Holiday Crafting

I am over the moon about Red Tree's Holiday Craft show this weekend. I received a last minute invitation to participate in the event, so I opted to pause on unpacking the house (told you I was slow) and got into production mode.

I am a bit green at doing shows but my fears eased up when I saw that Pam @ Frippery was attending, we had fabulous fun at the Burlington Antique show this summer. I can' t wait to see what vintage goodies she creates for the sale.

If you live in the Cincinnati area be sure to stop by to shop and get a cup of coffee!

Angie

Presto Chango

Do you have one of these? An oak entertainment center from the late 1990's? We do!! We also have matching bookcases, I remember being so excited about the set. Bob and I picked them out after we bought our first house, but now I'm pretty sure the unit is obsolete since TV's made today wouldn't fit in that square opening. Thinking 'green' and 'cheap', I scoured the internet for an idea to transform it into something else. Surprisingly there were no good DIY projects...so I had to go it alone.

I knew the bookcases would get reused in the office, so I decided to turn this piece into a desk. I removed all the doors and hardware then got into changing the color. I really had my heart set on swapping the antique oak color for a stained black finish(though I'm sure in another 20 years I'll be priming to hide it..lol) If you curious, I used Minwax Polyshades in Classic Black Satin ($12) ... took 2 coats but wow that stuff is fantastic!

I drilled four new holes at 29" and moved the shelf down that used to hold the DVD player. That shelf now supports the left hand side of an Ikea desk top ($20) . On the other side is 2 Ikea legs in black ( a whopping $3.50 a piece) ..and the magic is complete...green and cheap!!

Now if I could just use magic to get all the clutter off the floor, then I could share a picture of the bookcases!

Angie

A twenty year work in progress

Ok we are officially moved in, making it livable is a whole other issue. Please don't laugh too hard at our disaster.

Here is the front entry and hall. Most of the homes in the neighborhood have this open concept where you can see up to the 2nd floor.

This home has a living room and family room on the first floor so we are opting to make the living room into an office. We have bookcases in storage that will need to be emptied out by the end of November.

This is just sooooo sad...yes I really am using the blue plastic tote as a desk chair...but thanks to Bob I am 'connected' and that makes me happy.

A would-be dining room, if we actually owned dining room furniture. Briefly thought about closing in this space in as a studio but decided against it because I am too messy and have too much stuff to fit in here. In the meantime I will be working on polymer clay up here because the studio is months from completion (you'll see).

There is a bit of order in the family room, it's just lacking in decor or sense of style.

Turn around to see the kitchen and eating area. That kitchen is TINY, would love to bust through that wall into the dining room...maybe one day...far...far off in the distant future.

Upstairs hall with all bedrooms spoken for. That little door on the left may have sold Bob on this house...

A 2nd floor laundry... seriously that man is in heaven. You would think I'd be in heaven, but nope. Here's a little known Angie fact...I rarely do the wash, Bob has always spent Sundays watching sports and doing laundry.

Traveling down into the basement, it is partially finished with terrible lighting and a massive 1990's wet bar. It is so outta here...eventually.

There is a nice window and walkout to the backyard which was high on my wish list.

So you have seen all the clutter right?? I actually love organization, I'm just slow about getting it done. With a partially finished basement and me using part of the unfinished portion to carve out a studio you have to get creative with storage. Luckily there are little nooks and crannies. I did get this finished, all my holiday storage is neatly tucked into the the cavity by the hot water heater.

Now if the same could be said for all this!!! Ugh it is going to be a LONG process.

I am currently accepting any volunteers who don't mind getting down and dirty..lol.

Angie

Sparkle N Sprinkle “It’s a Cultural Thing” Blog Hop

Welcome to the Sparkle N Sprinkle “It’s a Cultural Thing” Blog Hop. If you have arrived here from Shona’s blog then you are in the right spot. If you happened by , you can start back at the Sparkle N Sprinkle Blog to get all the details on prizes that will be given away .

For this blog hop I choose to use stamps from the Brocade Backgrounds Set and tie in other items that represent my family’s cultural heritage.

Here are two altered French Journals using book pages, ephemera, ribbons and buttons. The stamped images add texture with SNS flocking.

Click HERE for directions on how these were made.

My husbands’ mother was from Germany, she arrived in the United States in the 1960’s. Though we never had the opportunity to meet, Bob often says she had quite the crafty side and he thought we would get along famously. I had her in mind when I made this Altered Wood Block Art with German text.

Click HERE for directions

Thanks for stopping by, this was a fun theme and I’m sure you will want to hop on over to Barbara’s blog next to see her creations. Don’t forget to leave comments at each stop to become eligible for prizes.

Angie

86 Days

It has been 86 days since the Indiana State Fair Stage Collapse. Several wonderful people asked how Shannon and Jade were doing. Today I saw this interview of Shannon on the local news. It is very touching.

WCPO link

Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers, I know the family feels incredibly blessed by them.

Angie

Possibilities

Storage area in the new house:

Nice shelving and work table, but barely any lighting and no electric outlets.

This will be my new studio space, I love a challenge.

Have to give a huge shout-out to my cousin Debbie and her family. They spent a good chunk of their day helping us move some seriously heavy furniture!!

Angie

Faux Peppermint Sticks

I wanted to share these with you, I know it's a bit early for Christmas but as soon as the weather gets nippy I start thinking of hot chocolate with a peppermint stripe sticks.

The other day I cut a few dowel rods down to 4 inch pieces and painted them white. Once dry I wrapped them with 1/4 inch double sided tape. Red-line tape is my favorite for projects like this. It took a bit of practice to figure out the most realistic looking angle for the stripes. Once they were taped up I pulled up the backing and sprinkled on glitter, that's it. A super cute, super easy holiday decoration that I can't eat.

Have a great weekend!

Angie

Marie's Giveaway

Have to share this... Marie of Spun by Me is celebrating her 1000th post with a giveaway!!!

If vintage goodies are right up your alley then you will love what she has put together. Go check it out and enter her giveaway HERE

Angie

New work

Block ornaments

...using up extra faux slides

...feeling productive

...must be all the stress

...possibly closing on the new house tomorrow.

Angie