a woodland tray.

This was a fun little project I did this morning. It's cheap, easy, and cute. And if you ask me, those three things are the crafting trifecta.
I snatched this up at Goodwill for $1.50 on one of my thrifting trips:

But the problem was, I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to do with it. I knew it had potential to be something, but I just wasn't quite sure what. So, it sat in my closet for about two months, getting even dustier than it already was (sad).
I've learned not to rush into projects until I really know what I want them to be, from past experiences (hello. I've painted my coffee table three times now in as many years. I'm indecisive.), and I'm so glad I waited to do something with it until I actually had a good idea.

A good cleaning, a coat of primer, a couple coats of spray paint, some stressing, hot glue, and a package of sheet moss turned that ugly dirty thing into this:

A mossy tray, to be used for creating woodland scapes or whatever your little creative heart desires.

Ideally, if I would have had the time, I would have loved to have turned this into an actual mini landscape-- sort of like a terrarium on a tray. Someday I think I will. But, as I was short on time, I just used a few things I either had sitting around the house or that I had recently bought to simply set on there and make it look "natural-ish" and sort of woodsy. I'm so taken by natural and botanical things of all sorts, lately. Perhaps it's because of all this sunshine and spring-like weather we're having. Or, perhaps it's simply because, when it comes to beauty, you can't top the things we find all around us in creation. I love things that mimic that beauty in my home.

I found these adorable ceramic mushrooms on sale at Michael's. Mushrooms are delightfully quirky, I think. This little brown birdie has been a friend of mine for some time now, and he was more than happy to be put to new use.

Michael's also had lots of beautiful butterflies and spring flowers on sale. I should not be allowed in that place. TOO MUCH GOODNESS.


This latest project of mine now cheerfully resides on our coffee table, and it's just what the living room needed.


(and now, join me in hoping that a certain little toddler can leave my mushrooms alone.)

just a little project

oh hello, were you expecting a REAL blog? like one about our actual life? with many cute pictures of everything that's been going on? sorry. today is not your day. maybe some other time. stick around. :)

Not too long ago a wonderful friend of mine had a birthday, and I really wanted to give her something handmade... she's the type who appreciates that sort of thing very much, and it always means a lot to her. And I must say, it was a real delight being creative with her in mind, because she's a poetic soul who loves whimsy and looks at everything in the light of beauty.

I'm sure there's many people who could have made these ten times better than I did, but I most definitely loved making them.

What did I use?
random paint colors I had sitting in my garage
three medium-sized wooden plaques from Michael's, approx. $1 each.
rub-ons I had sitting in my craft drawer
an Anthropolgie catalog
ribbon from my ribbon jar
glue
a brushed-on coat of polyurethane to protect it all and make it nice and shiny

If you're assuming that this entire gift took me all of $3 to put together because I already had everything else on hand... you would be correct. hooray! Sometimes the time and thought that goes into a gift is more important than how much it costs, I think. (hopefully my friend agrees with me, now that the truth is out, wink wink)

Here's a closeup of each one. The lettering, the birdcage, the key, and the typewriter are all rub-ons, and everything else is cut out of the Anthro catalog. (I had way too much fun going through and cutting out pretty things... now I know why my girls just LOVE to do that with magazines!)





the green one is my favorite, I think. :)

I'm currently working on a few other handmade gifts right now too, for Christmas and such, and I'm loving it. What sort of craftiness and creativity are you up to this month? Do tell!

The Saga of the Many-Colored Coffee Table

First off, I would just like to say that I realize what a horrid blogger I've been. I realize how INCREDIBLY behind I am on posting things and on reading everyone else's blogs. I realize it has been AGES since I've done a proper post on my children and about 193,648 other things that are probably much more fun to read about than my coffee table. But. I've been sick this week. And I'm behind in everything else as well. So, this is what you get: an entire post dedicated to a piece of furniture. I'm ok with it. I hope you are too. Don't leeeaaaaaave me!! don't give up on me yet, dear readers!!! :)

If you have read my blog for any length or time or happen to know me personally, you must know that I like to paint things. I paint anything and everything that can be painted, sometimes more than once... as is the case with our coffee table.

It all began not long after we moved into our house, when I began the search for the perfect coffee table. I wanted it to be round, I wanted it on the smaller side, and I didn't want to spend a fortune on it (ie. over $50 dollars. I'm cheap.)

I searched high and low, in every goodwill and thrift store I could think of, at Target and Walmart, even in furniture stores (which of course, was pointless). Nothing. Meanwhile, we continued to drag the piano bench over in front of the couch whenever we needed a place to set drinks or rest our feet. Those were dark days indeed (haaa).

And then, one Saturday I headed downtown to The Five and Dime Antique store (Woolworths, as you Bakersfieldians know it) just to browse. At this point I had given up on my search and was simply waiting for a table to fall into my lap. Wouldn't you know, that was almost what happened. I turned a corner and saw, sitting there, piled high with old books and dishes, a little oval coffee table. It was very shabby and dingy and old-looking, painted an ugly flat white. It was dirty and dusty... and it was perfect. I cleared off all the other junk, grabbed it and took it up front where I paid $40 to bring it home and love it.

Obviously, it needed paint. I was only too happy to oblige, and I spray-painted it blue.

November, 2007
See, the thing was, this was before I had really found my decorating legs, so to speak. I didn't have the "feel" of our home and my own style pinned down yet. Not to mention that this sort of thing is always evolving anyway... so, it was only a matter of time before I started to bemoan my blue coffee table and want to paint it again. I wanted something different, something fun that would pop.
Enter sister-in-law Jessica, who supplied me with a can of brilliant green paint. YES. and our coffee table was reborn yet again!

June 2009
I'll be honest, I LOVED this color. I still do. And if it wasn't for the fact that this paint, for whatever reason, started to chip quite badly and peel off in places, our coffee table might still be green.
But, since it NEEDED to be painted, well, who was I to refuse?

I knew exactly what color I wanted it to be: coral. I've fallen in love with coral as of late. It's so pretty and warm, and just the right amount of girly without offending the male sensibilities.

I also knew that this time I wanted to do things right and really prep the table so this paint job would last. A great idea, right?? I thought so too. However, 5 hours into the SECOND day of prep-work, as I continued to scrape and work in the hot sun, after my fingertips were tender from grasping and peeling back miniscule bits of paint and I had cut my wrist on the scraper, as I was pouring down sweat and muttering "kill me now" under my breath... NOT SO MUCH. I finally gave up, having only gotten a little further than this with the tabletop:

Never again. There's a reason I'm a slap-a-coat-of-primer-on-and-then-paint kind of girl. I sanded the whole table down as much as I could, primed it, and then began the part I really love: painting.
Behold, the finished project:



Sometimes it looks more orange, and sometimes it looks more pink-ish, depending upon the way the light hits it, as you can see. I love it. The coral is so cheerful and bright!

And how long will the table stay THIS color, you ask? I do not know, for only time will tell.

Home.

cheerfully vintage teapot and creamer, freshly painted breadbox.

thrifted chair (first seen here), painted funky blue. I like it.

gathering of hoops. The bicycle one was an old t-shirt with which I just couldn't part.

"Happy heart" print by tank&tink. Hi Molly!! :)

I adore birds,

and thrifted plates,

and this collection of loved things that sits on my old beaten-up shelf.

the cozy place.

old shutters? yes please.

green paint+old frames+pretty paper=craft project I love, and one of my favorite things-to-hang-on-a-wall ever.

Happiness.
Love.
That's home.

what are some of the favorite things you have in your home?

The Red Crib

Once upon a time there was a girl who had a baby. This baby had a crib, of course, which was worn from years of use and other little girls with teeth who liked to chew on things.

So, one day the girl decided to paint it. "Red," she mused. "I think red would be the most delightful color." She blithefully got out her brushes and a can of cheery red paint and started painting. And kept painting. And painting. And painting. Would it really take a million coats to make it look fine? Could it be that the slats were multiplying as she went along?? And where did this drip come from? And this one? and this one and this one and this one????

Finally, at looooong last, the task was finished. And even though the results were exactly what she had envisioned and she knew her little one would have many nights of happy dreams therein, she solemnly swore that she would never, no never, not as long as she lived, paint another crib again.




The end.