A Pretty for Me Time

Hip Hip Hooray!

All my babies are finally back to school. 

It was a little crazy there at the end because the start date had to be pushed back a few days.  

It really threw us all for a loop getting all geared up for school to start and the find out we had another week of summer vacation.  

I'm not complaining too much, we did get to do some fun things together before the grind started back up. 

I've just been missing 'ME' time.  

Since all my kids are in school full time now, it means several hours of whatever I want.  

Usually that means crafting, cooking, and a little exercise.  

Not necessarily in that order.  

I do have plans to refocus my goals personally and physically.  

But more on that later.

I've been dying to create something beautiful just for me.  

It turned out that I forgot about my friend's daughter's sweet 16.  

So this bracelet ended up as a gift to her.  

She leads the singing in church and she wore this bracelet.  

It was fun to see her lead with my pretty charm bracelet on her wrist.

But enough gushing.  

Let's get down to business.

You will only need a few supplies for this bracelet.

I used a sheer ribbon, but really a satin one would work just as well.  

Pick your favorite color...  match a favorite outfit.  

The sky is the limit!  

I also used some head pins, beads, a few charms, 

jump rings, some clamp ribbon ends, and a toggle clasp.  

First create the bead charms with the head pins and the beads.  They are easy to make.  Just slide the bead on the head pin and coil the remaining wire into a loop like shown.

Now decide where you want your charms and thread them on the ribbon.  I tied a knot in the ribbon for each charm to keep them in place and eliminate them all sliding to one side.

Measure your wrist and decide how long you want the ribbon to be.

Add the Ribbon clamp ends.

Finally add your jump rings and toggle clasp.  Super quick and done!

I'm so happy to have some 'Me' time again.

What will you create in your 'Me' time?

I'd love to hear about it!

Jars and Racks

More Beachy things today.  

First off will be the fish-net jar.  

It's super easy to do, it just looks a little intimidating.  

Really it's not.  

I probably should have done more strands around the jar, 

but I'm happy with the result and it was just the added touch my glassware grouping needed.

I'm using a recycled Vlasic Pickle jar.  

It's big and has a great shape.  

And yes, we do eat alot of pickles on sandwiches around here.

You will also need several strands of jute.

The first one is a circle tied to be just smaller than the bottom of the jar.

Then measure at least 1 1/2 times the height of your jar for the side strands.

I cut 8 strands. 10 might be a little better, either way the process is the same.

Tie the circle, then add each strand, spacing them evenly around the base circle.

Set your jar on top and start tying over-hand knots like shown.  

Keep the spacing and the knot height as even as you can as you work around the jar.

Keep working around the jar alternating strands and tying the knots up the sides of the jar.

Tie another circle around the top of the jar.

Then tie the remaining strands to the top circle like shown.

Done!

I wrapped a couple of shell necklaces we got in Hawaii 

around the top of the jar and let some of 

the necklace drape down the side of the jar.  

Then added a bit of sand and some fun shells.

Beachy, perfect.

Now on to the shelf.  

This was mostly pallet wood, minus the wooden knobs.

The pieces were cut from pallets we used on the garden box.  

I left the slats in place with the original hardware. 

Those are stuck together like nobodies business 

so I wasn't too worried about adding more nails or screws.

Each shelf got a good sanding, 

then I added some wooden knobs I already had in my stash.

Each one got a light white wash, then I added a little color to each slat.  

Then another good sanding.

Each piece got a wax finish.  

Damp bathrooms aren't good for wood so they needed a layer of wax protection.  

Plus with my kids hanging and re-hanging their towels, 

it definitely needed a little more protection.

Each shelf got hung, then I placed a few shells and a necklace for decoration.

It's cute and the best part is I don't have to be constanly hanging up towels anymore!

Hoo-Ray!

Thanks for visiting!

Happy Summer!

Beachy Things - A tutorial

I still can't believe the bathroom is all done.
My husband came home last night from a weeklong scout camp
and was very impressed.
He said he couldn't believe I made it all out of pallet wood.
I wasn't sure if he meant he couldn't believe I could make stuff like that,
or that pallet wood could be made into such cool stuff.

Either way I'm happy with it.

So here's a quick tutorial on how I did the wood signs and surf board for this wall.

I looked all over for a cute surf board that was DIY and didn't really find anything 

so I made up my own design.  

I'm really pleased at how it all came together.  

Here's how I did it:

First I got 4 similar sized slats of pallet wood, cut them to the shape I wanted,
(mostly freehanded), then sanded them down.

I got the Kids involved helping me paint each slat.
I was a fun easy thing for the kids to help do.

After drying and a light sanding, 

I used my Cricut Storybook cartridge to cut out the hibiscus flower out of contact paper.  

It's much, much cheaper than vinyl and sticks perfectly but not permanently for projects like this.  

The wavy stripe was also cut out of contact paper and spaced to give the lines I wanted.  

Then it got a quick coat of red acrylic paint.  

I let it dry slightly, and remove the contact paper.  

Sand it again a little.

I followed the same process for the surf, sand, sun, and beach signs.  

The font was from the Billionaire cartridge for the Cricut.  

Sorry the sand sign is upside down.  I work that way sometimes.

After the paint dried, I gave each piece a coat of finishing wax.  

Love that stuff!  

I knew they would be in a moist bathroom and I definitely 

wanted the pieces to last so they got a wax coating to protect the wood.

I let everything dry in the hot Arizona Sun.  

It only took a little while.  

I guess there are some benefits to 100 degree weather.  

I think drying paint is the only one.

I added the D-Ring hanging hardware to the backs of each piece along with some hanging wire.

Mark the placement of each piece and hang.  

Done!

I will share some more of the how-to's next week.

Happy Beachy Day!

Quick and Easy

Remember these frames around my kitchen?  They are from Halloween.

It's from one of my most popular posts to date.

Anyway, I change out these pictures regularly. 

Like for the season, and when it's someone's birthday, I put up pictures of that person.

Since I change out the pics so often, the back hardware is... well... falling apart.

So I decided to copy something I saw over at Little Birdie Secrets by my friend Jessica.

I left the book pages there from my last Easter Project just because I liked the effect so much.

Then all you need is some glue and some metal clips.

Decide where the clip is going, generously apply the E-6000, press, and let dry.

Now I can easily change out the images on a whim and not further damage the back hardware.

My boy turned 16 recently so the pics on my frames are of him.

He's definitely changed a ton over the last 5 years.

Here's a sneak peak of what I'm working on.

More Pallets.

And my Urban Farm will be expanding soon with some new friends.

So Excited!

Have a Happy Day!

2 T-shirts Done 2 Ways

 It's the last day of Scarves for a while anyway.  These were fun to put together and play with different options.

I did learn something I hadn't realized before.

Not all t-shirts are made the same.

I mean that some of them have side seams, and some don't.  All the one's I got at Goodwill have side seams.

It's not a deal breaker, but it definitely changes what you can do with them.

Since my husband won't part with any of his t-shirts right now, I may go back to Goodwill and see if I can find some without side seams, but for now, I'm happy with what I have.

You need to find a shirt that is XL or XXL to make sure you have enough fabric.

Let's start cutting!

Cut up the t-shirt into 1 1/2 inch strips.  Cut out the sleeves and the bottom hem.

I kept cutting all the way up to the neckline.  Since I have side seams,

I have to join each strip anyway so I can use the upper chest portion between the sleeves.

Now that you have all the strips, cut off the seams and fold 2 strips over.

Cut about a 1/8-1/4 inch through both strips like shown.

Lay the strips end to end.

Lay one strip on top of the other.

Take the other end of the bottom strip and poke it through the holes you cut.

Pull tight and you've joined the two strips.

Continue this process adding all the strips you cut.

Then holding each knot, pull the fabric to stretch it and curl the edges.

It will nearly double the length of each strip and 'finish' the edges.

Drape one end around your neck to decide how big you want the smallest circle.

Then coil up the rest of the fabric, gradually getting bigger with each loop.

Take the 2 ends and tie them around all strands of fabric.

I wrapped the ends in a criss-cross pattern then tied a double knot at the end.

Tuck the loose ends into the knot.

Done!

 Now for the Tan shirt.  It's very similar, with a few minor changes.

Cut the shirt apart all the way including the hem and sleeve seams.

I originally thought the side seams wouldn't matter, but they do.

I cut about a 2 1/2 in strip in a spiral working up to the top of the shirt.

Cut out the side seams and join the strips in the same manner as above with the slits.

Here's the bottom layer poked through the slits.

Pull the strips tight to form the knot.

Stretch each edge of the strips of fabric to curl them into a slight ruffled edge.

With some of the sleeve fabric cut two strips about 1 inch wide.

Stretch the strips to roll the edges.

Find the 2 ends of the large piece and join them together overlapping about 4-6 inches.

Tie with the rolled strips you just made.

Start tying single knots with the loose ends like shown.

Start from the top and work down, then start from the bottom and work up.

Your knots should meet in the middle.  Tuck the loose ends inside the knots.

The finished knots should look like this.

 Loop it around your neck and you're done!

Thanks for joining me today.

Next week will be all things Valentines. decor, bunting, printables, treat baskets, and photography ideas for Valentines Cards.

Have a fabulous day!