Joy Sign Project

What would Christmas be without a little arts and crafts time? Just par for the course in this house. Me and my glue gun...us against the world.


I got myself some letters at Michael's to spell "Joy." I planned to do a similar treatment to that which I did for Halloween...scrapbook paper and Mod Podge.


I had one off letter (a little scissor mishap) while I was cutting, which gave me a fabulous idea. I traced all the wooden letters on holiday scrapbook paper. 

Cut them out and adhered them to another piece of green cardstock using a thick coat of Mod Podge. 

Paint a cheap thrift store frame white and add some Christmas ribbon with my trusty glue gun. 

End up with a cute little sign for the cost of the $1 frame and $2 ribbon! 

Happy Christmas Crafting! 

Button Monogram

Recently, my place of employment had a huge consignment sale. It's a really big thing every year, and this year was the first time I decided to check it out. 


Thank goodness I did. 


My love of Pinterest and all the ideas I've gotten from there made the trip very worthwhile. My first purchase was a big bag of buttons. Lucky for me, they had them all broken down by color. Amazing. So I snatched up a big bag of blue buttons (and then immediately felt like my Grandmother, who hoarded buttons in her day.) But I had an objective for them. Actually, several objectives. The first? A button monogram. 


There have been several ideas that I'd taken off of Pinterest, like:

Source: etsy.com via Ruth on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Reneé on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Jill on Pinterest

I also found, on a recent trip to Goodwill for craft supplies, these metal and wood hanging frames. There were $1 each, and they looked like something that I could use. So I picked them up. Not sure where you'd be able to find them, but I'm pretty sure canvas or a wood block would work just as well. The metal part, I painted white (it was a gross rusty color before.)

Then, I painted the frame blue and free handed a script A. I put the buttons down first to create the pattern before I glued them to make sure they were exactly how I wanted. Once the pattern was good, I took my trusty glue gun and glued those suckers down. Now, it's hanging in my hallway amongst some photos!

I still have half a jar of buttons, so it looks like I'll be perusing Pinterest for more projects!

Pumpkin Lanterns

When I decided to take two full boxes of mason jars from my grandmother's house, I just knew they'd come in handy. No, not for canning. Silly. For crafts!


Again, with the aid of Pinterest, I found the inspiration to make these "adorable" pumpkin lanterns. And I use the word "adorable" in quotes, because my that's what my husband called them. I wasn't sure to be flattered or scared. 

To make these, you'll need:

• Mason jars
• Orange paint
• Black paint
• Mod Podge
• Spray sealer
• Floral wire 
• Ribbon

Glass can be super tricky to paint. There is paint formulated specially for glass, but I found that mixing Mod Podge with acrylic paint makes it stick pretty well. I made a mixture of one part of each. 

Step 1: Paint the outside of your jar orange. The number of coats is up to you. I just did one.

Step 2: After the paint dries, paint on a pumpkin face using your black paint.

Step 3: Attach floral wire around the rim and over the top to make a handle. This is tricky and I actually ended up hot gluing it down. 

Step 4: Spray with sealant.

Step 5: Tie a bow with your decorative ribbon on the handle.

Step 6: Add a tea light and enjoy! 

Are you all making any Fall crafts? 

Mod Podge Madness

Do you know what happens when I have a long weekend AND unlimited access to Pinterest AND my power back? Many crafty hours, that's what. It looks like Martha Stewart threw up all over my kitchen table. 


First? I had fun with letters from Michaels, scrapbook paper, Mod Podge and my hot glue gun. 


I made this for my fireplace:

Hubs said to me after I put it up, "Thank God you made that sign. I'm always wondering what season it is. Now all I have to do is look at the fireplace." Smartass.

I purchased the letters from Michaels, along with the scrapbook paper, and single piece of plywood located conveniently next to the letters. 

To make, trace the shape of your letters on paper and cut. Apply a layer of Mod Podge to the letter and apply paper. Then cover with another generous coat and let dry. I also used the same technique using strips of leftover paper to cover the base. Then, I just arranged the letters and hot glued them to the base. Super easy.

Next up? Something for Halloween:

I had problems taking this picture for some reason, but you get the idea. I used the same technique here for the letters, tied them together with ribbon and added some ghosts. For these letters, I did paint the edges black. In hindsight, I should have simply spray painted them before starting, but since I wasn't smart enough to think of that first, I hand painted the edges. 

You thought that was all I got? Heck no! But I'm saving that for another post. 

Pinterest Projects Completed

Have I mentioned recently that Pinterest has taken over my life? Well it has. I've pinned approximately 1038472 projects since I got my account. And over the last week, I've decided that it's time to take some action and get started. 


So, it's been Arts and Crafts time every night this week at my casa. And there have been casualties. Such as my pointer finger that's suffered a blistered burn from the hot glue gun. Hubs has been laughing at me every night as I sit at the table by myself and spit out profanities as I burn myself. Sad. 


Wanna see my projects? Do ya? Do ya? I knew you did. These are only a few. I've had a few fails. And I have several more on tap.


First up, felt flower wreath. 

It's an understatement to say that I've become obsessed with making felt flowers. Check my pinboard to see several tutorials. 

"Mommy, why do you love your glue gun more than us?"

I bought a giant can of chalkboard paint, so I scoured Pinterest to see what I could paint. I got this little jar at Goodwill for $1, painted a square, attached some ribbon and now I have a cut little candy jar. 

Now, excuse me while I go ready myself for more Arts and Crafts night. 

Getting Crafty: Mason Jar Candle Holders

Hallelujah for a holiday weekend! I'm off work tomorrow (Friday) to capitalize on the July 4th holiday. Plus hubs is off and it's nice to spend some time together running countless errands relaxing.


Tonight, hubs headed to the Orioles game, so that means I have the house to myself. Which translated to sushi, reality TV and a trip to Michaels. Which resulted in a mighty fine craft project, if I do say so myself. And now, I shall bestow this creativity on to you. 


I made these lovely little candle holders that I'll use on the deck. Or I could hang them outside in the trees for our BBQ on Saturday. 

Pretty, right? And really easy. I purchased everything at Michaels. You'll need:

• A mason jar ($1.99)
• Small glass votive holder ($.99)
• Votive candle ($1.69 for 6)
• Ribbon ($.99...I got lucky and found this in the sale bin)
• Pebbles/gems/sand/whatever strikes your fancy (sand would look great for a beach themed party or luau) ($2.49)

Fill the jar with pebbles, tie a ribbon around the top, drop in the votive and the candle and you're done! So easy, but definitely pretty. Happy Fourth of July! I'm testing out a no bake cookie recipe for Saturday, so if that goes well, I'll have to share. Because baking and me, don't exactly play well in the sandbox, so the less I can bake, the better!

A Virtual Playland of Visual Inspiration

Perhaps you’ve been planning your wedding or looking for new home décor ideas. Or you just want to fill your mind with images of cute puppies and cuddly kittens. You hop on Google images and search for on your topic for photos to provide you with inspiration. But your search returns a mish mash of images…some relating to your search and others way in left field (how does a search for blue-striped décor return you an image of a circus clown?)



If this sounds like you, then you need to visit my new favorite addiction website, Pinterest. Many of my blogger friends started displaying images they found on Pinterest, so I decided to check it out. And after requesting an invitation and conducting my first search (for painted wine glasses), I was hooked.


Think of a topic…any topic. There’s images that will match it. Find an image you like? “Pin” it to one of your “idea boards” that you can personalize. Suddenly, all the images that give you inspiration in many facets of your life are in one location. Plus, you can follow others with similar tastes. See what they’re pinning and maybe you’ll be even more inspired (I know, it’s a lot of inspiration from one website.) All the photos are linked back to their little corner of the Web, so you can see where they came from. This is particularly good for items you’d like to purchase or recipes. Let's have a look at some of my pins, mmmkay?

When I have a baby, he/she shall have their little photo taken just like this.

My initial. I think I'll paint it on something.

Dave Matthews quote. A. It's true. B. I think I'll paint that on something too.

Teehee! Cute puggy quote.

A girl can dream, right? Too bad my laundry is in my basement. But I like the setup.

See all the inspiration that awaits you on Pinterest? It’s addicting. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Now, go follow me (http://pinterest.com/heatherjp12/), so I can follow you too! Happy pinning!

Getting My Craft On

This past week, I've taken on a few crafty projects. A little trip to Michaels and perusing Etsy gave me the crafting bug. 


I like to paint. It's usually my craft of choice. Fact about me...I took Folk Art Painting when I was in 4H (yes, 4H...it's more than showin' cows.) I used to sell my stuff, but I got out of it. However, I'm thinking it's about time to set up a shop on Etsy. I'm looking to dig out the pics of my old projects, so stay tuned. 


Anyway, I digress. I found these letter cutouts, so I decided I just had to have our initials for the kitchen.

They jazzed up my windowsill a bit. And didn't take me that long to make. 

My second project was painting some wine/champagne glasses for my sister's bachlorette party to give to the girls. Painting glass was a new thing for me. You do have to buy special paint formulated for glass, then bake them in a 325 degree oven (put them in the oven before it warms up so they don't crack) and leave them in for 30 minutes. I forgot to take a pic of them all together, but here's mine:

I did them in her wedding colors (yellow and blue), and did everyone's first initial. They were a great favor for the party and would also make a great bridesmaids gift. 

Anyone else have any good craft projects? I'm getting the itch to do something else.