VOTIVE CANDLE HOLDERS

So many times our hand made gifts naturally fall into the homey, shabby chic, vintage style.  While I personally love that style, it doesn't fit in everyone's decor or taste.  I made these for a Christmas gift with that thought in mind.  I got the original idea from the FiskarsCrafts.com site but the example used there incorporated candy filled jars.

I found the two sleek vases (about 7 inches tall), two urn shaped votive candle jars and a basket of shells at the dollar store.  I took a strip of three inch wide Magic Mesh and cut it in half lengthwise and wrapped the lengths around the vases, overlapping at the front.  Then I took some basic twine to wrap and make a bow over the mesh.  The ends of the twine have a few beads knotted on.  The beads were clear so I altered with a little Latte alcohol ink from Adirondak/Ranger.  Next came the simple assembly--arranging the shells in the vases and plopping on the votives.  An easy, inexpensive project and a cute gift for almost any occasion.

Thank you for stopping by Traveling Down A Crafty Road.  Hope your Sunday is grand!

LONG TIME, NO SEE--A 10 x 13 LAYOUT

Hi, I've so missed being here but I haven't had much crafty time!  We've had some immediate family illness and some extended family illness in the last month.  I took a road trip to Chattanooga to visit my aunt--she had a little accident that turned into a rather big deal.  It is an ongoing "deal" and there have been a few set backs but she is recovering.  Not a bad thing since she will be 91 years old in less than 3 months!  She is the sweetest aunt I could ever ask for and I love her.  A BIG get well soon, Aunt Ruth!  Best wishes on walking on your own!

My Aunt Margaret, here in town, celebrated her 90th birthday on Thanksgiving Day!   Seventy family and friends celebrated by suprising her with a party on the Sunday before.  All 6 of the "first" nieces and my sister in law got together 3 months or so ago to start the planning process.  Don't worry about the women doing it all--we had lots of help!  We had grand nieces and nephews creating a banner and a slide show of photos thru the years!  We had help from the hubby's with set up, cooking, photography and all the stuff that gets forgotten at home during a big party!  Thanks to my Gary for his patience while I made party sandwiches and cut tons of apple and pear slices! 

I made this framed layout for the gift table and also as a gift for my aunt.  Sorry I couldn't get a shot without the overhead lighting!

I used an old 10 x 13 frame that I picked up on sale at WalMart.  I think it was $1 but no more than $2.  The background patterned paper is from Heidi Grace (a pack of 20 or so sheets for $1 from Big Lots) and the photo mat is a white shimmery card stock from Wausau Papers.  I also used mini white flowers from Heidi Grace, Prima pink flowers and gemstone flourishes, Floradoodles blue flowers, Offray ribbon and Recollections self adhesive pearls and brads.  I dotted the dots on the polka dotted blue/white Floradoodle flowers with Stickles!  I love Stickles!  The larger white flowers are from a JoAnn's bush that I cut to pieces using my Fiskars Stem Cutter--it is such a cool tool!

The photo was taken at my Aunt's retirement party from the "telephone company"--think it was South Central Bell or maybe Bell South by that time.  We lost my Uncle Earl about 7 years ago, he was a Fire Chief and we all miss him.  Happy Birthday, Aunt Margaret! 

FYI, I don't want to let "life" keep me away from the blog in the future!  I usually have something creative going on whether paper, fabric, food, garden, goofy, etc. regardless of what life hands me!  I do like to share and will do so with your indulgence!

AN AUTUMN WREATH & A NEW TOOL

Look what I made for my front porch!

Well, actually we have a front stoop and I hung the wreath on the side wall because it was pretty, and stationary.  I purchased the grapevine wreath, flowers, leaves, and ribbon at Michael's (on sale or with a coupon, Yaaaay!)  The flowers and leaves are hot glued and the bow and streamers are attached with a pipe cleaner.  I also made a hanger for the back with another pipecleaner and hung the wreath from a nail (in the wood trim above the rock) with fishing line.  Here's a closer view.

The hardest part of this project was hanging it because I didn't measure my fishing line first and our smallest ladder  is 8 feet tall!  That ladder doesn't fit on the porch the right way so I felt, and probably looked, like a monkey. 

Making the wreath was a snap because I used my new Fiskars Floral Stem Cutter.  No more wire cutters for me!  That baby cut the floral "bushes" apart with little to no effort.  The individual stems cut like paper.  So much so, I started cutting bunches of 4 or 5 at a time and it was easy!  I did have to adjust some of the leaves to get the stems thru the cutting slot but that was no biggy.  The stem cutter is a table top model, cuts up to 1/2 inch diameter stems, and is covered by the Fiskars limited lifetime warranty.     

NOTE:  I was a lucky monkey and one of a few that "won" this fabulous tool on the Fiskateers site.  My only reward for giving a positive review is the good feeling I get by sharing a great idea with my fellow crafters.   

Hope you enjoyed my wreath!  Happy crafting to you!

IT'S NATIONAL SEWING MONTH! DO YOU SEW?

Looking back, I realize that I sew in fits and spurts!  My mother actually sewed that way, too.  As a child I remember my mom sewing me clothes that I absolutely hated and wouldn't wear!  She eventually stopped and kept her sewing skills well honed with mending and the odd home decor or gift piece.  My mother actually cursed at her sewing machine, so I didn't want to go anywhere near the evil thing!

My school system didn't offer home ec classes until high school but I decided to brave the evil sewing machine thing and take Sewing 1 as a freshman.  I loved it!  Even after the thread take up arm bonked me in the forehead, and left a giant, zit like, red mark that lasted for days (don't ask me how because I still don't know what happened), I signed up for Sewing 2!

My original sewing fit continued until I moved away from home after college.  My mother's evil machine and I had become friends but she wasn't going to let me take it.  My mother acted like she hated her machine but she really loved it.  So, I ended up making a few things on weekends here and there until the rest of life got in the way.

About 20 years ago, I bought my own machine.  Well, my machine hated me and I finally understood my mother's love/hate relationship with her machine.  Most of the time, my machine hung out in the closet but it helped produce curtains, a few dresses and got me through the mending.

Not long ago, I bought a Singer Futura--a late Christmas present. So far, we've collaborated on an apron, some mending and the valance shown here.

It's a simple rod pocket valance.  All straight lines, no pattern required.  I lined it with unbleached muslin because I just happened to have some on hand.

Please note the finials.  They are Styrofoam balls that I painted with Modge Podge and wrapped yarn around.  I stabbed the balls with a bamboo skewer first to make them easier to work on.  Then I used straight pins to keep the yarn in place until the adhesive set.  Most of us have paper scissors and fabric shears?  I now have fabric pins and craft pins (complete with dried glue blobs!)  I finished the finials with bits of blue silk flowers.  I nailed a long thin brad into each end of the rod (actually a closet rod, $0.68/foot) and stuck the finials onto the brad, flush against the end of the rod.  There's probably a "right" way, but this worked for me.

I like my new machine and it seems to like me.  I have several new projects lined up and I still need to try out the embroidery function.  I think the two of us can go places!

Happy National Sewing Month!  Thanks for stopping by Traveling Down a Crafty Road.  

A TEENY HOME DÉCOR ITEM

Like many crafters, I started out on my kitchen table. For scrapbooking, I had a Rubbermaid open tote and a shirt sized gift box of “stuff”. The sewing machine, sewing box, and a few other baskets and boxes for other crafts were stuck in closets here and there. I was so unorganized!

The room that started out as a home office, but evolved into a junk/storage room, became my crafty space.  For the last few years it was an okay space but wasn't very pretty or inspiring.  Last month, we started a redo of my craft room. It has new paint, carpet and a new window valance. I’m still working on a few storage and decorative things and will share all when complete. Until then, this is my switch plate cover.

It's wooden; painted with antique white Krylon spray paint follwed by Krylon matte sealer.  I dipped blue yarn into Modge Podge and shaped into flourishes.  The yarn dried hard and fast but a bit darker.  The flowers are from an ancient arrangement that I'm slowly deconstructing.  I must have had that one for at least 25 years but the colors worked for this room.

The birthday RAK winner will be announced sometime tomorrow, 9/13/2009!  Thanks for your participation and best of luck!  Contest rules listed in 9/5/2009 post.

Thank you for visiting Traveling Down a Crafty Road and for celebrating with me!

WHERE TO PUT ALL THE ATC’s?

ATC’s are really mini works of art and I find them very inspiring. When I receive a package from a swap, it’s like opening a birthday present! Incredibly thrilling! I look through them and am amazed at the creativity. The conversation with myself usually includes “Wish I had thought of that!”, “Wonder what adhesive was used?”, “How did they do this technique?” and on and on.

After participating in a few swaps, display and storage questions arose. The precious, little cards are too pretty to hide away in a drawer or box and they stimulate my own creativity. I thought and thought—maybe a tree type thing? Nope—too big for my space. Maybe a clothesline? Hmmm, that might work. Or what about a teeny tiny shelf? So off to the hardware store and this is what I ended up with.

I found plastic ceramic tile starter strips and screwed them into the wall. They have a little groove along the horizontal edge that most of my ATC’s fit right into. A few of the ATC’s in my collection don’t fit exactly—they are thicker and made with multiple layers of cardboard or include fibers or top heavy embellishments. For those, I added a little rolled up painters tape stuck to the back of the sleeve and the wall to hold them upright. (I was concerned about the tape pulling the paint off the wall but after a month, it’s still intact.) The best part of this project: it was CHEAP! An 8 foot length was less than $5. I just cut the strips with a hacksaw to the desired length and cleaned up the cuts with a bit of sandpaper.

Since I only have a few free feet left, I started thinking about long term storage. I visited a local sports card store and found bunches of cardboard storage boxes—all different sizes and price points! I bought a midsized one for $4. As soon as I personalize my plain white box, I’ll share a picture with you! I don’t want to put any of my treasures in a box but my wall space is limited. I plan to rotate the display and am anticipating how much fun that will be. Just thinking about it brings back memories of playing with dress up dolls. I’ll just be playing dress up the wall!

If you’ve joined the ATC brigade, let me know how you display and store yours! The birthday RAK is still up for grabs so leave that comment, or another, here and become a follower if you aren’t following yet. Thanks for stopping by!