CRAFT ROOM!

So i finally found a purpose for our "study". It has now become my new craft room!

I still have a long way to go but to have a place to get those creative juices flowing anytime i want is so wonderful!

The great thing is that craft supplies are so expensive but i found a guy on craigslist who was selling 10 boxes of craft supplies for $25! So, of course, i made my sweet husband come with me to pick it all up. So almost everything you see in the two pictures were from that great find! Many projects to be made here! :)

Thanksgiving Dining with Divas

I get the privilege of eating dinner with three of my college friends every month. We call it Dining with Divas, which is so fitting! lol It is always a blessing to see these girls. This month was my turn to have it at my house and cook. My sweet Kim asked for pumpkin pancakes so that is how the menu started!

So I found these cute Oreo turkeys on Pinterest at http://www.ourbestbites.com/2010/11/oreo-turkeys-and-cookie-pilgrim-hats/turkeys-and-cookie-pilgrim-hats/. They are super cute! :) Mine need a little work but i ran out of time.

I also had raspberries with chocolate chips in them for an appetizer and they were really good!

It was a fun night of food and laughter!

New Fall Door Wreath

<---Before

<----AFTER!

I was given a wreath a few years ago that had definitely seen better days! So i finally got up the nerve to redo it. Basically, i just pulled EVERYTHING off the old one until i just had the wreath itself.

I then took raffia and wrapped it around then I took my ribbons and did about half the wreath in that. Then i began placing the leaves. After that, i just had to hot glue it all together!

To finish it off, i painted an S (for Shelton) gold, hot glued it and then hung a harvest sign on one of the branches. That's it! I really like how it turned out! :)

Sock Snowmen!

I saw the idea for this on Pinterst at http://thenshemade.blogspot.com/2011/01/sock-snowmen.html.

I was inspired so i went to the dollar store, went home and started crafting! They were pretty simple to make after you get the hang of it. You will need

-2 decorative socks (i choose plaid and Christmas colors) and got them for $1.

-1 long white tube sock. (I used some old ones of my husband...clean of course. lol)

-bean/rice or other type of filler

-buttons

-something for the nose. I used skewers for the grill

-embellishments of your choosing.

-rubber bands

I did make a few changes from the original directions from Pinterst. I found a really long tube sock and instead of cutting just the tube part off to use as the body, I actually used the whole sock and on the second one, I turned it inside out which gave it a more textured "snowy" look. (bottom picture) then fill sock with bean/rice and secure top with a tight rubber band.

If you use a whole sock, you can actually get all different sizes of snowmen. Fill the sock as full as you want (which will dictate how tall it is) and then cute the remainder off at the top. You can actually use the excess to make another snowman...just put a tight rubber band around one end BEFORE you flip it inside out and then fill.

Then cut the ankle and toe out of ONE of the decorative socks. That becomes the sweater. You can then add rubber bands at the top and bottom of the sweater or just at the top depending on the look you want.

Then only cut the ankle part of the SECOND decorative sock. That becomes the hat. I gathered the toe and put another rubber band around it and hot glued a pom pom on the end to make it look more like a hat.

Then just add the button eyes and cut off the end of the skewer, paint it orange and hot glue it on as well. I found it helped to cut a small hole, add hot glue and actually insert the nose into the beans.

Then EMBELLISH! I had some extra tiles that i mod podged sayings on then hot glued to a skewer. I also found that if you cut the elastic part off the left over ankle bits. Cut them so they are one piece and glue together, you can make a cute scarf! That's it. :)

Fun and cute!

T-shirt Scarf with T-shirt Flowers!

So this is the simplest project ever!

The scarf itself is extremely simple. Follow the instructions in this blog: http://myworldmadebyhand.blogspot.com/2011/02/how-to-make-no-sew-infinity-scarf-from.html

But basically you simply take an XL or XXL t-shirt and cut the bottom hem off and then cut all the way across from one arm pit to the other. Then STRETCH! That's really all it is!

The flowers are a little more work but not too hard. You can fine the tutorial at http://rebekahgough.blogspot.com/2011/08/how-to-make-t-shirt-flower.html

I glued buttons in the middle of mine and I also glued a safety on the back so you can move the flowers around depending on how you are wearing your scarf.

You should sooo try this!!!!

Fall Yarn Wreath

I once again, got my inspiration from Pinterst. http://pinterest.com/pin/278563508/

It is very simple to make. And you can customate it in any way that you want. So here were my steps:

1. Go buy yarn (I choose a solid brown and yellow and a muti-color yarn)

2. I then went to the dollar store and got some foliage. I also found the cross in Hobby Lobby for 40% off.

3. Start with a plain foam wreath from a craft store. Mark the section so you will know when to change yarn colors. (This is not necesary when only using one color.)

4. Then WRAP! I actually does not take that long. Start by hot gluing the yarn in the back and you will have to glue every time you switch colors.

5. Then simply emblesish however you wish. Its really simple and the possiblities are endless!

Name Art

Ok, so I have always LOVED the popular frames with your last name spelled out through strategic photographs.

Well they were way too expensive for my taste so I decided to make my own. And OF COURSE I got my inspiration from Pinterst! Here is her post: http://fullofgreatideas.blogspot.com/2010/10/absolute-favorite-thing-i-have-made.html

This blog posted that is there is an AMAZING website that allows you to use his photographs for FREE as long as you don't sell them. So here is my creation:

So this was my process:

1. Go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/collections/72157594587080023/ to find the letters you want. They are INCREDIBLE AND HE HAS LOTS TO CHOOSE FROM.

2. Then I found different size wood blocks from Michaels. (You could just simply put it in a frame like the blog from above did.)

3. I measured all the blocks and then sized each letter accordingly. Then I printed them out.

4. I then spray painted the blocks black (they were light oak).

5. Then cut each letter out and make sure they fit exactly where you want them on the board.

6. Spray adhesive to the board and carefully place each letter. (I used an old credit card to smooth them out.)

7. Let them dry completely. Then I mod podged each of them to seal them.

8. I then screwed a brace on the back of each of the letter because I wanted one solid piece.

And that's it! :) I think this would make a great gift too.