Top Posts of 2012

It's been another fantastic year here at Holy Craft. A year of HUGE growth and the feeling that I am finally a real blogger. If you have just started following along with me, welcome!  I am happy to have you here. If you have been around for awhile, I can't thank you enough for sticking with me, supporting me, and sharing me with your friends.  Thank you! Let's spend some time looking back on the top posts of 2012. By FAR, the most popular post this year {and ever} has been my
Things to Buy at the Dollar store series. With nearly {gulp} 1 million page views since February, and over 300 comments, this post really hit home for a lot of Dollar Store shoppers. In case you missed it, you can find the series of posts here: original post part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4 wrap up Should you buy a Dollar Store pregnancy test The second most popular post was our Teenage Cell Phone Contract With our oldest son venturing into the world of cell phones, texting and technology, my husband and I knew that we needed some clear guidelines for his cell phone usage.  This post has been the most controversial post that I have written and has gotten some interesting feedback. Number 12 seems to strike a chord with a lot of people.  What do you think? The third most popular post of 2012 has been my 6 weeks to a bikini body...or why I had a tummy tuck instead. I shared with all of you my experience {complete with before and after pictures} why I had a tummy tuck and some realistic expectations that will help you make the best decision if you are contemplating the procedure. It's interesting to see that none of those posts are actually posts about anything crafty at all. And craftiness is my favorite of all, so I will share with you some of my favorite craft posts of 2012 with you on Wednesday.

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Picking out bar stools

Last year, I gave you a tour of my kitchen.

We have now officially lived in our house for two years exactly.

One thing that came with the house were these bar stools.

We rarely use them, but they are nice to have for over flow seating.

The previous owners had puppies that were quite hard on the house.

They really liked to chew and used the bar stools {and the molding and the window sill}, as chew toys.

We weren't quick to replace the chewed up bar stools since we got a puppy our self 

just weeks after moving in.

However, our pup is less of a chewer and {thankfully} stuck to her toys!

Now that our puppy is bigger, her favorite hang out is right underneath this island.

Usually waiting to be fed at dinner time by her bowls.

Quick to let us know if she is hungry.

I've started to think of replacing the chewed up bar stools and wanted to share some ideas with you.

I like the mix of industrial and modern with the classic lines of this kitchen.

Something like this would be similar.

Industrial mixed with classic modern seems to be all the rage now.

houzz

I love these upholstered bar stools

source

And these clean lines on the bar stools help to play up the simplistic decor in this kitchen

home depot

Even Martha Stewart has some industrial bar stools in her kitchen.

Martha Stewart

I love how practical these industrial bar stools are.

They are easy to clean, provide clean lines in the kitchen and offer a bit of style to an otherwise bare bones room.

and I just had to share this, because it made me smile.

Love the sexy legs.

What do you think?

Would you mix a traditional kitchen with an industrial bar stool?

disclaimer: this post is brought to you by comfort stools.  All opinions are 100% mine.

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Thinking outside of the frame. Ideas for what to do with those old frames

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.
We sure did!

I am excited to welcome back my friend Laddie to share with you one of her specialties...frames.
You can see some of her other posts here:
Faux leather finish using brown paper bags
and French transfer dresser

Don't forget to follow Laddie on facebook to see lots of fantastic furniture inspiration.

So as of late I have had a big chunk of my small garage business

dedicated to home decor. Specifically re-using thrift store picture frames.

I had no idea at first the impact they would have on my business nor

did I know exactly how creative I was going to get with them.

Turns out there is a lot more you can do with a picture frame

other than using it to hold a picture!

Thank you Pinterest!

First off let me tell you that in order to find the "good" frames all you really have to do

is look past what is framed. Turns out people frame some really crazy

and down right ugly things!

 (NO wonder they end up at thrift stores)

Also don't be turned off by the scale of the frame or the shape.

These can actually end up being magnificent pieces.

I buy small, large, ovals, circles, squares, rectangles...

plastic, wood, metal, broken glass, no glass...

whatever has some interest in the frame detailing...

I BUY it!

Then I decide on what I will use it for.

My biggest seller...

CHALKBOARDS!!!

These are so easy to make and have a great impact in almost any room and decor.

They are also great just to add to a seasonal decor setting or

a special event like a wedding or birthday party.

For chalkboards I do usually use larger and more ornate or chunky frames.

I give them a quick spray of whatever color

spray paint I am feelin' that day and then start

chalkboard painting.

My favorite product is the Rust-oleum Speciality

ChalkBoard paint...that is also tint-able by the way!!

You can get different colored chalkboard paint if you want it!

This 30oz can is well worth it's $10 and goes

a lllooonnnggg ways!

I use the small $2 roller and paint tray pack for all

my chalkboards. A rolled board will end up much smoother.

Pop 'em back in your frames when they are all dry and voila...

cheap thrift store frame turns into chic chalkboard.

Another way I have used frames is for jewelry holders.

Again find your favorite color of spray paint

and give a couple coats to your frame.

Then you can replace the glass with loose

knit fabrics like burlap or large pieces of lace.

Even strips of lace trimming work well.

Hot glue or staple into place and your

new jewelry rack is complete.

Some other fun and creative ways to re-use your frames are

for dry erase boards.

Cut out a fun print fabric just slightly larger than your glass front

and pop it into the frame behind the glass.

Use dry erase pens on the glass front to

leave messages, make lists or write love notes.

Also use those doilies you found at the thrift

store placed on top of cute scrap book paper to make art...

Use left over fabric remnants and cork board

to make a fab, fun and fresh cork board!

Just cut out a piece of cork board and fabric by

using the glass as your template and put the

fabric over the cork board before putting back into the frame.

Or you can lay this down as a padded tray

on your bedside table to rest your jewelry on.

So, think twice before you give away Aunt Suzie's

framed Christmas card collection or

as you walk by that giant reproduction of

Van Gogh's Starry Night at the thrift store.

Get creative and think outside the box...I mean frame.

There is potential in those old frames you just need to see it!

I got some great ideas for frames and will definitely not be passing up those ugly prints at garage sales anymore!  Thanks for the inspiration Laddie! Do you have any fun uses for old frames?

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Wishing your family a Merry Christmas

From my family to yours, Merry Christmas! 1 John 4:7  Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.
Free printable I will be taking a short blogging break to spend time with those I love.   I will be back on Friday sharing with you a guest post from my friend Laddie. You won't want to miss it!
Merry Christmas!

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JOY paper mache painted letters

As we learned yesterday, my husband hates glitter.

But, some things just need a little sprinkle of glitter to make them just a little more festive, so this week's crafts have been focusing on glitter.   Sorry honey! If you are like me, you see these paper mache letters at the craft store and usually walk on by. Not this time! My daughter really wanted to make JOY out of the paper mache letters.

They are a little boring plain, so I painted them red.

Even painted, they were still a little boring, so I painted white stripes on the J and the Y.

 Still a little too plain, I took out some clear glitter and put glitter on all of the white parts.

They aren't so plain now, are they?

For right now, the letters sit above my pantry door.  

Stripes and glitter sure make it more festive!

What things do you add glitter to to make them more festive?

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A good display for your next craft show

The craft bazaar season has come to a close, and I have had some time to reflect on the one thing that I struggle with every year. Display Every year, I work so hard at hand making new stock to sell that I forget to focus on the actual display of my products.  And as we all know, that is what draws people into your booth and makes them want to buy your items.  So a good display is key.  Lets take a look at the display shelves from stores that we shop at every day like these
{no wine & liquor at my bazaar...but maybe I should consider.  Think that would be a big seller!}
Buying industrial display shelving is out of most artisans budget, but we can take some hints to how businesses make effective display shelves and think like they do. Notice how these display shelves aren't flat tables? There is shelving that makes your eye go up and down. There is also space to keep your items organized and tidy. This display from French Larkspur uses a book shelf and various sized tables to display her items
 Notes from a Cottage Industry took some pictures of a local event I am definitely putting on my calendar {Barn House} I love how they made use of this old library catalog cabinet to display silver ware.

And this old industrial cart displays these ball jars, jugs and other kitchen goods making them easy to see and well organized.

Fantastic Toys does a great job of using different heights to display her items at craft events.

This display with baskets is a genius way to display like items together. I always see a lot of jewelry for sale and this would be a display that would definitely draw me in. I love how they use the cloches as a bust to display the necklaces.  Genius!

The Willows Home and Garden I love how A Re-Purposed Life uses this old shutter to bring the display up

As you can see, we can learn a lot from the way display shelves are made and used in the stores that we shop at every day.   We need to think beyond the flat surface, and make use of space down below and up above.  Be creative!  Using tables and book shelves that you already have can help you make the most of your display area.

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Dollar Store ornament update with glitter

Dollar Store ornament update with glitter

Glitter is usually banned at my house.

My husband is not a big fan of glitter.

At all!

In fact, I made up this little sign about glitter with his favorite saying about glitter.

Just last week, I was perusing the aisles of my local Dollar Store and happened upon these super marked down, last years light bulb ornaments.  They were 25 cents for a two pack.  This whole bowl was only a dollar!  They don't look too spiffy on their own, but I immediately thought that they could be amazing with a little glitter.

Remember last month when the good people at Tulip sent me a nice package of goodies?  Well, this whole big industrial size box of 24 glitters was inside that box.  I gathered up a few foam brushes and some mod podge and tacky glue and thought that this might be a fun project for my two youngest kids (10 and 7) to help me on.

I poured the tacky glue on to a plate and put the glitter into a bowl.  I like to use paper plates and bowls for these projects because you can just toss everything when you are finished.

I brushed tacky glue (or mod podge) on the ornament where you want the glitter to stick.

Make sure it's a thin layer.   If it's too thick, it drips and the glitter runs with it.  Not so awesome.

Proof that I actually let one of my kiddos help me on a project!

This is my 10 year old daughter sprinkling glitter on to her ornament.  We used one bowl to dump it into and another to dump from.  You know, trying to help consolidate the mess.  

No such luck!

Make sure your whole ornament is glitterfied

and then hang it on your tree to dry.

We packaged a few up to give as gifts.  Aren't they so much better now that they have glitter on them?

And for a quarter for the pair, you can't beat that!

Do you have a love/hate relationship with glitter too?

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