A-Rae's Blog

Watermelon Cake

2016-09-20T05:21:00.005-07:00

"Happy Birthday!" (without the cake)

KALEIDOSCOPE FOR CHRISTMAS

2014-12-12T11:07:00.001-08:00

For those of you whom enjoy a little DIY challenge/fun you'll love this!

Each Christmas I like to hand craft gifts for family and friends. This year I have made kaleidoscopes for the kids. Not that these wouldn't make great gifts for adults as well. If only I had the time to make that many. Overall these are quite simple to make.

I'm posting some pictures of the process. The pictures should give you a pretty good idea of how to tackle such a project.

Materials I used:

- Cardboard Tube 6" x 1.25"(check office supply store/or shipping store for a strong one of these, paper towel rolls would work but they're not nearly as strong)
- mod podge
- puffy paint
- 1inch mirror pieces (you'll have to do some measures and math to determine the amount needed)
- scrap book paper (anything decorative or you could paint the outside)
- poster board (cut the length of the tub and in strips as wide as
mirror pieces)
- glass circles (you'll have to get creative here unless you're used to
cutting glass as I am and have the tools)
- wooden circles (cut about 1/4" thick, with a small hole drilled into
center, and small enough to slide into tube)

Cover the outside of the cardboard tubes with scrapbook paper and seal with mod podge. You could skip sealing the outside but I think they will last a lot longer if you do.

Seal the wooden circles with mod podge as well.

Adhere wood pieces into one end of the tube with mod podge.

Next get the mirrors ready.

I was not lucky enough to come by long skinny sheets of mirror.

The following is my improvisation in creating this.

First tape the individual pieces with duct tape. Then hot glue them to poster board strips.

Three strips of mirror are slid into a tube to create a triangle shape.

To keep it from rotating put a little glue along the end edges before sliding into place.

Once you have three stips of mirror in place top with a glass circle. I glued a little of scrapbook paper to the backs of the glass to hide the empty space around the mirrors. The clear glass is held in place with a little glue on the triangle plus a few skinny strips of paper just above the glass.

Seal the edges with the puffy paint.

The best views are those using natural light. Let nature wow you through the viewer of your handmade kaleidoscope.

...........................................................................................................

As a separate project I've created these cute little boxes to store the Kaleidoscopes in.

These could be gifts on their own.

Materials you'll need:

- Wood

- Glue

- Two nails

- Wood burner

- Wood conditioner (I use a beeswax/olive oil mixture)

- Clamps to hold things together while the glue dries

I held my phone camera up to the kaleidoscope to give you an idea of the pretty patterns you may see.

Hope this brings you inspiration.

"Happy Holidays!"

A-Rae

Whats Happening at the Barn?

2014-09-28T06:19:00.000-07:00

Nasturtiums are Growing...

2014-02-27T05:19:00.002-08:00

Everything is better at the beach.

Even the cold!

DIY Chair Complete

2014-02-13T09:30:00.000-08:00

SUCCESS!

SANDED- PAINTED
& CUSHIONS MADE TO FIT

BEFORE:

DIY - Chair Project: Day 1 Step 1

2014-02-06T08:09:00.001-08:00

Heart It

January 11th 2014

2014-01-12T07:36:00.002-08:00

January 11th 2014

Happy New Year!

Within this new year I have been greeted by snow, sun and ice!

This past week I witnessed an iced damned river, a first for me. It was a prehistoric site of sorts. Then yesterday our temperatures rose and the river is flowing fast and large. One would expect spring to be approaching as we have gone from a white covered landscape to green again. Soon this will again change as we all know the snow will return to Central New York.

All of our bad weather days have given me the time to work some of my crafting magic. Here are a couple of my recently completed projects.

Heart It

2013-10-08T05:13:00.000-07:00

October 1st has come and gone...

"My wine overbrims a whole summer;"

My bowl is the sky, And I drink at my eye,

Till I feel in the brain A Delphian pain -

Then follow, my Caius! then follow:

On the green of the hill

We will drink our fill Of golden sunshine,

Till our brains intertwine

With the glory and grace of Apollo!

- JOHN KEATS-

http://www.biography.com/people/john-keats-9361568

2013-08-14T13:10:00.002-07:00

I'll be giving away the pincushion shown bellow by way of a drawing:

To be entered into the drawing please post at least one comment and begin following my blog.

I will draw the winner Oct 1st.

Cheers!

A-Rae

You can find pincushions such as these and other hand sewn and embroidered items here: www.araestitchedshop.etsy.com

Work shop finds

2013-08-12T06:15:00.001-07:00

a black & white tour

Bits of this and that found around the workshop...

2013-08-08T04:15:00.002-07:00

Photo's from the wine glass...

Sipping a glass of rose.

Just like a sunset the colors are beautiful!

Recycled DIY

2013-08-05T04:09:00.001-07:00

Try some of these easy crafting ideas. A great

way to reuse some of your would be trash.

2013-07-30T07:32:00.003-07:00

I've added a new page to my blog! The new page is where you can find my photography. Hope you check it out and enjoy the many photos.

2013-03-23T05:41:00.004-07:00

Hang a Wreath...

2013-03-21T05:08:00.005-07:00

Mustard wreath.

At summers end I took all the mustard stems that had grown out and gone to seed and wrapped them together to create a wreath. It was super easy. By now it's dried out completely and turned a straw color.

Share your ideas please!!

What have you been crafting this winter? Do you have things planned for spring? I know each time it gets a bit warmer out I'm motivated and filled with ideas to get working.

if your not already following me please do and subscribe by e-mail if you want to see what I'm up to next.

Have a great first day of spring!!

Time to get CREATIVE!!!

2013-03-05T15:18:00.001-08:00

PLASTIC BAG FUSING

Layer plastic bags upto 4 - 5 between parchment paper. With an iron on a low heat setting iron over the paper. The plastic will begin to fuse together.

I created a pillow with my fused sheets of plastic. Get creative by cutting out different shapes and sewing them together. Fill with more plastic bags or polyfil. These are great for an outdoor space, like a deck or workshop (Mine is on a pallet bench I made, which is in my barn/workshop)

2013-03-03T09:44:00.000-08:00

MY SIGNS

CREATED AND SHARED ON ETSY

SIGNS OF THE TIMES

SIGNS SIGNS EVERYONE A SIGN

A View Into My Workshop

2013-02-19T05:04:00.000-08:00

Here's a little peak into my shop. This is my favorite place to create and make a mess. Enjoy!

Bottle Cap Floor

Hand-painted grandfather clock

Old barn stall door turned bar top.

Winter Snow

2013-01-07T06:14:00.002-08:00

Summer and fall have passed and winter has found us.

Here in central New York we are covered in snow.

Snow makes everything pretty!!

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

- Robert Frost -

California Sun

2012-07-25T09:12:00.000-07:00

The lovely Pacific on a beautiful sunny day...

I love what the bright sunlight has given to these pictures.

A small view into my summer time fun...

"My Christmas List Treasury"

2011-12-15T10:29:00.000-08:00

Holiday Chalkboard

2011-12-05T09:11:00.000-08:00

2011-11-15T09:30:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving Tree

For the month of November I'm displaying the

"Thanksgiving Tree".

This is a super easy project you can create with the family.

You will need:

tree branches

sand or pebbles

small pot

card stock or construction paper

scissors

pen or pencil

string

hole punch

leaf to trace

1. Trace and cut out your leafs from the paper of your choice. I did a dozen or so. Punch holes in them to tie your strings from. You will hang them on the branches by the string so be sure to create a loop.

2. Arrange your branches in your pot. Poor the sand in to keep the branches in place. I do this with our Christmas tree too, much easier than any ordinary tree stand.

3. Use as your tables centerpiece or off to the side in a safe spot. Place the leaves and a pen in a bowl nearby. When you think of something your thankful for write it on the leaf and hang it on your tree. Before you know it you'll have a pretty fall tree full of leaves.

I see this becoming a family tradition in our house. I plan to save the leaves each year and add to a scrap book or a shadow box full of the leaves would be cool too.

Here are some of the things my kids wrote on their leaves:

I hope you'll try this too. Have fun!

A-Rae :)

HIBISCUS - ETSY TREASURY

2011-11-08T06:37:00.000-08:00

2011-10-17T05:00:00.000-07:00

Update from the shop. I've been a little preoccupied with school back in session so my shop's looking a bit dusty. Even so I've

managed a couple of new items. Take a look!

Here is my U-Fill frame.

This one in particular was a custom order. I've used this color combination a few times and I still like it very much!

I love how this coaster turned out.

I must make more in these colors.

It's so much cuter than the one I use.

The coaster and wine are a gift for a friend.

Matching wine glass charms to go with.

You can find this pincushion set in my shop: www.araestitchedshop.etsy.com

I have a few other sewn items nearly finished. These are my meditative crafts. I like to end the day hand stitching these or reading a book along side a nice glass of red wine :)