Flower Power with an Irish Rose Pillow

I love the Irish Rose crochet pattern! I took it to the extreme and made a 10 petal layer pillow front with it and a solid spiral for the backing. The yarn it Baby's First and so so soft. This pattern is so adaptable and lots of versions can be found lots of places online. I love it!

Vintage Grocery Sign and Distressing Tips

...or at least I hope it looks like it! I've been enjoying doing some crafting for my real life home and signs like this are my new obsession. Once I found the key to getting the lettering to look the way I wanted, I was off and running!

I used to print the lettering on the computer and try to transfer the design by using pencil on the back and pressing hard. Uh... not very effective! I saw a tip online to use a ballpoint pen and create an indent in the wood but found it just wasn't distinct enough. I finally tried using my stylus (like for scrapbooking or other paper crafts) and found what I was looking for! The indent was deep enough that even I could see it and paint it.

One little painting tip: I added paint thinner to make the painting easier but found that it really soaked into the wood this way and the distressing was harder. If you really want a weathered look, you may want to play with paint thicknesses to get the effect you want.

For weathering:
- I used a mixture of india ink and alcohol to grey the wood before painting and make it look older.
- For more blotchy areas where you want the top coat of paint to flake off completely, use your fingers to apply a little wax (like mini-wax), vaseline, or even chapstick! Paint right over it, allow the paint to dry COMPLETELY and then scrape it off. Voila! Blotchy paint!
- To "sand" it, I used a steel wire brush from the electronics section of Home Depot (the guy though I was crazy). I have no idea what they use it for, but I've commandeered it for a much more fun purpose!

Happy Distressing!

Waiting in the Wings; Beacon Hill Girl's Bedroom

If you're like me, you often have a mini collection of items for a room long before the room is really prepared to feature them. If you are really like me, it's because you like to flit back and forth between projects! :)

I have a dedicated shelf in my craft room with simple foam board partitions to separate "rooms." It just makes me happy to see my minis on display even if the house is still under construction.

Here's a walk about the furniture and pretty things for the girl's room in the Beacon Hill School.

The daisy bedding is a twist on a technique by Brae at her wonderful Otterine blog. Thanks, Brae! Take a visit!

The rocking horse is an old metal pencil sharpener. I love the patina just the way it is and will not be painting it.



By the way, you can still see close ups of pictures even though blogger has changed it to the slide show format that makes it so tiny! Here's how:
1. Click on the picture as usual
2. Right click on the picture with your mouse and select "Open in new tab"
3. The "new tab" version is zoom-able :)