Shoe Addict Thriving: Binge vs. Budget-- Canvases

Shannon:

02/23/2011

Image Credit {diyideas.com}

I went to go buy some canvases for the wall art collages in Ben's mancave. I took Ben with me because I was getting some pretty large canvases and needed his large manly arms to carry them through the store for me. (He did very well at this task except for when we got to the registers and he turned abruptly towards me to ask me a question and hit me in the face with them.) He gasped quite loudly and protested greatly when we walked around the corner and he saw a 16x20" canvas on sale for $50. 

 
I quickly explained that this was the professional grade, heavy duty, gallery wrapped canvas....we were going for the cheap stuff - back stapled, on sale, and about $20 (sale price) for a 24x48" canvas. If you are a professionally trained artist and you are planning on doing high-end works of art worthy of the MoMA then by all means get the professional high quality canvas.

However, if you are like me and just dabble in DIY wall art made on the cheap so you don't feel guilty when you swap it out in six months, then I suggest you get the cheap stuff. Here are some fun article ideas for DIY wall art on canvas.

Paint Four Separate Canvases

Enlarge Textbook Copy on Canvas

Homemade wall decorations with canvas

My chair to canvas project

Shoe Addict Thriving: Getting Back Into the Swing of Things

Shannon:

02/21/2011

{Image Credit: Travelpod.com - pops4}

 Well, I am back from vacation and trying to get into the swing of things again. Crafting has been the last thing on my mind since I got back on Saturday, and it probably won't be a high priority until the million other things on my to do list are complete.

My first priority and motivation were pretty clear. I started the Holiday season with 3 lbs more than my "ideal" weight. After taking the cake decorating class and eating through the Holidays I added about 8 lbs to that. By the end of the cruise I just got back from I felt like all of my clothes were too tight. I figured I gained a couple of pounds, but when I jumped on the scale out of curiosity when I got home I gained 6 lbs! That is one pound per day on the ship!

This shouldn't have been surprising because there is always food readily available everywhere and anytime you might want it. You start getting into the deplorable habit of eating every 90 minutes. The day starts by room service bringing you breakfast...this you keep somewhat healthy: scrambled eggs, apple juice, wheat toast and jam, and some fresh fruit. Then you venture out into the ship, onto the boardwalk section where the free donut shop is. You adore donuts. They are you favorite food, and they are free. So you have one, okay, two donuts.

It's 11:30 or so by now so you wait and hour and then go grab lunch from the cafe. You grab a fairly healthy sandwich...and then a cookie. Deciding to stroll about the ship while nibbling your cookie you find yourself on the pool deck just as you finish it. Your tiny hand is feeling bereft and needy right as you look up and see the self-service frozen yogurt machine. So you take a cone of fro-yo as you pass. You manage not to eat much more than maybe another cone of fro-yo for a long while and then you're wandering around the ship with 2.5 hours left until dinner and you think, "I should go grab something to hold me over." And you do...you go get a piece of pizza because it's free, and you might get too hungry before dinner actually starts.

Finally, you manage to make your way into dinner. You would think by now that the amount of calories consumed would make you feel sick and you would just pick at dinner. But the formal dinning room has the best food on the whole ship. Everything is made with heavy cream and butter and is extra delicious. You can order whatever you want...even two of something if the mood strikes you. You feel a sense of accomplishment with every bite you get down while cruising. So you eat 3 sourdough rolls, a vidalia onion tart, sea bass with asparagus, the dessert sampler, and a piece of the cheesecake. And after going to your show you stroll down for another cookie while waiting for the late night entertainment to start.

Really now that I think about it the miracle is that I ONLY gained 6lbs. So armed with determination and an empty refrigerator I decided to do the South Beach diet and cook all my food instead of buying it. I managed to cook every night so far - and each meal took less than 20 minutes to throw together. Our menu so far has been:

Night 1: Chipotle seasoned Mahi Mahi burgers with sliced avocado
Night 2: Garlic and Herb marinated Mahi Mahi with steamed green beans
Night 3: Grilled sirloin steak for Ben, Gardein for me and the rest of the steamed green beans
Night 4: Mahi Mahi burgers with mixed green salad with pecans, tomatoes, red peppers, and avocado. Throughout the day we munch on raw peanuts and pistachios, sliced red pepper and broccoli dipped in hummus, skim milk cheese snacks, or mozzarella and tomato salads.

Shoe Addict Thriving: Crafting on the Go

Shannon:

02/01/2011

I am in the process of packing for my vacation and I always take along a few things with me to do on the plane. I usually take a small crochet project and a sketch book with me. Here are some tips for taking crochet on the plane.

1. Get yourself some bamboo or plastic hooks. This goes for knitting as well as crochet. Crochet hooks tend to look less threatening than knitting needles. This article has great tips for knitting. While plastic hooks are cheaper I have to say I would invest the money in the bamboo. I purchased them a year and a half ago for an Orlando, FL. vacation with my husband and they are now the only hooks I use.

2. Small, blunt craft scissors with a blade under 4 inches are allowed on the plane! TSA's prohibited sharp objects list shows that "Scissors - metal with pointed tips and blades shorter than four inches" are allowed in carry one. I am always paranoid that they are going to take away my craft scissors even child ones with blunt tips. Also, the cruise line that we are going on has notorious crazy scissor confiscation stories and a whole message board dedicated to ways to outsmart the scissor police. So here is an out of the box option - Empty Floss Container!

3. Don't get to carried away. Be realistic you will probably only work on it during the flight so work on something with only a couple of colors.

Shoe Addict Thriving: Pineapple Upside-down Rum Cake

Shannon:

01/28/2011

I recently tested out this recipe from cdkitchen.com. (I have had pretty good luck with their recipes) It was for a Pineapple Upside Down Rum Cake. My co-worker has been asking for a cake like this since I first started the cake decorating classes back in August 2010. I have never made a rum cake or a pineapple upside down cake before and so I had no idea how to tell if this was a good recipe or not.

I purchased this adorable individual pineapple upside down cake pan from Amazon. Well, my co-workers birthday was yesterday so although the cake was not delivered to him on his actual birthday due to snow...I baked the recipe last night and made one pan of these. (I had left over batter, but was way too lazy to bake it up.)

I have a pineapple allergy so I made three with pineapple rings and made three like regular rum cakes. I used Myer dark rum and while it was pretty expensive I read up and found that this was a recommended dark rum for baking with. Remember when cooking with liquor - you are cooking out the alcohol and are being left with the taste/flavor. You don't want something that is cheap and tastes gross...it is good to put your money into what will soon be in put to the test on your taste buds.


Without delicious pineapple :(



It was not a hard batter to make it was difficult to put into the pans because it was a thicker batter and did not pour and settle like a typical boxed cake mix. The difficulty to this recipe was really that it had multiple components with the glaze, fruit, and batter. I baked it 5 minutes less than the recipe called for and when I did the toothpick test the cake was still gooey. I let it bake for the remaining 5 minutes and although the cake is still moist...it probably could have cooked for a couple minutes less.

I like my rum cake rummy so I also poked some holes into the bottom of the cakes and put a little of the left over glaze on the bottom as well. Overall, I really liked the recipe it had really nice flavor and texture. My co-worker had a great suggestion for me to add peach rings to the bottom of the pan as a substitute for the pineapple I am allergic to. I am definitely going to make it again and try that out!


The birthday boy's cake...two cherries instead of just one!

Shoe Addict Thriving: Hat Pin Heaven... And Gluing My Fingers Together

Shannon:

01/27/2011

I finally got my hat pin findings in and with cruise a mere 7 DAYS AWAY!!!! I was excited to start putting together some hat pins. I got a very good start on them and made myself a variety to go with the different things I might wear on the cruise.

Hats are going to be a must on the cruise...staying out of the sun for a very fair skinned melanoma survivor is priority number one! I quickly discovered a couple of things about the hat pins:

1. They are very very sharp.
2. They did not come with a nail head like pictured.
3. They are a lot more bendable than I expected

To try and prevent the top bead from sliding off I used a bit of beading glue - essentially super glue. I managed to glue my fingers together and to the hat pin finding the last one I made for the night.

So with one hand and some nail polish remover....

I tried to get my fingers free. 5 minutes later I had one free.

5 more minutes together and I managed to get the rest of my hand free. I will admit to still having super glue remnants on my fingers this morning.

Here are some of the results.

Shoe Addict Thriving: Practicing with Mod Podge

Shannon:

01/26/2011

 

I have been wracking my brain and searching the Internets to figure out how to achieve the look I wanted for the wall art in Ben's man cave. I wanted to mount the pictures from the University of Maryland on canvas and then hang the canvases on the feature wall of his room.

When I searched the Internet there were many websites that had snarky answers such as, "Why would you want to mount a photo on a canvas? Why wouldn't you just have the photo printed on the canvas?" I had basically given up on the idea and just decided to do the collage in giant frames from the craft store.

Luckily at the homemade gift exchange last Friday my friend introduced me to the little product known as Mod Podge. I am not quite sure how I have made it this long without knowing what Mod Podge is, but am I glad she let me know about it! I searched Mod Podge the other day and found that there are many how to articles on how to mount photo's to canvas with it.

digitalscrapbookplace.com had a lovely tutorial on making art on canvas. They used one print out to cover the entire canvas. Check it out for lovely ideas for canvas art.

ehow.com had many articles on how to use Mod Podge on canvas. They say to use the fabric kind to mount things on canvas.

For my test run I simply used the matte finish regular kind. I used an old canvas and painted it blue with left over latex wall sample paint. I then took pictures of my niece, nephew, and dad to make a canvas "scrapbook page" for my dad and mom.

I didn't do the most perfect job on it - some of the pictures are mounted crookedly. I really just wanted to get an idea of how the product would work. I was pleased with how easy it was to use, how it adhered the photos to the canvas, and how the finish looked. I believe I have found the technique I am going to use...now to plan out the canvases themselves.

Shoe Addict Thriving: Tying Up Loose Ends

Shannon:

01/21/2011

Crochet patterns always instruct you to weave in the tail of the knot after you end a color. I have never liked the results of this method. The kind of yarns I like to use are often very soft and sort of slick. It tends to loosen and slip out of where you have woven it in.

I sew down each knot in order to eliminate the worry that the crochet product will unravel or come loose. This is how I do it:

1.) I take needle and thread that closely match the yarn and sew through the yarn knot 3-4 times in different directions.

2) Then I tightly loop the thread around the "tail" of the yarn 3-4 times to make a tight hold on the tail.

3) I then guide the needle down the middle of the thread holding down the tail and make a knot and then cut the tail off close to that knot.

This leaves me with a nice finished end that I don't have to worry will come loose.

Shoe Addict Thriving: Scarf Disaster

Shannon:


01/07/2011

{Image Credit: http://www.patonsyarns.com/}

 So  it all started with my love of Paton's Divine yarn.  It is the fuzziest, softest feeling, puffiest looking yarn ever.  I fell in love with it.  I promptly made myself my very first crochet project of a scarf and matching hat.  I made scarves and hats for a few of my friends.  Unfortunately the yarn contains 10.5% wool and 10.5% mohair.  I discovered quickly that I had reactions to wearing anything made with any kind of animal hair.  Rabbit hair, mohair, wool, cashmere...all out.  

I always look longingly at the cashmere displays in the department stores.  I run my hands over soft fuzzy knit hats, scarves, and sweaters immediately begin itching and break out in a rash from face to belly.  I had to give up my first scarf and hat.  I now religiously read labels to see what the fabric contents are, and I constantly search for soft fuzzy yarn that is made from acrylic or some other material that will give me the same feel of the Paton's yarn.

Recently I went to my local craft store and saw a new brand of yarn in its expanded yarn section.  There on the shelf with a shaft of the purest light shining upon it was the yarn - Loops & Threads Sante Fe Striped Brushed yarn.  It looked so inviting, the color combinations pretty, and I thought to myself, "It can't be soft because it's probably wool."  I ran my hand over it.  It was soft.  I held my breath as I pulled it off the shelf and looked at the content... a host of angels began softly singing as I read  - 88% acrylic 12% polyester. 



I was so excited.  I broke my budget rules and binged.  I got three skeins of each color, and at $4.99/skein it was not a cheap bill.  I got home and began my scarf.  I used the skein that was hand painted in reds, pinks, and oranges.  Well, I made a huge mistake.  Almost at the end of one skein I looked down and realized - It looks like I skinned Animal from the Muppets and made him into a scarf.


Not every project turns out how you pictured it in your mind, but in crafting you learn from these happy failures and move on.  There is always the good and the bad and the unintentionally ugly.  I am still going to wear the scarf...it does have some kind of retro 70's appeal to it.  If you realize early on that your project is headed for disaster try to abandon ship.  If you realize it half way through try to think of a way to correct course and fix it.  And if you get to the end look down and realize you have created a great big pile of fugly - toss it, donate it, or wear your mistake proudly. 

Animal {Image Credit: Muppet Central.com}

Shoe Addict Thriving: Budget vs. Binge -- Yarn

Shannon:

01/06/2011

I have two modes when purchasing yarn for projects: budget or binge.  Usually binging wins out and I end up with way more yarn than what I need.  I end up buying too much because I but it online.  One of my favorite resources for all things yarn is http://www.knitting-warehouse.com/.  When I get on the website to order the color and quantity I need for a new project I end up getting distracted by all the other colors available.  I think to myself, "Well, that's a really pretty color and I can always use that in another project."

Well, now I have ended up with 6 bins overflowing with various yarn - some colors I have never used.  So I still end up binging, but I have made myself practice discipline when it comes to new projects.  

Are there situations where it is actually good to binge?  The answer is yes.  I am constantly re-ordering my neutrals.  White, Cream, Tan, Camel, Light Brown fly out of my bins faster than anything in my hobby room.  I also make baby blankets so colors like the softest shade blues, greens, purples, pinks, and yellow are good to have on hand in larger quantities. Crochet is one of my most participated in hobbies so I do dedicate more of my hobby spending money and organization space to yarn.  I still order my neutrals and baby blanket colors online when I am running low and order large quantities of them.  I have been mid-project and lost steam to finish it because I needed more of a color.  However, I have started practicing budget when it comes to special projects and non-typical colors.  

One thing that really undermines my budget mentality is when I go to the store, they don't have the yarn I need, and I have to go online to order it.  My binge temptation is always online, but yours may be when you go in the store and see all the lovely colors and types of yarn.  Know your weaknesses and try to use avoidance as a method of dealing with it.  If you can be disciplined online then don't drive to the store or stay away from the yarn section when you are there for something else.  If online shopping makes it too easy for you to order en mas then drag yourself out to get supplies for the project that you are starting.  (Project planning helps with sticking to your budget - post on this topic coming next week.)   

When to budget - when your spending money is tight.  To help budget:

1. Plan out your project.
2. Look at your inventory - can you adjust your plan to use something you already have?
3. Shop around - don't just go to Michael's: look for prices online (don't forget to add shipping into the price/skein), think Walmart, and use coupons (http://www.michaels.com/ always has 40% coupons).
4. Only buy what you need.

When to Binge - when all three of the following are making the perfect storm:

1. When you have extra cash on hand.
2. When you have a need for yarn (some of you standard colors are low/gone in your inventory)
3. There is a sale on yarn.

So, keep in mind that planning, budgeting and discipline help eliminate overspending, overflowing mess, and unnecessary inventory.

Shoe Addict Thriving: Finished Hobby Room

Shannon:

01/05/2012

My new Ikea Storage

My brother re-purposes the old shelves to clean his room up.

Finally have room for my dress form in my hobby room.  

(You can see all the mess I still have to sort through on the side)

Shoe Addict Thriving: Fake It

Shannon:

01/04/2011

Chair from Arhaus furniture


"I decided that I am sick of buying generic wall art even if I get it cheap from somewhere.  I figure... even though I don't really know what I am doing.... I can fake it.  I recently made a series of wall art for my kitchen makeover.  I was inspired by a new chair with a unique pattern that my husband let me get for our anniversary.  I really wanted to tie in the pattern, colors, and feel of the chair into my whole living space.  I started by taking pictures of different "pieces" of the pattern that I liked.    I got these photos printed in the size of the canvases I was going to paint on.  I got a cheap 10 pack of canvases for about $10 at Michael's for this.  I probably could have achieved the same look by just framing the prints, but I love the texture that canvas and real paint add.

I then traced the larger shapes and parts of the pattern onto tracing paper in order to make a stencil.  I used an exacto knife to cut out pieces of my homemade stencil and then traced the overall shapes onto the canvases.  For example: in the following picture I first cut out the "meat" of the bulb and the stem shapes.   You can see on the left where the red arrows are pointing on the photo.  I after I had the basic shapes traced on the canvas I added in the details by hand.  As you can see the patchwork pattern on the largest part of the bulb is not remotely the same, but it still gives the overall appearance and feel of the original pattern.  

For paint I had already purchased sample interior latex paints from colors in the pattern to decide what colors to carry over onto the kitchen walls.  I used the sample paints to paint in the details of the patterns.  I ended up doing at least two coats of each color.  The paints cost about $3 each for a total cost of $39.  I would have used regular acrylic paints, but didn't want the sample paints I had already purchased to go to waste.  In total the project cost me $49 and gave me a large statement wall in the kitchen. 

It took me about 2 hours to complete each canvas.  The latex paint dried fast and I was able to start the second coat as soon as I had finished the first coat.  When I finished all of my canvases I just arranged and re-arranged them on the floor in front of the wall they were going on until I had what I wanted. 

For those that will look at this and say, "I am not artsy at all.  I don't know how to paint."  Try this for a similar look.  Get stencils of patterns at your local art/craft store.  Stencil the patterns on various canvases and then paint them in.  (If you want to do it really fast you can use spray paint or roll one color on with a mini roller!)  You can do the same pattern with the canvases facing different ways like above or you can really mix it up and paint the pattern in a variety of colors and color combinations to make your own one of a kind wall art.  

You don't have to be a trained artist to have original art hanging on your walls - just fake it with confidence.  If you have any suggestions of DIY wall art add it in the comments!"

Shoe Addict Thriving: Monday Motivation

Shannon:

01/03/2011

"On New Year's Eve I was over our friends house and saw a shelving unit in her children's playroom that made me go ooooooohhhhhh! I was immediately inspired to organize my room of shame. The shelving system was from Ikea and although it was designed to be storage for children it is perfect for my craft room.  Then the next day I got this article in my email  Better Homes and Gardens - tips for organization room by room.  While the rooms didn't include an office, craft, or hobby room alot of the tips are applicable.  

 

TROFAST storage (credit http://www.ikea.com/)

 So now thoroughly motivated, I dragged poor Ben (husband of 5 years) out and then spent hours and hours in Ikea. I will say that I had some extra cash so I was able to get 5 of the shelving units which gave me 5 shelves and 27 bins worth of storage for a cool $313.  Now if you have to purchase organization that is not to bad as far as cost goes.  By the by.... the other storage I had in the room which didn't hold all my things that well and I had slowly purchased on what I thought what was the cheap over the years actually had cost me  $518.21!!! 

Not to name names, but this system was from a large chain with a distinct red circular logo.  (Lest you think me wasteful it is bring re-purposed in other room closets for storage.  Now that I added it up and know how much in total it cost it's getting used until it falls apart.)

 

Drawer Storage - jeanettes.typepad.com

 If you do not have the extra money lying around, however, and you already have plastic storage units I would recommend using the bins you already have to save money. Another out of the box, cost-saving storage unit is using bookshelves purchased from yard sales, flea markets, Craig's list, or even better free onhttp://www.freecycle.org/ and utilizing extra boxes and baskets as the organization bins.  (The dollar store does have small plastic craft organizers and baskets.)  

Does anyone else have any out of the box storage ideas? (Comments and ideas welcome!)"

Shoe Addict Thriving: "Let It Go"

Shannon:

12/31/2012

"Have you ever looked at a tarted up, wrinkly old lady in Juniors glittery pink tank top, skinny jeans, and a pair of heels, her over-bleached hair stiffly framing a botoxed face, and thought to yourself, "Just let it go already!"? Well, sometimes when it comes to hobbies and craft projects-- specifically your own-- you are just as blissfully unaware as that old lady.

Oops... that's not an old lady... other stuff still applies. 

(Photo credit: www.vh1.com) 

It is really hard to let projects go. Every time you pass that half finished thing you think, "I am going to finish that...can't throw that away!" Well, you need to let it go. Let that bad boy get into the figurative age appropriate shapeless track suit and let it be comfortable in its sunset years.
Go through your supplies and projects and organize them into something resembling the following piles:

This will be divided up into multiple postings...one per type of pile

1) Haven't used in over 2 years.
2) Less than 25% complete.

3) 50 % done.
4) Almost complete - just some finish work
5) Still in the planning stage
For pile #1: Any craft that you haven't participated in for 2 years needs have some serious thought given towards it leaving your supply pile. Ask yourself (and be honestand realistic) Am I going to use this stuff anymore? If the answer is no - and it should be no if you haven't used something in over 2 years.. find someone to give it to or harvest it for parts.
P.S. If your answer was yes you can apply to be on the show hoarders here.

For example: I have a glaring pile of wrinkly old lady cleavage in the form of a paper making supplies, a pile of denim, and yards and yards of fringe. I haven't used the paper making stuff since before I graduated high school (over ten years ago). The denim was a DIY project when turning a pair of jeans into a cute funky skirt was popular - seams were split and then promptly shoved in a corner (at least 7 years ago). And the yards of fringe I ordered for a great deal on eBay and when it came instead of the lovely silvery blue in the picture it was more of a garish royal blue. (about 5 years ago)

Here's how I dealt with the items. The pile of denim was irredeemable. The denim was stained, bleached out. ripped apart, and let's face it the project is never going to happen. I have long gone all establishment on my former inner-hippie. I have no reason or inclination to dress in a multi-denim DIY skirt. So I relegated these particular items into the rubbish bin and called it a day.

The fringe was harder to let go of. While to most it probably would look like I murdered cousin it and hid him in the bottom shelf of my craft room. I have an unnatural affinity towards fringe and just seeing that perfectly great pile of it that I had forgotten I even had brought back urges of holding on. "I could use this for something" I thought to myself. And then I remembered why I was doing this to free up space in my room of shame. So before I could hang on I put it on free cycle. It isn't bad quality and I had managed to bleach it out to a pleasing bronze-beige color. If someone else has something they can legitimately use it for then it shouldn't go to waste.

Finally I got to my paper making supplies. I remembered fondly that I loved making paper. I would use my mother's blender to make pulp....add in rose petals and lavender to sent the pages. I used to make it all the time for homemade cards and little love notes. I thought I should use this again. (No one ever said letting go was easy!) Then I remembered that the screens were broken years ago and all I had left of the stuff was what was in this box - bits of cut up construction paper, lavender so old it had no smell any more, and a disreputable moldy looking sponge. The top of the box was pretty damaged but the base was good. The stuff and lid joined the denim and I re purposed the base of the box to as a drawer organizer to hold my paints.

So for stuff you haven't used in over two years try to ask yourself the hard questions:
Do I need it?
Am I going to actually use this?
Is it usable?
Can someone else use it? ....and....
Are there things I can use in hobbies I actually still participate in?"