a few projects.

With a little more time on my hands at home these days I've been able to enjoy some hobbies and try out some simple crafting skills.  For a while now I've been wanting to de-brown our home a little and add more color.  Pops of color to help brighten our home and add a sense of the fun, joy and happy we feel everyday.  Here are a few projects I have done recently...

a wreath for our front door.

painted these picture frames from browns and blacks to bring in other colors in our home, also making the pictures stand out more too.

some colorful frames to spruce up the hallway. love them.
(painted black frames, pieced fabric over the backing, mounted pictures off the backing with foam adhesive squares, pictures are 5x5 on styrene mount)

before

after

added a beautiful W to our staircase wall collage (painted it black)

our living room needed more color so I painted these frames green, stenciled the mats with a light blue paint and a martha stewart stencil. and incorporated more gorgeous pics of our baby girl (in black and white).

Here is a project I made for a friend.

found these frames in good condition at goodwill...

gave them a fresh coat of white paint, stenciled grey on the mats, and made these prints. You write on the glass with a dry-erase marker on the line. pretty cute huh? :)

I'm still working on Quinn's frame like this.

A fabric covered Q was also made for Quinny's room, however when I usually would have a chance to take a picture, she is sleeping in there. :)

Family on a budget, how do you afford crafting/projects?  A recent birthday with generous gift cards and gifts helps.  Thrift stores often house treasures waiting to transform.  And coupons and great sales are always out there.  I feel like even with a gift card anymore I don't shop till a sale or have my ___% off coupon.  I'm becoming less impulsive.  I recently fell in love with a beadboard frame at Michael's, I didn't jump on buying it full price when I saw it.  When I went back it was on sale, had a coupon, and only paid 25% of the original price (and with that used a gift card) :).

Aside from adding more personal and unique items to our cozy home, I am also enjoying the process and having a hand in the end project.  It's been nice to have a little time for a hobby.