Monday, June 6, 2011

Magazine Holder

Hello kittens! It's been a while since a crafty post, but I have been crafting away with my little ones at Y Care.  School is over now for the summer, but I have lots of pics to share with you.  This is one, and there will be more to come!

Take this ugly magazine/periodical holder:
And turn it into this:

I must say, looking at that brown cardboard thing (and its cousin, not pictured, equally hideous white with red cross hatch) made me want to fall asleep.  What to do? We could have painted it, but that seemed boring.  We could have stickered it, but that would be too kitschy.  Finally, I decided to bestow upon my charges the awesomeness of Mod Podge.  

Supplies:
-Magazine holder
-Brightly colored paper
-Mod Podge
-Foam brush

Time:
Varies; as little as 10 minutes (plus drying time), or as long as you want

Steps:
1.Gather brightly colored paper and ugly as death magazine holder.  Slather the surface of the cardboard with Mod Podge using the foam brush.
2. Place the first section of paper (mine was the yellow) and press down, eliminating the bubbles.  Continue with each additional section until done.
3. Cover the whole thing with a coat of Mod Podge.  Let it dry.
4. Behold your awesome new magazine holder! Be prepared for dozens of questions: "How'd you DO that?" He he he.
 
Tips:  
First, measure and mark horizontal lines for later guidance.  
Start with the lightest color first, layering the shades by light to dark.
Wrap corners like a Christmas present wrapping to avoid bunching.

Sunday, May 15, 2011

My Goodness, Where Has All The Time Gone?

Hello readers,

I have participated in dozens of swaps and have blogged about almost none.  My bad!  I'm going through a load of personal laundry right now, so I'll blog when I feel like it again.  Could be a week.  Could be a month.  Definitely this summer, though.

Hugs,
Jenny

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Today Was A Good Day

I am truly blessed to have such a good friend as J!  Check out her blog at Just Another Anonymous Witch.  Today she sent me this gigantic box of goodies.  And it was wrapped like a ninja.  I told her she should wrap for the secret service, lol.

Here is everything she sent me in one teeny-tiny-ninja-wrapped box.

A beautiful journal with one of those magnetic closing covers.

Cupcake cuteness inside.

 
Pretty note inside almost made me cry!

She MADE me this necklace. And two turquoise stones came along for the trip.  Awesome!

A super thoughtful coupon.

A purpley purse for all my purple purse needs.

A crap-ton of stamps for crafting.

2 nail polishes, and some makeup samples.

Squee!!! Pens in my favorite colors, pink and turquoise!

A box of stationery.

A totally uplifting book.

Inside the book.

Love you, Jen!

She knows I hate scary stuff.

This purple shirt, no joke, I have been wanting for 2 years. I even have the magazine ad clipping to prove it...somewhere. 

In addition to my bff's awesomeness, I had some postcard stuff too, today.
Here's some of what I sent out:
Here's one I got in return.

PLUS, my 4 year anniversary with my husband was yesterday.  Here's the card he got me.

Bahaahahahaaaaaa

 And Mother's Day is tomorrow, so he got me a Dog Mom card.
Inside:

See? Today was a good day.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Swap-bot: Let's Fly Away! Postcard Swap

Swap-bot swap: Let's Fly Away! Postcard SwapI swap with Swap-bot!


For this swap, we'll be swapping postcards that feature things with wings ... birds, butterflies, planes, anything that flies! (Have postcards featuring birds that can't fly? Penguins? Ostriches? That's okay, too!) Store-bought postcards only, please. Postcards can be sent naked or in an envelope, sender's choice.

Here's what I sent:
Here's what I got in return:
Received April 10, 2011 from Aimee in NY.
Isn't it awesome?

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Swap-bot: Food PC Swap

Swap-bot swap: Food PC SwapI swap with Swap-bot!
Description:

This swap is going to be a postcard featuring any type of food.
Everyone will have one partner and you can send a homemade card or a store bought card. The food can be either a cartoon, have a recipe on the front or the back, or just something that you like or have in your stash.
Here's what I sent:
I'm pretty sure I got this out of a Seventeen Magazine about 11 years ago.  It has an ad for Target on the back.
Here's what I got in return:
Received April 7, 2011 from Lollipop Marie.
I love it! So cute, yet so simple!

Monday, April 11, 2011

Swap-bot: Crowd Postcard Swap

Swap-bot swap: Crowd postcard swapI swap with Swap-bot!
Description:
Send one postcard to one partner of anything with hundreds or thousands of people on it. A stadium, fairgrounds, the beach, a rally, etc. Store bought only, and written on and stamped.


Here's what I sent:
Does this count as a crowd? It's all I had.

Here's what I received:
Received on April 7, 2011 from Aladyde in Germany.
The description reads, " Bahnstation, 1844. Railway station - Gare. Bundespostmuseum Frankfurt am Main." No idea what that says. :)

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Swap-bot:The Super Boring Scenery Postcard Swap

Swap-bot swap: The Super Boring Scenery Postcard SwapI swap with Swap-bot!
The description:

Here's your chance to get rid of that postcard that's been sitting in your stash forever because it's just too dull to actually send out! (Or if you just want the challenge of shopping for the most boring postcard in the souvenir shop, that's okay too!)
Cards should show some sort of scenery - natural or manmade. The more boring, the better! 
Here's what I sent:
Here's what I got in return:
Received April 7, 2011 from Moowee.  
It's so great! It even arrived dirty (she said she didn't send it that way, lol).  The caption says "Snow Capped Mt. Washington as seen from Highway; WHITE MOUNTAINS, N.H."

Monday, January 24, 2011

Poignant

I read The Bloggess regularly, and recently she posted about "coming out" with mental illness.  She shared a story of a close friend who lost her husband to mental illness, and she linked to a blogger, Michael Kimber, who encourages us to speak out.  Here's his video.



I used to speak about my illnesses to anyone who asked, because I understood the need for educating people about it.  What I didn't understand until I got a bit older is that just because they ask doesn't mean they really want to know.  As I became a teacher, I declared myself fully mentally healthy to the public and kept the Klonopin by the bedside.  I couldn't reveal my struggles for fear of never working again.

Now is the time.  If he can do it, if they can do it, if Jenny the Bloggess can do it, so can I.




Someone once said to me that I was the strongest person they knew.  I said, "I don't feel strong. Not at all."  He said, "You're so used to fighting to be strong, you don't even realize you do it." I'll never forget that moment.




Saturday, January 1, 2011

That's All, Folks

This blog brought me great joy in 2010.  Then I got a job that required my every waking moment's attention, and blogging fell by the wayside, along with thrifty crafting.  And now that it is January 1st of a new year, I have to be honest with myself: having this blog makes me feel guilty.  I feel like I should be blogging, then when I make time, I feel guilty for having nothing thrifty to write about. So in the interest of my sanity, this blog is now on hiatus until further notice. I'll come back, one day.  Don't think you can get rid of me that easily. ;) Probably when the school year gets out and I'm not teaching I'll have more time.

Goodbye, and thanks for all the fish!

Friday, November 26, 2010

Goodwill is Better than Salvation Army

Yes, folks, it's true.  At least in my town.  Goodwill has more stuff, and it's cheaper, even if it is further away from my house.  I am so glad I got a Station Wagon for my replacement car, because I'm able to haul home the good stuff!

$4.99 - We think it had been a butcher's block at one time, but right now it has a formica-looking thing on the top.  This is after I cleaned all the nastiness off the thing.  I shoulda taken a "before" pic, but I want you to keep your lunches. 
 So now I keep all my candles and candle holders in the bottom drawer, all the doggy stuff in the middle drawer, and nothing in the top drawer (yet).

$2.99 - This beauty was mentioned in this post.  I plan to paint the wicker parts an ivory-tanish color.
Oh, and Hannah says hi.