Hootie Hoot-Hoot-Hoooooot

We have an owl. Well, we don't own an owl. It's not ours, nor does it live with us. I guess it's more of a local owl. A neighborhood owl, if you will. And it seems quite fond of the tree outside our bedroom window. It isn't there every night, but when it is there I'll admit that I enjoy drifting off to sleep to it's repeated calls of "Hootie hoot-hoot-hoooot! Hootie hoot-hoot-hooooot!"

Speaking of owls, I finally got around to rehabbing the owl napkin holder that I picked up at Goodwill a few weeks ago. In the interest of frugality, I decided that I would use some of the few paints I already had on hand. I gave it a good prime with white paint, but it didn't cover very well. It was good enough for primer, but I could tell that if I really wanted solid coverage it could be a challenge. Thankfully, solid coverage wasn't what I was after.

BEFORE

I put on a coat of aqua paint, but that particular paint had a very matte finish and it didn't look right at all. Since I decided to let the white of the primer show through in the recessed areas, I decided to do a very light wash of white over the color. It was trial and error at its finest, but in the end I mixed a little bit of the white paint with a little water and lightly brushed it all over with a foam brush. It took the edge off the matte finish without lightening the aqua color, which was exactly what I wanted!

AFTER:

Halfway is for Sissies

As I mentioned in my previous post, my obsession with Pinterest continues to grow. The first project I decided to tackle was a crocheted rag rug. I'm no expert at crochet, but I know the basics and thankfully, that is all you need for this project. I had hoped that I could make a rug entirely out of scrap fabric that I already had on hand, but unfortunately my recent need to purge the house of junk no-longer-needed-treasures left me with little remaining in my fabric stash. There was enough to get a good start, though, and I supplemented the rest for a reasonable price by scouring the clearance fabric bin at Wal-Mart and buying 3 sheets at Goodwill.

If you are a long-time reader of my blog, you may have gathered that I tend toward the "Go big, or go home" theory with crafting. I don't mean to. I guess it's just my nature. When I was really into scrapbooking, I did it with gusto. When I started knitting, I tackled a Dale of Norway colorwork sweater as my first sweater project. So I guess it is no surprise that when I decided to crochet a rag rug, I would make one that is 4.5 feet wide.

I would have loved for it to be even bigger, but as it happened, I had EXACTLY enough fabric for this size. Since I had to buy fabric (cheap though it was) to complete it, I just wasn't willing to buy any more. This is not the color scheme I would have picked if I was actually planning a rug and buying fabric accordingly. However, I meant for it to be a rag rug made from scraps and I love the perfectly imperfect nature of it.

One Man's Junk

They say the first step is admitting you have a problem, so here goes. I have a problem. I am a Pinterest addict. One look down that rabbit hole and I was done for. So many ideas! So many possibilities!

The first project I decided to start after spending some time on Pinterest was a crocheted rag rug. No pics of that today, but I will be blogging about it when I finish (hopefully in the next day or two). Of course I have been busy pinning countless other project ideas, too, so when I had to go to Goodwill yesterday to look for sheets to use to complete the rag rug, I couldn't help but look around to see if there was anything there that I could use for other projects.

I knew I needed books for one project, so I bought 4 of the thickest books they had. It made no difference what the books were; I just need books. You'll see why once I tackle that project. I did find a few other bargains, though, and thought I would share "before" pictures of them since I plan to change them up a little!

I got this lamp (minus the light bulb) and plan to get it a shade and a whole new color.

 

I also found this adorable wooden owl napkin holder, which will also get a new color.

My last find is actually just fine as-is. It's a wooden storage basket with a chalkboard side! It's a little worn around the edges and needs a good cleaning, but it will be perfect for the play room.

Stay tuned for future projects!

Bringing Back the Borg

CraftBorg is back...now with vlogging.

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