Sunday, March 13, 2011

Wonderful (BUSY) Weekend!!

Hey, Everybody!!!  I hope you had a spectacular weekend.  Mother Nature was VERY kind to us yesterday and gave us a nice long sip of spring.  Mr. Inspiring and I spent the day de-junking cleaning out the garage.  We took some unwanted items to the curb, and a guy came along and salvaged almost everything.  We talked to him for a while and realized that he was a handicapped person that was making it on his own.  It felt good to know that we helped him out.  He was very appreciative and kept thanking us.  It was GOOD.

Today I crafted and created and worked on projects. 

First off - I have all the paint applied to my door that I'm turning into my headboard.  I'm so excited, and can't wait to start on the next step!!!

Then, while I was waiting for my coats of paint to dry, I played around with the cricut.  A couple of Christmas's ago, I made all of our family members tiles with their last names on them.  I cut out vinyl and then mod podged them.  They turned our super duper cute!!  And ever since, I've been wanting one.  But, 11 letters was NOT going to look right on the 12" x 12" tiles like I made for everyone else.  So after cruising blogland, I found Denise's wonderful tutorial for these tiles, using SCAL.  You can find her tute on her wibsite, http://paperpastime.com/ and the tutorial is called "Split a Letter With SCAL2 Video".  It's dated February 23, 2011.  Denise is AWESOME and has done some wonderful projects.  I've been watching her for over a year.  Well, I did mine today, and while I think it looks very cool, it's also hard to read in certain light...........  Mr. Inspiring suggested making the name in a different color and leaving the big W in the gold sparkle........... He just may be on to something..... 

Here's my tile:


Here's what the vinyl looked like before I applied it to the tile:



Total cost for this tile project?  Just the cost of the tile, less that $5.  The vinyl is part of the huge bag of bits and pieces our local graphics shop gave me!!  Told you I got some great vinyl!!



I posted pictures of my candles last Monday, and the soda box that I put them in and set them on my dining table.  Well, just in one week, my table has gotten a bunch of new scratches.  Not good.  I'm not horribly upset, as I want to redo the table (it's that orangey golden oak stain), but I'm not really happy about it, either.  So I made a table runner to put underneath the soda box.

I figured out what size I wanted it to be, then I cut my piece of drop cloth and inch wider and an inch longer than the finished size of 16" x 38".  I used blue painters tape to make my stripes.



(I promise, they really aren't as crooked as this picture shows...)

Using a sponge 'brush' I painted and dabbed on my brown acrylic craft paint.




I cut a 'W' out with my cricut using SCAL2.  It's my favorite font 'Fontleroy' - The same one I used for my 'W' on my lamps!!  I cut it out in vinyl and kept the negative to make my stencil.




I didn't take anymore pictures for the next couple of steps.  (My batteries kind of died...)

But I did both ends with the same W.  I took some old (and I mean OLD) muslin, and cut 3" strips.  I folded the sides over and stitched it, then kind of gathered/pleated it and stitched it to the runner.  It is NOT the most beautifully sewn, technically correct project ever done.  And it came out just like I wanted.  NOT perfect.  And that's perfect for me!!!




Total cost for this project?  The 4' x 15' drop cloth was less than $20 and I've got a TON left for more projects!!  I had the paint and the sponge brush and the tape.  And again, the vinyl I used to make the W was part of the sack of bits and pieces.  The OLD muslin - I'm tellin' ya -- It's old!  I got it when my ex husbands grandma passed away in 1989.  It was with a bunch of fabric she had tucked away for quilting, and looking at it, you don't see this kind of material in stores anymore.  I knew it was OLD in '89!!

I'm just loving that drop cloth!!!

Have a great week!!!

Hugs ~~ Suz

I'm linking up to:

















Sew Happy Geek










Beyond The Picket Fence


Domestically Speaking




SewHappyGeek

16 comments:

  1. That is a great project Suz! I love how it turned out. Have a wonderful week. Spring is in the air and it feels so good!

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  2. That's a fantastic runner! My favourite kind - simple and elegant! Thanks for linking up :)

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  3. I love drop cloths too, the runner is so neat made out of one! Stop over and see what I have done with a drop cloth on a bench and stool! Oh, I'm now a follower!

    Rondell

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  4. very cool! Thank you for posting on flamingo toes party. Wendi :) www.project-purple.blogspot.com

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  5. oooohhh that is lovely! So glad you came to visit and follow so I could find you!

    you asked about the font on my stool redo and I'm afraid i have no idea...it was actually a mixture for every character to get it just like that and unfortunately I didn't save it to look back! Wish I could share it with you!

    www.northerncottage.blogspot.com

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  6. Cute! I love the Monogram... very stylish. I think the whole effect is great. :) I am your newest follower... you have a cute blog! Have a great day.
    Humble Homemaking

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  7. Wow, that is really amazing. I love the monogram. I am your latest follower. I would love for you to come and check out my blog and follow me back at www.diybydesign.blogspot.com. Thanks so much.

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  8. I am so jealous I would love a Cricut! The runner is fabulous! I am visiting from Debbie Doos and and I am your newest follower, hope you will stop by for a visit and follow me back.

    Carol

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  9. Debbie - Thanks again for hosting your weekly linky party!!! (and I'm sorry I didn't put your button on the post - that's what I get for blogging at 5 in the morning!! It's there now!)

    Sew Happy - Thank you for stopping by and checking my project out!!

    Rondell - I stopped by your blog and wow! You've done some great projects! I love the bench you recovered with drop cloth and your cute little stool!! Great Job!!

    Wendi - thank you for stopping by - - I'll come visit you soon!!

    Northern Cottage - I know what you mean about remembering fonts!! I know the name of the font I used in this project (and my lamps) only because it has the word font in it and I thought that was clever!! LOL I have a horrible memory!

    Humble - Thank you for stopping by!! I'm going to come visit you soon, too!!!

    Judy - Thanks for following! And for the nice comments! I WILL come visit!!!

    Carol - I'll come visit you, too!! I do love my cricut - and I find I use it more, now that I have SCAL and Inkscape!! There is a lot more creative freedom using it that way!!!

    Thank you, again, everyone!!! I love your comments! And if you chose to follow, thank you for that, too!! I hope you all have a wonderful day!!

    Hugs ~~ Suz

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  10. This is so pretty. Love it!

    Warmly, Michelle (AKA - the ONLY blogger without a cricut!) :D

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  11. Thanks, Michelle --

    My suggestion: Before you purchase a cricut, do research and ask a lot of questions. When I got mine, I didn't even know there were other cutters out there. Research Sillouette (sp) and there's another one or two. Provo Craft, the maker of cricut is starting to come across to me as a big, money hungry corporation and I'm not impressed with how they're conducting business. That's my soapbox - - sorry!! :-)

    The cricut machine itself is awesome, but I prefer using it with Sure Cuts A Lot, because you get much more creative freedom than being tied down to the images offered on their (VERY EXPENSIVE) cartridges.

    Thank you for stopping by!!

    Hugs ~~ Suz

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  12. love it! i'm a big fan of runners and stencils. thanks for sharing this at my party!

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  13. Oh I've been envying all the table runners out there lately! I need to get my rear in gear and make one already! Thanks for encouraging me! I'd love to have you join my VIP party friday @ www.designergarden.blogspot.com

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  14. I love your runner! Who knew a drop cloth could be so pretty?!

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  15. Hiya, just wanted to let you know I'm featuring you tomorrow on Feature Friday, so you're welcome to go grab a 'featured' button if you'd like:
    www.sewhappygeek.blogspot.com

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