Playing with Letters

There are a few simple words that can sum up the wonder of Christmas...   

To make this I grabbed a couple wooden letters from 

Hobby Lobby and painted them red. 

Then outlined each letter with the glue.

And then sprinkled the glue with my red Martha Stewart Giltter...

I waited for it to dry and then arranged the letters close together. 

To ensure a seamless look, 

I painted one side of my popsicle sticks (that I cut in half) 

and then glued the popsicle stick to the back side of my letters.

My final product displayed next to my nativity scene on top of my entertainment center.

I also played with a large thinner wooden letters for this look.

 Again, I found them at Hobby Lobby for $1.99 (and they were probably 40% off the day I bought them-cause that's the way I roll!)

 I used some left over gold paint for a four letters.

And put the letters together the same 

way I did for "JOY" with popsicle sticks.

 My final product. Maybe I should I add a little glitter?

Anything they can make, I can make for less.

My mom has been known to go into a store, see something she likes and then go home and re-create it. Sometimes she has a picture. Sometimes a video. And sometimes she has just examined the details and has it all stored up in her head. I think I'm becoming like my mom...

In the December issue of Better Homes and Gardens I saw these adorable decorative balls made by wrapping yarn around a styrofoam ball. I decided I needed to try making my own.

Especially after I found the ornament at JoAnn's for $7.99!
I knew I could make it for less than that!

I started with a couple different sizes of 

smoothfoam balls from Hobby Lobby. 

I used two different type of thickness of white yarn. One with a thin silver tread woven through it. 

The layers don't need to be very thick, just cover most of the ball. 

I decided not to use them as ornaments or on a wreath but as a decorative accessory on my mantle. I'm loving the look!

Here's a close up of the two different types of yarn I used.

I hope this inspires you to get creative and try some of the things you see as you're out doing your Christmas shopping. Happy crafting!

Glitter

How about adding a little bling to your Christmas packages this year?  I decided to personalized my gift tags this year by jazzing up some chip board letters with glitter! Here's my pictorial tutorial on the how:

I did them in a couple different sizes too:

Countdown to Christmas

It's that time of year again... and I can't help myself. I LOVE to create! Along with making Christmas gifts I was inspired once again by my go-to-girls at Eighteen25 to craft-up a
Countdown to Christmas Clipboard.
Here's my version:

All the number for the Countdown are located on the back on the clipboard so it's easy for the kids to change the numbers each day.

Numbers 2-25 are black on white cardstock with a worn brown edge. I put the last day's number on yellow and outlined the number with a glitter pen.

I'd love to make one for you! 

FREE and practically FREE

I love to paint things! Furniture mostly. But I've recently discovered spray painting lamps and light fixtures. You can take anything that is blah and make it look "Ah-ha!"

I recently purchased 5 lamps at a thrift store, for $.99 each!

Lamp #1 started out looking like this:

Using Rust-Oleum Universal Metallic spraypaint in the Oil Rubbed Bronze finish 

(I also recommend Rust-Oleum Universal Hammered in Brown

I've used it for the builders grade light fixture over my kitchen table). 

And old lamp shade I found in my basement and some beaded trim, 
turned my lamp into something new and contemporary.

I got a little happy with my new found love for spraypaint. I painted the Brass & Nickel light fixtures in 2 bathrooms with the same Oil Rubbed Bronze finish. And found an old Brass lamp in my basement, (it  looked nice in my traditional living room back in 1997) but it needed an updated look. 

 Complete with a new lamp shade I found on clearance at Target. 

Here is my new floor lamp:

1 can (about $8.00) did 3 light fixtures and 2 lamps. 

Here's a closer look at the paint finish.

Onto Lamp #2

For a pop of color in my living room, I add a little of this:

and end up with this:

And now for the FREE stuff. 

I was out of town for a couple days and my husband picked up some things on the side of the road. Literally, the side of the road. FREE! He knows me too well. These are just two of the four things he brought home. 

I got a little too excited about this first table, I forgot to take a picture of the before. But trust me, it wasn't pretty. It had a couple tiny gold flower pins that were easy to pull off. So I did.

 I love love love this little table.

This tired table needed a face lift from me and some paint found in my basement.

I didn't really like this fan medallion on the front

So  I popped  it off and added a couple new more contemporary ones. 

After sanding and painting it black, here's my finished sofa table:

I think my family room is complete... until I find something else I can "re-do."

A Lovely Blog Award

My sweet sister in-law (In my head I'm singing "sisters, sisters, there were never such devoted sisters") nominated me for the Lovely Blog award. I still feel a little new to this blogging world and SO enjoy meeting new people through it, so thank you Gretch!

The rules, should you choose to accept it: =)
1: Put the one Lovely Blog award logo on your blog
2: in a new post, share 3 things that you think are lovely
3: pass the award on to 3-5 other bloggers
4: link the nominees in your post
5: let the nominees know they have won the award by commenting on their blog
6: share the love and link to the person from whom you received the award


My Lovely Things:

Dessert, preferably something with chocolate
Spending time with my family and friends on the shores of Lake Michigan

Creating...

3 Lovely Blog Nominations:
(It's really hard to choose...but I can only do three)
Reese: My super creative & techy neighbor and friend (this girl has 4+ blogs!!!)

Darby: My favorite place to go and read about real life, enjoy great photography & be inspired 

Eighteen25 Sisters: My new go-t0-girls for fun and creative things to make

P U M P K I N

I've gone crazy for Pumpkin!!!

I've been stocking up on canned pumpkin. 

I heard that last year stores ran out, so I've been buying a can every-time I grocery shop.

Last week I made, Pumpkin Muffins (two kinds!), Pumpkin Cheesecake, Pumpkin Flapjacks, Pumpkin Milkshakes, Pumpkin Spice Muffins and Caramel Gingersnap Pumpkin Cheesecake. So thought I'd share my recipes with you!

Pumpkin Cheesecake has become a favorite among my friends. I must make it a half a dozen times each fall. 

 Pumpkin Cheesecake

1 (16oz) packaged pound cake

4 tsp pumpkin pie spice, divided

3 large eggs

2 Tb butter, melted

1 (8oz) package cream cheese, softened

1 (15oz) can pumpkin

1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 tsp salt

Combine the cake mix, 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, 1 egg, and butter in a large mixing bowl; beat at low speed with an electric mixer until crumbly. Press mixture into a greased 15 x 10-inch jellyroll pan.

Beat softened cream cheese at medium speed until creamy. Add remaining 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, remaining 2 eggs, pumpkin, condensed milk and salt; beat until blender. Pour over cake mix mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until set. Cool completely in a pan on a wire rack. Cover and chill. Cut into squares.

These Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins are Super Simple and SO yummy!

Pumpkin Muffins

1 box of Spice Cake

1 can pumpkin

1/2 cup water

3/4 cup chocolate or cinnamon chips

Mix it all together, fill muffin cups and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. 

Pumpkin Muffins go really well with Pumpkin Milkshakes. The ingredients are simply:

For our milkshakes we used 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup pumpkin, 1 cup of ice-cream and a dash of pumpkin pie spice (or just cinnamon & nutmeg if you don't have pumpkin pie spice). 

We added some crushed Oreo to our milkshake, yummy!

Let's not forget about the Pumpkin Flapjacks!

and for this recipe go here.

And then there were the Pumpkin Spice Muffins. I made these for the ladies in my Bible study and individually wrapped them. It was to remind them that our God is sweet to us!  This recipe was from the Pioneer Woman, check out the recipe here. 

And last, but not least I made the most delicious but-impossible-to-get-out-of-the-pan Caramel Gingersnap Pumpkin Cheesecake by the Pioneer Woman (I forgot to take a picture & TPW wouldn't let me copy hers). If you decided to make this, I think I'd leave the caramel out on the crust portion and only add it to the top.The recipe is here.

Happy baking! I'd love to hear about the pumpkin things you like to make.

I MADE it!

I've discovered and started following some new blogs lately.
MADE has quickly become one of my new favorites.
This is where I was first introduced to the Circle Skirt, made out of one big piece of fabric cut into the shape of a circle, with a hole in the middle. So more like a doughnut.
Of course I had to try it!

Go here for the tutorial on the Circle Skirt. 

Blogger Dana suggests dying the wide elastic for a fun contrast, 
so I had to try that too! 

And as long as I'm dying elastic, how about a coordinating shirt too!

Yea, that's a double thumbs up from my Sidney. 

Thanks Sid, it's fun making things for you!

It's fun to twirl in your new circle skirt! 

I made one for myself too and I'll post about that later.

One of biggest trends lately are silk flowers on t-shirts, headbands and pins. I had to try my hand a making a couple. Martha Stewart has a great template for cutting out flowers. Check it out here. 

Happy

Fall

Ya'll!