Valentine Town

I saw these super cute little houses at The Wood Connection in Layton a few months ago and thought how cute they would be decorated for Valentines. Each one has their own personality and it was so much fun creating each of them! I used Authentique Paper from their "Romance" collection in the 6x6 paper size. I adore their papers...beautiful colors and patterns and heavy enough it doesn't tear when adding it to wood projects.

Kendra's Wood Sled

 

A few years ago I gave my mom and Kendra both a plain wood sleigh.

Fast forward to a few years later

(this was 2019... and I am just now getting around to posting it)

and I finally got one of them painted.  

Kendra picked which colors and how she wanted it to look,

and I took it from there.

I think it turned out super cute and...

looks even cuter on the front porch of their brand new home!

Now I just need to get the other two done!

Happy December Everyone!!! 

"Old School" Dallas Cowboys Truck

 I'm guessing if you have followed my blog at all you know that I'm a Dallas Cowboys fan.

I so love when football season kicks off and this year was no different.

I have looked at the "old school" trucks at The Wood Connection and I have

loved them from day one.  They have a truck for every season but

football so I decided to create my own.

Above is the finished project... my son, Josh, loves the Cowboys even more than I do

and we both loved the Thanksgiving uniforms of the blue/white jerseys with the single

blue star on each shoulder and the white helmet with the solid blue star on the side and

2 solid blue "racing stripes" on the helmet ... just like the one here with Tony Romo.

This is a mailbox I did several years ago that was like our favorite helmet...

I painted the whole truck white including the "extra side piece" ... I kept doing back to the

picture and decided I would paint the "fenders" Cowboy blue to add some color to it.

I then decided that I wanted to add some texture since it was so "flat". I had some 

Silver Glitter Blast spray paint from several years ago... so I sprayed the side pieces with

the glitter spray... at first it started to come out "blobby" so I thought for sure I would

be sanding everything down and starting over again.  After it dried, I decided that

I really like the look... it's an "old school" truck so it's bound to have some blemishes.

I had some blue with silver stars washi tape that I have been holding on to for

the "perfect" project and this one was it... just to give it some personality

I had some blue stars I used as the hub cap center and

I added two silver sparkly enamel dots for headlights...

 and... 2 red sparkly enamel dots for the taillights.

Since there was a spot for a "license plate" I added

a "#4" to Josh's and my Uncle Darrell's and

did a "#82" for mine.

 I used my Cameo to cut the star and my Quickutz for the numbers!

It was a fun project ... hopefully this little truck with bring us some good luck!

Go COWBOYS!!!

and... Happy Crafting!

"Old School" Patriotic Truck

I'm so loving this "Old School" Patriotic Truck...

it has been my favorite project I have painted all year! 

I bought him from The Wood Connection and used Midnight Blue and

Metallic Silver by Ceramcoat to paint 'em up purty ;-)

Happy Crafting!

Father's Day Jewelry Boxes

For Father's Day this year I thought that I would make a Jewelry Box

for each of the "dad's in my life...  My husband... my son and my "bonus" dad

I found this one at Hobby Lobby ... it's just plain wood and I made sure to sand it all

down before I stained it with Minwax Provincial stain.

 I applied 2 coats of stain with a craft brush 

making sure to let each coat dry thoroughly... the wood was

pretty good at absorbing the stain so I didn't cover up the grommets...

but if stain did get on them... then I just wiped it right off with a rag.

After the stain was completely dry... I measured out some self adhesive felt

I had found at Michael's and cut it to fit in the bottom of each chest. 

Since my family are Cowboy's fans what better color than blue for the felt.

I sprayed 2 light coats of Plaid Clear Acrylic Sealer in Gloss

to help it have a little bit of a shine.

My husband loves his and it sits proudly on our dresser holding his

rings...tie tacks and watches.

It may not be a "fun" gift but this year it was very practical!

Happy Crafting!

Target Easter Baskets

Not having a Target in our town...

I was stoked to find these cuties on a trip to Twin Falls, Idaho to see Shoshone Falls.

They only had two that were in good shape... the rest had been pretty picked over

but that worked perfectly since I have 2 beautiful grandbabies!

I painted them both in an off white paint and then added Enamel Dots for their eyes...

chalk for the ears and nose... I couldn't find any small wood pieces

I could use for their noses... but I will be adding that for next year.

Cute pink and purple ribbons to each and a cute white pompom for the tail.

 I also added colored crinkled paper in the bottom.

Next year I will also add their names to the sides with vinyl.

Happy Crafting!

Aggie Pride !!!

We have 5 very special birthdays from June 27th - July 25th ... and we wanted to

celebrate them all!  I wanted to find a fun gift for each of them...and when Todd

and I went shopping at Wood Creations in West Haven...

 this one caught our eye.  I didn't have a lot of time to get the gifts ready so I

bought the vinyl that was already cut and ready to go.

I did two of these... one for Suzette - my "sister from another mister" and our

long time good friend Dave. Dave and Suzette both graduated from USU and

Suzette has been working for USU for over 25 years... so she is a die-hard

Aggie fan! Dave moved back to Logan after several years away and loves

attending all of the Aggie games he can.  Todd and Dave especially love

the football and basketball games they can go to together!

I painted the wood blocks with 3 coats of Ceramcoat navy blue paint... 

then applied the vinyl. I had Todd drill a hole in the top for the wood topper

(I honestly don't remember what they are called) used wood glue to hold it in

place and added 3 different ribbons tied in a bow.

It was awesome listening to the "banter" after they opened their gifts... as to which

school is better... Ahhhh ~ we know the answer to that... Utah State!

Happy Crafting ~ Vicki

BYU... Who???

We have 5 very special birthdays from June 27th - July 25th ... and we wanted to

celebrate them all!  I wanted to find a fun gift for each of them...and when Todd and I

went shopping at Wood Creations in West Haven...

 this one caught our eye.  I didn't have a lot of time to get the gifts ready so I

bought the vinyl that was already cut and ready to go.

This one is for my sister-in-law, Rayann.  She graduated from BYU and will always

defend her Alma Mater to the end.  This gift was perfect for her!

I painted the wood block with 3 coats of Ceramcoat white paint... then applied

the vinyl and used some black and blue cream chalking to the sides since

there was a lot of "white space" showing.  I had Todd drill a hole in the top

for the wood topper (I honestly don't remember what they are called)

used wood glue to hold it in place and added 4 different ribbons tied in a bow.

Happy Crafting ~ Vicki

Dallas Cowboy Picture Frame

So it's been forever since I have blogged... seems as though I have forgotten just about everything there is to know about creating a blog post.  What should have taken 15 minutes has now taken over 3 hours.  Good thing I have a very patient husband! This cute picture of my son and granddaughter was taken by my daughter-in-law and I LOVE IT! I got the idea to make Josh a Dallas Cowboy frame for Father's Day and this is what I came up with.  It's a $1.00 frame from Michael's.  I used 3 coats of Ceramcoat Navy Blue and added the silver glitter stars from Reflections and 4 white brads in a license plate that reads...

GAME DAY - BEST DAY OF THE WEEK

I just happen to agree with that statement! I can't wait for football to begin!
Happy Crafting ~ Vicki

Magic Mesh Wood Carrot...

I LOVE Magic Mesh... I just haven't used it in forever!  But that's what is so awesome when you have a room full of craft supplies... you can dig some of those old "favorites" out an use them in different ways.  I'm not a big fan of orange... so I decided to soften the color a bit. I painted the carrots orange the covered them with Magic Mesh... on the top carrot I used a dark orange ink and on the back carrot I used the white ink. I just kept stamping until I had the look that I wanted. On the top carrot it was hard to see the lines so after it dried I went back over the top with a little of the white ink...I love how the orange and white looked. I couldn't find any "greenery" I liked for the tops... so I cut 2 green pipe cleaners into 3 even sections and curled them around a pen and then glued them into the hole on the end of the carrot. I cut the "Bunny Treats" from my Cameo with white vinyl.

Dad's #1 Cowboy Fan Stick

 The front and back of stick...

 My Uncle Ace ~ My Daddy ~ My Uncle Darrell

Our first Memorial Day without my daddy...

With the kick off for the first game of the season just a few hours away... I find my heart is excited for the kickoff... but saddened that my daddy won't be here with us to cheer them on! My dad passed away in February and I miss him every day! 

 I made this stick for Memorial Day for him. The front has #1 Fan that I painted in Cowboys blue and then used some silver metallic chalk around the edges. Our family wears jerseys every game day...so that is why I had the #82 ~ #88 ~ #9 ~ #19 and #94 on the stick to represent each one of us.  I used the stick to hold a picture of my dad and Josh we had taken 2 years before... I first put it in a heavy sheet protector and then taped the back down so the water from the sprinklers wouldn't get it wet. Then weaved the stick in the holes to hold it up. I also added a ribbon that is not in the pictures...

Here's to a new season for the Cowboys... and a new season for my family I know my dad's going to be watching... and cheering right along with us... cussing out Romo for turning sideways when he throws... Witten dropping his passes or getting upset with the O-line for their penalties. Cowboys let's make this an awesome season and head to the Superbowl!

GO COWBOYS!

 

Stead Wedding Sign...

The Steads ~ Joshua & Kendra

Let me introduce you to my handsome son, Josh and my new beautiful daughter-in-law! They were married on August 3, 2012 they also get to share that special day with my parents who were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary! Kendra wanted the sign to be in neutral colors ~ so I painted the board black used my new Cameo to cut the letters... cream for the last name and white for their first names.

Wildman Wedding Sign...

 

Payden has been Josh's best friend and my "bonus" son forever... I don't remember a time that Payd hasn't been in our lives! They played sports (they played everything) together... worked at Fireworks West packing and setting up firework shows... served missions together... yes their farewell and welcome home as well as the day they entered the Mission Training Center (I refer to it as the MTC ~ Moms Torture Chamber... but that's a story for another day!) and the day they came home were just hours apart (how many friends can say that?) ~ they double dated ~ watched The Office ~ spent countless hours talking ~ texting and playing video games.  It was a hard day when Payd and Kat were married... not because I wasn't happy for them... but that's when it sunk in that Payden wouldn't just come to the house any random time and visit or raid the cookie jar. He has been accepted to the University at Buffalo in the dental program.  I'm so proud of him and wish he and Kat all the happiness ~ they both deserve it!

I thought it would be fun to make them a wedding sign to hang up in their new home in Buffalo... Kat loves turquoise and purple.  I painted the board purple and then used my new Cameo to cut the purple vinyl.  I decided that instead of their names in turquoise I would do the lettering in white to make it "pop".  I added a claw to the back for hanging... and voila!

They were so cute and even sent me a picture of it hanging up in their apartment!  I love you guys!

Patriotic Welcome Post...

 

I love my welcome post ~ mainly because my mom and dad built it  see instructions here... I dusted off my Silhouette and picked out a font that was bold enough to see the sign from the street. I used red, white and blue vinyl and painted the background black (so it matches my post) and painted the wood star red. I'm not a real glitter fan... but I decided I wanted the star to sparkle (you can't see it in the picture ~ but it's beautiful when the sun hits it!). I attached the star with E6000 glue added the I hooks and it was ready to go!

 

Wood Roosters...

I was contacted by the designer of Wood Creations to see if I would do a tutorial for their blog followers... I was stoked! So I went to their store and picked out the wood I wanted to paint... and here is my tutorial!

First I sanded and penciled off where I wanted my beaks and combs to be on each of the roosters...

Next I cut out the patterned paper for each of the roosters ~ cutting off where the beak and comb would be... It won't always be perfect... but I like the sanded look so you can take off any "hang-over" with sand paper or emery board. I did add some black chalk to the yellow paper and red to the black ones... (I pretty much ended up sanding it off in the end) I just think it's easier to do it before it is on the wood.

I painted each of the beaks and combs with acrylic paint... I do a minimum of 2 coats

Next I painted all of the other wood pieces... I use an old flower pot filled with chili beans to hold my round pieces for drying...

After I had the roosters painted I thought... these would be so cute with vinyl dots... one in red and one in white and the other just left plain black... I think they would have been super cute that way too! The problem was I was not very careful with the red and gold paint since I knew that I would be putting pattern paper over the top...so maybe for the next set I do I will try that. Also... I'm very OCD (actually it should be CDO since it should be alphabetized too ;-) so you don't have to take the time to paint the whole front of the roosters ~ you can just do the edges...

Then it was Mod Podge time... I like to put it on both the wood piece and the pattern paper...

Line the paper up the best you can (again you will probably have a little "hang-over" and that's easy to sand off). I like to use a roller to get any bubbles out and also to seal the edges good.

I finished adding the paper to all 3 roosters. I usually wait about 5 to 10 minutes for the Mod Podge to dry before I start sanding. I also thought it might be fun to use some Fun Flock on the beaks and combs... you can see the dimension it gives to the beak... (the beak on the right has been covered)

Here is what the bottle of Fun Flock looks like... For easy clean up... I get a piece of paper to put under my project... then I brush over the spot I want the Fun Flock  to stick to with an adhesive (I used Mod Podge) and sprinkle it over the top. I usually apply it pretty heavy ~ then pat it gently into the adhesive. After a few minutes you can tap the back off the wood and the excess will fall back on the paper and then just pour it back into the jar...

Since my kitchen is mainly black... I started adding red accents and I love it... so I wanted the roosters to have red wings... I just could not find a pattern paper in the color of red I wanted... so I decided to use the Fun Flock on them... well they are feathers after all... they should be soft ;-) They would have looked better if I had painted them red first... but again I didn't think about that until after the Fun Flock was on the them. I attached them with E-6000 glue and let them dry...

I added a black jewel for there eyes (usually my projects all have green eyes but I thought the black looked better). Add some ribbon and tulle to the bottoms and look how cute! They were a little too tall for my spot under my cabinet... but they are going to look even cuter up on top of my cabinets (I have to wait until my son gets home from work to put them up for me). The wings look funny in this picture ~ but they don't look like this in person...

Thank you for letting me share my rooster project with you... A big thank-you to Kerrie and the Wood Creations staff for creating such cute wood pieces to keep every crafter happy!