Jazzed Up Handbag!

Summer time is officially here and I had been thinking that I wanted a "summer time" tote/purse to take to the lake.  Taking my real leather purse is totally unpractical and it seems like more than regular purse items end up in my purse when taking the boat out.  I was in Target and saw this cute tote for only $2.50! It was just the right size, a little oversized to use for a purse for all of those extra items.  Even though it was just the right texture and screamed summertime, it was kinda blah.  It needed only a little but of jazz to make it "Haley"  I decided to add some flowers that I use for scrapbooking and added a big rhinestone in the center.  Tada! In less than two minutes and for under $3 my tote is ready for summertime!  After using it this weekend, I am satisfied.  Got compliments too!!  :)

One day this week I will show you how you can get those big scrapbooking flowers for cheap!!  I haven't seen any posts about it, so hopefully I can teach everyone something new!

Wedding Necklaces: Does Jewlery Making Scare You?!

I was asked to make some necklaces for one of my coworkers daughter's wedding.  Of course, as always, I said Yes!  I tried my hand at making jewelry before, which I enjoyed it but it is definitely not my thing.  I am not that creative with beads; I will leave that up to Mrs. Dreibelbis because she can make some awesome-ly snazzy  necklaces!! Thank goodness we are able to trade beading for sewing, since she isn't much of a sewer.  My co worker was inspired by the necklace Mrs. D made for me, for her wedding.  Mine aren't as snazzy as the inspiration necklace but she needs five of them and I know they are on a budget so I didn't add as many shiny beads as I would've like.  However, I think they turned out really good.  The dresses are black and white with the girls carrying red roses.  So the theme is semi classic.

TUTORIAL:
Does making  jewelry scare you?! Well I was definitely intimated when I walked down the beading aisles at HL and Michaels.  There is soooooo much stuff! Very overwhelming!!  You only need SIX supplies !(for a basic necklace then you can branch out), ONE tool and less than TEN steps!  Nylon string, crimp beads, crimping tool, clasp of your choice and of course, the beads of your choice.
1) String your beads
2) Add your crimp bead
3) Add one side of your clasp to one end of the nylon string
4) Add the clasp and bring the nylon string back through the crimp bead
5) Follow directions on your crimping tool package for easy picture directions.  The crimp bead is what keeps the beads tight on the string without having a big 'ol knot, making it look more professional.  The bead actually flattens when you "crimp" it with the tool.
6) Add clasp and crimp bead to the other end of the nylon string, BAM! You are done!!!!

If you are feeling really snazzy with beads you can make a multi stranded necklace by adding multiple stranded beads to the same clasp. Each strand has its own crimp bead and all of the strands of beads are attached to the same clasp.  I like to add a few more beads to each additional strand thus having a little more variation within the strands.

 I didn't know where else to hang the beads .. .. ..  except on my kitchen knobs.

Once Again . . More Baby Burp Rags w/ Monogramming!

I don't know what it is about these burp rags but I can't stop making them.  Which is kinda of a good thing because I am getting to earn a little extra $$ to support the rest of my hobbies.  I was able to monogram on these last few that I did because my superfabulous Mom loaned me the monogramming machine.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE this thing! If you are thinking about buying one, go get it!! Cause you will use it alot.  The Singer Futura that we (ha! actually Mom) bought has been really user friendly.  I literally took it out of the box, read a tutotrail that it came with and went to town.  Mrs. Rooster and I monogrammed for two solid days!!  Here is the latest of the rags.

Graduation Invite

Since I am known as the super creative person in our office, one of my co-workers wanted a super snazzy kindergarden graduation invitation for her daughter.  She was impressed with the birthday invite that I did and wanted something similar.  Sorry, I had the scratch out the information . . .

Easy Fixes with DYNAMITE OUTCOMES!

Mrs. Rooster here again . . . . to get you caught up to date on craft projects in my world, I have been nesting at my office and redoing my office space. I went treasure hunting again and I picked up a superb purchase. I really wanted a shelf with hooks so I could come into my office hang my purse, keys, and jacket. I had found several cute shelves at HL and Wal-mart but they were not in my budget (my very tight, tight, tight budget $$$). As I was browsing through our local Goodwill I came across a sad and broken shelf. It was hideous. However it fit the profile for shape and style for the shelf I was wanting. This wonderful piece of treasure was purchased at the low price of $4.99! I was on cloud nine!

I took off the wooden spindle's, took the door off of the front that was held in on with hinges. The hearts are cute but not the style in my shabby chic office, so they had to go. The decorative heart piece was screwed in so with a few twist and turns of screwdriver this show piece was ready to be prepped for paint. You know I had to paint it...it is a NO for the office in that baby puke green...YAK!

I picked up a can of black spray paint - $3.49, and a box of two wooden spindle's $2.34. I went home and glued the spindle's in with Gorilla Glue. (side note - if you don't have Gorilla Glue, invest in some - it is must have in the world of crafts and refinishing things) I applied a little wood filler to the rough spots and screw holes and let dry. The next morning I sanded everything down with a piece of fine grit sandpaper to a smooth finish. This only took like 15 minutes. I whipped out my can of black spray paint and went to town!

For less than $11 I got the exact shelf I was looking for at 1/3 the cost of retailers. This project was super easy, really fun and best of all it didn't break the bank! Happy treasure hunting!

Easy Door Handle Redo

About a year ago King broke his key in the lock on our front door.  How?! Yeah, I'm not to sure.  He's not a patient man when it comes to things such as the lock giving him trouble.  However, he was gracious enough to get it replaced the same day.  He got the darker brushed bronze lock, but I don't think he realized that it didn't match the existing handle.  Of course, I saw on a few blogs where other people where spray painting theirs and I decided to do ours (especially since there isn't anything "wrong" with the handle, just the color).  I totally forgot to take a picture of the spray paint that I used.  I think it was Rustoleum Metallics and a regular dark brown.  Here's my tutorial:

I am contemplating taking off all of our "builder gold" handles and painting them too! That would be a pretty time consuming project.  It seems like we have a ton of doors so I am not 100% sure if I will actually do it or not.  However, I am definitely going to paint the ceiling fans, we only have two.  I was inspired by another blog (sorry can't remember where).  King is going to think I am crazy!

Filler Up!

In our home there aren't a lot of places to set decorations & etc and besides I really do not like clutter! However, ever since we have moved into this house I have wanted to fill up a space in our hallway with a piece of furniture and fill it with pictures of our families and friends. Finally had a little extra cash to buy a decent piece of "new" furniture.  Let me know what ya think!

 I know there aren't any pictures in those frames.  LOL  I haven't been able to make it to WG to pick them up!  In the pictures it looks like the shelf stands out from the wall ALOT, but it really doesn't.

Guest Bedroom Curtains & Pillows

I am slowly decorating the guest bedroom and trying to get this project done as quickly as I can.  I did a total redo on the existing curtains since the dark brown goes with the new color scheme.  Remember the curtains before, the two drapes with the valance, well the valance is actually attached to the drapes . . . they were really kinda cheesy. I took off the valance and jazzed em up!  Check out what I did . . . .

 (Remember this was the roomies room)

Made some pillows too!!  My first time trying my hand at "cording"  It was pretty easy, just be sure you use the correct foot on your sewing machine.

Maybe your curtains need a little redoing or just a little trim to jazz them up! I didn't even sew that trim onto the curtain, I HOT GLUED it!! LOL  Easy to rip off if I need to wash them!!  I know, I'm crazy!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Sock Monkeys!!

I am obsessed with the sock monkey!!  I don't know why but I really love them and I didn't even have one as a child (or atleast, I can't remember).  I really want to learn how to make some.  I see them on Etsy in all colors and sizes.  I guess I just need to come off with some of my HL money and buy me one!  LOL  I can't get enough of the Kia Sorento commercial, I could watch it a million times over.  My favorite part is when the sock monkey is riding the mechanical bull.  As you can imagine I was thrilled when these arrived in the mail from my fabulous Mom. (This picture wouldn't rotate. AHHHHH!!!)

Terrariums

Bible study has been moved to tomorrow so I am posting today!  Mom and I made some terrariums this past weekend. They turned out really fabulous! I was glad that she was here because I was worried that I was going to have to purchase a ton of plants to get a good variety; however, we were able to split the costs of the plants.  I suggest sharing this project with a friend like Mom and I did.  Under The Table and Dreaming has the best tutorial for this project.  I didn't use all succulents (like Stephanie does) in our terrariums because my Mom has a really good "green" thumb and knew what other plants would survive well.  Also, my plants are a little taller than the glass container.  I didn't want to spring for the really big glass container cause they are kinda pricey and since I am not good with plants this thing might die anyway! LOL  We were lucky enough to get the rocks and some moss at our local dollar store!!  Yay for dollar stores!  Can't wait for the plants to get a little more hearty and filling in the empy spaces.

Mrs. Rooster Does Shabby Chic on a Budget

Hello! I am "THE" Mrs. Rooster. Haley and I are WACO BFF's. Her and I get together to craft and let loose! I was telling Haley how excited I was about trying to redo my office space and really personalize it. She was totally on board with the decorating and she has helped so much. I didn't have much of a theme or budget to make this happen. It started out simply with a color scheme and I have built on it from there. One of my first purchases for my office space was a lamp that I got at Goodwill...yeah that's right, Goodwill! It was a steal. I found this lamp for a bargain price of $3.99. It was in great condition, but it did not meet the criteria for the color scheme. "Project Time" I thought to myself. But before I purchased I assessed if this lamp was worth the $3.99 and what it would take to make it in to "office space" worthiness. With a quick re-assurance from Haley, I was swiping my debt card and home it went. Here it is my proud purchase before it was restored to all it's glory..... this however is not so glorious!

 

Over the next couple of days at lunch I went shopping for a lamp shade. I found a great lamp shade to fit the design, style and size of the lamp and my office space. This is very important. You don't want to get a lamp shade that hides your lamp....what fun is that. It is the show piece to your lamp but it should not take away from it. I then stopped in at the local HL (I am becoming a regular there now) and picked up some beads, trim, fabric and fabric adhesive. I was ready to start this "Project". I got home, whipped out my spray paint can and went to paint the town...black! While letting the lamp dry I started work on my lamp shade.

This poor lamp shade was not going to cut it in the office space. Any one who knows me, knows I love sparkle, and shiny things! So I started with stripping down the lamp shade's seam pieces. I then measured and cut out my fabric pieces to go on my lamp. Once all my pieces were cut, I used my spray adhesive and Viola' it's got a new look. Not one to show anyone yet. I now needed to hide my seams, so with a little ribbon and my most trusted craft tool...the glue gun; I added the black satin ribbon trim. And because I love sparkle I added some beading, eyelash trim and I was done. This project took about an hour. I checked back on my base and it was ready for it's new shining crown.

I coinsider myself a beginner crafter and I found this project to be very simple, quick and budget friendly. So for less than $20 you can have a custom lamp that sits proudly on your table. Happy bargain hunting!

Happy Mothers Day!!

Wow! My mom and I had a fantastic weekend! We held a garage sale and made $230!!  One person's trash is another person's treasure! Thank goodness!!  I am so ready to share with everyone what I bought my mom!!  I was able to spring for a Cobalt Blue Kitchen Aid Mixer!!  Added the tag that I made in the previous post.  It looks fabulous!  Happy Mother's Day!

I received a Kitchen Aid Mixer from Mom & Dad this year for Christmas, a red one. (Oh it's snazzy!!)  I really love my mixer and I felt my Mom really should have one too!

Almost Mother's Day

I am very, very, very, excited to give my mom her Mother's Day gift.  I was totally a slacker when her birthday came around in March, so I kinda owe it to her since she is my MOM! And I might add, one of the greatest Moms of all time.  I hope (one day, since King and I are slow! LOL) that my daughter and I have the type of relationship that my mom and I have.  Yes, I talk to my mom on the phone every single day! LOL I don't think she checks the blog everyday, so I feel pretty safe that I can post the pictures of the card/tag that I made for her; however, I won't post her gift until Sunday, I definitely do not want to ruin that surprise.

Hope this served as a reminder for you to get your Mom something special- even if it isn't homemade. Although, I think homemade anything is better than store bought even if it isn't the best thing ever created.  It came from the heart.

Front Door

I couldn't make up my mind on what I wanted to do with the front door.  I have a half moon window at the top of the door and kinda assumed nothing would go well with it.  However, after blogging and seeing what everyone else is doing, I realized that I CAN have something on my front door too!  I felt with that the front door looked un-welcoming without a wreath or some kinda of decor.  Here is what I did.

Yeah, you see that unpainted spot from where the old lock use to be- it drives me CRAZY! Every morning when I leave for work I tell myself "I really need to paint that this weekend." I think this weekend might FINALLY be the weekend.  I purchased paint when I was getting paint for the guest room.  Hope I inspired you to get a little something to make your front door a little more welcoming.  Even if you're not a crafter, go buy something: wreath, sign, hanging basket . . . I think the front door sets the tone for the rest of your house.