Goodwill Transformation

Happy Wednesday! If you have visited in the past you might know that today is my first day at my new job. The start of a new career. I am excited and looking forward to the possibilities.

As I mentioned earlier I found a few goodies at Goodwill and did not know what my plan was for them. I decided to start with the wood cutting board, using DecoArt Americana Decor Chalky Finish,  Crème Wax, and a stencil I transformed the tired looking cutting board to a cutie little sign.

Here is what I did.

I first gathered up my supplies: 

• DecoArt Americana Decor Chalky Finish in Everlasting and Carbon
• DecoArt Americana Decor Crème Wax in Deep Brown
• Americana Gloss Enamels Stick-On Stencils in Country

I gave the cutting board a very good washing and let dry. I then give the front a light sanding as there you cut marks that were visible. Then I painted it with 2 coats of the Everlasting.

Once dried I distressed some of the edges to give it a worn look.

I then choose the stencil I wanted to use and placed it on the board. I applied the Carbon color with a sponge dauber.

For the finishing touch I then covered the entire board with the Crème Wax, wiping it off more in some place than others.

Here is the finished piece. I love how the dark wax makes the carved flower and boarder more pronounced.

Quite a transformation! 

This was such a quick and easy project which gives a new fresh look to a tired old piece.

Have you transformed a Goodwill find lately? If so I would love to hear about it.

               Happy Crafting!

Embroidery Hoop Orbs

Happy Wednesday and thanks for visiting today!

I’ve long-loved the industrial look of wood or metal orbs. We have several throughout our home. One our mantel that’s made of metal and a vintage dough bowl filled with a variety of wood and twig ones. But even one picked up at a discount store can come with a price tag that is a little steep for such a simple piece. 

I have seen Embroidery Hoop Orb tutorials all over the internet and Pinterest. These embroidery hoop orbs are quite easy to make and are really inexpensive. I threw these little babies together in under an hour – and I made two for under $5! Yep you heard me right!

The best part? There’s no glue required. 

Here’s what you’ll need: 

• 4 embroidery hoops (I used two 6″ and two 4″ to make one 6″ and one 4″ orb) 
• stain 
• brushes 
• rag 

First, you’ll want to separate all the embroidery hoops. 

Next, brush the stain onto each hoop – on the inside, the outside, and the edges. Let the stain sit for a little while (I waited about 30 minutes), and then take your rag and rub off any extra stain on the hoops. 

To assemble them, use the two “inside” pieces of the embroidery hoops and slide one inside the other. Add a third hoop (one of the outer edges) and tighten it until the hoop has completely closed. Add the fourth hoop around all three of them, and tighten it as much as you can. 

And there you have it! They make a great industrial decorative item to add to any shelf, tabletops, or a vignette! 

What quick decorating ideas do you use around your home?

Wishing you a sun filled day!

Sharing with the following:

DIY showoff – That DIY

Cozy Little House – Tweak it Tuesday

MsMoozys Open House – Tuesday with a Twist

Savvy Southern Style - Wow Us Wednesday

The Cottage Market – Junkin Joe

Jute Eggs

Happy Monday! I hope you had a wonderful weekend. The Hubby and I hung out this weekend and I busied myself with a new craft project – Jute Easter Eggs. These were easy to make and only took less than an hour to make 6.  Well, it’s true! 

Today, I’m going to show you how easy it is to transform Styrofoam or plastic eggs.

Supplies Needed: 

– Styrofoam Easter Eggs (you can easily use plastic eggs) 

– Jute (I used 2 different thicknesses) 

– Ribbon and buttons for embellishment 

– Hot Glue Gun 

I started with a glob of hot glue on the bottom of the egg and then slowly wrapped the jute in a circular motion. Adding more glue as I went up the egg.

Once you’ve wrapped the entire egg, it will look a little something like this. 

I then started to decorate, I added a strip of ribbon around the egg.

And to top it off a button.

I continued with the rest of the other eggs. There are so many variations you can do, take a look at how the rest of my eggs turned out! 

Just the right amount of spring to make the long winter feel like it is coming to an end! 

Are you starting to decorate for spring? Do you have a favorite Easter decoration that you display each year?

Have a blessed day! 

Sharing with the following:
Refresh Restyle – Inspiration Monday
DIY showoff – That DIY
Cozy Little House – Tweak it Tuesday
MsMoozys Open House – Tuesday with a Twist
Savvy Southern Style - Wow Us Wednesday
The Cottage Market – Junkin Joe

I am now on Etsy

Hi Y'all! I have exciting news... I have finally opened an Etsy Shop to sell some of my creations. This as been a while coming and I am so thrilled.

My first items are Easter Bunnies, oh my word, they are so cute. They are just what the doctor ordered after this long, cold winter we have had. They are perfect for adding a touch of spring to your home decor.

Here is a peak...

So come check out my new Etsy Shop!

Wipe those winter blues away with these cute bunnies.
I have 3 different sizes available: small, medium, and large, or get a set of 1 each!

Visit:
Our Cozy Creative Life Etsy Shop

 

Thank you all for stopping by and your support. Have a blessed day!

My Established Sign

Hiddy Ho Friends!  Here in New England we made it through yet another snow storm. We have another small one coming through tomorrow afternoon. Then we will be bracing ourselves for some down right frigid temperatures. Our normal temps should be around 35 degrees, this weekend day time temperatures are expected to be 2 – 10 degrees with an over night temperature of -5 – -10. 

Holy cow will someone shut the window it is getting cold in here! 

Today I am sharing with you a project I have wanted to do for a long time. Ever since I starting browsing around Pinterest I have come across Established Signs. I love them! I had to make one and I knew this would be a perfect project for my Silhouette Machine. I also knew exactly where I would hang it, the wall you face as you enter our home.

I know I wanted to use some sort of frame, so I began searching for the perfect frame. I looked high and low, many different store, none caught my eye. I have been looking for months. Then last week while strolling around in Hobby Lobby I went through their clearance aisles. There it was, the PERFECT frame. It was like a light shining down from heaven, I might of even heard angels singing... lol. 

Isn't she a beauty!!! Red being my favorite color and it has just the right amount of rustic touches!

Now my work began, I measure the inside of the frame so I could figure out how I wanted to layout our names. Once this was done I printed it on my Silhouette Machine in red sticky vinyl.

I then put down some blue painters tape so I had a way of lining up the printed vinyl so it was centered.

Next was to lay down the graphic. 

Then I applied pressure, with a plastic scraper, to the back to adhere the letters to the frame and peeled off the backing.

Are you ready...

Here it is...

Beautiful, right? 

This project was well worth the time it took to find the frame. Now all there is left to do is for the Hubby to hang it. 

If you follow me on Instagram I will post the final picture there.

Have a great hump day!

My Favorite Crafts of 2014

Happy Hump Day!!!

I love crafting, boy to I love it! I am toying with the idea of creating some items so I can open my very own Etsy shop. I started thinking of what projects to sell, so I started with scanning my blog to see what I have done and thought... why not recap a few of my favorites for you.
 

So here are five of my favorite craft projects of 2014. I'm starting with number 5 and working my way to number 1. Just click on the title to link to an easy to follow tutorial.

No 5: Easter Burlap Banner

No. 4: Patriotic Mason Jars

No. 3: Placemat Transformation

No. 2: Fabric Pumpkins

No. 1: Felt Pinecones

What are some of your favorite craft projects?

 Here's to more crafting in 2015!! 

Thanks for joining me – I am truly grateful!!

Felt Pinecones

Hello Friends! I am always looking for a craft that I can do while watching a little tv with my Hubby. This is that sort of craft. I saw this pin from BHG on how to make felt pinecones. I took their template modified it a little.

Freezer paper 

Felt: two complementary colors 

Coated thread or thin twine 

Quilting Needle 

Beads (optional) 

Instructions to make 2 pinecone ornaments:

   Preparation 

• Print out the patterns on freezer paper (available, below). 
• Using an iron on medium heat, press freezer paper, shiny side down, onto felt (one of each color). 
• Cut out scale, I left freezer paper on so I can reference the size more easily. 
• From either color of felt, cut 10 small squares (1/4-inch to 1/2-inch square) to use as separators between pairs of scales. 

Make the Pinecone 

• Thread needle with coated thread. 
• Slide scales in two-color pairs, with a square separator in between pairs, as follows: 

Two A scales, square, two B scales, square, two B scales, square, two C scales, square, two C scales, square, two B scales, square, two B scales, square, two A scales, square, two D scales, square, two D scales, square. 

• Shift each pair of scales to position individual petals between petals of the prior pair. 
• Fold E half-scale pieces in half and thread through corner to make the top of pinecone. 
• Pull the thread tight and tie off. OPTIONAL: you can add a wood bead to the top before you tie it off.
• Cut the thread long to make a loop for hanging. 

Now you are ready to use it for decorating. I plan to hang mine on my Christmas Tree but the possibilities are endless. 

How would you use your felt pinecones for decorating?

PDF Download of Printable Template
This template will make 1 pinecone all the same color. If you are using 2 different colors, then the template will make 2 pinecones

Sharing with

Coastal Charm
Cozy Little House

A Stroll Through Life
Ms Moozy

Savvy Southern Style
Someday Crafts

The Cottage Market  

Cute Little Fabric Pumpkins

Hi All! We are at full autumn mode in my house. Decorations are up and I have been crafting like a crazy person... I love it.  Velvety Pumpkins are all the rage these days, but I am not a fan of velvet. While trolling around Pinterest I saw many varieties of DIY pumpkins, some made out of fabric. Well this craft was for me and I couldn’t believe how easy they were to make, once all the supplies were gathered. I mean really easy, the kind of craft I like doing while catching up on all my recorded shows!

Supplies Needed: 

• Fabric (your choosing, you can even use crushed velvet) 
• Scissors 
• Needle
• Thread 
• Sticks or Stems from Real Pumpkins 
• Glue Gun & Glue Sticks
• Beans 
• Stuffing (tissue paper, plastic bags, poly-fil, basically whatever you have on hand) 
• Optional: Item to decorate pumpkins (ribbon, raffia, leaves, etc)

Instructions:

Cut a square of fabric (it does not have to be exactly perfect, these pumpkins are very forgiving). 

I then folded in half, then half again (fold into quarters). 

I then cut an arch from corner to corner of the non-folded size. Don't worry it does not have to be perfect. 

Unfold and there you have a circle (see mine came out somewhat oval). 

Now thread your needle. Using a running stitch sew all along the outside of the circle. No need to knot the end, you are going to leave string hanging, so when you are finished you can pull both ends and tie off.

Now its time to stuff it. I used pearl barley & tissue paper for stuffing. The barley/beans help put a little bit of weight in the fabric so they wont fall over. My tissue paper was from items I bought at the Christmas Tree Shop that they wrapped (I'll say it again, Don't You Just Love a Bargain...lol). 

Now taking both ends of the string pull tight so the fabric comes together and there is almost no hole, tie tight. Now for the glue. How you glue is up to you. You can do it in glue dots on your stem or around the fabric opening in a small line. I myself glued a line all along the edge of the fabric and the pushed the stem into the pumpkin. 

On a side note, getting real pumpkin stems are probably the hardest part of the supplies needed for these pumpkins. If you have a pumpkin patch close to you, you might be able to find some there. I found mine at the bottom of the big box of pumpkins outside my grocery store. There are also dried pumpkin stems available to buy on the Internet, but I rather hunt for mine and get them for free! This is why you can also use sticks. I also wound twine around a stick to give it a more country feel. Anything goes when crafting.

When you’re done with the gluing of the stem, you might have to play around with your fabric a tad, so the pleats will look even. Another words, fluff & puff those cuties. Now if you like you can add some decorations (tho, they will look fine as is).

Real Pumpkin Stem

The hardest part of this project will be finding real pumpkin stems (if you choose to go that route). Everything else is easy peasy. You can make them in whatever size you want. Anything goes, because trust me – they will turn out simply darling!

Stick for a Stem

Have fun crafting your own pumpkins!

 

Autumn Mason Jar Crafting

Hi All! Hope you had a wonderful weekend.

Today I have another mason jar craft project for you. As I have mentioned before, I love mason jars and their versatility, see how I created jack-o-lantern mason jars here. This one today is easy peasy and can be used as part of your autumn decor. It will only take you 10 minutes to create. 

Here is what you'll need:

• Mason Jar(s)
• 2 different widths ribbon
• Glue gun
• Decoration of your choice 

I first wrapped the thicker ribbon around the center of the mason jar and secured it with my glue gun. Then I took the thinner ribbon, wrapped it around the jar in the center of the other ribbon, and secured it with my glue gun. Then I added the decoration. I used a small cranberry sprig. 

See easy peasy. You can now add a flameless candle or fill with goodies.

Stay tuned to see how I use it in my home decor. 

Have a great week!