Door plus poster = great art!

I am so impressed with myself!  I not only finished several projects that had been waiting patienty for me, I finally got some pictures on to the computer so that I can show them off.  I have had all these ideas knocking around in my head so it is nice to clear some of them out.  Trust me, I can use the room.  :)  So, without further ado, here they are.

This is a long cabinet door I got at Ikea in the seconds section. There was nothing wrong with it but it was all alone and without any of the hardware.  I found it years ago but I saved it knowing I would find a way to use it.  The poster I got at Michaels a while back and I love the shabby chic feel of it.  I have been seeing all these modge podge projects in blogland and some thing clicked.  I am planning on having my husband 'help me' put it up over the bed.

This is another modge podge attempt.  The plaque I bought at our local ReStore for 25 cents and the picture I printed out from the computer.  The plaque was originally a plain basic pine so I painted it and applied the picture.  This is going in the kitchen of course.

I decided to save a cardboard tea canister thinking I would get creative with it and this is what I came up with.  I wrapped it in wallpaper, then glued on a ribbon and topped that with a flower I cut out of another wallpaper scrap.  The top which isn't in the picture I just painted cream. 

I also cut tags out of various wallpaper bits.  I can tell you I will never run out of tags now!

Last but not least I painted some dollar store jewlery pendants an antique cream and used them to frame some miniature flower pictures.  These too have a shabby chic feel to them which I relly like. I made a few different sets.

Thanks for checking out my latest creations everyone.

Kibbygirl

march break

Good morning everyone,

It has been so warm and beautiful around here that sitting at the computer for too long seems wrong  so I have been getting done what I need to and running outside to join the kids who are off school for march break.  The temperature yesterday said 21 degrees at one point.  Awsome!  I took advantage of the nicer weather to drag some larger things, like a bookshelf, outside to paint.  I have been on a bit of a painting spree lately but sadly I am no where near done.  Most rooms in our house need a good coat of paint but that will come bit by bit.  One of the hardest parts of painting is the decision making!  What colour for the wall?  What colour for the trim?  What about the accessories?  See I am a frequent mind changer I have learned to stick with fairly basic colours when it comes to the big stuff so that I can change everything else when the need strikes.

Right now, as I try to motivate myself to get ready for a family gathering I see flurries start to fall.  Ahh Ontario weather!  I suppose it makes me even more thankfull for the past couple of days worth of sunshine.  Since I don't have any of my projects to show you yet I will leave you all with a picture from one of the boys recent basketball games.  It is a terrible picture but I love it because it shows what great team spirit they all have.  The raised arms are their way of silently cheering for a team mate when they are making a foul shot.  Each of the kids on this team are truely supportive of eachother, in the good games and the bad.  It makes me thankfull for each and every one of them.  Wouldn't it be amazing if we all treated each other that way?  No tearing down, just lifting up. 

Have a great weekend,

Kibbygirl

Ideas that make you say hmmmm

Well, the rain is back but I am thankful the snow is melting away. It is also giving me a chance to play catch up with a few projects. I have painted some more. A few minis, two candle sticks and a tray that I am planing on using for a craft project I saw on one of my blog wanders. Once they are all finished up I will take some pictures to share with all of you.

In the meantime I came across some great ideas for re using and re purposing different things around the house. Most of these ideas came from various magazines. Hopefully some inspire you as they did me.

1. Use a coat rack to hang cookware in the kitchen.

2. Use an old medicine cabinet in your front hall as a place for mail, keys and what not. You

could also replace the mirror with a chalkboard or cork board for a message centre.

3. Rinse out and re label a clean wipe container to use as a coin bank.

4. Make place mats and napkins using fabric remnants.

5. Old cupboard doors can be converted into plaque like photo frames.

6. Convert a flat bed sheet into a decorative shower curtain.

Have a happy weekend everyone!

Kibbygirl

Busy day and Secret Garden Swap

Well, today was a busy one. I am not sure what possessed me to do it but I decided to paint my kitchen today! It was a gross terracotta brown and I had planned on painting it someday but I looked at the paint I had purchased for my bathroom and thought, what the heck. The way my kitchen is set up there isn't a whole lot of paint able surface anyway so I just went for it. Now the walls in the kitchen are an antique white and I am quite happy with it. Next is the back splash and counter tops but that is definitely for another day.

Another thing I did today was join Sarah's My Secret Garden swap. Sarah's blog is My So Called Junky Life.

I discovered it today through a link party and was extra happy to discover she is hosting a swap involving vintage-y, garden inspired things. I am looking forward to putting my package together as much as seeing what comes in the mail for me.

Have a great night everyone,

Kibbygirl

Danone DanActive Review

The sun is starting to fade now and since we have the night free of activities to rush out to I am going to snuggle in with my boy soon so we can practice our couch potato impressions! Before I do I thought I would share a quick bit about a Bzz campaign I signed up for. My husband actually found this site and steered me toward it. When you sign up to be a Bzz Agent you try and review products. The idea is to create word of mouth advertising but they do encourage honest assessments. My first campaign has been with Danone DanActive. I was sent a 'kit' with a free product coupon, $1 off coupons to share and contest cards. My family and I have tried the drinks and our overall impression was positive. They taste great and are a good thing to have on hand when we are constantly on the go. One thing I was disappointed about was the portion size. The bottles are pretty small. Still, with a coupon or if they are on sale I will probably get them again. If you are interested in checking out the Bzz Agent site head here and see what it is all about. If anyone decides to join let me know. There is no bonus for me I am just curious to hear what you all think.

Until next post...

Kibbygirl

Talented Tuesday at My Frugal Family

This is an old calender print I had just waiting for a home. I painted a boring old brown one a nice shinny black an it looks pretty great if I don't say so myself.

Finally, it is 6 degrees and sunny in my neck of the woods today! What a relief it is to actually see blue skies and melting snow. You may remember me mentioning awhile back that I am not exactly a big fan of winter so having this for the day is a big blessing. Soon, so soon, I will be sitting on my back deck, sipping an iced coffee, reading a good book, listening to the sounds of our pond and watching the birds fluttering around the feeder. Ahhh, heaven.

The past week however I have been re purposing my kitchen table in to a craft station. I have finally started some of the painting jobs that I have been meaning to get working on for weeks. OK, months but please... don't judge me. Well, anyway, once I got started I went all out and got most of the small stuff done. I painted our two kitchen chairs that were a very basic Ikea pine a very stylish black. All the appliances are black so they fit in nicely now. I also painted several picture frames, a cork board, an old spice rack, a small cabinet, several miniatures, and two peg boards! Whew. I still have a few big things to paint but I think I will wait for the warmer weather for those. In the meantime here are some of the projects I did. The others I will have to show you in a couple of days when I get the finishing touches done. I am once again linking up to Heather's Talented Tuesday linky party at My Frugal Family. She has been getting lots of great contributions so definitely wander over.

This isn't the best picture but remember that spice rack I decided to use as a holder for perfume and nail polish, well here it is with a couple of fresh coats of paint. The little cabinet used to be blue but this looks much better I think.

This is a signed numbered print I got at Value Village a week or two ago for $3. I painted a frame I already had and voila.

This is the cork board I had. It was just the basic brown you get anywhere which is boring so I painted it black and used an old calender print as a background.

There is more to come but for now I hope you all have a great night!

Kibbygirl

Another great blog and giveaway

Hello, hello. I am back tonight bearing news of a sweet blog and a very sweet giveaway.

French Charming is having a fabulous contest. She is going to give to one lucky duck a grab bag of all, that's right all, the things seen in the picture above! Her blog itself is worth a visit. Lots of great eye candy, especially the cupcakes she made. They look almost too good to eat. Hey I said almost! Check it out and leave her a comment for your chance to win an awesome package of goodies. Good luck,

Kibbygirl

cute contest

The Little Green Bean is having a contest. The winner will get one of her sweet little stitched birds. If you are really talented she also shows her readers how she created them. I know my limits and I am not up to that level of craftiness yet! Even if we don't win she has several in her Etsy store. I am loving the little nests she has made too. Very sweet. Check out her blog here for all the details. Good luck to everyone!

Kibbygirl

My new Ipods new home

Its a grey day where I am but sometimes, ok not often but sometimes that is a good thing. Every so often this kind of day motivates me to flip all the lights on, crank up the music and actually get some stuff done. My music of choice today was my 'cleaning' playlist on my itunes. Its full of Black Eyed Peas, Beyonce, a little Simple Plan, Kelly Clarkson, Daughtry and more. All songs that make me want to move! As for getting stuff done, first was the requisite cleaning and then in was craft time. Back in the days when the Ipod classic was the new big thing my husband splurged and got me one for a present. He knows I love music and that Ipod became my most treasured possession, next to my childhood stuffed bear of course. I travel a fair bit and that Ipod came with me everywhere. Even around the house and town it served as my music source, my alarm clock, my portable games system, my portable movie player and a place to keep any pictures I might just want to show off. It was invaluable when I was out running errands and my son was bored to tears, or if I was stuck sitting in a gym during his basketball, or some other sports practice. All of this leads to my complete heartbreak when my beloved companion died after many years of faithful entertainment. I'll admit it.. I cried. My husband, bless his heart, saw my pain and rushed out to get me the latest Ipod touch. At first I had trouble accepting it. Sure it was a nice thought but it was new, it was foreign and it wasn't "my Ipod". I quickly came around though. I can only live so long without my music now. In fact I may have lasted a day or two at the most!

After setting the new Ipod up my problem became how to protect it. This sucker is going to be with me for a long time if I have anything to say about it. It's just so hard to say goodbye to a good friend and I don't want to do it again anytime soon. So I scoured the web for something to keep my precious safe and unscratched. Most things out there are expensive so I ended up making my own. The pictures are my finished case. You know me and re purposing so the material is actually from an old skirt. I folded the material I had cut around a cardboard cut out of my Ipod and with a fair bit of allowance I sewed the bottom and side then turned it right side out again. I had left a bit of extra material on the back half for the flap and on to that I sewed a strip of the same material. I fixed a Velcro dot I bought from the dollar store to the strip and the front part of my cover, using stitching glue to make sure it stayed. I was going to affix a button to the front of the strip just for decoration but I found a flower shaped brad and I used that instead for a pop of colour.

So now my Ipod is safe and sound in its new cover and all is right and good in the world again!

Have a wonderful evening everyone,

Kibbygirl

I am also linking this post to My Frugal Family's Talented Tuesday MckLinky party

new craft site discovery

Happy Valentines day everyone!

I hope you all are having a great weekend. My son and I have been baking up a storm and I can't wait to taste test! We are giving some away for valentines day but of course we are saving some too. I also have been wandering the web while he plays video games and I came across a fun craft site I thought I would share. Maybe you have already been there, but if not check out Wee Folk Art . They have all sorts of free craft patterns. I have picked out a few that I would like to try and make. The owl bookmark looks pretty cool. I may have to start with that one. DMC also has a blog now for all of us stitchers. You can find that here. They also have lots of free patterns available. I find all sorts of inspiration for miniature stitching projects in regular patterns. Any small patterns can be used to make dollhouse carpets, pillows, and bedspreads. One project they feature is from Happiness is Cross stitching, a blog about, well.. cross stitching! If I get brave enough I might try the bottle cap pin cushion. Too cute.

I may just have to adopt the motto "so may crafts, so little time"!

Until later, happy wanderings!

Kibbygirl

A few wee things

Hello everyone,

I finally got my scanner to do what I wanted this morning so here is a sample of some projects I have been working on. I experimented with a mini checkers board and I think it turned out pretty great. It has a wood frame I painted black. The little red beads I thought could be some pieces. The two small pictures are going to be framed. I really like how the rocking horse turned out. Last but not least is my first attempt at a stitched blanket. I lined the back with fabric but I don't think I would do that again. It seems much stiffer that way and I don't think it will drape nearly as well this way.

Have a great afternoon,

Kibbygirl