Winter Decor

It's January!  And it's hard to believe that it's 2013!  I remember when the 2002 Winter Olympics were announced and that felt so far away.  It was a big deal because it was local - and nothing ever really happens in Utah! Ha.  And now... 2002 is in the distant past.  Time flies!

So I love two things - well, I love LOTS of things, but two in particular for today... Home Decor and Silhouette - and when I can merge the two, I'm a happy girl.  I like using the Silhouette Studio software to make signs and printables.  I enjoy layering patterns and shapes and changing opacities and line settings.

I made this sign last Winter and it's one of my very favorite things I've ever created with my beautiful machine. And then my hard drive died.  I'm glad I printed it, but I wish I still had the hard copy.  I can recreate it, but I haven't.  I also made the smaller sign.  It's much more simple.  No layering - no changes to opacity - basically just a font with a pattern fill.  Still cute.  I found that blue and wood frame at TJ Maxx and bought it without a plan in mind.

The paper trees are new this year.  I found them on Pinterest and my friend and I had a craft night to make those and a couple other little things.  The instructions are here.  They were very easy, but more time consuming than I thought they'd be.  The furry tree is a craft boa that I wrapped around a metal frame and stuck on a candlestick.  Simple, but cute.  And it's more fun to enjoy "winter" in my warm house than outside in the below-zero temperatures! Brr! 

Pinspiration: Gravestone

I posted this on my old blog, but I have long since neglected that one and I'm going to close it down, so I thought I'd post it here now.

I saw this idea on Pinterest and loved it. So clever. Also, I knew I could make it with stuff I already had on hand, so it wouldn't cost me anything.  Awesome! I love projects that don't cost any additional money.  

The wood is a 1x8 scrap. I traced the shape of a headstone on the board and then went after it with my jig saw. I also cut a piece 1 3/4 x 8 1/4 for the base and glued them together. 

I sanded any rough spots along the cut areas and painted with some grey acrylic paint I had on hand. Once the paint was dry, I sanded it again to distress the finish and used an ink pad to darken and further distress it.    

I cut Vacancy and the arrow from black vinyl with my Silhouette. This was a simple project. Very quick to throw together. And I smile every time I walk past it. 

I decorated the pumpkins a couple years ago. The bigger one has tissue paper mod podged on it (inspiration found here) and the smaller one has simple rhinestones placed along the grooves.