Creative Dawn

I got this great shade for 1.99 at Savers.  The fabric was torn, but that just made it easier to tear it off.  The yarn was on clearance at Joann Fabric for .97 a skein.  I wasn't sure how must it would take to cover the shade so I bought 4.  It only took one and a half!  Now there has to be a project for the remaining yarn, oh bummer... Basically the fabric was torn off and I wrapped the entire frame with the purple fuzzy yarn.  It is a fun lampshade that is definitely a conversation piece.

Here is another post about letters.  This is a foam D that I got at Joann Fabrics for .25.  It was originally hot pink but it seemed too bright so painting it white was the solution.  The letter is smaller so there were not a lot of options for embellishment.  Thumb tacks were the perfect solution for decoration and also very economical at .82 a package.  This probably took me all of five minutes to complete, it's simple but nice.  Once all of the 365 posts are complete, I plan on posting some pictures of the displays around my home of many of these projects.  When this blog was started there were a lot of plain white walls, now they are adorned with custom art.  I don't know if this was mentioned in a past post but the blog will continue, just not on a daily basis.  It's been fun, but some days it gets a bit tiring.  This has been a great accomplishment and a challenge for me.  Until tomorrow! :)

Sorry, had to do it!  Actually when you are a creative person and make many Christmas gifts you need to start early.  I went to Joann Fabrics the other day and they had some letters on clearance.  The popular ones are always gone leaving you with Q, W, Z, X, I, O, etc.  I decided to buy a few of these orphan letters and figure out a project for them.  The first letter was the O, it's round so I figured it would make a good wreath.  After a dark green base coat, other shades were added using a Van Gogh like brush stroke to mimic pine needles.  It really didn't need much to make it look good so I just used a small gold wreath to the middle.  It is simple and it has a modern feel to it.

Grab your hot glue gun and go crazy!  The wooden frame is from Wal-mart and was .97, the stones were a dollar at the Family Dollar store and the feet were basically pennies from the clearance bin at Joann Fabrics.  I had wanted to do a project with the blue stones and when I came across the frame it came to me.  A decorative trivet is always handy especially when entertaining.  The first step was painting the frame light blue.  Once the paint dried it was time to add the stones.  They are randomly applied but I did try to get them as close as possible to each other.  The final step was adding on some legs.  I got a couple of packages of miniature heart erasers at the craft store and glued two at each corner to serve as the feet of the trivet.  It was fast and easy.  There were other styles of frames so any of them could be used and also the stones come in a variety of colors.  You could even mix and match them for a different look. ...

Today, I'm just distracted and not much into posting so here it is, simple, basic and no frills. It's been a while since I did something with the letter D.  This is the fourth post that will be dedicated to my first initial.  This one isn't a store bought letter, it's a plain wooden plaque that I painted.  You can get these at a JoAnn and Michael's for a few dollars and the sky is the limit with an unfinished piece of wood.  Paint, stain, decoupage, craft, burn whatever you can imagine is possible.  I may have to start adding more initials soon because the wall of D is looking kind of sad.  Look for more soon. 

  I got this at Joann Fabrics for a dollar and am giving it to my husbands grandmother.  She turned 80 this year and most of the pictures I used are from that celebration.  She is spry and a sweetie and what else do you get a senior for Christmas?  Well, besides the potato bag that was last minute.  She had a great Bday and was surprised by family and friends.  They did get her good, the party was in August at the family cabin, but her Birthday was a few weeks ago. 

This unfinished tree was purchased at Joann Fabrics for .90, it was a brown fall tree, but now, it is a Christmas decoration.  It was originally 6.99 and after Halloween, it went on clearance.  There are actually two, but the second one might end up being used for a spring holiday.  Just because it is labelled for a specific holiday or season doesn't mean it has to be used for it.  That is part of being creative, finding a use or making something out of odd and ends. The burlap on the base was replaced with holiday fabric.  The red metallic curling ribbon was a dollar and the starlight mints were 1.99 for a good sized package.  The leftovers are now in a candy dish.  The tree was kind of mushed so after fluffing it out, the ribbon was attached to one end of the wrapped candies and then tied to the branches and then the ribbon was curled using a butter knife.  Something like this would probably be at least 20.00 if purchased already fin...

Today, my project isn't entirely finished.  This one has taken longer because it is/was and unfinished Adirondack chair and it needs to be put together.  The chair is going to be a gift for my mother-in-law.  She loves to garden, so I thought it would be appropriate to paint flowers all over it.  The base coat took almost as long as the actual design.  It took three coats for a good background and needed to dry in between coats.  I like to use either American Accents or Painters Touch both by Rustoleum for Adirondack chairs.  The paint is latex and easy to clean up and the finish is really great.  Tomorrow, it will be finished and I will post the final product.  This chair was purchased last summer for 19.97 on clearance at Jo Ann Fabrics.  More money than I usually spend, but that is a great price for an item like this. 

This is my newest embroidery project, just in time for Thanksgiving .  I got the towels at Joann Fabrics and used my weekly coupon to get a great deal.  The iron on patterns were from a package that had twelve designs, one for each month.  This is September and November, but make a great set for fall holiday time.  I am not hosting Thanksgiving, but for the person who is this year, they will be the perfect hostess gift tucked in a basket with rolls.   I always make my rolls every year because if I didn't, my husband's family would disown me.  I will post my simple recipe closer to turkey day for everyone, that is if anyone actually is reading this yet!   I love giving things like this because not only is it something handmade, it is also very practical.

My favorite holiday is this month, Halloween!  I am a big kid, I love to dress up and just have fun.  You will see quite a few Halloween projects this month.  A few have already been posted.  Here is my latest.  Sometimes creativity is seeing potential in an item that no one else would ever imagine. This little guy was started with a base of green paint.  A large white button painted to look like an eye was hot glued on.  The hair is purple and black yarn that is actually stuffed into half a toilet tissue tube and glued in the center.  A fun quick project made out of a odds and ends and in the end probably cost less than a dollar to make!