My Boss' son is graduating from High School this weekend. So for the graduation party she wanted to put some pictures of him on Wood (like the video below). She saw it on Pinterest. So since she was spending most of her time with family and getting the house ready - this became my job! :) I was very excited since I too had seen the video on Pinterest and thought is was a GREAT idea! So I was up for the mission...

I started with 10 blocks of weathered wood that she had her hubby cut from the wood in the barn. Then we realized that we didn't have the Gel Medium that it tells you that you need. Hmmm. She searched Hi and Lo and still nothing - so when we were about to scrap the idea and do something different we remembered that the new tenant next door was the art teacher for the high school. And guess what?! She had some! Yippee! I started by wiping all the pieces of wood down with a cloth, measuring and printing the pictures. Next step was to apply the Gel Medium. So far so good. Pressed the pictures, color side down, rubbed out all the bubbles, let dry over night.

Arrived to work this morning very excited about the next process which was to wet the backs of each of the pictures with water and rub off the paper to reveal the image. Easy Peasy - Right? I mean the gal in the video makes it look like it takes no time at all.

After trying the first one, then the next, and then the next one after that, I realized something very important... this was not going as easy as the vid shows. Thinking to myself - I must be doing something wrong. So I rewatched the video, then I read the comments below the video - and I saw one comment that said "if all the white won't come off then just get it as best as you can without pealing off the picture, then apply the mod podge and it will take care of the little white areas." Awesome! So that is what I did...

I was so excited this worked! So next I printed out all the pics that I had applied the wood grain layer to. Set out my wood blocks and applied a thin layer of Matte Mod Podge to the wood. Next I placed each of the pics on the wood blocks, and smoothed out all of the bubbles. At this point, you can either wait for the underlayer to dry OR you can do what I did (because I can be impatient) and just coat the top of each of the pics with a thin layer of Matte Mod Podge. I then set them outside to dry. Here is the finished product. What do you think? Personally I like it a lot and I like the way it still looks a little weathered but with a whole lot less hassle!

Here is the wood grain photo I used as the wood grain layer >> Download <<

Last year I bought some Leather Scraps from Hobby Lobby. Brought it home and then didn't really know what to do with it all. So this year, I have decided to tackle it one project at a time - to see what I can come up with and to see what I can make out of it all. I am having so much fun and learning so many things. I keep wanting to go back down to the city (3.5 hours away) and get more leather, but I am trying to push myself to use more of it before I get any more.

My hubby gives me all of his old, worn out cargo pants. So I took 2 of the pockets and made a purse with them. I also got to use some strapping and a buckle that were from the Marines during World War II (see the little anchor) love how this purse turned out!

Since making this purse this week, I have decided to use it primarily as a Brass Collecting Bag. For those that don't shoot, I'll explain. When going to the range it is considerate to collect your brass (also the brass can be reloaded), so instead of getting my pockets dirty, I wear my bag and put the empty casings (brass) in there. I can also carry extra magazines in it, so I don't have to cram them into my pockets either.

I used it today when I went shooting and one of my friends loved it so much he now wants one!! Of course he wants one a "little less girly" than mine. Yay! Good thing I have a whole bunch of old cargo pants to work with!

Well, I better get to work!!

Originally posted on old blog site on August 2, 2011.

I started out with a pile of 15 pairs of very used overalls, that a friend gave me. So far I have made 2 cute purses and have cut the rest for a cover for our futon. Here are the purses...

For the one above, I used the two back pockets from one of the pairs, sewed them together and then took leftover scraps to make the strap. I really like the worn, frayed look so I left the edges undone, and then washed and dried it to get the fraying started. I love this one, I use it for when I want to carry a purse but not tons of stuff. It's great because it essentially has a middle section and then a pocket on each side for dividing stuff up :)

The second one I made is out of the bib part of the overalls. For this one I used 2 sets of overalls.

I think I love this one the most! I added some of my favorite pins to "jazz" it up a bit :)

The Peggy Skirt (from Mad Men)
>> Project Instructions <<

Decorative Book with Hidden Potential
>> Project Instructions <<

Plantable Heart Paper or Gift Tags
>> Project Instructions <<

Homemade Pretzels
>> Recipe <<

The other night when me and my friends were hanging out, Sara's little girl Sammie would come in and ask her mom to put a crown on her head (always an invisible crown). It was too cute! Once she placed the crown on her head, Sammie would dance off into the other room and "show it off" to those in the room. So last night, I made her a pocket princess crown. One that she can carry around in her pocket and wear when ever she wanted :) a girl should always have her crown with her! (Not to replace the ones her mommy gives her, those could never be replaced) :)

I have been making so many fabric pumpkins that they are starting to take over :) So by popular demand, I am giving a few away.

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Up to 30 entries I will pick 1 winner
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Red Tape, Small Print, Over Government - whatever you want to call it :)

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** why I can't legally include Canada and and under 18 **
In Canada, the winner can not be chosen by luck, but rather some element of skill must be involved. And if you do wish to open your giveaway to residents of Canada, you must go one step further and either exclude Quebec or add in the various additional rules that province requires.

I found this tutorial on Pinterest when I was looking for something cute to make at the Craft Party. I fell in love with the simplicity of the pumpkins. As I started looking through my fabrics, I noticed these two fabrics and knew that those were going to be future pumpkins :). Here is the tutorial I used, I changed it up a bit to fit my needs.

Changes:
I added wheat berries to the bottom as a weight (you can use rice too, I just have a lot of wheat berries)
I sewed my stems on instead of hot glueing them. I found that this made them a little more sturdy. It took a little more time, but I feel it was worth it.

What an adorable idea for a party, a gift, for a baby or wedding shower...the possibilities are endless! Plus you can make these little darlings with your kiddos. Check out Cute Food for Kids for this recipe and many more fun and easy ideas.