paper mache painting

My work place is soooooo gray. Everything is a cool gray which is a great color - I'm not discriminating against gray - but some color would be nice. So in thinking about an office inspired painting, here's what I came up with.

It didn't come out like I expected but it looks ok and fills the wall with some color. My hope was to see more of the paper behind the acrylic but color choices made it more difficult.

It started with some mod podge.

And some printed copy from our company's blog.

I used the mod podge and coated both the backside and front of the canvas. The paper did wrinkly up some - but I thought it might add to the texture of the painting. It also might have helped to have a better weight of paper.

You can see here it bubbled up pretty good - but once it was completely dry it looked way better. I put a total of 2 coats on it.

I painted over the mod podge with acrylic paint, but my first pass on blending colors was terrible. So, I let it dry and tried again. My second attempt at blending was better but the paper mache became less noticeable. But .... it's still there for those who want to look closer.

My husband says I ruined it by painting the tree but I really felt it needed something. I had planned to outline some of the words with paint, but with the paper being so faint - I took a different turn. Well, here it is .... good enough for a back office wall somewhere.

As my husband always says .... I'm my own worse critic.

flicky soft thing

My grandson received something very much like this when he was born as a gift. He absolutely loves it! It's very soft and cuddly and he sleeps with it every night. He loves it so much that I made one for my niece's new baby boy. It might have a better name - but I call it the "flicky soft thing."

The best thing about it besides how soft and cuddly it is ....is all the ribbons that he can flick. Give a kid a stuffed animal and they will find the label and grab it and flick it.

It was super easy to make. I grabbed some ribbon I had and even some spare scraps to make my own bindings. Then I cut out a 10 x 10 square of some soft cuddly material.

Here's how to make some binding. Fold in each side and then fold in half.

I did a basting stick around the edge to attach the ribbons and bindings. Then I went around and double stitched each one to make sure they don't come off.

Sew on the top piece of soft and cuddly material. Leave an opening to turn right side out.

Then do another stitch around the edge to close up that opening and add another layer of security. Now it's ready to go to your favorite little munchkin!

bag for baby

My niece gave birth several months ago to a beautiful baby boy who is so happy and lovable. I feel bad that I hadn't gotten her anything but I was preoccupied with my daughter's wedding. But now .... it's time to focus on getting some cute things made for her.

So I started with this bag. It's made from flannel fabric that I had left over from a baby quilt.

It has a flannel outer and a light blue cotton inside for the lining and a zippered top.

I used this pattern. Simplicity 3822 and it was real easy to follow and put together.

The fabric was this block style already so I added batting and then quilted the existing pattern. Super easy.

I embroidered their last name to the pocket on the front of the bag.

And added a brown belting which I usually make myself but this time I purchased. 

I added the zipper with a cute ribbon for easy pulling. The whole thing took about 2 hours to make and turned out super cute. It's a nice smaller bag for grabbing some diapers, a bottle, and a small toy or two and off you go!

I hope she likes it.

chalkboard picture frames

I made these blackboard picture frames for my daughters beach wedding. We had a theme of blackboard and mason jars and this added a nice touch. You can really use them anywhere! My youngest stole one for her desk to jot down notes on.

Other uses that come to mind are to put in the bathroom to remind your children to wash their hands. Or in the kitchen to remind them to rinse their dishes.

I bought about 10 of these stand up plastic picture frames. I got these from Walmart for about $1.00/each.

I made up my blackboard paint by using 1 cup of flat paint (could be any color) and 2 tablespoons of unsanded grout.

Mix well.

And apply directly to the picture frame.

I added 3 coats. Let dry thoroughly between coats.

Here's a tip for you. I saw at JoAnns they were selling "gourmet" chalk with sharpened ends for double the price! I bought some real inexpensive color chalk and grabbed my pencil sharpener. It did a nice job and made it nicer to write with.

Ta.Da. Easy quick really convenient little blackboards for conveying messages. Nifty!

more fabric rolled shades

I've been meaning to write more about the rolled fabric shades and today I'm finally getting around to it. I love this window treatment concept and I have more examples to show you.

I have them all over my living room windows. I love the versatility of being about to lighten or darken the room with a flick of my wrists.

I can slide them up on nice sunny days.

Or lower them when my dog sees the neighbors dog and goes on a frantic barking spree.

I have them on my picture window too. I roll them all the way up to just display the valances or lower them for privacy. In this picture, I'm showing them in both states - normally they both are the same. But in this way, I can completely hid the shade ..... or not.

My bedroom is done the same way, different style.

I like that they are lined with insulating liner so in the super hot or cold days, they come down to provide more window insulation.

And they just look cool. 

I really love the rolled fabric shade concept. I actually have another bedroom that still needs done. It currently has just a plain old shade .... boring.

 If you didn't catch my blog on how to create the basis for the rolled fabric shades, check it out here.