Jeweled Letter

As with many projects, this one started out as something different.  I wanted to make something unique for my grandmother's birthday.   I had planned to take this letter and put flowers on it, but when I realized my flowers were too big, I knew I was going to have to improvise.  Luckily, I remembered I had a huge bag of beads leftover from my mom.  I used them to decorate the letter and it ended up looking pretty awesome and being super easy.

I started out by spray painting the letter gold, because that's a color I had and I knew I wouldn't be using it for anything else. 

 

I don't know if it was the type of paint or what, but it didn't take any time to dry.  Once the paint did dry, I got out my clear glue and started gluing down beads.  I put a small dab of glue, threw some beads on top, and then added some more glue, and so on.  The smallest beads worked best.  I used a lot of 'seed' beads.  

 

All I did was just keep gluing and placing beads on top. I wanted a colorful look so I didn't do any pattern or even separate out the colors.

 

Once I covered the whole letter, I went back and filled in some bare spots.  I let it sit for a night, then the next day went back over a couple holes.  I then took the clear glue and put a small layer over the whole thing to 'lock' it all in.  I had a few drips over the sides, which I tried to clean up quickly because it ends up making a mark. 

 

I thought it turned out really pretty. It was a quick and easy project.  I'm thinking about making some for my house.  Maybe my initials or something.  I'm also playing around with the idea of doing more of a pattern, but that will require me to sort through my huge gallon bag of beads....not something I think I'll have the patience for right now.  :)

 

Polka-Dot Ribbon Wreath

Oh goodness, I have fallen into a crafting rut but hopefully this new wreath project has pulled me out of the depths.  It is so easy to get into the habit of just looking on Pinterest and not doing.  As I put away my spring decorations, I realized I really needed a new wreath...it had been too long since I had made one.  I've seen a ton of cute wreaths on Pinterest and it is hard to find one you like enough to take the time to make.  I found a cute wreath and the caption said it was a fabric wreath, but when I clicked on the picture to learn how to make it, I found out the blog where the picture came from was not a working link (grrr!).  But I studied the picture and realized the fabric looked like it had ribbon mixed it.  As I was standing in the isle at Hobby Lobby, I figured I'd just get ribbon- so much easier and cheaper than fabric I think. 

The ribbon was 50% off (yay!) and I already had a wreath at home.  I had bought the wreath around Halloween at Target for $3- it's great because it's a half circle- flat on the back so it will lay flat against the door.  I ended up using only five rolls of ribbon.  I picked out the pink polka dot ribbon first, then found the multicolored polka dot ribbon, and luckily found 3 other colors of polka dot ribbon that just matched!

 

I wasn't sure what length to cut, so I guessed. :) I don't think any two pieces were the same length.  All the pieces were right around a foot long though.  I tied double knots, and tried to stagger them so the orange wreath wouldn't show through.  I didn't use the multicolored ribbon as much as the solid color and I think it makes it look better.   I love a good craft project that allows me to sit on the couch and only took around 30 minutes.  I had a hard time not making a pattern since I'm so obsessive compulsive at times.  I do really like the unorganized look of it surprisingly.  

 

After making this wreath I really want to do another one.  It was super easy and would be a great project for kids because as long as you can tie a knot you can do it.  

I thought that adding a big bow or an initial would be cute.  I'd like to try making one using a variety of one shade of color (like all pinks).  

A fun afternoon project for sure.

:)

Enjoy- Miranda   

Peacock Wreath

Oh my, how time flies when you are having fun.  It's been a great summer so far...I've pinned hundreds of things on Pinterest and finally got around to actually making something.  I have found so many cute wreaths that it was hard to try to figure out which ones to make. I keep seeing way cute peacock wreaths so I decided to start there and attempt a peacock wreath- keeping my spending to a minimum.

Here are the supplies I used:

Wreath- found at a thrift store $4 (awesome find!)

Peacock- $11.99 (wasn't on sale this week at Hobby Lobby so I printed off a 40% off coupon)

Felt- 4 for $1 (I bought 20 but ended up only using 12)

  

 This wreath is huge!  It is hard to tell in the picture and I really can't believe I found two of them at a thrift store.  The wreaths I was basing this project off of used four or so peacock feathers.  I didn't want to buy a long feather and just cut off the end, so I found this little peacock guy and liked him way better than just the feathers.  Many of the peacock wreaths I saw used a lovely pea green shade of felt that my local store didn't have.  I adjusted though and found a deep purple that just matched the feathers of the peacock (although in the pictures you can't tell how pretty it is- it looks way too dark).  I have made flowers out of felt before (click here) so I did the same thing for this wreath. I adjusted the size of the circles I cut out to compensate for the larger wreath (a candle holder did the trick for a pattern circle).  I ended up being able to cut out six circles for each piece of felt, so I ended up making 72 flowers.  I cut out the flowers and hot glued them on.  I was done in less than an hour with the whole thing!

 The placement of the peacock was probably the hardest thing to figure out.  I ended up moving him over and let his feathers fall back and off the edge of the wreath.  

I hot glued him down, then started on the flowers.  I hot glued the flowers after the second fold to keep them closed, then hot glued the back and stuck them to the wreath. 

The finished product.  I really wish the flowers didn't look so dark (I even took it outside to take a picture and it still turned out looking dark).  :( 

 My peacock buddy, so stinkin' cute!

This has to be my favorite wreath!  After getting inspiration online, I made it my own, and for a lot less then what they were selling for- which makes me really happy! :)
I bought some more materials for another wreath...stay tuned for how those turn out!  :)

DIY - Sun catcher

Oh goodness! I haven't posted anything in over a month!  I've come to realize that working full time makes it a little harder for me to thrift store shop and blog about my cool finds.  I usually work 9-5 and those are the same hours most thrift stores are open so that puts a damper on my fun. But in the evenings I have plenty of time to surf through Pinterest and find some awesome ideas.  

Recently I found a neat idea for a sun catcher made from plastic beads.  The directions were simple enough, pour plastic beads into a cake pan (no liner required) and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. This project sounded super simple and since I had all the materials at hand I thought I would give it a try. 

I had a huge bag of beads handed down from my mother (she makes jewelry and these beads were leftovers from her) and I knew there would be plenty of plastic beads.  I had to go through the beads though because I found out a lot of them weren't plastic.  It took A LOT more beads than I had originally thought.  But of course you can use whatever size of pan you'd like. 

 Before I put them in the oven and the bowl of non-used beads.  

I tried to use bright colors and stay away from darker colors.  I used all sizes and shapes of beads. 

So, the directions online said to bake for 20 minutes.  I ended up baking mine for almost an hour; I guess it was because a lot of my beads ended up being non-plastic and didn't melt or took longer too.  

One thing the directions did not mention was the smell!  The plastic smelled pretty bad melting. :( 

I waited for the pan to cool and then the sun catcher just popped right out.  Since I used such a variety of beads, my sun catcher turned out looking nothing like the one I saw on Pinterest. 

 Here it is hanging on our porch.  I just used some fishing line to hang it up.  It looks better far away then it does close up.  I'm going to try another one, but for the next one I plan to go buy some beads (when they go on sale of course, or at a thrift store!) that are the plastic you can see through. 

This was a fun little project for me, but I wasn't completely satisfied with the results.  That is the risk you take doing DIY projects. Just remember the fun is doing it- who cares if it doesn't turn out perfect. :)

Back Porch Table Make-Over

I'm sure everyone has been enjoying this warm weather.  I know my husband and I have.  We finally got our back porch cleaned off!  We have a great space that we never really used.  Our back porch is covered and extends the length of the house.  We have doors leading out to it from our living room and master bedroom.  It's awesome, but for some reason it just became a storage area instead of us actually using it.  Well that has changed.  My husband cleaned up all the stuff that had piled up out there, swept off the leaves, and washed off the swing we rarely used.  I finally found some reasonably priced cushions for the swing (only $12.99 each at Aldi's!) My husband has done a lot of yard work and planted grass seed in the back yard and it feels like a whole new area.  We love it and have been spending some quality time just sitting on our swing enjoying the weather.  A few weeks ago, I realized that if we were going to be spending more time out there we would need a table to sit drinks on and for storage.  We looked at the outdoor tables at a few stores and I couldn't find anything I liked and it all seemed way too expensive for something that would be sitting outside all the time.  So of course, being the thrifty gal I am, I headed to the thrift store and found an awesome table just like I had in mind. 

Here is the table (while it is still in the thrift store actually).  

Only $10!  I checked it out before buying it.  It's wood, stable, and clean.  

There were a few spots on top that looked like rings from candles or something.  

I liked the 'stripe' look and it made me thing of the stripes on my new swing cushions. 

 Once I got it home, I rinsed it off with the garden hose- looking back, I should have taken a cloth and really scrubbed it- there was some gunk stuck between the wood on the bottom.

 I found some paint at Wal-Mart (on clearance- one bottle was $3 and the others were $2).

Away I went with painting.  I decided to paint a pattern on the stripes and I alternated so each shelf has a different pattern.  After the first coat, I decided to paint the sides that I had left with the brown paint so it all 'flowed' and looked the same.  

The blue was a little too bright but the beige (that I thought would be too light) turned out perfect. 

 The first picture is after one coat and the legs/sides aren't painted. 

(Sitting the table on top of a card table was a genius idea and saved my back- thanks hubby!) 

The second picture is the final product.

 

Before this, I had never considered myself a painter, but I have to admit, I kind of liked it! I know I'm not the best, and the color ran down the sides in a few places but I don't care and really who is going to be looking that close to notice anyways? :)
The table is the perfect height to sit beside our swing and hold drinks on top, our radio in the middle, and pool supplies on the bottom. For items that are going to be outside, exposed to the elements, don't worry about spending a lot of money.  This table is going to get covered with wind-blown dirt, leaves, bugs, and lots of other 'stuff.'  No need to spend a lot, plus a quick rinse with the garden hose and it's back in business.
I think I'll be looking for some more goodies like this to paint.  It was fun and cheap- my favorite! :)

Yes, I do actually wear this stuff!

I've received some questions regarding the clothes that I buy at thrift stores- mainly from my sister who is still a thrift store skeptic, although she is coming around. After telling her about the amazing bags full of clothes I bought this weekend at our local thrift stores, she asked the question that most wonder about thrift store shoppers- do you actually wear these clothes? The answer is a big, huge, giant YES!
Of course I actually wear the cute clothes that I buy at thrift stores! Of course, I do wash everything first, or use fabric spray on the new-with-tags finds or any tricky fabrics. So many of my outfits I wear have at least one item that came from a thrift store or at least got on sale/clearance.
For an example, check out what I wore to church this morning.
The dress I bought this weekend at the Salvation Army- the tags were still attached! It was a splurge- more than I normally spend on one item at $12 but it was worth it! The denim jacket is from another thrift store and was $4. The shoes I purchased at Ross on clearance in December for $8.99. Even the bracelet I wore had been 50% off and was only $1.80.
So, totally cute, church appropriate outfit- from thrift store finds and the clearance rack for under $27! Yes, I do rock the great finds I stumble upon at thrift stores! :)

Vintage Framed Prints

I've always had the thought in the back of my mind that I was born in the wrong generation. I have a love for almost all things vintage and old. It is uncommon for my generation, with all the advancements in technology and growing up with such flashing entertainment, to truly love or appreciate vintage items. I'm an exception and love it. I love going to flea markets and always look for vintage items at thrift stores.
A couple months ago I ran into a gold mine at a local thrift store and spent about thirty minutes in one spot because of what I found. Some one (who probably owned a booth at a flea market) had generously donated some awesome vintage magazine ads and Life Magazines. I would have probably bought them all - $1.50 for the prints and $5.00 for the magazines was an awesome deal. But I narrowed it down to 11 prints. Now these are just too awesome to have sitting around so I decided to frame them and display them in my house as art. But of course, I didn't just go out and buy the picture frames- I found those at a thrift store too. All they needed was a little cleaning and a little paint. A few didn't even have backing- but the poster board the prints came with did the job.

I need a few more frames but here are the first round of completed frames with the prints inserted. There are a few toiletry ads that I am going to place in my bathrooms; won't that be fun?

One of my favorites was this guy! He is going to look great in my kitchen!

Now to actually hang them. I try to be as handy as my husband and hang pictures but I'm not that coordinated with hammering nails and always end up making at least three holes in the wall before I get it right. My husband found these 'incredible hooks' and man, are they incredible! You might have seen them advertised on TV before. All you do this push the hook into the wall and turn it, and then hang up your picture. They are awesome.
Look at this picture- both items are the hooks for hanging up pictures- different brands- but same thing. The one of the left came with 10 hooks, the one of the right came with 20 hooks. Which one do you think was cheaper?

If you guessed the package that came with 20 hooks you are correct! The package with only 10 hooks came from Wal-Mart and cost $5.97. The package that included 20 came from Deals (a store closely related to $1 shops or Dollar Trees- but they also carry higher priced items) and they were only $1!
To tally up my awesome art project we have:
$1.50 for the print
$1 for the frame
$0 for the paint and paintbrushes that we already had
$.05 for the hook to hang it
That brings us to: $2.55.
Awesome, I know. :)