Baby Pictures Anyone Can Do

So, our friend came to visit. She has a newborn baby. My daughter and I had fun.

We took advantage of his newborn reflexes. We just put the strings in his hand and he grasped them.

We just looked around the house for simple props to match the ideas we had. My daughter had a collection of scarves and stuffed animals that came in handy.

My husband (yes- HUSBAND) had just made these German stars out of ribbon. Of course, we HAD to use them.

I admit that I saw something like this online. I can't remember where. Sorry. But, a lot of our ideas were original.
The key is to time this just right. Since our model was so young, we needed to take the pics when he was sleeping, after he had just eaten. Of course, the room needs to be warm. He loves to be bundled, so we obliged. ;)
We have SO many more ideas and we can't wait to try them out. Thanks, Joshua, for being such a good sport!
What ideas can YOU come up with?
Fondly, Tami
I'm linking to:
Crafty Confessions
Kammys Corner
A Diamond in the Stuff
The Tip Junkie
Savvy Southern Style
Stuff and Nonsense
Feathered Nest Friday 
Creative Me

Tired Two Tiered Table

Hey, Froggers! It's been a while since I've last posted, but life has been busy. I've been doing a lot of biking (the kind where my feet actually go around and around and around), and I'm finding that it's taking up a lot of time! My long rides used to be about 10-12 miles, but now I'm up to about 30. I'm pretty excited about my progress, but it's not without its aches and pains. Sheesh!
Here's my latest endeavor.

Got this beaut at benefit yard sale. It has seen better days. My pup, Jessie, is often by my side. She has had a coat of many colors.

My mom always told me to see the potential in something. I really had to use my imagination with this one. It sat in my garage for over a year (I know, I know) before I knew what to do with it.


And this is the final product.

I live in Lancaster County, and this is just a taste of what we're all about here. I used my favorite technique to dress it up.
Here's the top. I'm having lots of fun with the font package I bought a while back.

And, I needed to include a profile picture just for fun.

I want to keep this one as well (I know, I say that all the time) but alas, it will be going to my Howsewears space at BUiLDiNG CHARACTER.
And, it occurs to me that I haven't posted any recent pics of my business, so whether you like it or not, here they are. Sorry they're not the best. They were taken with my cell phone.

My space is rather tiny, but, along with custom orders, it keeps me busy enough for now.
And... if this post wasn't exciting enough, I have a little surprise. Remember my Pottery Barn knock off from this post? Well, I messed up came up with a brand new technique that is really cool! I can't wait to share it with you!
As usual, let me know what you think!
Fondly, Tami

I'm linking to:
Between Naps on the Porch
Under the Table and Dreaming
Sumo's Sweet Stuff
Craftomaniac
Today's Creative Blog
Coastal Charm
Stringtown Home
The Tip Junkie
Thrifty Decor Chick
The Trendy Treehouse
Domestically Speaking
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Primitive and Proper
Miss Mustard Seed 
Sisters of the Wild West 
No Minimalist Here 
A Diamond in the Stuff 
My 1929 Charmer Blog 
Beyond the Picket Fence 
The 36th Avenue
Embracing Change
Elizabeth and Co. 
2805 
Simple Home Life 
The Southern Institute 
Knick of Time Interiors 
DIY by Design 
Primp Junktion

Book clock

Hey, Froggers. This is just a little project that I wanted to share. I'll tell you about it later, since the girls are home from college and life has gotten a little bit busier. TTFN!
 Fondly, Tami

Also, I'm linking up to Shabby Love for a wonderful little number sign giveaway. Check it out!

A Different Page Wreath- Tutorial

Hi, Froggers! I've been SO busy keeping up with my Howsewears business at Building Character, but I thought I'd stop and share a few things.
I've been making quite a few page wreaths lately, but this one is my all-time fave! I haven't seen one like this, and I thought I'd share how I did it.

This is my double page wreath. It is very simple to make, but it takes a LONG time, and requires a little patience. Believe me, since that is the case, if I can do it, anyone can.

Firstly, I started with a half of a sheet of hymnal paper. I just folded it in half and ripped. I didn't want this to be "refined".

Then I rolled it up, pretty tightly. This is one stage that will make a difference as to how how "tight" your wreath looks. I wanted it to be dense, so I kept my tubes pretty well rolled.

Locate the inside edge.

Grab the edge with pliers or a hemostat (which I happen to have from my RN days).

Gently pull the roll from the center with your clamp on your right hand, while unrolling the top of the tube with your left hand. This part takes a little practice, but once you get the hang of it, you can whip them off in no time.

Put a small bead of glue on the outside corner. Press and hold until the glue sets.

Make sure you're using a quick setting glue. I like to use Glossy Accents. It's my favorite go-to glue for most of my gluing needs.

I would suggest NOT using a glue gun. Because you have to hold the cone until it is stable, you WILL burn yourself. I hate it when that happens!
Put a small bead of glue along the side of the cone.

Press the side of the first cone to the side of a second one that you rolled up while watching TV.

Keep doing this until you make a full circle. I prefer to glue 5 or 6 to each other, then glue that set to another set. Then it doesn't get too cumbersome.
Once it starts getting larger, you're going to need to work on a flat surface, aka, get up off of your duff, move to the kitchen table or your craft room (if you're fortunate enough to have one), and glue it all together there. I then glued a piece of cardboard to the back to stabilize it. The piece on the back also serves to hold the hanger (which is just a piece of looped ribbon or cording glued to the top of the cardboard, centered, of course).

I'm sorry I don't have pics of the next stages. Basically, you're going to have a big, somewhat circular hole in the center. It doesn't matter if the points don't come perfectly together, because you're going to cover it up with something like this:

Yep, Peeps. This is so fancy and expensive, I just can't stand it. It's two layers of cereal boxes, glued together. It's smudged in black because I painted black paint on the outside edges.

Just to prove it to you, here's the back of it. My neighbors save all of their boxes for me. I just cut them apart and then use my Black Cat Cougar to cut it out. If you don't have a personal cutting machine, that's fine. You can just use Google images to find a shape that you like, trace it, cut two pieces out with scissors, and glue them together.

I painted the front side black, glued a mirror to it (I made the cereal box shape larger than the mirror so some of the scallop would show), and then glued that to the center of the wreath.

This scalloped cereal box backing is just a little different. 

In order to make a double wreath, just layer a smaller one on top of a larger one. I made the smaller one the same way as the larger, only I tore my hymnal pages into quarters instead of halves.

I'm really tickled with this, which is why I decided to keep it instead of selling it. I'm allowed to keep something, aren't I???

I crackled the finish with some Ranger Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint. Love this stuff!

 

Let me know if you enjoyed this tute by leaving a comment, please! I love hearing from y'all!
Fondly, Tami
I'm linking to:
My 1929 Charmer Blog
Sumo's Sweet Stuff
Between Naps on the Porch
Craftomaniac
Under the Table and Dreaming
Homemaker on a Dime
Skip to my Lou
The Brambleberry Cottage 
Savvy Southern Style 
Tatertots and Jello
Be Different, Act Normal
I Heart Naptime
Funky Junk Interiors 
Nifty Thrifty Things 
Sisters of the Wild West 
Craft Envy 
Petite Hermine 
Hope Studios 
733 Blog 
Kampenlane
No Minimalist Here 
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Primitive and Proper
The Southern Institute 
Today's Creative Blog 
The Dedicated House 
PJH Designs
Stringtown Home
Jennifer Rizzo
Mad Skills Party
Flamingo Toes

Culinary Subway Art and a Few More Goodies

Here are some clock signs that I made from images at The Graphics Fairy. I cut them on vinyl using my Black Cat Cougar, then painted them with chalk paint.

 These are my rustic key boards. I painted a base coat of black, a crackle layer, and then white over that. I mounted the keys on the boards and painted them as well, with a little distressing.

Bathroom tiles, decopaged with pages from my old Life magazines, circa 1937. I think they're very vintagy.
And below is one of my favorite Subway Art signs. I think the culinary theme is in keeping with our upcoming Mother's Day.

And I found these charming little bookends at our neighborhood garage sale. They were plain wood, so I jazzed them up a little.

I hope you enjoyed this little tour.
Fondly, Tami
I'm linking to:
Polly Want a Crafter 
My 1929 Charmer Blog 
Primitive and Proper 
The Dedicated House

Damask Design Chair with Matching Pillow

Hi, Froggers! It's 9:10 PM and I JUST sat down for the day. I'll keep this brief.
Here's the newest addition to my space at Building Character!
As I often forget, there's no before pic. Just imagine an ugly dark green thing with a very dirty fabric on the seat. I stripped the seat (that just sounds wrong), re-padded it, and covered it with our trusty ol' drop cloth fabric.

I painted her with ASCP Old White, but she needed a little something more, thus the damask design from the Graphics Fairy. I cut the threesome in vinyl, weeded out the "inerds", placed it on my chair, and very lightly stenciled with a dry brush.

Here are the designs up close, with a little distressing after waxing with clear Briwax.

When I sanded it, a beautiful shiny gold color showed up. Yipee! It was under the ugly green stuff. Yup folks! It doesn't get better than that!

Of course, it needed a matching pillow. I made this with a drop cloth, cut the design out of Grafix craft plastic, and stenciled with a VERY dry brush. Pouncing only, Peeps!

I was kinda tickled with the twosome.
And now, I'm making some popcorn and watching Parks and Rec!
Fondly, Tami
I'm linking to:
My Simple Home Life 
Feathered Nest Friday 
Miss Mustard Seed 
My 1929 Charmer Blog 
Craftomaniac
Under the Table and Dreaming
Sumos Sweet Stuff 
Between Naps on the Porch 
DIY Showoff Parade 
House of Hepworths 
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Somewhat Simple
The Brambleberry Cottage
The Southern Institute
Funky Junk Interiors 
Primitive and Proper 
Sisters of the Wild West