New Year's Eve craftiness

Here's another craft I did for the local paper, making your own stickers for glass identification. No more lost and lonely drinks! 

You can find the instructions here in the Trib Local section. This can be so fun! It's a real ice breaker too! Have the guests find their matches. While I made some suggestions (like using movie star names) ... there are a few others...

* Start and stop a joke like "Why did the Chicken cross the road?..."

* How about quotes such as "Rejoice not because Roses have thorns... but because thorns have roses."

* Match the quote to the author (this could be a good one). 

* What about digging out your box or Trivial Pursuit and doing some questions and answers?

* Hit the dictionary and match weird words with definitions.

* Songs and singers

* Famous children and famous parents

* Or maybe you want to play match maker and do a sneaky set-up at a party and quietly maneuver who gets what glass? ;)

And what I love most about this craft is it's not just for New Year's. How about baby showers, wedding showers, family reunions, the Fourth of July?

Who can't resist finding their other half?

Happy New Year!

Jen

A year in review: favorite furniture make overs and projects

Cindy from My Romantic Home is hosting a year in review and so is Rhoda at Southern Hospitality. I thought I would post some of my favorite projects and make-overs. I added a few extra pics for Rhoda's party. 

Love this curb side find! 

And I am so glad

I painted my coffee table red. Some day I would love  a grown-up fancy rectangular table, but right now with little heads running around, oval it shall be. Plus, it's so sturdy, it makes  a great stage!

 Loved this pumpkin planter... 

and how about  the magic of paint, a shelf and some permanent adhesive squares?

I loved my new faux paneling my ugly un-paneled bathroom door with molding,

and having my Gram's couch reupholstered. My Dad grew up on that couch!

A little garbage picking here and there..

some hand painted tea towels

and chair make-overs.

I painted an old mirror new for my downstairs bath, now the kids can actually see where to wipe the chocolate off of their faces.

I loved re-painting this table! I loved this table! I was so sorry when it was gone!

And repainting and recovering this bench. I would say it was a good year. I know next year is going to be  even better. I'm excited to have even more furniture make overs and craft projects to share!

Also, pop on over to the Blissfully Domestic Style  page to enter to win one of my Queen Bee Tee's and a bunch of other yummy prizes! You have until Saturday, January 10th!

Happy New Year!

Jen

The evolution of a baby nursery

I've been asked  a few times to share more pics of the baby's nursery. I am always hesitant, because it's kind of a work in progress, and not on purpose.  

But, there is a bit of a story behind it, and I'd like to share it with you . 

When I found out I was pregnant with my first over 7 years ago I had never done  a large scale mural. I had never gone to art school and after being a firefighter and then a health care worker,  my art was relegated to mostly sketch pads, but I always had  a secret love of paint. 

Ordinary pink, blue or green were too simple for me (what was I thinking?!!!). I really wanted something cool and dramatic for our little one and didn't have the money to hire someone. Since we didn't find out the sex; I decided on a castle theme figuring we could then do princesses for a girl and knights and dragons for a boy.

So 7 months pregnant I climbed the ladder and got to work with my husband helping and doing all of the heavy base coating.

So we ended up with this, which I was pretty happy with and  ready to add more once baby was here. What I didn't realize is that after that baby comes, there is never another free moment to ever paint anything else let alone take  a breath (Poor number's 2 room was green. Straight, plain, normal green. See, I learned!). So it stayed as it was. The great thing is just from friends and family seeing this room and using me, then referring me, my painting and art business was born... who knew?

So finally, seven years later, I decided I needed to either add to it, or paint over it.  In the spirit of not wanting to prime an entire room, adding to it was the option. So I am slowly adding things as time and kids allow. 

These are my first steps.

A bed side Magnolia tree. 

So now it's becoming the Secret Garden room. 

Castle walls are becoming garden walls.

And a small bush is waiting for some blossoms.

This dresser  is next on the list as well. It's the perfect size for the little room, it just needs some paint and decoration. I realize the color scheme is heavy for a small child and would like to lighten it up a bit.  She is getting a big girl bed next year and I think adding a chandelier will really make it something... Until she wants Hannah Montana too!

Jen

I wanted to share some tips with you for surviving the holiday!

HOLIDAY EATING TIPS

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. It's rare. You cannot find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat. 

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.

8. Same for pies - Apple, Pumpkin, Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.  

10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Re-read tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner. Have a great holiday season!

Have a Very Merry Christmas and a very happy holiday!

Jen

 

Another ha!ha! Starbuck's moment

I was surfing around one of my favorite blogs One pretty thing and I came across another blogger Inspired Kara.. Do you know what this brilliant, talented woman did??

 She cracked the code on the infamous Starbuck's wreath that inspired my yarn tree and figured out how to make one....  She has an awesome tutorial and great pics.

This is for you Heather.. ;) and for all of you other Starbuck's wreath drooler's like myself...

~Jen

HI! any one stopping in from any of the holiday tours like from the wonderful The Inspired Room, the 6 posts before this are all of my festive home holiday decorations and fun holiday crafts!Enjoy! 

Happy Holidays, Jen

A crafty craft for the snowiest of days

Snowed in!

Okay, not exactly, but it was  a snow day today and we did get almost 8 inches of the heavy, wet white stuff, a perfect day to craft instead of going out! 

So how about one more before the craziness sets in?

In my holiday home decoration post I had shown these little guys. 

They are my wintery snow ball candle holders. 

They are so cute and white with just  a bit of sparkle for the day. And at night, with a battery operated candle in them, they just glow.

 I decided it was the perfect day to make a big, round snow ball candle.It uses a product called Snow-tex which is awesome. 

All you need is your glass candle holder, white craft paint and then either white glue and glitter or that sparkly glitter paint. 

After washing your glass, paint a coat of white acrylic paint on it and let dry. Then get your best smearing groove on and apply the Snow-tex. 

I just kind of smear and pat all over until it's totally covered. 

Let it dry for 3-5 hours where the kids can't reach it until it's hard and set.

Then you can leave it,glitter it, or paint on your glitter paint.

 And you end up with a sparkly white "snow ball." These would be so pretty lined up on a mantel ( I recommend battery operated candles for safety. ) and the best part is, that Snow-tex sticks to almost anything you could make  a picture frame, or do pine cones..... You can find it year round, it's normally next to all of the glues and adhesives and varnishes and such. 

~Happy Holidays!

Jen

Yarn tree tutorial

When I had spied the wreaths that Starbucks has with the ornaments and wrapped yarn balls, I was inspired to make these trees, but being the cheapo I am I didn't want to pay for anything except the yarn. This is a really easy project to do too, I bet my kids could have done the wrapping. They probably would've made it almost five minutes with out being bored.

 You'll need:

Cardboard or stiff paper to make the cone. I used a cereal box and stiff paper. A shirt box would work too. If you don't want to make the cones, you can go buy pre-made styrofoam ones.

yarn

hot glue

tape

white glue

glitter

Cut your box into a rectangle. The height is going to be roughly the size of the paper with a few inches cut off to trim the bottom. 

Starting at a corner; roll one edge of the cardboard tightly leaving the other end loose. Roll it into a  cone shape until you've rolled the entire piece. Tape. I used painter's tape because it's what I had on had. Any tape will do, it's going to be covered. Once you are taped, use scissors to trim the cone so that it has an even bottom.

I also rolled a smaller piece for the top of the large cone and taped it on because the stiff cardboard made it hard to get a tight roll. 

This one is on the paper. Put  a dab of hot glue at the top and start wrapping around and around. I only burned myself twice during the entire project, I think that's a new record. I periodically put a dab of hot glue to hold the yarn in place in case I needed to stop because someone needed some goldfish, a sippy cup refilled, or Barney played again for the thousandth time. If you find you have small gaps, push the yarn up a little bit to snug it up. When you wrap, you can make it look nice and neat and leave it, or go back and criss -cross it all over for a more organic feel.

After it's totally wrapped, when you get to the bottom,you might have to run a bead of glue along the edge to keep it on. When you're done, put  a dab of hot glue underneath the cone and glue the end of the yarn on the inside. When you finish one, start on your next one. You'll glitter all at once.

If you want to fill out a cone and make it really fat, you can use some old junky yarn you have laying around first as the base and then wrap over it like I did with the white over green. It gave it a really nice, full look and I finally used yarn I've had sitting around for years. 

If you are going to do a striped one, overlap the yarn so you don't get any funky ends. Then just cut and change when you want to change colors. 

After you finish your cones, you are ready to glitter. Use white craft glue and dab it all over with a  brush. Here is one thing I learned about glittering: Sprinkle VERY lightly, almost just a dusting. I had to rewrap my green one because I was so heavy handed it was like Vegas instead of Christmas.

Shake of  the excess and let dry! Tah dah!

Yarn trees!

Ha ha Starbucks!

I also have a new Chocolate long sleeve in my Etsy store called The Queen Bee Tee and I have  a few more designs coming out too.

Happy Holidays!

~ Jen