DING!!!

DING!!! That's the sound of the light that went off in my head a few weeks ago - Inspiration had hit.

I was surfing through Facebook, when I saw a photo on a Photographer's page that I follow.  It was of a little boy wearing a cute shirt that looked something like this...

I thought... "I can do that!"  And I knew exactly how I would do it.

Since this past summer, I had really been wanting to do a Sandpaper/Crayon transfer (go here to see how to do it for yourself).  I had wanted to do it as a craft project with the boys, but it just never happened.  So when I saw that photo, I knew I had found the perfect reason to finally do it.  Reason being, the boys NEED a cute shirt to wear to school for Valentine's Day - and anything you find it stores are for girls.

I had just bought some sandpaper for my husband's hand sander, and I had plenty of black craft felt, aaannnddd, the boys already had a shirt I could use.  So in reality, this project cost me nothing!!  Best kind of project.

I just love them - the shirts and the boys! LOL!

Now they're all ready to be little Heartbreakers on Valentine's Day.  And I'm sorry, but aren't my little men so handsome?

My "Little" Mudroom...

So last February, we moved AGAIN.  The house that we moved into is a quaint little 50's brick Ranch - 3 bdrm, 2 bath, full basement, HUGE yard - perfect for our little family.  The added bonus, is this large room that had been built on behind the carport.  We call it the B.A.R. - Big Ass Room!  This room, because it is off the carport, is the entrance we use rather than our front door.  When you enter through the door, there is a landing that leads either two steps up into the kitchen, or two steps down into the B.A.R.  And behind the door is this "little" space 42" wide X 12" deep - perfect for a little spot for coats, shoes, backpacks, etc.

The whole idea really came about when I found this way cool piece of old wood in the basement stairwell.  Don't you love the old chippy paint and raw edge?

There were two pieces both about 72" long that I thought would be perfect for a shelf and a bench... and so the idea started to take shape.  But mostly in my head, because it didn't come to full fruition until the last couple of weeks.

Here is a pullback of the entire little "Entry".  I'm standing down in the B.A.R.,  and those two steps lead up in to the kitchen.

I love this wall of "random" things...

The cross was my husband's Parent's.  

It used to be gold, so we primed it with the intent

of painting it, but liked the way the primer gave it

an antiqued look.

The mirror was my husband's Grandfather's.

It used to hang in his barbershop.

The candle sconce was my husband's Mother's.

Don't really know the history of it other than it belonged to her.

The bird "thingy" is something I picked up

at a garage sale for $2.00.

It's one of those things that is so ugly it's cute.

It's hand painted on a piece of wood - 

there's just something about it that intrigues me.

And the star I got on clearance at

Joann's Fabrics for like $4.00 - loved the color.

Now this little shelf, is also made from something I found here on the property.

Last spring, I found remnants of an old fence and gate, 

that were painted this Gorgeous shade of green.

As soon as I found it, I knew I would use the wood 

somewhere in the house.

And so, this little "key" shelf was created.

I hung it with a couple of "L" brackets that I had "rusted".

The Windmill photo is one I had taken two summers 

ago while visiting my parents in New Mexico.

I then transferred the image onto a piece of wood.

In my mind, this light fixture is the Piece de Resistance of the whole space.  It's from Ikea and is only $30.  I just love it.

And here's the Mudroom... 

We still need to put down new floor, so disregard that nasty looking step.  It used to have even nastier looking carpet on it, so the exposed step is much better.  If you back to this post, you can see the yuckiness that was this area "before" the transformation.

One of the reasons it took so long for this project to happen, other than the fact that the space needed to be painted, was because I couldn't figure out what kind of brackets to use to support the shelf and bench.  For months, I scoured the internet, looking for inspiration and options - but found nothing (without spending an arm and a leg).  Then, while looking for something else in my craft supplies, I found some old white metal brackets that had been used at my old house for supporting shelving in the basement.  I immediately decided I would just wrap them with twine.  They would coordinate with the twine ball light I had just made for over the dining table, which is about 7' away.

For a little bit of artwork, I made our family initial with twigs, and hung a wood image transfer of this year's family portrait.

I don't know if you can see it, but the board for the shelf still has an old cut nail in it.

I so love this space!  The piece of wood that the hooks are attached to was also found in the woods behind the house.  And the hooks were recycled from our first house.

The absolute best part of this project, was that it cost me less than $10.  I had to buy one extra bracket, and I needed a spool of twine - everything else I had either found on the property or I already had, including the baskets on the shelf and the pillows on the bench.

I'm sorry, but don't you just love this light???

And just to give you a little idea of what the B.A.R. looks like...

It's been newly painted, and I just made those drapes using

old IKEA khaki panels I had and a Royal Design stencil.

TWINE BALL LIGHT FIXTURE...

Look at my new Dining Room Light!!  Isn't it Fabulous???

I LOVE IT!!!  And I made it all by myself!!

I found this tutorial through Pinterest, and once we started working on the B.A.R. (Big Ass Room) - we recently painted all the brown paneling a lovely shade of gray and the honey toned baseboards/casings bright white, I knew this little DIY project would be perfect.

I did have one minor setback... It's Winter... Beach balls do not exist in stores in Virginia in the Winter.  So I had to order one from Amazon.  I was so frustrated that I had to WAIT.

Finally the ball arrived, and that following Saturday morning, I got up CRAZY early (like 4:30) to start working on it, before the two little people in my house woke up.

These first two photos are not that great because it's still dark out, and I'm in my basement.  These are the supplies that are needed, along with some warm water and a light kit.  I used one that I had from Ikea, from an old Japanese lantern.

So I followed the tutorial, and hung the ball so it would be easier to wrap the twine.  The only way I could see to hang it was by the rubber air stop thingy.  Well, after about 1/3 of the twine was wrapped, I guess the ball got to heavy, and the air stop thingy came open, and the ball started to DEFLATE.  

CRAAAAPPPPP!!!!!!!

Well, I couldn't let my project be completely destroyed, so despite all the glue/cornstarch mixture, I put the ball up to my face and started blowing.  Whew, project saved!!  And my face, mouth and tongue were covered in glue.  Yuck, but totally worth it!!

That little fiasco actually worked out for the best, because it turned out to be much easier to just have the ball lay on an old sheet while I finish wrapping the twine.  Then I had to wait 24 hours.

And it was so worth the wait...

If you need a cute light fixture for somewhere in your home, I highly recommend this project!!  So easy, for such a huge impact.

BABY SHOWER CRAFTS...

Back in August, I co-hosted a baby shower for a dear friend of mine.  We wanted it for both Mommy and Daddy to be, so we decided on a Pot Luck Barbeque.  We were on a very tight budget and short timeline, so luckily, this kept me from going too over the top.  Everything that we did was simple and beautiful.

It all started with these Pom-Poms.  I saw them here, and knew they would be perfect for hanging over the food table.

Then I found this adorable Wish Mobile here.  The exact thing for friends and family to leave sentimental and loving notes for baby and Mommy and Daddy.

And then we added a few other crafty touches...

Isn't this Owl cake simply adorable?  I can not take credit for it, however.  The grandmother was kind enough to make it.  I knew she was bringing the cake, but I had no idea it would be this wonderful.

 It was supposed to have been a Surprise shower, but it didn't work out quite like that. However, both Mommy and Daddy to be, had a wonderful time and left with many gorgeous gifts for little Miss Elsie.

SLIME...

A few times this past summer, I helped out a friend and watched her boys.  The first time they came over, I planned a fun little craft that I knew would appeal to their ALL BOY personalities... SLIME

The ingredients are pretty simple - glue, Borax, food coloring and water - and glitter if you want a little extra sparkle.

Go here to see exactly what you need to do...

This time that we made it, I used white glue rather than clear glue.  Wasn't very fond of the color when it was all done.  We did make it one other time over the summer, and that time I made sure to get clear glue.  That time however, even though it looked better, I must have done something a little off in the recipe, because the texture and consistency of it felt different.

But honestly, all the little crafters could care less - they LOVED making it, and playing with after.

Definitely a HUGE HIT at our house!!!!

PALLET WALL / TABLE...

Not sure if you remember, but last summer (2012) I posted about a little criminal activity I participated in, when I went and "helped myself" to some discarded pallets left in a field.  Yes, there was a "No Trespassing" sign, but I ignored it.  I wanted some pallets - and they had been stacked there for over two years.  Would they really be missed?

Anyway, back to present day... I never did anything with those pallets I stole.

However, being that my husband is in the flooring industry, he has ready access to all types of pallets.  One day, he came home with (3) 7' x 4' pallets.  He knew I so desperately wanted to do some kind of project with pallets, so he thought he'd provide some so I wouldn't have to steal anymore.

Back to the "however"... we Finally did a project with pallets!!!

Isn't it A.MAZ.ING???  I LOVE IT!!!

It's out on our carport, which we use as a patio, and it hides some equipment that we don't want seen from the road.  It also has a little potting table for all the gardening I do - NOT!  But it's there, ready to be a potting table, for whenever I decide to garden.

But it couldn't be Just a Pallet wall/table.  I had to "Pretty" it up a little...

First, it needed a shelf.  To hang the shelf, I needed something old.  I didn't have anything old, but I had recently seen something on Pinterest about making new metal rusty.  So, following the recipe here, I made two new, shiny "L" brackets nice and rusty, old looking.

Don't you love that old chain?  That is actually old and rusty. We dug that up in our yard.

The most liberating thing about this whole project, was that we measured NOTHING.  The hubbs just eyeballed and guessed at everything.  It gives it such an organic feel.

The last little touch, was a piece of art.  This is one of my favorite photos that I took of my favorite flower.  It's an image transferred to a piece of wood.  You can see how I do this here.

So there you have it, I finally have a Pallet project in my home.  Well, outside my home, on the carport.