they were lack luster, not fully showing off the button to its full potential. I feel like this necklace is my masterpiece and it only took about an hour. There was some frustration with the hot glue and if you look too close you will see some run over but I was really impatient to get the finished product. I wore it to work the next day and got lots of compliments which made me wear it again the next day and I got even more compliments. I went into a coffee shop that we all know and the barista saw it and made me wait till her supervisor got back from grabbing food to show her my necklace. I felt like a proud momma. Anyway, hope you like the necklace as much as I do. I love finding a new purpose for commonplace items. Buttons, who'd a thunk it.

Hello Sunshine...My First Completed Pinterest Project

I finally did it...yay me! I actually completed an arts and crafts project that I had pinned on Pinterest. It is a very amateur attempt and I have debated for days about posting it but in the end I decided to share. I made a starburst mirror out of two plates, some clothes pins, hot glue, gorilla glue and an old mirror. Oh yeah, I almost forgot the spraypaint. McGyver would be impressed even if it doesn't explode! I added a little flair by painting the outer starburst a bright turquoise and the inner burst a bright orange. The original just used the raw wood of the clothes pins. I hung this in my extremely bright laundry room which means I will have to wear shades when doing the wash. I forgot to take pictures to show my process so I will explain the best I can. I bought wooden clothes pins and a very thin dinner plate and saucer. I spray painted the pins and then, once dry, clipped them to the plates. I initially clipped four clothes pins in the 12, 3, 6 and 9 o'clock positions and went around the plate clockwise filling in the spaces. I then spray painted each plate with the safety pins attached. I used hot glue and gorilla glue to adhere the two plates together. I used the hot glue to stick the mirror in place and then flipped the plate upside down on top of a wide cup and glued a picture hanger to the back with gorilla glue. I let it sit for about 18 hours, not because I am so thorough and patient, but because I had to work all day before I could hang the piece. If I could rewind I would adhere the pins to the plate with the glue gun to make them more stable. I havent had any problems with pins falling off but I have to handle the mirror very, very gently. Once hung I had to shield my eyes but right now my laundry room is the happiest place in my whole house. This is a good thing because I need something to cheer me up when I am slaving away at our piles of dirty laundry.

A Fond Farewell

The hoarder in me has the ability to personalize each and every item I take into my home. It becomes a part of my family once it comes through the door. Certain things evoke memories that I want to hold on to forever. In our frantic decluttering Jimmy and I have had to part with things that were once near and dear to us but none so memory evoking as the leopard chaise. For the record, and especially for Sammy Ponzer, this was Jimmy's idea, not mine. As I write I am trying to make a case to keep it. This lounger was purchased from Jimmy’s friends Dave and Ashley long before I came in to the picture. It was lovingly reupholstered by Jimmy and his dad in a velour leopard print and has been an anchor in his living quarters ever since. When I first met my husband to be the thing I remembered most was that chair. Okay, I remembered Jimmy the most, the chair was a close second. I gushed to anyone who would listen about the boy with that chair being perfect for me. Our taste in thrift store ephemera matched perfectly! So many memories since then! Like the time, during a bachelor party the classy stripper that was hired dripped hot wax on it and some of its fur is now missing...or at 11:59pm on December 31, 1999 I was sitting on said chaise waiting for Y2K to hit when the 70's lamp above the chair had a short and I thought the world as I knew it was going to crash and burn. The beloved Chaka the wonder dog made that his home and I was forever vacuuming his hair out of it. Good memories of a good, if not slightly uncomfortable, chair. Without further ado the leopard will make its way to Craigslist and hopefully into the arms of someone who can appreciate a chair with such provenance. I think I am going to write a last goodbye and fold it into the fabric underneath as my way of giving it a fond farewell. Goodbye my friend, you will be missed.

Really?

I am happy to say that we survived the basement clean out. I unearthed more than a few items that left me scratching my head in wonder. This little gem was especially confusing. It has been stored in my single girl apartment, my husband's bachelor pad and our new home, four hours away. It has never seen the light of day yet I hold on to it. Really? What did I find so pleasing about a wet pastel dog holding a surfboard? Jimmy surfs, we like dogs but together it becomes awful beyond words. Especially when you take into consideration his pecks, pot belly, creeper stare and player grin. This little guy is now living a happy life at the local Goodwill. Maybe he can charm another sucker into giving him a free ride for a few years. I am done :)

Binge and Purge

From time to time I bring home a vintage load greater than my capabilities to organize it or post it on Etsy. I therefore have a major overflow problem and tend to stuff everything in my basement. Out of sight, out of mind. This has not been a problem (for me) but it drives my husband crazy. We are now contemplating a move and our realtor said DECLUTTER!! Today is the day. We are going to tackle the beast of a basement and hopefully purge a lot of the items that are simply taking up space. We will be dontating back to the local Goodwill and I am going to post a few items on Craigslist. Anyone out there need a leopard chaise? Wish us luck, we may not come out alive!