Monday, December 24, 2012
a new hobby
Juggling an active toddler, a part-time nanny job, and household duties has kept me on my toes this past year, but I couldn't be more grateful for all of the blessings in my life. Just to add to the craziness of life my husband and I started creating handmade leather goods as a hobby a few months back, and we have opened an Etsy shop to make our products available to a wider audience.
From colorful and metallic leather tassel keychains to clean and streamlined leather bifold wallets we have a variety of accessories to choose from.
The best part is we truly love the process of creating our items, so our prices are some of the lowest around. Please visit our shop if you have a moment: etsy.com/shop/butterbeanleatherco.
Hope that you and yours enjoy this holiday season, and here's to 2013!
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Getting my Kraft on.
I was inspired by this post (over at the fabulous blog Little Green Notebook) to make my own Kraft paper botanical art. I recently purchased new pillows for my bed from the etsy shop chic decor pillows. I wanted to use the floral design from the fabric in my wall art.
I came across this post on Design*Sponge (another fabulous blog) that inspired me to make a stencil. First I photocopied my pillow cover, cut out the design, and then played around with it until I had a shape I liked. 
Then I traced the design onto Kraft paper (four times, like in the Design*Sponge tutorial). This picture is a little difficult to see, but it's my finished tracing.
Then I took a paint brush and filled in the lines with black acrylic paint. This part took the longest amount of time, about two hours for me.
Once I was done painting I erased any stray pencil lines and put it in the frame. I used double sided tape on the mat so the art would be pressed against the glass. Here is the finished product! I couldn't wait to get it up on the wall after framing it, so I apologize for the glare from the glass doors. I like how the paint made the Kraft paper ripple and look aged.
Just for fun, here is the new art in our master bedroom. You can see that it is part of a larger gallery wall with some family photos.
The best part about this project was that it cost me absolutely nothing. The frame was a gift from long ago, the Kraft paper was from my Christmas stash, and the black acrylic paint was left over from painting silhouettes of our baby for the grandparents. I'm so pleased with the final product.
I came across this post on Design*Sponge (another fabulous blog) that inspired me to make a stencil. First I photocopied my pillow cover, cut out the design, and then played around with it until I had a shape I liked. 
Then I traced the design onto Kraft paper (four times, like in the Design*Sponge tutorial). This picture is a little difficult to see, but it's my finished tracing.
Then I took a paint brush and filled in the lines with black acrylic paint. This part took the longest amount of time, about two hours for me.
Once I was done painting I erased any stray pencil lines and put it in the frame. I used double sided tape on the mat so the art would be pressed against the glass. Here is the finished product! I couldn't wait to get it up on the wall after framing it, so I apologize for the glare from the glass doors. I like how the paint made the Kraft paper ripple and look aged.
Just for fun, here is the new art in our master bedroom. You can see that it is part of a larger gallery wall with some family photos.
The best part about this project was that it cost me absolutely nothing. The frame was a gift from long ago, the Kraft paper was from my Christmas stash, and the black acrylic paint was left over from painting silhouettes of our baby for the grandparents. I'm so pleased with the final product.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
SLC style: even more brick
Well, winter decided to finally arrive this week, just when I was starting to dream of spring. We're hoping to get some work done in the yard this year, and there's nothing like looking at beautiful homes to gather inspiration. Here are a few of my favorites around town.
Friday, November 25, 2011
Seven dollar art.
I love the look of art mounted on the outside of a bookcase.
I wanted to create this look on the shelving unit in my daughter's nursery. I found this molded plastic frame at an estate sale for $2 (half off day!) but as soon as I brought it home I knew the gold wasn't going to work for me. The flower print had to go as well.
I picked up a print from thelittletiny at the Bijou Market last weekend for $5. It was originally 8x10", but the writing portion fit perfectly into my roughly 5x7" frame. I love the sentiment of the print.
To paint the frame I had to first tear off the paper backing. I don't know how old it is but there was a $25 price sticker from JCPenney on the back. Pricey, right? Once I removed the old art I could use it as a pattern to cut my new print.
With the print removed I popped out the glass and painted the frame with a bottle of acrylic paint I already had on hand. It took three coats to cover evenly. Then I cleaned and replaced the glass, put in my new print, replaced the backing and voila. Seven dollar art.
To mount the frame on my bookcase I used Command picture hanging strips. I was concerned about how to hang the art since my infant will soon be a toddler and I wanted it to last (and not fall on her head). I've heard great reviews of this product, so I gave it a go and I cannot believe how sturdy the frame is with these strips. They are like a stronger form of velcro, and they are suppose to remove cleanly from both surfaces. Who knows how well they will work on IKEA veneer, but it was worth a try. Here's one more shot for perspective:
I love how it turned out. It has been three days now and the frame and strips have not budged a bit.
With the print removed I popped out the glass and painted the frame with a bottle of acrylic paint I already had on hand. It took three coats to cover evenly. Then I cleaned and replaced the glass, put in my new print, replaced the backing and voila. Seven dollar art.
To mount the frame on my bookcase I used Command picture hanging strips. I was concerned about how to hang the art since my infant will soon be a toddler and I wanted it to last (and not fall on her head). I've heard great reviews of this product, so I gave it a go and I cannot believe how sturdy the frame is with these strips. They are like a stronger form of velcro, and they are suppose to remove cleanly from both surfaces. Who knows how well they will work on IKEA veneer, but it was worth a try. Here's one more shot for perspective:
I love how it turned out. It has been three days now and the frame and strips have not budged a bit.
Saturday, November 19, 2011
How to make a doily mobile.
One of the projects I took on for our nursery was a mobile to hang over the crib. By the time I got to this project the budget for the room was used up, so I wanted to make something on the cheap. After searching the internet for inspiration, I decided to combine several ideas and make something out of paper doilies. Here is my how-to:
1. Gather your supplies.-paper doilies
-rubber gloves
-food coloring
-cooking sheet with rim
-wax paper
-paper towels
-rubber cement
-ribbon (two widths)
-embroidery hoop
-craft glue
2. Fill the pan with enough water to cover the doily only. Add about 20 drops of food coloring. I decided to make colors that would match the rug in the nursery.
3. Submerge each doily for about 30 seconds. You will need four doilies of each color that you choose.
4. Gently remove the doily. They are very fragile and can tear easily when wet. Lay out to dry, blot immediately with a paper towel. Dry overnight.
5. Fold each doily in half, making sure to match the pattern around the edge. Glue two halves together with rubber cement.
6. Lay out your glued doilies and cut a thin piece of ribbon to hang each from the embroidery hoop. Stagger the lengths or your doilies will bump into each other.
7. Glue on the other set of folded doilies to its matching color, making sure to glue the thin piece of ribbon in the middle.
8. Wrap three pieces of wide ribbon (evenly spaced) around your embroidery hoop. Secure using craft glue. Tie in a knot to hang your mobile from the ceiling.
9. Secure each doily ball to the hoop in the same fashion. Ta-da! Your mobile is complete.Total cost for this project was $13, and I was left with half a package of doilies when I was done.
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