Pin-spiration

I've been on Pinterest again. Surprise! Ok, being on Pinterest isn't the surprise. Actually making some of the things I saw is the surprise. Some of my creations were closer to the originals than others. This first card was more inspired than copied.  The card on the left and a little below is from this website the one on the left (obviously, note poor photography skills) is my interpretation.

I cut the flower from a page of an old book I found at a used book sale. The only thing I bought just for this card was the crystal for the flower center. Every thing else was from my stash.

This was the Inspiration for my burlap pumpkin wreath.

   

It turned out very cute and was easy to put together but...the burlap is a little..umm...well it's stinky.  Sadly, I'm going to it take it apart and remake it, because I strongly dislike the odor. I'm going to use green and orange netting next year.

My last Pinterest inspired project, on the right, is a birthday card inspired by the card below.  I'm sure this simple and adorable design will show up again. Maybe next time it will be even look more like the original. Well a girl can hope!
 Happy Crafting!

I'm Stuck...

Yep! On Pinterest. I've become addicted to pinning. I've found a lot of inspiration! I have boards for craft ideas, quilts, gifts and just cute findings. Surprisingly, I have a recipe board! I cook only because starving isn't an option. So far the projects Pinterest have inspired are a baby quilt for my new niece, a mug rug, a cup cozy, a scarf organizer and a greeting card organizer. I don't really need any more craft ideas. What I need is more time to do the crafts.

I pulled out the kids scrapbooks and realized I'm "only" 5 years behind. That's more than half of the Beans life and Sissy graduates from high school next spring. It might be nice to have her scrapbook ready for a graduation party. A mom can dream *sigh*.

I have finished a couple of projects this winter. This baby quilt was inspired by Pinterest.

My first potato chip scarf, modeled by Sissy. It made its debut way back here.

Hopefully, with the help of Snapfish.com and my new friend at the scrapbook store in town, I'm going to get some scrapbooking done. I'm also still working on organizing the storage room.

Craft Project

It's a craft! It's an organizer! It's finished!

My necklace holder ended up being a bit of a group project, Honey had to help me find the right size screws for the knobs and drill the holes. I'm not allowed to use his power tools, I have enough trouble with my kitchen appliances.
Cute and functional! Love it!

Crash

The big living room decorating project is finished! I had been planning and re-planning that project for years and now it's Done. Over. Finished. It's left me with a bad case of Post-Project Crash. A lot of energy and creativity went into decorating to the exclusion of other creative hobbies. So now what do I do? I don't have any other craft projects underway, or even planned, and the scrapbooks are so far behind it's overwhelming. One of my favorites quotes is "Where you mind goes your butt follows". My mind was creatively empty, stuck in a rut and so was my behind. The only thing I was creating was a dent in the couch!

How did I go about getting out of my rut? I did some immersion therapy at Hobby Lobby! Hallelujah! Ah (sigh) the inspiration! Just looking at the craft supplies, baskets, and flowers got my creative juices flowing. I came home with the supplies to start a necklace holder and a list of other ideas! No more putting all my creative eggs in one basket. When I clean up the craft area all the pretty things that inspire my creativity are out of sight. Not a good situation for a visual person. If that means my craft area stays cluttered with the things that spark my imagination, I'm ok with that! I hope Honey's ok with it.

January Wrap Up

Here it is February 1^st and time for my first Stuff Mart wrap up. The month started with the kids saying "What do you mean we aren't going to Stuff Mart?" to "Mom, you didn't go to Stuff Mart did you?" No Sweet Pea, I went to the grocery store. I spent less on my fruit, vegetables and milk; and saved time, 15 minutes not an hour!

I did learn a couple of things (so far) from my project. First, I like being resourceful! I wanted a pocket protector for my purse (it's an organizational geek thing) to keep the pens separate from my phone. The solution was a nylon pouch from a reusable shopping bag and a safety pin. The cost – zero dollars!

Our next on the spot solution was to take pocket folders, fold them backwards and 3-hole punch the open edge. Instant pocket dividers for a 3-ring binder! Again zero dollars!

Along with being creative with what we have, we have also been "shopping" our house. The list of things we didn't buy because we had it or something similar that met our need is pretty long. The most dramatic is a jacket. I told Honey I wanted a fleece liner like he has for work, the one I had in mind is about $50. Honey was getting ready to tackle the ice and found and extra liner in the guest closet! That's real savings not spaving! (Spaving: spending money to save money. An example is buying 4 of something to get one free when you only need one.) I got that from Not Buying It, My Year Without Spending by Judith Levine.

I went to Stuff Mart (drum roll please) THREE times this month! Even though I wasn't at Stuff Mart every other day, they are still open! They will survive without me and me without them. I spent A LOT less than last years' monthly average. That makes Honey happy. I won't know until the end of the year if my project pays off, we have back to school and Christmas to get through. I'm already seeing some benefits and expect to see many more in the upcoming months.

Crafty Day 2.1

Sunday's weather (more snow, more cold) lent itself perfectly to extend crafty day! This time Sweet Pea wanted to do a project. After a quick trip to the craft store Sweet Pea got started on her projects: decorative pillows for her room. Music and Hello Kitty! Sweet Pea made a paper pattern, pinned, cut and (be still my heart) sewed them!

Just a mere 3 hours later she had 2 pillow shams and a stuffed pillow! Congratulations Sweet Pea! You worked hard on your pillows and it shows! They look great!

Crafty Day

Today I got to spend some time in my much neglected Happy Place...

My craft area!

The fabrics for my stadium blanket have been in the project basket since fall '09 ( no that's not a typo). There's also another blanket just waiting to be assembled. Maybe that will get done tomorrow. It might be a football game project.

Today's second project was a napkin holder cover. That project hasn't been on the list very long but it's a nice little pick me up for the table and me! Especially needed with the cold and snowy weather we've had the last two weeks.

Now it's time to curl up with my blanket, put on a movie and work on a dish cloth!