It may be bright and sunny outdoors, but it was a gray kind of day in my workshop this week. When I get my paintbrush out, I try to work on lots of projects using the same color at the same time. I hate cleaning paintbrushes, so I want to get as much mileage out of it as I can before I clean it. I can also accomplish more faster by focusing on one color of paint at a time, {Read More}
Repurposed Book Page Projects
July 20, 2013 by 12 Comments
You know I love crafting with old book pages, and I’ve got an abundance of old books, so I’ve curated a Book Page Projects board for Hometalk with lots of ideas of things you can make with “junk” books, including these book page pinwheels and several more of my own projects. You can see all the many, many projects I’ve made using them HERE. Here are just a few project ideas you’ll find. Book Page Canvas Wall Art Book Page {Read More}
Christmas Tree Garland & Gift Wrap Embellishment
July 13, 2013 by 20 Comments
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…in July! Like many of you, my family’s Christmas tree has a very eclectic look. We have ornaments I’ve bought the kids each year, we have ornaments that were given to us, and ornaments the kids have made. Each one is a memory of a Christmas past. As much as I love it, I’d really love to have a Christmas tree that has an all soft color palette, with lots of texture, {Read More}
Pretty Painted Clipboard Photo and Ephemera Display
July 10, 2013 by 11 Comments
I’m a bit of a clipboard addict and love using old clipboards as displays for photos and other bits and pieces of ephemera. I really love it when I find one that has developed pretty darkened patina, as this one has. I don’t mess with those – I use them as they are. Occasionally though, you find a nice old clipboard at a thrift store or yard sale, but it’s been doodled on by a student. In cases like that, {Read More}
15 Clever Hanger Ideas via Hometalk {You Know I Love a Good Hang-up!}
June 28, 2013 by 4 Comments
I really enjoyed putting together my 20+ Thrifty Farmhouse Decor Ideas board for Hometalk, so I was thrilled when they asked me to curate another board for them. The theme of this board is Clever Hanger Ideas. (Click on this image to see them all) As you all know, I’m constantly making new “hang-ups”, so this board was one I could really hang my hat on! Every clever hanger I selected is one that you can create yourself, and all {Read More}
Repurposed Books Light – A Bright Idea
June 13, 2013 by 10 Comments
Once in awhile, I have a “light bulb moment”. Usually I have to tinker around with things for awhile before I figure out what I’m going to do with them, but when I found a plain white light bulb socket at a thrift store, and I knew I had an Edison-style light bulb at home, the light in my head went on, and I immediately knew what I wanted to do with it. A few antique books, 2 screws, and {Read More}
Antique Ceiling Tiles Cabinet Doors
April 25, 2013 by 26 Comments
The curtains I made from on old canvas bag for under my kitchen sink were getting kind of grungy looking. Too many wet, and dirty hands had pushed them aside to get into the cabinet. Rather than constantly needing to wash them, I decided I wanted to go back to a regular cabinet door, but I think I must have used the original cabinet doors on some other project, because we couldn’t find them. Instead, my handy husband made me {Read More}
Dictionary Pages Pennant Banners
April 18, 2013 by 18 Comments
Yesterday I promised that I’d share the printables for the DIY Dictionary Pages Pennant Banners I used to decorate my Wooden Mantel Backdrops. I always get excited when I find books that have that aged, darkened color that looks so pretty, but the drawback is the pages are usually very fragile and brittle, making it difficult to use them for craft projects. To solve that problem, I scan the images on very high resolution, then make copies of them, which {Read More}
Rustic Mantle Backdrops
April 17, 2013 by 44 Comments
Inspiration is rarely a problem for me. In fact, my problem is usually having too much inspiration and not knowing when to quit. That wasn’t the case last week. I started out with what I thought was a great idea. I have these wonderful antique tongue and groove boards that I always turn into coat racks, but I felt like doing something different with some of them. I thought I’d connect several together and turn them into barn door style {Read More}
Antique Alphabet School Book Page Sign
March 16, 2013 by 30 Comments
I warned you a few days ago that I’m a slow learner, and all the troubles I had with my bakery sign didn’t teach me my lesson not to choose elaborate fonts to cut out on vinyl with my Silhouette machine. I truly expected this project to be a failure and probably be a total waste of time, but I felt compelled to try it anyway. Here’s why. I bought an adorable 1895 school primer. It is filled with some {Read More}
