Silhouette Cameo Projects

For Christmas, The Builder bought me a Silhouette Cameo!  I've been wanting one for a couple of year, but I tend to be cheap thrifty when it comes to things for "me". 

So my lovely gift arrived the day before Christmas and I was a good girl and left it in the box until Christmas day.  And then I got it plugged in and the software downloaded...and had no idea what project I should do first.  So my lovely gift as sat for a couple of weeks.

Then I saw this post:

In case you didn't know, the only thing I enjoy more than crafting and sewing is cooking.  I LOVE to cook, and my cooking blog The Copper Skillet has been around much longer than this blog (and it's been neglected the past 6 months due to work, which I plan to rectify soon).  I have a lot of spices.  I mean, a LOT! 

I used to just buy Spice Islands spices.  Why?  My mom always bought them.  Yep, no other reason.  I had so many, I even asked my dad (the Original Builder!) to make me a spice rack when I got my first apartment - which he did.  But I LONG since ran out of room for all of them.  I have a cupboard dedicated to just my spices.  When I discovered my local grocer carries an excellent selection of bulk spices, which are a fraction of the cost as the ones that come in these cute bottles, I made the switch. I have quite the collection of them.  Currently they're stored in a tin because they provide zip lock bags when you purchase them and I need them to be air tight - it's humid here in Houston and I don't like clumpy spices.  But that makes them hard to find quickly sometimes.

I really wanted to etch my glasses the way Sawdust & Embryos did. But sometimes my market has unique bulk spices that I can only get for a limited time.  So if etch a jar, and then have nothing to put in it later...it seems like a waist.  Plus it's my first silhouette project.  I wasn't 100% sure how she laid hers out so I just used black vinyl to make labels and liquid chalk pens to write the spice names.  Here's my version:
I just want to say if you're looking for glass containers for your spices or staples, World Market can't be beat!  The small jars I used for the spices were 99 cents each.  They have rubber seals to help lock out the humidity.  The large jar was $4.99.  When I was at Hobby Lobby looking for the liquid chalk pens, I perused the glass section to see if they were comparable - and they were NOT!  Those small jars are $4.99 at my Hobby Lobby and the large jar was $9.99!  So comparison shopping is good.

The labels are a little finicky on the curved bottles and took some time getting them to stick down. (My friend M told me she wasn't a fan of the Hobby Lobby black vinyl, so I'm going to have to see if I can find an online source).  With the liquid chalk pens, I can simply change the name of the spice if it's one I don't buy again.  So very handy for my kitchen.  Plus these little jars hold a LOT in them.  Which is good!

I did one more small project for my powder room as well.  The Builder made the Barnyard Frame I found on Anna White's site for the Powder Rm. last spring, and the frames have sat empty ever since.  I had him build them to accommodate 12x12 scrapbook paper, but while I've had lots of ideas, none have actually made it into the frames.  They hang empty on the walls.  Until now!

I found this as a stock design on Silhouette store and could knew it was one of the ones I wanted.  I did put a layer of modge podge over it to seal it, since it's in a bathroom.  But this is just a powder room without a shower, so there shouldn't be any issues.

This actually very dimensional, but I couldn't get that to photograph in the tight space.  Again, I'm pleased at how it turned out.  I need to learn how to use the sketch pens for the project that I want for the 2nd of the three frames, but that's for another weekend.

I expect you will be seeing more Silhouette projects in the coming months!

Craftsman Frame

My middle son is crazy about moose.  He has several stuffed moose, a moose game, and moose toys.  I'm not sure where the love of moose came from, but when we moved last year, he wanted his room to be moose themed as well.  I wasn't surprised

When I saw Anna White's Crafsman Frame, I thought it would go great with the rustic theme I had planned for his bedroom.  Then I saw this print on Etsy and knew it would be a perfect match.  This frame was easy to build - under two hours, including staining.  We bought two pine boards, totaling $6 (we used a finished grade wood that was a little more in cost but easier for staining).  The stain was leftover from his bed and I already had pocket screws leftover from our cabinet project.  

And the ledge makes a perfect shelf for his Lego Ninjago characters, lol... 

New Years Updates

So I've started off the new year with some small updates!  The first one is the rug.  I LOVE this rug.  I loved it when I saw it hanging on the wall in the The Country Door Catalog, I loved it on their web site.  Just plain loved it.  You know, except for the price...not such a fan of the price.

A few days after Christmas, the medium sized rug went on sale!  I really would have love the larger one but I'm just too practical. This is the same sized rug it's replacing, so I decided to go for it.  No regrets, I love love it even more in person.

I also added the grate above the cabinet.  This room has a vaulted ceiling which is great, because it opens up the whole room.  But it makes the cabinet look short, which has been bothering me.  The picture and the lanterns to the left hung higher, and I needed something to balance it out.  And texture.  I needed some more texture in the room.  The grate is a perfect addition!

Yes, I know, the cabinet isn't styled yet.  Baby steps.  The grate though.  It's perfect!  It's exactly what was needed to visually heighten the space.  I'm not sure yet if I'm going to put anything on top of the cabinet yet.  I was originally thinking some greenery would be nice...but now I'm not so sure.

I think accessorizing the cabinet will be next on the list of things to accomplish.  I think I'll go peruse Pinterest for a bit for ideas :)