Christmas Gift - Candle in a Jar

A few months ago, I stumbled across oversized unscented tealights on Target clearance (I've seen similar ~2" candles at IKEA labeled 'Glimma') and couldn't resist them at just over $1 for a 6-pack. I hadn't decided quite what to do with them until I spotted 4 packs of half pint wide-mouth canning jars at Meijer for under $4. Combined with some extra aquarium gravel from a bean-bag game project; they became a fun and thoughtful, yet inexpensive, gift.

I made up 2 jars and gave the 4-candle balance of the tealights to my sister-in-law for a last-minute birthday gift. I also could see these as lovely hostess or teacher appreciation gifts.
Some modifications would be putting seasonally colored gravel in the jar, or even glass beads, sand, or seashells (just be sure your choice is not flammable/meltable). Another idea would be to mix a few drops of scented oil in with the gravel, but I'm not sure on the flammability of oils in close proximity to the flame (noting that oil warmers do not have direct contact with the candle). One could also use scented candles (I've also seen these at IKEA labeled 'Tindra').

Much of my free time the past few weeks has been needed by family (the thoughts & prayers for my grandparents are much appreciated - thanks!), but I did find the time to help Silly Monster celebrate his birthday.
...and his huge grin from ear to ear totally made it worth it!

Carrots!

Thought for the day... what to do with the leftover carrots when making carrot cake?
...use them as fun toppings! (Especially since the traditional topping is nut pieces, but there are no nuts in these.)

Just run the veggie peeler down the long side of the carrot, roll, then keep in a bowl of cool water while you frost (so the carrots don't dry out). The carrots softened nicely from the moisture of the frosting and cake when left covered overnight. Yum!
Oh, and yes, the lettering is carrot bits too. ;)

The long-awaited (okay, just 'really needed') toddler bed project

I'm blaming Ana over at Knock-Off Wood again for the crazy ideas she puts in my head (not that we've ever met, but her blog provides me all kinds of inspiration - maybe I should change this blog's title to 'Grace sees too many good ideas online'). Anyhows, the Silly Monster needed a toddler bed badly, so inspired by Ana's storage bed plans, I made a toddler-sized storage bed.

First, I purchased:
9- 4ft 1x12s,
6- 4ft 1x6s,
and 1- 4ft 1x2 (we went select grade on this one).

We then cut:
2-1x12s at 27.5",
4-1x12s at 38.25",
and 11-1x12s at 11.25" (2 from 27.5" scrap, 4 from 2-4ft 1x12s, and 1 from the remaining 4ft 1x12)
... it was more economical to buy 2 4ft segments and have some left over than longer 5ft pieces with the sale the lumber yard had, YMMV)
2- 1x6s at 27.5",
4- 1x6s at 38.5"
2- 1x6s at 4.75" (from scrap)
2- 1x2s at 11.25"
2- 1x2s at 9.75"

Then we assembled 3 units:
2- 38.5" units with 3 cubbies and the 1x6s for backing(behind the open cubbies, not behind the 1x12s),
1- 27.5" unit with 2 cubbies, 1x6s for backing, and the 1x2s used for framing out shelves on the end.
We used wood glue and an air nailer for each joint.


I finished the entire project with my beloved Polyshades (thankfully outside, because it was quite potent, even outdoors).

I placed the 3 cubby units facing outward, using the 4.75" 1x6s on the ledges formed by the 1x6 backing for spacers between them, and the 2 cubby unit as the foot of the bed; then topped with what was formerly Silly Monster's crib mattress.

I may consider making a headboard in the future, but in it's current position I don't feel it needs one. Also, were I going to paint the bed with a solid color, I could swap out the all-pine construction with some MDF or plywood to save money.

Love Photo Collection

So, I had one of my 'bright ideas'...
When looking through engagement pictures, it occurred to me that some clever cropping could bring out the word 'love' for a lovely gift. Once the photos had been digitally cropped and printed at Walgreens (4x6s, if you must know), I set out on the difficult task of finding a reasonably priced frame to meet my needs. Unfortunately, 4 opening frames are not common with matting, so I settled on this lovely 10"x20" frame made from renewable wood that was on sale at Kohls and went to work modifying it to suit the project.

I cut border pieces from a dark green cardstock, using a rotary cutter to make quick cuts and a quilting ruler to help with nice 45 degree angles.
I then cut ivory cardstock larger than 4x6 with the rotary cutter, then used an X-acto knife and ruler to cut out an opening just under 4x6.
Due to the removal of the original matting, the cardstock + photo height came up short, so I cut a 10x20 piece of cardboard (recycled the box from our Wii balance board) to use as a foundation for the composition while adding thickness. I drew on a grid for alignment purposes and began placing pictures using double-sided photo tape.

Then I placed the ivory border pieces, followed by the green frame pieces.
Finally I added labels (which helped cover the seam of the border at the halfway point).
Ta-Da! Completed project in frame.

Camera = found!

One of my problems is finding blogs that put crazy (but fun & helpful!) ideas in my head...

One such blog is Knock-Off Wood, which I stumbled across a few months ago. We have since done a couple projects from Ana's blog (I'm working my way up to a toddler bed, which we need since Silly Monster is 2.5 years old and still in his crib). Below are a couple of my adventures, with corresponding links to Ana's blog/plans.

Clip Art Rails:
Seemed pretty simple as a beginner project - dismantle and paint some wooden clothespins, reassemble, then attach to a 1x2 strip that I had sanded and 'painted' (I used a Minwax PolyShades, which did stain and polyurethane in one step)

The problem that I had was attaching the clothespins to the wood strip....
first I tried wood glue, but the weight of the clothespins as I wanted them positioned did not allow them to stay put long enough for the glue to set;
then I tried hot glue, which set nicely, but when we nailed the strip to the wall, the vibrations caused most of the clothespins to fall off, leaving me with a clipless clip rail, otherwise known as a silly looking rail;
finally we settled on using a quick-setting Loctite Gel to re-attach the clothespins, and so far it's held up pretty good.

End table:
Our first furniture project, I think it turned out pretty good... we did have a minor issue with the spacers for the side rails splitting because DH was using nails that were too thick. While we were assembling it, Silly Monster decided that it made good 'garage' for his truck

Here again, I finished the table with the Minwax one-step Polyshades. Conveniently, it's just the right height for the garbage can.

Hello World! (sorry, the computer geek me couldn't resist)

First off, I should put down the disclaimer that my idea of 'fun' is probably not the same as yours. I consider sewing and painting and cake decorating and cooking 'fun' - to some, that sounds like 'work', but I find joy in creating things and projects (and maybe some of you that think those sound like 'work' can live vicariously through my 'fun').
Secondly, I'm not particularly interested in how many people are following my blog or how helpful or popular this might be (although, it would be kinda cool were those things to happen) - but rather, I have started this in an attempt to keep myself more accountable. Sometimes I get so busy with 'life' that I'll find that I've accomplished nothing (and perhaps am in a worse spot than at the beginning of the day) - I'm hoping that by having 'accomplishments' to post here, I can keep my focus on moving forward in, rather than being overwhelmed by, life.