The Crafty Canine

Melted Crayon Art (Like Every Other Crafty Blogger Out There!)

2011-11-18T15:11:00.000-08:00

I decided to try my hand at this melted crayon art after seeing a blog posting on my friend's blog http://www.oliveandlove.com/.
We ended up with three different styles between my two daughters and my own art. My younger daughter decided to try the hair dryer approach on the crayons with a rainbow assortment of colors.

My older daughter, also with rainbow colors, used the hair dryer approach but a lot more assertively and this resulted in a lot more mixing and filling the canvas.

I took a different approach and put my canvases in the oven instead at 250 degrees for around 5 minutes or when I decided I thought they looked good. I did two for the baby nursery in orange, gray, and black (one shown)..

And one with rainbow colors and an attempted framing with frog tape but it bled through a bit.

I like how all the different approaches have resulted in very different art. I am excited to experiment some more with this and figure out some cool designs! Such fun! Please let me know in the comments if you have done anything different that turned out really neat.

Mini Bookshelves of My Dreams

2011-08-25T14:17:00.000-07:00

I have a bit of an obsession with book display units. I hate to admit that I have probably spent over 24 hours researching different types of book units on the web. I am particularly drawn to wall mounted structures that save floor space for play or other endeavors. For a long time and still today, I have fantasized about the rain gutter book shelves.
http://i-cdn.apartmenttherapy.com/uimages/ohdeedoh/071409playroom_shelves.jpg

About a week ago though, I stumbled upon a new-to-me blog called "The Sweet Survival" and finally found what I considered to be the holy grail of cool wall mounted book shelves. Feast your eyes on these lovelies..
http://thesweetsurvival.blogspot.com/2011/04/mini-bookshelves-for-sawyers-room.html

I then spent another two days trying to find someone on the web that made them and sold them since I am not exactly a carpenter. No such luck but dang it would be a great idea for those etsy-minded folk out there! I finally decided that I wanted that look enough that I was willing to throw my dice on the table and headed to the closest home improvement warehouse.

I thought I would run into trouble since I don't own a table saw. However, a super helpful lumber man went ahead and cut nearly all my pieces for me at the store. All I had to end up cutting were the little stick pieces on the sides of each shelf. I ended up changing the dimensions a bit of my mini bookshelves, primarily to save the before mentioned helpful lumber man from cutting wood all day. I would say though that if I could do one thing over again with the project, I would have chosen a nicer wood. Mine is some type of particle board which gave me occasional issues when small particles wriggled loose and fell out of my boards! Good thing I had wood filler.

Anyway, all I really had to do was sand the pieces, nail the three main sides together, saw and add the stick pieces. From there, I painted it and then used a satin varnish to add more protection to the unit. Lastly, I secured it to the studs in the wall and added the vinyl numbers. Thanks so much to "The Sweet Survival" for the great idea and DIY directions. For the steps and awesome other inspiring stuff on that blog, please go to http://thesweetsurvival.blogspot.com

While mine doesn't seem as perfect as the one on The Sweet Survival, I am content that I got the look I was going for. What do you think?

Chair Makeover

2011-08-11T18:29:00.000-07:00

I found this old glider-style chair yesterday for $18.00 at Goodwill. It was covered with dust and quite a few cobwebs underneath, but had potential. After buying a small container of paint from Lowes, I got to work painting (and of course cleaning). I also threw out the old pillows after fretting about bedbugs and researching how expensive it would be to have them recovered. I bought a large fluffy pillow at Pier 1 on sale for $39.99 for the seat cushion. Now it will be showcased in my third child's nursery when he or she arrives in January! Thoughts or ideas anyone?

An Art Project for Sisters

2010-11-12T15:11:00.000-08:00

After painting my daughter Noelle's room, I decided that it was missing a focal point on the wall. We went to Michaels and bought a blank canvas, some vinyl letters, and some paint. After sticking Noelle's name on the canvas, the girls went to town with the paint. About a half hour later, we pulled off the vinyl stickers and we had our masterpiece. I hope it will provide a nice memory of the girls working together toward a goal.

My Playroom

2010-08-22T13:42:00.000-07:00

Here are photos taken of the playroom which I also finished recently. The paint is Geyser and bought at Lowes. The vinyl origami wall decals are from Byrdie Graphics on etsy and were really easy to put up. The red couches were free from a neighbor on our block that had them on their curb with a "free" sign. The book unit was a craigslist find and the play kitchen was a find from a church rummage sale for a steal. The book case was from Wal-mart, as well as the television and the rug. Most of the toys were found second hand at garage sales and thrift stores. Let me know if you have any questions about any thing. Comments? Ideas?

The Tree Room

2010-08-22T13:28:00.000-07:00

Just finally received and installed my tree wall decal from Surface Inspired through Etsy. I had to attach each leaf individually but I really love the final look! With the exception of possibly a daybed and a new bedspread, I think this room is just the way I envisioned it. The paint color is "By the Sea" but I cannot remember the brand right now. The black frames were picked up at a yard sale and hold drawings done by my daughter. The white frames hold posters bought at a local thrift store. The bureaus are IKEA with unfinished knobs bought at Home Depot that I painted green and then sealed with polyurethane. The table and chairs (there is a bench under as well) were a find on craigslist but originally were from Pottery Barn Kids. Other pieces are primarily second hand toys and items found at garage sales and thrift stores. Any comments or ideas?

Adding the Vanity for the Final Touches

2010-03-30T14:04:00.000-07:00

There have been a few things just not right in my two year old's room. I have been working on this room for quite some time. I finally decided that I would really like to have a vanity in her room. The hunt began on craigslist and I quickly found just what I was looking for. Of course it was way into the Tennessee countryside but well worth the drive. I got this vanity for $15 and got to work making it match the other furniture. The coolest part was sawing the legs short which was something I never did before. It was so easy and I did it right the first time so I didn't have to go back and re-measure to get all the legs the same length. After placing the vanity in the room, I realized that the furniture looked better when placed differently.

You will see the final product below. I love this room so much that I go in there just to relax and look around! The thrift stores have blessed me with lots of vintage Fisher Price toys and Irmi lamps to finish the look. My little girl seems to really like the vintage Fisher Price the best and they are a hit when friends come to play! Please feel free to let me know what you think by leaving a comment if you have the time. You can always sign in anonymously and then put your name on the bottom (this way you don't have to sign in with a password). Thanks!

5 Minute Embroidery Hoop Art

2010-03-11T15:43:00.000-08:00

Today I got a cute children's dress and two embroidery hoops at GoodWill for a total of $3.50. I decided to combine them to make some more art for my younger daughter's room. What do you think?

The Bird Table

2010-03-08T07:27:00.000-08:00

About a month ago I found a white activity table at one of my favorite thrift store haunts for $20. It was riddled with sharpie, nail polish, and glitter paint which resulted in the lower price. After using some magic eraser, rubbing alcohol, bleach and simply a lot of scrubbing, I was able to get most of the marks off the table, but not all of them. I decided to prime it up, paint it in some of the leftover paint from Noelle's room, and decoupage birds on it to go in our living room and replace another activity table. I painted the black lines on and then started picking some scrap-booking paper that would work for the birds and the eggs. I used Mod Podge as the decoupage medium before spraying the surface of the table with Krylon clear glaze spray and then the entire table with polyurethane.

I got my inspiration from Gale Kaseguma's Jelly Bean Tree which I had painted on the wall in my last house. My little girls loved the fun birds and the bright colors. Last week, I was sad to find out that Gale Kaseguma passed away last year from cancer. She was only in her thirties.

Returning to the Actopus to Zelephant Room

2010-02-09T07:01:00.000-08:00

As my little girl grew out of her crib, I started to search for the perfect bedroom set. Last week I finally found a perfect antique set on craigslist. The set included a head board, foot board, bedside table, and a dresser. The set needed some work. It had been painted with white spray paint and had several pieces that were loose on the bed boards.

First I primed everything with an oil based primer to counteract the spray paint. Then I painted all the pieces with the same caribbean blue that I had painted my easel months ago. After this, I added the knobs I had previously put on another dresser and then decoupaged paper from the Actopus to Zelephant line at Michaels onto the tops of the dresser and night table. After decoupaging, I added a tough polyurethane to protect the surface. My husband was sweet enough to help me find some side rails for the older style bed at a local thrift store and I bought wood slats to go under the mattress from Home Depot. After finishing all the furniture, I added some vintage Fisher Price items which seem to go well with the color scheme. What do you think?

The Big Red Barn

2009-12-04T14:19:00.000-08:00

For those of you who loved the play kitchen, here is my next find from the same thrift store which is proving to be very good for me! I found this old barn just sitting amongst a bunch of toys. It was mostly covered up and drowning in dust in addition to having sharp nails sticking out. The barn also had a hole in the roof and sharpi marker on the side. It was $10. I brough it home, wiped it down, primed it and patched it up. Then I gave it a new paint job. I also spent $3 adding the little picket fence after pulling out those nails. It at some time had the same wall that you see on the other side but somehow it had come out so I needed to put something there. Please excuse the wet paint shine on some places. I was impatient to take pictures!

Now it is a bright and family barn for any kid's room. I am hoping to sell it to some horse lovers on craigslist this week in order to make some extra money for the holidays. Wish me luck and please tell me what you think!

The Dining Room Set

2009-12-04T12:40:00.000-08:00

Sorry I have been away for so long. I developed a bad habit of starting new projects before finishing old ones and before I knew it, my house was in shambles and it was just too overwhelming to get anything done. I am happy to announce though that we now have a fully functional dining table that is not fold-up like the one we had been using for the last year or so, since moving came to be a reality!
I found this dining table and five chairs (not all pictured) while shopping garage sales in my own neighborhood. The extra plus about this was that it was so close to our house that my husband and I just carried each piece home by foot and didn't have to rent a truck. You can see the photos below although the lighting is very kind. It was not in good condition. The paint was very scuffed up and several of the chairs had splintered wood on the backing. It had a lot of potential though!

I primed it up. Then I painted the same slightly creamy white color on top as it had before. I finished the project by reapholstering the chairs because frankly, the fabric was disgustingly dirty and things just don't survive in our house unless they are waterproof! We got a very classy-looking brown leather-style vinyl. It was on sale for around $13. What a difference it makes! We also of course had to fix the splintered wood with wood glue, clamps, and that kind of stuff. I think it turned out very well for our place in the world right now. Thoughts anyone?

Revamped Turkey for Thanksgiving

2009-11-18T13:36:00.000-08:00

New Clips for the Holidays

2009-10-12T19:56:00.001-07:00

Tonight I made some clips for a friend. I have modified the spider by using all black ribbon for the body and painted-on eyes. The turkey is new. Thoughts on either of them anyone?

Lightening Up the Downstairs Bathroom

2009-09-17T19:43:00.000-07:00

Our family has slowly been doing some improvement projects in the house we are currently living in. I decided that the downstairs bathroom vanity was a bit too dark for such a small space and didn't agree with our decor in the room. I primed up the vanity and painted it white. Then I added new knobs on the drawers and handles on the cabinet doors. I think it gives the room a needed lift. If I didn't have two little ones, I would add a pretty glass bowl of seed pods or something nature-like. I am pretty satisfied with the results considering that it was just the cost of some paint and a few knobs which I hand painted. Now on to other projects..

Past Children's Murals

2009-09-16T17:28:00.000-07:00

I thought I would display the girls' murals from our old house where we no longer live. The orca whale was my first attempt. I painted some additional animals in that room before painting over the rest of them. I also made a hungry caterpillar and bird room in my younger child's room but painted over it before making the jelly bean tree with different birds. The jelly bean tree is based loosely on a Gale Kaseguma painting that I really admire. I loved that jelly bean tree and it continues to be the thing I miss the most about that house.

Kitty Cat Table

2009-09-16T12:32:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't posted for a while. What I thought was a minor project turned out to take hours and many long nights! I decided to purchase a children's table and chairs (nice heavy older model) from a garage sale for $15. It is solid wood.. something much heavier than pine. I primed it up and painted it all white. What I didn't anticipate was that those wooden knobby legs, arms, and backing take a looong time to prime and paint because there were lots of little crevices and bends. Also, if I painted too fast, I would get paint droplets which was not the look I was going for. I also had to go back over all surfaces many times to cover the dark wood, even after priming. You can bet that any future furniture purchases will have flat smooth surfaces.
Since my older daughter's room is all about cats and dogs, I painted a cat face on the table top and then covered the surface with polyurethane. My daughter loves it and you can't buy a table that sturdy these days without dishing out a small fortune. I figure I can bring it downstairs to use as a kids' table around Thanksgiving and other larger family gatherings. In the meantime, it is a great table for drawing, reading, and finishing workbook pages with Momma. Eventually, if I feel like tackling huge projects, I would like to paint the bunkbeds and the shelves in this room white. Time will tell if that happens!

Children's Hair Clips

2009-09-03T13:29:00.000-07:00

I started making children's hairclips about a year ago. I can make the classy small bows but my favorites to make are my butterflies, snails, bees, and caterpillars. I love picking the different ribbons and seeing how each turn out. I was fiddling today with some new fall/Halloween ribbon and I figured out how to make a spider! I can't wait to make some more! If you are interested in any of these clips, you can let me know in the comments. I would be happy to make them for people. The spider is $6 and I am sure shipping wouldn't be too much more unless one lives outside of the U.S.! Here is my hair clip share site with more pictures and information.. http://glowplanetgifts.shutterfly.com/
I am so excited that fall is coming!

Actopus to Zelephant Room

2009-08-24T06:08:00.000-07:00

I have finally finished my two year old's room.. or at least I am way on my way. Feel free to click on any picture to make it larger for a better look. I started out with the Actopus to Zelephant line of scrapbooking merchandise from Michaels and framed groups of stickers for a sleek and colorful look. Then I added the Actopus to Zelephant easel to be used primarily as a book center. The biggest development was a collection of wall stickers from Target with owls, other animals and mushrooms. They really made the room pop. I added a garage sale find; a Pottery Barn wall shelf, a bunch of owls, a monkey rug, a 1970s play kitchen, and lastly, a vintage lamp from IRMI with gnomes and a toadstool night light. I am pretty happy with the results although I still need to buy the perfect lampshade, replace the old ceiling fan, and add a larger picture on the wall opposite the chest of drawers. Also, I plan to paint my own knobs for the chest of drawers. Ideally, I would also love to have one of those vintage mid century modern chairs in there instead of the green chair but I will only find that if I get lucky at a yard sale or thrift shop.
My two year old loves her room. She tells me her favorite part are the owls above the closet. Anytime she is free to race around her room, she bolts for the easel and grabs up handfuls of books that she then dumps on the green chair for me to read to her. At night, her toadstool night light glows softly and the owls stand watch..

Update: Knobs

Play Kitchen Paradise

2009-08-23T17:18:00.000-07:00

The other day at "Smart Thrift," I spied some children's play furniture hidden behind truckloads of aniquated coffee tables and bookcases. They were not pretty to say the least but they were cheap and I could see the potential if I closed my eyes very tightly! After I sanded off all the nail polish, sharpi marker pictures, and tacky stamped handprints and cherries, it was already looking much better. I decided to go with a Pottery Barn Kids simple pink and white. While I still need to add a sink and to purchase a new plastic tube to complete the spray nozzle for the sink, the girls have already taken a liking to it. I also need to add another handle for the oven. Anyway, it is a work in progress but I think it is looking pretty good. What do you think?

Lovin' the Owls

2009-08-17T19:14:00.001-07:00

Lately I have started really getting into the retro looks. I particularly like the vintage owls and anything mid century modern. My goal is to create aspects of these styles in my two year old's funky Actopus to Zelephant room. After a fruitful trip to the thriftstores, I found two owl pieces. A simple primer and paint job has brightened them up to fit in a child's room. For $1.99 per owl piece, I can decorate without a financial crisis. Here are the before and afters. Eventually, I will show pictures of all the pieces together in the finished room.

Actopus to Zelephant Easel

2009-08-05T13:23:00.000-07:00

I am currently working on decorating both of the girls' rooms now that they have been painted. I have been picking up pieces here and there at garage sales, thrift stores, and children's consigment sales mostly but I did fall in love with a scrapbooking line at Michaels called "Actopus to Zelephant. To my great disappointment, Michaels seems to be phasing the line out so I have had to buy it all very quickly. Last week while cruising through thrift stores, I stumbled upon a vintage preschool painting easel. It is fairly large with the cubbies on both sides made to hold years worth of coffee cans filled with paint I am sure. I fell instantly in love with it as I went to preschool in the late '70s and remember the easels fondly. I decided to take two prominent colors from the Actopus to Zelephant art and paint the easel to match. I chose Carribean blue and Cumquat orange paint that I had matched at Home Depot. After priming and painting, I added chipboard animals from the scrapbooking line to the front of both cubbies. This morning I got to see the easel in action in my two year old's room. I filled one side with her favorite board books. My two year old was ecstatic when she saw it, grabbing up books for me to read to her eagerly. We ended up reading 8 books this morning and I had to promise lots more this evening. I plan to eventually make a felt board for the other side. The felt board idea came to me after deciding that wipe boards and chalk boards would both be too messy for a young child's bedroom. I can't wait to add more to this room!

Train Table Top

2009-08-01T20:07:00.000-07:00

Here is my first project on the site! I have become disgruntled about our wooden trains. I would take 15 minutes to arrange the track and my younger daughter would take 2 minutes destroying it. I decided to buy a large piece of plywood from Home Depot. I had them cut it to fit my table so that I could place it on top of the already existing white table top. This way, if the girls want to play trains, I can just pop the additional board on top. If not, the white table top is available for more general play. I first sanded down the new plywood and then arranged the track for my ideal design. After this, I used Gorilla Glue to glue the track down although I used too much and some have squeezed out from under the track and made it bumpy. Next time I will be sure to wipe the extra glue away. I used brown, blue, black and white acrylic paint and then put polyurethane over the top. Now the girls can focus on keeping their trains together but not having to worry about the track falling apart. Plus I don't have extra track pieces all over my house. This has been a win win for our family and the cost was simply $20 for the wood, and about $5 for the paint and polyurethane. Wanna come over and play?

Parenting and Projects

2009-07-31T16:24:00.000-07:00

I am a mom to two little girls ages 2 and 3. I am also taking care of my girls full time and putting my career in teaching on hold. I would like to say that every second of parenting is pure bliss but I am not going to lie. It is hard work being with your kids all day, every day. In order to survive, one must have an outlet or two for their passions outside of the diaper-wearing/whining variety. My passion in the last few years and on and off during my childhood, has been art/writing- related. In elementary school, I had a brief love of writing poetry, in junior high, it was drawing cartoon characters, in high school, I made my own comics and tried my hand in writing film scripts. Now days I dabble in a few different directions including scrapbooking, painting, hair clip design, photography, among others. I wanted a place where I could showcase my art so that it may inspire others to perhaps follow their own passions. Hope you enjoy my blog!