face lift for the floor

You may remember my post about how I painted one of the rugs my husband brought with him from his bachelor days (if not, get acquainted with it here).  Well, rug number two was just beckoning for me to make it so much prettier.  This time, I thought I would try something a little different than what I had done before.  I had a lot of people compliment my rug and I really did appreciate it.  Though, most seemed to see the process as somewhat hard to do.  I was like "oh junk, it's not...it's so simple!"  So, I thought I would do something a little less 'free form' and a little more structured and doable for those a wee bit less crafty than I.
I chose stencils as my weapon of choice.  My husband and I decided on two different small designs we liked and I used some paint from my last rug and bought one more color...for good measure.  (I talked about the paint I used for this projects in my first post, it's just fabric paint)  At first I wasn't quite sure what sort of pattern or design I wanted to do.  I knew I wanted to do a border on the rug, so I taped it off with painters tape.  I used the flap from a shipping box (thanks Mom for sending my craft supplies!) as my guide so that I would have a relatively straight line.  I use a cut off plastic cup to hold my paint, it works well! I then started from the corners, again because I had no real plan.  I suggest having some what of a plan, as it makes it a bit easier!  I decided on a pattern and stenciled it in, alternating the stencils.  I knew that being a textured surface, I would not get exact and perfect designs, so I just went with it.  The brushes I used were stenciling brushes.  You just tap the paint into the stencil, tapping ensures you don't get too much paint under the edges which distorts your design.

Well, there it is!  I just added here and there as my little imagination wheels turned.  I thought about doing a large P in the middle to personalize it.  Though, decided against it as I wanted this rug to be simpler than the last.  Once again, this was SO simple!  It took me maybe an hour total to complete this project and I used such common tools.  I promise you can do it!  Now that your inspired, get creative!

nifty little sacks, i think

Yesterday I shared my delicious candy buffet experience with all who care, and then realized I didn't even tell you what the guests took their goodies home in!  Crazy, I know!  I really wanted a handmade look to as much as my decorations as possible, we were going for a vintage, garden feel.  I knew I needed something for the guests to fill up on their own that would also let them know this was their favor.  I had the idea for brown paper bags.  Now, not the normal lunch size ones...I didn't buy THAT much candy!  I looked online and searched for prices and calculated shipping then decided to go see what my local Sam's Club had to offer.  Perfect, they had little bags, a size 2 I believe they were in brown Kraft paper (the alternative was white and I didn't want that).  There were 500 in the package for less than $5.  Honestly, I'm not sure what I will use the left over 325 bags for, but I am sure I will come up with something wonderful, just give me time!  This price was by far, the best I has found and the shipping was free (because I bought them in store).
I of course, had to add a wee bit of style to these little baggies.  I went on search for the most perfect rubber stamp I could find.  I set out to find one that said 'Thanks'.  No such luck, I found a lot of different stamps but they were so expensive and never seemed to go on sale.  Then, something all together beautiful caught my eye while standing in my local A.C. Moore, clear stamps.  I thought 'huh? wonder how these work', then read the back.  All I needed was one acrylic block (available for purchase at under $5) and these little clear letters, I could place them anyway I like and make any word I like them stamp on, reposition and stamp again!  I fell in love.  I bought a set of alphabet as well as a pack of different flowers.  Now, the packages of stamps were $10 each, but I figured it a good deal since I could make practically countless combinations with them unlike the one design I could make with a $8 rubber stamp.  Oh yeah, then I bought an orange and a brown ink pad.
I took my new found goodies home and dive right into crafting.  I arranged three different flowers into a pattern I decided was adequate and arranged my letters into my word 'thanks'.  I then began to stamp away.   The ink began to run out, I just added a tiny bit of water to it and kept on trucking!  I made 175 bags and it took a few days (not WHOLE days, I did few hour sessions while watching t.v.).  I stamped in stages, the flowers first then the word then flowers again, it was easier than switching between ink pads and stamps.  I was (and still am) quite happy with the end result.   I wound up placing a bag with one rock candy and a bookmark in it at each place setting to add to the table decor.