• Posts Tagged ‘#crafturday’

    The Wide World of Crafting Gets Me Every Time

    by  • October 2, 2012 • Blog Love

    Not too long ago I shared the story of my coworker/friend/fellow blogger, Emily of The Great Wide Open. Well, recently, Emily stopped by the official Toyidermy workshop (aka, my apartment) to see if crafting might be her next great passion in life. Above you can see she is hard at work. But, no worries. It wasn’t all business. Now, stop reading my blog and go see what she has to say on her blog.

    Thanks for stopping by, Emily!

    A (G)Old Fan Gets Me Every Time

    by  • September 21, 2012 • Boston Love, Gallery

    Remember when I went to SOWA a few weeks ago and picked up something from the vintage market? Well, this is it. A lil retro metal fan. I promise I took some before photos of this guy, but I cannot seem to find them, so you’ll just have to take my word for it when I tell you the base was a rustic light green color. Well, most of it was. The other parts of it were bare metal that was starting to get a little rusty.

    So, I grabbed a can of spray paint, and voila. I was originally going to use a golden yellow, but I thought the metallic gold really classed it up a bit. A $20 retro fan given new life. Thanks SOWA Vintage Market!

    Around Here Gets Me Every Time

    by  • September 13, 2012 • Dear Diary

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    Hello faithful readers. My apologies for the lack of a regular posts here lately. The Mr. and I are working on some big plans (no, not that plan, mom) so I’ve been keeping myself busy. Other than that we’re just welcoming back football season (and crockpot season), taking the cat (Louise) to her “back-to-school” check-up, and I’ve been fulfilling lots of custom orders for Toyidermy.

    I’ve also been thinking about entering a craft show this winter. Do you think I could do it? Have you ever sold anything you’ve made? 

    Until next time, stay busy and happy!

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    Here & There Gets Me Every Time

    by  • August 29, 2012 • Dear Diary


    Let’s start with the “there.” Last weekend, I was in Pittsburgh, PA for a dance teacher convention. What’s that you ask? Basically it’s three days of learning dances, warmups and teaching techniques for all ages. And during the time not spent dancing, you’re pretty much eating or sleeping or talking about dancing.


    Eating things like this steak salad topped with fries—they only make them like this in “the ‘Burgh.”


    And sipping cocktails and mocktails all while having a few hours to catch up with my mother. We only see each other a few times a year so we try to use dance as an excuse to get together if we can. (Mom is a dance teacher too, by the way.)


    And this was a most convenient meeting place because we actually never left the airport really. The hotel where the conference was held was connected to the airport. So you could see, and wave to, all the planes coming and going.


    When we get to the “here,” I must start with this plant. Is it time for a bigger pot? Interwebs help, I’m not quite sure what I’m doing from this point on.


    New duds coming to the shop soon, just in time for football season. But for now, you just get a sneak peek and a chance to win some toyidermy over on Cubicle57.


    Of course I can’t do an around here roundup without a picture of Louise and a little project preview. More on that next week, friends.

    A Family Map Gets Me Every Time

    by  • August 24, 2012 • Gallery, Made It

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    As I mentioned yesterday, my nephew Liam was celebrating his birthday. So, to wish Liam a happy Birthday formally the way across the country, what better way than to send him the country?

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    I started by grabbing this free map from Mr. Printables and printing it on legal sized paper.
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    Then, I made the pages into stickers using a Xyron machine. And that made it easy to stick the map pieces onto a leftover piece of foam core I found in my office.

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    Then, I cut out the pieces to make a simple U.S. puzzle. Not 50 pieces, but enough to keep a four year old busy for a few minutes.

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    I also wanted to make a few flags that the kids could use to mark where there family lived. Toothpicks were perfect for this. I made small holes with a pushpin so the landmarks are easily found.

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    And of course, I needed a container for the toothpick flags and you can see that an old Altoids tin did the trick.

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    Lastly a simple brown box was the perfect carrying case for all the pieces. I added some decoration and I hope to see some color added to this box very soon.
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    I think homemade gifts can’t be beat. I’ve got a few others in mind, stay tuned.
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    R & R Gets Me Every Time

    by  • August 13, 2012 • Dear Diary, Weekend Roundup

    Every once and a while, I feel like I just need a weekend off. This past weekend was one of those. Just some time to watch some baseball. (Go Sox, and Pirates. Yes, I can have two teams.) Catch up on the DVR’s holdings. Watch the close of the Olympics. Get my craft on, which included filling some custom orders and a bigger project, complete with a trip to Home Depot. So, without any further ado, here’s to another week!

    Easy Art Gets Me Every Time

    by  • August 8, 2012 • Gallery, Made It

    As we saw last week, when you give a writer an art project, she’s bound to put words on it. And that’s exactly what happened again this week. This statement (If you’re not having fun, you’re not doing it right.) has become something like a mantra for me recently, so why not put it somewhere I can see it often.

    I had an old canvas board sitting around and I grabbed the same vinyl letters I used on my minibook a while back. I also grabbed a couple paint brushes, paint and an x-acto knife.

    I’ve seen projects on Pinterest where the whole piece was painted the same color, creating a cool monotone effect, but I wanted something more dramatic. So after the first coat of paint dried, I added another, in a nice, seafoamy, minty green.

    I carefully peeled the letters off (with the x-acto blade) BEFORE the paint dried. I read that’s what you’re supposed to do when making patterns with painters’ tape, so I figured the same logic should work when applied here—and it did.

    Do you think this is a good phrase to live by on the daily? Do you have one too? Let me know, or I’m sticking with “if you’re not having fun, you’re not doing it right.” Now, off to have fun.

    Sweeping It Under The Rug Gets Me Every Time

    by  • August 6, 2012 • Dear Diary, Weekend Roundup

    No, I’m not talking about pushing things aside and forgetting them. Really, I’m not the type to do so. I’m talking about literally sweeping under the rug. The Mr. And I ordered a new rug last week and it came in record time. What do you think?

    We hedged our bets and went with RugsUSA.com, despite reading some negative reviews—no one can please everyone. But, we are more than happy with our gorgeous 6×9 wool rug (that we got at 75% off) that’s currently shedding as much as the cat. It’s a dark charcoal gray with a cream trellis-like pattern. And, it’s, perfect.

    Sorry folks, no before picture here, it was too much to bear. And sorry for the low-quality photos. The iPhone was in full effect, demonstrating how great a 2+ year-old iPhone is at taking photos.


    The rest of the weekend included lying on the new rug, crafting, cooking, fro-yo, painting, olympics, sushi and the regular weekend chores.

    Making A Statement Gets Me Every Time

    by  • August 1, 2012 • DIY Decor, Made It


    It’s project time. And today, I’ve got something to say. Well actually, Arthur Freed has some words for us, but more on that in a moment. First, shall we discuss this inspiration?

    The great canvas above was actually painted with shoe polish—you know, the kind with the sponge tip? Check out all the details from Alisa, if you’re as inspired as I was.

    Now, onto what happened when I picked up a 4×2 foot canvas. But first, a look at the wall space that was looking for some love.

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    See what I mean? I was never quite sure what to do, so some fabric wrapped canvas boards were filling in. Until now. Until I saw Alisa’s awesome canvas. I had to make my own. Immediately I knew I wanted a more scripted look to my canvas, so I grabbed a few paintbrushes and started writing.

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    The words are the lyrics of “All I Do is Dream of You” by Arthur Freed. It’s a song you might recognize from Singin’ In The Rain. But, plenty of other great musicians have covered it too.

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    LikeDean Martin, Perry Como and Michael Buble. And since Mr. GMET and I actually danced to his rendition of the song at our wedding, it’s even closer to my heart.

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    I knew I wanted the script to look pretty natural, so I used a thin brush with very little paint on it for a first pass. I didn’t worry about it being perfect. I just wanted it to look like I, myself, no offense Mr. Freed, had just scrawled out these poetic phrases.

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    After the first round of paint dried, I went back with a heavier coat of paint on a larger brush to get closer to the shoe polish look of my inspiration. Then, I did it once more.

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    And the best part is, if I decide I hate it in a week, I can paint over it and try something else. But right now, all I can think is that if you give a girl some large scale type art, she’ll ask for a headboard to go with it. And just wait till you see what I have in store.

    A Statement Piece Gets Me Every Time

    by  • July 25, 2012 • Crafts, Gallery

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    My friends know me well. Very well. Well enough to forward this DIY link to me. They probably even know me well enough to figure I would have all the supplies I need for this: sunglasses case, mini animal toy, paint, glitter, mod podge, glue, paint brush. Check, check, check, check, check and check. A no-brainer craft project… with one tiny tweak.


    Here’s the thing. I’m probably not going to any derbies or polo matches soon. So, when else would I carry a glittery clutch? Nighttime is the right time. And if it’s evening, I can think of no one but this little night owl to accompany me out on the town. (Well, other than Mr. Gets Me Every Time of course. But, I didn’t think he wanted to be painted silver and superglued to anything.)

    If you’ve been around the blog a while, you know that (because of the shop) I pretty much had an unlimited choice of animals to top my newest accessory with. And don’t think I didn’t experiment with some other guys. Have a look.

    I was digging the preppy look of some of the red puppy, but in the end, the owl just really won me over. I mean, who doesn’t love a great hooter accessory?

    I’ve got my eyes on some other inspired crafty DIY projects. Stay tuned.