(Re-Run #2!!!) Guest Post from The CSI Project...{Beach Vignettes}

Hey there!

It’s Wendy from Craft Goodies here for another fun stop at CSI.

 I’m excited to be back and even more so to be sharing my little beach vignette with you.

I’m currently working on decorating our back patio and this week’s theme fit in perfectly with my plans (and gave me a kick start to get it finished!) I had an odd little corner that needed some attention. A Beach-ey vignette was a great solution, here’s what I did:

I started by moving in an already painted blue-chippy and aged storage chest to serve as a base.  From there I draped an old twine net across the top of it to work as a table runner. My idea of a “beach” look is more soft colors, chipped and faded paints and natural woods, aged by the sun and water so when I ran across an old crate I couldn’t pass it up. Onto the chest it went.

The patio is also home to our swimming pool and I wanted to incorporate that idea, thus this “Lifeguard on Duty” sign. I made it with six paint sticks. 5 of them cut to 8 inches in length and the other cut into two 5 inch pieces. I painted them, glued them together, white washed the entire piece and then sanded it a bit. I hand painted on the lettering and then nailed it to a quickly constructed post. My post came from a piece of 2x2 nailed to a chunk of 2x4.

The candles were super fast and easy.  I simply tore a strip of map long enough to wrap around the base of the candle and mod podged it onto the candle.

The glass floats are actually plastic holiday ornaments-the ones that split in half. I spray painted the insides with a light coat of blue followed by a heavier coat of brushed nickel and then snapped them back together.

You can’t have a beach without a little sand, right? But where to put it? On my letters of course! I cut out the letters from ½ inch MDF and then slapped on a layer of mod podge and dipped them into some decorator’s sand. Once they dried, I repeated it all again to really cover them well.

With all the pieces done we just had to figure out where to put them! I rearranged three or four times, added in some sea shells, a few drifty looking pieces of wood, and a punch of color, sat back and LOVED IT!

Perfect colors, fun textures, cool ambiance…I’m a happy girl and the patio is looking so much better!

CSI Gals-thanks for letting me stop by again; it’s always a blast and such an honor.

Jump on over to Craft Goodies anytime! I’d love to have you there!

Happy Crafting.

Beach Bash Lantern Tutorial!!!

I'm adding this post ot the CSI Project Knock Off Challenge:



 I am currently, well actually have been for a while, 100% in love with lanterns. I love the soft glow they create, the romance they inspire, the feeling of being in another time-that and because they are enclosed, my children cannot keep blowing them out!
The Shorechic lantern featured here is the one that started it all. I pondered on how to make this baby for months! The top piece was kicking my booty, but I got it, and I LOVE it.
I'm sharing this post on my blog because one it took me two and a half days to complete it and two, because this is by far one of my favorite projects ever, and that's saying a lot...

How excited am I to be participating in Angie's super fab BEACH BASH!!!Hi-it's Wendy from Craft Goodies and season one of OMTWI here.My blog is my escape from my real life of running 5 little girls around town and trying to keep up with my husbands crazy busy work/school schedule. On it you'll find everything I love-good food, fun projects- some of my own, a few borrowed from others, snippets of my family life, and any and all other craziness I can write about. I started my blog as a way to keep in touch with my crafty friends after a big move from Washington state to Southern Texas. It has grown into a place I love to be, that and my kids think it's pretty cool that their mom has a "job". If you ever stop by and check me out, you'll find that I am by far a girl that loves her power tools and a good wood project. I've been drooling over these for a while now...

from shorechic.com

Angie's party was the perfect excuse to try and tackle one. It came out pretty good...I'm a happy girl! 

I'm thinking you need one too! Here's the must haves:

(These came from my local dollar store)4  8x10 picture frames with glasssquare dowel pack

 (Got the rest at Lowe's)1x2 firring strip *6 ft board is plenty long!1x3 firring strip1x12 pine board cut to square *wood is funky! actual size is 11.5x11.5(2)  3/8 inch square poplar dowels6 inch metal roof shinglemetal shelf support ring*this came in a setand 2 hinges*these come in a pack of 4

Then a few tools:wood glue finishing nails and a hammerpaintsandpaperMiter saw or miter box and hand sawdrill  Whew! Now that you've got all that, let's get busy... Make the base: 

Cut the 1x2 to make a frame around the 12x12 inch board.The ends are mitered at 45 degrees and each piece is 11 1/2 inches long on the short side.Glue the pieces into place with the wood glue and then secure with a few finishing nails. Connect the frames: 

Remove the glass from the frames and set aside. Cut the 3/8 inch dowels into four pieces that match the length of the picture frames-Glue a dowel onto each side of two frames, then glue the third frame in between them to for a "U" shape. 

 

Once they are dry, attach the fourth frame using the hinges-you'll add a handle later.Center the frames onto the base. Glue the three "U" frames into place leaving the door free to open and close. Make the lid: 

Make two more "frames", one from the 1x3 with each piece (short side) measuring 6 3/4 inches long. And one from the 1x2 with the pieces measuring 6 1/2 inches long.Set the two frames aside. PAINT ALL THE WOOD PIECES! 

I wanted that chippy, peeling, I've been at the beach for a long time look. So I started with a base coat of dark brown and topped that off with white. Then I sanded the crud out of it!You could add a layer of stain, I liked it so I just added a coat of varnish.Set aside to dry. Assemble the metal lid: 

Center the shelving support onto the shingle, mark the holes with a marker.If you want to add a hanging loop, drill two holes into the shelving support bracket. Otherwise drill out the holes marked on the shingle, line the bracket back up and add nuts and bolts to hold in place.Spray paint both sides dark brown. Pretend the pictures all match up-I went about it the hard way and painted after I assembled the entire lid piece... 

Center the shingle onto the inside of the smallest frame and nail into place. Repeat on the opposite side to form the metal dome.Glue the small frame onto the larger frame and add a few nails. Then glue that onto the picture frame square being sure to NOT glue the door. I added a few nails here for strength. Paned Windows:(sorry the pictures are a little wonky-I forgot to take some before I decorated the inside. I was a little excited!) 

Cut 4 of the dowels to fit the inside of the frame's length, should be 10.5 inches. Cut the remaining dowels into eight 3 7/8 inch pieces for the cross sections.

Paint the dowels to match the lantern. While they dry replace the glass into the frames.

Glue the dowels onto the glass to create the panes-one long and 2 small pieces per frame.

Finish it up: 

 Add a wire hanger if you drilled holes for it and glue a small seashell or wood bead to the door for a handle.Tuck in a few pillar candles, sand, and some great shells inside, set back and enjoy the view!AH! I can almost smell the ocean air now...***Do you just love those candles? Totally stole that idea from the Pottery Barn catalog. I simply mod podged a torn strip of map onto my pillar candles. The maps came from Angie's amazing etsy shop as part of my OMTWI prize package***   So much fun! Thank you for letting me share my little piece of beach heaven with you all. Stop by and say hi sometime, you'll find me here: Sharing stuff like this:

     
Summer Fun Board ** Blockhead Tutorials**Fabric Fun** Wood You Like to Craft?

I also host a weekly linky party
T.G.I.F.-Thank GOODIES it's Friday!
  and would love to have you join me.
The more the merrier!!!

Thanks again, catch you at the beach!!!

Watermelon Picnic Basket Tutorial

*This is the project I shared over at Running with Glitter last week. It's SUPER simple! Requires very few tools and it's just cute. Hope you enjoy it!  Summer means picnic season and every good picnic needs a great basket to pack your goodies in, so, let's make one.

You can grab (almost) everything you'll need at your local craft store, I found mine at Hobby Lobby.

You'll need:

2 rectangle shaped wood plaques

 3/8 inch dowel

and 9 5-gallon paint stir sticks

 (you can buy these at Walmart for .28 cents each or ask at your local hardware store)

You'll need to cut your dowel and paint sticks down to size. I cut mine at 10.5 inches long.

You'll also need to drill a hole into the top of each wood plaque for the handle. Use a 3/8 inch bit and drill all the way through the plaque about an inch down from the top center edge.

Next you'll assemble the basket...

Either nail or glue 3 paint sticks onto each of the bottom and two sides of the rectangle plaques.

 Almost done! Add a bit of wood glue to the inside of each of the holes that you drilled and then slide the dowel into place. 

Guess what? Basket's done! Now on to the fun part...decorating!

You can either paint the watermelon slices onto the plaques or decoupage paper onto the ends like I did. Just trace out the plaque onto your paper, round off the bottom edges, distress if you like, and adhere into place.

Add a few black buttons for seeds, some ribbon if you like and your super cute picnic basket is ready to go! Just pack her full of your favorite picnic goodies and you'll be the envy of the park.

 Enjoy your summer and happy crafting!

Blog Swapping with Kelly from Running with Glitter!!!

Can you believe it? My first blog swap!

I'm totally, crazy excited about not only swapping, but who I'm swapping with!

She is funny, talented, cute, writes a wonderful blog and just all around awesome. That, and she's sharing a fun summer project with you today. So here you go, meet Kelly...

Hi! I'm Kelly from Running With Glitter. Momma to two and wife to one.

 I'm just a simple girl from Oklahoma and a wee bit cheeky. I'd love to share a long list of the talents and accomplishments I have... But, my list is short and my life is very full of happiness. 

Running With Glitter is a blog I created as an outlet to share and document my 

crafting adventures. When I started the Glitter blog I never knew it would grow like it has and become so much to me. 

I'm really excited to be a guest here today. Thank you so very much for having me! 

If you get a chance I'd love for you to check out my blog.

Flip Flop Fun!

Today I'm going to share a super easy way to doll up your flip flops. These particular flip flops I made are to match my bathing suit. This is a great project that can be done with the kids. With a few scraps and and several knots your feet will be even cuter in no time!
Here is how you make them.....

1. Supplies: Fabric Scraps, Pinking Shears or Scissors and Flip Flops
2. Cup strips of fabric. I Cut mine 3/4 inch wide and about 3 inches long. You will need to adjust this to your taste. The wider strips will be fuller looking and the longer the strips you cut will make them fluffy. 
3. Tie a single knot
4. Then keep tying , keep adding until you almost fill the strap up.
5. Do the other side and tie some more.....
6. Finished! Now slip on your new cute flip flops and head to the pool! 

Happy Summer!

xoxo 

Kelly

Super fun, right?
Kelly authors a great blog, so many fun ideas all in one great place. You should really check it out if you're not already familiar with her.
I'm over at her place sharing a fun summer picnic basket tutorial-
come visit, say hi, check out Kelly's blog.

Happy Crafting... 

CSI Project Guest Post..."CHEWS" Wisely Summer Fun Board! (Re-Post)

Hey friends! Just re-posting my CSI project guest post. My kiddos are loving this!  We started using it Monday-so far so good. Love it when things work the way they are supposed to...have a good one! 

Hello out there! This is Wendy from Craft Goodies. I am beyond excited to be here today, CSI Project is by far one of my favorite inspiration sites, the ideas available here are amazing and I am thrilled to be able to share one of mine with you.  Summer vacation officially starts Friday for me and my crew so this week's challenge was perfect to get me ready for the {long} days ahead. At our house tackling the "summer blues" comes down to having an idea ahead of time. And well, as my calendar is already overflowing with other stuff, adding one more thing to it might cause it to self-destruct!. I needed a fun, interactive, and separate way to have all our ideas on hand and so came up with this: 

 The "CHEWS" Wisely Summer Fun Board!Here's how to make one... 

Start with a basic magnetic white board. I picked this one up at Walmart for just under $6.Tape off the white board and give the frame a shot of color with some spray paint- 

From there, I added the vinyl gumball machine image and wording. I cut the image with my Cricut using the "Sweethearts" cartridge.*Paper and a spray adhesive would be a great alternative to vinyl* 

Then I got to work on my gumballs. I used a small collection of paper paint samples and a 1" circle paper punch to make around 40 circles. 

 I then cut a small square of magnet strip and glued it to the back side top of each circle and set them aside to dry. 

While the glue dried, my girls and I came up with our list of activities. I wrote them out on the small round stickers you use for garage sales. 

We came up with a bunch of everyday, pretty inexpensive ideas, like a picnic at the lake, exploring a new park, or a backyard camp out to a few mini-vacation/day trip ideas like a trip to the beach or zoo, or visiting the children's museum. 

To keep the big stuff separate from the others, I punched out larger circles and made them into 25 cent tokens. That way, when we know we have time for a bigger trip we can pick one of the tokens and plan for it a few days ahead of time. 

 

 From there add the stickers onto the backs of the gumballs, stick them into place in the gumball machine, and stand back and smile! 

A handful of ready to go ideas whenever you hear those fantastic words, "Mom, I'm bored!"Just pick a gumball and go. Keep a small jar next to your board to store your "CHEW"-sen pieces in and then once you've picked them all, put the pieces back on the board and start over! Thanks CSI Gals for letting me be here to share some summer fun! Hope your summers are all absolutely wonderful...Happy Crafting!