And that ends the DIY segment.

I had two projects that I started and took forever to finish.  

Here they are.  

This is the desk that I introduced awhile ago, and the finished product.  As you can see, I kept it very similar.

The second project was finding a way to hang my necklaces.  I bought a coat rack at a thrift store, stained it and spray painted the hooks.  

Now I really need to get the house ready to move.  I have strollers to sell (anyone want a Phil and Ted's Vibe?), clothes to give away, and rooms to organize.  

We have about three months left here, and in that time we have Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I have a lot to do.

Thus ends my DIY kick, at least for now.  

I'm sewing. I'm a sewer. I'm sewing.

Remember "What About Bob?" and the "I'm Sailing" scene?

In continuing the attempt to find a hobby I love, I borrowed my friends sewing machine.

I wanted to start with something easy, so I made a pillow cover.  Actually I made two.  One yard of fabric, two pillows.

As I was sewing, I kept repeating in my mind, "I'm sewing.  I'm a sewer.  I'm sewing".

That, and when I first started using the sewing machine, I stuck out my tongue when I was concentrating. 

I don't think sewing is my thing, but it was fun.

I used this tutorial.

I bought the fabric at fabric.com and the pillow forms at Ikea.

Then feeling confident of my skills, I went for something a little more complex (I had to use pins).  For this project, I used this tutorial.

I haven't finished all the way, I still have to add a little button/embellishment.

I bought the ties and the cream colored shirt at a local thrift.  The second shirt I already owned.

Here are some pictures of me trying to take a picture of the shirt.

So cute.

We love birdhouses.

 

Bird House Kits: $2.00

Paint & Paint Brushes:  $2.00

Ten minutes without fighting:  Priceless.

Cultivating my creativity.

I had an idea.  It was a borrowed idea from a few friends, 

Anja and April (who I have met in real life and think is spectacular).

My goal was to take an inexpensive frame and turn it into something extraordinary.

Here is the frame as it started. 

I put Jack next to it, so you could see how really large it is.

I went to Home Depot to ask what I needed to buy.  I left with sandpaper, a paintbrush, and paint.  Oh, and instructions to clean the paintbrush really well so that it would last awhile.

I sanded the frame down and painted it.  I was really impressed with myself.  I didn't make a mess, and it looked how I anticipated!

Then I cleaned the brush.  Except, I didn't know that the paint was oil based, because I didn't know that I was supposed to ask.  So I tried to wash my brush in the sink.  In case you didn't know,  water doesn't do anything to oil-based paint, except make a big mess.  My hands were stained, the sink was a disaster, and the paintbrush was getting messier with each drop of water.  

I yelled to Ben that we needed to make an emergency trip to Home Depot, immediately.  He had to come with me, because I couldn't drive with my sticky hands.  Since it was 7:00 pm, and the boys were tired, it was not the best news, and he said "you and your projects".   

I was not deterred.  We bought Mineral Spirits and it was all better.  Crisis solved.

This is my finished project.

The maps I bought from here.  The heart is located in the city we lived, and the pictures are family pictures when we left/leave that place.  The center is the Temple that we were married in.

I still need to paint the clothespins, but good enough.

I am really excited about the way it turned out.  

I even have another project in the works.

This one is a little more "involved".

This project is inspired by my friend, Emily.

Here is the before picture.

My seasonal accomplishments.

I generally don't attempt crafty things.  This year, however, I was in the mood to create something festive.

These are my attempts.

Button Christmas Trees.

 Tin Can Advent Calendar.

I would like to say the ideas were mine, but they came from here and here.

I am the first to admit that most of my crafts do not turn out the way they are supposed to, but these two were easy.  The hardest part was finding the supplies.  Buttons and pins were particularly challenging.

(Right Jodie?)

If you are interested, I found most of the supplies for the button tress at JoAnn fabrics, in the store and online.  I also saw them on Amazon.com. 

I found the tin buckets at Walmart.com.

Crafts.

I have recently been inspired by some of my friends who are very talented and have taken upon themselves some crafty projects. (A lot of friends and family are VERY talented when it comes to all things creative.) It seems that everyone I know is sewing, knitting, quilting, decorating, or scrap booking...the list goes on. I thought I should jump on the bandwagon. This is the story.
I was shopping the other day at the mall and found this beautiful headband at this store. It was a lot more than I wanted to spend, so I thought to myself-I bet I can make one of these on my own.

I immediately headed to my nearest craft store and purchased the required items. After several frustrating hours and an enormous blister later...

I have decided that I am not crafty. Now, please don't feel sorry for me, or my child(ren). I laugh when I think of it. Crafts are not my talent. It is okay, I am okay. Think of it this way...I recognize the amount of work that it takes to make things beautiful, and will be willing to pay for it.

Side note. When I told Ben that I was going to make this, I think he was laughing on the inside, but supported the fact that I did not spend the money in the store. He was out of town when all of this happened, and would ask how my project was going. I sent him a text the day that things went from bad to terrible telling him about my blister. Later when I showed him the headband and my poor finger, he laughed and asked if I had tried to touch the glue when it was still hot. Yes...that is exactly what I did. He just laughed and said he loved me. He realizes too that I am not crafty, and still loves me. What a great husband.