Gettin' Crafty on Hump Day....

Oh Em Gee!!!!!!!!! Last week we had (drum roll please) 47 links!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I could NOT be more ecstatic about that :)

Our most popular link came from C.R.A.F.T., which was this SUPER COOL framed jewelry organizer:

But lets see if we can get over FIFTY links for this party?!?!?! So get to linking! Please comment if you link, and please make sure my button is on your blog somewhere. Also, PLEASE, don't post anything I will have to delete (like links to your store instead of a tutorial) :)

Ok, lets shake it! :)

The Key to my Art....

I LUVVVVVVVVVVVVVV key art! It has seemed to circle through all the decor magazines, and I knew when the time was right I would STRIKE and duplicate this amazingness for pennies on the dollar. Check out this key art at Res Hardware for $199:

Yep, $199...WHAT?!?!?!

So, I was on the lookout for some keys. Nearly wet myself when I spotted these brass beauties at a garage sale for a QUARTER a piece!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ummmmmmm....yes please. They got a couple of coats of glossy black. Then I got to work! For this project you'll need:

2 FANTASTIC shadow box frames from the Dollar Store for $1.59 a piece!
A book of OLD sheet music
Some wire (to hold the key in place)

First I laid the key on the backing and got it centered where I wanted it like this:


Then, when you find your center, cut a hole where the wire will need to go:


After you cut your sheet music to fit, poke a hole in that too, and then wire the key to the background like so:

After I took this pic I used a black sharpie to color the wire so the silver didn't show.

Then marvel at your frugalness and kick back and enjoy your AMAZING artwork...

Total cost...roughly $5...FANTABULOUS :)

The lucky number of the day is.....

.99 cents!!!!!!!!!!! And that's because of these 2 AMAZING finds I scooped up for .99 cents a piece at my local Salvation Army:

I am in LOVE with vintage scales right now. And with my whole "grey" theme going in the living room, this is going to make an awesome addition to my decor. Secretly tho...I purchased it to use as a prop in some pictures I'm taking this week. More on that later... :)

Would you check out the amazing detail on this chunky shelf?!?!?! I just LOVE it! I would have loved it for $3, I loved it even more for $1.

What a great day at the thrift store! What are your latest & greatest bargains? :)

Gettin' Crafty on Hump Day....

Hey everyone, its that time again :)

Here's what I've been working on:

Bo-RING!!!!!! But, for a whole quarter, I figured I'd find something to do with it. First it got a couple of coats of Heirloom White. Then, I used my Lyrical Letters & my Indie Arts cartridges to add to it. I LOVE it!!!

I actually got the AWESOME scrapbook paper from Walmart!! I'm SUCH a sucker for argyle!!!!!!!! Here's a close-up of the patterns:

So what've you been working on? Feel free to link up to a BLOG POST about something you did (craft, recipe, etc.). I mentioned a few weeks ago about someone posting a link to an online store. Please don't do that. I'll delete it. I don't want to. But I will.

Please leave a comment if you do link and PLEASE put my button somewhere on your blog :)


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Things Remembered...eat your heart out...

Personalized gifts really are my favorite kinds of gifts to give. In my pre-cricut days, I spent a LOT of money in Things Remembered buying gifts. Picture frames mostly...its my "go to" gift. The prices there are fairly reasonable. Not quite THIS reasonable though:

$1.29?!?!?!?!??!!? I bought the last 3...and I'm glad there were only 3, or I likely would have bought a pallet. I LOVEEEEEEEEEEEE double paned frames right now so I seriously could not have been happier to find these at my favorite dollar store.

I decided to get fancy with this one and buy ACTUAL cricut vinyl. Unfortunately, the vinyl wouldn't stick to the glass (that's what I get for paying full price for something). So I turned to my lucky contact paper which I have lovingly named "The Po' Man's Vinyl" and sure enough, worked like a charm.

Last name blurred for privacy reasons. But for UNDER $2 I have a fabulous personalized baby gift! I'm telling you, a cricut is worth its weight in GOLD!!! And I already have ANOTHER baby gift to make, so I'll be doing this again. Lets just calculate...I would have spent OVER $50 this week at Things Remembered...instead I spent $4!!!!!!!!!!!!!! At this rate my cricut will have paid for itself in a matter or months!

*disclaimer: feel free to tell your husbands this, and that I have single handily, scientifically proven it! I will stand by this theory! :)

Gettin' Crafty on Hump Day....

Well, its that time again, lets see what crafts you've been workin' on...

Last week I needed to make a gift for a friend and decided on some camera strap covers. I did tutorial on camera strap covers HERE...

This time I decided to go with a more embellished look. Ribbon is such a great an inexpensive way to add some detail. The thing I love most about camera strap covers is that they are so inexpensive to make. You can buy a fat quarter for under $2 and that gives you enough to make multiple covers!! Can't beat a price like that!!!!!!!! Here's a photo of the 2 I did:



So what are you working on? Lets link :)

Please leave a comment and please post my button on your blog :)

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Germ Blaster...

I wanted to make a little gift for my son's preschool teacher, and I saw a ton of tutorials on personalized sanitizer. I thought that was a PERFECT idea, so I went with it. I bought a JUMBO sized bottle of sanitizer:

I peeled the label off, and then used a combination of furniture polish, fabric softener and sneaker cleaner to get the residue off (I seriously need to buy some goof off!). Once I got the goop off it, I used some left over vinyl from another project and added a fun little caption with my Lyrical Letters cartridge. Of course I needed to embellish with a little ribbon...and here she is:

I wanted to add some cute/fun graphics so I pulled out my Indie Art cartridge. Seeing as my son is OBSESSED with batman currently, I thought the bomb/pow captured the feel I was going for. Here's a close up:



So for a couple bucks I've got a personalized gift that is as functional as it is cute! What gifts have you made for back to school?