Crafts
Crafts is sort of where I got my start in woodworking.
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Drop Cloth Wreath
I’ve been browsing Pinterest again. I came across a drop cloth wreath, went to check out the tutorial, and went down a rabbit hole. Long story short… I decided I needed one of those in my life.
Drop cloth wreath. To start with the instructions were vague at best, but who needs instructions anyways. I could have ordered the proper wire wreath form but who needs a proper wire wreath form anyways. Not me.
I headed out to the workshop and grabbed some chicken wire at Jims suggestion. I rolled it once around and cut it off tucking in any sharp pieces. I then took the two ends and joined them together twisting the wires together until it was good and sturdy. I just shaped and flattened it where it needed to be. Do you follow? This is what I was starting with.
Chicken wire… not just for chickens! With the form ready I got out my scrap drop cloth material left over from when I made drapes, placemats, runners and pillows. I cut out a template for a leaf shape and traced it onto the material. The tutorial called for about 50 leaves but didn’t say what size they were. So I cut out 50 leaves.
Good afternoon project. With leaves and a wreath form ready, I got my hot glue gun heated up and put a dab on the end of each leaf, pinching them together. This will give the wreath some dimension.
Glueing the leaves…one by one. Now we were ready to make magic. I started by glueing each leaf to the form and quickly realized that 50 leaves weren’t going to cut it.
Jim is just full of great ideas. I showed him my progress and was complaining that the open weave of the chicken wire meant I was having a hard time covering holes between the leaves. His suggestion was to wrap the wreath form in wide packing tape and that would give me something to glue onto. Told you he was full of great ideas…he makes my life easier!!
Not nearly enough… Time to cut out more leaves.
Drop cloth leaves. Lots more tracing, cutting and glueing and it was actually starting to look like something. There was one point where doubt crept in but I was sort of committed at that point. So I pushed on.
Over the half way mark. What was supposed to be a quick afternoon project turned into an afternoon and evening project. But I kept going wanting to see the final result.
Drop cloth wreath. Remember how the tutorial called for 50 leaves? Yeah well that was crap. This wreath has 198 leaves. That is One hundred and ninety eight leaves.
If you attempt to make your own just be aware that you will need lots of leaves and patience. Oh and a wire wreath form might come in handy too, unless you have a stash of chicken wire that is.
Later.
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DIY Monogramed Placemats
Over the holidays we had pretty Christmas placemats on the table and once they were put away the table looked a little bare. So the only practical thing to do was to make some. Now, I have never made placemats, but that never stopped me before. I have made table runners from drop cloths (CanadianTire.ca Bennett Canvas Drop Sheets #049-4818-8) so same steps apply, just a different size. I only have a few pieces of drop cloth left over from when I made drapes with painted stripes, and did a quick measurement to make sure there was enough. Eureka!
Looks like enough -
Being a Secretive Santa
The week before Christmas we were asked by our neighbors to check on Jacob and Frank three different days. You know, to let them out to go potty and even try and get Jacob to burn off some energy. These are the same dogs we dog sit for now and again. We love any chance we get to see them. Jim calls Jacob my boyfriend cause I think I’m in love. That is especially funny since I am afraid of 99% of dogs. We have another neighbor that I wish I could visit but Jim visits alone because you guessed it…they have a dog.
Frank and Jacob -
Cracked for Christmas
Just popping in to show you another sign we made recently. It all started with a load of hemlock logs we had delivered earlier in the year. Right away we put a piece of one of the logs on the sawmill and made some slices.
Hemlock cookie slices -
‘Vintage’ Sled Centerpiece
The title of this post is actually a little misleading. You see, I plan to make my own ‘vintage’ sled and use it in a Christmas centerpiece. You know, a fake ‘vintage’ sled. Here is how it went down. We started with ‘old’ wood.
Measuring for the sled -
Making a Christmas Sign
Earlier in the year I joked that I was quitting Pinterest. It was a joke people, I didn’t actually follow through with it. And I’m glad I didn’t because then I wouldn’t have made this awesome sign. The one I was eyeing was square with a frame and had been aged and sanded. It was nice but we wanted something a little more unique. Enter Jim. His suggestion was one of the ovals we had cut from hemlock last year. Here is the finished sign, then I will show you how I did it.
Christmas sign -
Drop Cloth Christmas Stockings
I know, I know, it isn’t Christmas just yet but when it comes time to decorate I like to have all my ducks in a row…or in this case all my stockings in a row. I keep saying sewing isn’t really my thing, but some things require the misery in order to get to the finish line. Case in point…I wanted a couple of decorative Christmas stockings. I have plenty of material left over from my sewing spree earlier in the year that I decided to use. And that material is drop cloth or painters cloth.
Painters drop cloth -
Making Hexagon Shelves
Some call them hexagon shelves and others call them honeycomb shelves. No matter what you call them, they are cool. We have no wall space for shelves of this size so when we were contacted to build a set we thought it would be a fun project. This is the picture we got from the customer.
Inspiration for shelves -
Making a Live Edge Bathtub Tray
When we finished the basement a few years back, we took our time to find the things we wanted to outfit it with. That included going to an auction and getting this dresser which we turned into a vanity. Since this bathroom doesn’t get high use, we left the original mirror even though it is a little wavy.
Dresser turned vanity -
Making Beach Art Using Wood
We decided to use up some of our scrap wood to make a piece of art for the living room. I saw something similar on Pinterest and followed the link to Etsy. Yikes. I think they were asking around $400. I knew we could put our own spin on it and decided to give it a go. The first step was to start cutting strips of wood into varying widths and thicknesses on the table saw.
This could take a while
