A crafter is a crafter.. Even on vacation

Just because we were on vacation doesn't mean I wasn't crafting. This craft has a story to it..
Many, Many years ago (I guess about 5-6 now) MY husband and I were "up north" (for those of you Not in Illinois/Wisconsin this would be the Northern area of Wisconsin around here referred to the North woods) and we at Friends cabin there and came across a tree that had been struck by lightening. The  The tree has been stripped of the bark and the inside of the bark had been instatnly sealed. with a varnish type look. It was just too cool so we had to take some chunks of bark with us. That bark has been at our house up north, and some here in Illinois as well...for the past five years....it just sat there... taking up space.... until now

I got myself a wood burning kit, a beer, and crafty mind and got to work

I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to with it, and I hadn't worked with a wood burning tool in a loooong time, but I thought, 'eh, what the heck" and went to work.

I decided to put "Palmer lake House" and some pine trees. Our house up there is on Palmer lake road and we have always referred to it as that, so it seemed fitting. Throw in some pine trees, and It felt complete. 

We hung it above bay window in the house. It looks wonderful! I think I might take it down and burn the trees a little darker, but it took me five years to do this, so lets hope it doesn't take me another five years to darken up the trees :)



This is also a DIY under $5 project because I got my woodburning kit at a garage sale for 1.00 a few years back, and the bark was free. So if you count the beer for 1.99, it is still under five dollars :)

Bow Tie

My son is obsessed with Bow ties. Shirt or no shirt, he is pretty much always wearing one! They are now available on the etsy shop. By purchasing a bow tie, you are making a donation to individuals suffering from Chiari Malformation and Chronic pain. Thank you so much for your continued support!

Please visit the shop and leave me a message, here, there or over email, to tell me what color combo, pattern, theme, etc. you would like for your Bow Tie order!!

Gifts are ready..

Teacher gifts are all packaged and ready to go! They are also available for purchasing through the etsy shop. The funds from  each item purchased goes directly to foundations who help those with chiari malformation and chronic pain.
These items make great gifts and are even a great item to have for yourself. It is so much easier to find my glasses when they are in their adorable case. Plus it keeps my purse organized and it keeps the scratches off the lenses!
Only $4.00

Ships for only $!

                                           Click here---->     Etsy Shop

Clean up That mess

One thing that irritates the my husband to no end is the mountain of plastic bags under our cabinet after a shopping trip. I try to use the re-usable bags, but I often forget, I really try to re-use all my plastic ones too. Well, they also seem to fal lout, take up space, and in general, tick him off. So, I decided to help the situation and sew us a holder for them. I think he will be so happy. I should have saved it for his father's day present!! HAHA!!

Yep,,, That is a mess....

There... that is better :)

Scrap fabric (actually a hand-me-down from my mom's old house that we grew up in)
 a piece of ribbon
a piece of elastic
took about 10 minutes

PS.. I really do know how to spell "Comes" but it was a big pain to change in photoshop, so "Coems" is what you get!!! You know what it says!!!!

and a hat PATTERN to match!!!

Here is the matching hat.... :) ... I love it!! She was her typical smiley self while trying it on. If you are interested in a hat purchse for your charitable donation, leave me message/commnet on here, facebook, or email. Thanks so much!!

 

<a href="http://www.skiptomylou.org/" ><img src="http://www.skiptomylou.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/button2.jpg" /></a><br />

I did it.. a pattern!

Here is a dress for Tess. I did this one off of an oldie pattern I bought at a random garage sale for 10 CENTS! what a deal!! Turned out sooo cute and I can totally make the next one reversible too.  Check back soon to see the adorable floppy brim hat that also came with the pattern to match the dress

Not as planned

Ever have a simple project that turned into a total pain?!? That would be this project I simply wanted to create an additional place to display the kids arwork. I found some random supplies and thought.. ok, throw them together and that will be it....

 

So it started ok. Distressing the rulers. then I tried to glue the, with the frame portrait view and couldn't get them to stick to frame. Then I tried landscape but the background was a weird color, then I spray painted it, then I sanded it to distress the frame which I had totally messed up with the glue, then I decided to try and use knobs for hanging.

 

Then for some reason I didn't like that cuz it looks like some kind of funky alien eyes or something, so then I took thos off and found some tacks for putting pics up, but then the tacks wouldn't go in the rulers. 

Ugh, so now I have this half finished project, which has kinda ticked me off, and I still have a need for displaying the kids' art and now I have a real mess of supplies on my hands!! AHHHH... stay tuned I will either fix this or throw it in the garbage :)

 

Teacher Appreciation 2

Just another fun idea for the teachers. It is time to celebrate teacher while celebrating the approaching summer!! So, a  set of cardboard coasters, some stickers, modge podge and a whole lotta clear matte finish spray, I present to you, drink coasters......

I figure I will be stacking them, to package with a sign that reads
"All school year you helped us think and think,
now go relax, put your feet up, and enjoy a drink!!"

These coasters are going up for sale at the etsy shop. (www.etsy.com/shop/craftingforchiari) Soooo, if you like the idea, but don't have the time or would like to make a donation, then hop on over and purchase!! Thank you for the support and donation!!

Junk to treasure

I have always totally sucked at slacked a bit when it came to changing pictures in picture frames around the house. It just seems like such a pain and the kids grow and change so fast that I can't keep up. So I found this great peice of wood and thought I would do something with pictures and it. I think it turned out pretty darn cute and now when I want to change to a new pic, I can simply unclip and stick in a new "up to date" one! whallaaaa!!

 

 

Featured

We are honored to be featured by "Just Between Friends" check out her post and kind words. Show a little love back by clicking the link on right side of my blog and it will take you right to the site :) Have a great day!!