Vintage Case & Buttons - Great Find Of The Weekend

One of my husband and my favorite things to do is to browse antique stores for hidden treasures.  Since our son did not go up to our cabin with us this past weekend, we were free as little birds to browse at our leisure.

Most of the stores we go into are priced pretty high so we always leave saying that we have to find estate sales to get what we are looking for.

Well, on our way home we hit a treasure of a shop.  Of course we're not always after the real valuable items, we go for more of an eye on decor.  We were able to pick up an old fishing rod box/case, some wall hooks, a broken paddle (like I said - not always valuable stuff!), an old window frame and some faucet nozzles.  Other than the fishing rod box, these will all be refurbished into other decor items.  We were quite excited.

But then, hidden under a table, was a great find for me and my craft room!

A vintage case perfect for storage..........but wait......

It was full of old buttons!  I love to use buttons in my craft projects and the more unique they are the better.  I felt like a kid in a candy shop.  Not only did I have a cool storage box but I had contents that I could use.

I can't wait to surf through and get inspired for another project!

Nature Inspired Lamp Shade

I was expecting to get some creative inspiration once I got to our cabin this past weekend.  What I wasn't expecting was to find inspiration already on our drive up there.

It was a beautiful sunny day but the air was frigid.  The temperature was just below freezing.  As I looked outside the car window, I was astounded by the beauty of the trees.  There was a coating of ice over the branches and the sun glistening down on them made the branches glisten like diamonds.

I tried to get a picture as we were moving at about 78 miles per hour.  This will give you a little bit of an idea anyway although it doesn't come close to doing it justice:

After seeing that, I knew I had to incorporate the look into one of my crafts.  I had just finished a lamp shade that I had covered with birch twigs.  I wanted to make those twigs glisten like these trees.

This morning I went right to work on adding that sparkle to my shade.  All I did was glue on some clear glass sequins and here is what I ended up with:

I like the lamp so much better now!  I've decided that I am going to totally redecorate the old playroom/gameroom and make it my own personal office.  This lamp is one of the first items that is going in it.



Happy Friday!

Happy friday everyone!  I love the weekends especially when we are heading up to the cabin.  It's been a busy week and I'm excited for a little down time. 

I haven't been up to the cabin in a little over a month and I can tell that I need to refuel on the inspiration for my creativity!

So, watch out next week.  I'm going to be raring to go!

Turning Cartons and Cans Into Craft Storage

I wish I could say that I totally completed organizing my craft room yesterday but the lack of sleep was having its affect on me.  At times I felt a little like a walking zombie!  I did manage to create some more craft storage out of a six pack carton and a can.

I had done this once before and have a completed tutorial for the craft on my website:

So, yesterday I did this:

and this:

So far, a can of soup and a couple of six packs have outfitted my newest storage section!  I have a few more six pack containers to decorate and then I will reveal the whole storage unit.



Starting Craft Room Project On Lack Of Sleep!

Yesterday was one of those very unproductive days.  Things came up that I had to take care of so nothing got done in the craft room.  Today I am getting started but I'm a tad bit sleep deprived.

While waiting for our son to finish a class last night, my husband suggested going out for pie and coffee.  Excellent idea! I thought....I ordered decaf because I'm quite sensitive to caffeine.  Apparently more sensitive than I thought.  I woke up at midnight feeling jittery.  I finally got up around 1:30 and got caught up on reading blogs until about 3:30.  I'm never usually like this.  Normally I could sleep through the house falling down!

Anyway, I'm not so sure this is the best time for me to be making decorating decisions but it's started and there's no turning back now.

I needed storage shelving in my craft room and it occurred to me, in the middle of the night, that I might as well use a bookcase that was in our upstairs computer room.  This room had started out as a playroom and was transformed into more of a teen gaming/computer room.  At this point, I want to totally redecorate the room anyway.  I had started making it more of a whimsical reading room when my son wanted to take over one of my daughter's old bedrooms for his gaming room.  It needs a total redo to be what I really want so I might as well start tearing it apart.

Here is the bookcase I'm using:  (its the tall, heavier one)

Unfortunately, I had to carry the bookcase down two flights of stairs to get it into my craft room.  I skipped my jazzercise class this morning so I figured I could use the work out.  As I was struggling with it down the stairs, it occurred to me that I fell down the stairs a few years ago, for no particular reason, breaking my toe badly.  I felt like this was risky behavior. 

Well, I did make it and the bookcase is in place.  I even started to paint the inside.  Now, I am excited to get my craft room organized and lookin good.   Hopefully I don't fall asleep.

Gloomy Weather - Great Day For A Project!

As to be expected in Michigan, after the first few mild and sunny days they are sure to be followed with a reminder that the wintry weather is not yet over.  Today is cloudy and we have a winter weather advisory starting tonight for a mix of snow, sleet and rain.

Instead of getting down about the weather change, I'm trying to look at it as an opportunity to get some projects done.

I love this quote:

All seasons are beautiful for the person who carries happiness
    within.
                                                                                 - Horace Friess

So, today I will be getting caught up on some jobs I've been neglecting in the house.  One big job is to get my craft room reorganized.  I sure make a big mess when I'm working on a project.  I have a couple ideas for new projects but can't get started until I have a clean space to work in!

I also have one more area of my craft room that needs some rework.  Maybe I will get inspired today to get that in shape.  I have my storage containers figured out, I just need some sort of shelving.  The key is to come up with something fairly low cost.  I love revamping furniture but haven't found anything to fit the bill yet.  Who knows, maybe today I will have my "aha" moment!

Journal Cover - The Big Transformation!

In my post from yesterday, you saw my dull boring black journal in much need of a makeover.  Well, I got right to it!  Once I get an idea into my head it's hard to stop me :).  Plus, I was so excited to try something using mixed media.

So, without much further ado......here is the big reveal:
You really need to enlarge the picture if you want to see the detailing in the texture....

Ta Da!!  It's pink and it's girly.  It has two of my favorite elements - a bird and a birch twig.  And the bling! - I just had to add some clear glass sequins to add a little sparkle.

This was so much fun to do that I think I'm just going to have to do some more.  I already decided I need to have one journal at home and another one up at the cabin.

I did share my tutorial on my website, Rustic Crafts, so if you are interested head over and take a peek!

I Need To Bling My Journal!

I bought a journal quite awhile back.  In fact, my first entry was 6/28/2009.  I now have exactly six pages written in.  My intentions were very good.  I was going to make a steady habit of writing my thoughts and feelings down and also keep some fun memories alive.  At my age, I am already forgetting details that I thought I would always remember!

It's not that I don't have lots of thoughts and important events to write about - I do!  I just haven't been inspired to pick up my journal.

I decided that maybe it is because my journal cover isn't very inspiring:

It's just black....kind of depressing.  I have some crafty friends that have made some great journals using mixed media art.  Those journals - I would pick up and use.  I just know it.  Since I am crafty myself and have been dabbling in mixed media, I thought why not give my journal a makeover?

So, that is exactly what I am going to set out to do.  I don't have an exact plan yet so any input would be greatly appreciated! :)

If it happens to turn out wonderful, I will do a tutorial on my craft website.  If not, well at least I will show my results here....and then maybe buy a new journal!

What A Landing!

My husband, Chuck, is an avid hunter.  One of his favorite things to hunt is ducks and he just got back one of his prized trophies from the taxidermist.

Now, he has gotten a few mounts done before of Buffleheads and Mallards that were very graceful and serene.  This newest mount, however, looks like the position I would be in if I were to be dropped from the sky!

Wings and legs all over the place!  I want to say "Don't worry! I'll catch you!" It is so cute seeing the ducks in this position - especially their little feet all stretched out!  We were going to bring this up to our cabin but it looks like they might just stay at home in our study.

Spring Has Sprung

I am positive I heard a robin's chirp this morning!  That means it has to be official - Spring is here to stay.  It has been a long cold winter in Michigan but this past week has brought warmer temperatures and it absolutely cannot go back to frigid air now.

I picked this little bird up from one of my favorite stores in Ann Arbor, called Seconds, around Christmas time.  Among the antiques are several crafty items like this bird.  Anyway, this little guy reminds me of how the robins will have to dress if the weather turns cold -  their little feathers bundled up like a down pillow.

I was a little concerned about the robins because we are known to have some pretty big snow storms yet even in April.  So, I did some research.  I found out that robins can actually withstand pretty cold temperatures.  This was from a news article just published last week from the dailylocal.com.  Apparently, it's the food source that they need to be concerned about.  As long as there is not a deep layer of snow, they are still able to feed on worms.

So....NO MORE SNOW!!!!!