Craft – Dust Bunnies and Dog Toys

DIY Plant Stakes

Published on August 24, 2016 by JennaLeave a comment

Hey everyone! I know it’s been quiet around the blog recently. Life has been a bit more hectic than usual and we had a death in the family last week so I chose to take some time to rest and reflect. Finding time to prep material for the blog is still a bit challenging and we’re currently working on a couple of projects that aren’t ready to share just yet, including one I didn’t plan on tackling this year, but I’m excited about what it means for my garden next season! In the meantime here’s a fun, quick DIY I did earlier this summer.

Back when I had a holiday tree in our entryway I collected an assortment of cute ornaments for each season and holiday. Now that I’ve given up the tree I wanted to reuse the ornaments in a new way so I could continue to enjoy them. I decided they would make great plant stakes for my potted plants on the deck and couldn’t be happier with how they turned out.

This sweet little rusty bee (which ironically is the name of one of my favorite local makers!) was the first I transformed. Although I didn’t document the steps of his transformation, it was fairly simple. I removed the small loop at the top of his head which was attached on the back by bending it back and forth until it popped off. Next I dug out my E6000 glue and applied some to both the back of the bee and a small rusty rod I had in my supplies that matched perfectly. Following the directions on the glue tube I adhered the rod to the bee and let it cure for 24 hours.

Once cured, I tested him out with a couple forceful shakes and he held tight so I found him a home in my vintage crock planter. He turned out so cute that I decided to do the same to the other ornaments I had in my stash. Each had a little different set up as each was unique but they all followed the same process – remove any hanging loops or cords and glue a rod to an appropriate point. Since I didn’t have enough potted plants to keep them all I set aside my favorites to be used in my garden and put the rest up for sale at the recent Urban Junktion show. I sold several and still have a good inventory available for other shows next season. Here’s the current inventory as they were displayed at the show.

There’s a little birdhouse with a heart shaped opening.

Several dragonflies, who may just stay and live in my garden alongside their relatives that I already decided to keep. 🙂

This little beetle has the same patina as the bee, but I already have a lady bug plant stake so I’m helping this guy find his own home.

There’s also a few nautical themed stakes, including these blue and green glittery seahorses.

I had two mermaids but the red head sold at the show, so now this blonde “girl fish” as my nephew used to call them is all alone with the other sea creatures, including this glittery little fish.

I still have a good inventory of ornaments for other holidays including Easter, St. Patrick’s Day and Thanksgiving. I may revamp them for this purpose as well, or I might just find another option since those holidays don’t often correlate with having potted plants to decorate here in Alaska.

Stay tuned for more projects. Posts might be a little few and far between for a while but don’t worry, we’re working on some fun stuff and will share it soon.

Peter Cottontail Gets a Facelift

Published on April 20, 2014 by JennaLeave a comment

Happy Easter! I thought I’d share a little Easter craftiness today. I’ve had this cute little bunny yard stake for several years and as you can see, the Alaskan spring weather has done a number on it. So I decided it was time Peter Cottontail get a facelift!

I had the hubs give him a good coat of white spray paint. I had planned to touch up his facial features with craft paint but then I remembered I had a bunch of colored sharpies so I picked out a cute pink and went for it. Once he had a pink nose and grin he did look a little girly so I decided to give him a little bow tie to help balance out the pink. I pulled a purple ribbon left over from our wedding invitations out of my supply stash and fluffed until I was happy with the shape.

Now he looks good as new. In fact you could say he was resurrected, which is a perfect reminder of the real reason behind this wonderful holiday!

Unfortunately, we haven’t gotten any landscaping in yet thanks to the slow spring thaw and the need to wait for the builder to come clean the lot of all the debris they left in the snow. So I propped him up next to the garage with some rocks. Maybe next year our landscaping will include a bunny trail that brings some other cotton-tailed friends to the yard.

Crafty Storage and Workspace, All in One!

Published on March 31, 2014April 13, 2014 by JennaLeave a comment

You know I love a good bargain, and you know I love to craft, but those two things together make me positively giddy. I’ve been eyeing this craft cabinet for some weeks now, waiting for it to go on sale. Lucky for me my patience paid off because not only did it go on sale for 15% off, but I had an additional coupon for 10% off and got FREE shipping – saving around $100. I almost swooned!

I can’t wait for this sucker to arrive and get assembled so I can finally have a dedicated crafting space! Now I can spend more time crafting instead of hauling my supplies to whatever area I’m working in.

Although I originally planned to repurpose a large armoir cabinet into a crafting station, I came to realize that I tend to craft at the dining room table or kitchen island so I can watch TV or chat with the hubs at the same time. Because of that, having a piece that could accommodate a moveable work surface and storage became the priority. That ruled out a huge armoir and made a hutch or dresser the likely choice. I’d considered refinishing several thrift store pieces, but they all had minimal storage due to large drawers that wouldn’t suit my supplies well. When I saw this I knew it was perfect, although I will admit I’m NOT a Martha Stewart fan. Unfortunately, I hadn’t found anything that could compare for the price.

I plan to add large casters to the legs so it can be moved out into the living room where I can see the TV or into the center of the studio for more room when working on something large. And you know I’ve got big plans to organize all my supplies by categories into those fantastic shallow drawers, where they will be away from little customer’ fingers and puppy paws. Granted, I won’t be able to fit all of my supplies and my entire fabric stash in here, but I tend to only pull out the fabric I’m working with at the time anyway. I plan for my fabric to live on shelves in the guest closet, where they are easily accessible and out of the way.

I’ll likely add some sort of shelf or cabinet above this piece so I have a spot to store all the display pieces I use at craft shows, but that will come a bit later. And I’m thinking of doing a bulletin board between the shelves and the work surface so I can pin up inspirations and rig some system of storing the little pieces of whatever project I’m currently working on.

Hopefully I’ll get a tracking number soon so I can obsess about when it will arrive a little more concretely. Watch for a post in the coming weeks once it’s here and set up! ☺

A Studio of My Very Own!

Published on September 6, 2013February 6, 2014 by JennaLeave a comment

The studio/office is my most anticipated and daydreamed about room in our new home for obvious reasons. Although the main colors will be the same neutrals found in other rooms of our home, there will be a healthy dose of purple accents throughout the space, including my pretty purple chair I’ve blogged about before. The plans for this space include a wall-length desk down one side of the room with shelves overhead for storage. Something like this.

I want enough room for both the hubs and I to have a spot to sit with the printer and Silhouette in between. I’d like the printer to live in a cabinet under the desk where we can store paper too. I plan for the Silhouette to be on the desk top where there will be room to feed material into it. Here’s the basic concept, made with two wood file cabinets we got on Craigslist right after moving to the mainland for $25 each and a cabinet we will build to house the printer and support the middle of the desk.

Because we have more files than the two cabinets can hold as it is, I might add a file storage bench like this one. It would provide a little bit of extra seating if I have a group of clients and can be moved around as needed or even used as a prop.

Luckily hubby uses a laptop that won’t always be on the desk, so that leaves room for me to spread out with craft projects. I’m toying with the idea of adding peg board – likely painted purple – on the wall above the desk but below the shelves for storing things up off the desk, keeping the desktop clear.

The other wall will remain mostly bare to accommodate my backdrops for photography sessions. I may eventually add studio lights to my photography arsenal, but for now the natural light from the window will work just fine. I may finish that wall in pallet wood like this, but that would likely be a project much later down the road.

I’m on the hunt for a large armoire or hutch for the other corner by the door to house my craft supplies like this. That keeps things behind closed doors, both out of sight and out of reach of any clients’ little hands. I might add something like this to the side of the armoire for a little extra work space when crafting so I’m not always spread out on the desktop. The other option is to create something with storage underneath and above a workspace in the center like this.

Large sliding barn doors like these will added at some point to allow us to close off the space when have guests over or I need a little privacy for a boudoir session. They’d double as a nice backdrop if needed too! We will have to figure out a way for the doors to fit past the desk and shelves when open, but that should be simple as leaving a gap between the desk and the wall.

So that’s the grand plan to fit a photo studio, craft room and office for two into one room. Good thing it’s a fairly large one! 🙂

Thrift D’ Creations

Published on August 9, 2013 by Jenna2 Comments

Did you know I have an Etsy shop full of hand-made hair accessories, home décor and seasonal items? One of my favorite items to create are customized vinyls like this one I made for my sister with my Silhouette.

Although they can be used on just about any surface, I typically apply them to a platter for display. I’ve also created signage for my photography business Jenna D’ Photography in the same way, which I put on our vehicle windows.

I hadn’t thought to market the ‘monogram’ design as a wedding gift, but I recently received an order for one for just that purpose and think it’s a wonderful idea! It’s certainly a unique gift that the couple will appreciate and only receive ONE of!

I’ll be adding items for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas soon, so be sure to stop by and see if there’s something you’d like to add to your décor or accessory stash. And I’m always open to custom orders, so contact me if you have something in mind!

Simple, Rustic Monograms

Published on July 5, 2013 by JennaLeave a comment

I recently created these monogram wall hangings as inventory for a local craft show using materials I had on hand. A cork square, a little burlap, some cord, my Silhouette machine and a sharpie is all I needed. First I covered the 6” cork square with burlap, wrapping it around the edges and securing it on the back with hot glue.

Next I designed a variety of popular initials and cut them out on either paper or wax paper. This was the first time I’d used wax paper to make a stencil and found that it tended to curl once removed from the cutting mat, so the regular paper seemed to work a little better, although I had to be careful not to tear it.

I pinned the stencil to the board and traced an outline of the letter with my sharpie. From there I just colored inside the lines to fill in the remainder of the letter.

Then I attached a bit of fabric cord in a loop at the top of the board on the back with some more hot glue to make a simple hanger. I think they turned out pretty darn cute and priced them at just $5 due to their simple construction. I still have several available in my Etsy shop and still have materials to make more if you need a letter I haven’t created yet.

I also made these fabric bulletin boards using the same method, sans the stenciling portion. It makes them just a little prettier than the basic cork tile on the wall.