Junk Attack!!

As all my facebook friends have already found out (or at least the ones who read my status updates lol), I hit the mother load of items today to refinish. I got ALL of this at a thrift store (the locals will know it as Frenchies :)), for less than $17!! I though it was a pretty good deal.

Everything here I plan to alter in some way (well besides the mugs, I just got those cause they were awesome LOL). I already have so many ideas in my head for these items, I just hope I can do something and get the ideas out of my head and in motion before I lose them! So I have 6 new projects to attack (I really didn't need more, but man how could I pass this stuff up??), I am so looking forward to it though.

So stay tuned, I will be posting each item as I give it a make over and hopefully turn this 'junk' of someone elses in to my treasures. :)

Happy Crafting, Scrapping or whatever else you decide to do today!
~Jenn

Salem Signs

Well here I am back with more... (see I told ya!) LOL I've been thinking about some signs for my home since days before LAST Halloween. I knew I wasn't going to make any in time for last year, and I also knew that if I didn't get on it now, I wouldn't make it this year either.

My favorite thing or maybe better to say my theme for my Halloween Decor is mostly Witches. I like the hats, I like the black cats, the cauldron's, the green, the brooms, the spell books, pretty much anything to do with Witches. Then there is also the fact that I was born in Salem Massachusetts, I love history (especially local things), so the decision to go with Witches and references to Salem was an easy one to make.

Now, there are LOADS of great Sign ideas on the web for this theme, different styles, different sayings, here are a few that I have come up with.

This first sign I thought was a cute idea, I do have to admit that I am TERRIBLE at freehand painting! I did write the words (with pencil) first, then attempted to paint them. It turned out 'OK' but definitely could've been better, I still like the sign though.

This next one is my favorite of the three signs by far! The font I picked out looks great, and I am in LOVE with the little broom!!! I made it myself, used raffia for the bristles and I asked one of the boys to go outside to find a broken branch for me.... I didn't do anything to 'clean up' the branch, it was perfect just the way it was with all its little imperfections. My one and only complaint is that I am reminded why I NEVER put straight titles on my scrappy pages! It's because I'm not that great at it....LOL Now the 'm' is purposely on a slant to follow the line of 'Co.', but I don't know what the heck is up with the 'roo'....oh well, it was my 1st attempt, and it's for my house, so it's not like I am trying to please a customer (I'd never sell this with the letters looking the way they do), it's just a reminder to take more time to get it just right with the next one :)

With this sign I got a lil smart with the lettering.... I used welded words, so I didn't have to line up every letter, and as you can see, "Salem" goes every which way, (which is how I normally mask my poor lining up skills). I think even though this is a very simple sign, it has interest, with the two colors for words, different fonts and placement, and I even sanded and scuffed up this piece letting the orange that I painted under the black show in some places.

One thing I did that I am proud to admit is that I reduced the amount of materials I used. I actually painted the two pine signs, on the back sides of my Christmas decor signs I painted last year. So as soon as I'm ready to say good bye to Halloween all I need to do is flip the signs and say hello to Christmas! :)

I still have more ideas, but this will do for this year.... I'll leave something for me to do next year. haha

Happy Crafting!

~Jenn

It's the most wonderful time of the year!!!

So Halloween is coming, (YAY! my favorite holiday of the year!!!) and I had a terrible discovery with my box of Halloween decorations this year. My basement is quite damp year round, and unfortunately for my decorations they were the only ones that were still in a big cardboard box (thank goodness I take better care of my Christmas stuff and have it all in plastic totes!!). Anyway, I had to throw away a lot of my things and start new this year.

I started the season off by making these lil Pumpkin Shelf Sitters. I saw some of these online, so I take no credit for the idea, but I did make them my own by adding the moss and "dirtied" up the bright orange with a coat of watered down brown paint. These are really cute, and can be used from beginning of fall straight through the season. I was thinking it might be cute to paint the back sides with Jack-o-lantern faces so at Halloween they can be turned around and serve a double purpose.... I dunno, I'll wait until next year and maybe I'll do it then if I still think it's a good idea. lol

Next, another Shelf (or sill) sitter set. Now I had these painted and sitting on my table and left blank for a long time! I just wasn't sure what I wanted to put on them. I finally decided on what you see below. I liked the idea of a rough Jack-o-lantern face (because when I'm not carving fancy designs pumpkins, mine traditional ones are never uniform), so to keep with the "messy" look, I opted to hand paint (and purposely squiggle) the word "Boo" on the next block. When I look at it it makes me think of a ghost, waving in the wind with his long shakey 'oooooooooo' sound so I think I got the look I was going for. Sometimes imperfections can look good too :)

Lastly, this cat. No, I did NOT make this cat, I am by no means that handy with a saw (YET), but I did find him at a thrift store for $1. He was very beat up, and his paint was scratched badly, but I brought him home, gave him a fresh coat of black paint, and here he sits on top of my refrigerator. A great (and inexpensive) addition to my Halloween Decor. :)

So thanks for stopping by today to read along. I've been having fun with these little projects and there will be more to follow soon I hope!

Have a great day, and happy crafting!!

~Jenn