Frightlfully Fabulous Craft

I had a few friends over the other day and I thought it might be fun to do a quick, easy and inexpensive Halloween craft. I searched the net and found this fun favor box idea here.Not wanting to dig through the garbage for toilet paper rolls nor have the mess of paint, I came up with my own version.
I used spray adhesive to adhere cardstock onto felt. Then I cut each piece in half and used hot glue to make a roll.We gently folded each end in half and then pushed each side into the center to close each end. The folds make a fun shape and can open to stuff treats inside.Next we used rhinestones, felt, glitter foam sheets and pipe cleaners to make our creations.The process was a little messy.

But the results turned out
frightfully fabulous!

Trying a Trend

What do you do with a pretty little button? You use it as the center for a trendy
fabulous fabric flower.

Make a flower pattern by folding a piece of paper in half, in half again, and then fold one edge to meet the opposite, forming a point. Using scissors, round off the open end about 2 & 1/2 inches from the point. Make a second pattern by repeating the process of folding and cutting, this time cut about 2 inches from the point. You now have two flower pattern sizes.Choose one or two of your favorite fabrics, like brown burlap and a piece of upholstery fabric. Cut two of each size flower patterns (one fabric per pattern if you're using two fabrics).Layer the two small pieces on top of the two large, alternating the fabrics.
Stitch and hot glue the four layers together. Be sure to scrunch each layer a bit so they don't just lay flat (this is where the hot glue comes in handy).

Add a pin to the back. If you don't have an "official brooch pin" simply cut a scrap of coordinating fabric and glue it on top of a safety pin.Then pin it onto your blouse and get ready to
hear the comments like:

"That's pretty. Did you make it?"

"I like your brooch."or my favorite
"What is that?!?!"

Thrift Store Scrolls

On a recent trip to the thrift store I spied this
scroll-y work of art. It was one of those thrift finds that
one picks up,
looks at with curiosity,
tries to figure out whatever could be done with said item,
puts it back,
and then repeats the process
several times
until
inspiration finally hits,
curiosity is resolved
and the item is purchased.

Do you ever do that with any thrift store finds?

Once home I decided to make my inspiration a reality by first cutting and painting a piece of MDF the length of the scrolls.Next I found a font on the computer that I liked and printed the word "Welcome." I rubbed the backside of the paper with chalk so that I could transfer the image onto the MDF by tracing over the text.I painted the letters---three coats were needed in order to cover the deep red base coat.A couple of wood rosettes were added to each end of the board. Then two small holes were drilled to thread wire through in order to attach the board to the scroll. Sometimes it pays to pick up a curious thrift store item several times until inspiration hits!

Girl Time

OH MY! I have neglected this little blog lately. I have a good reason though. My daughter was in town! We spent time taking care of family matters and enjoying time together, catching up, shopping and creating. Saturday night I had the pleasure of a girls night out with my daughter, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter. Oh what fun we had! We went to a local craft store that was offering mini make-and-take classes. Our favorite class was the one where we learned how to make these cute, easy, and quick favor boxes. And since blogland is a place for sharing great ideas, I thought you might enjoy learning how to make them too.

First start with a rectangle of scrapbook paper
(any stiff, cardstock type paper will do).Fold the rectangle in half width-wise. Then give it a small crease at the open end
to determine the center point.

Using a ruler, score a line
(use a stylist or the back of a butter knife)
from the top center to the bottom outside corner
of each side of the rectangle. Your scores will resemble a triangle. Flip the paper and repeat on the other side.

Use the scored lines to create folds in the paper. Fold both sides inward forming a box.

At the top of the box punch holes through all four ends.Thread ribbon through the holes and tie.Cut a circle about 4 inches in diameter. Begin at one edge and cut in a circular pattern
resembling a curled up snake.
Cut off the center bulb, or "snakes head."Start at the center and curl the entire "snake"
until it resembles a flower.

Use hot glue or craft glue to adhere a scrap of ribbon or yarn and then apply the paper flower on top
(use a big dollop of glue and hold until the flower is set).Now you're ready to untie the ribbon and
fill your cute little box
with small items like candy or jewelry.

Paint Them Floors

I am amazed at the amount of requests I have received asking how I painted our sub-floors. I guess that I'm not the only one who would rather live with a freshly painted floor than ugly carpet or tile. I must warn you though, if you choose to pull up your floor treatments and live on sub-floors there is a downside (at least in our house). The creaking of the floors is louder. My hubby and I joke that no one can sneak around in our house, not even the cat, without being heard. Other than that we've been happy with our cheap remedy to an ugly floor. And we've lived with them for longer than we planned---almost five years. So here's how I did it. . .
First take off the existing floor treatment and remove any protruding staples, nails, or splinters. Fill any large holes with wood filler, then sand. If you have any really rough areas give them a good sanding too. Then clean, clean, clean your floor. Sweep, vacuum, then sweep again to get rid of all dirt and dust bunnies.
Next, use a good primer. Our home was previously a rental and there were odd stains left on the floor. Primer prevents these stains from bleeding up through the new paint and, if they're pet stains, it blocks odors too. Primer helps paint to bond better to the existing surface, not to mention, you use less paint when you use a primer.
Our sub-floors are particle board on top of plywood. They look like this sample: As I said, they were not in the best of shape. There were some areas that "blistered" because of old spills. You can still see those areas, but you really have to look. The paint helps disguise the imperfections. Speaking of imperfections, I did not do anything with the areas where the boards butt up against each other. I looked into filling the crevasses but came to the conclusion that it would be a lot of work and may later become troublesome because floors are always moving; expanding and contracting with temperature and traffic conditions. Whatever you fill the cracks with will also have to expand or it will crack or peel. There are some caulks made to stretch but I chose not to spend the money.If you are lucky enough to have plywood or pine floors, hooray for you! If you're worried about splinters remember that paint acts as a bonding agent. As long as you sand down any worrisome areas before painting you shouldn't have any problems. Another nice thing about paint is that you can easily go back and touch up any gouges or wear spots.
I used two techniques on my floors. On our stairs and in our bedroom I simply painted with a latex paint. I did two coats. As you can see, I laid rugs in the high traffic areas.
I'm very pleased with the way both areas look.In my entry, hall and family room I put in more work. These areas get A LOT of wear! Plus the entry needed to stand up to wet shoes and puddles of melting snow. I primed them and then painted two coats of latex paint. I used a roller with a long handle attachment.
*HINT: Be sure that you plan out a painting strategy---you don't want to literally paint yourself into a corner.*

After the two coats dried, I used a thick tinted glaze, similar to this one: Glaze stays "wet" longer than paint so it gives you more time to work on the look you want to achieve.

I wanted the appearance of a stained concrete.(An actual close-up of our entry floor)

I did this by turning a plastic grocery store bag inside out (to prevent any chance of having the printed logo bleeding onto the paint). Crunch up the bag and dab it into the glaze. Have several bags on hand because you'll need to switch bags once it's too soggy from paint. You will want to wear protective gloves too.Then simply "pounce" the the crunched bag onto the painted surface. Twist your wrist with each pounce to get a different pattern each time. You can even "swipe" in a few areas too, just for variety. Pounce and swipe until you achieve the desired look. For my floors, I used a darker color glaze on top of a lighter color paint. The paint and glaze layers give the floor more depth and character.
After the glaze dries thoroughly, roll on a couple of layers of a good polyurethane to protect the floor from wear and moisture as well as give it a little shine and make it easier to clean and maintain.It's a time consuming process; taking a few days. But it is a lot less expensive than carpet or any other flooring. It's also a good way to test out what it's like to live with a bare floor before you make the investment into hardwood or laminate.