Playing with Blocks

Yeah! I love holidays, and 4th of July is one of my husbands favorites. I think it has something to do with playing with explosives. I'm not one to decorate for the holidays other than Christmas and bit for fall. I'm not sure if it is because my sons do not really notice. Or, if I exhaust myself so much decorating for Christmas that the other holidays just kind of slide by. So, I am starting to make an attempt to put out a few things to honor holidays. When I saw this little piece from How Does She Do That (http://www.howdoesshe.com/cheap-home-decor) I knew I could do it.



I did a couple of things different. The original was made with vinyl lettering. I chose to print my words on scrap paper and cut each strip for the bottom of the flag. I also decided to use wood glue and glue my blocks together. After I made a few with "Happy 4th of July" I realized I prefered 'God Bless America' and therefore had to make a few with that on it too!


The 3 Joys I received:
1)This craft was right up my ally of cheapness! I had all the supplies I needed other than the ribbon. The ribbon I got from Wal-Mart (which I try to avoid, but I love this ribbon). You get 15 yards for $4.97. So far I have made 7 of these flags and still have more ribbon. So, I have spent about 70 cents a flag! Not bad.
2)The other enjoyment I received was using my husband's power saw. Oh such POWER!
3)My favorite joy is sharing this with my friends. I got to leave a few on doorsteps and kept them guessing for a little bit!

Charging Station

Well, I have ANOTHER Goodwill find. I spied this at Goodwill for $4.99. I had it sitting on top of this bureau turned storage that is right by our kitchen, for a few weeks until I could figure out what color to paint it.

I finally decided on the color red. The same red I used for the shelving in the kids bathroom. I originally intended to change the little knob too, however, I kind of like it now.

I still need to set it up to charge our cell phones, etc. But, I think I like it. Not bad for 5 Bucks!

Planked Out

I wish that I could find the inspiration piece that motivated me to make this. I got the original idea from Pottery Barn. Once I was ready to make it, I couldn't find the picture anymore, including online. (Which is why I need to make that inspiration book I want to make.) I want to make one bigger than this (maybe), but decided to keep it small for my first project. This was hung in our kids bathroom. I think it is a good compliment to their shower curtain I made (5 years ago!) Just like always, I have one more thing I want to make for this area. I just get so excited by my accomplishments, that I have to share them. Hope you like!

Vintage Keys

I can't believe I did it! I saw this wall art in the Pottery Barn catalogue and wanted to make is soooo badly! I believe it was priced around $329.


I wasn't about to go there, and I wanted to figure out a way to make it. I am not good at painting. REALLY! I know some of my friends don't believe me, but fine motor skills are not my thing!!! So, I was so excited when I found the tutorial on how to make it by Susie Harris. The linky is: http://www.susieharrisblog.com/2009/07/inspirationpass-it-on.html

My Vintage Keys artwork is 24 x 24 (The original at Pottery Barn is larger) and I followed the exact steps as the linked blog. The only thing that I think I did different than Susie was that I used an Antiquing Polish from Folk Art to age the artwork as the final step. I will upload a better image once I am completely done with the area that I set the artwork in. But, for now here's the finished product!!!!


I have another Pottery Barn knock-off that I made for our kids bathroom. As soon as I get photos I will post it. Pretty proud of the final results of it. Then, I have another piece of artwork I am about to start working on, using the same technique as the Vintage Keys. Now that school is out for this homeschool mom, I am trying to exercise my creative juices!!!