The curse of a perfectionist (pt. 1)

So, at the very start of the year, I came across some trays at the local Goodwill. Couple bucks each, and it was one of the many half-off-everything days - couldn't resist...

  

...despite the fact one is completely garish and the other is scratched and dented to heck. But oh well, I take in craft opportunities like some people take in stray animals. Initially, I was going to paint them a solid color and let them be. I took on the garish tray first (the other is still waiting for a final verdict on what will happen to it).

But it looked so stinking plain, I couldn't just put the second coat of paint on and leave it like this! As is my recent mantra: when in doubt, break out the ModPodge!

Going a little classier than usual, I decided to go with some sheet music that I've had in my stash for a while. For whatever reason (...temporary insanity...), I decided to just use three sheets overlapping rather than go with the scrappy multi-layer torn sheet look that I use for most of my decoupage projects. 

Once again, this looked like a complete and total snoozefest! Still on the fence as to whether adding another layer of decoupaged (this time torn/scrappy) sheet music, I decided to turn to my Silhouette for an attempt at a quick fix.

Still not sure how I'm liking it (minus the one note that is *obviously* slanted and driving me completely crazy!). I'm thinking I may have to go back to the drawing board on this one and break up my Plain Jane decoupage job with some smaller bits of sheet music. The current vinyl look is also bugging me, I think I may scrap the notes entirely and just put a larger treble clef in the bottom left corner of the tray.

Crafting trial and error. Sigh.

A return to crafting

So...March was National Craft Month...I made a commitment to do something crafty every day and blog about all my crafting endeavors, and it was going to be awesome and wonderful.

Yeah.

Didn't happen.

While I didn't stick to my craft-a-day plan, I did partake in some very fun projects (and have been slacking off in the blogging department). I've decided that I enjoy reworking things rather than creating new stuff...like, we're talking if I were a crafting superhero, I'd make my name something like "The Refashioner" or "Refurnishista" or something like that. Yeah, I know, I know...totally awesome, right? Heehee

So, what awesome remake am I sharing today? These guys:

Yeah, pretty hideous. However, when you see hooks like these marked down to a couple dollars, it'd be a shame to let someone else buy them and possibly NOT make them look un-hideous, right? That's my calling in life, saving the world, one discount decor item at a time...

So how to fix? Not gonna lie, I was feeling lazy - so, bring out the spray paint!

I debated for quite some time what vinyl image I wanted to put on these beauties...lots and lots of hemming and hawing...certainly more uncertainty than necessary. BUT, the one positive thing about vinyl stickers is that you can change em out whenever you like!

A little generic, but still pretty cute, right?

Crepe paper ruffle wall art

The wall above my bed is blank. Depressingly blank. I have plans for a headboard eventually, but that is probably a long way off. Taking an idea I loved from another blog, I picked up some crepe paper streamers, blank canvas, and made some quick wall art.

With a black/white/gray room I decided to go with a maroon punch of color. I'll be honest, I was looking for dark gray crepe paper. Sadly, the party supply store had a very limited color selection...very limited...like 18 colors (may seem like a lot, but it isn't, trust me). A bit of luck, my second choice color (maroon) was on clearance, yay!

Next step was to set the ruffles. Just wanting a quick weekend craft, I went with the quick and painless method: crinkle up the streamers, lay some Mod Podge, and stick the streamers down.

Like I said, this was a quick project. I made two of these, both were finished in a little over an hour.

It adds a nice punch of color to the room. Total cost about $9 for the materials needed.

Subway Art!

So after trying out my first Silhouette experiment with glass etching , I am a total fan of this machine! For my next project I decided to play with different fonts and some basic layout features.

Next project: subway art!

There are a lot of crafty blogs out there that have examples of their subway art, almost seems like a crafting rite of passage! One blog I follow - tatertots & jello - served as my inspiration to finally try it out myself. Seriously, this gal is Crafty (note the capital "C"), you should check her stuff out and then proceed to be amazed.

For my subway art I decided to go with a quote rather than a holiday-themed one; the seasonal ones I've seen look awesome, but I don't decorate much for holidays. That, plus the fact that I just love this saying made it a sure thing.

Ahem, so the quote I used was some Dr. Seuss-ical wisdom: "Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." Pretty inspiring, right? I could bore you with a summary of how I picked the different fonts, sizes, and orientations...but that would be pretty boring and tedious. Really tedious. Trust me. So just a couple pictures of the process:

Let the Silhouette do the cutting...

Peel the unwanted parts...trust me this takes a lot of time.

Finally after hours (and hours and hours, it felt like), my vinyl decal appeared!

I used Silhouette's transfer paper (love this stuff!) to transfer the vinyl over to an old tin sign freshly painted over. The pumpkin orange paint is the same color I used for my side table a few weeks back.

Final outcome looks pretty spiffy. Added a memo magnet strip from my Christmas haul (thanks Aunt Lisa!) and found some cool orange wall hooks at TJ Maxx for only $2 to finish off my entryway.

Glass + vinyl + chemicals = awesome!

So for Christmas, I got this:

 Only the most awesomest thing EVER. I've seen several blogs demonstrating the wonderful uses for a Silhouette, and now that I am the proud owner of one, it's time for another tier of crafting action!

First project: glass etching!

After the observation of some helpful blogs here and there, it was time for some glass etching. The question becomes...what to etch? Simple answer? I had no clue...but that usually means it's time for some inspiration wandering at Goodwill. Sometimes it's there's some finds and then sometimes there's some finds. This was one of those times.

Two glass pitchers at $4 each...sounded like a perfect starting place for some glass etching. Once I found these guys an idea came up. Every month or so a college friend opens up her house for a girl's weekend - invariably, this weekend always includes a night out at a restaurant catching up on eachother's lives over a pitcher of sangria...so why not make her an awesome pitcher for sangria at home?

With an idea now ready to roll, it's then the picking lettering font and font size, printing it out, and pulling off the unwanted bits...

...then to transfer the vinyl to my glass pitcher. (I used Silhouette's Transfer Paper to help move the vinyl to the pitcher intact...highly recommended!)

Then to apply the glass etching creme. The one suggestion I have on this step is to not be stingy with applying the etching creme. Trust me.

And the final result...is a fancy new Sangria pitcher!

Next project will be up soon, more Silhouette craftiness! :)