Anchor’s Away!!!

 

 

Cameo Silhouette

 

 

I was so excited to finally get a Cameo Silhouette that I felt like a little kid at Christmas waiting for it to arrive.  Seriously.

(If you don’t know what a Silhouette is, it’s a cutting machine for paper, vinyl, fabric…check it out on Pinterest and you will be blown away at all it can do for a crazy crafter like myself.)

In my mind I had all these cool projects I wanted to do…fabric appliques, vinyl lettering, stencils, signs, cards, geesh-the list goes on.

So much time I spent playing with it when I should’ve been doing laundry or mopping some floors or cooking or whatever, but it called to me…hee, hee.

“I’m here…waiting… make something.”

This machine takes some getting used to and some mistakes I have made…OK, a lot of mistakes, but that’s how you learn, right?

Still haven’t figured out the color and cut feature, almost threw the thing out the window trying to do that,  but there are plenty of tutorials out there.

 

Husband’s birthday was on the horizon…

Couldn’t let him get away without a handmade something or other.

 

I headed over to Home Depot and was going to have them cut some wood for me into planks for a sign and then I spotted this…

 

Bead board Wainscot!  There were six pieces in there for ~$12.00. And as the packaging says, “Primed and Ready to Paint.”  I figured I could piece some together for a sign…

They are tongue and groove so I took three of them, fit them together and used some Gorilla Glue to hold them tight.

I went to my Cameo program on my computer and found an anchor in the online store and bought it for $.99 and downloaded it.

Next I had to enlarge the anchor which is actually an easy process even for computer challenged peeps like myself.

 

I actually used clear Contact paper when cutting in the Silhouette because I had made so many mistakes with the more expensive vinyl that I needed a break from it.  The Contact paper worked great and it was even sticky on the backside so I used it as my stencil.

 

 

The next part was the hardest for me…I knew which quote I wanted to use, but couldn’t figure out the layout using the Cameo program.  I wanted different fonts and sizes and it wouldn’t all fit like I wanted it to so I ended up designing and cutting each line individually and hoping it would fit.  I am sure there is an easier, more practical way to do this, but I am not a Cameo pro…Yet.

 

Using vinyl, I cut out the phrase and transferred it over to the sign.

And here’s how it turned out…

 

Needs a few touch-ups here and there, but overall I was satisfied.

Stay tuned for more Silhouette projects.

And here’s a secret…shhhh!  I bought the machine USED from Amazon and saved some money there, too.  (Don’t tell anyone.)

 

K

Buffet Makeover

 

 

 

I love to find diamonds in the rough: AKA- furniture that is headed for the hills, and I love to use it for something new.  It’s kind of my way to stay green.  There are so many great pieces of furniture out there that are so well made that just need a little love and elbow grease.  It might take some time to find what you want, but that’s what makes part of it so thrilling to me. 

And when you find something you’ve been looking for, you feel like yelling, “SCORE!” 

Most of my favorite pieces in my house come from local Estate Sales.  Each piece has a history to it and I feel like I am bringing new life into it.

I had been on the hunt to find a piece for our Living Room/Family Room since before Christmas.  We had purchased a large flat screen TV and had to replace our entertainment center that we have used since our first house in 2000.

We didn’t have anywhere for the cable box, DVD player and Xbox to go so it ended up looking like this…

 

Yuck, I know. 

So I took my time and searched and found this little beauty…A dining room buffet.

 

 

She (I don’t know why I called her a “she”) came with a Portuguese marble top that weighs 5 million pounds.  Luckily for me, a very nice person at the estate sale offered to help me carry it to my car AND loaded it for me.  (Thank you so much,very nice person, wherever you are…)

I liked her (there I go again) because she had some cool details and is strong and sturdy, not too big, not too small.  I thought she would fit perfectly under the T.V.

 

Not too much work needed here, not even a sanding…so I just painted it.

Easy, peasy.

 

 

My husband had to drill a hole into the back of it so all the wires could fit through…thank you Darling!

 

And….Ta-Daaaaaaaaa!

 

 

 

 

 

Better, I think.  And she only cost me $60!  “SCORE!”

I hope whoever owned this before me knows I will take good care of her and she has many years left!

Now go forth and go estate sailing, raise your mast high and Enjoy the Ride!

 

Linking to miss mustard seed’s Furniture Feature Friday.

 

 

 

C’mon Spring!!!! We’re Waiting….

Technorati Tags: mason jars,spring,bell jars

And waiting and waiting…

I don’t know where you live, but in my neck of the woods it’s still gray, dark and cold and rainy.  It’s been a long winter and though the calendar says April 11th, it’s still not spring- like. 
So I bought myself some flowers and put them in a pretty blue vintage Mason jar to add some cheer along with the drear(y) weather.


So if you read my last post, you saw the Mason Jar Soap Dispenser…well, guess what?  I found out (while perusing www.SouthernHospitality.com ) that Ball is selling new mason jars with the vintage blue hue!!!!
You can find the link here:  http://freshpreserving.com/products/heritage_collection.aspx
So Cool!!!!
I love the way they look even with grocery store flowers tucked in.



And if you look closely at this picture…my sweet pup is napping in the background.
  What else is there to do on a dreary day?

Mason Jar Soap Dispenser

 

 

Who Doesn’t Love a Great Mason Jar?

 

I found these beauties at an estate sale and had to snap them up!

 

I love the turquoise hue to them and the metal lid on the one on the left made me so happy!

Here are the supplies you’ll need:

• Mason jars, of course
• Hammer and Nail
• Needle nose pliers
• Soap pump (I just used an old one I had).

 

Pound a hole into the lid with your hammer and nail.  I actually used an old jar lid for this one because I didn’t

want to ruin the metal gray one that actually came with the jar…

With your needle-nose pliers, make the hole bigger, but just big enough so your pump will fit snugly. .

Go slow and be careful because once it’s too big, you can’t go back.

 

All that is left now is to screw on your lid and add some soap!  This seriously took about 10 minutes to complete and I think it came out so cute

Now go share the Mason Jar Love with the World!

Rootbeer Float Cupcakes!

I LOVE Midwest Living Magazine...they have such great ideas for local escapes and I usually find lots of information about our local region I wouldn't ordinarily know.

This winter featured a great recipe for Root beer Float cupcakes from a bakery in Valparaiso, IN that my boys wanted to try.  Looked easy, so I decided to give it a try!

They turned out so cute and yummy my nine year old wanted to take them to share at school for his birthday.  Huge hit with the kiddos!

You can find the recipe here:  http://www.midwestliving.com/recipe/root-beer-float-cupcakes-1/

I hope you try them and let me know how you like them!

Every New Beginning Comes From Some Other Beginning's End--"Closing Time"

Welcome to Feathers and Dimes on Blogger!

After many failed attempts to import my Wordpress blog onto Blogger, I am about ready to throw my computer out the window!

Forget it!  I am just going to start blogging on Blogger without importing my old blog from Wordpress.  If you are so inclined, you can head over to www.feathersanddimes.wordpress.com and see my old posts and projects there!

For my first Blogger post, I am keeping it simple...

Spring is here!


Time for sprucing up the nest!

More details on that to come with plenty of hints of how to clean keeping it green!