Free Blocks for a Little Peace & Joy

I'm always on the lookout for free or low cost projects.

I'm always happy to find bits of  leftover wood

and low cost paint.

This project combines the two

for a total cost of under $2 for twelve blocks.

While digging for some old blue jars in storage,

I found bits of wood.

My bf's family had repaired the local bandstand

and these were the pieces that were left when they were finished.

I've been wondering just what to do with them

and had been hoping to make some angels,

but there's nothing in my stash that would make a good angel head

to sit atop the block of wood.

A couple of weeks ago,

while at Home Depot,

I'd purchased sample pots of Martha Stewart paint,

that were marked $1.

The colors are Barn, Cornbread, Sultana(green), and Francesca(black).

After the blocks were painted,

they were sanded with 60 grit to give them

the I've-been-knocked-about-a-bit-too-much look.

Gesso was then applied with letter stamps and a stencil.

(I like to use stencils.)

After the paint dried,

the letters were sanded with 150 grit paper for distressing.

The JOY blocks were washed with brown paint.

To finish things up,

two coats of Minwax Wax Paste was applied to seal in all the goodness.

Who doesn't need a little more Peace & Joy?

Below are a few more of my Christmas ideas

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Sheet Music Ornaments for the Christmas Tree & Holiday Decor

It's Monday after the long Thanksgiving weekend,

and I, along with many of you out there,

am recovering from the festivities today.

Fighting off the lethargy,

struggling to focus on tasks,

and all the time thinking of how comfy the couch would be,

how nice to snuggle up all day in a blankie,

and just watch some of the episodes of NCIS

that are stored on the DVR.

However, that's just not going to happen.

It's been a busy morning,

my Daisy, a big, old, fluffy 20plus pound Shih,

had an eye that was not looking so well.

Luckily, the vet said some drops would help relieve the pressure,

so the eye should be back to norm in a few days.

However, he also confirmed what we had feared,

Daisy has very little sight.

It doesn't slow her down alot,

but lately she's been bumping into more things.

But she is happy,

and bouncy,

and jumping about,

now that she's home from the vet.

Daisy does not like to leave the homestead for long.

She's a homebody and doesn't see the need to be out and about.

I'm like that somedays too.

I'd been hoping to make some fan paper ornaments

to decorate my booth at the antique mall.

Thankfully, the thrift store had more sheet music,

as I'd used what I had making these ornaments.

I can't remember when I first learned to make paper fans,

perhaps in first grade,

but maybe even before.

So this project takes something that many of us learned as children

and combines it with something that we use everyday - paper.

You can do this with any paper you have about -

brown paper bags, magazine pages, gift wrap,

or, as I've done here, sheet music.

 I want to make a HUGE wreath like this

from some wrapping paper that I found recently.

Crossing my fingers that it works.

If so, I'll be sharing it tomorrow.

Below are a few more of my Christmas ideas

Just click the photo for more details

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Scrap Garland for Christmas - Part II

This week I made my first scrap, rag garland

using muslin and toile fabric.

You can see it and learn how to make one here.

It was my first attempt,

so I wasn't disappointed that it didn't turn out perfect.

Last night I made two more fabric garlands.

One is a traditional Christmas red and green.

The second garland is a muslin with blue striped ticking.

The red and green check fabrics were thin,

so cutting them into 8.5"x2" strips worked wonderfully.

One yard of each fabric,

yielded a three foot garland.

The muslin and ticking fabrics were a little thicker than the check,

so the strips were cut into 1" widths.

The difference in volume can be seen in the photos.

So if you're looking for a full, well filled garland,

the 2" width should give you this.

If you like the garland a little less voluminous,

the 1" width may be just for you.

If you make a garland and would like to share a photo,
please feel free to post it on my Facebook wall.
Today 2ndEssence shared a photo of the garland
she added to her mantle.
after being inspired by my previous blog post.

The barn door has been used as a background in a number of my photos recently.

Although it's listed for sale in my shop,

I'm kind of hoping that it sticks around for a bit longer.

Maybe long enough to be made into a coffee table!

Were you inspired to make this garland?
If so, please leave a comment with a link to your post showing your garland,
and I'll share it here.

Below are a few more of my Christmas ideas

Just click the photo for more details

 Click here to visit my shop 

My First Scrap Garland for Christmas

I don't work alot with fabric.

I can cut a square, fold it around a form, staple it down

to make a bulletin board, bench seat, or footstool.

Do I sew?

Very little.

When I do sew,
it is only by hand.

Hopefully, Santa will bring me a sewing machine for Christmas

and a huge scoop of patience to aid me in learning to use it.

When I find a project that is done with fabric

and requires no sewing,

I'm thrilled.

I love muslin,

the imperfectness of it's color

the little flecks of brown and black.

Muslin makes me think of something simple,

primitive, basic.

Recently, fabric scrap garlands have come to my attention.

There are a couple of ways to make these,

depending on the end result you desire.

For this garland,

strips of 2"x7" fabric were cut.

The fabric can be ripped in strips,

but I'm very fond of just grabbing my cutting mat,

rotary cutter, and having an hour of making fabric strips.
My rotary cutter is my friend.

Twine was used as the base to tie the strips on.

(That $2 spool of twine from the auction has been one of my best buys ever!)

A 6' piece of twine was cut.

A loop was made and knotted in each end of the twine,

so that the loops could be used for hanging.

Duct tape was used to secure the straggling piece of twine

to make the string more secure.

(I'd hate for one of the knots to come out and it all fall to pieces.)

Strips were knotted around the twine-

32 strips of muslin,

16 strips of toile,

which was repeated to give 5 patches of muslin

and 3 patches of toile.

It's not perfect, but for my first garland,

I don't think it's half bad.

And it's a craft that I can do plunked down on the couch,

while watching some tv at the end of a long day,

snuggled up with the kids.

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