Sunday, February 24, 2019

Succulents on a Horseshoe

 
Let's make a Lucky Horseshoe for St. Patrick's Day !

 
 
 
 
 If you are a lover of rust like I am you may have one of these laying around :)
 
 
This is what we will need:

One old Horseshoe
 
About 1 yard or less of Jute
 
 
A pinch of Floral Moss or Spanish Moss

I had the moss and jute on hand from another project.

These items are available at the Dollar Tree.



 


A few succulent cuttings-  
 
Wait 24 hours for stem cuts to seal or heal-

 
and you will need a glue gun.

 
 
 

 
First tie jute to one side and add knot, wrap around a few times

over the knot and hot glue in place.
 
On the other side wrap first then tie off and glue.
 
 

 
Add a big pinch of moss to the base of horseshoe on both sides with hot glue.
 
Then get a couple of small succulent cuttings. We are going to glue them.....
 
yes, glue them to the moss. Glue the underside of succulents at base but not on the stem.
 
This is the same technique you can use to add succulents to the tops of pumpkins.
 
The succulents will last a few weeks, and then you can remove them
 
and plant in soil.
 
If you want to keep your Horseshoe you can use the fake succulents on picks.
 
 
These are fake, but it's hard to tell the difference.
 
They are inexpensive and available at the Dollar Tree and other floral and craft supply
 
stores. Just use wire cutters to remove the wire picks.
 
 
 
 
 
 I will probably leave it outside on my welcome sign.
 
 
 
About a year ago I just fell in love with succulents.
 
 Before that I was not the least bit interested.
 
I love them small and compact- so I am making cuttings and starting new plants often.
 
They are happy to grow in rusty containers.
 
Do you love succulents ?
 
 
 
I love a good 10 minute craft project, don't you ?
 
I feel so blessed to have you visit. I appreciate you so much!  Have a great week my friend !
 
xo Lisa S
 
 




Saturday, February 16, 2019

A Stenciled Vintage Hat Box


Can you imagine buying a beautiful hat or lingerie and having it

neatly wrapped and boxed up to bring home....

and store it in that lovely box to keep it clean and wrinkle free?

Now, when I go shopping....not only do I have to bag my own things...

I have to bring my own bag!

I know we are more eco friendly now but these boxes are still hanging in there!


Once in a while I find a Hat Box that is in pretty good shape.

I found this one at the GOODWILL last week for .99
 
 
This department store box was unmarked, probably from the late 1950's early 1960's.
 
Travel boxes can be made of leather. Store boxes like this one,
 
were made of sturdy cardboard.
 
I liked the box but it was just a bit plain, I thought it would
 
look good stenciled.


 
I used Cathe Holden's- Inspired Barn Stencil from
 
istencil.com
 
 
This stencil reminds me of a vintage department store!
 
I think it's perfect for a Hat Box. 
 
 
Tape in place.
 
I used Black paint and a stencil brush
 


 
 Wipe off most of the paint so your brush is almost dry and use
 
an up and down motion with your brush for clean lines.
 
 
Let dry ! 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Here it is next to another set of gold and white boxes.
 
 
 
 The other Hat Box set is marked BULLOCK'S of WESTWOOD, CALIFORNIA
 
Does anyone remember Bullock's?
 
These boxes are great for storage.
 
I use them to hide all kinds of tiny paper treasures.
 
 
 
 
I was moving the box around to see where it looked good!
 

 
 
 
 
 .....it will probably be moved again....
 
but for now this is where it ended up!
 
Happy Thrifting!
xo Lisa S
  
 


Tuesday, February 12, 2019

DIY Heart Shaped WOOD Padlock with Fake Rust

 
Hi Friends!
 
This  Heart Padlock is made of wood and painted to look like a rusty antique!
 
 
 
 
The heart was cut from a scrap of wood.
 
Pine is great for making detailed shapes, because it is a softer wood.
 
My heart is 1 3/4'' wide by 2 1/2'' long, 1'' thick
 
 
 
I had a broken lock and I used the top piece, but you can use any
 
 
small U- bolt or C- shaped scrap of  hardware.
 
 
 
I used a drill press to make holes for the lock. 
 
 
Held in place with a vise. 
 
 
 
 
I used my mini E6000, and a small hammer to tap the piece into the heart.

 
I found these picture hangers on the back of an old
 
picture frame. I thought they would work fine for my locks' keyhole.


I marked where it would be attached and then drilled a shallow hole

to give the illusion of a skeleton keyhole.
 


 
 
I used Black Acrylic paint inside the keyhole.


 
The paint that I used was left over from a past project.
 



This Cobblestone Grey is a close match.

After the grey was dry, I dry brushed a little Black and some touches of

Pure Gold.
 
 
Here it is after it was painted. 
 


Below was my inspiration lock next to my wood lock.




Now we are going to add some Rust-

 
 
 
How To Make Fake Rust


 
 
You will need about 1/2 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
 
and some white glue and a paint brush 



 
With the paint brush, put a small amount of glue on your lock
 
and add a tiny bit of Cinnamon.
 







Looks Dirty and Rusty !   PERFECT
 

I added a piece of antique lace for hanging.



 
 



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I loved sharing with you today!
 
So happy to have you visit,  I would like to personally invite you to
 
follow me here and on Instagram.....and please Pin for later if you like.
 
 
I hope you have a wonderful week-    Happy Valentines Day to you all!
 
xo Lisa S
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 



Sunday, February 3, 2019

5 Ways to Say 'Love' with Wire Art

 
 
 
 Hi Friends,
 
I hope you are staying warm,
 
it's raining here, a perfect day for crafting!
 
 A couple days ago my friend Eileen
 
gave me a bag of unfinished wood items.
 
I found this 5'' x 7''frame. 
 
 
 
 
 You can use any old frame or scrap wood for this project.
 
 

It had a dowel and a hole for a stand.
 
You could just lean against the wall on a shelf.
 
You will need wire and wire cutters. I used a roll of bailing wire from Home Depot.
 
One roll will last a long time! I think the roll was under $5



 
Depending on the size of your frame,
 
 I started with a piece of wire about 20'' long per word.
 


 
Leave a long tail and mark your frame with a pencil .
 
I used a drill to make holes for the wire ends to attach to frame.
 
Remove your words for now and stain or paint your frame.
 
If you don't want to drill the holes or you don't have a drill, just trim wire
 
and glue to frame.
 
 
 
 
Remove the metal tabs with pliers,
 
you won't need those.




 
Stain or paint your frame, front and back.
 
I use BRIWAX in Dark Brown 
 
 
 
 
After your frame is dry, add your words.
 
You might want to secure with glue.
 
 
 
Glue dowel stand in place.
 
 
A nice gift !
 
 
 
I also made some small tags that can also be used as ornaments.
 
 
 
Here is the basic idea of how I made these.
 
I am right handed and I realize I work the direction of handwriting.
 
For the small tags I used about 12'' of wire.
 
Use pliers to curl your ends, they are SHARP!
 


 
 
 
 Next the heart, cut another 12'' piece of wire.
 

 

 
Through the loops!
And connect.
 






 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Add some ribbon scraps to hang.
 
 




 
 
 A larger version of the tags!
 
 
 
 
A larger LOVE to sit on top of a picture frame.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Have fun with making wire words !
 
Let me know what you come up with- 
 
I hope you have a wonderful week.
 
 xo Lisa S
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 


Sweet Corn Casserole

 Hi friends, We were invited to a Chili Cook Off Potluck last weekend. I decided to make one of our favorite side dishes. It's something...