Upcycled Outdoor Light

Remember a ways back when I picked up an outdoor lantern at a garage sale?? Well, I have finally accomplished turning the lantern into that piece of art that I had envisioned for it!

Now that it is all together, I almost think that I should have gone with the white owl (so you could see it better??), but it just wasn't as cute as the little black and brown one :) Either way, I am proud of the end result and I just so happened to take pictures along the way to show you how you can up-cycle ANY old outdoor light. Or maybe even one of those tealight lanterns that seem to be the "in" thing these days.

So here we go!! As always, we start with the supplies.....



*not pictured* lantern, hot glue gun and wire cutters

Supplies:

• Lantern
• Spray paint (optional)
• Masking/Painters Tape
• Newspaper
• Floral Foam Piece
• Greenery (moss, flowers, etc)
• Hot Glue Gun & Glue
• Wire Cutters

Learning Punch Needle

Why I was intimidated with the art of Punch Needle, I will never know. Despite my fears and continually putting it off, I finally purchased a punch needle (Joanns for $2.99) and a punch needle kit by Dimensions (again, Joanns for $4.99 with my handy coupon). The kit contained everything I needed, minus the punch needle and the embroidery ring. I have to admit that when I started, I was CLEARLY not a professional!

See the fluffy parts on the left?? Yea ......that's where I started ;) Like I said, NOT a professional. In the end, once I got the groove of "punching" the canvas, it was SUPER easy!



Tah-Dah!!!



Not too bad for my first attempt, if I may say so myself. It didn't take long for me to start creating my own punch needle designs in my head while I was working. I recommend a punch needle kit if you are just starting out, but after that, the possibilities are endless. Canvas, embroidery ring & thread, a pattern and a punch needle. Done and done. Now go punch some canvas!

Vinyl Smells Goooood.....

I LOVE the smell of vintage/old/classic and VINYL. I'm sure it's a scent full of all sorts of bacteria, allergens, toxins etc....but I DON'T CARE!! I LOVE IT!! What I love more is getting 12 vinyls for $1! I went garage/estate sale browsing with a friend this past weekend and got some pretty good deals!

12 vinyls, of my choice, for $1...clearly some are missing out of the picture, but they were just some Beethoven and Tchaikovsky (you like how I worded it to make them seem not so important??)
I have to admit I was pretty surprised the guy was selling them for that price. Out of curiosity, when I got home I decided to see what eBay was selling these for. Would you believe David Bowie's rendition of "Peter and The Wolf" is going for $30?!?! How about that "My Fair Lady"?? Would you believe that it's the original soundtrack with Audrey Hepburn on it? I couldn't!! I definitely don't plan on selling these ANY time soon, but I am just excited to have some Skynyrd, Bowie, Elton and Marley ALL on vinyl! Now for a record player........

Plain Jane Turns Fancy Nancy!

A few weeks ago I purchased one of those cute glass olive oil containers. Just glass, that's it. Too PLAIN if you ask me and I believe EVERYTHING deserves a bit of color/creativity. Plain is just booooring.....
So as I passed the container for weeks, occasionally stopping to play with ideas in my head, I FINALLY decided to sit down and just do it! Armed with a stencil and some Sharpie paint markers (thank you Sharpie!!), I created this....

I'm thinking of adding "oil" in some fancy print above the flower....or maybe some other designs around the rim....or just leaving it....??? I'm still undecided! However, I like how the flower turned out :)

Father's Day Is In The Air......

and what better way to show the #1 Dad in your life that he is the best than with a DIY t-shirt?!?! Especially one that has a touch of tiny handprints added to it!!! I got the idea from the craftgawker website, which in turn, linked me to this tutorial from noshings. She made it look real easy, super fun and not to mention we have a mutual love for Mumford and Sons!

In this tutorial, I will show you how myself, and my little guy, created our own one-of-a-kind piece of art. The designs and possibilities are unlimited, it's all about what you can imagine and create!

Supplies:

• Plain white t-shirt (or color of your choice)
• Fabric Paint (in various colors)
• Foam/Paint Brushes
• Freezer Paper
• Stencil of choice
• Exacto Knife
• Iron
• Cardboard (to keep the paint from leaking through)
• Little Hand Prints :)

To start, I outlined this Vikings emblem (from a pumpkin stencil!) onto a sheet of freezer paper, remembering to work my outline on the paper side, NOT the wax side.


(don't mind my scribbles........)



Second, I used the Exacto Knife to cut out the sections that I wanted to add color to. This was quite the task in some places.......

BOOKS!!!

Would you believe me if I told you that I got all.....yes ALL....of these books for $5.00?? I could hardly believe it myself!! What a steal!! There was a listing in our local paper stating that the Timberland Regional Library was cleaning house. It was a 2 day sale, but Sunday was "a bag of books for $5", who could resist!?!

So, starting from the left, then from the top of the middle stack and ending with the right side, we have......

• 'The Gathering Storm' by Winston S. Churchill (C) 1948
• 'The Odyssey' by Homer (C) 1961
• 'O. Henry Memorial Award Prize Stories of 1943'
• 'A Civil Action' by Jonathan Harr (true story!)
• 'Snow Falling On Cedars' by David Guterson (local setting!)
• 'Motherhood - Writings by Irish American Women About Mothers and Daughters'
• 'Reading Lolita in Tehran' by Azar Nafisi (a memoir!)
• 'The Lost German Slave Girl' by John Bailey (another true story!)
• 'Mathematics for Elementary School Teachers: Explorations' (the man likes math books...)
• 'Boyhood On The Upper Mississippi - A Reminiscent Letter' by Charles A. Lindbergh (C) 1972
• 'My Father's Secret War' by Lucinda Franks (another memoir!)
• 'Contemporary Stained Glass' by Looking Glass Publications (C) 1976

I have already starting reading 'A Civil Action' and am extremely excited to dig into the other true stories and memoirs! I am even MORE excited because I believe the library does this event often, considering the pleasant cashier said "see you next time!"......there will be a next time?? HOPEFULLY SOON!! I will definitely have my entertainment for the chilly winter nights this year!!

Turning Something Old Into Something New......

Remember my 10 cent picture frame find that was freshly spray painted, naked and ready for something pretty??? Well..... I attempted to make it pretty!! It took no time and few supplies.



I coated the frame with a base coat of black spray paint, speckled the leaves with a green acrylic paint and used a light green acrylic to highlight the indents that were already there! I found using a pin worked best for the small grooves.

 

Finally, I added a blue highlight to the outside diamonds and sprayed the entire frame with a finishing gloss and 'tah-dah!' You have a new picture frame!!