My DIY projects and home decor attempts that hopefully help me to "fluff my nest!"

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

My craft room


The picture above is the view of my craft room from the doorway. My room is pretty small, about 10' x 11'. As you can see, one wall is basically a huge window. I love that window, it brings in so much natural light. In the morning, the sun just streams in through the window, making the room very cozy, especially in the winter.

I mainly do rubber stamping. In fact, I am a demonstrator for Stampin'Up!. I love the company and it's products, so I became a demonstrator to support my habit.

I am a recovering scrapbooker. I think I really liked collecting all the pretty supplies more than actually using them!

I recently bought a new sewing machine. I'm in love with it, so this table is pretty much covered in fabric and sewing supplies at the moment. I made a quilt for my youngest son for Christmas. It was my first quilt, not a bed sized quilt, but more of a lap quilt. I really enjoyed making that quilt, and now I've been bitten by the quilting bug!
I've pretty much done most every craft imaginable over the years. I know I'll stick with rubber stamping, but I think quilting will always run a close second!

I am linking this post to Room ReMix http://roomremixblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/craft-roomcraft-organization.html

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Menu board


What do you do with a piece of art you no longer care for? Sell it? Take it to Goodwill? Sure, you could do either of those things. Or you could turn it into something else functional for your home.
I have to get better about remembering to take photos of my "befores". I promise to work on that.So I'm sorry to say I don't have a before picture. Just imagine a landscape scene of the Tuscan countryside. I started out with a picture that measured approximately 42 x 30". The frame was nice, but I wanted to paint it white. So I got out my trusty can of Rustoleum spray paint. Then on the glass I rolled on 3 coats of chalkboard paint. This was my first time using chalkboard paint and I am amazed at home nicely it rolls on, and the outcome once you're done. I really love it! I let the paint cure for about a week and then I put the frame back together. And by the way, the piece of art I no longer care for is still in the frame.You never now when I might change my mind again *wink*. Then I applied a vinyl word I purchased. I love how the project turned out. It is hanging in my dining room which is not formal by any means. I plan on using this for a menu board or maybe even to keep a running shopping list.



Linking this post to Cottage Instinct's Make it for Monday


Thursday, December 17, 2009

Fluffing my nest!

Check out my new blog design! I couldn't be happier with everything. Becky at Creative Blog Design designed the whole thing. I love the little bird she designed in my header and the one in my signature.....too cute!Feel free to grab my button. Santa came a few days early for me. How did he know what I wanted? *wink*

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Monogram canvas

I purchased a beautiful monogram from an Etsy store recently. But I didn't want to put it up on a wall, since the room I got it for needs to be repainted desperately. I also didn't want the monogram to sit around in a closet for who knows how long. So my solution to the problem at hand was to apply my monogram to an artists canvas and hang that on the wall. I picked out a beautiful pale shade of blue called "Wave Crest" from Behr paints. Home Depot mixed me a sample jar of the paint that was just perfect. I only used about 1/2 the jar, so now I have to find something else to do with it. I really would love to paint the ceiling in my bedroom this color. I think it would look like the sky painted up on the ceiling! I'm still trying to convince my husband on this idea. He truly believes ALL ceilings should only be painted white.
We typically only use Benjamin Moore paints, and if I do convince him to paint the ceiling this color, I will have the Benjamin Moore paint store color match it for me. There really is a difference in the quality of the paints!
So this is my finished project. Let me explain how I got to this.

Here is a shot of the paint chip, Wave Crest at the top is what I used.

I forgot to take a picture of the naked canvas, so here is one I took after I started painting it. I know the color doesn't show up well. It is such a pale shade of blue, it would be hard to capture in a photo. I ended up painting 3 coats on the canvas before I applied the vinyl monogram.

Here is is all done and hanging on the wall above my bed. I love how it turned out! The blue paint matches my duvet cover perfectly! I couldn't have found a better match if I had taken the duvet with me to Home Depot!


This is a big wall, and I still need some other things hanging on the wall. I'm thinking of doing a few more canvases with mine and my husbands first initials on either side of our last name initial. I want to paint these walls a nice creamy white. I like for my bedroom to be serene and relaxing, no bold colors here for me. I'll let you know if I am successful in convincing my husband to paint the ceiling blue!

Linking this post to TCB's Get Your Craft On

and DIY day at SPTL