Count down to Christmas

Happy Monday morning!  I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.  Here in Arizona it has been raining off and on for the last 3 days.  That is great for us since we really don't get a lot of rain but man when it does rain here everything just stops.  The news stations acts like a world crisis is occurring and everything comes to a dead stop, well except shopping.  I work at a major craft store and we have never been busier.

Back to what I came here to show you.  My latest craft idea.  I created a sudo Advent calendar.  I think it's one of my favorite ideas I've come up with in forever.  Pretty proud of it.

So here is what I started with.  They were natural wood and I spray painted them red. 

 

Here is how it ended up.  I die cut the ornaments and then used my old school sizzix - 

Girls are Weird dies to die cut the 1 thru 25. 

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The ribbon says Santa is Coming.  I thought it was the perfect ribbon to use.  

Do you see Santa here in this picture?  That is how you count down.  You move Santa along everyday until he gets to Christmas!  The 25th.

I have two more to make so I better get them done. 

WhitchiePoo’s hat

Yes it’s finally done!  I know I can’t believe it either.  I just sat down, took the time and got it done. 

TAAAADAAAA!

This started with a paper mache hat from Michales.  Then I painted it with Martha Stewarts Glitter Texture black paint.   You have to try this paint out.  It is the BOMB!

ModPodge the paper onto the rim.  Picked up some black roses and leaves.  Unleashed my glue gun and went to town.

Sorry for such a dark picture.

Since I am addicted to the idea of rosette I had to make a paper rosette trim.  I don’t know of another way to describe it.  

I also found a very glittery bat that I thought would look cool coming out the top.

One last finishing touch was my black widow spider. 

SO SPOOKY!!!!

Paper Issues has a challenge going on right now and wants craters to enter their Halloween Harvest  projects.  I'm going to post this on their site. It's open until the 20th so get to crafting and enter also.

PILLOW REDO

I have had this project on my to do list for soooo long.  I finally had to bite the bullet and just get it checked off my list.  I think I kept putting it off since I really don’t sew.  I took “home Ec” back in grade school.  Yea that’s how long ago it was.. they don’t even call the class that anymore.  I made a shirt back then but really it ended up looking like a pillowcase with three hole in it.  It was horrible!

Then when my first daughter was born I made her a dress.  It was amazing!  It had a zipper in the back and she wore it all the time.  I have no idea how I did it other than I am an educated person and can read a pattern.   That didn’t help the first time so I am chalking it up to those mom hormones  surging through me and made me like a sewing super woman.
So here I was sitting in front of my new sewing machine.  I say new, even though I have had it for at least a year.  It’s still new since this is probably the first real sewing project I have done on it.  

Isn’t she cute?  The basics of the machine world but heck I never could have more gadgets on it.  I barley know what I’m doing.. thank goodness for pictures on the knobs.  LOL. 
I have two large pillows that desperately needed to be recovered.  I have no pillows on my couch right now and I thought it would be a fun project.  Plus have you seen the price of pillows .. Holly CrapOlly! 

These are large pillows but perfect for the couch.  I went down to Hobby Lobby to find some fabric.  After looking and dreaming of really beautiful pillow fabric, which was around $15 (on the low end) and up to $20 a yard, I found in the clearance area some great striped fabric that ended up to work just fine.  Remember with all my 4 legged babies at home I do not have a hootie tootie living room.  I have a very lived in living room so nothing fancy for us.   These are just going to be snuggle up and watch a movie pillows.

The best part of this fabric was the price.  Only $7.99!  It was originally double that.

So I measure, cut, buy zippers that are made for jackets, and start sewing.  I bought the heavier duty zippers.  We are not very careful people here and zippers don’t seem to last.  I want to be able to take the covers off and on often to wash them. 
I know I didn’t put or sew these zippers in the official way,  Not the way you’re suppose to sew a zipper in.  In fact I don’t think I know what the official way  is.. LOL, but my sewing job worked non the less.

Wait, I’ll let you be the judge of that.  What do you think? 

I really like the fabric and look, the zipper works great and looks like it’s part of the pillow.  

Just don’t get your magnifying glasses out and do an inspection.  Like I said, it was sewn Big Mamma’s way, not the right way.  LOL  I crack myself up.

FLEUR DE LIS FRAME

I wanted to show off a project I completed this weekend and add it also to Craft-O-Maniac Monday Link Party.   You should stop by there and check out everyone's great craft ideas.  There is some amazing talent out there.

  I love finding old frames and giving them a new  look.  Of course like anyone else I like to make a buck or two so I sell them over at my Etsy shop.  Go take a look at what I've got going on.  Frames are not the only thing I have at my shop.  Just click on my Etsy link located on the left side of my side bar.

I found this 4x6 picture frame a while back and loved the shape of it.  I painted the back and sides with Martha Stewart Textured Glitter Paint.   If you haven't used this you need to try it out on your next project.  It has a bit of a shimmer and after it drys, which is very fast, it is rough like sand paper to the touch.

 When I saw this paper I fell in love with it and knew I wanted to recover a frame with it.  I created a cute silk black bow and added a blinged out Fleur De Lis to the middle of it.

Here is one more frame I created this weekend. 

HAPPY CRAFTING

 BIG MAMMA LUVS YA

XOXO