photo collage

Framed Photo Confetti

I just love Darcy Miller from Martha Stewart Weddings. She is so talented and clever! I happened to see the episode where she was sharing

her scrapboxes with Martha. SO AMAZING!!!

One in particular caught me eye...The Framed Photo Confetti Box.

http://www.marthastewart.com/photogallery/family-history-in-the-making-darcys-frames-and-scrapboxes?lpgStart=1&currentslide=14&currentChapter=1#ms-global-breadcrumbs

Well I didn't have any photo confetti, but I have lots of pictures and a photo printer. I didn't do a step-by-step of this as I wasn't blogging yet, but will do one as I'm going to recreate the above picture for both of my brothers. (Not really worried about spoiling the surprise for them...they're not exactly craft/food blog followers! )

Basically, this is what I did:

I made a file folder on my computer with a special label just for these pictures.

Then I went through folders I had already created for each of my family members, copying the pictures of them that I wanted to use and transferring them to the above mentioned folder. (I tried to be sure there were an equal number of pictures of all the siblings...if you have children, you know how this goes...lots of pictures of first child, some of 2nd child and, well, the 3rd child has the fewest.) This one has 120 pictures. I took each picture, transferred it to a Print Shop program, cropped and resized to about 7/8" square.

The page was full of tiny black & white photos of my sweet family.

Then I made my own "confetti" by punching out each picture with a 3/4 circle punch. On a 12 x 12 piece of heavy white cardstock, I lightly lined out a grid in pencil. I erased the lines except for the "+" where the lines intersected. With mini glue dots I randomly added each photo. I also created a little label that I also printed with the photo that said "Earley Family, Est. 1959" I added it to the left corner, close to a picture of my paretns at their wedding. Since I didn't have any scrapboxes or shadow boxes on hand, I used a 12 X 12 frame I got 1/2 off at hobby lobby. It worked great!

I made this for my parents as a late 51st Wedding Anniversary gift. They seemed to really like it!

button monogram pillow

The next thing that I would love to make is something that I found on etsy at Letter Perfect Designs.  I'm all for helping out the individual sellers as opposed to paying the money towards the big industries that are taking over American retail, but when I see something that I think I can do, I look at it as a challenge.  When I saw this, I saw a challenge (a beautiful challenge at that)!

Isn't it gorgeous?  I have a thing for monograms...evidently I need help remembering what my new last name starts with :).  

Making Chippy Safe

MONDAY, JANUARY 4, 2010

Making Chippy Safe

I cannot tell you how many times I have brought the cutest chippiest painted antique health hazard home from a yard sale or flea market.  Shabby Chic made chippy desireable, but it's rarely mentioned how dangerous it can be for a home with little ones.  So, what's a girl to do when she has 2 toddlers who are going to want to eat the chippy paint on her latest find?  For a couple of years, all of those pieces in my home have been painted over, sold or banished to the basement. 

One of the pieces I couldn't part with or paint is my antique iron crib with chippy white paint.  Now, because of some furniture rearranging, I have room for my crib.  It is one of my most favorite finds, so I was thrilled at the idea that I could use it again. The chippy paint put a damper on that excitement.  Something had to be done to make it safe for my boys.

I pulled it out of the recesses of the basement and brought it into my painting booth.  I rubbed the entire crib with fine steal wool to remove any chipping paint.  (Make sure you wear a respirator throughout this process, chippy lead paint can be a hazard to you as well!)

I then wiped it down with a damp cloth.

A couple of coats of Krylon spray poly in satin, 30 minutes, and one sore finger later...and it was safe to  bring up from the basement.  Well, I had to let it dry, which really tested my patience!

I love this antique crib set up as a day bed.  It's actually very comfortable to curl up on.

Now, I just need to convince hubby...

Make sure to come back to share your furniture post at my Furniture Feature Friday link party.