Craft: The Gift that Keeps on Giving

Momma and Papa Craftastic really came through with some wild gifts this year, which are sure to lead to numerous future posts and hours of crafty fun:



That's me with my brand new portable workbench and scroll saw! I knew something unusual was in order when the first gift I opened, this little beauty:



held safety goggles and particulate masks :)

It's doubly amazing because my parents both cringe every time I pick up a knife (such as when I was cutting brownies Christmas Eve - they actually took it away from me and dad cut them instead!), so encouraging me to use a saw probably took some consideration :) I did once slice open two fingers with a very sharp knife while working an Easter buffet. Six stitches and a few fainting spells later, I feel like I'm a more careful cutter (it was brownies then too, come to think of it!) but apparently my parents disagree. I've been told I'm only allowed to use it when someone is home to "supervise" me. Have I mentioned lately that I'm less than a week from 30 years old?!?!? Ha ha. But of course, mom and dad, I'll be sure to have a chaperone ;)

I'm excited about the possibilities this creates - I'm thinking of doing some wild shaped mosaics, maybe trying something like this. And Halloween is certain to bring lots of uses, I'm thinking I'll finally try to make that coffin I've been wanting to try, and maybe some decorative signs & other pieces.

Hope Santa was good to ya' all too :)

Mirror, Mirror...in the front yard...

Last night all I wanted to do was be lazy and go to bed, but knowing how quickly Halloween is closing in on me I toughed it out and spent some more time on my projects.

My archway is starting to take shape! This is going to be in my front yard. Before guests (and trick-or-treaters) get to the door they are going to have to go "through the looking glass" just like Alice.

I'm really excited about this project because I've never really built anything on my own before - I'm more of a "rig it up" kind of girl, so actually sawing and drilling is a big step.

Previously I had finally used my new jig saw to cut out the top of the arch. Last night I screwed that piece to 7' building studs which will become the legs of the structure. I was a little disappointed to find my drill wasn't charged, and I still can't find the base, but it had enough juice to get the screws started and I could finish them by hand without too much problem.

The "legs" will be covered by 6' long by 8" wide beveled mirror panels. I thought that was probably too fragile/dangerous to just tack to a 4" wide beam, so I bought some thin wafer board and cut it into a 6' x 10" panels and screwed them to the front of the legs. This would provide something to attach the mirror clips to, and also act as more reinforcement/stability for the mirrors in case some errant toddler or drunken reveler crashes into an edge.

I plan to add a few more screws once my drill is charged, but since the mirrors will cover the center of the boards I went ahead and started to spray paint the edges silver.

Since this is just for one night I'm not worrying about the rough edges at all - as the Mad Hatter says, "No Time! Move Down!"

Next step is to add some depth and another set of legs so it'll stand on it's own like a little gazebo.

The other task I accomplished last night was masking and spraying the front of my standing mirror. I'm still not sure what I'm going to use this for exactly, probably just stick it in a corner somewhere inside.

So I feel like I got a lot accomplished, but still made it inside in time to watch Glee :)

Sawing logs...er...boards...

Another project I got started on this weekend was the huge prop I'm constructing for the front yard/entrance to the party. It's eventually going to be your portal to Wonderland...but it started as a big sheet of plywood (several actually).

This was the first piece I cut with my new saw! Lil' bro helped me figure out how to get the blades in and out, and after some trial and error and a phone call to dad, I had the top of my archway all cut out!

There's a lot more to go into this project, and hopefully I can get to it soon - since I just counted and we are officially in panic mode! My weekends are GONE and Halloween is coming up fast!

I am having so much fun in the lumber aisles now. I think I need a circular saw and a nail gun next. :)

Home Depot gets a Win

Fun story: As I continued my craftastic weekend, I made a stop at Home Depot. I had wandered the aisles for a while when a nice gentleman asked me what I was looking for.

"Hmm. I'm actually looking for some cheap stakes to mount decapitated foam heads on and stick in my front yard..."

"Sure, right this way!" (seriously, NO hesitation at all).

Home Depot man lead me to this box of "Grade Stakes" (hee hee hee) for just $6. Perfect!