Something a little different

I have been feeling very crafty lately and with the season change I decided to create some home-decor for Fall. Here are the projects I've been working on:

Painting acorns. These looked so cute in an old mason jar until they started sprouting and growing mold. Apparently, you should bake them before painting.. Whoops!

I found this wooden jack-o-lantern in the basement of my mom's house. I took him home, gave him a paint make over, and added a candle. Viola!

I just love typography, so I knew I wanted a sign. I used scrap wood and letter stickers to create this cute "Fall in love" sign.

Top of the entertainment center, all decorated. This cost me $0!

Painting mason jars. These candle holders were made by my friend Beth and I. They aren't as easy as some tutorials would lead you to believe, but we had such a fun craft day!

Clay mini pumpkins! I haven't touched polymer clay in years, but these turned out so cute that I will explore this medium more.

What fun DIY projects have you tried lately? Did you have any mistakes like my moldy acorns? I'd love to hear your story!

{Tutorial Love} Holiday Edition

Happy December everyone! 

The following is a list of my favorite Christmas/Holiday tutorials I've found throughout the year. I can't wait to make my own ornaments and create gifts for my friends!

 Customized Soap Gift

by The Idea Room

 Faux Bois Vases

by Centsational Girl

 Cinnamon and Applesauce Ornaments or Gift Tags

by Katy Elliot

 Cinnamon Stick Candle

by Craftaholics Anonymous

 Clay Bird Ornament

by The Shine Project

Decorated Paper Christmas Trees

by Shauna Mailloux

Thrift Store Blog Hop

Sarah, over at Pookledo, is hosting a blog hop today! You all know how much I love participating in these, but this one just seemed like it was meant for me. Her challenge to the participants was to purchase an item from a thrift shop worth less than $1.50 and to create a piece of jewelry using that object. I do that ALL the time!

I purchased a necklace from Goodwill for $1.99. I went a little over budget, but this is Connecticut people. They don't sell anything for a buck, everything is overpriced here. What I really liked about this necklace was the dark teal color. The gold irregular shaped beads are okay, but it's the round beads I was really drooling over.

The bracelet I made uses these teal beads, as well as, Serpentine and lucite coral colored beads. The focal bead is handmade, however I do not have the information on who created it. (please help me give credit if you know!) The bracelet is finished with a large lobster claw clasp.

Don't forget to visit the rest of the participants in the blog hop!

Sarah - www.pookledo.blogspot.co.uk
Deb - http://greenshoot.blogspot.co.uk/
Kimberley - http://goddessesandbeads.blogspot.co.uk/
Skye - http://skyescreativechaos.blogspot.co.uk/
Ambra - http://chicandfrog.wordpress.com/
Beti - http://stringingfool.blogspot.com/
Emma - www.apolymerpenchant.com
Shelley - www.shelleygrahamturner.blogspot.com
Tammie -  http://ttedesigns.blogspot.co.uk/
Leah - http://beadyeyedbunny.blogspot.co.uk/
Denielle - www.somebeadsandotherthings.com
Keri Lee - http://www.pinklemonade.typepad.com 
Rochelle - www.acreativechelle.blogspot.com
Pam - http://pamelas-studio.blogspot.com/
Ingetraud - http://ingetraud.wordpress.com/
Audrey - http://esperianterra.blogspot.com/
Julie Anne - www.thepeacefulbead.com
Sharyl - http://www.sharylsjewelry.blogspot.com
Micheladas - http://micheladasmusings.blogspot.com 
? -   http://thecreativeklutz.blogspot.co.uk/
Kala - http://maybejustperhaps.blogspot.co.uk/ 

Experimentation: Metal Stamping

A friend of mine found an old set of letter stamps in his garage. Apparently these were used by sheet metal workers to mark parts for correct assembly. I found this very interesting and exciting because my uncle and late father used to own a sheet metal company and may have done this same thing! This particular set used to belong to my friend's grandfather and is about 50 years old! I'm very grateful he decided to share and I promised to put them to good use.

And here is my first metal stamped charm made into a necklace! I think my daddy would be very proud :)

{Tutorial Love} Spring Time

Six Fabulous Spring Time Tutorials!

A collection of my favorite instructional craft projects for spring time.

All photos belong to the tutorial author.

Bird's Nests DIY Spring Art

DIY Ordinary to Extraordinary Flip Flops!

Toy Animal Planter Tutorial

 

Create this cute Cinch Tee for spring time!

You'll never guess what these cool charms are made from.

So cute and fun! Happy Spring Garland!

{Tutorial Love} DIY Leather Bracelets

A collection of great D.I.Y. tutorials for leather bracelets!

Painted Leather Bracelets

by A Beautiful Mess

Leather Bracelets decorated with ribbon and buttons

by Jolijou

Stitched Leather Bracelets

by Crafty Nest

Leather Bow Cuff

by Melissa of ISLY

 Woven Leather and Chain Bracelet

by Runway DIY

Leather Layered Bracelet with Rhinestone buttons

by Wobisobi

Upcycled Belt Bracelets

 by The May Fly

by Delighted Momma

{A Few of my Favorite Things} Randomness

I admit that when taking on this January Earring Challenge, I didn't think it would be quite so much work. I have a feeling the end result will be worth it though. Most of my posts have been only about my daily earrings. Not that it's a bad thing, but I wouldn't want my wonderful readers to get bored... So here are a few of my favorite things from the last few weeks!

I have been listening to a lot of  the very talented Lana Del Rey, while working on my daily earrings.

Personal Photo

YouTube: Lana Del Rey

I have been lazy and keep forgetting to clean up my desk space after I make something. The result has been disastrous! So I've decided to really Clean & Organize my work room. I know this will take some time, so I've been doing a little bit each day and incorporating these great tips!

Photo Source

Ice cube trays: To sort and separate all those piles of random beads on my desk :\

 

Photo Source

Clip Boards: Organize all your supplies for a project on individual clipboards!

I popped in to a few new blogs during the weekend and I realized that my blog is, well, boring to look at. Thank goodness one of the blogs I stumbled upon happened to have a very helpful tutorial on how to spice things up a bit!

 

Head over to Sweet Verbena for this and many more awesome tutorials!

One of my favorite meals is Mac&Cheese. When I have a bad day this is usually my go-to meal to prepare for Hubby and I. You know, comfort food. However, this is not the most healthy of dinners. Imagine how excited I was when I came across this recipe: SKINNY Mac & Cheese!

Six Sister's Stuff shared this recipe and I can't wait to try it!