14 Days of Crafty Love....

has come to end over on my personal Facebook page.  It has been fun.  All the projects were well received. For my final day I wanted to create a couple of projects that a friend or family member could put on display as a decor grouping.  Here is what I came up with:

Altered Target Mailbox tin.  The base is a glass candlestick holder from the Dollar Tree that I painted with a mixture of food coloring and glue to create a sea glass effect.  The 5x7 frame was in the as is section of Ikea with no glass so I cut out a piece of scrapbook paper glued a piece of bakers twine and then using some clothes pins from Michaels hung hearts on a string.  Be My Valentine was created using a 1x3 cut up into 4 in rectangles.  Painted using Martha Stewart Craft paint BubbleGum & Raspberry Ice.  The font is Crushed and I added little hearts using Silhouette's double sided adhesive sheets and then covered them with Tourmaline glitter from Martha Stewart.

**Yuck I sound like a walking advertisement for Martha Stewart.  I assure you though aside from really liking the product no compensation is made**

Til Next Time
~Mia

Love Struck...Cupid Wreath

My 14 Days of Crafty Love are coming to close on my personal Facebook page for friends and family.  I figured every giveaway should have a wreath.  I had a Dollar Tree wreath leftover from a previous purchase. I specifically purchased this variegated yarn for the colors and the furriness.  What the picture below does not show is that I ended up wrapping the wreath form in duct tape first then I wrapped the yarn around that.

I cut out a banner and the words "Love Struck" using my Silhouette.  The font is called Crushed and can be found here.

Next I went searching on the the World Wide Web for a cupid.  I eventually found one I really liked fell in love with at SVG Cutting Files (I am pretty sure I fell in love with the store itself found myself spending a nice chunk of my crafting change there.  Not a bad thing though.)  I also cut out some hearts with mats to put on my wreath as well.

My finished craft turned out pretty cute.  

Sorry the picture is blurry.  Again I take pictures with my iPhone.  

Maybe one day I will invest in something a little higher end and better resolution quality.

Til Next Time

~Mia

Partying at:

Craft O Maniac

Pieces by Polly

Sew Can Do

Skip to My Lou

Creating Really Awesome Free Things

Glitter Heart Votive Holder

I came across some frosted votive holders in the Michaels Dollar bin the other day.  Unfortunately, they contained a gold heart on them already.

That had to be remedied.   The easiest way to do that was to grab my trusty bottle of 100% acetone nail polish remover some tissue and wipe away the gold picture.

Then using some Silhouette double sided adhesive paper I cut out hearts fixed them to the votive holder and covered them in glitter.  I used primary colors to break up the traditional Valentine color scheme.  Enjoy!

Til Next Time

~Mia

Partying over at:

I heart naptime

Valentine Banner

Hugs & Kisses.  As part of my 14 Days of Crafty Love I decided to make a banner and this is what I came up with.  I cut out the XOXO from Silhouette double sided adhesive and covered the letters in glitter, the kissing silhouette is from the Silhouette online store.

Til Next Time
~Mia

You + Me = Love

This was a simple enough project.  I started with this little number that I purchased for $1 at a local thrift mall.

Nothing against cats but this kind of screamed different vision.  So I spray painted in white from Valspar.  For each of the smaller areas I cut out two silhouettes holding heart shaped balloons (one girl and one boy) in black.  Both were purchased from the Silhouette online store.  I cut out extra balloons using Silhouettes double sided adhesive and covered each balloon in glitter.  Then took a piece of bakers twine and used it for the string of the balloon. 

I would have loved to have created a faux carved saying for the center but that was not going to happen.  I chose a simple love equation to make my statement.  I have to say I think it turned out pretty cute.

Til Next Time

~Mia

Partying over at:

Sew Can Do
Skip To My Lou
Someday Crafts
Clean & Scentsible
Be Different Act Normal

Playoff Games

Are tomorrow and I was asked if I could make a 49ers wine glass.  She wanted vinyl all the way but a beveled glass and an oval piece of vinyl do not really mix well.  I ended up painting the background oval and using vinyl for the SF.  I am still new to the whole concept of painting on glass.  It is a fun fascination at this point.

 To be fair with the whole rivalry.  I could not go without making a Seahawks glass as well.  This is what I came up with.

Til Next Time

~Mia

Ombre Paint Chip Hearts Specimen Art

Do you feel as guilty as I do when I take a stack of paint chips from Home Depot or Lowes?  I took a couple of handfuls of Behr paint chip strips in varying shades of pinks and whites.  I cut out hearts using my Silhouette.  I was able to cut out two hearts on each color strip giving me 6 hearts per paint chip.

Originally I thought I would make an ombre shaped heart but for me it was not meant to be.  Maybe it was the size of the heart or the size of my little hearts either way it did not happen.  I had an 8.5x11 red frame from Ikea's as-in bin waiting to be used so I decided to make a heart specimen art.  I cut out a piece of scrapbook paper from Recollections Valentine paper pack and cut it down to size. 

It is not too fancy but will make a great additional to anyones Valentine's Day decor (as long as their decor is pink/red).

Til Next Time

~Mia

Partying over at:
Thirty Handmade Days
Someday Crafts

Sending Love....

 In a cute altered Target metal mailbox.  You can find tutorial posts of altered mailboxes all over but my favorite tutorial comes from Emily Giovanni (here).
 The first thing I did was paint a wood candle stick from Hobby Lobby with Gunmetal (metallic paint from Martha Stewart) it took two coats and then covered it with three coats of Wedding Cake.  Using a small piece of sandpaper I distressed the whole stick.  Using my Silhouette I cut out two vines and some paper flowers and adhered them to the base.

 My mailbox was all white the flag too.  I used BoBunny paper "Love Bandit" (This paper is from 2009) I also some SEI paper Juliette.    One side I chose just go to with hearts and the other side is a banner of Love.

I think that I am going to fill it with wrapped Hershey Nuggets.  Hopefully the person who receives it will be thankful, likes pink (there is a lot of it) and is not allergic to chocolate.

  The pictures do not do the colors justice (taken with my iPhone) the flower on the stem is not at red as it appears.    I absolutely adore this project.  Took me three days to complete but I am in love with it.

Til Next Time,

~Mia

Partying at:
Craft-O-Maniac
C.R.A.F.T.
Keeping It Simple Crafts
My Craftily Ever After
Sew Can Do
Skip To My Lou
Clean and Scentsible
Someday Crafts
Funky Polkadot Giraffe
Thirty Handmade Days
I Heart Naptime
Be Different Act Normal

Love such a silly little game....

Okay maybe not in real life but tic tac toe is a fun silly little game.  Stepping away from traditional Valentine colors I made a fun little Tic Tac Toe board and game pieces.
I started off with a piece of scrap wood I had laying about.  I seems to have lots of those as well as paint sticks.  Lucky for me this piece was 4.5 x 4.5.  I also had an open bag of 5/8 candle cups to use as feet for my board.

I painted the board with a mixture o  Pond & Blue Sky (both from Martha Stewart) and painted my "feet" in Wedding Cake.  I trimmed out the board with some bling trim bought in the $1 bin at Michaels.  Covered with a 4x4 square of chevron paper then topped it with a tic tac toe board out of silver vinyl.  I glued the "feet" on with craft goop.

Using my Silhouette I cut out twelve circles to fit inside twelve white bottle caps I purchased at Hobby Lobby.  I glued in my paper circles and topped them off with 6 x's and 6 o's I had cut out of the silver vinyl as well.   Topped off the entire inside of the bottle cap with a clear dimensional epoxy sticker.

The end result being a sweet little table top game.  I am thinking I might make or try to find a small muslin bag to keep the game pieces in.

Til Next Time

~Mia

Be'e' Mine

 Today is the 10th of January and if I am going to get all of these Valentine themed crafts finished in time I have a lot of work ahead of me.  Here is today's craft.

I started off with a 6x12 birch craft board.  Painted it with two coats of Poodle Skirt (Martha Stewart Craft Paint) and then a coat of Camellia Pink and lightly sanded the whole board.  The bee is from Miss Kate Cuttables here.  She offers daily freebies and that is how I got this little cutie.  I cut her out using my Silhouette.  Miss Kate's files also include jpg and png so if you have a steady hand you can cut them out with scissors and an exacto knife.

I have such a hard time deciding what font(s) to use on a project.  I went through 6 different styles cut them out on Silhouette brand chipboard laid them out next to my bee and eventually went with two different fonts. 

I thought at first I was going to cover the chipboard with scrap paper but I painted it instead using 1 coast of Pond (Martha Stewart paint) and then I went over it with a coat of Blueberry Slush (this is a glitter paint from Martha Stewart).  Little bits of life always need some sparkle right?  After the paint was dry I glued all of my project pieces to the board.  I am still debating on drilling some holes in the corners and using jewelry wire to make it hang.  I know Be'e' Mine is a bit corny hopefully it will appeal to my friends and family.

Til Next Time
~Mia

Love Blooms Here

  My second Valentine's themed craft was inspired by this post at Just Crafty Enough.  I had a stack of fat quarter squares that were given to me about 2 years hanging out in my craft stash and I thought they would be perfect for this.

  I started off with buying a three pack of mini plant pots, Styrofoam balls and floral grass at my local Dollar Tree.  I painted the pots with Martha Stewart Paint color Habanero.  Using my Silhouette I cut out the saying (font is BoyzRGross and can be found here) The saying is painted with Martha Stewart Paint color Wedding Cake.  (You can see where I messed up a little bit on the letter 'e' when removing the positive vinyl piece)  **If you do not have a vinyl cutter you could always use a stencil or even letter stickers.  Or even leave the pots blank with just whatever color you decide to paint them.  The only limit is your imagination**

 

   While my paint was drying for both the pots and the saying I cut out heart shapes from fat quarter squares.  Once I had two hearts cut out I hand stitched them together (my sewing machine is still in its original box never taken out to be used because well, I do not know how to use it maybe some day but today is not that day)  Stuffed the hearts with cotton batting and sewed them closed around a kabob skewer.  I cut the skewers at different lengths to create height adjustment.  The nice thing about using the fat quarters was none of my squares matched.  So my little blooming hearts are reversible!

  I used hot glue to adhere my floral grass but the hearts/sticks are removable so you can change which hearts you want showing with the saying (I only painted it on one side of the pots) I also painted my skewers in the Wedding Cake color. Here it is again all finished.

Til Next Time

~Mia

Linked at the following parties: 

My Craftily Ever After

I heart naptime

Love....such a simple little thing

So here I am getting ready for Valentine's Day.   I am hoping to create/finish 14 Valentine themed crafts this month to hopefully create a lovely looking mantel.  Let me apologize ahead of time for the lousy pictures.  I take them with my tablet or phone so they are not the best quality.

I started off with a piece of 12x4 birch craft wood purchased from Michaels for $1.99.

I painted the board with a couple of coats of Martha Stewart Craft Paint Wet Cement.  From here I thought I would paint on a chevron pattern in a turquoise color.  So I cut out a chevron pattern using my Silhouette Cameo and adhered the vinyl to my board.

In complete honesty I have never painted a chevron pattern before and with vinyl on I did not like the look of the pattern itself even before the paint was on.  Nevertheless I continued.  Painted the negative spaces with a combination of Martha Stewart Craft Paint Blue Sky & Pond.  After I removed the vinyl I was not happy with the results (I did not take a picture).  Back to the drawing board and waited for the blue'ish mess paint to dry and then painted another two coats of Wet Cement and one coat of Wedding Cake and then a final coat of the Wet Cement.  After the last coast was dry I went over the entire board with sand paper to create a distressed piece.

While I was waiting for paint to dry (such a fun thing to do) I used my Silhouette to cut out the word LOVE (font is Pharmacy which you can locate here) and three periods from Silhouette Double Sided Adhesive Sheets (you can find the sheets here or here).  I transfered the adhesive to my board and covered with Martha Stewart glitter Cotton Candy.  All in all I must say I am fairly pleased with the results.  A very simply stated Valentine craft (1 of 14 fingers crossed)

Til Next Time

~Mia

2014 is here...

I guess that is a bit obvious.  How did 2013 end for me?  Let's tick them off shall we....

• My DH returned home from deployment to the sand box (Early Christmas present for the Little George's and I :) )
• I weighed 167.5.  After starting the Paleo eating plan I ended up loosing 12.5 lbs.  I actually lost closer to 16 lbs but once my DH came home eating plans got kind of fuzzy and I ended up gaining again. 
• Still not the worlds best housekeeper.
• Our oldest Little George had surgery and his first set of staples in head.
• Our youngest Little George is now talking and enjoying his time at a local mom's morning out group.
• I cannot tell you how many books I read though the last book I read of the year was "Love in a Nutshell"  by Janet Evanovich and Dorien Kelly.

Here is how 2014 is starting out for me:

**As an added note I need to say that I had the cutest little running buddy with me.  Our oldest Little George (Soon to be 5!) ran the whole track with me. **

• Eating more primal than Paleo though my DH is starting to jump more onto the Paleo side of eating.
• Looking at February as being  a surviving on what we have month (again? yes but at least this time it will be self imposed rather than thanks to a clerical error)
• PCS in about six months.  Yes we know where we are going but it is the Army and you never really know til you get there.

And that is as far into the future I am going to look or post.

Til Next Time
~Mia