I have been working on this:
for the past 2 weeks, and it is STILL not finished!
I just hope I can finish my fall wreath before Christmas!
Category: craft
Lookit what mei hubby built me!
This spray paint storage rack now hangs in the shed he built a few weeks ago:
Of course, the first thing he said after showing it to me was “just because it’s half empty, doesn’t mean we need to fill it up.” Awww, he’s so cute – now I just need to get the other half of my stash and put it up there ;D
Frame Jewelry Display
You know how sometimes the glass that comes with a photo frame breaks? And you don’t want to throw that frame away so you stash it for months in various places, until your husband is all “hmmm, are you going to do something with this thing?” And then a friend gifts you their old coffee table but one of the ten knobs is missing and you’re all “Whoa! Frame + knobs? Can I say jewelry display?”
Okay, so maybe you haven’t thought this, but I did, and here are the results. 
I took the frame and painted it in Oil Rubbed Bronze, then covered the backing with gold dust vellum paper from my favorite paper store.
The backing was a piece of laminate that my husband had leftover from a project and he cut it to size for me. Once the laminate and vellum were adhered, I marked a grid of nine spots on the back – three across, three up and down. My awesome husband drilled the laminate and paper and we bought some new screws because the ones that came with the knobs were too long.
I now have a place to display some of my bracelets and necklaces:
The total cost of this project was solidly under ten dollars. The paper was $2.75 (plus tax) and the new screws/washers were under $5. I had the frame, we had the piece of laminate and we had the nine knobs from my craft table project.
I hope you have enjoyed my repurposed photo frame craft!
Oh shit!
I was getting this post ready when I realized I broke my Lent promise not to purchase craft materials. I lasted a big whooping THREE DAYS before I broke my word. At least it wasn’t on purpose.
On Saturday, my mother-in-law took my boys (and my husband) to the San Francisco Zoo to see the baby hippo. I took advantage of it by changing up a few things and doing some deep cleaning around the house.
A while back I ordered some antique maps of Lima, where I grew up. 
They now grace my entryway.
This pretty butterfly paper was one of the things I purchased that broke my Lent promise.
But it looks so pretty! 😀
I posted a few weeks ago about a dino-pendant I liked . . .
. . . and I found a dino charm at Michaels soon after, so I made this little bracelet. It has an Eiffel Tower and a Fleur de Lis, AND a dino in honor of my boy!
These are the other papers I bought that broke my Lent promise:
This is my Easter-themed bookcase top.
And here is my mantel, de-winterized and green-ed up for Spring! I’ll add some Easter goodies as I get them, too.
I found the cute little green bud vase way in the back of a bookcase shelf. I’m glad I looked!
Giving it up
I’m giving up purchasing any new craft supplies for Lent.
Yeah, that’s about how I feel about it (image from thefrisky.com)
The good news is, I have a crapload of craft items stored away so it’s not like I’m going to be lacking materials, but it’s always so good to go out and buy something for a new project, isn’t it?
I found a piece of fabric in my old stash that I already have plans for.
I’d like to say that I’m going to clean out most of my stored stuff and use it all up, but who am I kidding? I won’t use half of it and I’ll still want new stuff to craft with.
Alas, I am going into this with the best intentions and that’s all I can ask for.
Are you giving up anything for Lent?
Let’s make a deal
For the past couple of years I have not indulged my passion for two types of crafting: jewelry-making and cross-stitching.
I used to make jewelry as a hobby, and then as a business, which I did for a few years. I even made my wedding necklace, which you can see on the left. I wanted something striking and with an antique feel to match my gown, so I mixed off-white faux pearls with topaz crystals and rhinestones.
Then I got burnt out. Also, having two squirrelly monkeys grabbing everything and stuffing it in their mouths was kind of scary considering I worked with beads, wire, and other small items that really shouldn’t go into their little mouths. I gave most of my supplies to my mom, who’d just started making jewelry, and called it a day.
A couple of weekends ago I was cleaning out my desk (again) and I found a bag with beads I had ordered years ago, everything was unopened, and I had stashed my jewelry tools in there as well. That’s all it took. My husband was building raised beds for my potatoes and the boys were playing in the backyard, so I sat and made a little necklace. And now I want to make 100 more.
But first! I need to finish a cross-stitch I promised a friend. She gave it to me last year. August of last year. She did say there was no rush but ya know, I need to finish it. I’ve been working on it every day, but with sick kids and a sick husband and not feeling 100% myself, it’s been tough getting consistent chunks of time to work on it. But I’ve made myself the deal that I can only make more jewelry if I finish the cross-stitch.
Then I started looking around for more cross-stitch patterns. Never mind I have like, 20 in the garage somewhere. “New” is always more important than “old in the garage”. I used to make these huge cross-stitch patterns and had them framed around the house, until last year I got sick of them and stashed them in an archival box.
This is my favorite cross-stitch designer. And yes I want to make the latest one:
But I’ve made another deal with myself. I can only get a new pattern if I finish 3 of my old patterns.
It used to take me about 3 months to make one of these, and that was pre-kids. Meaning I will be buying a new pattern around 2025.
The 17,923th version of . . .
the Pottery Barn jewelry frame! I know, I know, you’ve seen similar knock-offs everywhere, and when I say everywhere, I mean everywhere, but ya know, I do love my deep, dark reds:
Yep, I used a rich glossy red for my frame, and I love it. Also, I used twine instead of wire to make it a little more of a contrast between the rustic twine and the gloss of the red.
I love the bold contrast between my bathroom wall and the glossy frame. Now I’m painting a little pot I found with the same red spray paint, and it will hold my daily cosmetics. A little update for very little money.
Casa de Berry 
