January 2016 | Vintage, Paint and more...

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

"Frozen" Inspired Crochet Afghan

Hi everyone.  Hope your weekend was great. We had the most awesome weekend.  Our oldest grandson was visiting and we spent the weekend  with him and his sisters.  It was one of those rare times when they were all able to be home at the same time.  We had so much fun cooking, eating, laughing and playing. I love those times but I am ready to get back to "normal". We have not had that since before Thanksgiving.
With the chilly temps we are all experiencing I thought I would share my most recent crochet afghan with you. Maybe the thought will keep you warm. This one I made for Miss "A".


Frozen inspired crochet afghan

Of course, it's a "Frozen" inspired afghan for her "Frozen" themed room.  She is still enamored with the "Frozen" movie.  Her room is done mostly in shades of purple with some touches of baby blue and of course, white. She has all sorts of snowflakes and "Frozen" wall decor so it was obvious she needed a snowflake afghan. Right?
"Frozen" inspired crochet afghan made with I Love That Yarn

 When perusing Pinterest I found a Beginner's Round Ripple Crochet Afghan pattern and knew that it would be perfect for this project.  This particular pattern was done by "Smooth Fox Crochet and Knit" and is free for your personal use.  It is a very easy pattern to follow. Done in double crochet stitches it works up very quickly. I had no problems at all with the instructions.


close up of stitching done on Frozen inspired crochet afghan

I used an "I" crochet hook to make mine and my favorite yarn - Hobby Lobby's "I Love That Yarn".  I used two 8oz. skeins of each soft blue, orchid, and white. The only change I made was to add a Picot edging around it to make it more "ruffly" and snowflake looking. I also did not follow how she did her color changes but did mine more randomly. 


"Frozen" inspired crochet afghan and glam pillows

This is the first time I have done a round afghan and found it to be quite simple to do.


round crochet ripple afghan inspired by "Frozen" movie

I love how it turned out - it looks great in Miss "A's" room with her other "Frozen" decor. And, of course, it's Miss "A's" favorite now. 
I really have to get started on putting my house back together now.  I have all the decorations put away but alas, our house is quite bare.  Hopefully, I will get to that this week.  However it has turned quite chilly for the South and I have been spending these last couple of days by the fire crocheting another afghan.  What have you been up to?  I love to hear from you so tell me about it in the comments below.

I will be linking up to the parties listed on the Where I Party page.  Please go by and visit them - I am sure you will find a lot of great inspiration and creativeness.  


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crochet grey diamond afghan
                        Grey Diamond Afghan

crochet Leaping stripes and blocks afghan
                                                   Leaping Stripes and Blocks Afghan

crochet basket weave afgan
                                                        Crochet Basket Weave Afghan

Thursday, January 14, 2016

Organizing Your Craft Room on a Budget

Good morning friends. 
 Can you believe January is flying by so quickly - here it is the 14th and I still have not started on the organizing I had planned this month.  We are still in holiday mode here as our grand kids are visiting this week. So I thought I would share some organizing tricks I have used in the past that I am still actually using. Organizing ways I have found that cost very little money, are easy to accomplish and make organizing your craft/work area easy. 



organizing your work/craft space on a budget

I don't know about you but if my work space is cluttered and in disarray I cannot concentrate and get anything accomplished.  I spend most of time searching for the exact item I need or just staring at the mess.  So over the years I have come up with a few very easy and budget friendly ways to corral that clutter and keep those most used items close at hand. 

using diy embellished tin cans to organize a craft space

One of my favorite all time organizing items is a recycled tin can.  I have used them for all kinds of organization from pens to craft tools.  I love to embellish them and make them fit into my decor.  As you can see above I have painted these and used all sorts of vintage trims to make them "pretty" for the space.  You can find more on how to make these here.

diy embellished jar organization for a craft room

Another great storage item that you probably toss after use is the jar.  I love using these for those little items that get lost or you forget you have.  Having them in clear jars makes keeping them close at hand simple and always in your sight.  You can read about these that I embellished to fit into my vintage decor here.  


diy embellished hat boxes and cheese boxes for craft room organization on a budget

I also love to use unusual items to corral some of those odd shaped or overly large collections that I have accumulated over the years.  These hat boxes and cheese boxes house all my lace trims and specialty ribbons.  They hold an amazing amount of stuff and the best is they cost around one to two dollars each at thrift stores. You can read all about them here.


using thrifted kitchen canisters to organize ribbon on a budget

I am always on the look out for great items that can be used to organize some of my things when I am out thrift shopping.  These old kitchen canisters make the perfect ribbon storage when the ribbon is wound on clothespins.  You can read more on this here.



budget friendly diy paper organization made from cereal boxes

I think boxes have to be one of the most universal organizing tools around.  They are abundant and most are free.  This paper organizer sits on my desk and is used daily to house all my ongoing projects and ideas. I used cereal boxes to make it - can't get much more budget friendly than that.  You can read how to make yourself one here.

budget friendly diy box storage for organizing a craft room

Another way I love to use boxes is to cover them with wrapping paper to match my decor. The ones I used above are old shoe boxes and cardboard boxes.  I used paper from the dollar store in coordinating prints and solids and then embellished them with vintage trims.  I also placed some labels on them. These house everything from books to faux flowers to scrapbook supplies.  You can read more about how to make these here.

using paper back books to diy business card organization for a craft room

How about old paper back books?  These can be folded to hold business cards, small notes, cards of buttons, or anything that fits between the folds.  Embellish it with vintage trims and you have a custom made addition to your desk.  You can read more about how to make your own here.

using thrifted and budget friendly multi purpose furniture to organize a craft room

Another way to add to your organization is to purchase multi use furniture for your space. I have had this particular piece for a couple of decades - that just shows you how versatile it is.  The multiple little drawers house everything from glue sticks to ink pads to punches.  It can definitely hold a lot of scrapbooking supplies.  So be on the look out at thrift stores for pieces that you can use in many different ways.

organizing your craft room with recycled, thrifted or multipurpose items on a budget

This is my craft space.  Most of the furniture was either thrifted or purchased on a budget.  Then I painted everything to match so it has a cohesive look and fits into my vintage decor.  This is actually a corner of my bedroom as that is the space I love to work in.  But because it is organized, uncluttered and done to match the rest of the room it fits in quite well.  I love working here - it is my favorite space in our house.
Do you have a favorite budget friendly organizing tip you'd like to share with us. Tell us about it in the comments below.
Until next time enjoy creating something you love.


I will be linking up to the parties listed on the Where I Party page.  Please be sure to go by and check out all the great creativeness and inspiration found at each one.



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                          Paper Dish Organizer

Monday, January 11, 2016

DIY Valentine Wreath

Good morning friends. 
 Hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  We spent the weekend with our oldest grandson who is here visiting for a few days before he heads back to school. Spending time with him and his three sisters is always filled with lots of fun, laughter and good food. This weekend was no different. But it's Monday and time to get back to work - so to speak.
Today I am joining The Dose of DIY ladies for our monthly challenge. This month's challenge was Valentine's.  So I chose to make a simple and cute little DIY Valentine Wreath to share with you.

a wreath made from an embroidery hoop and strips of fabric for Valentine decor

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

DIY Washi Tape Organizer

Hello friends. 
 Hope you all had a wonderful holiday and was able to spend lots of time with your families as I did. 
 January is upon us and like most of you my mind always turns to organization. I love starting a new year with a new slate and get all my "stuff" in some semblance of order.  Today I am going to show you a very simple little organizer that could possibly have multiple uses.


diy washi tape organizer from a wood medallion and a dowel rod


I have quite a few rolls of washi tape that get thrown here and there in bins, boxes and drawers - wherever I finish with them.  Then the next time I need some I am searching all over for them and can't seem to find the one I want.  Does anyone else have this problem? 
I needed something to corral all these little rolls in one spot and so I searched my house. A couple of years ago hubby had made me a stand for my cone trees that I never wound up using.  I came across it and inspiration struck.  What a great way to hold all that washi tape. So today I am going to show you how he made my Washi Tape Organizer.  It's a very simple little project that takes only minutes but I am telling you it definitely made a difference in my crafting.

wood dowel rod and wood medallion for diy washi tape organizer

You will need a 2 1/2" wooden medallion  and a 1/4 inch dowel rod 12" long. These can be found in most hardware stores and the medallion comes in different sizes.  You will also need a drill to drill the hole.

2 1/2" wood medallion used for washi tape organizer

First of all drill a 1/4" hole in the center of the medallion.  I have hubby do my drilling  - I am not a power tool girl. He also chiseled the tip of the dowel rod just a bit to make it easier to insert in the hole and fit tighter.

wood dowel for washi tape organizer

Next place the dowel rod in the hole.  You can glue it in place but mine is tight enough I didn't need to.  I also left mine natural but it can be painted or stained if you so choose.

diy washi tape organizer

This is how mine looked when finished.

washi tape on diy washi tape organizer

Add your washi tape and you are done.  An organizer in minutes that corrals those stray rolls in one place.  I also added some of my baker's twine rolls.  Since this is only a 2 1/2 " base it takes up very little real estate on my desk top and is right there for me to use when I am crafting, scrapbooking or journaling.  So easy to use also - I don't even have to take the roll off to cut the tape. 

diy washi tape organizer and tin can pencil holder

Here it is with one of my tin can organizers.

I am joining the ladies of Junk Visionaries today.  This months challenge is organization.  Check out the links below and see what everyone came up with to get better organized this year. There are some great ideas found there that I will be using to get my "stuff" organized. How about you?



Remember to join us next month when we meet the challenge of making something related to"hearts or Valentine's day from junk.  I can't wait to see what eveyone comes up with.

What is the most unique organization item you have used?  I love to hear from you so tell me about it in the comments below.  

Until next time enjoy creating something you love.