Metal and Leather Rooster
Handy Husband and I were married for eight years before we had children. In those years, we worked hard. We played hard. Our lifestyle was not conducive to having a conventional, living, breathing pet. We did have a metal rooster though. We even named him and I’m not embarrassed to admit that. I should be, but I’m not. Meet Roddy. He’s from a little farm I like to call Pier 1. Maybe you’ve heard of it? I like Roddy. He’s a keeper. However, sometimes when I walk by Roddy his metal tail feathers rattle and then I don’t like him very much. No girl needs to be reminded that they…
DIY Stained Wooden Easter Eggs
I’m on a quest to decorate faux Easter eggs that I will love so much I will want to decorate with them year after year. I’m sure there are far nobler quests out there, but since comparison is the thief of joy, let’s not compare how you are curing cancer and I’m…not. My last attempt at decorating faux Easter eggs was a comedy of errors and I still haven’t fully recovered from that episode. (If you want to get caught up, you can read all about how I painted a marbling effect on fake plastic Easter eggs here.) There was one aspect of that egg painting fiasco that I wanted to…
Use for Old Hubcaps: Magnetic Bulletin Board
Today’s post is not a DIY. It’s more of a PSA. Did you know that old hubcaps (the many decades old ones) were made of stainless steel? It’s corrosion resistant, which made for a great wheel cover – until plastic hubcaps came around in the 1970s. If you find a hubcap that is made of stainless steel then there’s a good chance it is magnetic. If a magnet will stick to the hubcap then voila! You now have a creative use for old hubcaps as a magnetic bulletin board. Are you as excited as I am right now for this discovery? I thought so. There might not be space to…
Marbled Faux Easter Eggs
Have you ever jumped off something high and the instant you jumped you regretted your decision? Sticking the landing might be the best outcome, but who are we kidding? You’re just trying not to go splat. That’s me and this marbled faux Easter egg project. And also me when I jump off anything. Which is why I don’t jump off anything. I started this project because I wanted to create a marbled paint effect on something. Anything. I had some fake Easter eggs sitting in the closet mocking me while I tried to come up with a way to decorate them, so I thought, “Why not try marbling those Easter eggs?”…
Display a Souvenir Pin Collection in a Shadowbox Frame
Did you catch last week’s furniture makeover? It was a fun one! We turned a hutch into a freestanding bookcase for my tween daughter’s room. Now there is plenty of room for her books, sketch pads and ceramic animals. There’s also a spot for her souvenir pin collection. Do you see the collection on the shelf below? You’re dying to learn more about it, aren’t you? I figured. We do a fair amount of traveling and at some point (thank goodness) my daughter outgrew the souvenir stuffed animal. Instead, she recently started collecting souvenir pins. They are small, inexpensive and relatively easy to find at souvenir shops. She also has…
Framing Art With Scrap Leather Instead of Using a Mat
Why, yes! I did use leather in another crafty home decor project. Give me some scrap leather and I will come up with a host of ways to use it. And in case you are wondering (you’re not, but let’s pretend), someone DID give me a stack of leather and said, “Maybe you can use this for a project or two.” Challenge accepted! This time I used a piece of leather instead of a picture frame mat for framing a piece of art. Let’s not discuss the fact that I have scrap leather, but I don’t have an appropriately sized picture frame mat. Nor am I willing to buy one,…
How to Mount Antlers on an Acrylic Base
I’m not a hunter. I’ve never hunted. I don’t own anything camouflage. I’ve never worn anything in a hue resembling hunter orange. Although, I did have a pair of fluorescent yellow leg warmers in 4th grade. I do own a set of deer antlers though. My brother gave them to me years ago. I don’t know where they came from. Or how old they are. I have no answers on that front. I just liked the antlers. If you’re an antler purist (is that a thing?) then stop reading now because it will definitely seem blasphemous that I painted the antlers gold at some point. What can I say? I…
DIY Wooden Heart Magnets
Since February is LOVE month, I decided it was high time I showcased a sentimental DIY that I’ve been using most of my life – DIY Wooden Heart Magnets. You know I love magnets. I use them anywhere except on my refrigerator. Weird, I know. I just really like an uncluttered refrigerator door. Open the fridge up and all bets are off though! I’ve made matchbox car magnets, Santa belt magnets and souvenir penny magnets. I come about this magnet love naturally because my mom is the one who DIY’d these wooden heart magnets. I’m guessing 30 years ago? Yes, they’ve lasted THAT long. She made these magnets and other…
Wrapped String Art Using a Frame, String and Glue
What do you do when your child comes home with ANOTHER special piece of artwork and wants that artwork framed? You could punt the request until they forget and then mysteriously lose that artwork on garbage day. Ahem. Not that I would know anything about that. Or, you could IMPROVISE. Improvise is my middle name means to make something out of whatever is available. That certainly is a recurring theme around this slice of the internet and what brings us to today’s project. The art in question is bright, happy and not at all symmetrically cut. It had definitely experienced a rough ride home in a backpack. My daughter loved the…
Peg Doll Place Cards
In November I gave my daughter a set of unfinished wooden peg dolls. My original request was that she paint our family on peg dolls as a Christmas present to me so I could put them in a shadowbox frame. She loved that idea. I loved that idea. The peg dolls arrived just as friends flew in to stay with us for Thanksgiving. That prompted an even better idea! Peg Doll Place Cards for Thanksgiving Dinner. I asked my daughter and her friend (they are both 11 years old) if they would paint peg dolls for every person joining us for Thanksgiving. Instead of place cards at each table setting,…
