Breakfast, Anyone?

Every now and then a friend will call or message us with an urgent request.  They have a great idea for a gift for someone, and they want to know if we can make it.  Or they've seen something we make and want that item or something like it.  Usually there is a deadline involved.

Can I say it now?  I thrive under pressure!  There, I've thrown down the gauntlet and tempted the dare fairies.  And at Christmas no less.  Bring it on!

Last Wednesday, a friend from church had a last-minute idea for something she wanted for her daughter's wedding.  The couple's last names start with "Ham" and "Egg" and they have adopted the nickname "Ham & Eggs."  Take that all you Hollywood couples with the silly combo names like Brangelina!

Anyway, the idea was for a sign that would have their nickname and the wedding date. (Did I mention the wedding was on Friday?)  We discussed ideas for a few minutes, and decided on a framed chalkboard with vinyl lettering.  I was pretty sure we had the perfect chalkboard at our shop, which we did, so I set to work.

Below are images of he finished piece, and the happy couple in a pretty wedding pose with the sign.  I just love how it turned out, and that everyone liked it.  There is nothing more satisfying than being able to see the vision of a customer and turn it into reality.

Congratulations, "Ham & Eggs" and to the Mother-of-the-Bride!  Thank you for thinking of us when looking for your special project.

The Barn Girls

Don't Box Me In

 Here in the Midwest, we have been experiencing a record-breaking drought.  After weeks and weeks of unbearable heat and no rain, it really starts to get to you.  You find yourself looking up at the sky in search of a stray cloud, checking the radar, and watching the evening news just hoping for those words indicating that even the slightest of changes is on the way.

And then when you do hear it, and you've been disappointed numerous times, watching storm clouds zip by close enough to smell the rain, but withholding it from your parched little patch of a yard, you scoff, switch off the television and decide that it's just never going to happen.

Last night, we were told, once again, that there was a slight chance of very scattered showers today.  Imagine my surprise upon awaking, to hear the pitter-patter of rain drops on our window.  Like manna from heaven, precious drops of liquid fell from the sky, and this time, instead of releasing just a few teasers and then drifting on, the clouds hung around for hours and let loose.  It was amazing to finally get a break from our dry spell, and even though it will take many more mornings like this to make up for our eight inch deficit, we are very grateful for what we received.

Rainy days stir in me a desire to create, and there has been a project on my mind for weeks for which I've had all the supplies.  It's a simple little project that I came up with one day while walking the aisles of my favorite craft store.  I had bought dozens of clearanced gift card tins for another project, and had several leftover, and when the colored chalk caught my eye, I knew just how to put them to good use.

All you need for this project, besides the ugly tins and chalk, are a can of chalkboard spray paint and some sponges. Paint the lids with a couple of coats and let them dry.  Put the chalk in the tin, cut a sponge to fit the leftover space, and voila!  You have a travel-sized chalkboard!

I spiced mine up a bit with some vinyl and used an elastic hair band to keep the lid firmly in place.  These will be for sale at I Am What I Am on Main Street in St. Charles beginning Tuesday.

I hope you enjoy this project, and wherever you are, I hope you are getting rain if you need it, sun if you don't.  Have a blessed day!

Valerie

Quick Saturday Project

Several years ago, I found this lonely red chair sitting outside of a re-sale shop, and I just couldn't resist.  I had no idea where it was going to fit into our home, but I just knew that it would.

Since then, it found a place in our Americana kitchen.  When not in use, it is home to a couple of pillows and a Teddy Bear.  When we have company, it gets put to work.

In the past year, I've fallen in love with my Silhouette Cameo, and while I make gifts for others, and create pieces to sell in our Etsy shop and in local retail spaces, I have done very little for myself.

Enter the chair.

It has been calling my name for ages, a blank canvas that I pass by dozens of times daily.  I just didn't know what I wanted to put on it, and I never made the time to actually do it.  Today I made time.

I hope you like my chair re-do as much as I do. Now when I pass by, not only will I smile at the cheerful red of this rescued seat, but my heart will be warmed by the verse that it bears.

Rainy Days and Sundays

There is something cozy and warm about being inside on a rainy afternoon, especially on the weekend when we can take a little time to work on fun "rainy day" projects!

We've had our share of rain and storms over the last few days, and I have tried to put the hours to good use.  Yesterday I worked on this fun project with an old shutter from my corner stash.  My husband had suggested this a long time ago, but I just hadn't gotten around to doing it.

Originally, the plan was to leave off the kitchen part and make it an open and closed sign for our business, but since we decided that we didn't want to over-extend ourselves, we didn't move out on our own yet, so the sign wasn't needed.  It's going to stay on the back burner until the day comes that we are ready to take that step.

So here's how the sign turned out.  I asked for some input on the colors from my son, and I played around with various schemes until I came up with something I liked.  I did this with vinyl using my Silhouette Cameo, which I love, and I think it turned out pretty well.  Getting the letters to line up was a little tricky, but not too bad.

Besides this project, I'm also in the middle of another one involving glass blocks.  I've always wanted to try my hand at these but just never seemed to be able to catch them on sale.  Finally Hobby Lobby and my schedule cooperated so now I have a small stash to work on.  I'll get pictures of those later, after the lights I ordered arrive.

Finally, a few weeks back, my husband and I went "pickin'" in an old barn and came home with a van load of architectural treasures. Among the stash are six of these beautiful textured glass windows.  They measure 12 by 24 inches, and each has the wonderful, naturally distressed handle.  I'm still trying to decide on some good phrases to vinyl on these, but hopefully I'll have at least one done by the end of the day. By the way, this one looks really good now that it's cleaned up.  You should have seen it barn-fresh!

Anyway, here's to everyone else who is using this afternoon to play around with some fun new projects.  I hope you have a wonderful time!

Valerie

P.S.  Here's what one of the windows looks like now that I've finished it:

And here's where we're linking up today:

At Home at Home Depot

There was a time when the only reason I wanted go to Home Depot was to see Tony Stewart's picture on the Coke machine.  Those were the days when all I saw was boring stuff like lawn mowers, pvc pipe, and electrical supplies when I walked through the door, usually trailing my hubby.

Oh how times have changed!

Don't get me wrong, because I firmly believe that heaven might just be one big craft store, but Home Depot is a really fun place to find project supplies. It all started with spray paint and has moved on to washers, thumb tacks and sand paper.

Last week I went in for some of the aforementioned thumb tacks when I found myself in the tile aisle.  I've bought tile before, but it came from the Habitat for Humanity store and the selection was pretty limited.  Needless to say, Home Depot's choices are something out of a dream.

Previously, I've used 4x4 and 3x12 ceramic tile for applying vinyl lettering and sayings.  Those are fun, and I love how easily vinyl sticks to them, but I got a little bored with my colors (or lack of) since I bought only white and gray.

The tiles I bought last week are small, and the colors are oh-so-yummy!  Most of them are glass, but some are tumbled stone and I have yet to decide which ones I like best.  They come on a sheet and for this project, I just pulled them off the mesh backing, created some inspirational words with my Silhouette Cameo and stuck magnets on the back.

You can see here how they look.  It's a very simple project with limitless potential.

So even though Joey Logano has replaced Tony on the Coke machine, I still find myself gazing that direction as I leave one of my favorite stores.  And I still smile.

Linking up to this party today!

From Junk to Junque

Green does not describe me.  I am not a jealous person, I am probably the worst recycler on the planet, and my thumb is pasty white, causing only weeds to grow in the gardens and flower beds I touch.

Despite that, I absolutely love rescuing items that are destined for the garbage truck and making something funky and fun out of them.  Here's proof from my old blog that this isn't my first recycling rodeo:  http://studiovalerie.blogspot.com/2011/05/bubble-full-of-blooms.html

It's fun to take something weird, something that anyone else would think you were crazy for saving, and turning it into something useful, fun or pretty.  This is the story of our latest rescue.

So yesterday my husband walked into my office with this odd piece:

"What is that?" you're probably thinking.

It's the vent cover from an old upright freezer that had to be trashed several months back.  The first question, of course, is "how did we not see this when we hauled out the freezer?"  That question would be answered immediately if you've ever seen our basement.  It is wall-to-wall junk and boxes, collected over nearly twenty years of living in the same house.

This piece intrigued my husband, and he just knew that it could be turned into something fun.  His suggestion:  Use that fancy vinyl cutter and make a "cold drink" sign out of it.

So that's what I did.  First, I found this really cool (ha!) font and cut navy blue letters with a layer of white "snow" and created "ICE COLD DRINKS" in a size that would fit the piece.

Next, they were transfer-taped and applied, creating this one-of-a-kind sign that will some day grace the man cave that we hope to eventually carve out of the basement once the kids extract all their stuff.  We have two old Pepsi machines and one old Coke machine, so this should look great hanging on the wall above them...someday.

So there you have it!  My fun little Sunday afternoon project.  One less piece of junk in a landfill, one more piece of junque in my basement.  It's a treasure trove of pickin' paradise that Frank and Mike would love to crawl around in, that's for sure. Sorry boys, you're not invited.  We're going to enjoy all of this stuff ourselves, eventually.

Here's where we're linking up on this beautiful Good Friday:

The Evolving Collage

Several years ago now (though it doesn't seem that long ago) we refinished our "public" bathroom.  That's the one that guests are supposed to be able to use.  Right.  When you have an adult-teenager living in the house, and that's his main bathroom, well, you can imagine that it isn't always readily suitable for visitors. Oh, and when I say "we" refinished that bathroom, I mean my husband and my son-in-law.

Anyway, after months of construction mess and having to share our master bath with two kids at the time, the room got done and it's absolutely beautiful.  Jesse is great at choosing colors, and, in fact, used the same color when she painted the bathroom in her current home.

This bathroom has been sitting there completely un-decorated, directly across the hall from my studio and driving me crazy.  There is one small framed verse on the wall and a candle on the counter and that's as far as it goes.  Bare, empty green walls stare back at me any time I dare to enter.

I should stop here and say that my husband has plans for these walls, and when we finally find the perfect frames for the perfect train pictures, we can easily swap them out for what I just did. Seriously, I'll be ready for a change by then...and the walls will probably be ready for fresh paint as well.

Last Friday my hubby and I ventured out to some of our favorite antique stores, and for the most part, we came up pretty empty.  Of course, I managed to find a few little things, but my favorite was another vintage wire desktop letter sorter.  I now own three of these, all different, and since I am a total vintage office stuff geek, I can never have enough.  That also means, however, that I'm running out of room in my office.

So how do my lack of office space, a third mail sorter and a barren bathroom all come together to make for a worthwhile blog post?  Rather than get into a long explanation, let me just show you.

Here's what I started with:

and here's what I ended up with:

I'm calling it "The Evolving Collage" because the plan is to add things to it as I find or acquire them, and to encourage fellow family members to do the same.

These are all just random things I found in drawers and cubbies, wired and tied to the letter tray, which I hung on a matte black hook from Hobby Lobby.  It's a fun little montage of silly stuff that I thought visitors might find interesting.  Many of the items are hung with old Christmas ornament hooks that missed being put back in their box after we took down the tree.  Who knew I'd find a use for them in February?

Thanks for stopping by the barn.  We're all about taking the old and making something new out of it.  I hope you are inspired by what we do.

Valerie