Friday, August 26, 2011

August Workshop

My August workshop is this evening, and this is the layout we'll be making tonight. I used Close To My Heart's Elemental Workshop on the Go. I absolutely LOVE this kit for its versatility. These are patterns and colors that I could use over and over, and would be a great compliment to other kits. As always, my attendees will be using a kit of their choosing, but most of them chose Elemental, as well.

This layout came together so easy, mostly due to the new Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge, which I used for the title and embellishments. I'll post an update later with photos. Thanks so much for stopping by today!


All Supplies from CTMH.






Thursday, August 25, 2011

A New Hobby

I made this, upoholstered stools and all!! So, yes, I found another hobby (much to my husband's dismay - he actually thinks I might be slightly crazy). For my daughters' 9th birthday I decided I wanted to give them a desk/vanity for their bedroom since we have a very small bathroom that all 4 of my kids share. I needed to come up with a plan to make this shared room work, so having a vanity for the girls seemed like a good option. I ran across a great blog where this mom from Alaska posts furniture she makes and plans, too. So, I thought, "If she can do it, I can do it." You should check out her blog, but be careful, you might find a new hobby! It's http://ana-white.com/. Thank you Ana for the inspiration! Now I must confess that I didn't find an exact plan to fit my needs, so I took a couple of her plans and reconfigured/sized them to work and I couldn't be more pleased.

I began this project back in April, knowing that with working, raising a family, being a wife and all of my volunteer work, it would cause this project to take awhile. It did take some time to complete, but I made it in time for their birthday in June. I surprised them with a full room makeover. My husband had to help me with the furniture painting process (that's the part I hate - the building of it was fun, though.) While my daughters were at school, my parents came over on the day of their birthdays to help me paint their entire room (it went from yellow to a beautiful periwinkle), and then bring in the desk and upholstered stools. I hung a "happy birthday" banner on it. It was so fun to surprise them. They had no idea what I was making or why (I had to do lots of fibbing which I apologized for later), but when they walked into their room that night to "open" their gift they were thrilled. It was the cutest thing ever watching them use it to get dressed the next morning!

I ended up having to paint another dresser in their room to match, which my husband and I finally finished. Their room looks so grown up now. I love it!

I loved the process of building so much that I started another project which I will post about later (this one just might be crazier!).

Thanks so much for stopping by!