My Sweet Things » From This to That!

Ceiling Medallion Mirror

Donna — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 17:14:09 +0000

On one of my recent Goodwill shopping trips, I was out looking for a mirror for my upstairs hallway landing. I wanted a mirror with detail but could not find one to my liking. I browsed through a few more aisles, and I came across a Ceiling Medallion. It had beautiful details and I thought I could use it to make my own mirror. Circle mirrors are easy to find at any craft store but then I remembered a mirror that was broken and sitting in my garage. Perfect!

This mirror has been sitting in my garage for some time. A moving mishap that I was not sure how to dispose of.

The ceiling medallion was a whopping $3.93 and in perfect condition. I did add a coat of white gloss spray paint to add some shine.

I used a hammer and placed a towel over the large mirror to break it into smaller pieces. When I had a piece that was the right size, I used hot glue to set it in place. Now I will admit, I added the glue to the back side of the mirror. Mistake! The glue needs to sit on the mirror so when you place it on the medallion, the mirror shines through and not the backing.

I didn’t have a picture hanger so I used my standby. A large paper clip! I applied it with hot glue, and it does hold very well!

This is what the back looked like. A hot mess. You can see here where I added the hot glue onto the wrong side of the mirror on the first try. Even though the mirror will be hanging up and you will never see the back, I wanted to cover it up that mess.

I took a large brown shopping bag and used the medallion as a template to cut a circle to place over the mess.

So much better! I added a bead of hot glue underneath the circle to hold it in place.

Here it is! All done and looking real pretty!

I love the details and the light sheen from the gloss paint.

This is the view from my bedroom. Love. It’s just what I wanted for the space.

I will be linking up to some great parties this week. There is so much inspiration!

Today’s Creative Blog, WhipperBerry, Skip to My Lou Made by You Monday, Serenity Now, Tip Junkie Tip Me Tuesday’s,Tatertots and Jello, Homemaker on a Dime Creative Bloggers Party, Be Different Act Normal, Show and Tell Saturday, Crafty Geordi’s Show & Share Sunday,kojodesigns Friday Fun Finds

It’s all good. ~ Donna

Sprucing Up the Patio

Donna — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 23:20:31 +0000

During one of my recent shopping trips to Jo-Ann I came across a can of Thompson’s WaterSeal Exterior Gel Stain. My first thought was, “Wow, this stuff is marked down to $2.97?” My second thought was, “I wonder how this stuff will work on those awful looking planters on my deck?”

See above? So sad and in need of a little love. That lantern on the hook has seen better days as well. Rusted!

This stuff is pretty groovy and looks like chocolate pudding. It’s really creamy like lotion.

It came with an applicator pad, and I highly recommend wearing rubber gloves for this project. I did very little prep work to the planter. What I should say, is that I was too lazy to wash it down so I wiped off the dust and cobwebs and started applying the gel stain. I used a piece of cardboard in between the slats to move that paint right on out of there.

While the planter was off to the side drying, I taped up the lantern and wiped it down. See my yogurt cups I have it sitting on? These are perfect for painting projects. I have a bunch of them and they work great for lifting items up for painting.

Two quick coats of glossy white spray paint, some colored sand, and a citronella candle.

Looking good! Now let’s take a look at those planters.

Booyah! They look so much better. I am very happy with the results. It took maybe 40 minutes to stain both planters, and they dried in about an hour.

Here are both planters and lanterns all done and really sitting pretty now. I am very happy with the Thompson’s WaterSeal Gel. I am not sure why it was marked down but I would certainly pay retail for it. It was so easy to apply, no mess, and no smell. I am really glad to have this small project checked off my list!

It’s all good. ~ Donna

Suitcase Cat Bed Tutorial

Donna — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 10:00:42 +0000

Many of you know I love cats. Adore. Love. Love. I have four sweet bundles of fur that purr and love and that to me is a sweet thing. I have purchased a few cat beds that are located in various places around the house. Plain cat beds that do the job and provide a sweet nesting place but the crafty girl in me was looking to create something different. Something fun and unexpected. I did a quick search on Etsy for catbeds and came across the inspiration I was looking for. A vintage suitcase cat bed.

TaDa! Here she is!

I picked up an old suitcase at the Goodwill for $10. I love everything about it. The metal buckles, the luggage tag, and the blue silk lining inside. Perfect!

I purchased wooden legs, leg mounts and screws at Home Depot.

My husband was a big help here. We placed each mount on the bottom of suitcase on all four corners and drilled right through.

I spray painted the legs a Nickel color. I love the light sheen!

A quick clean up with a Magic Eraser. Genius cleaning tool!

A few craft supplies to decorate their new pad!

Cat tested.

Ginobili approves!

It’s all good. ~ Donna

P.S. I will be linking to great parties this week. Check them out for crafty inspiration!

Today’s Creative Blog, WhipperBerry, Made by You Mondays, Serenity Now, Tip Junkie Tip Me Tuesday’s, Tatertots and Jello, Homemaker on a Dime Creative Bloggers Party

How to make a quick, easy, colorful, candlescape!

Donna — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 01:52:43 +0000

A while back on a thrift shopping trip I came across a light blue mirror and I loved the details. I liked the color but it did not really fit with my living room color scheme and that’s where I planned on using it. I brought that sweet piece home with me and painted it my go to color, Heirloom White.

Hello blue.

Hello white. I have been using the piece on my living room coffee table and I have been changing out the details every month. The photo above is February of course. I used a felt heart, twine, and candy hearts. I loved it! This month I decided to try a fabric wrap. Super easy and quick to put together.

I used a fabric square and cut the length to wrap around the candle. I had scrap book tacky squares and used them for this project but you can also you double stick tape.

Apply the sticky square….

Place one side of the fabric in the middle of the tacky part and……

Apply the other side to the tape and that’s it. Quick and Easy!

Colorful and sitting pretty! I hope this inspires you to try something new. The possibilities are endless!

It’s all good. ~ Donna

P.S. I’ll be linking up to parties this week.

Check my side bar for more buttons to all the crafty inspiration!

Easy Monogram Vase

Donna — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 01:16:26 +0000

It’s all good. ~ Donna

I’m linking up to Whipperberry’s Friday Flair. Check out all the crafty inspiration!

What to do with a leftover piece of 2×4? Make a Celebration Board!

Donna — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 23:08:34 +0000

A few summers ago we had our back deck replaced and that left us with plenty of 2×4’s hanging out in the basement. For those that are unfamiliar with the term, a 2×4 is a common size of dimensional lumber. My dad is a builder of all things and I am very familiar with these boards as I would hold them while he sawed away. I had never thought outside the building box until I came across a blog post from How Does She? A 2×4 was used to create a wonderful birthday board! It was love at first site! I made my first board last summer for my husband’s birthday and then used it again for my son’s birthday in December. I chose papers that are gender neutral so I can use it for all birthday’s.

The Birthday Board set up for my son’s birthday party. The pictures on the far left are from when he was a baby moving along the board up to High School Graduation.

Mod Podge, craft paper, floral wire, a foam brush and the star of the show…The 2×4!

After I cut the 2×4 to the length I wanted, I measured out the spaces to drill the holes for the floral wire. My board was 24 inches in length. I marked my spaces two inches apart. I wanted enough space between the 4×6 photos I had printed. Keep in mind that the drill holes should be the same size as the floral wire tip that will hold the photos in place.

Here you can see the floral wire and the drill bit I used.

After all the holes were drilled, I lightly sanded the board to smooth out the drill holes. I then painted the board. For the Birthday Board I used two coats of wood stain. The photo above is for another board I recently made and I used left over Gloss paint I had in my stash.

After the board was dry, I measured out the length of craft paper I was using to decorate the board with. I used a 12×12 piece of craft paper and I cut strips to fit the 2×4. I applied Mod Podge to the board then I placed the craft paper on top of it.

Here you can see how the background paper is now on the board. I cut out the letters, applied Mod Podge to the back of them then place the letters on top of the background paper. If you see any bubbles appear on top of the paper you will want to smooth those out. When the letters are all placed on the board, apply another coat of Mod Podge across all the letters, covering the entire top of the board.

Here is a close up of the board I recently made. I used 20 gauge floral wire and I cut it into different lengths so the photos could be placed at different height.

I wrapped the top piece of floral wire around a pencil to make several loops. The loops are what hold the photo in place.

N & A Engagement Board! I love how the 2×4 can be used for any event or non-event. This board can be set out and photos changed throughout the year.

Thanks to How Does She for the inspiration! I hope the celebration boards I made inspire you too!

It’s all good. ~ Donna

P.S. I am linking up to WhipperBerry. A whole lot of craft inspiration there!

Guess what? This post was featured from the Friday Flair!