Magnet Board Mania!

So . . . . I go through these phases where I need to create new wall decor, and this time I decided I needed a magnet board. Well, I couldn't just go with one, so I made three! Originally, I was going to do one for each of the kids and myself so we could hang our creations on them, but it turns out that I needed all three of them for me! LOL.

I put one above my desk in the craft room, one on the wall down low in the daycare (for magnetic letters and other toys), and then I put one in my bedroom and added a little bit of paper piecing to match my decor in there.

And the one in the bedroom . . . . my favorite -

To make these fun magnet boards, go to Home Depot or Lowe's and get a piece of sheet metal in whatever size you want (I used 2x3). Also get some trim to go around it. You can play with options, but my husband was with me and didn't give me much of a choice so mine is all the same. You can paint it if you want. I painted the one in my bedroom black and distressed it. To add paper embellishments, just cut them out and use spray adhesive to stick them on. I haven't made magnets for this one, but to do so, you just buy some of those clear stones in the floral department. Take some cute paper or magazines and trace around the stone, cut out, glue to back of rock with glass glue, and you have an adorable magnet. Use your imagination. I am thinking about making some flower magnets for this board from buttons . . . maybe I'll blog about that soon. Take care. - Amy

Website Grand Opening!

I'm so excited, and I just can't hide it . . . . (ok, I can't sing, and I really should stick with my day job!)

Frogs to Fairy Dust has re-opened, and I have stocked the store with all of the dollies I had stored for my craft show in October. Please take a look and see if there's anything ya like!

www.FrogstoFairyDust.com

Amy

Gorgeous New Blog Template

Look! Look! I found this awesome designer with a pretty cool name - Amy - at AmyBug's Primitive Attic (http://amybug.com/). I love frogs and vintage stuff, so I had to have this for my summer template. I can't wait to shop for Fall and Winter templates from her. She was really speedy and super nice. Go check out her stuff. She does all kinds of templates.

Thanks again, Amy!

Meet Sparkle - the Americana gal

In a hurry today but wanted to post this since I am running like a week behind! I am having a BUY ONE GET ONE FREE SALE on the website for e-patterns at http://www.frogstofairydust.com/. Also, this is my newest pattern and doll available on there. Her name is Sparkle, and she was named by a great customer and now friend, Jeanne! Jeanne received the Sparkle pattern free for naming my dolly. Thanks so much Jeanne! She's actually named another pattern that will be out soon, but it's a secret as it's a swap gift for another friend, Kerri, in Canada! The only hint I'm giving is that it's a critter dressed up as a bug! Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh . . . . mailing tomorrow, but you never know how long it could take to travel from Oklahoma to Canada!

Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday weekend! Take care!

Liberty Doll listed on Ebay

Here's my newest grungy creation - Liberty. She's listed on ebay

I had this idea to take dowel rods and create fireworks from them. I had my husband cut the dowel rods down and drill a hole so I could put glue down in the hole and stuff some jute/twine in it. With most of my dolls, I start out with an outline template and then I add the face without having any real plan and just see how it turns out. I thought she turned out to have a very sweet, old looking face.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Primitive-Liberty-Independence-Day-doll-raggedy-prim_W0QQitemZ160344357323QQihZ006QQcategoryZ83905QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp3286.m7QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DLVI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D2%26ps%3D5.

I seem to feel more inspired to create the grungy gals at the moment, but I have a whimsical dolly in the works as well.

Voila - some eye candy for the wall!

The craft studio / playroom is finally getting some dressing for the walls. Those naked walls were driving me nuts. I'm sure I will continue to add to it frequently, but for now, I at least have something up there and can get back to focusing on fun craft projects. For the biggest wall, I had hubby hang a shelf (which I didn't like once it was up, but it's too late) that I plan to put my new creations on. Under that, we have black giant clothespins where I hang the children's artwork throughout the week. Below that, I made some fun block letters by taking 12x12 inch pieces of MDF and MDF letters I bought at Hobby Lobby. I traced the letters on the back of scrapbook paper, cut that out, used spray adhesive to attach the paper to the letter, sanded around the edges and then stuck it to the wood with spray adhesive. (I guess I should say I painted the background white with orange dots and then used a permanent marker to decorate around the edges). Under that, we hung a piece of sheet metal and put some trim around it so the kids could play with their magnet letters and magnet toys.

On the back wall, I did the same method with letters I purchased a while back and hung white giant clothespins down at the children's eye level. (Hmmmm . . . how many of you don't know I have a daycare?)

The next wall(s) have my desk which also has a magnet board about it and my new banner that says "CREATE". That's my favorite saying . . . play, inspire, create . . . it's kinda my motto for the daycare.

The last wall has the closet area with the curtains. Hubby put a small shelf above it for a few of my dolls that I've collected.

Ok, there's the tour of the room! Now, I'm off to start creating in it! :)

It's time for some Paper Piecing!

My son's room is blah . . . the walls are empty, and I can't ever find anything that will match. I recently grabbed a bed in a bag set because his beloved camo comforter had one too many holes for me. He really wanted to keep the camo, but I was just ready for a change. I thought this bedding was adorable, and it started my creative juices flowing . . . . and here's the product of that!

I don't know how to do tutorials yet (so if anyone wants to help, email me) so I will explain what I have done, and you can contact with questions. I had my hubby cut some 1/4 inch MDF to the size of choice. In this case, I believe they are just under 12x12 inches. Then, I chose my paint colors and gave each piece two coats. I used a foam circle stamp that I already had (I glued a wooden clothespin doll body onto the back of it to give me a handle). I added white dots to the painted wood. I drew out the patterns on cardstock to match the comforter. I cut those out of different colors of scrapbook paper and then used modge podge to attach them. I let that dry overnight and put a top coat on with the Modge Podge. I then drilled holes in each corner and used ribbon for the hanger.

I hope that makes sense to you . . . the options are endless with this craft. I have made some others, and my mind is spinning with ideas. I'd love to hear your comments and ideas.