Stitched Bird

Well, this project will go a lot smoother next time!  

I had to make my own pattern... which means a lot of revising!  

I am still not 100% happy with it ... which means I have to make another one!

I want to start making some birds for my classroom and this project

only took a little bit of fabric.  I had some fabric samples recently 

given to me from a friend that I mentioned in a previous post (thanks, Leigh!).

Anyway, here are the pictures of the bird as it progressed.  

After I drew the pattern, I cut it out and then cut my material.  I used a simple stitch and sewed it

to look like it was "inside out" to give it a more vintage feel.

You can see in the next pictures that I cut the tail down significantly! 

And, here it is... finished in my crafting area! 

I have to admit that when I was in Adobe Photoshop, I played with the color.  

I am convinced that my next bird with have to be a black and 

white check.... what do you think?!?! 

I hope this inspires you to use a little creativity and a 

little bit of scrap material to make a cute project.

If you have a minute to type in your email address on the side of my blog,

I would absolutely {L O V E} for you to follow me! :-)

Until next time, be blessed!

:-)  Tonya

*P.S. - I linked this post to The Winthrop Chronicles and In the Old Road

My New Button!

I would like to thank "Grab My Button" Code Generator for the making it possible 

for me to be able to create my button!  If there are any new bloggers out there that 

would like to easily create a new "Grab Button", check it out!

Please let me know what you think of my button. 

The real button is in the right sidebar.

While you are here, I would {L-O-V-E} for you to click the link to follow my blog.

Thanks!  :-)  Tonya 

Repurposed Antique Muffin Pan

This is actually a post for Saturday, but I started working on it too late tonight and 

it is now after midnight, so the post will have a Sunday time stamp.  

I found this really cool looking muffin pan at an antique store last week 

and I decided to use it as a desk organizer.  It was really yucky a challenge

for me to clean it up.  In fact, I think if I tried any harder, it would have

fallen apart, so I improvised!  Take a look at how it turned out and the process.

Here it is straight from the antique store. I think the shape and 

designs on the pan are fabulous so I couldn't resist!

  You can see the challenge!

I sprayed this twice and let it sit for over 2 hours each time!  

I put in quite a bit of elbow grease and realized that I needed to accept

the coloration as part of the character of the pan.  The problem was,

I was not going to be able to put my embellishments in the pan's wells

if I couldn't get it any cleaner.  So... here is the part where I improvised...

I decided to incorporate praise and worship into this project!  I am so 

glad that I bought this old Worship Hymnal at an antique store a while

back.  I use this often in my projects.  It adds great character and defines me!

In each well, I used a crocheted doily, a cupcake liner and the circles

that I cut out of the old worship hymnal.  Then I layered them in the wells.

The cupcake liners went in first, then the circles from the hymnal, then the doilies.

Now I was ready to fill each well with my goodies!

Of course... tiny clothespins!

... and some of my Tim Holtz embellishments.

I love how I can see the music between the layers of the crochet.

It shows up better in person than on camera, but I tried to get a 

good view so you could tell.

(Thank you Leigh for my buttons!)

And here it is.... my Repurposed Muffin Pan!

I love how it looks in my crafting area!

Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think.

I hope this inspired you to use items you love in unconventional ways.

If you have just a second I would LOVE for you to follow my blog!

Until next time, be blessed!

:-)  Tonya

* P.S. - I linked this post to Cherished Treasures and Full Circle Creations and Primp and Adventures of a DIY Mom and The Shabby Creek Cottage and The 36th Avenue and The Farmhouse Porch

Making a Birdhouse with a Book

I can't take credit for this idea...  

I saw a version close to it at a local art walk last weekend.  I made some changes to it 

(actually, I made a lot of changes...)!  The one I saw used a book for the roof and that's about 

all I kept the same.  I think they used wood for the rest of the house.  I chose to use heavy 

cardboard so it would be light. 

 I plan to use it in my (future) classroom.  

You can see that I incorporated a clothespin! In the classroom, I plan to clip notes there.

So, here are the pictures and how I did it.  

I hope this inspires you to make a project like this from recycled books.

First, I gathered my materials... a book with a lot of ripped pages inside, my paper cutter, Tim Holtz embellishments (of course!), scrapbook paper, scissors, Mod Podge, heavy cardboard (I used a box), a tiny clothespin :-), a large button (from my friend Leigh), a hot glue gun, spanish moss and floral moss.

I cut a template of the front (and back) of the house from white paper and then used it to cut the front 

and back from cardboard.  I then cut the scrapbook paper and Mod Podged it to the cardboard.  

I used a page from the book to Mod Podge to the backside so it would match the book on the top.

After cutting the side walls and covering them with paper, I hot glued the walls

 together and then I hot glued the book to the top.  To hide the "seams", I added the spanish moss 

and floral moss.  Then I added the embellishments like little rhinestones scattered here and there and the Tim Holtz embellishment for the "house number".  I added my tiny clothespin to hold my messages and I added some Spanish moss behind my beautiful button.  Finally, I added a ruler sticker (Tim Holtz) to the bottom to give it more of a classroom look (and because rulers have numbers on them...  and of course you know that I love numbers!)

See the message on the ruler, "Property of Board of Education  City of New York"

View of back with the page from the book.

Side View

This is the book I used.

I love how it turned out! 

So, what do YOU do with old books that have ripped pages?

Don't throw them away.... recycle them for a project!

I hope this inspired you to think of ways to recycle old books.

Please leave me a comment to let me know what you think.

I would really like to hear from you.

If you return to visit my blog, I would {L-O-V-E} for you to become a follower.

Until next time, 

:-) Tonya

* P.S. - I linked this post to Nifty Thrifty and Twigg Studios and 

Think Pink Sundays at Flamingo Toes and I {heart} Nap Time and Keeping It Simple Crafts and 

Destination: Craft and Tip Junkie and Ginger Snap Crafts and The Shabby Creek Cottage 

and Fine Craft Guild

This post was FEATURED on Destination: Craft

A Big Thank You!

I just wanted to peep in for a minute because I was blessed so much today by a family friend who donated a lot of great project potentials!  Leigh ran an elderly daycare center and positively affected the lives of many.  She recently made the decision to begin working with elderly who are affected by Alzheimer's Disease.  This debilitating disease took the lives of both my maternal and paternal grandmothers.

I wanted to make a post that would raise awareness to this disease.   There are trials being tested right now that may be able to help slow Alzheimer's Disease if caught early enough.

If you are looking for an organization to donate to, please consider donating to the cure for Alzheimer's.
Many cities have walks to raise money and awareness.  Please visit Walk To END Alzheimer's for more information or to see if there is a walk in your area.

If you would like to donate to The Hawthorn House at Bob Hope Village, please visit Donations to the Hawthorn House.

Thank you,

:-)  Tonya

Decorate with Glassware

Okay, I have a small confession to make... I didn't realize how many passions I had 

about certain decorating elements until I began this blog!  I find myself admitting 

to my love of typography, my love of baskets, my love of Tim Holtz's line 

of elements and now I have a new confession!

I love glassware to display items of interest.  

There!  I said it.  Admitting it is the first step to recovery.... but, I'm not altogether sure that I want 

to recover... because it is fabulous and I don't think I need a glassware intervention.

So, due to my newfound discovery, I am going to post some of the 

ways that I incorporate glassware into my decor.  I hope you enjoy 

(maybe I can drag you onto the glassware boat with me!).

This is on a shelf in my living room.  It contains old photographs (Oh, my gosh!  Another passion!)

of my mom and her brother (my Uncle Tom) and her aunt.  I just love the edges of old photos.

I have placed keys, a ceramic ball, a ceramic knob with a clock face printed 

on it, old buttons, an old whistle, a few pretty marbles, some beads, a couple of 

key hole plates, etc. in the bottom.

I don't stop at the jars, I also like to use vases!

This is an old photo of my mother-in-law.  I love the old film 

canister sitting inside of the vase with the photograph.

Okay, here I mix my passion for decorating with glassware with my passion for typography!

I also like to use candle holders in unconventional ways to display..... you guessed it!

Old photographs!  This is a picture of my husband when he was a little boy, 

playing with his grandfather.  He treasures this photo and I thought it 

would be appropriate to display it so he could enjoy it everyday.

Speaking of candle holders, here is another display....

Here is a little secret... I have this displayed high enough that I can get 

away with it.  I couldn't get the photo to stand upright (I didn't want it leaning on 

the glass), so, I used a bit of mounting putty!

Works like a charm!

I could go on because I have several other "glass displays" in our home, 

but I want to stop at this last one because I really do love it.  Maybe it's the 

entire display with the frame and... (yet another passion that I have 

already admitted to you... clothespins... (I may need help!).  :-)

This sits on my bathroom counter in front of my mirror (although I didn't photograph 

it in front of the mirror, for obvious reasons).

Well,  I hope that this helped stir up some creativity with decorating with glassware.

Show off some of those precious items/photos that you have stored away!

Enjoy them everyday! 

Please leave me a comment to let me know what YOU display in glass containers or if you

have any ideas.  I would love to hear from you!

Until next time,

:-)  Tonya

*P.S. - I linked this post to House of Hepworths and Live Laugh {Linky} and Transformation Thursday (The Shabby Creek Cottage) and The 36th Ave and The Shabby Nest: Frugal Friday and 

30 Handmade Days and Funky Junk Interiors and Tatertots and Jello.

You may also like:

A Jar is More than a Jar  

                          
             Glass Jar Project                               
                                                                                      Glass Block Bird

Pencil Holder (from Salvation Army Find)

Okay, I picked up the small box that I found from the Salvation Army... remember it from a previous post? 

Anyway, I decided to make it into a pencil holder.  So, here are the pictures of the process.

I gathered my materials... Mod Podge, paper cutter, Tim Holtz embellishments, 

jute, burlap, scrapbook paper, and of course.... the box!

This is the bottom of the box, but I will use it as the side.

I think this was a small drawer for jewelry before it found its way to

the Salvation Army.  I am going to turn it upright for my project.

I measured my paper and cut it in a strip to fit around the box.  

To make it easier to Mod Podge, I folded the paper around the box 

first so when the time comes to wrap it, it will go on with ease.  

The blue flowered paper you see is actually the backside of the 

paper I am planning to use.  

When I applied the Mod Podge, I sponged it on the box rather than the paper.

I do this because if it is on the paper, it makes it more difficult to make adjustments once 

I lay the paper onto the box.  Also, applying the Mod Podge to the box prevents the 

paper from having wet spots go through (which will cause tears in the paper).

Once that is on, I cut a small rectangle from my second paper choice.

Then I cut an even smaller rectangle from burlap.  I pulled a thread from

each side of the burlap to make it have a fringed look.

Then I took the jute and put it in the holes of my embellishment so 

that the jute would be on the underside of the embellishment.

Once the jute was on the numbered metal plate embellishment, I wrapped it 

around the box and tucked the knot under the embellishment so it would

not be seen.  I applied Mod Podge on the jute (not on the embellishment)

and the burlap and paper once again to make sure it would stay in place.

After that, I wanted to hide the blue inside, so I cut more paper to

fit inside and Mod Podged it into place.

On the inside that would be seen from the front, I applied the same paper that 

I used as the accent paper on the front.  I thought this would make it tie in nicely.

It it still drying here, but you get the idea.

Once, it is dry, add your pencils and pens and display on your desk.

There it is!  

I hope this inspires you to find unconventional items

and transform them into items you love.

Please leave me a comment to let me know what you think.

Until next time, be blessed!

:-)  Tonya

* P.S. - I linked this post to Tip Junkie and {Primp} and Full Circle Creations.

My entry into Thursdays are YOUR Days at 52 Mantels is sponsored by Appliances Online and their Best Freezers!