Large Art Display/Foyer Wall

 I had been looking for some art/pictures to hang on a large vast wall in my two story foyer, going up the stairs. Everything I looked found was SO EXPENSIVE!!! So ,true to form, I decided to go to Good Will to see what they had in the way of frames...Lucky Me!! I found 4 of the same frame (all in good condition, all with matting, and all a distressed black finish). They were perfect! I didn't need to do a thing to them. Each was a little over a dollar! I took them home, and I remembered I had a book with love letters in it. I decided to cut 4 of my favorites out, and frame them. This is my finished look! I love it! Plus...they are Love Letters...who doesn't like a Love Letter???;)

Frost Kit

 Every Year I like to give a special Christmas treat/gift to each of my neighbors. We live in a Cul-De-Sac. So we have a great neighborhood filled with great families and friends! So this year as I was searching Pinterest to spark my imagination, I saw a gift that included a snowman kit. I LOVED IT! This would be this year's neighborhood gift! I needed to make 9 of them, but did not want to spend a fortune. Well, Mission Accomplished! Read on to see how it was done!

Frosty Kit

 More Frosty Kits!

Frost Kit

Here is a closer look at three different styles of the nine that I made. The Complete Frosty Kit includes a decorated foam top hat, a scarf, a carrot nose, frosty eyes, mouth, and buttons (a closer look and description coming up:), a candy treat, and adecorative, old fashioned tag!

Frosty Hat

 Frosty Hat with a black, grey, and white chevron ribbon:)

Frosty Kit

The Frosty Hat was originally going to be hand made by me, but when I was at Michaels searching for supplies, I found these black foam top hats in their kids party section. After careful thinking, I realized the cost of each hat was about the same as it would cost to make each one (but without all the elbow grease...TOTALLY worth it!!!) I liked that they were weather proof and that I could still decorate them any way I chose! I added some stylish ribbon and a fake flower with hot glue to the outside of each one. This was not costly at all since I used only two different style of ribbon for all my hats and the flowers were 6 in a bunch for $1...at the dollar store!

Frosty Hat

Here you can see that I draped the scarf over the edge of the hat. I picked up these scarves at the dollar store for...wait for it...dollar each!  They are child size, which works perfectly for the My Frosty Kit. I decided to pick up a variety of 4 different designs so that no one house would have the same looking snowman.

Frosty Kit

The Frosty Kit and It's Contents:)

Frost Kit

 Black and white striped ribbon frosty hat.

Frosty Kit

Here is a close up of all the goodies that are included in my Frosty Kit. 2 giant google eyes and 9 glossy black craft rocks (you can get these at any craft store, like Michaels). I chose to use 9 rocks because I figured on about 6 for the mouth and three for buttons. I also chose to use hot glue to attach cut doll rods to each eye and stone to make it easier to stick them into the snow (and hopefully keep them from falling off :). I included a plastic carrot, which I also got from Michaels...they come in a bunch of three for about $6.00...not too bad, and easier than making a felt carrot! A doll rod was attached to the carrot, as well. Then, lastly, I included a cute tag (came in a kit, also from Michaels) AND a candy cane for each member of the family that was receiving the gift!

Halloween Decor - Front Door

 Create your own Halloween Wreath with a store bought garland wreath. Just add a sign (handmade or store bought...mine is inexpensive store bought), cute ribbon, and a letter (painted to coordinate), signifying the initial of your last name. :-)

Halloween - Outdoor Decor

Another fun way to decorate your porch or outdoors for Halloween is to make these pumpkin Topiaries. I have seen some with just the pumpkins placed on top of an urn (you could also use an old flower pot), but I decided to make mine more welcoming. I took a large and small pumpkin, added a small witches hat with some hot glue (got these hats at Walmart for a little over a dollar), and then added faces and a Halloween message with Permanent marker!

Large, Meaningful Wall Art

 I needed a large piece of art for my foyer wall. So, not wanting to spend too much, I found a very ugly, but very cheap picture (with a beautiful old barnwood frame) at the Good Will store. I turned the ugly print around and on the cardboard backing, I wrote song lyrics from my wedding song. Simple and Meaningful! Love it!

Neighbor's Upholstered Headboard

My latest project!!!...an upholstered headboard that I created for my Neighbor. The tufted trimmed out edges were created using my Staple Gun and decorative black trim that I hot glued over to cover the staples. FYI: When using a fabric with a continuous geometric design, such as this one, special attention to detail should be taken to ensure an even look when pulling  and stapling the fabric.

Neighbor's Upholstered Headboard

Here is a close-up of the materials that I used...(Plywood, foam, and batting)

Neighbor's Upholstered Headboard

This is a picture of the during process. Here I have used spray adhesive to attach 1in. thick foam pieces to the Plywood piece that was cut to fit the measurments of the bed. After attaching the foam, I covered it with a thin layer of batting. This was, then, stapled to the back of the headboard to hold everything in place. 

More Homemade Pink Ribbon Magnets

My team that I am walking with for the Komen 3 Day in August has gotten together to help me make these Awesome Pink Ribbon Magnets for Breast Cancer Awareness. We are selling them for $2 a piece if anyone is interested. Then money will all go towards our donation goal for the walk. They will also have the words GO PINK printed on them right in the middle.

GO PINK!! 

Pink Ribbon Magnet

 I am making a little craft project to help earn money for my 3 Day walk that I am doing this summer for Breast Cancer.  These are lightweight  Pink Ribbon Magnets that measure about 4in tall, and they SPARKLE!!! GO PINK!

Paper Book Wreath

 This is my own version of a Paper Book Wreath. You might have seen something like this with flowers made out of textbook paper, I put this one together in a more undefined way...It was easier than the flower version, and I think it may look even better! I started with a straw wreath form that I got from Good Will ( but you could also use a foam wreath form). Before I started, I wrapped the whole wreath form with ribbon so the the finished version looked beautiful from the back side, too.  I, then, took old textbook paper and cut it down to about 3/4 of the page. Then I crumpled/folded the paper (kind of in a haphazard way) so that it resembled a flower. Next, I took silver nail head trim pins and pushed them through the middle of my "flower" crumple and proceeded to push it into the wreath base ( I added just a little hot glue to the back of the pin before I applied it to the wreath to make it more secure). The pins give it a little bling that catches your eye and they are also a great contrast to the old worn paper. Finally, a little ribbon to hold it up and it is done!

*Oh...and FYI, I did end up using a couple of the paper rolled flowers as an accent in the top left corner! : )

Paper Book Wreath - Materials

 The Paper Book Wreath was made with old books that I got for about $.75...I looked specifically for books with a lot of printed words and older looking paper.  I varied the wreath with sheets that I took from both books because each book had a slight discoloration of  paper (one book had a yellowed almost tea stained looking paper and the other was more of a crisp white)...I liked the look of mixing the paper from both books...It gave the wreath more character. : )