by Val Frania
Heather at The Welcoming House asked me to share a DIY craft with her for her blog as a guest post. Her blog features everything from DIY home decorating to recipes. Please visit her blog and read about my DIY Pedestal Serving Dishes. They were super easy and cheap to make and great for Christmas! Let me know what you think!
Thrifty Decor Chick had a nifty Christmas craft on her blog Tuesday that I just have to share with you. You know, you think you've seen it all and wonder how anyone could come up with anything new – and then they surprise you and do. This is the cutest thing and I'm definitely going to do this for my Christmas decorating this year. Here's an excerpt from Sarah's "A Quick and Easy Holiday Project." "In the past couple of years I’ve fallen in love with holiday-themed pillows this time of year. I just think they’re a festive addition, and all you do is toss. Toss, toss! (Name that musical.) Throw one or two on a sofa or chair and the room instantly feels Christmasy. Try it. It works. Well the past couple of after Christmas sales I’ve picked up a few more placemats to make my favorite pillows EVER. … Read more
This is the second in my How-to Series on Re-purposing Old Picture Frames Here’s my first post with a list of 10 DIY projects to upcycle old picture frames. The plan was to do this last week, but we had a special delivery just after Thanksgiving. We welcomed in a new grandson. All my plans for the rest of the week went out the window! But, I’m back now with a nifty little project for you. It’s easy. It’s cheap. It’s useful. It’s a great decor item. I’m using it as a tool hanger in my craft room. but really, it could be used for just about anything. Use it to hang photos, craft supplies, kitchen tools, office supplies…anything goes. 1. I started with an old frame that I had used to display my kids’ sports pictures. 1. 2. To remove the glossy finish, I sanded the frame with a … Read more
Jillian, my youngest, started making earrings years ago when she was in highschool. Then April, my oldest started making them just a few years ago to sell on etsy and at craft shows. Not wanting to be left behind, I began making them as well and now I am totally addicted! I recently made about 240 pair of earrings over a four day period. Anyone want to count them and tell me how many there actually are? You can see I’m missing a couple pair – I had my mom pick out some that she would like for Christmas. When I say this DIY project is easy, I mean E.A.S.Y. I know, I know, I’m always saying these projects are easy, but if you know me, you would know I wouldn’t do a project like this if it was difficult…or messy…or intricate. When I taught school, I was known as … Read more
I'm almost embarassed to show you this DIY project. Not because I don't like it. On the contrary. I like it A LOT. But…since it was so easy, I'm not sure I can even call it a DIY "project." Last week I showed you how to paint a silver painted decorative vase. Today I'll show you how to arrange silk pointettia flowers in that same vase. Why do people pay $30.00 for a seasonal flower arrangement? Let me encourage you – Do it yourself! This is what I started with – a typical fake poinsettia plant. It cost me "nada." I like "nada." "Nada" makes me happy. Can anyone say, "Gag me?" I'm sure at one time it was considered lovely. OK, I'm not sure. But somebody had to have thought it was something of value. Sorry if you're the one who bought this for church. I got it about … Read more
A DIY Garage WorkBench My DH and SIL are starting a new business and needed a work area – one that is clean and organized. Since neither of those words describe our garage, my DH tore down one set of shelving in our garage and put together a new workbench. We get our garage door serviced from Titan Garage Doors Coquitlam I will let him tell you about it since I have no idea what he did. Let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start… Also, an experienced sheds builder in Charlotte NC says they chose the garage over the shed that they had intended to put it in for several reasons. More room Concrete floor Electricity It’s getting cold and it’s much easier going to the built on garage than the shed that I would have to shovel my way to in just a few … Read more
A Silver Vase for the Holidays Here’s another simple DIY spray painting project for you. I have a dozen clear glass vases from my daughter’s wedding two years ago. …along with a bunch of other stuff, but let’s not go there. I also have a bunch of similar vases that are left over from burning Candlewick candles that same daughter gave me. Sense a theme here? I thought about donating them, but who would want them? YET, there’s GOT TO be a use for them doesn’t there? So, the “saver” that I am (DH probably prefers “hoarder”) … Read more
My DH brought me home some gold and silver metallic spray paint because I mentioned it would look cool to paint maple leaves silver or gold. A couple of days ago I asked him to buy some blackboard paint and he came home with 2 cans of the gold and metallic paint. Here is the gold spray paint at Amazon (afflink) – Rust-Oleum Metallic Color Spray Paint. You know, it’s like when you ask them to buy milk and bread and they come home with a grocery bag full of other stuff. Except my good doobie hubby thought of me and bought me something that thought would make me happy. I had a friend tell me recently that her favorite Mother’s Day gift was a truck load of manure for the garden. Different strokes for different folks, for sure. He said he wanted to get me a DIY craft that … Read more
Canning Tomatoes for the First Time ~ with Mom ~ I honestly didn’t want to garden. I told my family I would watch with a lemonade in my hand while sitting in a lawn chair as they worked the garden. But I actually enjoyed the planting and working with the flowers and vegis. It was a bit disappointing when the surprise frost took the lives of half of our tomatoes, but you know what they say, as long as you learn from your mistakes… Now my kitchen table is full of tomatoes in various stages, waiting for them to ripen so we can can them. So I will be canning only a few at at time over the next couple of weeks. I’ll keep you posted. Of course I will have to show you a picture of all my filled mason jars when I’m done. We had a dozen or … Read more
Have you seen the newest DIY project for displaying family photos or signs and graphics like subway art and quotes? I’m in the process of setting up a store that will feature such things, but I ought not get ahead of myself…. When my daughter showed me how to create these canvases I was amazed at how easy it was. I probably shouldn’t share this. The mystery of such a nice piece of art is what sells it. I suppose there will be some of you out there that just don’t want to do it yourself, so I will offer to sell them in the future once I get a good selection. Here are a couple of canvases I have in my home. These are not on the stretched canvas, but on a flat canvas panel. For this project you will need an 8×10 photograph or poster. For this tutorial, … Read more