Thursday, November 29, 2012

DECK THE HALLS PALLET ART

When my friend Judy was coming to visit, I told her I wanted us to make something wonderful for a Christmas project when she was here and would she please give it some thought.  Judy is the kind of friend who really will give it some thought and she sure did.  She called me one day with an idea and I knew immediately it was exactly what I wanted to do.  She told me she thought that a pallet looked like the perfect platform for music bars and did I think we could do a Christmas carol on one.  Well yes, I did!

Now figuring out how to do it was the challenge, but when Judy and I put our minds together, we can figure out anythingShe arrived from Arizona with some sheet music to choose from.  I selected "Deck the Halls" because, well, it just seemed appropriate for making some Christmas art. 

 
The hardest part was making the bars of music big enough to fit on a pallet board.  Since I'm the computer genius of the two of us, I went to work scanning in the music, cleaning it up a little, eliminating the Slurs, the Furmata and the Tuplets, anything that was going to be a problem fitting the board height.  We were going to use only the first line, but it needed to made into 3 separate partsUsing a blank on picmonkey, I separated each part, the treble, the words and the base into three lines.  We measured our pallet boards so that we could get the right dimensions.  Then I  transferred them onto a travel drive and we jumped in the car and went to Staples to get them blown up on their big blueprint printer.  Believe it or not, because we only used black and white, it cost us like $3.00 total.  We brought them home, cut them down, antiqued them with some antiquing gel and tore the edges to give it a more aged look.
Using mod podge, we adhered the lines to the boards and put a coat over the top as well.  

Now, all we needed to do was "cute it up" as my sister Amber says.  Judy and I think that's the best part because it involves shopping!  We went to Hobby Lobby, Big Lots and JoAnn's (we're sale shoppers for sure) to find some ribbon and greenery for embellishment.  We spent about $10.00 on ribbons and floral picks and if you are keeping track here, we're up to $13.00 on this project, I'll add $2.00 for the mod podge and antiquing gel we used, which I already had, making it $15.00  Judy has a better eye for floral stuff than I do and she put it all together to make the bow and greenery for the title board.  She assembled 3 different picks to make greenery for each side.  She is awesome!
We fastened it all to the pallet by drilling a couple of small holes through the board and wiring it.  Judy curled the ribbon a little and this project was done!

When Sam came home and gave it all of the appropriate compliments that a crafters husband should, Judy said this....."I think it would be a good project for a silent auction donation or something."  It just fell right out of her mouth before I could stop her!!!  A silent auction???  I wanted this for my living room!  I already knew what Sam would say, because he sits on the board for the Chamber of Commerce and we have a silent auction every year at our Christmas party.   (The proceeds go to a scholarship for a local high school student.)  Yep....he said, "Why don't you girls make another one?"   This was a big project and it took us about 3 days and most of my living room!  We told Sam if he would get the pallet and cut it down we'd do it.  
Here is the second one we did.
    Which do you like better.....the top one or the bottom?
 One of them is staying on my living room wall and the other is going to the silent auctionTotal cost of this project, $15.00.  Time spent with my best friend making it.....priceless!
Love you Judy!


 Linking up to any or all of the fabulous parties listed HERE as well as.....

Funky Junk Interiors: Saturday Nite Special
Live Laugh Row: Linky Thursday
I Gotta Create:  Wildly Original Crowd!
Savvy Southern Style:  Wow Us Wednesdays
It's Overflowing:  Overflowing with Creativity


 

 

Visit thecsiproject.com
HookingupwithHoH

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

BLOGGERS I ADMIRE...MEGAN FROM OUR PINTERESTING FAMILY

It's been a while since I posted about blogger's I admire, but I have a great one to share with you today!  Meet Megan, from
 I have been a follower of her blog for almost as long as I've been blogging and she never disappoints with her fabulous projects!  She is so kind and creative.  Her "pinteresting family" includes her husband Rob, daughter Wynn, sister-in-law, Amy and her brother-in-law Chris.  Everyone contributes on the blog and how much fun is that for a family??!!  If you want to read more about this amazing family dynamic, click HERE.  I think her button here says it all....


I asked Megan to share some of her favorite projects with us and here are the ones she chose.....
First up, this Mahogany Buffet Makeover
 For all of you furniture makeover lovers out there....this one was a dream find on Craigs List!

This next one is one of my favorites too!  You probably saw this featured everywhere, it was a blogland favorite!
Wynn's Room


 
Now you all know I love a good pallet project, and if she didn't pick this one, I sure would have!  
Pallet Coffee Table
 You'll want to click on that link and see what the center piece is!  I'm on the lookout for one myself!

Now, I'm going to share a few of my favorites from "Our Pinteresting Family" and I don't mind saying, it was hard to choose just a few!

 If you know me....you know I love snow and snowflakes, so this recent post from Megan was an instant favorite and so easy too!
Paper Straw Snowflakes
 I totally fell in love with this project as soon as I saw it!  Believe it or not...this was once a closet!  Now that is thinking outside the box for sure!  The picture just does not do this project justice, so be sure to check out the link below the picture because this is one fantastic post!
A Mudroom in a Closet
 I loved this knock off project from Ballard Designs!  Nothing like making your own awesome decor and leaving your wallet in tact!
Knock Off From Ballard Designs
 

Not to leave out Amy and Chris.....Here are a few of my favorites from them!
Paint Swatch Chandelier
China Cabinet Makeover
  So hopefully you have found some things that inspire you from Our Pinteresting Family!  If you like what you see, go over and let Megan know, show her some comment love and maybe even follow along.

Thank you Megan for letting me feature you today!  You inspire me on a regular basis!

If you would like to catch up on any of my other "Bloggers I Admire" posts, you can find them by clicking on the following links.
 
 Because there are so many fabulous blogger's I admire, this list will surely grow and who knows...YOU may on it next!
 
    

Monday, November 26, 2012

INSPIRATION SERIES......AFFORDABLE DECORATING IDEAS

Decorating on a budget this year?  Come on over to the Inspiration Cafe and let us inspire you with a few ideas that will leave some some money in your holiday budget.  

You know you're always welcome at the Inspiration Cafe any time, any season!! 
 

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Fox Hollow Cottage at the Inspiration Cafe!

We are proud to have Fox Hollow Cottage be featured at the Inspiration Cafe this week!  Stop by and see some of her beautiful creations from thrift store finds!  She's certainly inspired all of us...now let her inspire you as well!
 Just click HERE to head over to the Inspiration Cafe and see what Shannon's up to with her amazing thrift store finds for the holidays!
 

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Judy's Christmas Frame

You know that my friend Judy is so talented and every now and then she actually remembers to take a picture of her projects for me!  Here is a great frame she made for under $5

If that frame looks a little familiar, it's because I already posted my Thanksgiving frame HERE and we both picked up these cool frames at the Dollar Tree....guess how much??!!  
 We had a lot of fun playing with these frames and I suppose you'll be seeing them again....but in the meanwhile....run to the Dollar Tree and pick up some of those mats and frames!
Thanks Judy!  Awesome frame you made there! 
Miss you every day! 

Linking up to any or all of the fine parties listed HERE as well as 
  
Debbiedoo's

Thursday, November 22, 2012

CRAFTY CORNUCOPIA LINK PARTY!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!  It's time for the Crafty Cornucopia paint challenge link up. Hopefully, you've seen all of the paint tutorials for the Crafty Cornucopia Challenge, projects here, but lets take a quick look before you link up below.

 


 
If you missed it, I shared this framed card here at 
Silo Hill Farm

 Judges for this challenge are 
Kadie from Seven Alive
&
Morena from Morena's Corner 
One winner will recieve a $25.00 gift card to Starbucks...yummmm...from yours truly and another will recieve earrings and ad space from One Artsy Mama.  
I'm looking forward to seeing your paint projects!  Please link them up below and enjoy your Thanksgiving!
Photobucket
 
 

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

WINTER WONDERLAND - Easy Framed Art

Welcome to the paint portion of the Crafty Cornucopia Challenge.  Today I'm going to show you how to make this elegant framed Art for almost nothing!
 Gorgeous isn't it?  The whole project cost me $1 for the inside mat that I picked up at the Dollar Tree.  Everything else I had and you probably do too.  
Here are the supplies that I used:
  •  Ribbon to match a card
  • Some kind of Christmas related charm or finding (I used an old cloisonne snowflake charm from a necklace I had.)
  • Gold metallic craft paint
  • Christmas card (I made this one, but any one you like is great!)
  • Picture frame
  • Mat for the inside of the frame (Dollar Tree - $1)
  • Hot glue or some other adhesive to fasten the charm onto the frame
I started with a plain white card and painted dark blue on the top half of it to make it look like a night sky with white snow.  I had a great tree stamp which I stamped and repeated a couple of times with gold embossing ink.  I then just used my gold metallic craft paint to paint a moon in the sky.  DoneI loved making my card, but I see so many beautiful Christmas cards that would be perfect for this and you could eliminate the card making-step.
The thing that really sets this art off is actually the $1 mat, which I painted gold metallic to match the trees.  You could paint yours any color to match whatever card you choose.
I tied my charm on with to two small pieces of matching ribbon and using just a dot of hot glue, fastened it to the frame.  If you use just a small amount, it will actually peel off if you want the frame available later for another project.  How do I know this?? 
Well.......  you've seen this same frame before at Easter.
Peter Rabbit Frame Up
 I glued that little bow up in the corner and it popped right off after Easter was over without leaving a mark or pulling the paint off.
So there you have it....I assembled my frame with the card that I painted and the mat that I painted and it's all ready to hang out on my kitchen shelf through the winter months.  
  If you like this project, and you're not already a follower of Silo Hill Farm, you may want to follow along because I am about to roll out some Christmas awesomeness over the next couple of weeks that you won't want to miss!   In fact, I'll be sharing the biggest project I've ever done, so stay tuned!

In case you missed Shatzi @ Love and Laundry's paint tutorial yesterday........
 which was so very awesome, click HERE to read more about it!


 Linking up to any or all of the fun parties listed HERE as well as:

Visit thecsiproject.com
 Setting for Four
 
Debbiedoo's