What I Learned Today

Today, I learned two things:

1.  I strongly dislike tiling.
2.  I love shop vacs.

Needless to say, we tiled the area in front of the fireplace.  Throughout the whole process we broke one tile, realized at least two things we hadn't thought of before hand, and got super dirty.  It wasn't so bad, but tiling is definitely too stressful for me.  I think the thing that bugs me the most is that it's so precision heavy, and yet at some point you just have to give in and realize that not everything is going to be exactly perfect.  How frustrating.  Here's the transition of the fireplace to far.  I'll keep updating this post until we're finished with everything (grout, floors, moulding, etc.).

Loving shop vacs needs no explanation.  They get up dirt you didn't even know you had!

Guest Blogger Tuesday

After some serious lack of follow up on my part, Guest Blogger Tuesday is back!  This weeks guest blogger is the fabulous Mrs.  Jen Reed!  She's going to be sharing with you about the awesome art of wood burning.  It's something that I knew little about until I looked through the photos of her art and couldn't help but want to know more.  Colin used to dabble in wood burning in high school, but hasn't done anything in the time that I've known him, so I knew it existed, but didn't know how unique and cool it was.  Without further adieu, I'll let Jen explain the rest!

Pyrography: The Art of Wood Burning

When I was about fifteen, my mom had taken my sister and I to the craft store. She said she would get us both something to do, and since I had already tried latch hook, needle point, knitting, crochet, and basically everything else and failed, I was looking for something new and different. I wandered up and down all the isles, and found this kit that had two pieces of wood and what looked like a soldering tool. It was a wood burning kit! This looked like something I could do! I told my mom that it was what I wanted, and she chuckled a little, but said she would get it for me. Little did she know that it would become a wonderful hobby for me, and get me to branch out into other aspects of wood working.

Some people call it Pyrography, while others call it wood burning. It’s the same thing, really. It is just taking a soldering tool with different shaped tips on it to make designs in wood pieces. I have five different tools and about fifty different tips that I use for various patterns and projects. Some of the tips are good for sharp lines or thick lines, while some are better to create shadow effects. I use any kind of wood, really. I have burned on anything from oak to walnut to cedar to basswood (which happens to be my favorite). Some of the wood I have used came from stores, while some I have used has come from places I have visited, or from wood scrap piles. Wood can be found anywhere and made into art, if you have the imagination for it.

To prepare for a wood burn project, the wood needs to be sanded down so that it is smooth to the touch. When that is done, the pattern can be drawn right on the wood, or can be transferred on to the wood. I do both, it just depends on what project I am working on at the time. Some of my designs are done free hand. Others are taken from patters or photos. For those, I print out the picture, and use transfer paper taped on to the wood, and then tape the print out on to the transfer paper. From there, it’s just a matter of tracing the pattern out and getting it on to the wood. It is a fairly simple process.  

After the pattern is on the wood, you are ready to burn. Warming up the tool only takes a matter of minutes. Pick out the tip you would like to use first, and put it in the tool. Then plug the tool in to get it hot, and once it is ready, the burning can start. I usually start from the top of the pattern and work my way down, or start with the less detailed pieces of the work. The end is where you can put on a smaller tip and do the detail work. I never had any training in how to do pyrography, so this is what I have found is the best way for me to do it. It really is up to each person, though.

Coaster set

The biggest project I have completed took over forty hours of burning time, and over 30 hours of prep time. It was a coffee table for my sister and brother-in-law. The design was of a cabin, with some Labradors out front, and some ducks flying in the sky, with the dogs looking at them, and some trees and a fence and mountains along the way. For the borders I put an oak leaf pattern across the bottom and two little leaves in the middle of the top. It was one of the best projects I have ever done, and the one I am most proud of. I have also done a couple of end tables for my parents, and various other gifts for my friends and family. There are many other projects I am proud of, and can’t wait to get more going.

Completed coffee table

Wood burning is something I really enjoy doing, and sharing my work with people is a gift I love to give.  For me, it is a relaxing hobby that is fun to do, that I can get other people involved in if they want to be.  My works have presented themselves in a unique way and to give something personal that I have made for someone, and to have them know how much time and effort I have put into it, makes it even more special to that person, and to me. It makes me feel good to see them smile at seeing my artwork and to know that they really like what I have given them.

Wood burnings make great, unique, personal gifts. I sell my work and would be willing and able to work with anyone to get a design going if there is an interest.

Here is the public link to my facebook Random Crap…I Mean Crafts page if you’d like to check out some of my art. Please enjoy. If you’d like to contact me, my email is: princessburley@hotmail.com


Cool, right?  If you're interested in buying anything you see from Jen's album, or requesting a custom piece as a gift or for yourself, please email her with the details!

Laundry room fun!

How stinkin' adorable is this?  Since I just posted a blog where I mentioned forgetting to check pockets, I figured sharing this would be appropriate.  I just love this adorable wall art.  What a great idea!  You can check out the blog and some of her other items here.

Creative Kitchen Crafts!

This week I started a little project for our new kitchen (premature I know, but I saw something similar online and it looked fun!).  For the original project I saw, they took a simple metallic tart pan, and placed a recipe printed out on fancy paper in the middle.  Then, voila!  Wall art that's fun and functional!

I like the idea, but after looking at different tins I decided to change it up a little bit.  The metallic looking ones didn't really fit with the idea I have for a more country kitchen feel, and the ones that did were way too expensive to hang on a wall.  So, I bought three different size cake pans and a giant paint brush and went home to get to work!

All the supplies!  Ready to rock and roll!

Over the last day and a half, I painted each one a different color using paint I already had - one red, one yellow, and one brown.  It took about 4 coats of paint with an hour to dry in between each one.  I would definitely suggest using some sort of spray sealant on the pans once you've painted them so that nothing chips off.

Next, I picked recipes we often use and Colin always requests whenever I ask him what he'd like for dinner :)  I picked a fun font, and printed them out!  I saved the informational papers from the inside of each tin so that I knew how big to cut the circles.  I wish I had nicer paper to use, but our Walmart is currently under construction and has limited sections open.  Of course - crafting isn't one of them.  Unfortunately, we don't have any other crafting stores in Glens Falls.  Sad, right?  I'm thinking I may change it out once we move and have more of a selection.

Finally, all you have to do is add a picture frame hook on the back with super glue, and you've got yourself some functional wall art!

The finished products!

After $6.50 for the small cake pan, $7 for each large one, and $2 for the paint brush, I was able to get everything I need for only a little over $20!  Keeping in mind I already had the paint and the wall hooks.  It would also be a fun ongoing project to search thrift stores for different size pans, and continue adding to a recipe wall.  Functional art is the best!

In honor of this fun project,  I've decided I'm going to share these recipes with YOU! So click in to read more.

House renovation ideas

Since our move is almost exactly a month away, and we're going to have a quick turn around starting our renovations on the house, I did a little search for inspirational ideas!  Here's what I found:

 

Window shutter mail organizer

I love love love this mail organizer idea!  I think it would look great in the house we have now, and I'm determined to fit it into our new house.  Since one of my goals this year is to be better about sending birthday cards to friends and family, I think this is the perfect accessory! And it doubles as a piece of art!

Great fireplace art

Ignoring the rest of this room, I love the art above the fireplace.  Our new living room has super high ceilings, and I've really been drawn to multi-piece art lately.  I think it would also make a fun do-it-yourself project for a rainy day!

The thing that draws me to this picture is how bright and clean this kitchen looks.  Our last few kitchens have been nice, but also super dark.  I initially thought I wanted to paint our new cabinets a green color, but after seeing this, I love the white on green, with green on the island only.  A full kitchen reno is definitely a pipe dream right now, but someday :)

Ok, so these are actually pictures of our old house in Charleston.  I loved everything about our guest bathroom in that house.  I wish I had better pictures to share with you as these don't really do it justice, but they are the only ones I could find.  I would love to recreate everything about this bathroom in my new home!

We still have a long way to go, but day dreaming about it is the fun part.  My next task will be figuring out how to update awful wood paneling in the basement that I obv. hate, and Colin loves (of course).  When you google 'how to update angled wood paneling', a website called www.uglyhousephotos.com pops up first.  No joke.

The hideous paneling in the basement

Any suggestions for my paneling woes?  Other great suggestions for updating our new home?  Leave a comment!

(Photos courtesy of www.bhg.com and nestbliss.blogspot.com)

Memory Quilts

Something else I'm interested in that I didn't write about in the last post is crafting.  In an effort to force myself to spend more time working on different crafts and trying new things, I'm going to share with you once I finish a project.

Most recently, I've been thinking about and working on Memory Quilts.  A few years ago when I was student teaching in a preschool classroom where the head teacher was retiring, I came up with a plan to make her a memory quilt, commemorating her time at the school.  We picked school related fabrics, and used them to boarder ironed on pictures of the students in her class.  It turned out great, and got me thinking about using the same idea for baby gifts, only instead of filling up the squares with pictures, I could leave them blank to be filled in as the child grows up.  On their birthday each year for instance.  I recently made one for my friend Megan and her daughter Lydia who is due in June (see pictures below).

The front of the quilt

The back

The quilt draped on the front of Lydia's crib

I was wondering, for all of the ladies/future mothers out there, would this be something you would consider purchasing through a service like Etsy.com?  If so, how much would you pay?  I plan on making them for my close friends as they inevitably start having babies (hurry up!), but my husband is always on my case about being able to sell the crafts I make, and this one seems like the best one to start with.  Leave any feedback in the comments, I'd love to know your thoughts!