it's that time of year

it's that time of year

a middle tennessee garden blog


finding beauty in the natural things around us makes for one happy self and a lovely life. ~marmee

dash home farm, leiper's fork, tennessee

Friday, January 16, 2009

in need of inspiration

i have a room in my house that has many purposes.
just before the holidays i decided to make abbey's play room into a permanent place to do crafts.
she is getting older now. i have big plans for this room.
this room has done it all playroom, sewing room, scrap booking room, guest room, storage, painting with oils/watercolours, gift wrapping station for christmas, place to play with photographs...

...i have had many different visions for this room...sometimes all i might need is one thing to inspire me...ok
change the lighting...i have a thing for chandeliers...can one have too many.



i love it...next add an inspirational chair...a found object of desire at a local art show held on the historic house and land of "now and then antiques"...
there were two and i bargained down to what i thought was a fair price...done. i love them
.


an inspirational pet you say...jade...well yes she is a bit more of a
distraction...but those are the kind of distractions i like.


i have so many ideas floating around in head for this
room...those will have to wait...now to do something crafty in my craft room...i actually still need
one more christmas present... for a well deserved ballet teacher.
this year i was trying to be frugal and creative at the same time.
they go hand in hand sometimes.

i saw this on a blog and i can't remember where...but blogs are inspirational.

i have made several sets of these given at christmas to teachers, house cleaners, friends.

HANDMADE COASTERS


# 1 you make a trip to your local do-it-yourself store. i went to the big orange depot.
find the tile of your choice to make attractive and useful coasters. they do hold the moisture.
my choice antique gold. they have a rough elegance. the cost for 9 tiles is under $6.00.

#2 buy clear coat rustoleum painter's touch...i like the matte finish. i think it was $2/3.

#3 you will need feet or cork for the bottom of your coaster, so they won't scratch furniture $2.



# 4 you will need ink which i purchased at target for around $3.00 each.
i personally like this brand because i use a lot of her stuff for scrap booking.


#5 you need some beautiful stamp pads. i have had these for years...i believe i originally got
them from michael's. a wonderful place for every craft imaginable.


i use a self healing mat under most of what i do just because it protects the table.
i lay out my tiles to decide which ones i will use...the ones to the left were my mess up ones
from christmas time...which in the end i managed to salvage by re-stamping and giving them to my son, david for his apartment...he was very happy.


then you just pick your colour ink and stamp and start having fun...these
will work nicely for abbey's ballet teacher.



while i was working on them another son, ethan came in and wanted a set for his room...
those are his on top...


now they dry for several hours and i will spray them with a clear coat of rustoleum.



drying time on this is suggested 24 hours.
paint on a protected surface and a well ventilated, humid free area.


now you just add the feet and a pretty ribbon...


voila...an inexpensive gift... for all those many people in
our lives that do so many valuable things...like teach our children.






20 comments:

Robin's Nesting Place said...

That is a great gift idea!

Wendy said...

Wow - those are beautiful! Thanks for the step-by-step instructions! What a nice gift. You are so creative.
I also have a spare room that I don't know what to do with. I keep changing my mind. Right now it's filled with my cabbage patch dolls.

marmee said...

robin,
just went to your blog so happy for you and your husband.
abbey's teacher really loved them. i am hoping her ballet teacher will too.

marmee said...

wendy,
thank you i am pleased with the way they came out. so far the recipents have really loved them.
i know what you mean, i really need a dedicated space for all the things i love to do. we have given a lot of toys away to nieces and good will. i made a bargin with abbey for every big bag she gave away i would get her a webkins(a stuff animal, she can put on the computer and play with virtually.)
we have given tons away.
but i am enjoying having a space for all my creative outlets.
there are so many things i want to do so little time.

Anonymous said...

Hi Marmee, I love love love the step by step you have shown us. Even the most crafty challenged can follow those instructions. I have a thing for tiles anyway, they just call my name, and what a good use for them. I see them out in the garden too as art, minus the felt feet! Thanks for this and I am in love with that chandelier! And the chairs and the kitty too. :-)
Frances

tina said...

Those are too too cute! How crafty you are. And on the chandeliers, I think you can't have too many-and if it makes you happy-hang away. I really like this one you have pictured.

marmee said...

frances,
i am so happy you loved this instructional post. my brain is organized in a different way than most so it was a challenge. but since i thought i was sitting down to do one set of these(turned into three) i felt it was doable.
i absolutely love lighting fixtures and antique ones make me extra giddy. i love the sixties chairs redone for a real up to date feel. they are actually comfortable too. thanks for your sweet encouragement.

marmee said...

thanks tina, some would say you can and some would say you can't. i have to say you can't have to many sparkling light fixtures around. (all in good taste of course) i have three over my kitchen island with amber pears and purple grapes and plums with clear crystals, it always gives me something cheery to look at while cooking. i pretty much have a least one in every room minus my boys bedrooms.

glad you liked the coasters, a very easy fun project.

Cheryl said...

Hi Marmee....firstly I love the chairs, they are gorgeous (so is the lovely pussy cat)....

and wow you are so clever. I have such admiration for crafters. What a wonderful gift, I would think that anyone would be pleased to receive those.....

Have a fun weekend.....

Lorie said...

I am so jealous! A craft room of my own is one of those things on my dream list!

Good for you! I bet it will be gorgeous. And I love the coaster idea!!

Susie said...

What a great idea for gifts. Those are really nice Marmee and they don't look too hard to make. Thanks for sharing this idea.

Anonymous said...

What a fun & easy craft project! Thanks for sharing. :)

marmee said...

cheryl,
thank you for your sweet response. i really love those chairs too. they add an element of whimsy to the room. now i have to decorate around them...ummm?
the ballet teacher was very pleased and thought they were just her style...which is wonderful because i did not know.

marmee said...

no not hard at all, susie. although i did mess some of them up trying to use silver ink. it just didn't show up well. the first ones were completely different colours, reds, purple, light purple.

marmee said...

pgl,
they were fun and very frugel to make. it makes for being able to give to so many that you value.

Katie said...

Wow I love this craft, and the DASH is such a cute and clevel way to give a name!

marmee said...

lorie,
thanks for visiting "things i love", so glad you came by.
i am so blessed to have a room to craft in, i will be working on organizing it.
this coaster making craft is a lot of fun and very useful.

marmee said...

katie, thank you so much and glad you liked it.

Rissalee said...

what crafty idea! and you could sell those in a gift shop for $38!!!

marmee said...

rissa,
thanks i know i have bought them before and paid that much.