Moss and Burlap Rosette Centerpiece

I recently had my first moss experience. It was very pleasant :) I bought a bag of craft moss at Walmart for just over $2, and used only half of it for this craft. I love leftovers!

This glass bowl is one of 12 that we used for our wedding centerpieces. They cost almost $4 at Michaels. I kept two and sold the rest on Craigslist, and finally made use of this one. I filled the bottom of the bowl with dirt, and then topped it with a think layer of moss.

I made a rosette out of burlap. You can see the tutorial for the flower here at the Tatertots and Jello blog site. Notes from the Plumb Tree has a nice tutorial as well. It can be seen here. I added the button, which came from Hobby Lobby. I paid just under $2 for a set of two gorgeous buttons!

Isn't it pretty??? :)

I placed the bowl on a pretty napkin from Pottery Barn and put the whole thing on this bar cutout we have in our kitchen wall. 

Please don't judge what you can see if our kitchen : / It's an apartment kitchen and I haven't quite figured out how to make those ugly cabinets pretty without permanently altering them. (Has anyone ever covered cabinets with removable wallpaper?)

Thanks for stopping by!

Linked at Tatertots and Jello, Simple Home Life, The Girl Creative, Saturday Social, Fabulous Friday, Show and Tell Friday, Feathered Nest Friday, Sunday Showcase Party, Serenity Now, 504 Main,Flaunt It Friday, Creative Bloggers Party and Hop, Not Just a Housewife, Tuesdays Treasures, Craftomaniac, Sugar Bee Crafts, Savvy Southern Styles Wednesdays

Upcycling Plates and Cutting Board

I needed some art for the dining "room" wall (I say "room" because it's really more of a dining area). I had an old wooden cutting board lying around that my mother gave me. I knew I would never use it, and it has been waiting for a purpose. 

So I decided to stencil the word "eat" on it with green paint.

                   

     

I also painted the nails I was going to use green. I planned to frame the board with the nails, instead of drilling through it. I had to dab the paint on the nails using a foam brush. Making actual strokes smeared the paint right off.

I also purchased some plastic plates from Walmart and Target to hang up.

                                      

The backs of the plates were not flat, so I needed something to even them out. I thought about using wood, but didn't want to waste any of my precious materials. I found that folding single sheets of computer paper and gluing them to the back matched the edges almost perfectly. You have to make sure and put plenty of hot glue between the layers of paper, otherwise when you mount the plates, they will droop a little. 

I am afraid I am not very creative about ways to mount things. I am sure there were better ways, but I used mounting squares. Hopefully they don't crash down while we are sleeping tonight! ;)

 These are the target plates. The large one, on the right, was $2.99, and the small one on the left was on sale for $1.79. I love moths, so I snatched them up. I hesitate to use the term "upcycling" in reference to the plates, as it implies they were not worthy of being plates. But they were! I love these plates. They just needed to be on my wall :)

The set of four green plates came from Walmart, and were one dollar and some change. I didn't know it when I bought them, but they are all a different shade of green. It worked out well that way!

And here is everything mounted on the wall!

What do you think?

Linked at 

The Shabby Nest
Sugar and Dots
Beyond the Picket Fence
The 36th Avenue
Tales from Bloggeritaville
Kissed By a Frog
A Glimpse Inside
Fingerprint on the Fridge

A Word on Keets

You may be wondering what a Keet is.
You are one. You just don't know it yet :)

It all started with our adult Boston, Marla (we also have a puppy named Spock). She has a million nicknames, one of them being Marlakeet. From there, I became Helikeet. Now, everything is a Keet. It's gotten to the point that my husband and I refer to ourselves as Keets using descriptive adjectives. For example, if I am sorry, I wouldn't say it - I would just call myself an apologetic Keet.

Things are getting out of hand.

Momma Keet and Baby Keet

Paula Deen and My New Place

I have an obsession with Paula Deen furniture. Not that we can afford it. But it's just so darn pretty! I mean, look at this bed!

Look at those slats! *drool*

And check out all the storage in this desk...

I just might cry.

Source

Don't get me started on her kitchen utensils...

In other news, we recently (one week and one day ago) moved out of our two bedroom rental house with zero closets where the second bedroom was simply storage, into a larger two bedroom apartment with enormous closets where the second bedroom is my craft/animal room. And the closets have to hold all of our stuff. It's been a challenge. So much work, in  fact, that I haven't had the spirit to craft much. I would rather sit in a vegetative state and watch Heartland on Netflix. I haven't even been able to make much of an effort to spiff the place up. But yesterday I was informed that school starts the week after next, and if we are wanting to have a house warming party, I better get on it. So I will. Any day now. 

Before I post any pictures of the apartment itself, let me show you a few of my favorite things...(the kitchen will not be included in this. Ugly, ugly thing.)

This is our new quilt! It came from Target. It was on clearance, so I couldn't resist.

Yesterday, two of these owls randomly appeared on my dresser. The huz snuck into Hobby Lobby and bought these for me while I was perusing their crafty isles. Hobby Lobby has a TON of owl stuff for fall right now. Plates, napkins, aprons.... they are hard to resist. I am not sure where these little guys are going to end up yet. I have too many nick knacks. 

I need some advice on how to throw things out, lest I become like one of those people on the hoarding show....

You Shut Up!

I finally finished a project I have been working on for a while now - a painting of my dog Marla! The painting itself was done a while ago, but I've been avoiding adding the stenciled letters....

I used Tim Holtz stencils and the only stencil brush I have, which was way too big for the task, but here is the outcome

So, Marla doesn't bark much. But she speaks. If you ignore her, or are talking smack, she will put you in you place. It sounds like she is saying "You shut up!" She is the best.

And here she is telling YOU to shut up! :)

Linked at Passionately Artistic

"Rustic" Curtain Rod

Today I finished another project - a curtain rod! I really like it.

It all started with a branch.Last month, we had a bad storm here in Oklahoma that took down a lot of trees. I found a branch that I really liked and Patrick dragged it home for me. After sawing it to size, and cutting off the branches - leaving small nubs for embellishment - we sanded down the branch. This was the really hard part. It made for a good together project, though. Patrick did most of the sanding. My wrist just didn't have the strength.

After using the coarse sanding paper, we should have used the finer one to get everything even. With the move looming ahead, we didn't have time or the patience, so it's not quite perfect.

Originally, I intended to spray paint it white, for kind of a modern rustic feel. Instead, we ended up going with a metallic bronze color. It looks really great with the new curtains!

The spots that aren't even and needed an extra sanding are a little darker than the rest, but it doesn't look bad. This was a really fun and gratifying project.

Here is the rod with the light teal curtains we purchased for our new place.

 I think the two together are really great. The rod lends a modern edge to the somewhat old-fashioned curtains (thermal curtains, by the way!).

The length of the branch

A close up of the color. It's a little more shiny than it appears here.

The spray paint! This paint was on the pricier end (It was close to $7, whereas most of the others were around $3) but I really liked it and am certain I will use it again in the future!

Linked at Polly Want A Crafter? 

The Girl Creative
Under the Table and Dreaming

Disappointed Stencils

I finally finished one of my projects. The others are 98% done, and I either don't have the time, the space, or the supplies necessary right now. The Huz and I are in the process of moving, so it's a bit crazy around here. Anyway, here's what I have been working on the past couple of days:

Sorry for the bad photo. Using my cell phone for pictures for now.

I used mod podge to attach Brother and Sister fabric to canvas. I then used a Show Offs stencil for the image, which I painted with Viridian Hue acrylics. 

I ran into some issues with this. First, anytime I glue or tape anything, dog hair inevitably ends up in it. So I mod podged the fabric before attaching it so I could cut it without frays, and got dog hair in it. It also dried somewhat wrinkly, so it's not entirely smooth on the canvas. Unless you get up close to it, though, you can't see the wrinkles or the dog hair. *phew* 

The other issue was the stencil. It wouldn't lie flat no matter what I did, so I couldn't get clean lines. I ruined a canvas on my first attempt (will be able to reuse it though). The second time around, I traced the stencil with pencil first and then painted everything by hand. The 176 coats required took FOREVER and is not as clean as a stencil would have been. Needless to say, I am not as satisfied as I should be, given the labor input and quality output.

I love the project idea though and think it makes for cool art. I'll definitely try it again in the future!

Linked at Not Just A Housewife