Southern Scraps

  I've got a stack of unfinished wooden frames that need to be turned into fun usable frames, so I dug in and created this chevron ladybug frame with the help of chevron shaped Frog tape. I don't know why I didn't try it sooner for chevrons. It's great! I got a nice clean finish with it.

I haven't forgotten that Valentine's Day is quickly approaching. I just haven't had time to do much crafting or decorating for it yet because I've been getting ready for a bigger love celebration- my parents' 50th wedding anniversary. I promise to share details and projects from the reception next week. I did manage to squeeze in a few minutes to make this heart glitter jar. I'm sure you've seen other versions around the web with paint or glitter. I had an old mason jar that has some sort of film on it that I can't get off so I though it would be better suited covered in glitter. I decided to add a few heart "cutouts" to it for Valentine's day. I grabbed my heart punch and some left over vinyl.   I applied the hearts to the jar. (See that gross film? I'm about to cover most of it up. Some of it was from my attempt at cleaning the jar and I was able to get that off later where it was showing through my hearts.)     ...

This post contains affiliate links to Amazon. Clicking or purchasing through these links won't cost you a thing but helps support my crafty habit.   I must confess- I started these last year and didn't get them finished in time for Halloween. But this year they are proudly displayed on my sofa table! These were a lot of fun to make.   To make your own, you will need miniature birdhouses, dowels, and small wooden plaques for bases. Mine came from Michaels.  You will also need wood glue, paint, skeletons, scrapbook paper, Mod Podge and plastic bugs if you like.       My sweet hubby drilled holes in the houses and the bases and set the dowel rods for me. Then I painted them with orange and black acrylic paint. Then the really fun part began. I decorated them with Mod Podge and scrapbook paper and various cut outs made using my Slice and the Spook Alley cartridge . I added some minature skeletons (taken from Dollar Tree garland) and mini ...

I decided to try my hand at making some decorative plates with clear plates. My mom had seen this idea of using paper or fabric and mod podge to decorate plates in a magazine and informed me that I could make her some so she could change out the Nativity plates she had on display. So I did. I made her a set of plates for Mother's Day.

Last year I was inspired by this post to make some altered mini mailboxes for Valentine's Day, but I wanted to make mine a little more dressed up.  I started with mini mailboxes from the Target dollar section. I bought mine last year but it was too late to get them done in time for Valentine's Day. I haven't seen them this year, but you can find some similar mini mailboxes HERE .

Last week I tried out this fun way of making glitter ornaments. I love glitter and its shine at the holidays but not the mess. Coating the inside of a clear glass ornament with glitter is a great way to get the shine without the mess. I made some ornaments in my color theme- aqua and green.  You can buy a specially made product for this project or you can use floor cleaner. Yep, floor cleaner. I started seeing it on several sites and had to give it a try myself. Below are my supplies: Pledge floor care clear glass ornaments Martha Stewart fine glitter a cup for the excess cleaner a tray to catch my glitter (Mine is made so I can funnel the extra back into the bottle.) Just swirl the cleaner around in the ball and then pour out the excess. Shake in the glitter and coat the inside of the ball. Done! Easy! and so pretty. I also saw an idea from Michael's for some polka dot ornaments . You'll need Mod Podge and some spouncers for this one. Make dots on your...

This week's Must Do Monday is featuring some great map projects. I've been seeing maps used for the past couple of years but they have recently grown on me in a way that has me itching to try some projects with them. Maybe because it's summer and time for vacations and travel or maybe because they seem to fit the beach theme decor I  love so much this time of year. What can you do with old maps? Well, almost anything you can do with decoupage or other paper crafts. Check out these ideas. Coasters via Martha Stewart Map garland Map tray   Map vases                                                             Picture frame Map lampshade ...

Seems like birdhouses are all over blog land these days. Most are using their's for home decor. You may have noticed mine in my Easter mantel . The first one you see below was purchased from Michael's unfinished but already on a pedestal. I painted parts of it and then used Mod Podge and scrapbook paper for the roof and sides. The next two also came from Michael's but they were not on pedestals. I purchased the wood bases at Michael's and already had a dowel.  The hubby cut the dowels to the length I wanted and I glued the dowels to the bases and birdhouses with wood glue. Drilling a hole first would have been better, but we didn't have a bit in the appropriate size. Again, acrylic paint and scrapbook paper brightend up each one. Just an FYI- some light sanding is needed on each birdhouse before you start painting. I didn't sand enough and up close you see I have some rough edges. Sharing here: Think Pink Sundays ** Under the ...

Need a quick and easy (and inexpensive) gift idea for the last few days before Christmas? Ceramic tile coasters aren't a new idea, but still worthy of the reminder. And dictionary art is growing in poularity so I've combined the two. I made these a couple of weeks ago for my sister-in-law's birthday. I started with a vintage dragonfly image from The Graphics Fairy . I had some ceramic tiles from Lowe's in my stash. I only had three 4x4 tiles and one larger one so she got 3 coasters and 1 trivet as a set. I had picked up an old dictionary from the thrift store for 25 cents. (It wasn't priced and I am a regular face there, so I think she pretty much gave it to me!)

Butterflies and daisies are two of my favorite things. My grandmother used to grow gerbera daisies. After she passed away, my mom transplanted them at her house. I love all of their vivid bright summer colors. Maybe I should grow some of my own.... Okay, that's another story for another day. Let's just say I didn't inherit that green thumb. Since I don't have any of my own growing, I made myself an arrangement with some artificial ones from Michaels. (Purchased during a 60% off sale.) My inspiration came from a project at Joann's but my arrangement is so far from the original, it's not worth showing for comparison. I've totally made this my own project. I started with this container that's been in my stash for a few years (an after Christmas clearance purchase). I pulled out some old papers from my scrapbook stash. I mean old, like some of the first ones purchased in 2003. (Please tell me I'm not the only one with stuff that old.) I cut the p...