Tai Pan Copy

Last weekend, my wonderful husband gave me the morning off and took our son to his parent's house, leaving me with time to rest and to do some crafting.  I ended up walking over to Tai Pan Trading to drool over the decorations.  I just love the stuff there! Even though it is very reasonably priced, I still have no extra money to spend on decorating right now.  So, I found some cute things I could copy.  I just love doing that! I get a deep satisfaction out of making something cute with stuff I already have.  Mostly because its free, but also because it helps me use up junk I have lying around.

So, this is a Christmas decoration I found that I absolutely love.  Too bad it costs about $20.

This is an old canvas I had at home that I used to copy the Tai Pan decoration.  It seriously needed a make-over.

First I glued some scrapbook paper onto the canvas with some Modge Podge.  I drew and cut out a bird and stuck that on top.  Then I used a little ink to outline the bird and to distress the edges of the canvas to make it look a worn.  I love the antique worn look!  

And this is what I ended up with!  I'm happy with it.  It looks a whole lot better than it did before.

Photo of the week

This photo was taken by my sister Lindsey.  I've always loved this one.  So beautiful.

Cinnamon Rolls

 

I'm trying out some new cinnamon roll recipes in preparation for the Holidays.  For some reason my cinnamon rolls always get really crusty and dry.  Maybe all cinnamon rolls get crusty after the first day.  Who knows?  I found a good recipe at The Speckled Dog . These rolls turned out a little softer than usual and the cream cheese frosting is yummy.  So give it a try if you are in the mood! 

Vegetable art

My trip to the Utah State Fair was a let down, mostly.  I expected it to be more that it was, I guess.  However, there was some great art on display.  I managed to get a few pictures of my favorite pieces because these things are just adorable!

I am not a squash lover, but this one could not look any better!

 

If you're looking for a way to get rid of some zucchini... turn it into a boat sculpture!

Arrrrrr! This is a great looking pirate pumpkin!  This reminds me of the first pumpkin my husband and I carved for our first Halloween after we were married.

 Can you guess what this is?

Nope, not a watermelon.   A gourd! How did they do that?!!!

Watercolor flower #2

Another watercolor experiment.  I think I'm finally getting the hang of it.  This was really fun to do. I've been having a hard week, so it helps to paint. It relaxes and calms me.

Photo of the week

My favorite carnival ride- don't you love the fall?

Flower Rolls

My newest creations are some little things I will call " flower rolls"- I really don't know what else to call these things.  They look like flowers and you make them by rolling up some ribbon or fabric, while hot gluing them along the way.

I used some ties from an old shirt that was falling apart to make mine.  And then I tried ribbon.  It was wide ribbon, so I folded it in half first. 

A little tip: for the large roll in the middle there, I snipped along the edge of the ribbon before rolling and gluing it together, making sure not to cut through the whole strip.  That way the edges are a little frayed and it looks for flowery.

After I made the rolls, I glued them, with a bit of fabric on the back, to some string.  I may use these for a necklace or headband.  Haven't decided yet.

Photo of the week

I have procrastinated blogging about my adventure on the Engh Homestead in Nevada.  So this picture will have to do for now.  It is a desert wasteland, but it has its own kind of beauty, sometimes :)  More pictures to come on my other blog, so, until then... be glad you don't live in sagebrush!

Toddler Table Make-Over

We have needed a little table for my almost-two-year-old to use for a while.  We found some cute ones at Ikea and opted to buy an unfinished set because it was a lot cheaper.  I was just going to stain it, but then decided to paint some designs on it first. I made stencils for the elephants and birds.  The leaf designs I found a stencil for in a really old book from the 70's.   

So this is a look at the table after I finished painting the designs with acrylics. 

 

Next, I applied 3 coats of Polycrylic  finish, sanding in between coats.  I chose this water-based finish because its safe to use over acrylics. 

Here's how the table looks now- all painted and protected and ready for my son to make messes on.

Eric Doodle

This is sketch I made of my husband, Eric on his I-Pod Touch.  I just happened to come across it today.  I had completely forgotten that we had saved it to the computer! We have so many files on our computer that things end up lost and forgotten in some weird folder that I never look in.  Anyway... enjoy a look at what Eric would look like as a cartoon! :)

Hydrangeas, I think

I got a few pictures of some pretty flowers yesterday and I wanted to share.  Hydrangeas, I think.  These flowers are amazing because their color depends on the acidity or baseness of the soil they grow in.  The things you learn being married to a former Chemistry major!

Happy Labor Day!

Thank You Card

Ok, so I made this one a while back.  I haven't been able to make stuff or post as much lately because I started physical therapy.   That takes up a lot of my time.   So I pulled out something I had already made and was waiting to be posted.  This is a similar design to a birthday card I made a while ago.  I have so much fun with the doodling!