French Corkboard

I am sitting here peering out my window, anxiously awaiting the snow we've been promised here in the Williamette Valley.  I live about 40 miles south of Portland, Oregon where we usually only get snow maybe once or twice a year and it's not often more than a dusting.  But the weathermen are saying we'll get hit this afternoon into Friday with 3-4 inches or more.  Being a California native who didn't grow up with snow, I am like a little kid when it's in the forecast!  Let it snow!

While waiting for my snow this morning I made this sweet little corkboard.  I found a really pretty oval frame a few weeks back in a thrift store.  Unfortunately the back and frame were molded together so it kind of limits the uses but for $1.00 I couldn't pass it up.  Of course it was gold and it got the Heirloom White treament as soon as I got it home.

I had the cork tile in an old computer armoire.  When I took it down the corners tore off but it was perfect for cutting down for my frame.

All I had to do was trim it down and press it into the frame, didn't even need glue since it was a snug fit.  I added a couple of fluer de lis tacks and a cute postcard from the Graphics Fairy.  

The whole project took about 10 minutes!  Now I have time to clean my house!  (Can you tell what my priorities are?) 

Thanks for visiting and I so hope you'll become a follower!  Love to hear your comments, too!  See you at the fun parties below.

  



Faux Grain Sack Pillows

Another rainy day in the beautiful Pacific Northwest!  Maddy is out of school today for teacher's inservice so it's been a great day to stay home and get creative.  I finally got around to making some new pillows for my family room.

I so love burlap and grain sack pillows. There are so many ideas out there for making your own~ everything from iron on transfers, stenciling and even sending fabric through your printer. The method I am using today uses Citra-Solv and it so amazing!!


I first heard of this method at Ticking and Toile.  Shellagh creates the most gorgeous pillows and has a wonderful tutorial on how to she makes the designs.

First you'll need some of this stuff, CitraSolv Natural Degreaser:

I found it in the natural food and products section of Fred Meyer.  It is sold all over and if you visit their website here, you can find a store in your area that stocks it.  I think it's also available on Amazon.

Next you'll need to make your design on your computer.  I love the Graphics Fairy for free vintage clip art.  One of my pillows is a wonderful French Chocolate label from her site and the other is my own design.

These are the designs I printed to show you a 'before'.  You actually want to print them in reverse image for transferring to your fabric like this:

Now you'll take your designs to Kinko's or somewhere and have them made into laser copies.  Inkjet copies will NOT work.

The fabric I am using is a cotton muslin.  Be sure to wash and dry your fabric before starting to preshrink and remove sizing.   I covered my work surface with a plastic tablecloth to protect the surface.  You don't want the full strength CitraSolv to touch your surface.

Place your design facedown on your fabric and tape it in place to keep it from shifting and giving you a blurry transfer.  Apply the CitraSolv with a paintbrush or cotton ball.  Wear gloves and try not to breathe the fumes, they're a bit strong.  As you apply the CitraSolv, you'll see your design show through the paper. 

The next step is to burnish.  Using a metal spoon, rub firmly all over your design.  Be sure to burnish the entire surface.  Once you are finished, lift off the paper and your design will have been magically transfered to your fabric. 

At this point you'll use your iron to heat set the design.  Move it the ironing board and iron for about 20-30 seconds with an old towel underneath.  Now you're ready to throw it in the washing machine to remove the CitraSolv, then allow to air dry.    When it's dry, iron out the wrinkles and you're ready to stitch up your pillow!

Have a great weekend and I so hope you'll consider becoming a follower!  Linking up to the fun parties below!

  



White Frames

I love Wednesdays!  It's my first day off of the week and that means I get to play~ creating, thrifting, blogging.  Today also happens to be payday so I get to go shopping, too!   My first stop will be the thrift stores to look for some more frames.

I found this little item a few weeks ago.

It was meant to hang vertically but one chain link was broken.  Someone had painted pretty little flowers on each tile.  Cute, but not what I had in mind.

I took the chains off the back and added some little black and white photos of my kids.  My original plan had been to hang each tile from a ribbon or burlap on a rod but I wasn't happy with how it came together.  So I finally decided to frame them within a frame.

It's very hard for me to pass by any ornate looking frames I come across in thrift stores or yard sales.  I know they'll be gorgeous given a fresh coat of Heirloom White.  But most finds are rather small and I only had two larger ones on hand.  So these cuties are waiting for their frame:

 

 

Off to find the perfect one!  Have a great day and be sure to visit the charming parties below.  I would so very happy to have you as a follower and hope you'll visit again soon!  



Stylish Blog Award

I was so suprised and delighted to be nominated for the Stylish Blogger Award by Susan at Homeroad.  Thanks so much Susan!! 

And now, as I understand it, I am to

First of all...thank the person who nominated me.

Second... share 7 things about myself:

7 Things You Didn't Know About Moi

1.  I lost my husband of almost 28 years to cancer 4 years ago.  Miss him so much.

2.  I have 4 amazing children~ three who are grown and married and a 12 year old daughter.

3.  I met my husband in the fire department where I was one of the very first women firefighters back in the day.

4.  I am a California native who moved to the Pacific Northwest 10 years ago and love it!  Even the rain!

5.  I have 5 absolutely adorable grandchildren and number six is on the way.  Such joy!

6.  I am in love with Coffee, Diet Dr. Pepper, Chinese Food  and Dark Chocolate.

7.  I love Jesus!!

And third... I'm to pass the award on to bloggers I have recently discovered and who I think are fantastic!

and they are:

http://relovedrubbish.blogspot.com/

 http://suburban-retreat.blogspot.com/ http://froufroudecor.blogspot.com/ http://dandelionsanddustbunnies.blogspot.com/ http://www.whimages.blogspot.com/  

I hope you'll visit all their amazing blogs!

  





Valentine Tree

Valentine's Day is such a sweet holiday.  I love all the fun, romantic decor.  There have been so many great ideas all over blogland!  I especially loved this Valentine Tree of Love by Angie at Echoes of Laughter.  I always have an Easter tree on my dining table but have never done a Valentine one.  Angie iinspired me to give it a try.

The first thing I did was take some digital pics of my sweet grandjoys and kids on my computer and make them all black and white.  Then I dressed them up with these fun 'Painted Polaroid' frames from Kayla Aimee and added some words of love in a fun font.   I did 2 pics on each 4x6 print and uploaded them all to Walgreens.

While waiting for the prints to be ready, I went out to my back yard and found a couple of nice twig branches.  Thanks to lots of windy weather over the last few weeks, I had plenty to choose from!  I stuck them into a little pot I had painted a while back and had planned to use for a topiary.  It was already filled with floral foam and moss.  All I had to do was stick the twigs in and it was good to go.

An hour and 76 cents later my pics were ready at the store.

I trimmed them into fun 'polaroid' looking prints and attached them to the tree with tiny clothespins.  I had the pins in my scrapbook stash but only 4.  I hope I can find some more at Michael's so I can put the rest of the pics on the tree!

Next I cut out some red cardstock hearts and some fun little tags with my Cricut.  The tags are cut out of scrapbook paper that has definitions of love, kissing, etc..  Really cute paper!! 

The last step was my word embellishment for the pot. Using my Cricut,  I cut "je t'aime" (I love you in French ) out of black vinyl and applied to the pot.  My finished project:

Love the finished look!  Maddy just came in the door from school and said "I don't like that picture of me!  Please change it!"   Sorry, girlie, it's a cute pic and you'll have to get over it!

Thanks for stopping by!  Your comments are cherished and I so hope you'll become a follower!  Linking up to the fab parties below.