Snowmen and Ornies and Strainers, oh, my!

Hello, my peeps.  I have been a busy little crafter this last week.  After finishing my suitcases, I dug through some of my thrift store finds......

 Got this bag of little round metal boxes for $2.95.  I don't know what these little boxes were for initially, but when I see round, I think snowmen.  I had a bunch of round magnets so I glued them on to the back.

 Then I just painted on some cute little snowmen faces......  I love doing snowmen.  They are so easy and they don't have to be perfect!  I usually sell out of magnets every year.  These should be really popular.  Oh, yeah.  If you are displaying magnets at a craft show, cookie sheets or old metal bowls make great displays!

So this thrift store that I go to, packages like items in plastic bags and sells them really cheap.  The good thing is that it is really, really cheap.  The bad thing is you can't see what all you have or if anything is broken.  I never pay more than four or five dollars for a 'bag o stuff'' and it is always worth it just to see what goodies I get.  One of the bags I bought had these giant bells in it.

 I simply added a hanger and some ribbon and made ornaments out of them.  So easy and so cute!

This little box was an item I picked up at one of the craft stores after the holidays.  I painted it red and then crackled it with a light buttermilk paint.  For the cut-out, I quilted some green plaid fabric.  I glued on rusty bells and a star.

I bought this strainer last year while on the 127 sale.  I had to drill a hole in the handle for hanging.  I simply glued in some moss and greenery, added a snowman and a homespun bow and it becomes the perfect holiday decoration.  Wouldn't this look adorable in the kitchen??

 This is another box that I bought a while back from the thrift store.  I think this centerpiece looks so cool!

Time for me to get a few things finished up.  I am working on a new pattern and hope to have it ready this week.  As soon as I get it done, you will be the first to know!  I can't wait to show you!

Hope your week is great!

Snowy weekend.....

Yep, I know it is Spring but someone forgot to tell Mother Nature.  Here in the Rockies, we got around three feet of the fluffy white stuff and though it is beautiful, it sure doesn't seem very Spring-like.  Maybe Ma Nature is having a midlife crisis??

But when you cannot go outside, stay in, my friends, and craft away.  I finished up a couple of suitcases:

 I've been working on these for a while.  These were both brown, not too Christmas-like.  So the first step is cleaning the inside and painting the outside.  I have to do this in a few days since I paint the bottoms, tops and sides.  Then I use a white chalk marker and draw on the design and wording.  Then over the next couple of days, I do the actual painting, shading, and embellishing.  Finally, I take them outside and splatter them, add a little bit of Glitter Blast and when dry, spray a final coat of clear acrylic.  When they are all dry, I cover the handles with homespun and add a bow and greenery.

I bought these little metal trees at the thrift store a few weeks ago and didn't quite know what I was going to do with them.  They had wire strung through them with pearls, but they were kind of dull looking.....what to do.....what to do.....

 I have an entire drawer full of lace, so even though this is not really my style, I glammed them up by first removing the pearls and wire, then gluing on lace.  Yards and yards of lace.  I added a few of the pearls and some gold stars for sparkle.

Well, my friends, its off to clean a bit and then work on some snowmen.  Have a great week!

Blogging on a Monday???? Yep, its true!

So here it is Monday and already I am putting a blog post together.  I really got alot done on Thursday and today.  To start off, I finished two of my famous ornie wreaths.

 This picture is kinda crappy, but you get the idea.....a lot of colors and someone who does not take very good pics.....lol

I also dug out a couple of the sifters that I bought at our 127 sale last year.  I love the way these turned out!

 This is a simple pine that has a rusty star garland, homespun ties, and some micro mini battery lights.

This is a really small sifter, almost a child sized.  It looks really cute with pip berries, greenery and a spunky little snowman.
I also bought this old masher on my trip.  This is how he turned out;

I got a couple of bronzed baby shoes at the thrift store a while back.  This one even has a little bronzed bell on it.  Again, this isn't the best photo, but I really like the way it turned out.  Just some simple greenery and pips as well as a few glittered stars.

And finally, I found three more graters that I bought on my trip.  These are old, but not too rusty so I took them outside and sprayed them with a rust colored primer.  I bought battery operated pillars at the dollar store so you could use these as a night light or candle in any room.  I think it would look great in the kitchen!

So I am off to do a bit of housework before hubs hits the door.  Tomorrow, I plan to finish up my taxes and I hope that I can find time to go back and work in the studio......I know I enjoy that so much more than tax prep!

Oh, by the way, check out my PatternMart Banner at the top of the page.  I have only posted one of my patterns, but I plan on adding more each week!

What 'Cha Working on Wednesday???

It was a busy week last week, but I was able to get a few things finished up.  I bought this old horn at the thrift store last week.  It was in a bag of assorted "stuff" that I got for $2.  It was in good shape, except for the finish.  I took it outside and sprayed it gold.....

 Added a bow and some foliage......

 I got this box at the thrift store for $3.  It turned out so cute!

 This is one of many graters that I bought last year while at the 127 sale.  I put a candle inside of it and it makes a perfect little kitchen nite lite.

 This wooden box was given to me by a friend.  I filled it with greenery, rusty bells and pine cones.  I think it has the cabin feel, don't you?

 Another thrift store box.

 I'm not sure where this container came from but I put a little bear, some shiny ornies and some greenery, and Voila!

I found these little bracelets at the grocery store of all places....25 cents each.  I packaged them in cute little glittery packages.  Perfect for any little princess!

 I am really proud of this item.  This is the third tree skirt that I have made.  One was a gift and the other one sold.  I bought a partial bolt of these about six or seven years ago when a local Walmart was closing out their fabric department.  I paid less than a dollar a panel.  I put batting in it and backed it with a neutral fabric and machine/hand quilted it.  I sewed buttons, trims, pompoms, etc. to give it some texture and dimension.

Well, I had better get back to it.  I still have yet to download my first pattern on PatternMart.  I am going to try to get to it tomorrow as well as do some work on my Etsy shop.  But you know what they say.....the best laid plans.....