{Skeleton Portraits}

OoOoOoOoh, spooky!

Want to make your own?

All you need are some basic crafty supplies that you probably already have laying around.

I found two gold frames at Savers thrift store back in March of this year and I grabbed them with this very project in mind!  Once October arrived, I knew it was time to put them to use.

I sponge-painted the frames with black craft paint, allowing some of the gold to still show through.

I then printed out this skeleton head:

and cut out the skull, jaw, eyes and nose with an exacto knife.

I then taped it onto some burlap and sponge-painted the areas I wanted to be black.

Once the paint was dry, I cut a large oval around the painted image and hot glued the burlap directly onto the back of the frame.

(Does anyone else hate working with burlap?  Yuck, so itchy and messy!  Why do projects with burlap have to turn out to be so cute?)

Once the burlap was secured to the back of frame, I tied 2 bows out of orange and white polka-dot grosgrain ribbon.

I then hot glued the bows to the burlap.

A dapper bow-tie for the gentleman:

And a lovely hair bow for the lady:

You should definitely add some Skeleton Portraits to your Halloween decor this year!

-Annie

*Please check our Linky Party tab or our sidebar for the weekly parties we participate in*

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{Ghostie BOO Garland}



Here's a quick and easy-to-follow photo tutorial on how you can make your own Ghostie Boo Garland!

Tissues (2 for each ghost, layered)

Cotton balls (4 for each ghost head)

Floss or white thread (to tie around neck)

Black marker (to make eyes)

Embroidery floss (to string ghosties onto)

Long needle (to poke through ghostie neck)

Once all of the ghosties are strung, you can make "BOO" tags to hang inbetween each one, or you can leave it just as it is.

I stamped the word "BOO" in black ink onto bright orange card stock.

I cut a "V" shape at the bottom and used black chalk to distress the edges.  I then folded the top of the card stock over the string and stapled the paper together, close to the string, to keep it in place.

That's it!

Hang it somewhere spooky and awesome and you're good to go.

Most importantly...  have fun!

-Annie

*Click HERE to see the linky parties we participate in!*

Also.... Momnivore'sDilemma Halloween link party

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{Front Room Improvements}

I thought I'd show you a few changes I've been making to my front room.

First of all, I replaced the curtains.

I was more than tired of the red regal tassled beauties (circa 2002), and searched patiently for something a little less attention-grabbing at a great price.

After a couple months, I found these new panels on clearance at curtainworks.com for a really great price...$20 for both with free shipping. I then found the rod on clearance at Jo-Ann for $10.

So for just $30 I transformed the room!

The height of the new panels really makes the room feel bigger and more to scale with the vaulted ceilings. I also love the slight lustrous finish and the dark green color.

Here is the rest of the room:

I moved the ironwork art from above the window to above the candle table/temple picture to give the display some much-needed height.

I've collected various candlestick holders from thrift stores and department store clearance aisles, in a variety of shapes and sizes, and I spray painted them all black.
I had to really use my imagination a few times to see the "potential" of them...

Case in point:

I know my decorating style includes a few quirky objects scattered around the house that people might think are ugly, but they just make me happy, so they stay...

Case in point:

This little teapot called out to me from a thrift-store shelf a couple years ago, and I've displayed it in a few different places. But it finally found its home when I "planted" a dollar store fern in it.
I don't know why I love it, I just do!

:)

I also moved the trunks to that wall on the left (see this post).
See the cedar chest under the window?
It was my mom's "hope chest" and she brought it to me last time she visited.

I have big plans for it. But I'm not sure what they are yet!
I can't decide what color to paint it.
I've gone from black to white to grey to red.
Any suggestions? 

 I still see this room as a work in progress, but little by little it is turning into a room that I love.

--Tammy

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(BLOSSOMS FRAME + printable for Mother's Day}

Looking for a quick and easy Mother's Day gift?

Well, look no further...

I found this unfinished frame at Michael's for $1.00.

I spray painted it glossy black, hot glued a few simple rosette blossoms made from fabric scraps (see a great tutorial here) and some loose pearls, and inserted a quote that will have meaning to our mom.

One of her favorite songs is "I Often Go Walking," a song we often sang as children at church around Mother's Day. Annie used her mad skillz to turn the last line of the song into art, so I printed it out and framed it. I then used some fabric scraps to hang the frame from.

I think our mom is gonna love it!

(I told her not to read our blog this week, so shhhhh....)

--Tammy

* * * * * * * * *

Here's the quote image if you'd like to print/use it for yourself:

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{Annie's ETSY Shop SALE!}

Or better known as:

"My Husband Lost His Job Over The Easter Holiday Weekend And We Would Really Like To Be Able To Pay Our Bills (and not eat Ramen Noodles everyday) This Month - SALE!"

*sigh*

Sad, but true.  It's happened to too many people lately and it's horrible each time, and now it has hit us as well.

But.... there's GOOD NEWS FOR YOU, my friends!

I'm having a FREE SHIPPING SALE in my personal Etsy shop!

And none of the prices were raised to fool you, either.  It's a genuine, honest-to-goodness free shipping SALE.

Some prices have even been reduced!
(free shipping is on all U.S. orders, but there is reduced International shipping as well!)

(SugarPlum mini hoop art)

Have you been wondering what to give your mom for Mother's Day?  Check out my shop!  You may just find an embroidery piece that would be perfect.
 

(Olive You felt+floss hoop art)

 

And, if you purchase this week, there's time to ship it to you before Mother's Day! (which is Sunday, May 8th)

(Weed Walker hoop art)

 

I would also be more than happy to gift wrap your item(s) and ship it wherever you would like it to go!  Just let me know in the "notes to seller" section when making your purchase.

Thank you for your support!

-Annie

(Unfortunately, this free shipping sale does not include items in our PeppermintPlum Etsy shop at this time.  Only my personal crafty shop JammerSage)

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{the GRASS grows GREENER still}

Last week we got to share this tutorial and free printable with the lovely readers at Mine For The Making (thanks Kara!) and now we would like to share it with you!

This free printable was created for you using part of a song called

"Give, Said The Little Stream"

which we learned when we were children in our church Primary class.

It's a reminder to us all that no matter how small we may think we are as individuals, we can still make a big impact and have a positive influence on everything and everyone around us.

"I'm small, I know, but wherever I go... the grass grows greener still."

You may have learned it as the "fields grow greener" instead of grass, but this is how we learned it and how it will always be in our minds.

Here is how we decided to turn this fabulous quote into a piece of framed art!

You can print your quote as large or as small as you would like.

Ours is printed on a regular-sized piece of cardstock and will fit perfectly in this 11x14 frame with an 8x10 opening.

Now it's time to add the grass!

We used a strip of moss from a "moss roll" that we found at JoAnn's last year.

The moss is a pretty, green color and makes for great grass.  Any type of green moss you find will work perfectly.

Using your hot-glue gun, glue the moss to the bottom of the frame.

We removed the glass from the frame so the moss is hot-glued right onto the mat.

Be sure to use smaller pieces of moss to fill in any thin spots so the white doesn't show through too much.  We want a nice, thick strip of grass!

Now it's time to embellish!

We made some fabric rosettes out of color-coordinating fabric strips.

There are so many awesome fabric rosette tutorials on the web right now and they are super-simple to make!

Just glue on your added bits of cuteness and it's ready to hang!

A perfect spot of SPRING to be admired all year long.

**********

We made this version in pink, aqua, greens and purple:

As well as this version in yellow, blue, greens and orange:

If you want to print your quote the same size as ours, here's a few tips on how to get it centered and printed from your Paint program:

First, right-click on the quote image above that you want and save it to your desktop.

Then, right-click on your saved image and open it in the Paint program.

Next, you will need to setup the page so it prints just right.

Go up to the top and select FILE, then down to Page Setup and you will see this screen:

Change the Orientation to Portrait.

Remove any check-marks in the Centering section.

Change the margins to show

Left: 1  Right: 1

Top: 0.5  Bottom 0.5

Then change the Scaling to Fit To: 1 by 1 page

The gray box on the left will show you how your image will print.

This way, you will have enough space around the quote to place it directly behind the picture frame mat and have enough open space at the bottom to add the grass and embellishments.

Then hit OK to save the changes and print it out!

We hope you enjoy this free printable and have a great time making your own!

-Annie + Tammy

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{A Day of Giveaways!}

We're excited to be participating in
Mine for the Making's

Spring Fling Giveaway!

Hop on over to check it out!

Be sure to enter all the fun giveaways…

You could even win one of these
Sweet Strawberry Garlands

 

-Annie and Tammy

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{SPRING FLING - Feature}

Today, we have the honor of being a guest host at
Mine For The Making!

A big thank you to Kara for allowing us to play at her "house" today!  :)

Here's a sneaky-peeky of what we made:

Oooh, exciting!

Click HERE to find the full tutorial and to get the free printable.

-Enjoy

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