4th of July Subway Art

Don't you just love it when out of the blue, not only do you get a few minutes to craft but you actually know what you want to make AND already have the supplies?  That's exactly what I lucked into this past weekend.  A friend of mine wanted a 4th of July wreath for her front door and we scheduled a little spur of the moment crafting so I could be on hand in case she needed any help putting it together (mostly that means tying the big fluffy bows :)  and saying "yes that looks great!").  I had a few orders for countdown blocks that I needed to work on, so my plan was to finish those and not really worry about other crafts.  Then I remembered I had been thinking about adding something to my 4th of July decorations that I put up a few days ago (blog post here).  In true craft-hoarder fashion I was able to dig up exactly what I needed in no time at all, including some scrap wood that was the perfect size (approx 13" x 24") - I didn't even have to sand it! A simple coat of blue paint, a few pieces of vinyl and it was all ready to go up on the wall.

The hardest part was setting up the cut files for the vinyl lettering.  It always takes a little bit of playing around to get the difference sizes and placement for subway art to look right (and I'm no expert with any of it) but I kept this one pretty simple and instead of changing fonts I just adjusted sizes and spacing.

 The husband turned out to be a big fan of this one too - yay!  (He has a soft spot for anything patriotic, I think)  It didn't take long for him to route a keyhole on the back so I could mount it on the wall.  And now I can happily move on to the Next Big Thing on the list...soon as I decide what that is ;)

Bring on the Green

How many days 'til St. Patrick's day?  Around 10?  Yeah, I've been thinking about it.  I've been gathering a few ideas for things like lunchbox jokes and leprechaun pranks.  In fact I even let Kaitlyn pick out shirts for herself and her brother when we were out shopping the weekend before last.  But it's not usually something I decorate for.  However, with so many cute ideas out there I decided I wanted to create at least a couple small things before the holiday was over.  So I invited a friend over last Friday and we got a little crafty.

 First up - 2x4 Leprechaun Hats.  Pretty simple right?  And basically free.  I already had the scrap wood, the paint, the ribbon, and the shamrock was from a few floral pics I had grabbed to use on my front door wreath.
 

 I went a slightly different direction for the front door than my typical wreath.  This time around I cut a Leprechaun Hat shape out of scrap bead board.  I didn't even have to paint it, just sanded down the edges a bit.  Then added the ribbon hat band, the Luck medallion and the cute little owl (all the glittery stuff was at AC Moore a few weeks back).

I had bought also picked up a little package of tiny glitter hats that I hat originally planned to use on a wreath.  I didn't want such tiny cuteness to go to waste so I turned one of them into a hair bow for Miss Kate by adding some feathers and a gold bow.

 And my last little project was this fun You are My Pot of Gold sign.  I have a small stack of wood cut into 12x12 squares (originally intended for craft show items until I found out I wasn't cut out to do the craft show circuit) so I grabbed one of those and painted the edges white.  If I had wanted to take more time I would have stained it, but I didn't want to wait overnight for the stain to dry.  I grabbed some green scrapbook paper from my stash (I have to say, it's really nice to have a big stockpile of craft supplies.  I don't know how I'd manage to pull together "quick crafts" without it), cut vinyl for the lettering and viola!

I thought the Pot of Gold sign needed a sidekick and I've had this frame sitting around empty.  So I grabbed a spare photo.  It just happens to be some extras from last year's Christmas cards.  I'll try to remember to take a cute photo of the kids to print out for next year but for now, it works (again with one of my new mantras Done is Better Than Perfect, right?)

 

Now I just need to put away the Valentines décor and find these guys a home on the shelf by the stairs.

Always something to be Thankful for (31 Days: Day 28)

Since I had all the supplies out the other day I decided to go ahead and make one of the Thanksgiving decor ideas I ran across on Pinterest.  Love that saying!  Might be one I need to keep out more often than just the month of November.

Trick or Treat Glass Block (31 Days: Day 27)

Ready for one more candy corn Halloween decoration variation?  Yup, me too! :)  The original inspiration from this one came from here via Pinterest.  Looks pretty simple, right?  Well, you'd be right.  They carry these great glass blocks at most of the big craft stores, complete with a nice little opening in the bottom.  I think mine was $12 before the 40% off coupon.

I used that handy hole in the bottom to stuff some lights and colored tissue paper inside.  I didn't worry too much about the back, but you could cover it up if you wanted to.

I added some vinyl lettering (that Silhouette machine is really earning its keep this month!) and some black tulle.  That it!  Another 5 minute, under $10 project.  I was on such a roll yesterday :)

 

Candy Corn Shadow Box (31 Days: Day 26)

I was on such a roll with this 31 Days thing - until this week!  It's just been go, go, go one day after another.  The blogging had to take a bit of a back seat and I completely ruined the posting streak I had going on.  *sigh*  Oh well.
That isn't to say that I haven't been crafting.  In fact, today I got in a little unexpected craft time.  You see a friend and I were supposed to be doing a craft show tomorrow so a lot of my day was going to be devoted to last minute things for that.  But it looks like some bad weather is headed our way, and with NC being extra catious about that sort of thing they called everyone and rescheduled it.  Kind of a mess actually, as I had other plans for my Saturday next week and will now have to miss the wedding I was going to, plus the husband will be working so I was stressing a bit until a friend stepped in and offered to watch the kids for me.  Once I had my head wrapped around the new plan, (if you know me at all, you'll know that I hate having my plans changed) I was able to then enjoy the fact that I had the rest of the afternoon that didn't have to be spent tagging items and loading up the car.  Woohoo!  I watched or show or two that had been waiting for me on the DVR, then decided to finish up some of the small holiday decorations I hadn't gotten around to yet.  Like this fun little shadow box.

I have two or three holiday shadow box variations, so of course I had intended to add a Halloween one to the collection at some point.  I think the vinyl haunted house is a fun touch.  I love that there are so many great dingbat fonts out there that I don't even have to buy special designs to use for stuff like this.  And since I seem to have found a bit of a candy corn groove lately, why not put them in the shadow box? 

Not bad for a 5 minute, under $10 project.

 

5 Minute (and $0!) Project

I got bored today, and fidgety. Doesn't happen often, because usually I have tons on my To Do list every day and no end of fun things to explore online or books to read when I'm not working on something. But today was one of those days where it was full steam ahead first thing in the morning then way too much goof off time later. Seriously. By 9AM I had scrubbed all 3 bathrooms and the kitchen, had a load of laundry almost finished, had updated my 365 blog, and had even showered and done my hair! Pretty much my entire list of things I wanted done today. So I watched some TV. Started a new book. Blog hopped and chatted online. And still was restless and not sure what to do with myself. (yes I know I could have done something like wash windows but it's FRIDAY. And I already spent an entire day this week cleaning carpets and upholstery so my Spring Cleaning quota was already done for the week) Then I looked at my Things to Try file and decided I should get crafty.

And this is the result: Like it? I think it's fun and totally appropriate for our house, considering the recent move. My husband just laughed when I showed it to him. And the best part? Not only did it take less than 5 minutes - including finding the right paper and printing a map from online for my pattern - but I had all the supplies on hand so it cost me NOTHING. I'm sure if you went out and bought everything, including the inexpensive 12x12 frame, you'd probably still spend less than $5-$10 on it.

*the original inspiration for this one was found on Etsy. I think they are created completely digitally and sell for something like $20 each. Sorry I don't have the actual link.