Quick Cork Board

OK, I promised you a quick and easy project so here it is.  I needed a cork board for our little kitchen desk to hold post-it-notes and appointment cards and could not find one the right size which did not cost a fortune, being the crafty lady I am I made one.  Here is what I did.

I purchased some 12 x 12 cork tiles at Staples and a nice brown/black 17”x14” frame with a glass front and a white mat inside, the frame was on clearance at Michael's. The inside of the frame was only 11” so I got out my x-acto knife and my cutting mat and carefully trimmed off the excess.  I was going to remove the glass but decided to leave it and attach the cork to the glass with heavy duty two side stick tape making it sit flush with the frame.  I had a choice to either add another piece of cork or leave it a bit short and decorate the top or use it as a dry erase board for little notes.  I chose some great word stickers to finish off my project, all done, super quick, very easy and half the price.

There were still three cork tiles left in the package so I chose to create a cork board for the laundry room by cutting and attaching the cork tiles to the inside of one of the cabinet door insets.  Using my x-acto knife and the double side stick tape made it another quick and easy project; I got two cork boards for the price of one all in a single sitting.

Thanks for letting me share my Quick Cork Board project with you today, I still have several other quick and easy projects to share with you along with lots of fun fall designs to warm up your home and curb appeal.

See you soon.

Laurette

Winners - Spring Splash Give-away

A big thank you to those of you who took the time to enter your comments or send me e-mails with all your wonderful ideas for the fabrics I recently won in a blog give-away.   

Some of the consistent ideas for creating projects with my winnings were; all kinds of different purses, tote bags, zip bags and baby quilts.

The items suggested which were unique or different I did not think of were; a name badge/passport holder, a journal cover, a ruffled throw pillow, a themed wall hanging, quilted chair back covers, traveling studio bag, a quilter’s apron and my all time favorite, a sewing machine cover.  All great projects and very creative; from those suggestions I plan to make a quilted sewing machine cover, a quilter’s apron, a journal cover and a name badge holder.   With the larger panel I will be making a decorative wall hanging using mixed media techniques and embellishments. 

I am going to be very busy all spring and summer working on the Vintage Notions fabric projects and the Tres Chic Paris home décor furnishings.  Between all the sewing, landscaping, painting and furniture refinishing I need to do, I will have plenty of inspiration for my blog posts clear through to fall.  Keep an eye out for all these great projects as they roll into my creative blog.

My winners:

Quilting Grandma from Kansas won the fat quarter prize for her sewing machine cover, quilter’s apron and decorative wall hanging ideas.

Sheila Galindo won the little bird stationary set for her name badge/passport holder and journal cover ideas.

Thanks so much ladies for sharing your wonderful, creative suggestions with me, I can’t wait to get sewing.  Up next on my blog is a landscaping project my husband and I finished last weekend, lots of photos with this one.  See you soon.  Laurette

Fall Floral Arrangements

As each season arrives it brings a certain kind of renewal depending upon which season it is.  Fall brings warmth, a new golden light and host of beautiful colors to our flowers, mountains and trees.  I love this time of year and do my best to bring fall to all of my surroundings, even though I live in California and we don’t get the real fall like the mid-west and the east coast.

This is one of the seasonal changes I make every year; four fall flower arrangements. I thought I would include a few pictures of the process as I worked on my projects.

I purchased a box load of high quality silk flowers in all my favorite rich, elegant colors, along with some floral foam.

Out came my box of tools; scissors, wire cutters, box cutter, foam, wire, floral tape and silk stems.

I cut foam and stems to fit the size of the containers I was using then began the process of arranging my flowers.

Time to make some pretty bows for two of my flower arrangements.  See the posting, Pumpkin Bling, for instructions on how to make bows using wired ribbons.

All finished, isn't it pretty and fall fantastic.

I made the above arrangement and another one just like it to take to my Mom’s grave site and these two outdoor arrangements, in the silver containers, for my Father-in-Law’s.  I like to change their arrangements at the beginning of each season if possible; these were done around the first of September and will be changed again at the beginning of December.  It is a good way to honor those we love, who have passed away, giving a little color, love and care to their final resting places.

Thanks for letting me share this project with you.  Look for a bit of bling and some other colorful ventures coming from my studio.  See you soon.