Saturday, December 1, 2012

Queen of Crafts

 So as promised, today I am going to share a little bit of passed down wisdom. For as long as I can remember, I have been doing all kinds of crafts with my grandmother, Mimi (before it was "in!") I have learned most of my tricks of the trade from her. And even though it would fill hundreds of pages to share her projects, I saw a couple that she had done recently when I went to visit and want to share with you, (& some tips!)
How cute is THIS! Most of Mimi's finds for crafts, projects & gifts are found at the thrift store! We are habitual thrift store shoppers, find a piece you love, use your imagination and create! These women are cut-outs from an old book find. (thrift store!) And what a cute little suitcase. How fun would this be for your make up and essentials when traveling?! I know I always look for something with a hard surrounding because who wants smooshed make up or toothpaste??
Okay this is another one of my favorites, if only because I LOVE nursery rhymes! These are cut from a book as well, not only did she cover this, but there is a matching crayon/marker box. What a good gift for a child who loves to draw or write!! I don't think that Mimi has ever used modge podge bought from the store,  she has always made her own. But her famous (and easiest) recipe for it is just Elmer's Glue mixed with water! Simple, right?
These are pretty cool right? Loving all of the colors! Heres a tip that Mimi taught me, you can buy paint samples at the hardware store for about $3. I did know this but I had NO idea that they had so much paint in them! Not only did she do this with one can of each, she also painted two other pieces! Now heres the great thing, if you ask in the hardware store, a lot of times they have samples that were made and were not what the customer wanted, making the extremely discounted! She got each one of these colors for about .50 a piece. WHAT A STEAL!!
And last, but most definitely not least, have a look at this piece she just finished up on. A basic (thrift store!) dresser, a world map, and ONE can of sample paint, which she did 2-3 coats of on the dresser. The Map is simply decopodged on. I almost took this one right out of the house, but I had the feeling she really liked it ;) I love the world map idea, really for any room. I am thinking vintage travel guest room with old suitcases as a night stand, and theme dressers and something with post cards :) but I'm just dreaming!

Like I said, Queen of Crafts!

Enjoy!

<3, Taylor