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Magnetic Board Tutorial

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My life is a whirlwind! We have lots of company coming and going this month (fun times), we are beginning to gear up for the class we teach starting in the Fall (Freedom Session) and I’m trying to get ready for the Queen Bee French Flea in September.  My posts will likely be a bit sparse over the next weeks and mostly about the things I’m making for the flea market.  
I shared in my last post a picture of a magnetic board that I have hanging on my Message Center Wall, and I promised I’d share a tutorial so . . . here you have it!
I started with an old frame,
added a couple coats of spray paint,
took an inside measurement of the frame,
 and, with some really good metal cutting tools, . . .
. . . I began carefully cutting the piece of sheet metal that I purchased at my local hardware store.  Notice that I marked my cutting lines with permanent marker. It is really important to get this the right size the first time because it is a little hard (and time consuming) to cut through a large piece of sheet metal.  I really didn’t want to have to go back and do any more trimming.
 Whew! Perfect fit. Someone IS definitely watching out for me!
 To hold the sheet metal in place I added a few small nails around the perimeter of the frame.
Here you have the finished product!
 Since this is for a French Flea I printed off a picture of a fleur de lis (from The Graphics Fairy of course), cut it out, making a stencil  of the piece of paper I printed it on, taped it down well with two-sided tape, and spray painted it onto the sheet metal.  IMPORTANT: Paint doesn’t adhere to sheet metal well as it has a protective oil coating. I prepared the surface by washing it well with white vinegar.
 I draped the frame with some vintage handmade Irish lace from my mother-in-law. Doesn’t this lace look sort of like a banner?

I added some rosette magnets for fun. These are made with old lace, burlap and drop cloth fabric (rosette tutorial HERE).

And here she is . . . ready for market.
Thanks for stopping by for a little market preview!
Blessings,
I’ve been known to link up to the following great parties!!!

Sunday:

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Rosette Wreath Tutorial

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So, as promised in my last post, SpringDreamin’, I’m back with a tutorial for one of my Spring decorating projects. This is my DIY Rosette Wreath made from leftover fabrics, including drop cloth material, vintage lace, burlap, and solid and floral cotton. I could call this my Pottery Barn wreath since the cotton fabric is from a Pottery Barn duvet cover which my dogs had a gigantic playfest on, resulting in a long tear right down the center. Oh well, I’m dreaming of a bedroom update anyway.
Plenty of leftover fabric if anyone is interested!
For this tutorial I used a strip of drop cloth fabric. The size strip you cut will depend upon the size rosette you want to make. This one was approximately 1-1/2″x18″. It is better to cut it a bit longer because you can always trim off the excess. 
Start by folding your strip lengthwise and finger creasing it.
Notice the fray to the fabric? I tend to prefer the frayed look but if you don’t . . . well . . . I guess you’ll just have to hem it!
 
Next turn the corner of the fabric piece down. This will be the center of your flower. While holding your rosette with one hand, twist the fabric from front to back with the other hand.  Continue wrapping your length of fabric around the “bud”, twisting as you go.
You can see the twists in the fabric in the pictures below.
With each twist apply a drop of hot glue.
Keep going until your rosette is the size you want and VOILA!
 
Okay, so what happens if your rosette doesn’t look anything like a flower?  Don’t worry, my first attempt at rosette making was pretty sad.  Don’t give up! If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, again! Really! The nice thing about drop cloth fabric is that it has a little stiffness to it and kind of holds it’s shape. I practiced the twists and turns without the glue gun until I got the hang of it. 
After your rosettes are complete you’ll glue them to a wreath form. I thought a big willow wreath form from the craft store would’ve been beautiful but for this wreath, but everything I used I had on hand. Reason #1: I was in my pajamas and didn’t want to get cleaned up to go to the craft store. Reason #2: I’m fond of saving $$$. 
 
I hot glued the rosettes to a piece of cardboard cut in the shape of a circle, then trimmed close to the rosettes so it wouldn’t show from the front. I added a long piece of burlap around the outside of the rosettes as a sort of frame. I hot glued a wire clothes hanger, bent into a circle, to the back to make the wreath sturdier. Then I added a second row of burlap  to hide the hanger. I don’t know why but I tend to like my projects to look good from the back as well as the front.
Here is the end result, hanging from an old window on my covered front porch.
Below are some close-ups of my rosettes. I used 2 or 3 different fabrics to make each flower.
The entire project took an evening making flowers (while watching Downton Abbey) and a couple of hours the next morning putting it all together.
So there you have it!
If you’d like to see some more rosette wreaths for some added inspiration you can link to my post: TwoWreathsPlainAndFancy.
In this post I share a glittery rosette wreath and one made from an old flannel shirt.
 
I’ll be back in a couple of days with another Spring decorating tutorial but until then . . .
 
     Blessings,

 

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A New Journal For The New Year

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Putting into practice an attitude of gratefulness can be life changing.  Even when one is going through times that may not seem to hold much in the way of blessing, there is ALWAYS something to be grateful for.  In our search for that something, followed by the act of writing it down, there comes a proven shift in our way of thinking. This change in thinking reaches all the way down into our hearts where we begin to FEEL a difference in our attitudes. 
We are transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2).

You don’t have to be a writer to keep a Journal, and a Gratitude Journal is a good place to start.  I’ve been journaling for several years now and sometimes I’ve purchased really pretty journals (at really pretty prices) and sometimes my writing has been done on whatever random notebook I’ve had on hand.  I came across the idea of covering mini-composition books (3-1/4″x4-1/2″) at The 36th Avenue and was inspired to make my own.  Here’s how:

I bought two different types and sizes of notebooks. The larger composition book is 9-3/4″ x 7-1/2″ and was .99 cents at Office Max.  The smaller spiral notebook is 7″ x 5″ and the cost was $1.99.  I like the smaller one a lot because it has a pocket inside that you can slip a little note into for gift giving.

I started by lining the cover up over the paper I would use to cover it,  then traced it and cut it out. 
The notebooks can be covered with a variety of materials . . . leftover fabric from another project or an old article of clothing, scrapbooking paper, wallpaper or even thick wrapping paper.  Just glue your material on with a gluestick after you’ve cut it to size.
The black spine of the composition journal looked fine with this particular paper but I decided to use the reverse side of the scrapbooking paper for contrast.  The strip I cut and applied was about 2-3/4″ wide by 9-3/4″ long.  Note:  If you are using fabric it takes more glue to make it stick as the fabric tends to wick up the glue (a lesson learned by trial and error).
Now, for a little heavy reading atop the notebook while it dries!

 

So here are the books I covered today.  This is a quick and easy project, especially when done assembly line style.  I did 17 of them in one evening to give as gifts to friends (okay, so I’ll admit, it was one really LATE evening).

 

Some of the notebooks received an extra little embellishment, a fabric rosette . . . (tutorial here)
. . . or a stamp with a message and some old buttons . . .

 

. . . a cutout monogram with a button glued on to match the buttons on the paper . . .

 

 . . . and a plain paper monogram in a contrasting color.  I used my handy dandy glue gun to add the embellishments.  You could get really imaginative and have a lot of fun with this part!

 

 

I can see the future of my journals now . . .

 

 

. . . instead of being in random places all over the house, my personal journals will now be uniform in size, organized by date, tied up with a pretty ribbon and artfully displayed on my office bookshelf. 
Just another little vignette to make me smile 🙂
  So . . . who or what are you grateful for in your life today?  
Is there someone that has helped you or met a need?  
Is there someone who has been kind to you or just blessed you with a smile? 
Are you grateful for the beauty of creation around you?
 Have you had any recent answers to prayer that you can be grateful for? 
I am thankful for so very much . . . a warm fire on a cold night, a hot cup of tea, my family’s love, friends that accept me for who I am, doggie kisses (I know GROSS, right?) . . . my list goes on and on.  And while this may seem trivial in the grand scheme of things I’m also thankful for things that bring beauty to my home . . . 
things like .99 cent journals covered with old scraps of fabric or paper. 
These are the little things that brighten up my small corner of the world.
And always, I’m thankful for YOU,

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My Autumn Porch

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It has been a very long time since I’ve written a post on my blog. This is our busiest time of year as we start another nine months of Freedom Session. We kicked off with our big Intro Night last Sunday and the work begins in earnest this upcoming Sunday with Session 01! After somewhat stressful week last week, I decided to take some down time just to have fun! A day of rest for me is usually doing something that gets my creative juices flowing. That can be hitting garage sales in search of that perfect piece of furniture to restore, surfing through my favorite blogs for DIY decorating ideas for my home, or moving things around my house to reflect a new Season. This week I decided to decorate my front porch for Fall.

I’m not real fond of scarecrows, spider webs and witches, so my decorations are a bit tame. My husband hung a new swing on my front porch this summer and I sewed some pillows that have colors that work Spring-Fall.

So, this is the big picture, the entire length of our front porch with all of the decorations I’ve added to make it feel Autumny! Keep reading and I’ll show you some close up details.

This old window has been hanging around my yard for quite awhile now. I finally found the perfect place to hang it. Notice how it frames the apples ripening on my neighbor’s tree. You can smell their sweetness and I’m so tempted to run over there and pick a few.

Also hanging here is a sweet little bird feeder made from a china cup and saucer and some teaspoons. One of my husband’s students gave it to him, knowing that he loves feeding the birds in our yard.

I filled a galvanized metal tub and a burlap wrapped bucket with some deep burgandy colored Mums and a Jack-O-Lantern plant. The grasses were cut from my yard. Hard to see in this picture but both containers have rope handles. Very cute.

I found the candlesticks at a garage sale, spray painted them and distressed them and added some mini pumpkins on top.

I filled a lantern I already had with a bit of Fall Harvest.

On to the door, a moss covered monogram hung with burlap ribbon and decorated with a burlap rosette. Pricey at Pottery Barn, but I made mine with things I had on hand. You can view the tutorial here http://patricia-krank.blogspot.com/2012/09/a-moss-covered-monogram-just-like.html

And on over to the other side of the door, a little chair I found at our church garage sale, some plants I already had in my yard, and a basket of gourds and pumpkins.

And finally, the keeper of the front door.

I hope you enjoyed a peek at my front porch. It’s time to grab a cup of tea and soak up the last bit of warm weather.

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A Moss Covered Monogram – Just Like Pottery Barn’s – and Burlap Rosettes

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I really enjoy the use of monograms in decorating right now, and I especially like Pottery Barn’s live moss monograms. But . . . at $79, I decided to make my own from things I already had on hand.

I began by using my utility knife to cut the letter “K” out of a piece of cardboard.

Next, I traced the letter onto some leftover foam from a chair padding project, and used my electric carving knife to cut the foam. Just like cutting through soft butter!

Now for the moss. I had some leftover in my craft cupboard. The package looks like this.

I cut the shape of the letter out of the moss, and began wrapping my foam, glueing as I went with my handy OLD glue gun.

When the front was done I turned it over and glued a strip of moss on the back.

Voila! She is finished.

Now to add the finishing touches, a burlap ribbon for hanging and a burlap flower.

Here it is, hanging in my entryway.

Okay . . . so here is a quick tutorial on making rosettes out of scrap fabric. I began with a length of burlap ribbon, which I folded in half lengthwise.

Next I began rolling the bud from the middle, glueing with my glue gun as I went along.

I continued rolling, twisting my ribbon and glueing to the end.

Then I finished it off by wrapping the end of the burlap underneath the flower and glueing it in place. I wasn’t concerned about raw edges showing as that was the look I was going for. Here is a TIP for you: The more flowers I’ve made the more I’ve realized that the quicker you make one, the better it turns out! At the beginning, when I was trying to get these things to look perfect, they turned out looking really bad!

My husband thinks this crafy project is a bit funny and that my letter looks like it is growing grass! I rather like my mossy “K”.

Be blessed!

© copyright 2012 – All rights reserved

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