Turquoise & Copper Bead Cross Necklace

Turquoise & Copper Bead Cross Necklace

I love various metals, sure platinum is my favorite but there is something about turquoise and copper mixed together I am always drawn too!

Custom Dog Food Stand

I made a dog bed and a dog food stand for my little fur baby. What do you think?

A or B?

Murphy Desk

Last winter my husband and I decided to renovate the den. We knew we wanted updated cabinetry, new flooring, to update the fireplace and to tear off the old wallpaper.  Having a desk or table was also essential. We surfed the web for ideas and watched our usual home improvement shows for inspiration.  The space in the den is compact so we needed to be efficient with the area.

 After a few design renderings and discussions regarding the layout we decided on a Murphy Desk. The perfect compromise between getting the table top space we needed and having enough space in the den when the table is not in use.

The Murphy Desk uses a standard piano hinge and a leg or table (as in our case) to support the weight of the table top in the down position.  We used an antique table on casters, painted gold with a coffee glaze to use as support for our table top. In the up position art work can be hung to decorate the flat table top piece and a sliding lock for safety is used on each side to keep the table in the upright position.

So if you’re short on space use some creativity, and create an interesting alternative for your design dilemma. Give your own version of a Murphy Desk a chance it may just be the answer to your design needs.

Paula

Eggcellent Nest

Eggcellent Nest

I must admit that lately I have had a bit of an obsession with apothecary jars. I love to display them and have enjoyed changing the items in them seasonally. At Christmas I had candy canes, mini presents and mini Christmas tree bulbs in my three jars. At Halloween glittery skulls, skeleton bones and ghoulish eyeballs.  Now that spring is around the corner I have turned my focus back to these clear beauties for the perfect spring items to place in my jars.  After some brainstorming, I decided to make a robin's nest  for one of my jars.

 I used brown excelsior I had laying around the craft room for the nest inside the jar.  I painted three  wooden eggs in an acrylic Robin's egg blue paint color. Depending on the thickness of your paint you may need two coats. Be sure to paint the entire egg with even strokes and let dry. I then used a nickel size of  brown acrylic paint in my paint tray mixed with just a drop or two of water mixed together to make my brown paint a bit runny. Next I took my small craft paint brush and dipped it in the brown paint and used my thumb to flick the bristles of the brush to splatter paint onto the eggs over my kitchen sink to get the speckled effect.  I let them dry then placed them inside my nest inside the jar.

Outside of the fact that the Robin's that would have laid these eggs would be a freakishly large species due to the size of my wooden eggs... the nest and eggs look very convincing and springy. 

Now, what to do with my other two jars?

Craig's List Makeover!

 Gotta Love Craig's List!

Buffet Before and After!

Swag in the Bedroom

Ever since I can remember I have always liked bed coronets, pelmets & testers. They add charm, elegance and romanticism to any room. Through the years I have managed to make several, and more recently finished one in my own room. Sophi has a tester above her bed, where as Ava has a coronet. I think it largely depends on the fabric, size of room and bed style to decide which is more suitable.  Both of my littlest girls have had some form of  a canopy above above their bed since birth. One day they will leave the nest, create a home of their own and hopefully want me to make them a coronet for their little girls bed.

There are several easy ways to make a bed coronet; a tester takes more time, fabric and can be much more difficult to construct. One of the quickest ways to make a coronet is to find a shelf that has the right lines and look for the room you plan to use it in. I often will find something from Hobby Lobby and then spray paint or chalk paint it to the color I want it to be. I then use coordinating fabric to the bedding and sew some basic curtains.  Make sure you add at least an extra foot of fabric to your curtains so you have plenty of room to create a swag on each side of the bed. You will want your curtains to touch the ground on both sides of the bed if possible. I think fringe and tassels always look nice, but it takes the right room to pull that off. In my  bedroom I used a pot rack and painted it with chalk paint in a coordinating color with my room. Used the existing iron  pot rail to hang the curtains from. Secured it to the ceiling using drywall anchors and then added antique looking knobs as the curtain pull backs.

This project is so easy, but has such dramatic results! Love it!

A Lost Art

In a world of computers, android phones and Facebook I find the lost art of letter writing to be refreshing. Sure, e-mail and Facebook posting is immediately gratifying but can it truly compare to the look and beauty of printed stationary? I think not. Why even the use of plant leafs, wrapping paper and some forms of tissue make great cards. Penmanship has never been my biggest talent, but with the right calligraphy pen even the worst hand writing can look attractive. Why stop there? A pretty stamp purchased from https://store.usps.com makes all the difference. They have over a 100 different stamp styles to choose from that are never offered at your local market.

So you have broke down and actually written the letter or note. Now, to properly seal the envelope. Wax sealing has always been my favorite preference it’s colorful, fun and I love the texture and drama it gives the envelope. The color options are endless as well as the design of the seal. You can even purchase seals with a sticker back to save time or for mass distribution.

Sealing important documents dates back to Biblical days when the author wanted to maintain privacy or authenticity for the special document. Royalty would use specially designed seals to show their impressive image or status and would often have several they would use. In medieval times the owner of a specialized family crest seal would pass it down in an elaborate ceremony to their predecessor. 

Today letters mailed with wax seals through the Post Office are rare but acceptable, and it is important to note that the seal can’t be over 1/8” thick or it will get caught in their sorting machine. Next time you feel the urge to break out the old stationary and snail mail someone a note, think of trying out the age old art of wax sealing.

Paula Schnoor-Comes

Chalk Board Labels

                      Chalk Board Labels

I Love creating things out of items I already have around the house. It saves me time from having to go to the store with the kids. So when I needed a way to label bins of products in my home office showroom I thought what can I easily make into a reusable labels?

I browsed the house and remembered I have a quart of chalk board paint in the basement. Now my only dilemma was what to use it on....

I opened the can and started mixing it with my stir stick…. That’s when it struck me, why not cut the stir stick in equal parts with my jigsaw and turn them into wooden labels? Genius!

After cutting up my stick and drilling 2 small holes for attaching them to the bins, I painted the stick with 2 thin coats but enough paint to cover the stick completely. The smoother the finish the easier and better your chalk will write on the label. If you want the labels to be more permanent, write on them with chalk and spray them with two light coats of Polyurethane spray. If you spray too close the chalk writing, the writing will bleed and not look good. 

         

Happy Crafting!

Paula Schnoor-Comes

Old is “In”

I remember the days when my goal was to have everything in my home look shiny and new. My floors, cabinetry and light fixtures all modern and polished looking.  Those days have quickly faded as I have fallen in love with the look of old world charm and French Country Style. Don’t get me wrong, I still love shiny things and modern design… heck I love all design…. who are we kidding! But there is a special place in my heart for anything old and rustic looking, and no, I am not referring to my husband (wink wink) for those of you wondering, although he does have a special place in my heart.

My husband Steve and I decided to add interest to the back yard with some new plantings, a pond with a statuary fountain feature. I knew I wanted it to match the style and design of our house which is French Country. I started the process on-line as I do with most projects to research antique fountain statuary for sale. This turned out to be a difficult find. We could ship an antique marble fountain over from Italy, but there was no guaranty of it’s safe arrival and it would take at least three months or more to get here. So it was time to take matters into my own hands and create the appearance of an antique fountain here at home.

Items Needed:

• ·         Fine mist Spray bottle- filled with water
• ·         Chip brush & old rag
• ·         Concrete item for staining
• ·         Concrete stain- Valspar Exterior Semi-transparent concrete stain in Willow & Vaquero Brown

First, mix up a batch of stain by diluting the stain with a 1:1 ratio of water. Next spray the concrete liberally with your water bottle so it is dripping wet. Apply the mixed Willow stain and water solution with your chip brush only to the wet concrete areas. After each paint stroke of stain on your concrete item, spray it with the water bottle allowing the stain to run and look mottled. Continue spraying water and dabbing stain on your item until it is completely covered. Due to the diluted nature of the stain this may take a couple of coats to get the desired result. After you have achieved the aged look you were going for, duplicate the same process with the Vaquero colored stain. Spraying and dabbing with your brown stain color paying closer attention to cracks and creases in your statue. You want to darken any area that would naturally become weathered and stain over time. This also helps give the concrete more dimension and visual interest. If you feel the stain is too dark in spots on the concrete just spray more water in that area and that will lighten it, if your stain is too light add another layer of stain to the concrete piece. Stand back and admire your concrete staining abilities! Now that you have this under your belt… nothings stopping you, basement floors, fountains, patios the sky is the limit…. Well and maybe the Home Owner’s Association covenants J

Take care and happy crafting!

Paula Schnoor-Comes

Is it time to Can the Can light?

If you are anything like me, and you have a house built in the 90’s, you might be taking a second look at all of those can lights in your home. They serve a purpose, but might not be exactly what you are wanting anymore. I like changing things up and doing my best to keep things as current, yet cost effective as I can. So when my electrician brother (Marty) introduced me to the wonderful world of can light conversion kits, I was hooked. It enables you to use the existing wiring and housing from the can light. Then add the conversion kit allowing you to wire and attach the new light fixture.

Before with can lights.

After with can light conversion kits, ceiling medallions and mini chandeliers.

Can light conversion kits are sold at Home Depot for around $13.00. If you are the handyman type this installation will be easy for you. Remove the light bulb and can light baffle. Next you will insert the can light conversion kit following manufacturer’s instructions. Voila!  All that is left is to install your new light fixture. Flush mount, pendant light or chandeliers are all suitable fixtures for this application. The kit includes a white ceiling cover in case your new fixture’s canopy is smaller than your existing can light hole. Another option is to purchase a decorative ceiling medallion to place under the new fixture canopy.

If you have home improvement questions or home design questions you would like answered please feel free to contact me at Paschnoor@yahoo.com.

Happy Renovating!

Paula Schnoor-Comes

Blanket with an iphone Pocket

A fun activity to do with the kids on a snowy day is the fleece tie blanket. You get a warm, durable blanket to take with you to all of those soccer and football games and the satisfaction of knowing you made it with the kids.

Items needed:

• ·         Sharp scissors
• ·         2 pieces of fleece that are the same length & width (I used  1 ½ yards of each)
• ·         Additional 12” x 12” square of coordinating fleece for pocket and more if you want to embellish your blanket
• ·         Coordinating thread
• ·         pins
• ·         10” zipper- in a coordinating color to your  1 ½ yard of fleece

One of the many great things about fleece is you do not need a finished seam. All edges of the fabric are raw and will remain that way. This is a great time saver when doing crafts with the kids.

Starting with one of the 1 ½ yards of fabric pin the zipper face down and in the closed position 5” from the top and centered from left to right. Carefully sew around all four sides of the zipper and do not sew over the used portion of the zipper teeth. A special zipper foot that is narrower on your sewing machine, makes this easier to achieve. Once the zipper is installed, flip the fabric over and feel with your fingers the center teeth part of the zipper, take your scissors and cut a neat line down the center exposing the zipper & zipper pull. Be certain to keep your cut line within the sewn rectangle you just made. Do not cut through any of your stitching.

Center the 12” x 12” fleece square on the wrong side of one of your larger 1 ½ yard pieces of fleece  over  and 1” above your zipper. Pin the square in place making sure both pieces of fabric are smooth. Sew a ½” seam all the way around the 12” square. Your pocket is now complete.

If you want to embellish the unused 1 ½ yard fleece blanket now is the time to do that before you connect the front and back pieces together. I cut a “W” out and stitched it to the center. You could easily cut out your kids’ names or an animal shape.

Lay both pieces of the 1 ½ yards of fleece on top of one another good sides out. You want the pocket to be on the inside of the blanket with the zipper showing on the outside.  Trim any excess fleece so that the two pieces are exactly the same size. With both pieces lined up cut 3” deep cuts approximately 1” apart all the way around the perimeter (they don’t need to be perfect. )  Be certain to cut through both pieces of fleece at the same time. At each of the four corners I cut out a square of fleece and toss it. Once all your cuts are complete, it’s time to enlist the kids’ help.  Have them double knot a top piece of fringe to the corresponding bottom piece of fringe all the way around the blanket.  At the 4 corners I tie a left bottom piece of fringe to a top right piece of fringe and a bottom right to the top left (criss-crossing them over each other.)

Now your kids have one more blanket they can use around the house to create a tent! Yeah!!!!  And you have a handy blanket to store snacks, money and your phone in at the next game.

If you have a craft emergency or home improvement questions you want answered e-mail me at Paschnoor@yahoo.com.

Laus Deo,

Paula Schnoor-Comes

A Modern Twist on the Old

I have always had a love for furniture. I could spend hours at the furniture store checking out every last piece. My favorite by far though is reviving old furniture into a newer more updated look. With some spray paint or stain and the right upholstery fabric you can revive any piece of furniture. I bought this cherry settee sanded it lightly and spray painted it gold. Went to my favorite craft store…. Hobby Lobby, and found some fun pink and gold zebra print upholstery fabric, padding and upholstery tacks to finish off the look.

When upholstering, start stapling from the center edge of your fabric in both directions and work your way out, pulling the fabric taut as you go. You can use regular polyester or cotton fabrics for a simple chair seat cushion but for a larger more used piece of furniture I recommend using a true upholstery fabric for lasting durability.

So if you have an old piece of furniture you are contemplating putting out to pasture try reviving it!

If you have a home improvement question you want answered, feel free to contact me.

  

Cherry settee condition when I bought it.

After I spray painted it with Rustoleum gold paint.

During the reupholstering process. 

Voila!  Finished product for my daughter Ava's room.

 I don 't know which I love more, the instant gratification of spray (chalk) painting furniture or reupholstering furniture and seeing the awesome, clean finished product. Either way I am blessed to get to do both!

Laus Deo,

Paula Schnoor-Comes

Paschnoor@yahoo.com

Washi think of my stand?

I am on a continual search for interesting ways to organize my office and craft items. Recently I needed a way to display and store my Washi Tape and ribbon. After a quick scan at the Hardware store I decided the best and least expensive way was to use galvanized pipe. It is easy to assemble, has a great industrial look, and it takes spray paint like a dream.

Items Needed to make a Washi Tape stand:

3 -Pieces of 6" long by 1/2" diameter threaded pipe

1 - Floor flange that fits a 1/2" diameter

2 - End caps 1/2" each

1- T with all three ends to fit 1/2" diameter

1 - Can of spray paint- Rustoleum is my favorite

You will find all of these parts in the plumbing department. There are several bins of parts which can make finding the correct part overwhelming. A helpful hint is to stay with the same color coded packages when shopping. For instance all the 1/2" diameter parts have a magenta color block on the packaging. All the 1" diameter parts have a green color block on the packaging and so on.

Assemble your Washi Tape holder like shown in the picture below. Tighten everything (except the two end caps) by hand as tight as possible. You don't need to tighten with a wrench unless you want to.  I like to keep the end caps loose on the structure prior to painting so that I can spray paint the threads a bit. Give it two coats of paint and let dry overnight. Your Washi Tape stand is then ready to use.

If you have crafting questions feel free to e-mail me at Paschnoor@yahoo.com.

Laus Deo,

Paula Schnoor-Comes

Valentines Hand Print Tin

I try to recycle and find new uses for various things we end up with around the house.  For instance we have a plethora of candy tins from Valentine’s day, Christmas and Easter. I recently kept a heart shaped candy tin my husband gave me in hopes that I would find a new use for it. Three months later, I did! I used Plaster of Paris and mixed it with water in a bowl until it was a cake batter consistency and all the lumps were out. I poured it evenly into the candy tin and tapped it on the counter to bring all the air bubbles to the surface. I let it set for 5-7 minutes so some of the water would evaporate letting the plaster set-up. Then my daughter Sophi placed her hands carefully in the plaster and I pressed each finger firmly in the tin. To add a little extra pizzazz I used red food coloring while the plaster was still wet and dripped a few drops of it in random places to look like flowers. I wrote her name and date in the corner with a toothpick and let it dry over night. Voila! The perfect gift for Daddy!

Happy Crafting, 

Paula

The Weekend Make-Over!

Now don’t get too excited ladies it’s for your garage door!

Our garage doors were in serious need of a facelift. They looked faded and worn out, the only issue was they were in great condition. We looked around at several garage door companies and contemplated replacing them, but what a waste of perfectly good doors! For months we agonized whether to replace the steel doors or just live with them the way they were. I even secretly wished the kids would throw a ball or ride their scooter or bike into them and make a huge dent, so we would have the decision made for us. No such luck…. Finally, I decided to give them a make-over. I am so happy I did, I just wish we would have done it months ago!  Now, would be the time the kids will ride their scooters into the doors damaging them….

Wash down your garage doors with dish soap and water and make sure any grease and dirt are removed.  Following the manufacturer’s instructions use a Bondo product to fill in any dents in the trim or the garage doors and sand until smooth. Next paint on a good all purpose exterior primer from your local home improvement store coating the door and any trim you want painted well. Let this dry over night. The next day roll on two coats of exterior paint color or a coordinating color to your house and let that also dry over night. The final step is my favorite, adding garage door hardware. Measure and install the handles and straps. The make-over is complete, it easily took 10 years off my doors…. Now if I could only take 10 years off my face!

Before

 After

Happy Renovating!

Check out my latest craze on Etsy at https://www.etsy.com/listing/492968336/dog-window-seat-pet-bed?ref=listing-shop-header-2

Princess Coco Chanel Vonfluffenpaws sporting her custom made Christmas attire.  I know I know... what it up with that name? We thought it would be cute to have a big name for a little teeny tiny dog. Coco is 4 lbs.

Here it is laid out flat. This probably took me a total of two hours to make.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/479974470/adorable-dog-pet-harness-pleated-dress?ref=shop_home_active_4

Loving all things puppy!

I recently made this window seat bed for my fur baby Coco. She's too small to be able to loom out the window. ;)

https://www.etsy.com/listing/492968336/dog-window-seat-pet-bed?ref=pr_shop