One woman's quest to salvage the world's castoffs, lock, stock and bauble
Meet my new state-of-the-heart bulletin board.This is what it looked like when I bought it (at a thrift store, of course). It had a nice beefy frame that was painted in a neutral cream color -- and the paint was chipping in spots, so there was a little bit of mint green showing through here …
Continue reading "Valentine’s Day | Wisconsin bulletin board"
Valentine's Day decorations are generally not my thing. Most of the mass-produced ones out there are way too saccharine sweet and frilly for me. So this year, I decided I'd make my own Valentine's Day decor: something with a vintage industrial vibe that I wouldn't mind actually hanging in my house. I started with these …
Continue reading "Valentine’s Day | Hearts on a string decoration"
For reasons that aren't entirely clear to me, my son decided he wanted a Wisconsin State University shirt for Christmas this year ... which posed a bit of a problem because, as those of you who live in this neck of the Midwestern woods know, there is no such school as Wisconsin State. Apparently there …
Continue reading "Stenciling | A (fictitious college) shirt"
I've been a little obsessed with "turkey robots" lately. Some people call them "turkey assemblages." Or "upcycled turkeys." Or "steampunk turkeys." Whatever you call them, they're out there, and I love them. I've been storing images of some of my favorites on Pinterest and keeping my eye out for parts to make my own. A …
With Halloween closing in, I decided to get in the spirit and make a double-double-toil-and-trouble sign. Here's what I started with: a thrift store frame I had bought a few years back, thinking it was the perfect size (11 1/2 inches by 36 inches) for a subway sign. I needed a sign blank, so I …
Continue reading "Halloween | ‘Something Wicked This Way Comes’ sign"
When we visited Mackinac Island, bikes were everywhere -- and I'm not just talking about on the streets (where no cars are allowed). A lot of the shops sell bicycle art and crafts and T-shirts. This old-timey penny farthing decoration was in the front window of Ryba's Fudge Shop. All the bike art reminded me …
I love stenciling. It takes time and patience but absolutely no special skills. Anybody can do it. And you can make almost anything. Say, for instance, you wanted a dish towel with a retro black-and-white Santa image printed on it. You probably wouldn't find one in a store, but you could stencil one. You'd just have …
Here's a Thanksgiving shadow box I (somewhat accidentally) put together the other day. It started with this plastic turkey-shaped cookie cutter that I found. It looked so sad and orange, I decided I'd give it a 10-minute makeover by wrapping jute twine around it. After 10 minutes of searching for -- and not finding -- …
A couple years ago my son found himself in need of a purple suit. And not just any purple suit. He needed a purple suit with a long coat, in the style made famous by his favorite villain/Bruce Wayne's arch nemesis. After searching high and low and finding no purple suits of any kind to …
Things are looking up around here. At least in my upstairs hallway. As I was hanging artwork there recently (you can read about it here), I decided I needed one more piece to stretch across the top of the wall. Maybe a sign of some kind, I was thinking. I checked the stash of projects …
Continue reading "Crafting | Making a wooden arrow from a picture frame"
