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Farm Relic  Wall Decor  Two floor grates are displayed with canvas photos. The last few weeks I have been moving back into crafting mode.  I have a stained glass project in the works but I don’t know if I will ever get that project done......it has been on my craft table for over a year and I just keep piecing scrap glass together hoping to make a completed window from left over materials.  Hopefully you will see it in a post soon. My latest project involved coming up with ideas for displaying some relics from the family farm where my husband grew up.  Mike’s brother salvaged some woodwork, doors, windows and other miscellaneous items from the farm and graciously allowed my husband and I to pick out a few items.  My brain (and my Pinterest board) have been in high gear thinking up ways to display the selected items in our home. Here is the first project that I have completed: Floor Grate Wall Decor  The bottom side of the cast iron ...

Snowflake Trees  I am always looking for new ideas for crafts and it seems like this (2018) has been the year of the tree.  I have made wooden slat trees, twig trees, fleece trees and yarn trees just to mention a few.  My friends and relatives know that I am always up for a new project and my sister-in-law recently shared an idea for a snowflake tree that she saw in a gift show in Lincoln.  She shared a photo of the tree along with a "I'll bet you could make one of these...." and the challenge was on. My first discovery, after spending over an hour with my Cricut trying to cut snowflakes, was that the weight of the paper is very important. (I have an older model Cricut Expression) I finally settled on Southworth parchment paper (24lb) that I purchased at Walmart. I tried using printer paper, the pages of a book (I'm still trying to get this to work because I think it would be a great gift for teachers & readers) and some other paper I had on hand but settl...

Wooden Quilt Blocks AKA "Barn Quilts" I am a born and raised Nebraskan--a state where you are never more than a 15-20 minute drive from a barn or a field of corn.  I grew up in a small town half-way between Omaha and Lincoln and my sister married a farmer who works sun up until way past sun down during the spring planting season and the fall harvest.  I currently live in Omaha where I can see a field and a Target store from my window.  I first saw barn quilts about 12 years ago when a l ocal FBLA group   created 12' x 12' designs for area farms as a fundraiser.  I have always wanted to create a scaled down version that would fit in a garden or front porch.   As it turns out, I have made several in the last year and have one displayed in my garden (see at right), another for a neighbor's porch and a couple of small ones that I hang seasonally above the cabinets in my kitchen. You will find excellent web sites that share patterns, examples and...

Yarn Trees For the Holidays My sister in law, Connie, and I have been getting together once or twice a month to craft and converse.  When both of us retired we started meeting every couple of weeks for lunch and decided to alternate lunch dates with crafting days.  We spend as much time talking as we do crafting but that is half (more like 3/4's) of the fun!  Connie creates beautiful blankets with her crochet talents and even had the patience to teach me how to crochet last winter. Materials I Gathered Before Starting: Yarn:   I used Bernat Baby Blanket Yarn "Little Sand Castles " Scissors Wood base:  Wood rounds from branches,  or lumber squares to use as a wooden base. Stick or Dowel:  Use a stick or dowel as a tree trunk for your project Drill with large & small bits:   I use the large bit to drill the hole in the wooden base and the smallest bit to drill the holes in the tree trunk/stick/dowel White Glue:   Used...

Twig Holiday Trees Dumpster Day.......O' Dumpster Day..... You would not believe the crafting supplies I find on trash pick-up day. My husband has even gotten in on the joys of looking at what is discarded on dumpster day recently commenting, "I saw something up the block that looked interesting.  I'll bet you could make something out of it!"  Recent finds include cabinet doors that I plan to turn into farmhouse signs, scrap lumber that has become pieces for wooden wall art projects, and sections of willow garden fencing that I have been taking apart and using for all kinds of projects. This week I have been using the willow twigs from the garden fencing to make holiday trees--even though it is the beginning of November and the grass is still green (or it was until yesterday when it snowed!) Crafters, craft.........makers, make and dumpster divers are always trying to figure out how to turn trash into treasures. Materials I Gathered Before Starting: ...

Baseball Wreath Finished wreath--more ribbon in team colors could be added. We are a baseball family............ and we have baseballs in buckets, stuffed in cabinet drawers and falling off shelves.  Some are souvenirs of favorite moments and some are simply water logged, beaten up or starting to lose their covers. This project uses those discarded baseballs that found mud puddles, were collected from creek beds, or left out for the winter--it is amazing how many baseballs you find when you trim bushes in the spring!  This project could be adapted by using softballs or a mixture of baseballs and softballs. Materials I Gathered Before Starting: Baseballs:  Used baseballs that are at the end of their life (you will need 12-16 depending on the size of wreath frame you select. Wire Wreath Frame:  Hobby Lobby and Michaels have a wider size variety of wreath frames but I was at Walmart and they had two sizes (12" & 18").  I opted for the...

Sheet Music Paper Trees I have been making these trees for years.  As I remember it, the first time I made these was with 3rd and 4th grade Sunday School students and later with an elementary school student I mentored and later as gifts for school teachers and friends.  They are easy to make and require very few supplies and can be adapted and adorned as much or as little as you would like.  Below you are that materials and steps that I follow when making the trees, along with a few tips and tricks learned along the way. Materials I Gathered Before Starting: Bamboo Skewer OR Stick & Wire:  The first couple of times I made these I used Bamboo Skewers which are easy to cut down and also easy for kids to work with.  The downside was that depending on the age--kids will poke themselves and I had to sand them down so the kids wouldn't get wooden slivers from the skewers.  Lately, I have been using sticks that are large enough to insert a hole for...