New school, new rug

If you've never been an elementary school teacher, you just might not understand the importance of "the carpet". It's a place where many things happen: story time, beginning of a lesson, sharing, interacting. all sorts of great things. Well, this year, I'm working at two elementary schools each with 600 to 700 kiddos. I teach art to all of them and have had to set up an entirely new classroom in addition to the one that I've called home for the past 5 years.
   My love of all things pinterest and art inspired this project.

The finished rug- #1 of 2.

As an art teacher, I have a love for all types of art. Although, abstract art is not my most favorite, I do appreciate it. Especially the work of Wassily Kandinsky, father of abstract art.  I love the simplicity of some of best known art centering on concentric circles. 
   After reading many, many post and pinning most of them to a pinboard about painted rugs, I decided to create one of my own with help from the whole family.

The Project

Materials:

one (1) plastic backed canvas drop cloth purchased at home depot ($15)

craft acrylic paints in lots of colors

cheap-o sponge brushes

 

I began by cutting the canvas in half. I love the fact that it's plastic on the back- no bleeding through.
Next I divided the canvas into 8 equal squares- about 24 X 24.
Using a photo from this site:   http://kidsartists.blogspot.com/2011/02/concentric-circles-in-style-of.html
 We began to create different squares, check it out.

Continue to add until you complete all the squares. I love the look of the completed rug. It just needs a coat of clear sealant to protect it from all the kids. I love it and plan on making many more.

'til later,
Tangy

It's Been Awhile..........

Hello friends,

    Can't believe that the last time I posted here was way back on July 25th.  Lots has been going on in the past couple of months.  For starters, our summer officially ended on August 22nd. Teachers and kiddos back at school including me and my kiddo. We added a new addition to our little Texan family, Luna. Check her out in the photo below.

This is back when she first joined our family.  Now she's 15 plus lbs. and loves to eat everything including the carpet, rug, new table, and wood trim.  Having a puppy is a great reminder why we don't have more children.

I'm not the only crafty one in this home. Over the summer, my kiddo joined a sewing class for kids given by a local business owner and super crafty lady, Cindy Jaeger.
Check out her boards on pinterst:  http://pinterest.com/cindy_jaeger2/
I love that each girl was so creative in their choices in fabric and design.  Great job!

Well, I have tons of projects that I've been working on and I can't wait to share them all with you!


'til later,
Tangy

My Table Makeover inspired by pinterest

Although my skills as a blogger are not that great, my craftiness is pretty awesome (if I do say so myself!)  I have been so inspired this summer to create new and different things.  Over the next couple of days, I plan to up date you on several FINISHED projects.  Yes, they are done and just need to be posted for the world to see.
 So here's the latest project:

My Craft Table Makeover

Here is a picture of the table that inspired this project.  I found it on pinterest.com.  You can see my pinboard at     http://re.pn/b/jNed  

You can also click the photo for a link to the original blog that featured this piece.

I was visiting one of the local "antique" stores in our downtown area. I say "antique" because not everything is antique strictly speaking.  I stumbled upon this treasure and had a feeling that it needed to come home with me. I'll been in this cleaning, de-clutter, makeover mode and knew that this table could become something really special.

The table in its original state.

Next came the hard part: deciding on the perfect color scheme. After a couple of trips to my local Home Depot and my trusty pinboard, I decided on these:

 You may be asking yourself, why three colors?  Well, let's find out.

The Tutorial:

The look that I wanted to achieve was a rustic, "hey, look at this cool old table that I found" distressed painted look.  This works great for those of us that don't have the patient for perfection. 

I started by giving the table a good sanding with a palm sander.  If you don't have one, they are available for a variety of prices starting at about $30.  What could have taken hours with manual labor took about 20 minutes with the electric sander.

Next, clean the table thoroughly with tack cloth.  Tack cloth has a slightly sticky texture that picks up all the dirt and sawdust from sanding.

I wanted the table to appear to have several old coats of paint coming through from age and use.  So, I began by using a layer of golden leaf yellow.  The paint I used was a latex semi-gloss.

Don't worry about  brush strokes at this time.  I wanted to see the grain of the wood coming through the paint.  I did not use a primer either-trying to use the least amount of steps.

Great hint:  I think this originally came from real simple magazine.  Stretch a rubber band (or two) across the open paint can and use it to wipe of the excess paint from your brush.  Works like magic and the paint falls back in the can.





Let the paint dry completely according to the package.  I have trouble waiting and live in Texas were the temperature was about 105 degrees in my garage, so that took about 30 minutes.
Next step:
On to my beautiful peacock feather paint color.  I gave the table one good coat of the teal blue. Again, I wasn't to concerned with covering all of the yellow paint because I am going to distress the table anyway.

peacock feather paint over the golden leaf

Again, let it dry completely.   Now, I began giving my new "old" table that well loved look by using a coarse sandpaper to rub away the blue paint in areas that would get a lot of use over time.  Some places the yellow shows through and in others the wood is visible.

 Final step,  I used a glaze and some of the dark pewter paint over the peacock feather.  The gray glaze just adds another layer of depth to the finished table.  To apply the glaze: use a chip brush to roughly apply the glaze.  Next wipe it away with an old t-shirt.  You can purchase paint rags at Home Depot, but I bet you have a drawer full of old stained t-shirts that would be great to recycle.  That's it.  Check out the finished product.

I'll post pics of the table in it's new home soon, but I have some other things to create before the room is ready for the big blog reveal.

'til later,

Tangy

Wine label coasters- Now Available

Hi to all!  Another busy week of taxi-ing the kid to her various classes.  This week, sewing for her.  I love to see her following in the creative footsteps.  So what have I been up to lately?  Creating these wonderful wine label coasters that are now for sale on my etsy site.  Check out the link www.etsy.com/shop/kikus . 
  Here's a little preview of what's there.

'til later.
Tangy

It's good to finish what you start- even if it takes 3 months.....

So sometime this spring I became acquainted with the pillowcase dress.  They are everywhere in the deep south. We Southerns love our little ladies to be cute and comfy with lots of extra cuteness thrown in.  I made the first dress back in probably March with the intent to make a matching one for some lovely little ladies that I know in Mandeville, LA.  Well, Tuesday after some dental work (not so fun) I finally finished the second dress. This morning I decided to add some matching headbands to complete the look.  What little girl doesn't love a bow? Well, check out the pics below to see the finished looks.  Hopefully, the dresses will fit (fingers crossed) and I'll get a pic soon of the girls to post.
(By no means am I taking credit for inventing the dress pattern or headbands, but I always put the kikus spin on things.)

'til later today,

Tangy

It's been a while

Hi there,
   So the best laid plans have a way of going some place else.  It's July- Happy Belated 4th to all of you!  We have been a busy bunch here in Texas.  Lots of pinning (pinterest ya know) and creativity is exploding out of me. So many ideas and things that I want to accomplish, blogging about it is up at the top of the list.

  Well, I have completed several projects with many more in various stages of doneness. I need to upload a ton of pics and start posting soon.  Check back later today to see what was happened in the last 3 weeks.
'til then,


Tangy

Day 9- what now?

So after a wonderful day at the pool with the kiddo and some fun moms, I find myself at home with no kid waiting for the man in my life to come home from work.  What's a girl to do?  Why enjoy a refreshing glass of the easiest sangria ever and get started on some Bahia-style fish tacos for a delicious dinner.  The drink is quickly becoming a summer staple (and yes I am aware that we've only been on vacation for 9 days).  The original recipe came from a pin on my pinterest board, party ideas all sorts.  Here's the link to the recipe: http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/red-wine-sangria-10000000633416/index.htlm
Now because I'm me and can't really follow  a recipe without making a couple of changes, here is my version. Just as easy and super delicious.

Summer of Craftiness Super Easy Sangria

What you need:

1 bottle of red wine- my fav- Menage a Trois- California Red Wine

1- 2.63 L Simply Lemonade with Raspberry

1/2 bottle Sparkling Pomegranate French Soda

cut fruit- whatever's in season and yummy

Pour half the raspberry lemonade into a separate container.  Add the red wine to the lemonade bottle- this makes it easy to take with you to a friend's house to share.  Add enough french soda to fill the bottle.  Add fruit.  That's it.  

You can make this overnight.  That gives the fruit a chance to macerate.  Add in the soda right before serving.

Dinner's done and the dishes are clean.  I think it's time to get crafty.

'til tomorrow,

Tangy 

Day 9- Friday morning

Rise and shine at 6:00 a.m. on a Friday morning.  Not sure why, but oh well.  If I'm up I should be productive, I'll read, do laundry, and make my infamous blueberry muffins. From scratch of course with fresh blueberries. A nice big cup of French Roast coffee and I'm set.

That was yummy! The recipe is from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food magazine, May 2008. So I'll looked everywhere for a link to the recipe online and no luck.  So I've posted it here.

Better-than-basic Muffins
makes 12- prep time; 10 min.- Total time: 35 min + cooling

What you need:
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted, plus more for pan
2 cups all- purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pan
2 large eggs
1/2 cup whole milk (but I use 2%)
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

What to do:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter and flour a standard 12- cup muffin pan, tapping out excess. Set aside. (you can also use the baking spray with flour..... Tangy's tip)
2. In a small bowl, whisk together butter, eggs, milk, and vanilla; set aside. In a large bow, whisk together the dry ingredients ( I use a fine sieve... Tangy's tip). Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.  Add egg mixture to well. With a rubber spatula, gently stir ingredients until batter is moist.  Fold in blueberries.
3. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each about two-thirds ( I use a third cup measuring cup). Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 15 to 20 minutes.  Enjoy!

Later that day...... Day 8

So what am I addicted to right now??? Let's see, pinterest.com, etsy.com, sewing, creating, crafting, my kiddo, reading (just about to finish The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder by Rebecca Wells), and photography! Oh, and blogging about it for my 2 followers... lol!
http://pinterest.com is without a doubt the best idea for anyone that is visually stimulated to create. Check out the most resent "pin" that I've acquired.

This website is a great way to become inspired to create more. Any ideas that I make from pinterest will be linked back to the original source- so stay tuned.  Here's a link to one of my boards so that you can check it out:  http://re.pn/b/a01n

Second on the list is etsy.com.  This is a great community of handcrafted crazies. You can buy, sell, and browse things from all over the world.  I have a store-front, it's just empty at this time.  Here's the link to my shop:  www.etsy.com/shop/kikus   I hope to have some new items up for sell next week.

Last on the list: photography.  Now, I do love to take pictures, but I'm not that great at it and need a new camera too.  (I need new floors more than a new camera, but that's another story.)  Any way, the family just had the most amazing photo shoot with a local photographer. Check out her site  www.kimberleecombsphotography.com  I was beyond pleased with her work.  She totally captured our family and my style.  It really helped that I had a pin board on pinterest with lots of ideas of what I was looking for in this session.  Here's the link to the board http://re.pn/b/9zdq
Of to finish my book.
 more craft tomorrow,
Tangy

Day 8- what's been happening?

OK- so I'll been a little distracted from my blogging by life, but in a good way.  Beach trips, pool parties, sleeping in..... aahh the pleasures of being a teacher on summer vacation. I have been very busy with crafting too. Just not a lot of time to blog about it - so here we go.

The lovely Ms. King stopped by to pick up her t-shirt pillow.  I think that she really loved it. With her was a sweet little visitor, Little Miss King.  I had just finished one of my super cute and fun pillowcase dresses with a twist.  This one is a baby halter dress.  I was looking for a mini model to try it out and there she was at my door.  Well, her Noni loved it so much that she had to take it home too.  Check out the pics. I think that I'll try my hand at a couple more a put them up for sale on my etsy.

What's that you say???? You are not yet acquainted with the wonderful and quite addictive world of etsy.  Well, I think that will have to be a post soon.

Off to create some more!

Tangy

The t-shirt pillow

It's lovely to wake up with a mission in mind.  Mine is this pillow.  My self-imposed rule for crafting/blogging this summer- I must complete one household chore before I get to create. It gets the house cleaned early, and I still have tons of time for fun (oh and the kiddo too.)

So, here are the easy steps for this project.

1. Purchase a pillow insert- I find this is a better idea than using fiberfil.

2. Cut the t-shirt to size 1" large than the pillow insert.  My pillow is 16" square, so  my t-shirt front is 17" square.

3. Cut out a matching square of fabric for the back.

4. I decided to add a trim to the edges.  Mine is up-cycled from an old pair of jeans.  I cut them in to 2" strips and then fringed the edges.

5. Next Sewing: I attached the trim to the back fabric. And then sewed up 3 1/4 sides- right sides together.

6. Stuff the pillow insert inside your pillowcase- flip right sides out first.

7. To close up the hole, I used a fusible bonding web like Stitch Witchery .

Check out the finished project.

Hope she loves it!

Project 2- t-shirt pillow

My good friend, Ms. King, gave me a t-shirt and a mission. Make me a pillow. Sounds simple enough. The story behind the shirt is pretty awesome. The day before her wedding, she and her friends went out to a local bar and took a ride on an electric bull.  This is the shirt that she got that night. 

What makes the story more interesting is that was over 25 years ago and she still has the shirt. It's time to make a pillow.

Day 2- The finished project

So here it is..  The first finished project.  I wore my new skirt to a friend's get-together for Memorial Day weekend.  It was very comfy especially in the TX heat. 

Things that I'll do different on the next one:

1. pockets. ....I definitely need side pockets

2. embellishments... I'm obsessed with making yo- yos out of fabric.  The kind that your grandmother or great-grandmother would make out of fabric scraps. Adding a couple of yo- yos to  a solid color fabric would make a great accent.

3. oh, I'll think of something.

Day 1

    So, as a teacher I LOVE summer.  I mean, I think I love summer more than the kids I teach, more than my 10 year old.  This is my time- to do things that I've been meaning to do all year. And I only have 2 1/2 months to get it all in. So, I decided to journal my summer of craftiness in the hopes that it will spur me on to complete my list (that keeps getting longer). 

    First on the list, create a cute and simple skirt for the summer.  I picked up a pattern at my local Jo-Ann's along with some super cute fabric. I will make this skirt and finish it in a day. Check back for photos.

Tangy