Valentine Themed Projects

Valentine's Day is coming up, so I have been having fun creating Valentine themed decor and gifts. Below are a few photos of projects I have completed. If you have questions or would like to order any of these, just drop an email to: judesigns@hotmail.com.

I think gumball machines are so neat, so when I came across this idea to make one using terracotta pots and a glass dish I thought it was perfect! I wanted to make it as realistic as I could, so added embossed metal to the front of it. This would make a fun candy dish for any room of the house. :)

Here is a gold frame that I used vinyl to add the birds, branches, and the word "Love".

Here is black crackled frame that has the I Corinthians 13 verse inside and the word "Love" in pink vinyl on the glass.

This black frame says "I love you because..." and I added the same color paper to the dry erase marker. This is a fun way to remind the people closes to you that you love them and why you love them.

This is a 4"x4" box that I distressed and stamped on. I really like the Kraft paper look with the black and deep red! Two sides have red hearts, one side says "love you" and the other side says "with love". The butterfly is stamped and cut out and I added a little bit of silver Stickles to the wings. I think it will make a cute and fun way to wrap a Valentine's gift, so I will be making more!

This glass etched cupcake/treat stand isn't really done in a Valentine's theme, but it was a new project I completed, so I thought I would post a photo of it. What a fun way to display treats on a table at any party!

Crafting Space Organization

Some of you have mentioned that you are always looking for craft room organizing ideas, so I thought I would post something that I just completed in my craft area. I love having a place for everything and everything in it's place. It really helps when I am creating to know exactly where to find what I am looking for. It also helps when I am done creating to know where to put things away, because I can't seem to be creative in a clean and orderly manner. :)

This is what my area looks like when I am creating...

My craft area is a part of our family room in the basement, so it is out in the open where everyone can see it. I am always looking for ways to help it look more organized, without spending a lot of money. The one thing that has been bugging me for awhile is that all of my storage bins and paper stash under my craft tables were visible. I just didn't like being able to see all of it, so I decided to hide it with curtains. I had changed out the curtains in our formal dining room last summer, so I decided to use a couple of those panels to make curtains for my craft tables.

I purchased a couple of spring loaded curtain rods and thanks to my daughter's help, we were able to whip these curtains out in no time at all. I think it looks so much better, what do you think? Now I am ready to start my next project!

Frame Wall

I like to re-arrange decor in order to change things up a bit for the new year. A decorating trend that has caught my fancy lately is the wall of frames. I have seen this decorating style used all over the place and I really like how it looks. I have three walls in my front dining room that need something on them and I decided that one of them is getting a frame make-over. I started shopping around at my local thrift stores for unique and different sized and shaped frames a couple of months ago and felt like I had enough of an array to start!

I laid all of my frames on the floor trying to figure out how I wanted to hang them. This is a picture taken before redoing any of the frames. Don't you like the sideways bull fighting picture?

I painted and distressed the frames and then started hanging them on the wall. Don't they look better? I ended up not liking the way I had them arranged on the floor, so I did a little re-arranging.

Once I was happy with the arrangement, I started figuring out what, if anything, I wanted to put inside of the frames. Here is the arrangement that I ended up with.

The bull fighting picture is now a beautiful frame with a french saying. I did a little research to see if I could find an English interpretation, and what I found out was that this is some kind of advertisement for chocolate and it says something to the effect of eat chocolate for lunch. I figured that is very fitting for my home as I believe that life is short and you should eat dessert first. ;) The round silver tray I turned into a chalkboard and in the bottom frame I used vinyl to put the year my hubby and I got married.

I am pretty happy with the way the wall has turned out so far. Now to tackle the other two walls!

Another vinyl project that I just finished is this platter that I have displayed on my kitchen counter. I think it will be fun for us to be able to leave notes or encouraging words to one another.

TV Tray turned Checker Board Game

When I first came across this TV Tray I wasn't exactly sure what I was going to do with it, but then I came across a wood checker board. It fit so perfectly inside of the tray that I decided to make a fold up game table. I love playing games and at our house we seem to always run into storage issues, so I thought this folding TV Tray would work great for any household. I also decided to come up with a way to keep everything stored together, so I added magnet strips on either side of the game board and made checker pieces out of bottle caps, so when not being used they can be sit on the magnet strips. This game table measures 21"wide x 15"deep x 25" tall and I am selling it for $79. Below are some before and after photos...

Sorry, I don't know why it is downloading sideways, but here I painted and distressed the tray and added the magnet strips...

I distressed some paper and used Mod Podge to glue it to the tray and it hides the magnet strip pretty well.

I painted and distressed the checker board, layered it with Mod Podge for durability, and glued it to the tray. I also painted bottle caps, added a paper insert, and coated them with Mod Podge for durability.

Here is what it looks like finished and folded up!

A few fun seasonal items

Are you looking for a few last minute Christmas gifts? Here are a few fun seasonal items that I have for sale. Let me know if you are interested in any of them or if you have any questions. Most of these items are currently at Studio B and are gift ready. I will be at the Studio on Thursday, Dec. 22nd from 4:30pm-7pm if you would like to stop by. If you need anything before then, email me at judesigns@hotmail.com and I can arrange a time to meet you.

I am also currently working on a website that will list all of the items I have for sale and will have a gallery of items I have made over the past year. Here is the link to the website: Dippity Dot Creations.

Christmas Decor 2011

Christmas is almost here and things are hustling and bustling. I love to decorate for the Christmas season, so I thought I would post a few photos of how I used my Christmas decorations this year. My husband has put a kibosh on me buying any new decorations because he doesn't think we have any more room to store them, so as I mentioned last year I challenge myself to use the decorations I currently have and come up with new ways to use them to decorate. It usually takes me a day or two to complete the process, but I am usually tickled at the outcome. And by the way, as long as I don't get anything big, I can usually sneak in a few new decorations. ;)

I am always on the look out for neat centerpiece ideas that aren't going to cost a lot. How many of you are currently using Pinterest.com? I have immensely enjoyed looking through hundreds and hundreds of great ideas that are floating around on the internet through Pinterest and that is pretty much where the idea for this centerpiece came from. I really like the look of stacked glass plates, cake stands and bowls and adding colorful bulbs, greenery, and sprays. So that is what I did here. The wood deer I found on sale after Christmas last year for 80% off, so I snatched it up and it is small enough to fit in the Christmas tubs for storage so it won't upset my hubby. :)

Last year I posted a bulb wreath I made for under $30 and I loved it so much above the fireplace that I put it there again this year. On the mantel this year I added some glass vases and jars. On one of the vases I glass etched it with an ornament design and filled them with beads and bulbs. Two of them are sitting on a couple of white ceramic candle holders I found at a local thrift store. I also added some greenery, sprays, and beads to add color to the length of the mantle.

Here is a photo of the mantle, tree, and spot above our back door we like to decorate with a nativity set and lights.

Our two parakeets were running around while I was taking pictures, so I thought I would snap a shot of them kissing under the Christmas tree.

Here are some more decor snapshots, enjoy!

My son loves using the countdown calendar I made a few years back to keep track of how many days until Christmas and this year I displayed my Noel plate I made last year beside the fridge.

Here is the last photo and it is of the centerpiece I have on our kitchen table. I absolutely love the saying hanging on the tree..."The magic of Christmas is not in the presents, but in His presence." Have a wonderful Christmas season!

Blessing Baskets/Gifts

My whole family was able to be together during Thanksgiving this year, so I put together Blessing Baskets/Gifts for them. The baskets included a few fun things for the kids, Orange Slices (which are one of my brothers favorite candies), sugared pecans and walnuts, fall candlering and pick and a "Blessings" magnetic/chalkboard sign. Since the Orange Slice bag wasn't fall'ish enough for me I wrapped them in a brown paper bag. I found a great crockpot recipe for sugared pecans and walnuts, so I made it and put them in paper cones I made from scrapbook paper.

The sign was something new I have been wanting to make, so this was the perfect opportunity. It is metal and one side is covered with burlap and I added the word "Blessings" in black vinyl. I made the magnets out of clay, painted them, and added magnets to the back.

The other side of the sign is painted in chalkboard paint and I added a design to it with white vinyl. I wanted to make some kind of magnetic chalk holder, so the chalk would be easy to get to to leave notes, words of encouragements, etc., so I took black ribbon and glued burlap to it. I then glued velcro to the ends, added a magnet, and viola - a chalk holder. :)

I really enjoyed the time I was able to spend with my family and hope you did too!