Have you checked out Craftzine.com lately? No? Well, you are missing out on some awesome free tutorials/patterns.
Some of my favorites that I just HAVE to try, whenever I get a free moment are:
And some wonderful recipes:
So, head on over for some yummy, crafty fun!
One of the sections in my Material Girl '80s store is "Beads and Baubles". In it, I will put all of my brooches, bracelets, earrings, necklaces, and rings.
Here are two of the items that will be available soon:
I am sorry for the awful pictures. It has been overcast for two days, so I had to use my lamp. The first one is a pink and grey pearl bracelet, and the second one is white pearl earrings. The '80s were full of fake pearl items, so I thought I'd work a lot with pearls. The earrings have a matching bacelet that is coming soon, very Material Girl!
This one is not available. I made it for my sister's birthday.
It is a little ankle bracelet. I hope she likes it.
We are now onto Step 2 of the dreaded deck project. Though this step sounded simple when I wrote down my 5 steps, it has actually turned into quite a chore.
To refresh your memory, here is what the deck looked like after the last step (you can read about Step 1 here):
Now, onto Step 2 - Spackling the Deck!
Here is what I bought: Elmer's Carpenter's Wood Filler and a spackle tool, 1 1/2 in. I actually bought two large tubs of the wood filler, so I wouldn't have to go back and buy more. I only used one tub. I guess it all depends on how big your deck is and how badly split your wood is.
I would make sure you buy wood filler that you can paint and sand. That is very important for future steps. I also found out that you can buy wood filler in different colors of wood, who knew! I just bought mine in this color. You can see on the spackle tool that it is kind of a tan color. It looks really awful on my red deck, but it really doesn't matter since it will be painted over later on.
I looked for any splitting wood boards and stuck the wood filler in the holes. Since the wood is set horizontally, I applied the filler vertically and then scraped the tool horizontally to remove the excess filler. I hope that makes sense. You can do it any way you like, just as long as the wood filler fills the split wood.
I pretty much worked the same way as I did with the deck cleaner: railings, floor boards, and steps (I skipped the trellis). Some spots didn't need any filler, but others needed a lot. I figured it would take me an hour or two to do it, but it actually took me several days. It wasn't the job that was time consuming, it was the pain it caused my body. Back aches, hand cramps, and a stiff neck all occurred, so it is probably best if you divide your deck into sections, or better yet, invite your friends over to help!
Here is how my deck looks now with all of the spackle on it:
Pretty ugly, huh? I am sure my neighbors are loving the look too!
Next week we tackle Step 3.
I have seen so many adorable handmade jewelry items on Flickr that I thought I'd try my hand at making some too.
I actually enjoyed it so much that it will be a focal point in my new store. Lots of '80s jewelry! I have so many '80s items I want to do, I just have to get on the ball and start working on them.
Here it is! The very first piece of jewelry I attempted:
My "Material Girl '80s" bracelet, named that because it uses the same colors as my store banner. I really should name it "A Fish Called Wanda" since that is what I was watching when I made it! It is made with '80s looking striped blue and white beads, neon pink square beads, and an elastic band. I am pretty happy with it for being my first try.
I also attempted a few earrings and an ankle bracelet, which was a little bit more difficult. I'll post some of those pictures this week.
I love the look of fresh flowers. I only wish I could keep some in my house. Unfortunately, I have pretty bad allergies, a black thumb instead of a green one, and a cat that likes to nibble on them (not good for kitty cats). So, Drusilla and I have to enjoy fake ones in the house and the real ones outside.
As far as the house is concerned, I am working on some crocheted flowers for the window ledge in my kitchen. I found this really cute pattern from PlanetJune for crocheted daffodils, and I am headed to the store this weekend to get my yarn so I can whip up a few.
I also have several flowers around the outside of my house. I am so glad the former owner planted them, because I have absolutely no idea about gardening, nor do I want to! And after several weeks of rain, they have finally begun to bloom.
They really are pretty.
I am pleasantly surprised that they are still alive. I tend to kill all plants that come within several feet of me.
Like these!
In my defense, I think these died because of the drought. . . at least that is my story, and I'm sticking to it!
