Finally back to crafting: Fabric-covered wall hangings

It has been awhile since I blogged about crafts because I haven't really done anything lately. I have been planning some things though (of course!)

One post on Pinterest I have always liked is this post from The New England Southerner. Of course, my hallways aren't anywhere near as large as hers. But I do have a short hallway that connects my master bedroom with the rest of the house. And I found some fabric that I loved:

I have always loved teal and brown. This fabric was at Hobby Lobby and was less than $6.00 per yard on sale!

Then, I went to Home Depot to buy some foam board like this. I paid $8.76 for the 4' X 8' sheet. We cut it (roughly) in the store to fit in our SUV. Then my wonderful husband cut two pieces that are 20" X 4.5'.

Sunday afternoon, I cut the fabric with a little extra on the sides. I then pulled out my hot glue gun and glued the sides first, pulling the second side tight. Then I worked on the top and bottom, basically folding it the same way that I wrap packages. All in all, it worked well. (The only casualty was the index finger on my right hand...turns out that hot glue is actually hot!)

After I finished gluing the fabric to the board, we had to decide how to hang them. We purchased adhesive hanging hooks like these (but we bought ours at Wal-Mart). Warning: the adhesive isn't strong enough, so we had to use glue to attach them to the styrofoam and we put two of them per picture. And, we hung them upside down so the hook is at the top. Then, we hung these picture hangers on the wall (seems a bit backwards!) to put the hooks through (with the straight edge up and teeth down). Since the foam is light, it worked, but I wouldn't want to take them off and on the wall or move them often.

The hubby hung them today. Here is the final result:

Sorry about the poor pictures. I couldn't get a better shot because of the short hallway.

So, what do you think? I really like them. And, I can't wait to add some accessories to the small table on the left.

A Pinterest Christmas

Now that all of my Christmas celebrations are over, I can post some pictures of the gifts I made using ideas from Pinterest this year.

First, I decided to make everyone in the family a set of coasters. There are many different posts on Pinterest that describe the basic idea:

• Start with a 4"X4" plain tile (these sell for only $0.16!)
• Cut scrapbook paper to 4"X4" shape
• Use Mod Podge to attach the paper to the tile
• Add a coat of Mod Podge on top
• Spray with acrylic sealer
• Glue some felt or cork to the bottom (I used felt cut to 3.825"X3.825") 

Here they are:

To make the IU and Duke coasters, I simply found a picture of the logo and printed them using a nice color laser printer. (You can't use an inkjet because the Mod Podge will make the ink run.) I also made some Cubs and Call of Duty coasters for my nephews, but didn't get them in the picture. And, the coasters on the right side of the top row are for me! (I have to keep some of my projects for myself!)

Next, I made two small photo collages for my godsons, Alex and Andrei. I bought the paper mache letters from JoAnn's when I bought the T for my great nephew's collage, but JoAnn's only had the letter A in a 12-inch size. But, I think they turned out okay. I know their parents were excited about them! :-) Of course, with two adorable kids, it is easy to make any project look great!

Last, I made another no-sew blanket for my great-nephew Ty. His parents are both IU alums, and his uncle played football at IU. My sisters helped me in finding the perfect fleece. It turns out that IU doesn't allow its logo to be used on stuff like fleece, so it is impossible to get fleece that has the official IU symbol on it. But, fortunately, my sisters found this fleece at JoAnn's in Columbus, Indiana. It is all the more perfect since it has footballs on it.

For this blanket, I didn't want to use the traditional "tie" method, so I used the "braiding" method instead that I learned about from a post on Helping Little Hands. I did, however, use a size N crochet hook rather than a paper clip to do the actual braiding. It turned out really well! I think this type of edge is a bit nicer than the tradition tied edge. Another tutorial can be found at Nebraska Views.

I should also say that I put together a collage of my sister's last name using photos of pieces of architecture that look like letters of the alphabet. Luckily, I was able to find a ready-made frame with five openings. I also made one for myself, and I will share pictures of these in another post.

My sister gave me some wonderful craft-related gifts. She got me a fun storage bag with pockets and dividers. It is black, but the inside is the Cat in the Hat!! She also gave me some crochet needles, yarn, and a book on beginning crochet. She knows that I really want to learn to knit and crochet in the coming year.

I hope everyone got all they wished for this holiday season. I think 2012 will be a wonderful year, full of changes, fun, and of course, more projects!!

Another Holiday, Another Project...

I came across this project on Pinterest that was originally posted on Delightfully Noted. I spent a while looking at Lowe's, Menard's and Home Depot for the exact tile back splash to use. I finally found it at Home Depot. It has browns, creams, and copper. I think it is lovely.

I found the frame at Michael's for 50% off and got the small letters & numbers there as well. What took the longest for me to find was the "G." Every cut letter was a font that was boring or the wrong size. Last week, I ventured over to the craft store in Mattoon - I hadn't been there before. They had this G and it was perfect!

So, I spent the afternoon of Christmas eve getting the letters and numbers painted. I used the Rustoleum Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint. The frame has both blacks and browns in it so this paint looks really nice with it.

I glued it all together today. I added a small embellishment on the G - I just thought it added something, but I didn't want to use a silk flower as she did on hers. Anyhow, here it is:

Here is is sitting on the mantle:

I like it a lot. A nice reminder of the big 20th anniversary coming up!

And the hubby who says he doesn't like "crafts" ???
He likes this. Score! :-)

Merry Christmas everyone!

Lemon Bars? Hmmm...Maybe Not.

When I was visiting family for the weekend, my sister made some lemon bars from a mix. They turned out more like lemon gummy candies on top and the crust was impossible to remove from the pan. I remembered that there was a recipe I pinned on Pinterest that claimed to use only 2 ingredients to make lemon bars (not including the powdered sugar on top!). The recipe can be found at Practically Living.

Tonight, I was at the store buying stuff for tomorrow's office Christmas party (yum!) and I decided to give these bars a try. So, I bought an angel food cake mix (Betty Crocker) and a can of lemon pie filling. I was at Wal-Mart, and the only thing the had was Lemon Creme filling. I came home, mixed it up and baked.

The result is definitely NOT a bar cookie, but they taste really good! I am thinking that the problem may lie with the lemon filling so I will try again. I also think it is important to just stir together the two ingredients by hand and not use a mixer. I will let you know how they turn out!

Meanwhile, I hope folks want some lemon cake tomorrow...