Burlap Pool Noodle Wreath

I get bored easily doing the same crafts so when I saw the idea of turning a pool noodle into a wreath I had to try it! I didn't refer to anyone's instructions when making this so there may be better tutorials somewhere out there but I'll go ahead and share with you how I made mine.

First in order to get the two ends to form a seamless join once they become circular they had to be cut on an angle with a utility knife. Now the problem was the force needed to keep these ends together, what was I going to use?

I enlisted the help of a driftwood twig that I would glue and insert into the holes at the ends thinking that might solve that problem.

Next was measuring out the burlap that would be needed to wrap around the tube. I was aiming to make one long tube of fabric to slide over the noodle to cover it, before sealing the two ends shut.

Now that I had that measurement I cut off three lengths of the burlap in that width allowing for extra to  make the fringed edges.

Once the 3 strips were cut I joined the three strips together at the two seams with a glue gun, quick and easy so far right?

It should now be one long, continuous strip almost three times the length of the noodle.

 

I made sure the edges on the burlap were fringed out fairly evenly at this point as well before I began to cover the noodle with it. Next, I decided to sew the edges together around the noodle with a simple running stitch, I figured the glue gun would make the join bulky and stiff when I was ready to gather it.

Once the entire length of fabric was sewn together around the tube, the two ends could be sealed together. I glued the above mentioned twig in place but, glue alone wouldn't take care of it so duct tape came in handy to seal the seam! 

 Thinking of how I would hand this thing I chose some gardeners wire to wrap around and form a hanging loop. Then I brought the burlap ends together and concealed all of the wire except for the loop.

Now it completely covered so I just evenly adjusted the gathers and made sure the fringes lined up along the outside edge. 

I love how it turned out and I wanted it to be used all year long, so I came up with the idea to make a boutineer that I could pin in place on the wreath and alternate with the seasons. I glued an assortment of flowers to a burlap base and then placed a safety pin on that and glued a top layer of burlap over the pin to keep it in place.

It still looked a little plain to me even with the burlap ribbon bow that I attached with glue, I'll only swap out the seasonal decor.

I took my floral wire and attached a couple of snowflakes on the opposite side and that sealed the project for me, they are easily removable as well. Tah-dah! Done! The best part is I'll only need a Spring boutineer and maybe a couple of butterflies and I'll have another new look for the next season!

Brown Paper Floors

Brown paper floors??? What in the world is that? How do you it? How about I share what I did and you'll see? I waited 18 years for a designated crafting space and way before it got started I was scanning Pinterest and magazines for unique ideas. But as the room progressed so did all of the associated costs and I had no flooring yet!! Well, needless to say we used up the assigned budget so what would I do now?  Hah, I would just paint the sub-floor over and stencil a pattern over the top as shown here via Chairloom images.

Then one day I stumbled upon these tutorials for brown paper floors that emphasized cheap and easy, "yeah right" I said to myself in disbelief. But, no they were the real deal and from reading all the reviews it was easy, unique and most importantly, CHEAP!!! So off I go to find the supplies : 

•  4 rolls of Brown wrapping paper (Walmart @ 3.97 each)
•  1 gallon of White school glue (Canadian Tire costing about $28.00)
•  1 gallon of Polyurethane make sure it's "floor-grade" I chose satin finish (Canadian Tire cost was about $50.00) 
• 1 quart of Oil based Minwax stain (local hardware store and it cost about $15.00) I chose the color Fruitwood. 
• I already had floor leveler on hand to fill in the any indents made by screwing the sub floor down or any other obvious dents and cracks.
• Paintbrush, latex gloves and a bowl to mix up your glue solution in.

I cannot say I wasn't nervous about the project because I was, it could end up being a total flop! I took a deep breath and pretended like I knew what I was doing and started off by setting everything out that I would need. I applied the floor leveller as per instructions on the carton and allowed for the drying time, you may need to give it a light sanding after it has dried. Finally, make sure to give your floor a thorough vacumm before you begin laying paper down to ensure that you have a clean, dust-free surface.

I began tearing up the paper into jagged 6"-12" assorted pieces and crumpling them into balls, it was great tension release therapy! But to move the process along faster I enlisted my dear Mother-in-law to tear and crumple and toss them into a laundry basket while I was gluing and spreading the ones I already had prepared.

The glue formula you need to prepare is 3 parts water to 1 part of white glue. Mix and use up and repeat as you work through the project. I poured some of the glue solution into a bowl and I added four of five balls at a time to saturate, then I placed them in another bowl to rest while I began applying. You shouldn't allow them to soak in the solution for a long time or else your paper will become too fragile to handle. I also dipped the brush into the glue mixture and applied it to the floor before laying the paper onto it. There's no right or wrong way to lay the paper out, unroll the crumpled ball and spread and smooth with your gloved hands, don't be afraid to overlap a little. If your paper has dry spots when you unroll it just dip it into your solution one more time.

"Are you soon gonna be done"? Yes, it took awhile but it got easier as I went and if you had a friend or two to assist in the gluing and spreading it would be a breeze to complete in a few hours! I, however did it in two sessions and there was a discoloration where I joined up because of the need to re-glue the already dried edges, panic set in!!! I continued on and calmed myself by accepting that I might need to buy a rug to cover up the boo-boo!

I know it looked pretty fragile to me too! But again I calmed myself with the mat idea and I rested and gave the floor 12 hours of dry time before moving on to the next step of staining. Below is the picture after being stained lightly with a cotton rag and the Fruitwood stain, the paper just soaked up the stain so a light hand is all that is needed. It was recommended to use a lambskin pad but I had found that an old t-shirt worked well in the past, so I went with that again and it was fine. DO NOT overlap, just blend lightly as you go to ensure even color over the entire floor!

Again, there's a waiting time before the next step of 24 hours, which gave me time to search for a cheap mat, haha! The last step is applying the satin finish polyurethane which I applied with a roller brush and a tray. Satin finish has less shine than a semi-gloss finish and would be better to hide any imperfections. This went super fast even the drying time because it's water based and I had fans turned on as well. It was suggested to sand the floor in between the applications with a 220 grit sandpaper. I  didn't because I was in too big of a hurry and I felt it wasn't a big deal anyhow, since I was going to be the only person going in that room! I applied 6 thin coats of the finish with a 2 hour dry time in between. How did it turn out.....AWESOME!!!!!

Here it is with the furniture added, I didn't need the mat to cover the boo-boo's but it helps protect the floor from the wheels on my office chair that I use.

Here's a close-up view of the floor and I think it looks a little like  torn pieces of leather. I love it, it's durable and I just clean it as I would clean my hardwood floors, often with Avon Peppermint bubble bath and warm water. If you damage a section you only need to reapply the paper, stain and varnish in that spot, easy! If you want to freshen it up just apply a few more coats of polyurethane, piece of cake!

Are you finished now?? Yes, sorry about the long post but if you want to try it you are now all set with the instructions to try it yourself! Have Fun! We did!

Driftwood Designs

Nothing but a pile of rubble you are thinking correct? I agree that it doesn't look like much, but guess what it can become with a little amount of cleaning, painting or gluing. One of the first projects I ever made with driftwood was a birds nest used as a decor piece in my home and from there it grew into other projects.  Then, last year when I was asked  by a teacher to bring in my driftwood projects and show her class what I had made. They were reading Cassandra's Driftwood and the teacher wanted to inspire them for their driftwood, crafting session.
 It was a craft marathon for me to come up with as many ideas as I could to show them the possibilities that there were open to them so I created several quick projects to add to what I already had made previously.
The first one, as I alluded to was a driftwood birds nest that had a Spanish moss nest and  tiny, imitation eggs and a bird that you'd find in craft stores. It was put together in about five minutes with a hot glue gun....tah-dah!

 The second project again 5 min or less with a hot glue gun were a couple of sailboats made with driftwood and scraps of fabric and given to two little boys as little souvenirs.

 

I had in the past, painted a piece of driftwood that looked to me like the shape of Toucan Sam on the cereal boxes, he made for a colorful garden piece.

So then I thought to do a smaller scale one on a piece of driftwood that looked to me like a Great Blue Heron?? Well that's what I saw anyhow... it might be a long, lost, ancient pterodactyl! Hahah!

Third project would be starfish made with tiny driftwood pieces that are glued to either a cardboard or wooden backing. I really enjoyed making these as it was relaxing as if I were fitting together a puzzle. 

As I mentioned in a previous post I made one and then when my daughter saw it she wanted it for her home so.....I had to make another one. 

Fourth project that I attempted was a sunburst mirror, the instructions are in a previous post on making my own mirrors if you think you would like to try making one as well. http://seatracecreations.blogspot.ca/2014/05/making-my-own-mirrors-sunbursts.html

Fifth would be my favorite piece that proudly hangs in our front entry right now is a monogram mirror edged with driftwood pieces. Instructions can be seen http://seatracecreations.blogspot.ca/2014/05/making-my-own-mirrors-monogrammed.html

Sixth, if all of this seems like too much work for you I have an instant projects that requires no glue, paint or skills. What is it? Just place small pieces in a large vase, dish, bucket or a basket to admire the many shapes and shades that driftwood comes in.

So now I hope when you see those piles of sticks on the beach you'll see all the great things that can be made with them. Too, if you have made or done  something with what you have collected, I'd love for you to share your ideas. Thanks, now go beach combing and have fun!

Icebergs Drifting Our Way

How much would you pay to have this view? There are hundreds of people who are paying thousands of dollars to get to Newfoundland and Labrador to catch a glance and grab a photo and taste a sample of these majestic giants that we have floating by our homes!  Yes, this is the view we enjoy from our windows, the glances  we take along our highways or the stares we soak up in our bays. There are some locals I've heard make the comment that "It's just an iceberg", well that's okay if it doesn't appeal to everyone but I love seeing all of them. This is one photo shoot from home that I took in about fifteen minutes in early June, 2014 to give you an idea of their size, shape and the number of them that are drifting by.

This is a close up of the iceberg in the top right of the first photo, notice the varying colours of aqua greens and navy blues in the water. The colour variety has to do with the microorganisms that are in the ocean, apparently the more plankton that's in the water the greener it will be, very rich nutrient based. The blue however, contains less plankton which would mean that it has less nutrients but it would be as clearer water to go snorkel diving into. 

Zooming in a little closer you'll see it has somewhat of a mushroom cap, but you may see something else. That's the fun of viewing them everyone sees a resemblance of something different in every iceberg, each one is so different and unique.

Maybe you see cottage cheese in the one above or a beautiful sculpture? It has a spy hole that you can peer through and see out the other side which makes it very unique.

What a morning I was having here at home, I loved it! The smell of the salty ocean, the sound of the waves splashing and the sight of a glistening sea with all those gigantic, white sculptures is worth thousands of dollars to me! I hope you enjoyed the little sample of  seeing some icebergs, hopefully you'll get the chance to view them in person some day.

*The Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism website has an actual iceberg map with markers indicating all active icebergs to be seen along our coastline. It also has some very interesting information on the topic and of course many submitted photographs. Here is the link http://www.icebergfinder.com/  

Buried Treasure

We are privileged to have long stretches of sandy shorelines where I live and I love to beach comb! The above area was once settled by many homes and in the past a lot of their refuse ended up in the ocean, which makes for interesting finds in the present. Too, our area is known for having very rough seas that no doubt contributed to several shipwrecks that occurred along here many years ago. There have been a couple of occasions over the years where those shipwrecks have become uncovered with the shifting sands.That's the excitement with beach combing, you never know what you'll find when your there!

Even in Winter the sand banks and shorelines are relentlessly being beaten by the wind and the waves which means the beach is always changing.You can go exploring anytime, but you have to dress for the weather as you can see with my sidekick above taken on a cold January day. Jasper is a very, very energetic Bichon Frise who also loves the beach...anytime! This was taken a few years ago and it was after a very violent storm that eroded a lot of the sand dunes there and to my delight uncovered a little gem for me to discover.

It had a plastic brown coloured stopper with internal threads and an orange rubber seal which was unique to me. Curious, I did a little research on the specific details of the bottle and stopper but came up with no concrete source on the origin of the bottle. Have you seen this type anywhere before?

The markings on the bottom of the bottle  were also unique to me as it was 0 comma 5 with a written L  indicating a possible UK origin. If you have any idea as to the origin of the bottle I'd love to hear from you.

I have also recovered old bottles that I knew the history behind them such as this common bleach bottle that many households would have had in them. Today we buy bleach in larger, plastic jugs so it puzzled me as to why the older bottles were so small, was it more potent I wonder? It had a metal screw on cap and it was about a 500 ml size with the word Javex on the side  and base of the bottle.

Then there's the bizarre findings that come about through excavating for a new development or repairs to existing infrastructure. Such was the case when my husband was excavating an old bridge to do upgrades on it due to its deteriorating state. In the process an old, brown bottle was uncovered and brought home to add to my collection, it had been buried for possibly 40 years. It had no distinctive markings other then the scrapes made by the excavator bucket claws!!

Each of these bottles now sits with the rest of my little collection each of them linked to a little piece of our history. Now they have a new story to go with them as to how they were like buried treasure uncovered once again by nature and machine!