FIRST GIVEAWAYS. FACEBOOK. HALLOWEEN. WASHI TAPE.

Wow! It’s been such a long time since my last entry… So I figured I’d do a quick update.

The etsy shop has been on a hiatus, as I finished up a big project.  Finally done! My little sister is turning 18 & she wanted these cute little exploding box invitations. She didn't even want to look at any other option after she saw these.
After researching and help from the BFF these little suckers came to life, piece by agonizing piece. 

little paper cakes inside "exploding boxes"

Invites all boxed up & ready to go. Thank goodness I have a huge dining table. 

I’ve been able to squeeze in little projects here and there in between doing this big project. The etsy shop had a "soft" reopening as I started to post up new items. 

I was able to do a first giveaway on the facebook page, plus a few “appreciation” gift bags for people who were actively sharing my page with their friends. That was a lot of fun! 

I did a type of “I Spy” photo game and the first two to respond won some fun rainbow toe socks. 

Quick back story: I needed measurement for the perfect fit. Requested customer send me pictures and she did this... Do you see her cute little toes? Can you see where/ what she's standing on????

 Had me laughing so hard! 

Total coincidence.. She wore rainbow socks to show me the after... I had already gotten rainbow socks for the winners a few days before. What can I say... Great minds think a like! 

If you want to keep updated please “like” the NEW facebook page www.facebook.com/girlyspazms I'm planning on having a new giveaway again soon! 

The old one was just a "like page" and it was ridiculous to get to... it was like facebook.com/somebunchofgibberish&numbersyadayada....so this new page is a lot more simple... www.facebook.com/girlyspazms 

I've picked up two new obsessions.... WASHI TAPE!!!! and the hubby made me a nice organizer for it. I'll have to put up a short fast tutorial for it when I've got a minute. I love it! Only problem is I already ran out of room, and had to resort to a container from Daiso.

This is the current stash as of today... 9-25-12.. I have 7 rolls on their way to me..
Shut up don't judge me! okay judge me. I don't care. ;D
I LOVE WASHI TAPE!!!!!

 The other obsession... CLEAR STAMPS. You know the kind that you can keep stored away in neat little pages, and then when needed mount them on an acrylic block... Yeah. A little obsessed with those too.

Just a quick view of some sets of clear stamps I have.

I have so many ideas that I've written down. I started making cards which was one of the things I really wanted to finally dive into. 

Instagram shot of my lil halloween lunch cards I made.

All packaged w/ envelopes made to size. 

And finally October is just around the corner, which means I can break out the halloween decor again!!! yay!!!!!!

Halloween my most favorite holiday aside from Valentine's is coming again! I made the mistake of going on a "quick" Michael's run when they first put out the new things for Halloween, and boy! was my head spinning. "I JUST CAME IN TO GET SPRAY GLUE!!!! DAMN YOU MICHAELS!!!!"    


If you don't remember last years video... Here you go! 

And last to share.... Family art project coming soon..... Dia de los muertos sugar skull decorating.. 

Thanks for reading! What have you been up to?

shen

Upcycled VHS drawers...

A few weeks ago, I posted on freecycle (an online community of people who freecycle- a beautiful think BTW) that I was interested in VHS drawers. VHS?!? You know the old  movie tapes from the 80s &90s.Before CD, DVDS, and blueray!!! Well I was able to track one down & although I want more here is what I did with it. I am quite happy with the results, and I look forward to upcycling more. What do you think?

For a better look click here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/shen_nanigans/5572950918/

shen 

Weapon of choice..Staple gun!

So although it wasn't the downpour I was hoping for (down in the south bay at least,) I decided to finally tackle a project I've been preparing for a couple weeks now.  It took me a couple weeks only because I was a tad hesitant on how to go about it. 

Well armed with a staple gun, I went for it. 
Reupholstering the old office chair in the art studio to be more...uh..... FUN!  

#1, 5, 6 Before pics
#2 are the tools needed 

• heavy fabric (my specific project took 1 1/2 yards, but I bought more because I'm making matching throw pillows at a later time)
• hammer
• screw driver or drill to disassemble chair 
• a small & medium wood chisels
• heavy duty staple gun & staples
• fabric scissors
• A tube of strongstik DAP glue.

#3, 4 & 9 are pics of disassembling the chair. In my case,I took the back off the chair, and unscrewed the bottom (seat part) off the part that has all the adjustment levers. Then I took the arms off the chair. Taking all these pieces apart is well worth it, your fabric will fit around the sections nicely, and neatly. Lastly, using the chisels I used them to pry the backing off the back of the chair. 


#11 & 12 are the seat of the chair. I took off the staples from the bottom liner & since it was in good condition I reused it (if you need to replace yours you should. Although you will rarely see this area, it just gives it a nice finished look). I then stapled the fabric around  (#10) then put the liner back on & stapled that in place to cover the first round of staples. 
Here's a closer look:

first row of staples

turn your work over as you make your way around & smooth out the wrinkles.

With Liner, put a nicer neater row of staples to finish it off. (#8)

# 7, 14, 15 & 17 are all pictures of stapling the fabric into place.

#15 also shows the straight nails that get hammered back into the other back piece. However, I found this part really tricky & ended up using the StrongStik DAP glue which worked out great! If it doesn't work out for your chair use upholstery nails. 

#13 &16 show the finished pieces of the back of the chair together & completed.

#18, 19 & 20 are pics of the finished project. 

Here are some photos of it in natural sunlight...

baby got back!

 
This took me from around 11:30 to 3 in the afternoon including assembling.  Overall, I'm pretty happy how it turned out. 

More pics later, as I press forward to get the art studio finished & decorated. 

Let me know if you need some clarification, I know this isn't exactly the best explanation.  I was in a hurry to crank out this entry before the end of the night.
shen