Ready for Junking

Well, it has been a busy week for sure.  I had my first show of the season last Friday and Saturday.  I was not anticipating the show to be as successful as it was, but I loved it!  A great time, super sales, and perfect weather!  Thanks to all who came out!

Leaving tomorrow for the Nebraska Junk Jaunt.  My sis and I did this last year and had a blast!  Hoping to find some great bargains for repurposing, reselling, and redecorating.

 And finally, I have begun to work on some suitcases!  This little red one was the perfect color!

 I painted this one a shiny navy blue.  These are perfect for storage, decorating, or as a gift box for that someone special.  Both will be listed in my Etsy shop when I get back.

My eye procedure seems to have been a success.  The first day was a bit uncomfortable, but I am feeling great now.  I get the other eye done in two weeks.

Talk to you soon, my peeps.  Hope to have lots of treasures to share with you!

In the Good Ole Summertime....

We can always tell when summer rolls around, 'cause we always get a boatload of company trying to escape the heat......and we love it!  Last week was no exception either.  Hub's nephew and family were here for a couple of days.  We had not seen them in six years so it was amazing how the kids had grown (they have five: ages 8 - 16)  I also had my 4 year old granddaughter from Wyoming all week.....what a joy!  And my son and granddaughter stopped by.  If that wasn't enough, mix in a couple of doctor appointments and you have one busy week.  But now that they are all gone, it is sadly quiet here.

I did not get a lot of crafting done last week but I did make a great purchase from a friend of mine. She is moving out of state and is getting out of the craft show biz (she was a promoter and sold her show) so she sold me one of her displays for $25!  What a deal!

She also threw in some packaging and misc craft stuff (she knows I am a craft hoarder!)  She gave me about 50 of these cute little ornies.  I just repackaged them.  Aren't they cute?

I love gardening!  But up here at 9500 feet in elevation, our summers are short.  So over the years, I have found what grows and what doesn't and put out a good sized garden.  I love to sit under the aspens and cool down out by the garden with a cold beverage (sometimes adult beverage) and relax.  Enter.....ta da....the garden bench.  If you have been reading this blog for long, you know that each year I paint up an old wooden bench that I used to have in my dining area.  This is what it looked like after sitting on the deck for a year.

 Then I painted it and it lasted for a couple of years.

Then I painted it again and added paw prints.

This year, I wanted something bright and colorful.  It seemed like a fun project to do with my four year old grand, Addyson.

 Don't mind the chairs in the background....they are for another project.  If you think it is silly taking on this project with a four year old, think again.  I didn't care if it was perfect.  I just loved spending time with her.  If I was doing this to show or sell, I would rethink it.  But every time I sit here now, I will think about our fun time.

 Am I going buggy?????  I let Addyson pick out what kind of bugs to paint on.   It was fun.  We just used craft paint and round sponges.  I drew the legs on with Sharpies.

 Of course, we sprayed sealer on it to get us through the summer.

Ok, my peeps.  I am off again.  It is sprinkling here, so I have a short reprieve on mowing the back acre.  Tomorrow Hubs has yet another medical procedure and on Wednesday I am playing taxi for my grandson.  Hopefully, I will be able to get back in the studio on Thursday.  I have a couple of great tutorials for you!  Have a great week!

Rainy Day...and Monday....

What a dreary day this has been!  Rainy and cold.....a perfect day to finish up some things in the studio.  Several weeks ago, I bought some panels at the thrift store.  You never know how these things are going to turn out.  And it took a while to get these made up.  Sewing, stuffing, and embellishing....

I added hats and scarves and glued on buttons and stars, even added the little circle tags.  The arms are made from brown paper covered wire, though the pattern called for twigs.  Twigs break so easily and when you are storing for shows, that becomes an issue.  Besides the wire can be twisted however you like it.

I also found some new tassels that I turned into angel ornies.

 And I made some more ping pong snowmen.  I sold around 100 of these last year so I am trying to build up my stock!

If you want a tutorial on how I make these, click here.

I had better get busy now.  I have so many ideas, and so little time!  Can't wait to show you what is next!

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!

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.....

What 'cha Working on Wednesday?????

Monday was kind of a bust for me.  I spent the day with the DMV getting my van licensed and then drove to pick up miscellaneous items.  So I didn't get much done in the studio.  But yesterday I killed it....and even managed to get some laundry done!

One of my hubby's co-workers just welcomed a new baby girl.  So in addition to shopping for the little one, I also made some of these really cute items from Sunflower Friends:

They have a cute little rhyme and the graphics easily fit in a 4 x 6 bag.  Just put in a pair of baby socks and staple on the topper.  I am sure that these will be great sellers at my shows this year.  They come in blue, pink, green, and purple.

A couple of weeks ago I went in Dollar Tree.  I love that store!  I just get so many ideas!  This is a craft that I have been doing for a few years:

Easy, peasy, lemon squeezy.....Just spray your $1 muffin tin with the color of your choice.  I use my favorite rusty primer.  Spray both sides.  I put a piece of jute through the hole and hang it from the clothesline.  Once it is dry, coat with a clearcoat spray.  When that is dry, just paint on the faces.  I used Light Buttermilk.  Change them up a little so they are all a bit different.  I splattered with some light buttermilk paint to replicate snow and gave it another shot of clear coat.  Attach a ribbon and you are good to go.  These look so cute in the kitchen over the holidays.  Make sure you wrap them when storing so they will not scratch.

Also at the dollar store, I found a box of seven emergency candles.  They are really short, maybe 3 or 4 inches long.  I found a free Santa graphic online and shrunk it to fit a small label.  I cut it with a paper pinker and used a glue stick to attach to a piece of brown paper.

I wrapped the paper around three candles, secured with some light twine(also purchased at Dollar Tree) and hot glued on a rusty star.  You could use a bell, or leave it plain.  You could also use a patterned paper, like gift wrap or scrapbooking paper.  I think they are so cute!  And so cheap!  These are going to be a great seller at my shows!

So I am off to get busy.  I sold a couple of dolls on Etsy and I have to get them ready to ship.  Did you know that I include birth certificates and adoption papers with all my dolls?  Check them out at my Etsy shop and take advantage of my sale.  Have a great day, my friends!  Happy crafting!