Under My Umbrella

Each of us is an Inkeeper

noreply@blogger.com (Melinda) — Wed, 10 Dec 2014 18:30:00 +0000

It's been a while! I'm crafting with my friends over at WYLTC. The theme of the month is an ornament that focuses on the birth of Jesus. Come check out the different creative ornaments :)

Nativity Set

noreply@blogger.com (Melinda) — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 02:26:00 +0000

The ladies of WYLTC are going to decorate this nativity set with their own creative flair. Come check it out. One a day for the next four days will be posted. I can't wait to see what they come up with!

Turkey Love

noreply@blogger.com (Melinda) — Wed, 13 Nov 2013 16:42:00 +0000

Happy Turkey month! I needed a turkey hanging out at my house until the big day and this is what I came up with...

Cute little guy! I'm sharing how I made it over at WYLTC. Come check it out:)

Nativity Sets

noreply@blogger.com (Melinda) — Tue, 22 Oct 2013 15:24:00 +0000

Hey everyone! I have a bunch of unfinsihed nativity sets that I am selling right now. If you would like to get a group together and do a craft it is a fun and easy one! I sell the 10 piece set for $8.00. For shipping I like to ship in flat rate boxes. I can ship 6 sets for $13.00 or 11 sets for $17.00. The best part is they are already cut out and ready to ship. If you are interested email me at beachellfamily02@hotmail.com

A Ghost Wreath Round

noreply@blogger.com (Melinda) — Fri, 11 Oct 2013 16:09:00 +0000

I love to craft but after starting to work in the schools this fall feel like I have so little time. Happiness really does come from creating things. The girls over at WYLTC keep me motivated. The theme for this month is...well why not? Halloween! Check out what those talented ladies are up to :)

Comments and a Project!

noreply@blogger.com (Melinda) — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 15:03:00 +0000

How do I get rid of all the annoying comments trying to promote websites? I know how to delete them but how to I prevent them from being posted? Someone help! In other news I'm over a WYLTC posting this cute momma/ baby elephant duo...

He Has Risen

noreply@blogger.com (Melinda) — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 16:17:00 +0000

It's that time of month! I'm sharing a project over at Wood You Like to Craft. The theme is Christ Centered Easter. Come check out my tutorial by clicking the link above :)

Chevron Shamrock

noreply@blogger.com (Melinda) — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 15:13:00 +0000

I'm guest posting over at Phat Quarters Blog! Come check out my chevron shamrock tutorial.

Chevron Heart

noreply@blogger.com (Melinda) — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 16:10:00 +0000

Today I am sharing a tutorial over at Wood You Like to Craft. I know it's been a while!! Come check it out :)

Jute Growth Chart

noreply@blogger.com (Melinda) — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 16:13:00 +0000

I'm playing around with the girls at Wood You Like to Craft. I've posted a tutorial for this cute jute growth chart. Come check it out and leave me some love :)

Summer Bling

noreply@blogger.com (Melinda) — Tue, 08 May 2012 15:14:00 +0000

It seems that my life only allows me to share what I have been crafting once a month! Even then it's only one project. This month I made something for the "Summer bling" theme over at Wood You Like to Craft. It just might be one of my all time fav projects. Come check it out!

Silhouettes!

noreply@blogger.com (Melinda) — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 17:54:00 +0000

The theme for Wood You like to Craft this month is "Silhouettes". Here is a preview of what I made...

Come share a silhouette project you have made and collect some ideas from others :)

Ruffled Book {Heart}

noreply@blogger.com (Melinda) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:42:00 +0000

I'm hanging out over with the ladies of WYLTC. Come see what we are up to and link up any project with the theme of "love" starting tomorrow! This is what I'm showing how to make today....

I'm also sharing one of my best crafting tips. Come check it out!

October's WYLTC

noreply@blogger.com (Melinda) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 15:45:00 +0000

Come on over to the WYLTC blog and see what we are up to! The Crafty Sisters are heading up this creative month of October with this adorable countdown Halloween tree....

Today is my day to share!! I can't wait for you all to see what I've made :)

Craft Capades 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Melinda) — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 18:45:00 +0000

Fall is my favorite time of the year for many, many, many reasons! I don't have time to list them all right now and I'm sure you don't want to hear all of them. One simple reason just happens to be an event my craft group and I like to call CRAFT CAPADES. It's something very similar to a little thing called Super Saturday but it's not held at church. Check out what we are up to:

SWEATER PUMPKINS

Person in charge: Melinda

_________________________________________________

PIER ONE SPHERES

Person in charge: Melinda

__________________________________________________

CHRISTMAS VINYL TILES

Person in Charge: Kariann

__________________________________________________________

WITCHFUL THINKING HAT

Person In charge: Jenn

DETAILS: Dimensions: Hat - 14" across x 11" tall, Star - 4"

UNFINISHED KIT:

$8 for wood with holes, wire, ribbons,

boa feathers, vinyl, buttons and star

(black, off white or white vinyl)

excludes paint

COMPLETED KIT:

$13

________________________________________________________

WINE CORK CHRISTMAS TREE

4EyesandEars

Person in Charge: Jessica P.

__________________________________________________________

WREATH STAND

Person in charge: Michelle

DETAILS: It stands a total of 26.5 inches tall. The 4x4 main piece is 17 inches. You can choose to have it anywhere from 17-19 inches tall.

You will get:

1-4x4 piece of wood from 17-19 inches

3-end pieces, one for the bottom, and the 2 on top

1-finial

3-screws, 2 to hold the end pieces on and then one to hang the wreath from (You can do something fancy to hang it from. I just won't have that for you.)

cream paint (it will be shared with all that do the project)

__________________________________________________

CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN BOX

This Christmas Countdown box is made of white sturdy chipboard and comes with 24 3x3 chipboard squares. Perfect for a countdown to Christmas! The kit will come with the box, pre-cut paper, and cocoa marker (used to color on the box and write in your activities for each day). The Countdown stampset and coordinating stamp pads will be available for use on the day of Craft Capades. The cost will be $18. If anyone would also like to add the Liquid glass glue to their kit the cost will be $25. (Liquid glass is a liquid glue that dries amazingly hard and clear.)

___________________________________________________________

PILLARS

Person in Charge: Kristen

_________________________________________________________

SUBWAY WORD HOLIDAY PACKAGE

Person in Charge: Kristen

____________________________________________________

SUBWAY WORD ART

Person in charge: Kristen

____________________________________________________

FLOWER HAIR CLIPS

www.houseofsmiths.com

Person in charge: Monique

DETAILS: Supplies included: fabric, felt, buttons, and alligator clips
Supplies to bring yourself: hot glue gun, scissors, and if desired, your own fabric, embellishments

___________________________________________________________

BOOK PUMPKIN

creationsbykara.com

Person in Charge: Jessica M.

WYLTC

noreply@blogger.com (Melinda) — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 04:12:00 +0000

Wood You Like to Craft (WYLTC) is back in action from our mini summer vaca. All projects and tutorials will now be posted on the WYLTC website to avoid confusion. The theme this month is shelves. We all need a good shelf or two! I'm posting tomorrow :) Come check what out what I've been up to.....

Eye Charts and Free Printables!

noreply@blogger.com (Melinda) — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 18:45:00 +0000

I love all the eye chart projects I have been seeing (haha). My kids love them too. They cover an eye and try to figure out what it says. I found this one over at Eighteen 25 by Jen (over at Tatertots and Jello). It's fantastic and she even gives some free printables. I love the word FREE!

I had to get in on this adorable craft. Fall is my favorite season. I love the colors, smells and the feeling of being cozy...My birthday just happens to be in the fall too! Here is my fall eye chart. Enjoy!

Fall Eye Chart

YW Idea: Word Pendant Tutorial

noreply@blogger.com (Melinda) — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 17:19:00 +0000

I love when I find ideas that would be perfect for the YW. Today I was checking out a few blogs and found this idea from Then She Made...

This idea would be perfect for a YW activity or camp. I love, love, love it and I'm going to make a few with my daughters just for fun!

Just Be Giveaway!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Melinda) — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 15:44:00 +0000

I know I've been slacking on giveaways but today is a great day because not only is there one giveaway....well actually there are two giveaways, a discount code and it's awesome stuff! Remember Jen and Amber from Just Be?

How can you not...right? I love their stuff! If you remember earlier this year my daughter got baptized. She wore this beautiful CTR necklace from Just Be...

She loves it! Perfect gift for her baptism day. I still see her sporting it around. Just Be has started making some beautiful bracelets. Here is one of my favs from their etsy shop. Love the simplicity of it!

I'm always looking for YW gifts. These would be perfect for birthdays or even a "I'm just thinking about you" gift. Everyone needs one of those every once in a while :)

Let's check up what's for grabs today! First up is the WISH BRACELET: 5 Turquoise Beads. When you are putting on this bracelet you make a wish. When the bracelet falls off the wish comes true! I need myself one of these!

The second bracelet up for grabs is....WISH BRACELET: PEACE. Fun same wishing concept at the turquoise bracelet. My daughter is begging to let me enter right now.

HOW TO ENTER:

Today there will be four different ways to enter this fantastic giveaway! They are as follows:

*Visit JUST BE's facebook page and "LIKE" the page (1 entry) and/or leave a comment (1 entry). Let them know Under My Umbrella sent you :)

*Surf on over to JUST Be's Blog page and leave some love (1 entry) and/or become a follower (1 entry).

After you have entered, drop back by my blog and let me know how you entered. I've had a few people mention blogger is having a problem with comments. If for some reason you are having trouble entering...email me (beachellfamily02@hotmail.com. I love hearing from all of you! You have until midnight on August 14th to enter. The winner will be announced the morning of August 15th.

AND FINALLY IT'S A DISCOUNT CODE!!!!

Jen and Amber have been fabulous. They also wanted to let me offer my readers a discount code. Go to the JUST BE etsy shop and you can use this code: UMU15 to receive 15% off in our shop through the end of august. Happy Shopping!

We Seek After These Things!

noreply@blogger.com (Melinda) — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 19:35:00 +0000

I've decided my favorite crafts to make are those that have a purpose.

Thanks to my friend Michelle over at Ruby Red Photography for asking me to do something with her beautiful picture.

WYLTC: Linky Party

noreply@blogger.com (Melinda) — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 17:26:00 +0000

Hop on over to the WYLTC SITE to join the linky party. You can link up any "Bird" projects you have made. That means house, nests, eggs, birds.... After a week the top cut is chosen and a prize is awarded. Come join the fun!

WYLTC: Crafty Sisters

noreply@blogger.com (Melinda) — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 22:56:00 +0000

Who doesn't love birds & bird houses?
Hi, it's Nicole and Candace again from Crafty Sisters!

We were so excited to do this month's project with WYLTC!

We thought it would be fun for both of us to do some projects inspired by birds

and show some different takes!

I just had to do something with letters

especially since it's what I love to do!

I found a fun font which I then cut out of 3/4" MDF using a scroll saw.

I had to have something with some curl

to mimic the fun scroll work on Melinda's cute birdhouse!

Each letter and shape was then painted a nice burnt umber,

(I always use a 1 part H2O, 2 part paint solution so you don't get any paint globs)

papered and mod podged

with cute scrap booking paper, rhinestones, ribbon and some wire to stand the birds up.

Using the Cricut I cut out the little letters from white card stock

and used a piece of dowel for the birdhouse perch.

The birdhouse was glued together using Gorilla Glue wood glue.

Can I just say "it is AWESOME"!

You'll never want to use anything else after you've used it!

Anytime you are mod podging paper onto letters

a great tip is to use sanding tools to sand the edges off for that painted on finished feel.

You can pick up some great tools for pretty cheap at Harbor Freight.
I got this set of mini files plus a larger one for about $7. Not bad....

I was pretty happy with how they turned out and they are
a fun summer decoration for my home!

Next up Candace found some extra cedar boards laying around her garage

and built a bright & colorful birdhouse planter.

Isn't it great?

She filled the planter full of some of her favorite annuals and hung it by chain on her fence.

The little pop of color is so fun in the yard!

Candace also added a picket fence in front and painted it bright blue

to give it the birdhouse a little character.

It took about 1 1/2 cedar boards, and a wood slat to build this simple planter.

She made sure to add lots of wood screws and glue to safely hold all the flowers and dirt.

(make sure to pre-drill those holes! Cedar splits easily!)

The nail gun was perfect to adhere the picket fence slats, along with a little Gorilla Glue.

The water handle was a whimsical touch for a birdhouse.

She scuffed it up a bit with some sandpaper.
(why she has an extra faucet head laying around is a whole other story
that includes our Dad coming to the rescue again!)

Two very fun and very different projects!

We can't wait to see what everyone comes up with!

Thanks for hosting Melinda and giving us such great inspiration!!

----------------------------------------------------------

Serious cuteness! Thanks so much Crafty Sisters for sharing the craftiness with us. Two houses in one post! Keep in mind we will be having the linky party tomorrow. Link up anything crafty having to do with birds. Can't wait to see what your all up to.

WYLTC: Sassy Sanctuary

noreply@blogger.com (Melinda) — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 16:04:00 +0000

Hello! It's Krystal from Sassy Sanctuary here. I'm so exciting to be visiting Melinda today! I have so much fun with WYLTC each month and these ladies always inspire! I totally love Melinda's cute bird house and think its a perfect shelf or table top accessory. I'm currently in the process of re-doing my kids bathroom, so my brain is there. I was in need of some wall art, so I wanted to see if I could take Melinda's cute idea and make something that could be hung on the wall. This is what I came up with.

Fun right?! I'm super excited about it because it was the perfect solution for an awkward space. Plus, the bath had yet to develop a theme but this is the perfect jumping off point. The wheels are turning now!

Anyway, as you can see I took the basic birdhouse design and made it flat so it could be hung on the wall. The branch was created so that the piece would hang correctly against my new board and batten walls.

And the hanging the pictures from it adds that fun personal touch.

So, here is how I did it.

A. Gather your supplies. Everything here was made from scraps except the picture frames and peg. The frames were on clearance at Micheal's and were the kind that are two frames hinged together. They ended up only costing $2.50 each. My frames are 5x5. Anyway, you want 3 frames, a board cut into the share of a house, some slats to cut the roof and base from, and some ribbon. I cut the roof the easy way making one side 1/4" larger then the other one so I didn't have to cut any angles. Drill the hole for the bird door and the peg. If you want to make a branch too, that was cut from leftover 2x1 trim boards and the leaves from 1/4" plywood.

B & C. After you cut all your pieces then paint, sand, and stain.

D. I also decided to modge podge some scrapbook paper to the front to add some pattern. I originally planned on putting a quote on the bottom of the house, but in the end I didn't like the way the text looked with the paper. But if you want to use a simpler pattern or skip the paper, a vinyl quote would be perfect there.

E. Then I took the easy road and just hot glued all the pieces together.

F. Hang the picture frames to the birdhouse by stapling them to ribbon along the back of the frames. I hung it to the wall by screwing the branch into a stud and then hanging the birdhouse to the branch with a picture hanger.

That's it. It was really a fun project and all the cuts were super simple. Love those kind of projects!

I think it's such a fun way to display some photos and I'm super excited with how the bathroom is coming along! Thanks so much for the inspiration Melinda and for hosting! I can't wait to see all the bird/ birdhouse decor everyone else comes up with!.

And just like the original, birds can't actually live in this house either. hehe

-------------------------------------------------------

Nice work Krystal!! I love everything from the branch in the back to the pictures of your cute fam below. Thanks for sharing your creativity with us all!

WYLTC: Craft Goodies

noreply@blogger.com (Melinda) — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 16:53:00 +0000

Hey there!

It's Wendy here, visiting my buddy Melinda all the way from Texas!

I'm so happy to be back at her place, just hanging out, sharing a little girl talk, conjuring up a little something...we used to do it daily, now we have to do it through our blogs.

But I'm so glad we do!

I personally think Melinda is one of the most creative people I've ever met and being able to share in her talents, in-person or on-line, I'll take any day.

On that note, let me introduce you to my take on Melinda's bird house project...

Once again, I went large.

(I seriously think I have a size problem!)

I'm working on creating a fun, relaxing space on my back patio and needed a piece that would fit in, so the Super-sized bird house was born!

Super easy to make, and better I had all the supplies lying around my house.

(Yeah, that might not be a "better" thing...)

Anyway I used a few scrap pieces of 1x6 for the "house" part, a chunk of 2x3 for the base, and a few pieces of 1x3 for the roof line.

I took a page from Melinda's book and officially measured nothing, totally eyeballed it!

I started by mitering the ends of my 1x6 boards. Two at a solid 45 degrees and for the center piece, I found the middle and did a 45 degree cut out from there to create the point.

From there I laid the pieces side by side lining up the cuts of the roof and decided how big I wanted the house to be and cut the boards off there.

I sat and stared at the pieces for a while and decided I didn't like the house that square. So I marked off a slight angle on the two outside boards and cut it with my scroll saw.

Much better!

Here she is all cut and ready to get pretty.

The base is just a bit bigger than the 1x6's.

To get the roof pieces, I lined up the 1x3 even with the top of the roof line on one side and cut it.

I then laid that cut piece back into place and put another piece of 1x3 on the other side of the roof so that the top point was squared and then cut it.

(The second piece should be about 3/4 of an inch bigger than the first)

I painted and sanded each piece next.

I really wanted to emphasis that it was pieced together so I hit the edges pretty hard.

From there I nailed her all together and she was looking kind of house-y.

Big! and house-y, she stands just over 2 feet tall!

I wanted a display piece so I simple added an eye screw to the base so I could change my decor with the season or my mood.

Right now she's sporting a pretty heart bucket filled with flowers to match my patio color scheme.

I just ran a length of ribbon through the eye screw for easy changing.

There we go! One really big, chippy, happy bird house!

Start to finish in just over an hour.

Super fun and super easy. Thanks Mel for the play date! Let's do it again soon-

Feel free to stop on over at my neck of the woods anytime.

Happy Crafting.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks Wendy! I love, love, love your bird house and it cracks me up you didn't measure anything! Wendy is one of those crafty people who pulls something out of nothing all the time. It amazes me! Stay tuned for more craftiness from the gals of WYLTC :)

WYLTC: Bird House Tutorial

noreply@blogger.com (Melinda) — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 16:19:00 +0000

It's time! Time for my bird house tutorial. I hope you all have been busy making some sort of bird house decor to share at the linky party on Friday. Until then let's learn how to make this baby! I'm a fan of patterns and thought I would share one. Hopefully it makes this project a little easier.

I used 1/4 inch MDF. Why you ask? Well because I had it on hand and it's cheap. After you cut your pieces you should have something like this:

Grab your gorilla glue and glue the pieces together. I started by gluing the sides to the back. Let's talk about why I am using gorilla glue on the project. The wood is thin... if I air gun a nail into it it will crack. Gorilla glue works great for me. If your working with thicker wood (my measurements won't work for you) go ahead and use nails.

A tip about gorilla glue....at first it's slippy slidy. If you wait a few moments the glue starts to thicken and you can finalize where you want your piece. After you get those side pieces on add the front. Let glue dry.

Meanwhile you can get your roof gluing....Let dry for a few minutes.

Glue roof to house. Let house fully dry.

When the house is dry you can sand and paint it however you would like.

I grabbed a chair leg and a couple of castines from Lowes to put my house on. You could also possibly use a wooden candlestick or go down to goodwill and paint up some metal candlesticks.

Check back Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday to see what the other WYLTC gals have made. I've seen their stuff and it's cute! Friday we will start a linky party on the WYLTC blog for anything "bird" crafty-like stuff you have made!