Another Quilling Project

At work, there is a talent show every year to raise money for Memphis Arts. Usually it just singers that perform, but this year they're allowing craft projects as well. Normally every year some people donate photos and there's a silent auction. So this year I'm entering a quilling project, as I am very curious to see if I could make money with some of my craft projects. I've made some money before, so I wonder if I could do it again.

Today I finally started. I have a feeling it'll take me some time to complete because it's the most advanced project I'm trying with quilling. So wish me luck!

I've started cutting out my strips of paper. I think I'll have to cut out a lot of paper!

And here's a sneak peek at the beginning of the project. Can ya tell what it'll be? :)

I might post more as I get more done. or I might just wait until its completed. ha!

Quilling At My Best ( so far)

My sis in law graduated from college a couple of weeks ago. Now she's an RN! :D I asked her what she wanted as a graduation gift, and she said one of my quilling letters. So I made her this.

I used metallic cardstock for the background, then just shades of blue and gray for the inside. Glossy Modge Podge is what's keeping it all together. She said she wanted it in University of Memphis colors. After making it, now I want one for our house! :D

I'm linking to a few places, including Today's Creative Blog!

Paint Chips

I love color. I love rainbows. So when I started to see a ton of ideas on how to use paint chips, I was sold! Now that I have a ton, what to do with them? I'm going to stew over it a bit.

Paint chips really weigh a lot more than you would think! My shoulder was aching after carrying them around in my purse. And it felt weird grabbing all these cause it kind of felt like I was stealing them. But the employees saw me grabbing them and no one said a word, one even smiled at me. So I figured its ok to go raid your paint department. :)

I love walking

I'm trying to lose weight. It sucks, but this time around I'm kind of enjoying it. I'm using Weight Watchers and so far it's great. I want to lose at least 45 pounds, and so far I've lost 5.5 pounds in 4 weeks. But I have found that if I don't exercise at all during the week, then  I will not lose a single pound. Gotta love that slow metabolism :P And of course, the more I exercise, the more I lose.

My favorite form of exercise is walking. But I hate treadmills. I love to go outside and walk around the neighborhood. It serves me well. If I walk 2 miles away from home, then I have no choice than to walk 2 miles back. So I like how I don't give myself the option to quit. Because otherwise on a treadmill, I can usually convince myself to quit. Sad, but true. At least I know who I am.

I find it more motivating to lose weight for health reason than for vanity. When I've lost weight before, it was just to be thinner. But now I have high blood pressure, and the only thing left that I can do is lose weight. So now I don't care what size clothes I wear or how big my waist is. I just want to be healthy so I can live a nice long life with my hubs. Because I want more photos like this. :)

Sigh, I love that man!

Jewelry Hanger

I tend to get knots in my necklace chains, and it always drives me crazy. After I got a knot in the necklace my hubby got me for my birthday. (shout to the hubs for the most gorgeous necklace I've ever own!)

Because I can't resist, here is the necklace!

 

ok, back to the original topic. :) After I got a knot in this beautiful necklace and after we asked a jeweler to carefully remove the knot, I decided it was time to find a better way to store my necklaces. And I came up with this.

I used a frame, but removed the backing and the glass. And I use a cork board without a frame, ribbon, cute fabric, and push pins. Add it all together, and you get this. Now I have a cute way to store my necklaces and it looks like art. I plan on making another one with coordinating fabric, just in case my hubs decide to get me another necklace or two in the future. ;-)

Paper Birds

I received this cool birdcage from my mom-in-law a while back, and I finally got around to adding some cute paper birds. I used the template from Martha Stewart's bird mobile. And then I use string to hang them in the cage. Easy!

Quilling

I tried my hand at quilling before and I wasn't too thrilled with the results. But when my grandfather's 80th birthday was coming up, I decided to try it again. Cause really, what do you get an 80 year old for his birthday that he doesn't already have? :P Plus, I figured he would love to have something handmade by his granddaughter. You can find tons of tutorials on quilling though a Google search, and I don't really have a favorite one to show you. So this is what I came up with.

All you need is some pretty paper, a paper cutter, glue of some sort (Modge Podge works for me!) and something to roll the little strips of paper with. 

I'm making another one for my sis-in-law. And, I'm making a quilling project for the talent show at work for the silent auction. So I'm going to be quilling for a while. :)

Adrienne

Paper Wreath from Sheets of Hymnal Music

This is the craft I'm most proud of right now. It took me a long time to finally master how to roll those cones. But I'm glad I kept trying because the hard work turned into something awesome! I followed the tutorial from Jade Flower.

I didn't really need many supplies. I found the sheets of hymnal music from Etsy (gosh, how I love that place!) And you need some cardboard for the backing, hot glue gun and glue, ribbon to hang, and a pretty picture for the center.

I thought it would be great to show my favorite craft project for my first post. Enjoy!

Adrienne

Dictionary Page Art

The hubs and I are big Memphis Tigers fans and New England Patriots fans. We both went to Memphis, so that's understandable, but I really have no idea why we love the Patriots. We're not from Boston, never been to that area. But for some reason, we love the Pats. And I promise you it's not because Tom Brady is the quarterback. I know he's cute, but more importantly, he's a great quarterback! :D

When we bought our first home, I wanted to decorate with personal touches. I saw that people sell these kinds of things on Etsy, but why pay for it if you can make it yourself? I just printed out a page from a dictionary in black and white, and then printed out the logo on top of it.

Go TIGERS!!!!!

Go PATRIOTS!!!!!

Someone from work asked that I made some for her (the first time I've sold a craft project!).

They are Saints fans

and White Sox fans

So at Christmas time last year, I decided to make something like this for my dad.

I'm proud to say that this now hangs in my parents' living room :)

Paper Hearts

My mom is awesome sometimes, and I wanted to make her something special. It wasn't for a special day or anything, so I didn't want to make a big deal out of it. I know she likes hearts, so I made her this paper hearts from sheets of music.

They look pretty cute hanging from the mantle! Too bad Mom and Dad don't have a fireplace for a mantle. But oh well.

Marble Magnets

I wanted to find some cute magnets for our fridge, but I just couldn't find any in the store that I liked. So what to do? Create your own!

I follow the tutorial from Let Birds Fly, which is easy peasy! Now we have custom magnets, and I love looking at them and remembering why certain places or words are special to us.

My Attempt at Painting

I'll admit, I'm not a good painter. Just look at the kitchen and dining room and see where I accidentally painted over some of the trim (which, btw, I haven't fix it. It's only been a year :P) But I wanted to hang something above the bed in the guest room. My hubs and I both played instruments back in the day, and sadly we don't play anymore. But music is important to us, so I decided to paint the treble and bass clefs.

I just painted both canvases dark brown first. Then I traced the clefs on each with a pencil and painted with metallic blue paint. Not bad for some cheap artwork.

Yarn Wrapped Letters

I saw this idea from Let Birds Fly and absolutely loved it! I'm not really thrilled with the color choice I made, so I'll probably do this again later. But for now, it works.

Hydrangea Wreath

I couldn't believe how easy it is to make this! I bought some silk hydrangeas from Michaels, and use a styrofoam wreath and my hot glue gun. I got the best compliment on it from my dad when he asked where I bought it. SQUEEL! I love it when someone asks where I bought something that I've made! :D

I might just keep it up all year long!

And I like how it fits in with the table.

My Spring Centerpiece

I'm trying to create centerpieces on our table for each season. This is what I came up with for Spring. I found most things at Wal-Mart, which is nice is their prices are great.

Our cats, Sox and Shoes, like to sit on the table and look out the window. When I wanted to take a photo, they wouldn't move with gentle motivation, so you get to see them. :)

I just like how the sun is shining in this photo :)

I haven't thought of what I'll do for Summer yet. But I hope inspiration finds me soon. In Tennessee, summer gets here quickly, and we normally don't have much of a spring. But right now, it feels pretty good outside. :)

Adrienne