New Craft Tray from an Old Drawer Box

A little while ago, I've had a post about Blog Party called "Where Bloggers Create", I was drooling over some studios and crafty places, but since I am not as lucky and I don't have my personal room dedicated to crafts (at least not right now), I've decided to start small: a Craft Tray, for example:) I used to do my projects in so many different places in the house and it is always a big deal to clean up when project is not completely finished yet. Not any more, now I can put my project away at any time and start right away, when time allows.

Well, here is my little opening story. I am a Kitchen Designer, and in the beginning of my career, many years ago, I've ordered a wrong cabinet as a Sink Base, it came with the drawer :). Well, that problem was fixed very easy, but that drawer was sitting in my garage ever since. I treasure it as a memory of my first learning experience, but now I am going to put that monument to a better use.

This is a 5 minute project.

Drill holes for the handles (rope, in my case).

I wanted my handles to look rustic, to add some personality to a very Blah drawer box, and I have used a very rough rope

Feed the rope through the holes and

tie the knots. Secure them with hot glue (if needed).

That is it!

Not for me though. This craft tray is my practicing arena for a Set of Hot Marks that I've got as a gift last Christmas.

Here is my experiment with hot marks - letters. I decided to try out my favorite phrase by Theodore Roosevelt,

slightly modernized:) - my tribute to texting era, I hope Mr. Roosevelt will excuse some of my abbreviations.

Here it is my personal little island for my Crafty Adventures, but some day I still hope to have my own Craft Room. We have to dream big, right?

Sincerely,

A chance for my Cinderella

Recently I've learned that all those cute dress-up shoes are made only for the girls with narrow feet. What do you do when your feet are not narrow? Do you tell your child that those dress-ups are just silly? Do you teach her to play Dinosaurs and stay away from Princess pretend play? Do you tell her that Princess doesn't need any shoes? or... do you give her a chance? I am a Pro-Chance kind of person.

These shoes came as a Birthday Gift in a set along with Crown, Magic Wand, Beautiful Necklace, set of three rings and a purse. Out of all the pieces in the box, my daughter grabbed her shoes first (she never had a pair of "real" Princess shoes before) just to discover that they don't fit. Can you imagine her disappointment? After discovering that stores couldn't offer me anything different, I've decided to take a closer look and see what could be done.

See the screws on the bottom, what are they for?

Now, I have an idea!

Old Headbands + Narrow Shoes = Recipe for Success

Unscrew 3 out of five screw to open up a bottom (like you see above)

Feed the headband through the bottom opening (making sure you are not blocking the holes for the screws) across twist the headband and feed through the top opening. You are creating - 8 type shape.

Put the crews back. Secure the twist point in the middle with matching color thread

Apply the same embellishments using hot glue and voila- Cinderella is ready to go!

Oh, precious first heels!

They are just perfect:)))

Well, if your girls are lucky and all dress-up shoes fit them well, then for you this is probably the silliest tutorial ever, but if you are a member of our wide-feet club you may find it useful. Who knows!

Sincerely,

Something Silly - "Mary had a little Lamb"

We recently got a Karaoke Machine and the only disk that we have (that came with it) plays only kids songs (100 different songs to be exact). Our entire house filled with "Wheels on the Bus". "Twinkle twinkle little star" and now "Mary had a little Lamb". With every song, my little one gets out the toys that can illustrate the song - so... you are looking at a picture with a cute Lamb but I don't even dare to show you our floor full of buses, stars, farm animals and everything else! We are like Cirque De Sollie acrobats when crossing the room... Is it wrong to tell her tomorrow that Karaoke is not working any more? (Just kidding!)

Mickey The Pilot - Canvas Painting

I have finished my Mickey last night. This is a gift to a baby Aaron who will come to this world sometimes next week and his parents are my dear friends. This is their second child. I did my first painting for their first-born - Jacob, who is 2 years old now, and I was so touched when they asked me to do another one for Aaron. They picked Airplanes as a theme for a Baby Room and that's why Mickey is on The Plane. I hope they liked it.

Here is a work progress. I started back in July and worked on it for a week, when time allowed.

Note: I took so many pictures of this finished work and I am not happy with any of them. This is a large canvas, and I was trying different spots with different lighting - the final shot that you see was taken on my sofa, but I still get some glare from acrylics

and the flash light brings out the lines that you don't see.

I need to improve my photography skills:( !!!!

Humpty Dumpty - soft toy

Who doesn't know the "Humpty Dumpty" story? My 3 year old is in love with Humpty Dumpty song that we found on YouTube, they have lots of different versions but this one is her favorite...

May be because Humpty Dumpty magically repaired at the end?

After watching it over and over, she looked at me and said "Mom, can we make Humpty Dumpty?" I loved her question! You see, she didn't ask me if we can buy, she asked me if we can make it? My heart filled with joy, it means all these projects that you see on my Blog are working! She already knows by now, that with imagination you can do a lot!

Now, how do you make Humpty Dumpty? In my case, inspiration sometimes comes from a trash bin :) It worked again. We found an old lonely sock:.... The rest was easy. 2 hours lately we had our own Humpty Dumpty:)

Body and Legs - Old white sock stuffed with grocery bags

Hat and sweater - my daughter's old socks

Pants and sleeves are out of craft felt

Shoes - toes of the socks that I've used for hat and sweater

Face - hand drawn using sharpies in Black and Red

Ties on hat and shoes - leftovers from my old T-shirt

A little confession - I never use patterns, I cut using my eyeball judgment and then make it all work, this time I've done the same, but... if you think you would like a pattern or a sketch, please let me know. That would be a good challenge for me:)

Sincerely,

Message Board Out of Old Cookie Sheet

Today I am rediscovering America:) Internet has so many versions of this idea - how to re-purpose an old cookie sheet, and I have decided (why not!) to join this crowd, especially when I have everything I need. Ladies and Gentlemen, I am proudly presenting MY version of this fabulous idea!

Materials needed:

Old Cookie Sheet

Paint for metal

Old wallpaper or any cute paper

Glue that works with metal

Magnets

Bear/Soda Bottle Caps

Any light weight container,

to be used as pen/pencil holder on message board

Wine corks

2 Screws with loops

Rope or I am using a chain from my old necklace.

Step 1. Paint or Spray paint your cookie sheet. Let it dry per instructions.

Step 2. Cut down to size and glue down the paper of your choice to the bottom of the tray and let it dry.

Step 3. Do the same with your container

Step 4. Attach magnets to the back along the seam

Step 5. Glue magnets to the top of the bottle caps. Glue wallpaper to the inside of the cap.

Step 6. Glue wine corks to the back of the tray.

Step 7. Attach screws with loops to each end.

Step 8. Feed the chain through and lock.

Step 9. Congratulate yourself on a brand new message board:)

Step 10. Now, put it to a good use - start posting important messages.

Happy re-purposing everyone!

Sincerely,

P.S. I would love to know the name of the original author of this brilliant idea

Ugly Ducklings

How many packaging containers, shoe boxes or dated office belongings have you tossed to a recycling bin? I have been one of you for many years, but recently I have changed my look at trash and now I am seeing all these items as Ugly Ducklings and trying to give them a chance.

Ugly Duckling?

not at all!

Have you seen this "beauty" before?

How about this?

and finally - shoe box into gem.

All these transformations have been done with my old wallpaper samples:)

Score!

Sincerely,