Bedroom Wall Art

Sick of looking at plain walls, I was not sure what exactly I wanted to do in our master bedroom, but I knew that something had to be done.  I had a 50% off coupon for Micheal's.  I went in not knowing what to buy, since I really did not need anymore beads and I could not think of any type of storage thing that I needed either. I wanted to make the most out of my 50% off and not buy something too cheap that I would have paid full price for anyway. So  I found a 7 pack of artist canvases that was already on sale for $19.99.  Hellooooooo...50% off that...only $10.  I am sure that I can do a lot with these things. So I bought them with the master bedroom in mind.  I got them home and painted them with some leftover paint that I had from when we painted the bedroom. Then I found some cute stencils at Walmart for only $2.50.  I again used some leftover paint from another room that we painted in the house to make three unique pictures to hang on the wall.  I love them.  I think that it warms up the room and brings out some of the other great elements in the room like the bedspread and wall colors.  Stay tuned in the next couple of weeks I will be sharing the rest of the decorating that I have done in the master.

Have a great day!!!

Kara

Headboard for the Guest Bedroom

I have had this idea for a while but have lacked the dedication and drive to complete the headboard for my guest bedroom.  Over this past weekend I finally took the 30 minutes that it needed my attention and finished it up.

The first thing that I did was measure the space and have Aaron cut the plywood for me.  Next I painted it on one side (the one facing out into the room) with the same paint that I used for the dresser.

I added some 1.5" thick padding, gluing it down with my glue gun.  Then I added a little batting just to try and smooth down the edges of the foam.  I had some woven wool fabric in a grey color that I wanted to use for the headboard unfortunately I did not have enough so I had to improvise.  I used some of the leftover fabric that I had from the stool makeover that I did to make stripes at the sides of the headboard.  I also used the blue fabric to make a ribbon around the bottom of the padded portion so that it would look a little more finished if anyone got a chance to peek down at it.  As I went along each fabric got pulled tight around the back of the plywood and stapled using a staple gun (make sure that you have the right size staples because you do not want to have them poking through to the other side).  Here are some pictures during the progress.  I hope that you enjoy.  In the final picture I have some pink pillows on the bed, but I must say that those are going to have to go.  Maybe I will make some pillow covers and add some throw pillows to the bed instead using the tutorial over at Creations by Kara.

Overall I think that I like the look of it.  There are some more things in the room that need to change before I can call the room complete and love it for what it is.

Have a great day and a great week everyone.

Kara

The winner of the snowman earrings made exclusively by Auntie Kara's Crafts is Brandy from With a Shot of Brandy.

Www.withashotofbrandy.com

Congratulations. Please send me your shipping information so that I can get these sent out to you.

Also I will be offering free shipping until the end of the month for all items purchased in my etsy shop. Please stop by and pick out a quality handmade item for the people on your list.

Have a great day.

Kara

Bows for my nieces

I came down to visit my brother and nieces in Albuquerque this week. While I was here visiting I decided that they needed some bows for their hair.... mostly I decided that I needed a project to do, lol. So for the whopping price of $2.75 they have 24 new bows with barrette clips in six different colors. I used the bow tutorial provided on Ruffles and Stuff. Enjoy the pictures of the cute bows and my beautiful nieces.  The oldest one in Malaya and the younger one is Mila

Have a great day and enjoy the sunshine if you still have it.  I get to go back to Colorado tomorrow to yet another foot of snow.

Kara

Gluesticks Guest Posting

Last week on Friday I did my first guest posting on the Gluesticks blog.  If you are not familiar with this blog I encourage you to go check it out.  It always has fun ideas and Brandi hosts a great linky party on Thursdays.  The project that I shared was a little tutorial on how to make a reversible bag.  So get out your scrap fabric supply and lets start sewing!!!  Also I am doing a giveaway on my blog so don't forget to register.  The winner will be announced this Tuesday.

To make this bag you will need two different fabrics, preferably in contrasting colors.  This will make the reversal worthwhile.  If you would like you can make up your own template for the bag or you can download it free from Very Purple Person blog.  This template has perfect length straps for this size bag.  Use the template with the straight edge on the fold in the fabric.  You will need two pieces of fabric cut from each type of material (4 total).  For mine I used an old pair of jeans for the outside of the bag and a crazy print for the inside.  On the jeans I decided to use them inside out so that I would see the contracting color on the seam of the leg.

Once you have all of your fabric cut out you will put the inside fabric right side to right side and the outside fabric right side to right side.  Sew around the bottom of these separate pieces and up the sides.

Next you will flip the inside "bag" right side out and slide it into the outside bag. 

Now sew the handles together leaving about 2" un-sewn at the top.  A back stitch at the top of  the handles would be a good idea.  Now we are ready to flip the bag right side out.  Through one of the handles start to turn the bag right side out.  This will seem very hard at first and you will think that you have screwed up the whole thing, but do not fear it will soon become easier and the bag will just flip right side out.  The jean material made it a little harder because it was so thick, but if you are using two thin cotton fabrics back to back then it should be a little easier.

You will now have a bag that looks like the picture above.  Just push the inside of the bag into the outside.  Sew the handles of the bag together by putting each fabric right side to right side at the top and sewing across.  Make sure that you are sewing the handles that are next to each other together and not the handles that are in front and back of each other.  To finish, top sew around the handle openings.  You can add a decorative stitch if you would like.  I think that I am going to add flower embellishments similar to what Sachiko did in her She Wears Flowers - Tutorial.  What ever you do with this just have fun and let your creativity run wild.  Pick some fun prints that will make this your go to bag of the season.

Have a great week everyone and happy crafting.

Kara

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Jewelry Giveaway

A few months ago I started my Etsy shop.  I have been adding things slowly to it and just made my first sale the other day.  It was very elating to have my first sale.  I have been taking pictures of the jewelry that I have been making but it turns out that it is rather difficult to show the true colors and beauty of the items.  I need to have my friends come over and model the new items that I have.  Check out a few pictures of what I have been working on.  Also check out my Etsy shop.

Today I want to give away a pair of these super cute snowman pearl earrings.  

All you have to do to enter is:

 Be a follower of Auntie Kara's Crafts.

Be sure to leave a comment and let me know you are.

For additional entries:

 Like Auntie Kara's Crafts on Facebook.

Leave me a comment and tell me one of your favorite things.

That's it. Three chances to win. Be sure to leave a comment for each.

Winner will be announced next Friday (11/04).

Thanks for supporting my blogging and good luck.

Wire Angels

Good morning everyone. It is officially the first snow day that Denver has seen this season. There is about 2 to 3 inches and it is still coming down. It is days like these that I am super excited that I get to stay inside and not go to work. I have some more exciting new beyond the snow. I sold my first item from my Etsy shop yesterday. A woman in Pennsylvania ordered the Yoda hat that I had made. Thank you first buyer!!!!

Today I want to share with you a fun holiday craft. We will be making wire angels.

You will need:
16 or 18 gage wire. I buy mine in the framing department at the home depot it is super cheap and looks nice unlike Jewelry wire that is very expensive for this type of craft
Wire cutters
Pliers
A regular tube of chapstick

You will be working directly off the spool of wire as you make this angel so do not worry about the length of wire that you will need.

First we are going to make the body. Start by wrapping the wire around the tube of chapstick. Leave yourself about a 1.5” tail at the end of the wire.

Where the wires cross is going to be the neck of the angel. Now using three fingers as your measuring device shape the skirt. Each side and bottom of the skirt will all be approximately three fingers long.

You will be working in a figure 8 pattern. When you reach the neck again use the chapstick tube to wrap another head for the angel and then repeat making yourself another skirt, repeat again. When you are done you should have three heads and three skirts ending at the neck. Leave yourself approximately a three inch tail and cut the wire using your cutters.

Now using the tail that you just cut wrap the neck of the angel until you have no more wire. Use the pliers to help tuck in the end.

Now we are going to make the wings starting with the halo. Taking the end from the spool again wrap the wire around the chapstick tube, do not leave a long tail. Using your pliers bend the end of the wire around so it makes sort of a curly cue in the center of the halo.

Now bend the long end of the wire straight down to make the stem of the halo. This should be at a 90 degree to the halo. Leave yourself a long enough stem so that it will go past the head and to the location of the neck. This is about 2 inches.

To make the wings use 2 fingers to wrap the wire around on each side of the halo stem. Make a loop for the wings making sure that there are three wings on each side of the body.

Now that you have the wings you need to pinch them together in the middle. To do this, bend each wire individually in the center so that they will come together at the neck. Cut a 3” tail at the end of the wings. Now wrap tail around the center of the wings until the end of wire. Use the pliers to tuck in the ends and avoid future injury.

Using the short end on the body, attach the wings to the body by wrapping the wire around the center of the wings.

Now we have a completed angel. You can tie ribbon around the neck if you want to. There are a variety of things that you can do with your angel now. You can use it as a business card holder, name tag plate for holiday dinners, Christmas ornament, or wall hanging. The options are endless. Please share with me any other ideas or decorating suggestions that you might have.

Have a great snow day everyone.

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