Feeling Nautical

I've been working on a few nautical themed things to have on my table at our school's annual fall bazaar.  

First, some beaded ornaments:

These ornaments use 18 gauge wire and assorted beads, with a sea charm bottom.  I also make these in summer similiar to the ones in the bottom picture with a piece of wire wrapped sea glass as the charm for sale in the gift shop.  Some people use them for sun catchers as well.  

Here is the problem with this project....I have bought WAY too many beads.  Once you start buying beads you can't stop, cause they are all just so darn pretty.  I want to share two cartoon memes that represent me and my beads LOL.  And based on the fact that I got these off other people's pages this must be a common affliction.

I have also been working on coming up with and painting different designs on my wooden bouys. Here they are in progress:

This is going to be a busy week for me at school, so just a short post today.  Thanks for checking out my blog!

More Thrift Store Fix Ups

Last night I decided to clean up the mess on my kitchen table by doing some crafts.  Funny but true! A lot of the stuff on the table was craft supplies that came in the shipments I got earlier this week. Let me say again how much I love online shopping.  When you live on an island and can get things shipped right to your door, instead of having to take a 45 minute boat ride, then a car ride to the store, lug the packages around with you, load them on a boat, and bring them home in a golf cart it's a blessing!  

You might remember some of these items from my Hospice Thrift Shop post (picture 1) and Good Will Finds post (picture2)

I have been posting a little along as I get them fixed up and repurposed.  It's still a work in progress, but things are starting to come together and many of them are showing up as part of my fall decor.

This pic shows some of the supplies I need to find a place for so my table can be used to eat once again.  Hmmm, why spend time searching for a place to shove store them when you can just make a few crafts and use them up instead.  Plus crafting is so much more relaxing after a hard teaching day than cleaning, so I deserve it.  (Sounds good doesn't it).

So here were go...

Here is the black stoneware vase from Good Will, filled with some red and brown berry stems and sporting the bow that tied up the box of acorns and pinecones in the picture above. I think the vase was $4, the berry stems were $2.99 and the bow was free.  I think its pretty cute for less than $7 and is actually much bigger than it looks in the picture.  It's going on the bottom shelf of my console table.

The rest of the little box of acorns and pinecones and some of the straw (which I got on sale for 60% off so less that $5 ! ) went into the little mixing bowl on my buffet.  The blessings chalkboard tray was one of those from the Hospice Shop I spray painted with Rust-oleum antique copper and chalkboard paint.  The little ceramic pumkins were a Dollar Tree score at $1 each, the flower and fall leaf picks were also from Dollar Tree, I wrapped the stems in some jute twine. The Welcome sign and ceramic gourd goose are down from the attic.  They both came from Terry's Village a couple of years ago.  I LOVE that goose.

Next I went to work on the wall pocket I found at Good Will.  I got a lot of fall florals on sale from Joann's online and if you spent a certain amount you got free shipping.  Needless to say, I spent that certain amount, and it was really easy to do, too (am happy to have found Joann's).  I was just starting to arrange them in the wall pocket when I finally remembered I was supposed to do a before and after.  So here is a (semi) before and the after.  

I  had planned for this to go on my front door like this pic from a blog I love Thrift Decor Chick.  But I really liked how it turned out and I noticed it matched the colors in my breakfast room really well, so can you guess where it is now?

The twin iron candle holder I decided to leave "rustic shabby" for now.  It looks nice on my hall bench some of my other attic treasures.  Picture 1 shows the cleaned up cropped version of the photo, Picture 2 shows the real bench scene with all our shoes and usually a few book bags thrown underneath.  

Don't you love fall decorations?  I think they are my favorite. Well I better get back to crafting I mean cleaning.  Bye for now!

Jute Wrapped Crafts

Hi!  It's been a couple days, because I have fallen WAY behind in my house cleaning / laundry / school homework duties.  Truthfully, I'm still there - so this will be a rather short post tonight.  Part of what has put me behind (other than feeling lazy - I won't lie) is a big shipment of craft supplies I got on Monday, which were followed by more on Tuesday afternoon.  It's taken me a couple of days to get them sorted out (also to clean up because sadly a couple of items came broken).

I have been seeing a lot of blog and Pinterest posts about items wrapped with jute twine.  I thought I might want to try some, so I placed an order for a few things to try in with my supplies that arrived this week.  So far here are my first two attempts:

a jute ball light - it's a jute wrapped battery candle stuck in a twine ball.  It's actually pretty cute in person...in the photo, not so much.

and a jute wrapped welcome candle

Here are some other cute jute wrapped ideas I have been thinking of trying:  (all items from Google Image)

Love the birds.  Must get a bird stencil.

Very cute, and I have some key charms from my jewelry, though not this big.

Well I'm afraid that's about it for now, but before I go I want to share with you something funny I came across on a blog while looking at craft ideas for Fall.  This was on www.suburbanturmoil.com, where she shared ideas for crafts she would NOT be doing this fall season - with funny little suggestions as to why they were off her crafting list.

Lorelei admitted to the other moms that she stayed up all night making Oreo Cookie Turkeys for her son’s kindergarten class.

This explains why she wept so loudly when they ate them.

- See more at: http://suburbanturmoil.com/17-pinterest-thanksgiving-crafts-i-will-never-make/2013/11/25/#sthash.uSaAuaeM.dpuf

This was my favorite.  Can you imagine how much work that would take?  Cute idea though, you've got to admit (but slightly creepy too).

Thanks for checking out my blog!  Do you have any jute wrapped crafts you want to share?  Please leave a comment.

Beaded Christmas Ornaments for Saturday Craft Day

Every year our school has a Fall/Christmas Bazaar.  Local businesses, artists and craftsmen, and the PTA and school clubs sell their wares, snacks are served, and island kids have pictures taken with Santa.  It's a good time and a great kickoff to the holiday season!  For the past few years I have had a table and I have already started getting together some things for this years event.

At the end of the summer I place some bead orders, and they have begun to trickle in.  I like to make beaded jewelry and Christmas ornaments.  I get most of my beads off ebay from China,  They have good prices and I can buy in bulk.  I also deal here in the states too, mainly with Beadaholic and Kathee Killingsworth (and of course Hobby Lobby).  At times Walmart can have really good bead deals in their craft section as well.  They have these $1 and $2 grab bags, and I have gotten some really nice items.  Unfortunately this is hit or miss - they don't have them all the time, and when they do the selection gets picked over pretty quickly.

Last night I sat down and tried to organize my beads into color groups.  I try to keep them separate and sorted in small Rubbermaid containers from Dollar Tree, but believe me it's not as easy as it sounds.  And you don't even know the pain of stepping on a faceted bead that got away in your bare feet.  Not quite as bad as stepping on a Lego brick, but it's up there...

Today, I decided to try out some ideas I had for beaded ornaments using some of the charms I also use for my jewelry.  Here is what I came up with.  I had to hurry and take the picture before clearing the table for supper, so no tutorial today.  But I will try to post one sometime this week.  I am pretty happy with how they turned out.  Wish I could have spent more time on crafts today, but after being at school all week my Saturdays are pretty busy around the house.

Thanks for checking out my blog!  Happy Weekend everybody!

Autumn Leaf Projects For Fall

Fall is right around the corner now ( like tomorrow!) and I am making plans for catching some of the gorgeous sights to be had when the air gets crisp and the leaves begin to change. This led me to a search for fall leaves (did you know there are actual "leaf peeping" websites that predict the time of best color for certain areas?) and I found some wonderful projects I would like to share.  All images below came from either Google image or Pinterest.  I have tried to tag with the website or blog if it was listed.  

But first, let me share with you one of my favorite pictures EVER of N.  He was about three and I was taking a portrait for another family when I turned around and saw him playing in leaves on the ground.  I just fired off a couple pics, not knowing what I had until I got them developed.  Yes, my younger readers, there used to be something called film that went inside cameras to take the pictures on - and you had to wait to see them.

And now that I am sad over "where did my little boy go" let's move on to the projects.

This one caught my attention right away.  Love it!

Leaf art on a wooden panel from Just A Girl blog

These luminary jars are lovely!  There is a tutorial at this link:  Fall Mason Jars @ spark&chemistry

Images from Google image search

Love the framed leaf on plain burlap, the other would be nice on a piece of sheet music, a special verse, etc.

These leaves turned into butterflies are a great idea!  Thanks Martha Stewart.

I saw several ideas for leaf paint rubbings.  This was pretty, and would look great framed.

From bloombakecreate.com

And lastly an idea for an initial for your door.  There is a link to a tutorial at The Thrifty Abode that follows:

Leafy Initial Tutorial Link



And if you are getting married this fall, I think you should seriously consider this cake!  Gorgeous!

Do you have any fall leaf projects you'd like to share.  Please leave a pic or link in the comments and I'll share.

A Few Updates...

Here is a quick post tonight to give you a few updates on some of the projects I have been working on.

Remember the failed first try at making a chalkboard out of a thrift shop silver tray?  This is the one that all the gnats and mosquitoes stuck to when I spray painted it outside one afternoon.  After picking off the dried bug remains, a top coat of antiquing, and sanding down the trim to expose the tarnished silver underneath, it turned out pretty good.  The lamp is repurposed too, and painted with my trusty Rust-oleum Hammered Copper.

On Monday I picked up a pack of fine line chalks and a pen type holder from Michaels.  I went looking for a "chalk marker" to write on my DIY chalkboards, but they were out.  I hoped these would work OK instead, and I am happy to report that they do.  Still want to get a chalk marker as they have a wider tip and would be good for big writing, maybe I can order one online.  I so love online shopping on Tangier!  It saves a lot of time and money, and the packages get delivered right to the post office, or better yet my door!

Here I am sprucing up some of my thrift store finds from Monday.

 

So here's a peek at my console table with the finished shelf sitter, the black (thrift store) crock, the picture with the mat and frame I spray painted, and another chalkboard tray all dressed up for fall.

In snacking news the candy corn is all gone (and I'm hoping since I have satisfied that craving it won't be back) and the key lime white chocolate chip cookies are almost done for.  I would also like to report I have become strangely addicted to those Sonic slushies with the Nerds mixed in.  I had another one on Monday (working my way through the flavors - tried the strawberry with nerds this time, it was good!)and I also saw they have brought back their deep fried cheesecake bites. Thank goodness Sonic is so far away 'cause I know I'd be there every day!  N. too, he is addicted to their chili cheese tots and caramel peanut butter shakes (but not together - EWWW).

Speaking of candy corn, I am going to leave you with a link to a page with a collection of recipes that use it as an ingredient.  I had seen a recipe before for homemade Butterfinger Bars that called for it, too.  Who knew you could cook with candy corn?  Who knew there were people who could make it last long enough to cook with it?  LOL

Click Here for recipes using Candy Corn

and here is the original candy bar type one I saw on allrecipes.com:

Homemade Butterfingers Link

and if you like recipes with odd ingredients, a facebook friend shared this today and said they were excellent:

~~ 7 UP BISCUITS ~~

INGREDIENTS:
4 cups Bisquick
1 cup sour cream
1 cup 7-up
1/2 cup melted butter

DIRECTIONS:
Mix Bisquick, sour cream and 7 up. Dough will be very soft - don't worry. Knead and fold dough until coated with your baking mix. Pat dough out and cut biscuits using a round biscuit / cookie cutter. Melt butter in bottom of cookie sheet pan or 9x13 casserole dish. Place biscuits on top of melted butter and bake @ 425 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until brown.

GoodWill Hunting...Thrift Store Finds for Fall

I am starting my blog a little late / or a little early depending on how you look at it.  I am up at 2:30 waiting for N. to come back home.  He had an ambulance call, and once that pager goes off and I hear him go out I can't seem to get back to sleep til he is home again.  I am proud of him for getting up in the night, he is usually a very heavy sleeper.  If only he jumped up so ready to go to school in the morning. Well, a mother can dream...

I had a very good, but very tiring day off yesterday.  The weather was nice, my dental checkup was good, and I spent the rest of the day til boat time shopping in Salisbury.  I was able to check out the Goodwill Thrift Store, Ross, Michael's, Family Dollar, and Cato's all between the hours of 11 and 3, AND stop for a quick bite of lunch when my poor gums quit hurting.  Let me say though, I like my dentist. He's really good - and he numbs up my gums with baby teething medicine before he starts (cause I can be kind of a big baby when he gets that pick out).  But it's still...shall we say...uncomfortable for a while.  Some nice soft cheddar and bacon fries from Hardees helped them feel right much better, however.  Hardees would not normally be my first choice for stopping to eat in Salisbury, but I wanted something quick, and those things are delicious!

I was not really all that impressed with Salisbury's Goodwill store.  The prices were high!   I went in looking for glassware and mis-matched plates and china for a project, and while the selection was larger, the prices were much more than I have paid at the other two thrift stores I go to.   I did find some decorations though to help me fix up my kitchen and breakfast room for fall.  Here is what I came home with:

Oh, and Chinese food for supper too, as seen by the fortune cookie slips and pot holder left on the table. Remember in my Fall Door Decor post when I was mad that I had seen a wall pocket at another thrift store and didn't pick it up?  You can read about it here ( Fall Door Decor Link ).  Well, I learned from that mistake.  This one is in very good shape and has nice colors for fall.  The candle sconce is is rough shape, but I think it will paint up good as new.  The outer frame on the picture is going to need a new paint job too.  But it said my name, so how could I resist?
  
The decorated stoneware crock I really liked, and the other thing that I don't even know what to call (a shelf sitter?) caught my eye sitting nearby. The three platters were my best find.  They are heavy stoneware in cream with raised rope trim.  They are "Octavia Hill" by Tracy Porter.  I think they are actually dinner plates but they are huge!  And a bargain among the other over priced stuff at just $2 each.  They are really much prettier in person than the picture shows.  These will not be a project, they're staying with me.  

Ross and Michael's yesterday was a treat!  Lots of great items on the shelves and good sales.  I can't show you everything I came home with, because lots of things are going to be presents and such.  When you live on an island, you learn to shop for presents year round, because your shopping time is limited. So, whenever I see something that would make a nice shower/wedding/baby/birthday gift I pick it up.  Luckily I have a big attic and I can store stuff.  Not so luckily, as I have learned the hard way, it that it gets very hot up there and things with hot glued decorations, wax, or candles tends to melt. Here is a peek of some things I got for me.

You might remember in an earlier post ( link here ) that I told you if you were ever in Ross and saw Brent & Sam's Key Lime White Chocolate cookies you needed to get a box.  The last few times I have been in Ross they have not had any. It's a hit or miss thing.  They usually have some variety of Brent & Sam's, but not this one very often.  So, imagine my excitement to spy a Brent & Sam's shaped box with hints of lime green as I rounded the gourmet food aisle.  Imagine my panic when I realized there was only ONE box and there was another shopper already down the aisle in its vicinity.  The urge to run her over with my shopping cart was strong.  But instead I abandoned my cart, ran walked down the aisle, said "excuse me" as I squeezed past her cart, grabbed them and kept going.  Poor thing, she looked confused.  Sometimes you see these in the mini size cookies, and they are the best, but these will do...The other thing I picked up was this really cute bird themed wall art.  It's colors are just right for my breakfast room when I need a change.

At Michael's I was able to pick up some craft supplies, a few cute home decor items to stash away as gifts, and a "chalk pen" that holds fine line chalk for writing on chalkboards.  I wanted a chalk marker, which a couple of people told me is great for those DIY silver tray chalkboards I have made.  I saw the space for them, but sadly they were out.  I hope what I did pick up will work similarly.  

Lastly, I stopped in Cato's.  I think Cato's is a regional type store mainly in the south, so you may not have heard of it.  It sells nice women's clothes, jewelry, and accessories at a good price.  I love their jewelry section, there's always something nice.  And their purses aren't bad either.  Of course I've almost never met a purse I didn't love.  If you are ever around a Cato's check them out.

And please check back in here at my blog when you get a chance, and feel free to comment.

Candy Corn Madness

So, I was in line at Walmart on Saturday, innocently minding my own business, when I happened to glance over to my left and saw IT.  Lord help me, it's Candy Corn time again.

I have a problem with candy corn.  Mainly, if it is anywhere around me I think I have to eat it.  In large quantities.  Until I get sick.  Get the picture?  And I thought I was the only one until I decided to Google it, and found out I am not alone. Thanks Google.  

On Saturday I was able to be strong and resist because: 1.  I was able to tell myself just how sick I would be on the long boat ride home if I ate said bag of candy corn and 2.  After I dug through the entire 4 foot tall candy bin I couldn't find this...

Indian Corn candy corn!  If there had been Indian Corn it would have been all over!  And don't even try to tell me they taste the same, they do not.  Yeah, I Googled that too.  LOL


I found out a lot of things about candy corn in my Google searches.  For example - while I had seen the Autumn Mix with the pumpkins (which I don't like, but some people must because they have a fan club all their own) I had not the seen the different flavored varieties.  This Milkmaid Caramel Corn looks tempting, but I think I'll stick to Indian Corn.

This also looks to have potential...

But these are just WRONG...

               

Here are some awesome candy corn craft ideas:

Must do this.

Painted Gourds via Google image search

and this.

via sweetdesigns.com

Love this.

cottageinthemaking.blogspot.com

and to whatever road crew thought of this I applaud you.

5:00pm Update:  Just when you thought the danger had passed.  Our little grocery store on the island gets their big supply of freight in once a week on Thursdays.  Thursday is known as "sale day" when everyone rushes to the store to buy fresh produce and see what new items have come in.

What are the odds, but after school today as I was scouting out the items they were putting on the shelf what should they unpack but a bag of Autumn Mix with the Indian Corn...As they say in the movies "resistance is futile".  And it was.