More Presents? Of Course- I've Got to Get My Creative Fix!!

We are still at it- all that making of art craziness- in this house that has yet to be named. I see something- whether it is a piece of fabric or a pretty picture and suddenly I have a new idea. This time, I saw big giant dragon tears and then I saw the magnets at the dollar store and suddenly I remembered a project a few years back where the children drew tiny pictures and we Mod Podged (see- there's that indespensible Mod Podge again!) then on to the flat side of the dragon tears and then glued them on to a magnet and Wham! there was cool magnet art going on.
Inspired by the fabric covered light switch covers, we cut teeny tiny circles (well, the size of a quarter or so) and used that handy-dandy Mod Podge to put that fabric on that flat part of a giant dragon tear and once it had dried, we hot glue gunned it on to a magnet. And suddenly we could do sets- mushroom fabric light switch cover and mushroom fabric magnet!

The children got into it and had fun and we have many more to make. Up next- origami boxes to hold the magnets which will go out to local friends as gifts this holiday season.

Here a Gift, There a Gift, Everywhere a Gift, Gift

Warning: Gift spoiler alert to any family members...... Don't look if you don't want to know what you are getting for the holidays.

So much for a daily blog- "Really, I'll be on top of it- I promise! Come and read." But, uh, yes, well, things have been different. We'll use "different" because it keeps words like "good" and "bad" out of the conversation. This is not a simple situation. So much change in such short time and I am a slow processor with certain things. When thrown into a situation I can usually adapt and accommodate but with this- a life change, I am a slower adapter when it comes to the long run and the details.
I brought the enthusiasm and then I lost a little bit and a little more and things unraveled from there. But you know what started the regrouping recently? That would be the creativity needed to make gifts for family and friends.
Wracking my brain- and then I got it- Mod Podge!! I know- something I didn't know anything about as a child and since then, I have embraced.
So here is a peek at our holiday gifts- the first peek- Light Switch Covers. The switch plates were about $0.47 each (the non-breakable ones) and the fabric we had though you don't need much for these (about 3 x 5). Then there was the Mod Podge which we already had.

Using words cut from newspaper and written by hand, we Mod Podged the fabric and the words and created little works of art for our friends and family. We sealed them with a coat of polyurethane. We have other things in the works as well and I will keep posting the different treats as we create them.......
Art is one of the most healing things in the world and as far as this momma is concerned, it is a life saver.

Crazy Cabinets in the Kitchen

This old house has its issues and the kitchen which appeared in the photos to be the one room that was pretty much redone has issues too. The stick on floor tiles are popping up, the counter was never screwed down and squeaks when you lean on it and those cabinets look nice but, though solid wood (thank goodness!) are cheap and sort of, well, plain- for this momma's wild taste.
So, I considered the chalkboard paint option- one that we love, love, love but getting a bunch of colors at $13 to $15 a quart was a bit pricey on a budget that is $0. So, I went back to the drawing board. I considered painting patterns or taking panels out and inserting mesh or other things we could find to make funky door panels but then a new friend said "What about fabric?" And it evolved. What if I Mod Podged fabric on to the panel of each cabinet- except for the ones I paint with chalkboard paint?
So, the work began.

 

I carefully took each door down- some days it was one or two at a time and some days I took a bunch at a time. Between filling orders and working odd hours at my part time job, I finally finished. When I put the final coat of chalkboard paint on the three chosen panels, I sat back. The kitchen was full of color and fun and funky and suddenly everyone wanted to be in there.

The ingredients? Well, that would be: fabric, cabinet door, Mod Podge, a little cheap paint brush, foam applicator/brush thingy & polyurethane. I followed the rhythm of cutting the fabric to panel size, applying Mod Podge to the panel, carefully putting the fabric on the panel and then Mod Podging over the fabric. I did two coats of Mod Podge and once that was all done and dry, I did two coats of polyurethane. And suddenly I had cabinets that I no longer wished to replace- EVER.