Grandson Weekend

This week must have been "grandson" week. On Friday, I got to have my 22 month old twin grandsons. They helped with this project by posing for "no shoes" pictures (they'd have been very happy to pose for "no clothes" pictures too, but I didn't have a use for those at this point).

Then on Saturday, my 12 year old grandson came over and helped pretty much finished up the project and a couple others. For a great tutorial on the "remove your shoes" project go to How Does She . . Alison does a great job explaining the steps!

We my grandson mod podged on the paper, stuck on the shoe stickers, mod podged over it all and let it dry ( sort of - I'm not one that has much patience for that part of a project). Then came my part - I put the pictures in, drilled the holes and put the string through.

He also mod podged a picture of him, his sister and the twins onto a little canvas that I had.

I had a picture of my mom taken when she was about 16. I do not know why, but it was "torn" out and I've always wanted to do something with it. At the Dollar store the other day, I found a funky shaped plate that said "tractor picture" to me, so he took care of that little project for me too.

Then we moved to the messy stuff. I had purchased these topiaries at an after Christmas sale for 1.00 each.

We protected the bottoms with bags, sprayed them with spray adhesive and stated putting on the moss.

It got very messy

but I think they look good!

All in all, I'd say it was a good day's work! (So we went out to lunch!)

Linking up with: Met Monday

Make it for Monday

And DIY Day

Typewriter Key Plaques

I got my Ballard Catalog a couple weeks ago and of course, started going throught it right away! One of the MANY things that caught my eye was the typewriter key plaques! They looked like they'd be easy enough to copy, so I started my hunt. My dear sister-in-law has taken up my hobby of "second handing" and so when they were down for New Years, we hit our favorite shops. And right there in St. Vincent's was the perfect thing - 6 Christmas tins - all the same size at 90% off!!!!! So I paid my quarter a piece for them and brought them home. The bottoms will be used some other time (I hope), but for now the tops will become typewriter keys! I gave them a good coat of primer (red oxide - it's what was in the paint cupboard), then a coat or two of black paint - just good ole Walmart ColorPlace. (Sorry - forgot to take a picture of the black painted lids)

I printed my letters on regular computer paper in Bookman Old Style font (400) and rubbed the backs of them with white chalk.

and traced around them with a pencil and then my white paint pen. Lookin good . .

But THEN - I had to fill in those lines!! I tried the paint pen - didn't look so good (again, sorry no pictures - in my frustration, I forgot). A paint brush with white paint was a little better, but the letters kept getting fatter and fatter! NOT SO GOOD!

The letters in the catalog and on my daughter's antique typewriter were white background, so I decided to start all over and go with that.

So more spray paint (Heirloom White) - lots of paint to cover the black and the outlined letters.

I decided I would just cut out the letters with my trusty ole scissors (no Cricut here), but before I went to all that trouble, I decided to see if I would be able to paint my border around the edge.

Hmmm not perfect, but then what is? I glued those letters on, gave a coat of mod podge and hung those babies up. (Yup - even before the mod podge was dry)

I think I like 'em

Flash and wet modpodge make for a glaring picture!

I still have two more tins and my sis-in-law told me she's got a couple for me too!! I think I'll do the word "Family" too!

I'm hooking up with DIY Tuesday
and 2nd Time Around

Have a good day!

Winter Centerpiece

It's too early for Valentines, too late for Christmas/New Year's, but a good time for Winter! A little sparkly snow makes everything a little bit cheerier!

Hmmmm - too bad there aren't some cookies in these fat snowmen! Cookies and a cup of hot chocolate are just the thing for these wintery days!

Have a fun January!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!! We hope your day was wonderful - ours certainly was!!
There's nothing like little ones to add joy to the day!

Have a wonderful New Year!

Picture Letters

We were looking for something a little different this year for our grandkids for Christmas. We have had lots of fun with them through the years and decided to make their initials with pictures of them from birth to now. I first made the letters with paper - and a pencil and ruler. Our granddaughter's first and last name start with M and our grandson's first name starts with J. We felt the J was too small, so we gave him the JM insignia that my husband uses for his business. My elf helper then took the letters and traced them onto scrap lumber and cut them out with his jig saw. (Sorry, no pictures - he's a speedy elf).

The next step was to prime them

then to paint them. I didn't intend to paint both sides, but I painted the wrong side of the JM, so I was stuck with painting both sides. If you are sure you will totally cover all the wood with pictures, you probably wouldn't need to paint, but I was pretty sure that at least my edges would be showing.

Next step was to start decoupaging (mod podge) pictures to the letters. I would recommend getting your pictures photocopied onto regular paper as I tried to use some pictures that I had extras of, but they do not decoupage easily!

After applying the pictures, add another coat of Mod Podge and then a coat of Acrylic Sealer.

We plan to put picture hangars on the back as soon as the sealer is dry. And there you have it - a "memory board". (This is not a quickie project. It required many hours of sorting through photo albums, etc. as not all our pictures are digital. And then there's the "Awww, remember that - wasn't she cute - etc.). But we are pleased with the end result.

I'm linking up with Make if for Monday at Cottage Instincts ,

and Metamorphis Monday

Also ASPTL

Christmas at Knottliten Cottage

The tree. It's the smallest (and cheapest :) one we could find and it's up on the trunk, so the babies can't destroy it. I had extra fabric from the cuff of the burlap stockings my mom made us, so we cut the red, green and tan plaid fabric into strips to tie on the branches, white lights and an angel with a patchwork skirt to decorate the tree. A burlap tree skirt inside out (the other side has adorable felt ornaments that would be too much temptation for the babies).

The centerpiece. I made this in five minutes with stuff already around the house - two wine glasses from Goodwill I had in the cupboard, red tea lights I had in storage, extra trimmings from the tree and the berries from the fall front porch decor.

The front porch. This was almost free - more tree trimmings, holly cut from my neighbor's yard and a red bead garland I found at Target for $2.

Go here to see more thrifty holiday decor linked to The Shabby Nest.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

It's finally here - Thanksgiving Day! Thankfully, my husband and brother set up all these tables and chairs last night. We will not have room for a fancy centerpiece, but we will know where to sit as soon as I get all these bows attached to chairs.

But for now, I'd better get that turkey in the oven!!

Have a wonderful day!