Month: April 2021

#AtoZChallenge | My Zine goes digital to showcase my crafty April

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I have enjoyed crafting my way through the A to Z challenge this year and for my final post, I’m going digital. I’ve created an online zine to showcase all of my home craft projects.

What is a zine? 

a noncommercial often homemade or online publication usually devoted to specialized and often unconventional subject matter

 

When I return from a trip, I spend weeks, even months, crafting my travel album. I journal while away so I have good “notes” and love to find that delicate balance between pictures and text that combine seamlessly to tell the stories of my travels. My trip never feels complete until I’ve transferred my travel memories into a printed keepsake. Continue reading →

#AtoZChallenge | Yarn balls, or maybe yarn ovals, for a decorative accent

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My fireplace mantel sat for many years empty or even worse with a few random mismatched pieces. I could never quite figure out what worked in the space. It was the albatross hanging over our living room. When we ramped up our COVID-19 project to do list, tackling the mantle was top of that list.

I found some great outdoor themed prints from The Landmark Project for the wall above the mantle and then started judiciously editing the pieces that I had on hand until I had a final display that I loved. But, as with all my projects, it still needed one more thing.

I had a glass vase that was the perfect shape and size as an accent piece for the mantel but it rarely had flowers in it so was a little plain. I added some gold tone twine balls that filled out the vase nicely. It made all the difference.

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#AtoZChallenge | Xerox print transfer to evoke my all time favorite word.

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I didn’t have an idea in my head. I just knew the word I wanted to evoke. It’s my all time favorite word.

I drive my girls crazy because I talk about it all the time. I text them images when I come across the word in a book. I mention it to them during casual conversation although it never comes off as casual as I would like. I point it out when it comes up in a movie or television show. I feel it is the most critical personality trait a person can have in life.  It sustains you and helps you move forward whatever the world throws at you. I believe you can develop it but whether a gift from birth or learned you must have it.

That word is GRIT! Resiliency, Bootstraps, Tenacity, Perseverance. There are many words. Grit is my favorite.

I wanted to create an art piece that would remind me of this word at a glance. I’m sure on my deathbed my girls will be throwing it in the donation bin but hopefully I’ll get to enjoy it for many years before that time comes.

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#AtoZChallenge | Wallpapering a kitchen accent wall with some local love

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I love a pop of color. It really brightens up a space. From dated and drab to bright and fun in just a few days. There is nothing like the big reveal full of overwhelmed tears as the homeowner tries to process their new space while cameras take it all in. In case you can’t tell, I watch a lot of HGTV. It’s one of the few reality type shows that I enjoy. I can easily stream 10 episodes in one sitting. And, I have.

It’s a little more complicated in real life when you have to do all the work yourself. While there is great satisfaction in completing a project with sweat equity, I must admit in the throes of the actual work I’m often hoping a Property Brother will show up and lend me a hand. Still, while there is no “big” reveal, the gradual transformation of a room still brings me great joy.

Back to that pop of color. I’ve long admired local textile designer Erin Flett and her gorgeous line of bright, graphic bags and home textiles. They are all so cheery and bright. I’ve given some of her bags as gifts and bought a few for myself. They always make me happy.

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#AtoZChallenge | Vintage bakelite buckles transformed into framed childhood memories

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I had a three inch orange binder that I stored on the bottom shelf of my bookcase. It had a hand written tag on the spine that read “house ideas”. I filled it with magazine pages and articles for home decorating ideas and craft projects. They were all neatly organized with page protectors and divided into sections. I would pull it out and look through it occasionally. 

Eventually Pinterest and digital storage slowly replaced my hard copies and I looked at the book less and less over the years. A few years ago, I finally went all in with digital and went through my binder one last time. I kept a handful of ideas by mostly recycled the pages and put the page protectors into a drawer thinking I may have a use for them again someday.

One idea I had saved from Martha Stewart Living was on reusing vintage Bakelite buckles and turning them into picture frame magnets for your refrigerator. I no longer have the article and it was from so long ago that I can’t find it on the magazine’s digital pages either but I remember it well. It was a fun, inventive and appeared to be an easy craft although it would require the use of power tools.

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