project 10

10 projects in 20 days challenge:

i'm done.  i did it!  so what if i started out planning to do all this in a mere 12 days.  i'm pregnant and working, and yes, i'm going to pull both of those cards now to justify my use of time.  there were truly a few days were i just couldn't face raising a finger after i got home from work.  but i managed to get 10 rather involved projects completed this month, so i still think that's pretty good.

my last project had been looming over me.  i saw this beauty long ago (somewhere, didn't keep the link, sorry!) and loved the idea and colors... but this person used canvas (expensive) and a $40ish set of vinyl decals.  not in my non-existent decorating budget...

i'm sure vinyl would have made my project much easier, but i figured, i can cut paper, right?  and although today i can barely straighten my finger from exacto knifing for so long, i found that i can in fact cut paper pretty well.

i had the perfect spot in mind, over my bed, so i got a long piece of wood cut to size ($5), grabbed a couple bottles of acrylic paint ($1.50 each), and got to work.

i sanded and painted the board with the green of my choice, then started in on the hard part.

for the flowers, i sketched out some flowers on the back of the paper using ideas from the above picture and from searching for other vinyl flower decals online. 

then i spent a whole lot of time cutting all of them out with my trusty exacto knife.

i flipped them over to get rid of the pen marks and laid them out on the board.  i would have liked to have more flowers and more dimension like the original project i saw, but by the time i got this far, i just couldn't face cutting out any more!  and there is my dog involved as usual.... she kept walking across the board just when i'd get the paper laid out like i wanted...

i glued them down with just a glue stick and am thinking i want to find something to spray on to seal it, but i don't want to change the texture.... any tips?

i'm going to add picture wire to the back and mount it, so once i have it up, i will have our bedroom finished!  i'll post pictures once it is in it's new home.

project 9

10 projects in 20 days challenge:

i had originally put on my list that i wanted to get those last three boxes unpacked from our move almost a year ago... you know how some boxes end up with just your random junk thrown in when you just have a few things left to pack up?  three junk boxes in closets for a year, time to be purged.  except there turned out to be a lot more than three hiding out....

there were a total of 7 boxes of junk...  holy pack rats!  but now they are empty and that is what matters!  note the furry helper present in my pictures.  she can't miss the action.

my last two projects are finished, well, technically i am finishing the last one right now, but it will be done before the night is over. and since it is night 20 that means i met my goal! and i already had the ice cream to celebrate it, just because it also happened to be 31 cents a scoop night at baskin robbins. my friend, sarah, always knows about these types of deals and clued me in! tomorrow i'll get both projects posted, one is a tricky, time consuming tutorial, but is turning out great!

also, my shop, and specifically my copper coil earrings, were reviewed in a vlog at writrams.com, a great blog that makes me laugh out loud about the crazy things that happen to her.  she is doing a giveaway of a necklace or earrings of your choice, so hop over to her blog and sign up!

see you tomorrow with my last two projects!

project 8

10 projects in 20 days challenge:

this project wasn't on my list either... but i have etsy loved it for so long here at and furthermore.  sadly for that shop owner, i am too cheap and decided to go forth and create my own.  i won a bid for three plastic doilies on ebay and they came this week, so i just had had had to make it and hang it up right away.  and it only took me a few minutes to stick together!

ta da!  a long loved doily clock, all of my own.  and for cheap.

project 7

10 projects in 20 days challenge:

this project actually wasn't on my list, but it has been in my head for a long time and i was in the mood for it this weekend!  when we went to paris last year, i had been wanting to find eiffel tower art that i liked, but hadn't found anything that i liked or was in my price range.  so i found a vinyl eiffel tower cut-out and decided to make my own piece of art.  i think it turned out great!  you could use this eiffel tower art tutorial with any vinyl cutout...

you need:
a light color paint
a top color paint
vinyl cutout
1/4" plywood cut to the size you need
nuts
screws
washers
drill
sander


i bought a piece of 1/4" thick plywood and cut it to a size just larger than my vinyl piece.

i sanded both sides and edges down to smooth them out and then put on a thin coat of off white paint.  i didn't worry too much about getting great coverage because this is just an undercoat to peak through in the areas i distress.

after it was completely dry, i put on my top color.  i had a really hard time finding the shade of green i wanted, so i lightly mixed two shades.  i didn't mix them completely to give a little bit of a streaky depth to it.  

after this coat was dry, i took my sander and it the edges and corners to rough them up a bit.  i also went over the whole top to tone it down a little and bring a little of the white through in a few areas.

the next step was a two person job, i measured out where i wanted the vinyl piece placed, and then paul helped me lay it on the wood straight and smooth it down.

 

 i drilled holes in all four corners for the mounting.

then i used self drilling screws, nuts, and washers for the mount.  the nuts went behind the picture to give it some space between the wall and the picture.

i wanted an exposed hardware look and for it to float on the wall, so i used the washers, nuts and bolts to mount the picture (another two person job).

here is a shot so you can see the space left behind by the nuts, i liked this extra touch!

pretty simple and you could use any cut out of vinyl you want.  i wish i had one of those fancy vinyl cutters so i could make more!

project 6

10 projects in 20 days challenge:

this weekend i worked my little tail off cleaning and cleaning and cleaning our house.  and i spent a large chunk of time in my craft room on one of the projects on my list: cleaning it the heck up.  it still has a couple piles because there are projects in the works that i didn't want to totally put away and forget about, but it is a huge, huge improvement!

before

after

before

after

all done!  i have a fun tutorial for my next project that i'll post tomorrow!

project 5

10 projects in   12   20 days challenge:
so it's been 10 days... and i've kind of done 5 projects, kind of.  i'm cheating a little on this one today...  see, i put on my list to make a new necklace design and the one i had in mind totally flopped.  i had quite a lot of jewelry orders to fill this week so i made lots of necklaces, including a new color of my vintage beaded necklace design for my shop.  i'm going to say that is my new necklace design for the list, even though it's not really a new design...  kind of a cop out!   but i have been busy all weekend and will have more projects to post soon!

 i don't think i'm going to make my 12 day deadline at all... maybe i'll shoot for 20 instead, but either way i'm still taking myself out for dessert when i finish these 10 projects!

project 4

10 projects in 12 days challenge: 

project 4 was a fail.  i tried to make this great necklace i had been thinking about, but it did not come out like i had planned... at all.  unpostable.  so i'm gonna have to think on it and replace that project with something else.

my next project is these earrings.  i have lots of ideas for stringy hoops and want to try adding some beading into the string, but thought i'd start simple just to get down some technique... which was really pretty simple, but i like the result.  what do you think?

project 3

10 projects in 12 days challenge:


my third project was attacking my messy car.  it was getting out of hand in there....

grossest find: a melted sour gummy worm that had hardened under a seat- sour gummy worms were one of the only things that sounded good in my first trimester so i kept them in my car to eat on the go.  apparently there were casualties.

most valuable find:  a roll of quarters!

before:

 

after:

project 2

10 projects in 12 days challenge: 

i have been a busy girl this weekend getting some of these projects going!  i finished these owl prints that i hung over the crib.  i was actually going to only make one, but i decided it would be too small and lonely... so can i count that for two projects?  

they're very similar in design to the baby quilt that i want to make, but i thought i'd try them with paper first to get the feel for piecing them together.  i was trying to decide on what to put on the quilt and prints, so i asked paul if owls were boyish enough.  he thoughtfully said that they are masculine, because they are fierce predators... so there you go! 

project 1

10 projects in 12 days challenge:

i started small.  these plants bit it big this winter when we had some unusually cold arizona nights.  they have been sitting dead on my patio since january, making me feel the guilt of a murderer.

so i hit up a nursery and planted these beauties to liven up my patio.  i'm hoping they are tough enough to survive our upcoming summer.  my husband already told me that they will definitely die...

in their new home...

and i had a happy little helper rolling around in the grass while i planted....

we'll see what project i can complete tomorrow!

it's done!  mission accomplished and in plenty of time!  i had about five other projects planned for before the baby comes, but i refused to start any until i actually finished this one, and i'm glad.  i think it turned out great and will be great for him to hang out on, because it's pretty thick and soft.  on to the next project....

i have a very ambitious friend who is doing 10 projects in 10 days on her blog.  i am not quite as ambitious..., i mean, really just 20% less ambitious.  how about 10 projects in 12 days?  that way i have two get out of jail free cards in case i just don't have it in me?  if anyone else wants to join in, you can link up at her fabulous blog.  we are working april 7th-17th (or 7th-19th for other slackers like me).

here's my list of highly ambitious goals:

1. clean out my car, seriously clean, like with a vacuum and sprays and rags and stuff (this includes finally taking the huge piles of plastic grocery bags floating in the backseat to the recycling tubs at the store).

2. make a crib sheet

3.  clean my craft room the heck up

4.  make a new design of earrings that has been on my mind for weeks

5.  finish my over the bed artwork

6.  plant some new plants to replace the ones that died from our rotten deep freezes this winter

7.  make a print to put over the crib

8.  make a new necklace design

9.  design and buy fabric for a baby quilt

10.  unpack (or throw away) the last 3 boxes from our move almost a year ago.

ok, if i can actually do all this stuff, i'm gonna take myself out for a deliciously unhealthy dessert.  or two.  yum.