Shabby Cottage Coasters

"Grandchildren are God's way of making it easier to grow old."  

 

I'm not sure who said that but it certainly is true!  I have been blessed with 8 precious grandjoys in the last 8 years and when I married Mr. Wonderful last March I inherited two more!  Love filling my walls and tables with pictures of their sweet faces.

 

 

I came across these wooden coasters in the dollar bins at Target awhile back and stuck them in the stash for a future project.  Then I found another set with a little wooden storage box at Craft Warehouse and got inspired to create some coasters with the grandjoy's pics.

 

 

I started with my coasters, some gorgeous, shabby scrapbook paper and mod podge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The coasters measured at just under 4"x4".  So I trimmed my paper to the exact size of the squares and started mod podging them to both sides of coasters.

 

 



 

 

 

Some finished pieces ready for the photos.

 

 

 

 

 

Next step was to create my images.  Using photo editing software,  I took  pics of the grands (and my youngest daughter) and cropped them to fit 2 on a 4x6 print.

 

 

Now I added these Painted Polaroid frames from Kayla Aimee over at Slightly Neurotic.  They are a freebie and one I have used many times in lots of different projects.  Love the vintage look!!!

 

 

 

 The last step was adding some word art.  On some I used the name of the little one pictured, on group shots I used words of affection.  The font is Sunshine In My Soul, download it for free HERE!

 

 

 

I printed them at Walgreens for 20 cents a print,  trimmed them up and decoupaged to the paper covered coasters.    Some crafters like to spray with a clear acrylic to seal but others, like myself, just use several coats of the mod podge.  MANY coats later, (be sure to allow a long time to dry between coats) they're done!

 

 

 

 

 

I painted the box with a white wash then added some coordinating paper. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The best part, the grands love to play with them!  They carry them all over the house and name each cousin.  Love this!

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

Thanks so much for visiting!  Please join me at the fun parties below!

 

  

 

 

Happily Ever After...

Where has the time gone? I have neglected my poor blog for so long and if anyone is out there still reading ... thank you!!! What happened? Well~it goes like this:

Widowed mama meets the most wonderful man on the planet and falls in love. Time spent blogging is now spent with Mr. Wonderful, on the phone at night, on dates, all free time is happily devoted to time together.

We married on March 1 of this year on a magical evening. Life is so good, praise the Lord! Then this most amazing of men says "Hey, you know you don't have to keep working if you don't want to."

WHAT?? I can return to the place my heart so longs to be full time? Home? Homemaker? YES!!!! So here we are and I hope to return to blogging. The creative juices are flowing and I am having so much fun! So stay tuned! A few wedding pics...

The whole family: 6 kids and 9 grandkids!

 

All the grandjoys!

 

My youngest daughter was my Maid of Honor

 

My handsome groom!

 

Our gorgeous cake!

 

 

 

My sister and daughter were Matron and Maid of Honor.

Carpe Diem!

I've been working on a few fun projects lately and one of my faves is this clock I made for a special man in my life. It was a gift for his birthday. I really enjoy altering clocks and have shared a few like this one and this one on the blog.
 
 
I started my project by searching for just the right clock to alter. I had hoped to find a vintage clock at the thrift stores because of the weight and better quality in older pieces. But no luck in my search. I ended up settling for a BH&G wall clock I found at Walmart.
 
 

 
 
 
When looking for a clock to alter, take into consideration how you'll gain access to the face.  Some clocks have a glass or acrylic face that will pop off.  This particular piece did not have that feature so I unscrewed the back and removed it completely to be able to get at the hands.  I carefully removed all three hands and then got to work on designing my new face. 


I have a clock face template I found on the web awhile back that I love to work with.  The tricky part is making the exact size of your clock face you are covering.  I use MicroSoft Digital Image Pro software to create my designs and even though it SAYS you are using the exact dimensions you specify on the ruler, it usually is off just a bit.  So let's just say I had a few LOTS of prototypes before I got it as close to perfect as possible.   I printed the new face on a parchment looking card stock.
 
 
 
The other challenge is cutting out a perfect circle for the clock stem in the center of your project.  I used a hollow punch set like this one that I got at Harbor Freight Tool Supply.  Let me tell you, that is a store for boys!  But I have found quite a few useful, crafty items there.  And they always have a coupon in their flyer at the door!

 

When adhering the design to the face be sure to use a dry type adhesive.  You don't want any moisture on the design that might cause bubbling or warping.

Here is my finished piece.  He loved it, by the way!   The design features a favorite quote ~ 'Carpe Diem', his name and the year in Roman numerals.

Thanks for stopping by!  I would love to hear your comments and hope you'll join me at the parties below!

Easiest Pillow Ever!!

Mangy mutts!  Sometimes a term of endearment for my doggies.  Today~not so much.  The little monsters have a fondness for chewing up my throw pillows, even though they are both well out of puppyhood.  And you know with kids and traffic in a family room, those pillows often end up on the floor where the little hairballs can easily drag them off to their lair (AKA the laundry room) where they will have them shredded before I notice they are missing.

You might remember these Faux Grain Sack Pillows that I did awhile back. 

They were the victims of my blood thirsty hounds.  So as I sat in my craft room the other day thinking about making new ones, I happened to see one of my grain sack tote bags hanging in the closet. 

Lighbulb moment!  What if I took the handles off of the bag?  Instant pillow!

I found these plain muslin bags at Michael's for $2.00.  I think they even have them at Dollar Tree sometimes.   You can dress them up using the Citra-Solv Method, paint with stencils or even do an iron on.  Take off the handles, stuff and sew the top~ BAM!  You're done!

Super Saver Tip:  When I was at IKEA a few weeks back they had bed pillows for 99 cents!!!  Cut in half, they make the perfect pillow form.  I got that idea from Gena at the Shabby Chic Cottage.   Big savings over the $6.00-7.00 pillow forms at the fabric store!

  

Thanks for stopping by!  Linking up to the fun parties below!

 

Shop Til You Drop~ For FREE!

I finally made it up to HomeGoods today to spend my $100 gift card I won on Kayla Aimee's Blogher giveaway!  It's about an hour up to Portland and this was the first chance I had to get up there. 

It was so fun!!  Spending money guilt free is so awesome but it also really makes you want to spend wisely and get some real bang for your buck.  It took me about and hour and a half to narrow down my purchases.  There were so many cool things.  Here is some of my loot piled up at the cash register!

I got this gorgeous beveled mirror~it's huge, about 30"x36".  The plan is to spray it white and hang over my bedroom dresser.

I also got these fun white cereal bowls (love the dots!):



The big pasta/serving bowl and love this little bird's nest sconce, which will also be sprayed white!

Two Eddie Bauer Home premium loft king sized pillows.  So plump!

 

And this fun over the sink colander/cutting board and spatula.

My grand total was $99.89 cents!  So fun!!  And I still have 11 cents left on my gift card!  ;-)

Our next stop was the IKEA next door for lunch and more shopping.  Found some great deals~  $3 for a king sized white bed skirt on clearance!   I also picked up a few more things for my bedroom makeover.  I am loving how it is coming together and I'll do a reveal soon.

Thanks for stopping by! Linking up to these fab parties! 

 



Winner! Winner! Me!!

Do you enter Blog Giveaways?  I do, pretty much any I see if it looks like something I would really want.  I have won a few fun things and yesterday I hit a again, a big one!! 

 

Kayla Aimee over at Slightly Neurotic had a giveway in cahoots with BlogHer and I won a $100 gift card to HomeGoods!   YAY!!!!  I love, Love, LOVE this store and am so excited!!!

 

Be sure to check out Kayla Aimee's blog.  She has the sweetest little baby girl, Scarlette, who was born at 23 weeks weighing just 1 lb 9 oz.  Through God's amazing grace and blessing she is home and thriving!  KA is hilarious and I enjoy her blog immensely. 

 

Project wise:  What can you do with an old end table and a discarded cabinet door?  Why, you make a coffee table, of course!   Come back soon to see the finished project!!