fun fall projects!

I love, love, love this time of year!  The air is crisp and cool, there is a wonderful fragrance in the air, And all the fall colors start coming out!

Today we woke up to a cold rainy day. The kind of day that makes me want to craft and watch a Jane Austin movie at the same time!

There are a few fall crafts that have caught my eye and I want to share them with you.

First this is the cutest fall craft with decorative wood letters.  You can find it on

http://brownpaper--packages.blogspot.com/. she has instructions on her blog.

Also  I loved the Whimsy of this cute Halloween stitchery.  It was a painting that was transformed into a stitchery.  That is why I love stitchery!  You can stitch anything that is a picture. http://www.flickr.com/photos/30752157@N07/3815736834/

Something I have been wanting to do for several years is pressed leaf art. I found instructions on http://www.casasugar.com/2486229 and http://www.marthastewart.com/good-things/pressed-leaf-butterflies?

Apron

If you have been following my blog you might remember a few weeks ago I mentioned an apron I was making.  Well It has been mostly done for a long time now I just needed to add the ric-rac.  I finally finished it up today!  Yay!   I made it for my sister in law Cathy for her Birthday. And to give you an idea of how overdue this project is. Her Birthday was the 1st week of August.  Whoops! Oh well it is better late then never I always say :-) I love the colors!  They reminded me of her kitchen. I also made a couple of glass gem fridge magnets to match.  My daughter Natalie was nice enough to model it for me.  I got the pattern from McCalls.  I liked it because it had a little bit of that old fashioned look to the shape, but yet was simple to make.  I hope she likes it!

Latest on my kids schedule board

 It has taken me longer to do this project then I thought, but life around my house has been crazy lately and I am slowly getting projects finished. I still do not have the kids pictures up, but I have all the little word magnets up.  I printed out a bunch of words that I needed and mod podged them on several flat magnet sheets that I have some how collected from realtors etc. over the last year that were just sitting there living on my fridge for no good reason.  I added Sakura crystal lacquer( a new product I've been trying out) on the days of the week that is why they have shine on them.  I am happy at how well the backpack hooks are being used.  No more back packs laying in my front room Yay!

Easy yummo treat!

I got another great idea from the blog Controlling my chaos.  She posted an easy white chocolate popcorn recipe that she had gotten from a friend. here are the recipe instructions.  http://controllingmychaos.blogspot.com/2009/09/white-chocolate-popcorn.html
So I decided to try it and it was out of this world!  My family thought it sounded weird and would not try it at first, but once they tasted it they could not keep their little hands out of it!  I decided though to change it up a bit my second time making it.  I had pretzels and cashew nuts on hand. So added them and sprinkled it with some cinnimon.  I don't know can you actually improve an already perfect treat?  Yes you can!

Freshly painted front door and shutters

We bought a fixer upper house 2 1/2 years ago.  It has been a slow work in progress and one of my desires for the longest time was to paint our front door and shutters black instead the worn out faded forest green shutters and the dingey white door.  And finally we did it yesterday!  It looks so much better!  It is not perfect you can see a couple dents in the door still even though I was sure I had filled them all, but it is a huge improvement to what it was!  Part of the reason it took me so long to do this project is because I was not sure how to do it, but with research and help from the lady at home Depot we finally got enough courage to try it. 

1. Take  door off hinges take off hard ware 

2. sand it.  I used my mouse sander by black and decker it made that job much faster.

3. If there are any dents fill them in

4.While that was drying I painted the frame around my door a nice crisp white.

5. Now you can paint the door!  We used an exterior paint with primer already in it by Behr to save an extra step.  first apply with a angled brush you will need 2 or 3 coats.  And then go over it with a  roller to give a more smooth finish.  It is wise to set the door up on a couple of chairs so it is raised up off the ground and also do it in a garage so that dust and bugs don't fly into the paint.

6. put hardware back on and rehang door.

For the shutters we used a heavy duty industrial exterior spray paint.

Yay! I've been featured!

I am so excited! I have been featured on Tip Junkie for my Nativity puzzle!
A few of you have asked about how you can get the Nativity.
I am setting up my own Etsy store soon and this is one of the items that I will be selling. So keep checking back and I will have more info soon.

Home command center!

I finally have my command center board done! Well almost. I still need to add

my kids pictures and the labels with all the schedule info on them. I've been waiting to post a picture until I had the back pack rack up. And My husband finally helped me get it up Tues. yay! It was so awesome yesterday when my kids got home from school they all hung up their back packs and I did not have to remind them! And I give credit and Thanks to one of my favorite blogs for giving me the idea http://controllingmychaos.blogspot.com/2009/08/another-problem-solved.html

Having fun with Diamond glaze and DG3

I had a fun time last night with some awesome ladies at our neighborhood craft group! :-) I decided that it would be the right night to try out the Scrabble necklaces and washer necklaces with the diamond glaze. It was nice not having to worry about kids especially my one year old!

I think they worked out great even though there was a bubble or two I could not get rid of! I have links on how to make them in an earlier post titled Diamond glaze and epoxy resin.

I found some wood hearts the same size as the Scrabble pieces I thought they would be just as cute. I also decided to mess around with some bottle caps and pendants. The medical necklace is for my daughter who is diabetic. The background looks black, but the pendant is really a bronze metal. I have not decided what to do with the bottle caps yet. They will be necklaces or magnets.

Stitchery on Onesies

So here is my first ever attempt at doing stitchery on Onesies! I have wanted to do this for a while now. I drew out my stitchery patterns and purchased the Package of Onesies a few weeks ago, but I just have not allowed myself the time to sit down and do it!

Finally I made the time yesterday afternoon. It was tricky working with the soft stretchy fabric so I know I can improve next time. I colored in the pea pod and peas with crayon. You just have to make sure you iron it or run it in a hot dryer for a few minutes to make sure it sets into the fabric.

I have about 4 other onesie stitchery patterns that I have made and so I am excited to see how they will turn out too! I also want to add a ruffle or bum ruffles at the bottom with coordinating fabric colors. Kari from U-Create has a great tutorial on that. http://kari-youcanmakeit.blogspot.com/2009/05/ruffle-butt-onesie-tutorial.html

Hollyhocks!

I have such fond memories of the Hollyhocks in our yard when I was little and making Hollyhock dolls! So I was so excited when my friend asked me earlier this Summer if I wanted some of her baby Hollyhocks she had planted the year before. They almost did not make it because we had a huge grasshopper plauge in our area this summer and they started to nibble on them and one plant was actually eaten. Luckily the rest survived. They started blooming their flowers a few weeks ago and so the other day my daughter and I made some little Hollyhock dolls. If you have never done this before all you need is a full flower a bud and a toothpick. You turn the flower upside down and poke the toothpick up the middle of the flower and then up into the middle of the bud. I like to keep a little bit of stem on to have it look like a neck between the bud head and the flower dress. So fun and so cute!

Bugaboo bookclub September book pick

So did anyone out there read My August book pick "Two old women" If so tell me what you thought about it.

This month I am picking a book I read several years ago by Mildred Taylor called "The Land" She is also the author of "Roll of thunder hear my cry". "The Land" is Mildred D. Taylor's wonderful prequel to her Newbery Medal winner, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. My family also actually listened to it on tape while on a long road trip from Utah to Dallas TX. The narrator was excellent. So I recommend the audio version too.

Here is what amazon said about it.

Paul-Edward Logan, the son of a white, plantation-owner father and a slave mother, is our narrator, bound and determined to buy his own land and shape his own future at whatever cost. Caught between black and white worlds and not fitting into either one is devastating for him, but his powerful, engaging tales of the love of family, the strength of friendship, and growing up will inspire anyone to dare to persevere despite terrible odds. Taylor's books are not only essential in understanding what led up to the Civil Rights movement in America--they are also breathtaking page-turners, full of suspense, humor, love, and hope. The Land certainly stands alone, but the other award-winning tales of the Logan family--Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry; Let the Circle Be Unbroken; and The Road to Memphis--are excellent as well. Heartily recommended. (Ages 12 and older) --Karin Snelson --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.