Cardboard letter adventures...

I'm back to revamping my craft room again.

With the never ending addition of new supplies, there's a constant need for storage space too. I'm preparing to take on my first sanding & repainting of this awesome piece of antique furniture I came across at a garage sale over the summer. It's totally cute & adorable. Just the prefect thing I've been looking for. I need to go to Restoration Hardware to get new pieces for it, and I also need to get some power tools so that I can do this job right the first time.

I've read a ton of "how to"-s on-line, and as much as I think I'm ready, I'm nervous as all hell.

So in the meantime while I muster up the courage to finally take on this project, I continue to organize, and decorate around the idea of having this finished piece one day in place. 

I wanted something crafty as wall decor... So..after much deliberation, and a few inspiration from facebook friends & pinterest pins.

This idea was born. At first, I was going to buy the 8 inch letters from Hobby Lobby. Which by the way, finally opened up locally in Morgan Hill, (http://www.yelp.com/biz/hobby-lobby-morgan-hill)  that turned out to be a fun adventure of strong margaritas and craft shopping. 

Instead, I decided to tackle it on, and make my own... 

I had a few too many post office boxes laying around the house due to a post office glitch that sent me a huge pile of supplies.

Tony opened the door & saw this staring back at him. Oops! 

So first things first, my trusty silhouette did the easy part & by Sunday morning at 6am, my letters were cut... 

Laid it across my kitchen floor.

Ginger: Didn't mind me, just passing through.
Me: GINGER! Move it! 

Maylin: Oh mom's doing something, let me get in the way.
Me: You too? Ugh. 

Maylin: So, mom... I was thinking... Oh, you're busy.
Me: MOVE IT. 

Maylin: Oh, there's something here... 

Maylin: Move?..but.. I have to rest.. 

Here's a C! 

All I did was trace my letters on to cardboard. (twice)

Cut them out.

Cut 2 Inch strips & taped them together to make them 3D.

Finished the first... Now he's waiting for his friends to join...

I'm still planning a couple more steps before they are officially done. 

There is still the decoupage with newspaper step. 

Then spray painting with white.

Then I'm going to cover them in my beautiful washi tapes.

I'm totally crossing my fingers & hoping that this turns out the way I am envisioning in my head. 

I'm hoping to have this done & up by mid-October.

Do you think I can do it? 

I'll update soon... 

shen

QUICK Washi tape holder tutorial...

We collected our supplies at Michaels & Lowes …

• 1-  blank wooden sign (normally used for a decorative wall hanging)

Pick whatever shape & size you prefer,  but make sure it’s a sturdy thick piece because this will be your base to your washi tape holder and you don’t want it toppling over.

• 1 – 1 inch thick dowel. I’m assuming you’re making a 6 stack one like mine in the picture so with that said, I got a 36” long dowel.
•  A drill
• A 1 inch hole saw
• Wood glue
• A hack saw
• Paint if you prefer.
• Felt (only if you want a  full felt bottom)  OR You could put little self-adhesive rubber/felt circles/ squares to act as feet on the bottom too. This will help protect the surface you place your washi tape display.  

I used a colored stain from Lowes because I wanted the wood grain to show through a lot more than seeing that layer of paint. I wasn’t very happy with the results, so I think if I make another wood project like this, I’ll be buying the other teal colored wood stain or maybe experiment with some food coloring & then seal it with acrylic after.  I’ll be sure to update if I try this out.

We finished this project in one evening. It took me a couple days to finish the painting portion. I put about 3 coats on & then a clear acrylic after. The only reason I did so many coats is just because it wasn't turning out like I was hoping. 

Determine where you would like your poles to go & mark center.
Tony used my actual washi tapes to figure out  a "nice" spacing to avoid an overcrowding look.

Drill down to 1/2 an inch or 3/4. Try not to drill straight through the base.  

Cut the dowel into six  --6 inch segments. 

I got a little impatient & tried out the wood stain while the dowels were drying. 

Use wood glue & place the dowels into the drilled holes.

Paint. Dry. Use.

Unfortunately, I've already ran out of room & have had to resort to a cheapy container from Daiso, however, if you can practice a little more self control unlike me. This holder should suffice. 

But I still have this one & love love love it! 

Let me know if you have any questions.

shen

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

you can't catch me...

Sharing another part of my life.....

So aside from my sedentary life of crafting, gluing, pasting and sewing, I’ve also picked up another new “like”…. not love yet… definitely not love… (more like a like- hate relationship)Running…Yes, running… That’s what I’ve been working on for the two months. I’ve never been a runner. Sure, I can be on an elliptical for a couple hours with no problem. I can run on the sand, barefoot at the beach effortlessly. Thanks to my calves…But man oh man… I have horribly flat feet. No arches at all. So flat that I am embarrassed when I leave my footprints on the ground by the swimming pool, or in the sand. I hated running. Even in my more active younger days as a volleyball player, and we were having practice, the running portion sucked. So when I started running recently, it was hard. My ankles were hurting, and now my knee hurts, but I’m keeping at it. I run in intervals. I need to slow down and catch my breath. I run with Ginger, and she hates me after. But when all is said & done, and I’ve finally caught my breath & have managed to not pass out, it does feel good. 
Getting accustomed to the treadmill was the hardest part, and I think I’ve gotten that part down now. I still think I stomp relatively loud, but eh… I turn on my music on louder, and I hope that I’m not irritating anyone else at the gym around me.
I bought Sketchers Go Run shoes that claim to be close to running barefoot. Those weird frog looking ones just weren’t as appealing to me. I like my shoes. They’re comfy on my Fred Flintstone feet. They are light, and if I really wanted to I could wear them with no socks. The only regret that I have is that I should have gotten the bright orange ones instead of the less flashy navy blue with lime green accents. Still…. I like them. Whether or not they have encouraged me to run and keep on running, I can’t determine. Why this push to run? Well, the hubby & I, along with a couple of other friends, have signed up for the local “Color Me Rad” 5K run this September, so being able to run (even a portion of it) would make me feel good. 
 I asked the sales lady at GNC if it was normal to feel like you were dying after you slow down from a run. She told me yes, and proceeded to tell me that she could never run. That she sees people all the time and wishes she could, but can’t. So it made me feel better to know I can actually do it. I just have to keep at it. So even though I have to argue with myself to push the button to a higher speed on the treadmill I’m surprising myself every day as I reach personal goals that I have set. As I said before… I like running… LIKE….

I'm not one to mention my weight loss & weight gain, but I'm pretty happy with the side effects of running as well..
Now that I've gotten a lot more comfortable though... Why does the treadmill shut off when I run at 7.5mph? It's getting a little frustrating, but maybe it's saving me from the embarrassment of falling off. 

And with that said, here's a video of one of my favorite songs... 
excuse the quality.. it's bad... 



Just a quick update...
We did it! Our first 5k before and after pics at Color Me Rad San Jose 2012...

It was so much fun! I feel so accomplished... Now on to the next one. The Firefly run September 22. 


shen