Charger Plates

This is my favorite time of year. I don't know why, but since I was young I have absolutely adored the fall, I love the crisp air, and warm sweaters. I love the fact you can wear denim and boots and you don't even need a coat!

Now, top this with decor and you have the perfect time of year!!!

A few months ago I had the opportunity to help a friend out in a bind. She designs and sells vinyl as a side business and her computer crashed. She has been trying to figure out a way to recover YEARS of vinyl designs. A call came in to her to help with an LDS women's ward function (most of us know as Super Saturday). It is a day dedicated to crafting! Sign ups are provided to be able to make said crafts.

 Since her computer is down, she gave that woman my number. 

I don't know why, but I am sooo excited to do this. When I met with the lady in charge of this one project, she said they had 13 inch charger plates that they wanted to do vinyl on. I was given full creative reign of what I wanted to do! 

How cool is that? The only thing I have had a really hard time with is remembering to keep cost in check and not give away my services or product. This is definitely a learned attribute...

This is the HALLOWEEN plate. I know this type of saying is EVERYWHERE!! But honestly, I love it. I designed the spider web and spider, and just added the font.

Here is the FALL/HARVEST plate. I made this specifically for use during September, October, and November. I love keeping my pumpkins up as long as I can.

Last but not least, the CHRISTMAS charger. Every once in a while I do things that even amaze myself.This is one of those things. I designed the star, and put a lot of work into it, and I love it! Not the most spectacular things ever, but it brightened up my week to make them.

I Changed My Mind

It's 2 am. I can't sleep. So what am I doing? Blogging about paint colors....
 I painted my front hallway a while back. (Which I do not have a picture of as my phone crashed and I lost the photo, this is all I could find!)

At first, I loved it. I loved the color etc, then I painted my ceilings, followed by the kitchen, then the Living room. I loved it too. I was really hoping it would solve my perceived problems.
It. Didn't.
This is my problem:

 When my house was being built it looked really light infused, cheery even. Now, for whatever reason it looks dark, and gloomy. I chose hard floors (in my kitchen and entryway) that were one of the worst decisions I have EVER made! I think they have a defect. No matter how I care for them, they have no shine or luster. They actually look cleaner when they are dirtier? In addition to this they suck the life right out of the room!
Needless to say, I am really struggling with inspiration.

 I really want a place that is my home. A place that no matter where I have been I walk in the door and think "Ahhh, I am home!" not...."ugh, its looks dingy in here..."
So I am facing a dilemma... I am a lover of rich colors. Deeper hues, as you can see from the swatch above.
Reds, golden yellows, dark blues, celery greens. And I am facing an alteration in my go to colors for the last 10 years cause they don't work in this home. It is making me feel like I found out I was switched at birth or something... It goes against everything I know!!!
So, I went with what seemed to be the best color scheme I could find on paint chips, and put them on my walls. I seriously didn't even buy a small jar to test. I dove in with my clothes on. I also decided to add something else to this boring little hallway as well.

To give you and idea of the darkness in the front of the house, this picture was taken at 10:30in the morning! To my right is a tall slender window by the front door. Yes, even the hallway light is on. I chose a height I want the chair rail to be and I drew a line with a level.

Here, you can see the marks I made to note where I wanted the vertical slats to go. 

I know a lot of people have a hard time doing the math for the spacing in a project like this. It is confusing to some, but here is the method, simplified (I hope!):

• Measure the length of the wall you are working with. Go with inches, not feet.
• Decide how many slats you want in that space. Here, I wanted 4 on a 47" space.
• This is NOT the tricky part. However many slats you want (4), add one for doing the math. 4+1=5
• Take the space you measured (47 inches) and divide by your slat number plus the one (5). 45/5=9.4 inches. That is your spacing. 
• This has the potential to be the tricky part: To turn the 0.4 to a fraction, go back to 3rd grade, and remember that first digit after the decimal is the TENTHS digit which makes this number 4/10. Simplify the fraction and you get 2/5. Go from there.

This is the teeniest tiniest wall inside the hallway you cannot see from the other pictures. I have rounded corners in my house, and this is how I ended the chair rail, as I do not want it wrapping the corner into my entry way. Back cut your chair rail in a 45 degree angle. Fill with a little piece that has also been cut at a 45 to meet, and then a regular 90 degree where it meets the wall.

After lots of caulking and hole filling (which I thought you didn't really need pictures of), this is what came about.

Ta DAHHH!!!

I have a few more cute things I am adding to this (like a doorbell cover and light switch plate! Ha!), but I am painting them now.

**UPDATE**

I am done with my refinishing of frames and here is the finale! I love the way it turned out!

Time

It really makes me cringe to think of posting something without pictures. And I wouldn't do it if it wasn't necessary. I just wanted to drop a line in and let everyone know I haven't forgotten about my blog. It has been a really tough 7 weeks! Wisdom teeth extraction followed by a car accident involving all of my family, school starting, and life adjusting with my baby in kindergarten!

The accident has put a HUGE setback to many-o-things but I am almost back on track. I have pictures, and crafts, and more recipes coming soon!

Post Pumpkins

If you have ever done a Google search for pumpkins made of wood, you find many o' types, and if you are like me, none that really appeal to your taste!

There are many made of the 2 x 4 type, I even have a set (I made them at a church activity for free, and I am working to dress them up currently).These range from the single 2 x 4 cut in varying heights to create a "set". I have even seen the ones with three 2 x 4's glued together to make a block of a pumpkin.

 If you type in "post pumpkins", these are the ones that are made from the round fence post that has the flat edges. Those always seem really out of proportion to me... What are they?...about 4 inches in diameter and about 3 feet tall. Mmmm, sorry, no thanks. 

I wanted something classy and timeless, so again, off to the drawing board to figure out how to make what I am seeing in my head.

Did you know there is such an animal as an 8 inch x 8 inch post? Because I don't have the equipment capable of cutting it, I had to settle for the 6 inch x 6 inch size. Even then, I have to run it through the table saw twice by flipping it over just to cut it once. 

My wonderful neighbors happened to have a bunch of these 6 x 6 posts to the side of their house that had been weathered already. Perfection!

I forgot to take a picture of the next step, but if you zoom in you can see on the middle pumpkin I used a jig saw to skim off the edges.

Obviously with worn wood you have to sand down your pumpkins.

Then, I drilled a hole in the top with a  1" butterfly bit. This is a stock photo of what one looks like.

I was by myself for this next step, so I didn't take a picture. I will do my best and explain. I got a roll of medium size hemp twine from WalMart, and some picture wire from Lowes (not the weaved mesh stuff, just regular silver wire). I clipped the wire to the lengths I wanted. I vut the hemp twine 3 times the length of the wire. The wire is thin enough to insert one end of the wire into the tip of the glue gun about a half inch. This just gives a tacky surface to the wires and then I started to wind the hemp around the wire. When you get to the end, use the same technique of inserting the wire into the glue gun and the keep wrapping the twine to stick it to the wire.I used a thin marker to wrap the vines and get the even twirly look. Keep one end kind of straight to insert into the burlap stem.

Once, I drilled them, I painted them. To keep with that rustic look, I wanted to find some sticks, but couldn't. So I settled for burlap. I cut strips about 1" in width. Using hot glue, I started off the rolling, and ended by including the "vines" in the last wrap around.

Then you just decorate!

I used a chiffon type green wire ribbon,  I cut it into about 4 inch lengths. I put a stripe of hot glue at the end, gathered the center parts, pinched it towards the center by bringing the wire ends together. This created an oval looking "leaf".

Before adding the bow, I sprayed them all with a clear gloss spray paint. It didn't make them shiny, it actually richens the color, and makes keeping the dust away much easier.

Homemade Pizza

In our family, pizza night from retailers is just like "eh". BUT... If it is homemade pizza night, they kids shout for joy, there is love in the home, and you would think world peace has been achieved! I think this has more to do with the RECIPE than anything else.

I started long ago collecting (and tweaking) recipes to be worthy of making for my family or taking to gatherings. Some are made occasionally and others have become a staple in our home. This is one of the staples. I owe this to one of my besties (Tonya Bennett) The recipe for the dough is multi-purposeful. In addition to pizza crust and bread sticks, it makes for awesome scones, and Navajo Tacos.
I will warn you though... once you try this, there is no going back!

 DOUGH

4 tsp Dry Active Yeast

1/2 c. White Sugar

1 1/2 c. warm water

4 c. White Flour

1 tsp salt

1/4 c. oil

In small glass bowl combine yeast, sugar, and water to activate yeast. Set aside for about 5 min. In large mixing bowl add flour and salt. After yeast has doubled, add oil to the yeast mixture. Add yeast mixture to flour. and mix until sides pull away from bowl and continue to knead for about 5 min. place moist towel and let rest for 10 minutes.  After resting dough, use desired amount to make large pizza crusts, or personal pizza crusts. Oil surface first. Add sauce and toppings. Bake at 425 degrees for 15-17 minutes. Bake for 11-13 minutes for bread sticks. Makes 2 medium pizza crusts. (Large Round Pampered Chef Pizza Stone)

SAUCE

1 sm can Tomato Sauce

1 sm can Tomato Paste

1 Rounded TBSP White Sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp Pepper

1 Tbsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp Oregano

1 tsp Basil

1 tsp Parsley

1 tsp Garlic Powder (or fresh pressed garlic clove)

1 tsp Onion Power

1/4 tsp Hot Sauce (Tabasco-optional)

Mix together well. Heat for marinara dipping sauce. No need to heat if using on pizza.

BREADSTICKS

1/2 ready made dough recipe above

1/2 cube melted butter

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp salt and pepper, each

1 tsp parsley

1/2-3/4 c. Fresh Parmesean Cheese

Mix everything except dough and butter on a plate. Put melted butter in a pie pan. Form dough into sticks. Roll in butter, then in seasoning mix. Place in pan.When all dough is used, if there is leftover butter or seasoning sprinkle on top of breadsticks. Bake at 425 degrees, for 11-13 minutes.

Yes, It is a lot of ingredients, but it is soooo worth it! Let me know when you make the recipe and let me know what you think! Happy baking!

Craft of the Day

So it's not like I have a set aside day of the week to do a craft, let alone do I do a craft every day.  We have to be very clear about this, because I do NOT need the pressure to be that high for me or anyone! 

One of the blogs I follow she has some great ideas, I love 'em! And this is project was inspired by her. Seriously such a wonderful, uplifting statement. It sits in the corner of my countertop to the right of my sink. I see it everyday. It is a positive reminder that I have the power to control my life.

I saw her plate and and I wanted to take mine a little further. I designed both the background and the saying on my Silhouette. I measured the inside of my $2 plate (from Wallies) and when I cut the background I cut the diameter of the circle with it so it was perfectly round. That's it. That's all there was to this little ditty!

Inspiration

Monogram "Wreath"?...

Do wreaths technically have to be round, with foliage, or flowers, vines and ribbon? I don't know either... but this is close enough. Do any of you have the same problem as me, in which you you need a wreath for the other 8 months of the year when it isn't Fall, Halloween or Christmas? I decided to solve my problem with a Monogram "Wreath".

I started with this frame and wooden letter. I purchased both from the Wood Connection. figured I didn't need to snap a picture of the raw wood, so I painted it first. These strips of ribbon are the ones I choose to coordinate with the project. After painting it a light color of gray, I changed my mind and painted it a darker one.

After it was painted I sprayed it with a coat of clear gloss spray paint. Then I tied the ribbon around the frame. Keep it a tad bit loose so the board can still fit against the frame. To keep the ribbon ends from fraying you can do this quick little trick

If you can, get self drilling screw so you don't have to pre-drill. I had some of these on hand so I could anchor the triangle hanger on the top of the frame.

This is what it looks like when they are attached.

After I found a pattern of paper that I wanted, I glued the paper to the thin wood backing that comes with the frame. DO NOT ATTACH IT TO THE FRAME YET.

If you look closely at this picture you can see I ever so lightly traced the letter on the paper so I knew where I needed to place the screws for the next step.

Drilled 3 screws through the front side of the frame so that I would know where the holes would be behind the frame. And then removed them.

Because the backing on the frame is such a thin wood, you really want to make sure you don't counter sink the screws. Keep them above the backing like so, so you don't crack the board.

This is the side profile once the letter has been attached to the backing.

So the backing combined with the weight of the wood letter is too heavy  for the little tin staples to keep the board held in- so I put large dots of glue in the corner of the frames to hold the backing in place.

Before hanging you masterpiece on your front door, I suggest that you put these little felt pads at the bottom so that it doesn't destroy your front door, or your new wreath.

And here is the finished product. :)