Day Eighteen: Cardboard Shelves

THE INSPIRATION

A handy little shelving unit for scrapbooking paper.

THE FINAL PRODUCT

I needed something larger for my random supplies in my craft closet. 

Diaper boxes and packing tape = mission accomplished.

Day Seventeen: Crocheted Purse strap

THE INSPIRATION
I used the idea of  "Hand Wrapped Ear Laces"

to make a little crocheted purse using another new stitch I learned that looks like this:

FINAL PRODUCT

Viola! Crocheted purse for fall.

Day Sixteen: Doily Stationary

I love it when I find a Pintrest craft idea and then that SAME DAY my mom sends me a doily in the mail.  How fortuitous!  You know, my mom is super crafty - she may not be into computers and the internet but she would be popular on Pintrest.  Some of the ideas I've come across on that site - she came up with on her own years ago.

THE INSPIRATION

Sharpie with a doily

THE FINAL PRODUCT

The fall leaf doily I got in the mail.

My idea is to make just a few different patterns and then to copy them on the color printer.  That way I don't have to color a billion pages but I can make little packets of homemade stationary and give them away as gifts.

Day Fifteen: Covering Chairs

This project has been in the works for a little while.  I covered three of the six chairs when I first painted the coffee table.  The last three chairs I finished today.  I didn't do anything on the 10th since it was my son's birthday and we were pretty busy.  Scratch that - I made cupcakes - but nothing of the Pinteresting kind.

So these bad boys were pretty easy.  We determined that the cloth I got (from my mom's designer friend for free - SCORE!) was too thin to be the main covering so we left the original cloth on the seats.  A flat head screwdriver, pliers and a staple gun - Kapow! and we were done.

The six chair garage sale find!

The worn and not too pretty original coverings.

Finding the right pattern we wanted on the seats.

Stapling is the easiest part.

Ta-da! Me (nine months pregnant) holding the finished look.

And finally how it will look on the seats.  Can't wait to take a pic of the table in the new house when we move.  I'm excited because they have green walls in the dining room and I'm hoping the green stripes in the cloth will complement it.

Day Fourteen: Heart-inspired Gift Decor

My youngest turns two tomorrow.  Wrapping gifts - check.  Cool pinteresty way to decorate plainly wrapped gifts - check.  If this weren't for a 2 yr old I'd of spent more time on the design.  I know this will be ripped off in seconds - so there is less motivation to be super artsy.

DayThirteen: Paper Roll Desk Organizer

THE INSPIRATION

Paper Roll Organizer

THE FINAL PRODUCT

I feel like I'm constantly saying "this was fun to make!" but I really am having a great time being crafty again.  I love that I'm using ideas I find on Pintrest but I'm changing them up a bit and making them my own.  (Note to self: finish more projects during the boys nap time - the lighting is much better for the pictures.)

Day Twelve: Rolled Magazine Box

This was so much fun and so easy!  The Pintrest idea suggests you use actual magazine pages but since I don't have any - story of my life, never having the exact supplies - I used the thinner kind of mag pages you find in the newspaper advertising section.  This box is mainly comprised of a Khol's catalogue.

A little step by step...
1. Cut pages in half, longways.
2. Fold up strips at the width you desire (a thinner width looks nicer) - gluing the edge down.
3. Put glue on one side of a finished strip and roll it up tightly.  Keep adding them until you have the base at the size you want.

4. Make wider strips for the sides of the box.
5. Layer strips until you have the height that you want.
6. Go back and add skinnier outer strips for a finished look.
7. Make the lid in a similar fashion - just adjust for a lip so the lid will sit securely on the base.

Day Eleven: A Parliament of Owls

I told you that I had a ton of owl pins.  These were really fun to make.  Paper towel rolls, scrap paper and labels.  Yes, labels - they make easy stick on eyes when you don't have the fun googley ones (which I think are overrated anyways).

A little tape, a little glue and a parliament of owls was born.

I wonder what my husband will think when he comes home to see them all staring at him from the printer...

Day Ten: Another Owl

I took a crocheted hat project I had started ages ago and recycled it for this new owl project.  Its late and I needed to fulfill my creative project...so...viola! Instead of sewing the base like the Pintrest idea I'm going off of, I have a crochet base.  Its all about the fold over flap anyways.

I stuffed it with another old t-shirt, sewed down the flap, added eyes and a familiar friend and I have two owls sitting on my desk.  I pin a lot of owl crafts - I must have something for owls.  If I ever crochet another one I'd make the flap a contrasting color and add wings as well.

Day Nine: Bacon & Cheese Bites

Today had to be a foody day since I'm scheduled to bring snacks to my class.  So I experimented with a pretzel bite idea I saw on Pintrest.  I used Pilsbury Cresent rolls instead of making my own pretzel dough.  All I added inside was bacon and cheese.  Its simple but they are definitely delicious.  

Rolling them into the pre-formed crescent shapes were just too big - even when I cut the dough in half.  So I decided to follow the actual Pintrest idea and roll long rectangles and then cut them into bits.  This worked out much better and you can see the bacon & cheese which makes them very appealing.

Day Eight: Owl Pillow

Ok, so if you saw the original owl pillow idea I was going off of - you would laugh.  Mine is seriously anemic and has a wonky head.  I used scrap material and since I don't have proper stuffing I cut up one of my husband's old white shirts for filler.  My two year old, Zay, loved playing with the little pieces so I let him help stuff the owl.

I don't know why I thought of making this particular craft today but I guess I haven't sewn in a long time.  If we weren't living with my in-laws right now and I had my machine with me - I'm hoping this would have turned out a lot better.  But, hey, this is a HAND SEWN pillow, so its made with love.  Maybe I'll give it to the new baby to drool on when it comes.

Day Seven: Dry Erase Board

Today was super successful.  I have a frame I got for a $1 at my friend's garage sale (yes, the same one where I bought my coffee table).  I had originally been thinking of painting it black and leaving it empty on the wall in a collage of other pics and frames - but then it just seemed perfect for a do-it-yourself dry erase board.  

The Pintrest idea is to take a simple frame with a glass and put pretty paper behind it for your board.  Viola!  So I had my frame picked out and found a random bit of wrapping paper that was already the perfect size.  It took two seconds to have my dry erase board complete.  Love that I have stuff laying around that can be re-assembled into functional art.  

I was going to find some generic scrap of paper to be the backing but when I saw the wintery one I was like, 'Yes! I can change it out with the seasons if I want!'  It just makes the whole thing more versatile.  

I would have liked to have a picture of the completed work but the frame was too tacky to the touch by the time I had to leave my mom's.  Thankfully I had already taken a picture of what it will basically look like when its done. Funny that for as quick as this project came together today - I'm posting this so late!  Well, we're busy people - what can I say?

***EDIT: I finally got the frame back today (10/4) and put it all together!  I'm very please with how it turned out.  ***

Day Six: No Time

I was at a conference all day today and even though I was pressed for time I made a tiny doodle.  A Pintrest quote so it counts - oh yeah.  It really does sum up my weekend - nay, really my life.  I am a deep well of ideas.  I have stock in back burners - that's how many projects I keep adding to the pile.  Yet the clock ticks on and I try to balance it all with my responsibilities.