Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Pink Chalkboard Frames - With a Little Valentine Flavor

When the chalkboard paint comes out, I tend to go a little overboard.  Nothing is safe from being chalkboard-ified. 


Old gold frames - ahem, maybe I should say FREE old gold frames....what's with all the old gold frames in this world?  They had some pretty needlepoint flowers in them, but they're not really my style, so the gold and the needlepoint needed to go.

I made this heart garland from magazine pages and fishing line.




Check out the back below - I covered it with vintage flower wallpaper...poppies or anemones maybe? Not sure.
My mom bought it at a barn sale to use in her bathroom, but I don't think my dad was too thrilled with it. Wonder why.

I was having so much with the pink paint, that I found another frame to paint...

The button was SUPPOSED to be on the bottom of the frame, but someone got a little over-excited with the glue gun and didn't check the back of the frame to see which side was the top.  Luckily, it worked with it on the top.

gklush


Love this paper.  See my little tag - something is wrong with my "spooler" so I can't print...so I had to get creative for my booth price tags. 

Hope you're having a great week! I've been working on all kinds of furniture (since it was so nice and warm outside today)...so I should have some new, non-chalkboard or wreath projects in the next couple days.  Promise!

 Sharing at these parties:

MONDAY:
Thrifty Decor Chick (1st Monday of Each Month)
TUESDAY: 
Kammy's Korner (Trash to Treasure)
WEDNESDAY:
Domestically Speaking (Paint Projects)
Faded Charm (White Projects)
THURSDAY:
FRIDAY:
Miss Mustard Seed (Furniture Only)
SATURDAY:
SUNDAY:

take care -
erin

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Sunday, January 8, 2012

A Little Newsy-News to Share with You

It's been a rough week - my husband has Crohns (an auto-immune disease) and hasn't been feeling well recently.  Luckily, he starts infusions next week, and I'm praying that they help him feel better. (For some people, they relieve all of the symptoms, and for others, the infusions do nothing)  Right now, he's on tons of steroids, which makes life interesting...as he says, they make him feel "crazy."  Fun.


So, despite all that blah, I did have a couple good things happen as well.  I met with the owner of a very cute home decor shop in Columbus about selling my wreaths in her store.  She's going to carry them for the month of February to see how they do...so keeping my fingers crossed that everyone in Columbus asks for a paper wreath for Valentine's Day.  I'm actually dying coffee filters as we speak...

As if that weren't enough great news, Jen from The Cosigner Designer has been so kind as to give me the Liebster Blog Award - which added some more happiness to my week.
Liebster is German & means "dearest" or "beloved" but it can also mean "favorite."
The idea behind the Liebster award is to bring attention to blogs with less than 200 followers.

As part of receiving the Liebster Blog award, one is to:
1. Choose 5 blogs with fewer than 200 followers to grant the Liebster Blog award. 
2. Show appreciation to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them!
3. Post the award on your blog and link back to the blogs you have given the Liebster Blog award to so everyone else can pay them a visit!
The 5 blogs I've awarded the Liebster Award to are, in no particular order:
Liz upcycles the blah furniture of the world into gorgeous creations.  She also shares her experiences about running her booth at an antique mall.
Surrounded By Pink - Mandi shares her great sewing and knitting projects that I could never do.


East Coast Mommy - Mom to 3 boys, Gina, shares useful craft, organizational, and kid-friendly projects that you can enjoy whether you're a mom or not.

The Bold Abode
The Bold Abode - Ah, Gwen...if you want to see great projects and have a little chuckle, this is the blog for you!
 
Thistlewood Farm - Kari's blog is beautiful, witty, and fun to read - you just have to check it out for yourself.
 
 
Congrats to these great blogs, and thanks to each of you for all of the wonderful inspiration you share with the blog world! Also, thank you again to Jen of The Cosigner Designer for sharing the Liebster Award with me.
 
take care -

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Saturday, January 7, 2012

Let's Go Shopping: Etsy Treasury Tutorial

Hello, my name is Erin and I'm addicted to...


 

You thought I was going to say Pinterest?  Yeah, that's a given, but I've developed a bit of an obsession with creating Treasury Lists on Etsy.
It's like shopping for free.  Granted, you don't get the stuff, but it's fun to look, right?

Here's a snapshot of the last one I created about PASSION:

Tasty, right?  and Pink.  Life doesn't get much better than that.  Other than the fact that I was wearing sweats and sat in my toasty little house while  I "shopped." 
It also inspired me to create this:
 I googled it, and I don't believe I stole it?  Please let me know if I did!  If you like it, please feel free to use, print, sell, share, put it on a billboard.. (I'd love a link back, if you don't mind. pretty please)

So anyway, back to shopping...
You don't have to be an Etsy seller to create treasuries...it's free to anyone, you just need to be a prestigious member of Etsy.

Per Etsy, a "treasury" is "an ever-changing, member curated shopping gallery."  Oh yeah, I said "shopping gallery." Consider it an educational experience and maybe a resume builder? (ahem, Gallery Curator)  No going to the mall anymore...we are simply browsing the Retail Museum.

Wanna try? You sure you're up to it?

Well then, follow me, my dears...

Oh, didn't have to load up the kids or warm up the car, and we're already here at the Magical Mall - AKA Etsy!!! 
How convenient!
Since this is a special mall for beautiful, talented, and important people, you'll need to sign in or sign up...consider it the country club of online shopping. It's very exclusive (not really - it's open to everyone) as you'll see when you check out the amazing array of shops (this is true!)

Go ahead...I'll wait.
tap
tap
tap

All signed in?  Good.  Now, still on the home page, you'll want to find the Handpicked Items section:

and click on "See More"

Here you'll find Treasuries created by "Member Curators."  Please don't wander off, I'll give you free time to do that later. Focus.  On the right side, click on "Create a list"

I know you're excited, but before you wander off, a couple tips:

1.Give your new treasury a title (can't save without it)
2.Make sure you stay together and hold hands with your partner
2. Check the "only you" box (consider this your "dressing room" and you don't want anyone to see you until you're "dressed")
3. Be on your best behavior (read the Treasury Guidelines on the right)
4. Open another window of Etsy to do your "shopping"

Still with me?  If not, please step off to the side, and I'll review the procedure with you again in just a moment. 

Now, it's time to shop!
In your 2nd Etsy window, start browsing through the shops at your leisure.

Now, isn't that a pretty little chalkboard.  Great choice! (tee hee). 
 Once you've made your selection you need to copy the Listing ID #

Highlight the "listing ID #" and copy it.

Now, return to your original Etsy page:
Choose a box and "paste" Then click "ok"

and...

Now before you wander off unaccompanied, a couple more tips for you:
1. Once you have 4 items selected, SAVE it.  SERIOUSLY, I've lost several lists by accidentally hitting the "back" button.  It doesn't "auto-save" for you, so save often.

2.  Click edit to make any changes.

3. Hover over an image to remove it. So I don't lose things I like along the way, I'll copy anything I like into my treasury, and then delete as needed.

4.  Drag and drop images to change order.


Are your feet hurting yet?  Or maybe, is your bum tired?
I hope you had fun on our little shopping excursion, I know I did.  

Once you've completed, and you've primped to perfection...

 ...don't forget to change the settings to share the fun with everyone.  Also, you can add up to 18 tags and leave a note for your visitors and adoring fans.

Important Disclaimer: I am, by no means, an expert at Etsy (nor do I work for them or have I been compensated)...goodness, I think I've been on there for 3 months or something. It's something that amuses me, and thought you might find it entertaining as well.  I can not be held accountable for undone laundry, uncooked meals, or your unclean house due to hours spent curating your retail museum.

If you are an Etsy expert, I invite you to correct anything I've said, please.  I do not want to misinform or cause any type of shopping trauma that may lead to years of retail therapy to cure.

As I continue to research this topic, it's vital to my studies that you share your treasury lists with me (pretty please!)

Well, it's been fun, we'll have to do it again sometime soon.  Maybe next time we can grab lunch!

Shared here:
MONDAY:
Thrifty Decor Chick (1st Monday of Each Month)
TUESDAY: 
Kammy's Korner (Trash to Treasure)
WEDNESDAY:
Domestically Speaking (Paint Projects)
Faded Charm (White Projects)
THURSDAY:
FRIDAY:
Miss Mustard Seed (Furniture Only)
SATURDAY:
SUNDAY:

take care -
 
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Thursday, January 5, 2012

Sweet Wreath - Inexpensive Valentine's Day Gift Idea

Few people see the value in gift wrapping like us crafty DIYers--am I right?  
...who else throws the sweater, scarf, pot holders, etc to the side as we inspect the beautifully colored tissue paper?  Yeppers, us crazy crafters.
The wreath form is made out of a gift box.

The flowers are made using tissue paper from Christmas gifts.

Some people see bags of trash...we see a plethora of crafting opportunities.  What types of fantastic-ness have you created from your holiday remnants? 

Thanks so much for all of your sweet comments about this wreath.  A tutorial for the paper flowers can be found here and the coffee filter wreath is here.  Depending on how you feel about your Valentine, you may or may not want to dye it black as in my tutorial.  The coffee filter wreath is pretty common, so if you do a search, you will be able to find other tutorials besides mine.  If you have questions, please let me know, and I'll be happy to help in any way I can.

Sharing at these linky parties...

MONDAY:
TUESDAY: 
Kammy's Korner (Trash to Treasure)
WEDNESDAY:
Faded Charm (White Projects)
THURSDAY:
FRIDAY:
Miss Mustard Seed (Furniture Only)
SATURDAY:
SUNDAY:

take care-
 

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Sunday, January 1, 2012

LOVE a Good Chalkboard Project

My chalkboard was featured at Lolly Jane Boutique...if you haven't been, it's one of my favorite link-up parties.  I'm kind of a blog slacker on the weekends, so I don't get to visit every weekend.  Kelli and Kristi  are so kind and friendly...and they seem like they have a lot of fun. Thanks to you both.

I bought 2 of these at a barn sale...they had gold frames, which isn't really my style, but I liked the round shape. 

The prints were flowers, and there wasn't any glass, so I decided to give them a new life as chalkboards.


I thought about just painting the frames gray or white, but after the first coat of the gray paint, I liked how the gold was showing through, so I decided to lightly distress.

 

I added a piece of chalk attached to twine.  Saw the idea to wrap the chalk with twine on a blog somewhere, but I don't remember who.  (If someone knows and would kindly remind me, I'd love to add a link to give credit.)


I left one at my booth and added one to my Etsy shop - they'd both been at my booth for almost 2 months without selling, so we'll see how this goes.

Sharing this lil' project at these link parties:
MONDAY:
Thrifty Decor Chick (1st Monday of Each Month)
TUESDAY: 
Kammy's Korner (Trash to Treasure)
WEDNESDAY:
Domestically Speaking (Paint Projects)
Faded Charm (White Projects)
THURSDAY:
Miss Mustard Seed (Furniture Only)
SATURDAY:
SUNDAY:
take care -
 

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