Creativity

In the time since we lost Clara, one productive, life-giving distraction for me has been doing different crafty or creative projects. I've been quite prolific these last few months :-) 

I made about 8 of these personalized Starbucks cups for Christmas presents with my amazing new toy-a Silhouette machine that cuts paper, vinyl, fabric etc into any shape you want :-)

I also made a bunch of shirts for Christmas presents with the silhouette.

And one for my niece's first Birthday party

I cut paper hearts on the silhouette and sewed them together with red thread for a fun Valentines banner 

I found a nasty $7 lantern light fixture at the Habitat ReStore near my house and fixed it up! I love it! 

Another silhouette/ReStore project. Got a cabinet at the ReStore, painted it with chalkboard paint and then added vinyl I cut on the silhouette for the words.

My biggest project so far was redoing my BFFs main floor bathroom while they were out of town. With only a little help from Chris, I did the project solo! The surprise element made it even more fun to paint and redecorate (and I got to use power tools and cut wood to

make the mirror frame-so much fun!) I also got to be there for the surprise reveal and she loved it!!

My most recent project was another ReStore find-wooden leaves from a table that were $1 each. I had the paint so this big statement piece for our bedroom cost $3 total!! I love it. And I'm so pleased it doesn't look like a 5 year old painted it (I'm creative and crafty but I'm no artist)

I've got a few more projects in the works and it's fun for me to see what I'm creating with my time during this odd and painful season so I'll continue posting projects as they happen 😊

Ottoman remix

We have had this $99 ottoman from Overstock.com for about 6 years. The rips from little fingers have gotten to be an eyesore and its just too tempting for kids to start picking the foam out from inside. So, I sprung for another Overstock ottoman for the living room but wanted to reuse this one.

After searching for fabric and not being able to make a decision, I remembered I had a curtain from our old house that wouldn't fit any windows in the new house. And it fit perfectly for the ottoman!

I hot glued some cotton (free) into the tufted parts (they were really deep and I don't want the foam eventually sinking into them), covered the whole top with foam (about $5 cut to order at fabric store), and staple gunned the curtain (free!). Really happy with it and it matches well in our orange accented bedroom!

Tile Coaster Tutorial

Through the wondrous organizational tool of all things beautiful (Pinterest) I found this idea.  And it was as easy as promised and with good results!  Great, cute, cheap, little gift!

Materials:
4x4 Ceramic tiles (I got mine for 16 cents each at Lowe's)
Mod Podge (and something to spread it with)
Beautiful Scrapbook paper cut into 3.75" squares
Clear Spray-on Sealant
Felt cut into little squares

I actually had everything but the tiles already on hand which made it even easier to execute this little project as an impromptu present for Ella's preschool teachers.

So, #1 Utilize any able-bodied small child who won't drop the tiles to clean them off for you to prep them for the project

#2 Set up any other small children with something exciting to do (I let Sadie have water on her tray! I know, I'm a wild woman) and strap them into something where they can't eat the Mod Podge.

#3 If you're brave enough, let the older child use the paper cutter to slice up the squares slightly smaller than the size of the tile

#4 Don't get frustrated when the child will only make weird faces for the camera

#5 Admire your pretty squares!  We did purple and black for one of Ella's teachers who LOVES the Ravens and blues for the other teacher for no particular reason.

#6 Grab the Mod Podge and slather on a coat on the naked tile, then on top of the paper.  Let it dry and repeat for 2-3 coats. And don't freak out if you're new to Mod Podge-even if the papers look wet or darker or cloudy when you paint it on, they'll dry clear and normal looking.

#7  I didn't take a picture of the next step but when the tiles feel dry, take them outside and give them a good coat of the Spray Sealant so they'll actually be waterproof for the glasses that rest on them.

#8 Gather your felt (you can even coordinate the colors if you're feeling fancy) and glue it onto the back of the tile in each corner.

#9 In this case, since Ella helped and they were for her teachers I let her write "Love, Ella" on the back of each one in Sharpie

#10 Tie 'em up and send 'em off! Easy and Fun and Useful! I made a set to match our new green living room the next day and I like 'em a lot.

See! I can be spontaneous! Really!

I'm not a big risk taker.  I'm not very last-minute or "fly by the seat of my pants."  But I can enjoy a quickly planned gathering from time to time.  So, last weekend some friends came over for a spur of the moment craft night (I know.  I'm wild.)  Our daughters ended up with a trove of mommy-made hair clips by the time we were done. And I'm happy to report Ella has worn one almost every day this week!) Here's how we did what we did...

Artsy-ness

 It has become clear to me that I have not spent enough time on artistic endeavors for the last few years.  I'm not an excellent artist so I've shied away from creative tasks because I tend to like doing things I KNOW I'm really good at.  Crafts and such also require time and planning which is hard with 2 kids and grad school and a full life.  But, excuses aside.  It really feeds my soul to tap into my creative side so I've been trying for a few months to do it more often.  I'm writing more, singing more, taking pictures more, and crafting more. So, stay tuned for more crafty blog posts!  Here are some pics of a couple projects from December :-)

Coffee Filter Wreaths and Trees

Penguin Ornament

Potato Stamping!

I am a craft lover. So, on my first Tuesday to not have to work in about 18 months, I was excited to do a fun craft with Ella. And it was successful!

First start with a couple of potatoes

Wash them, cut them in half and dry them off

Draw a shape you want to stamp with

Let Mommy cut it out!

Start Stamping!

We found that painting on the paint worked better than dipping into paint

Plus then you can get a little creative :-)

We will definitely do this again! Super fun and easy!