Furniture Embellishment

Here is an idea I've tried on furniture embellishment.

 Supplies Needed

Acrylic Paint
Upholstery nail head tacks
Mallet
Fabric for the trim
Leather scraps
Fabri Tac Permanent adhesive glue
Heat n Bond (only if you're using fabric trims)

The rustic night stand below was originally just a plain wood night stand, I found in Mexico.
You can use a plain wooden night stand and get the same effect.

I added leather to the side panels, and front door with Fabri Tac Permanent adhesive glue.
The fabric trim on the drawer front, and side panels is made by pressing Heat n Bond to
the back of the fabric, then cutting out fabric strips. The Heat n Bond keeps the fabric
edges from unraveling. I added black upholstery trim (gimp), around the inside edges
of the raised drawer and side edges.You can find upholstery gimp at any upholstery
supply store, or fabric store. This idea can be used on headboards, end tables, chest of drawers,
mirrors, and night stands.

Copyright c. 2013 Fuego Phoenix All Rights Reserved

Copyright c. 2013 Fuego Phoenix All Rights Reserved

If you have any questions about this project, email me at 1fuego11@gmail.com.

Buy Easy Crafts on a Budget for Kids 4 to 104 here:  https://www.createspace.com/3813688

Kids Crafts

I took my grandson to a fun lego engineering class today. Afterwards
we went to Chick Fil A on South Blvd, in Charlotte, for a lemonade.


I was pleasantly surprised by one of the employees who asked,
"Are you attending crafts time tonight?" I said I didn't know
about it. She told me every Tuesday, from 5 to 7 pm, Chick Fil A
has crafts for kids.  We stayed.

My grandson had a ball creating a "scratch off" mask. The
mask was already cut out. He used a little stick to scratch out
designs on the mask, revealing a multi-colored background.

I'm aging myself by telling you this. When I was a kid,
we used crayons to color a piece of paper, painted over the colors
with black paint, let it dry, then scratched out designs.
Now you can order ready made craft items that have the multi
color backgrounds, and are already painted black. All the kids
have to do is scratch out their designs. (as they did tonight at Chick Fil A).

My grandson also enjoyed scratching off a small picture, the
size of a postcard, which revealed a hidden picture underneath
(also multi-colored). They had crafts for younger kids too. In
fact a little one 21 months old, came up to the table, and said
she wanted to make something. They had oversized card-
board sunglasses for her to embellish with felt tip pens,
and foam stickers.


This gave me an idea for younger ones to do at home. Buy
a pair of kids sunglasses. Embellish the sunglasses with
tiny foam flower stickers, animals, and letters, so they
can add their names. It's an easy project!

Check out your city, and see if Chick Fil A offers crafts in your
area. It's free!

Baby Craft Ideas

I enjoyed a baby shower yesterday in Charlotte, with a good friends
Italian family. It was great food, fun, games and
just an all around good time.

While the mother to be (who is having a girl) was opening presents,
I enjoyed seeing the trends in baby clothes.

I'm inspired this morning, by what I experienced, so
I'm sharing some ideas with you. The restaurant
where the shower was held is Maggiano's. The manager
of the restaurnat brought in a "onesie" for the baby, which is
white with the words "Made from Scratch" silkscreened
on the front. Wouldn't that be an easy item to make?

I noticed the small baby outfits, are embellished
with cloth flowers and tiny little cap sleeves. How difficult
would it be to add a flower to a ready made baby outfit?

Another trend I noticed is matching the mom's baby bag with
the stroller. How stylish! Some of the picture frames, the
mom received, are covered in bright fabrics. That's a
very easy craft project to make. Buy a picture frame at
a Dollar Tree store, or buy one  used at a consignment
store, and cover the frame with a bright fabric.
You can make matching cork boards the
same way.

One item I think is especially fun, is a faux fur coat.
It looks like a dolls coat, it was so tiny. How fun to make?

I hope you're inspired to try new ideas.

Buy Easy Crafts on a Budget for Kids 4 to 104 here: http://www.createspace.com/3813688

Crafts from Recycled Materials

https://www.createspace.com/3813688

Did you know you have lots of craft materials around your house?

Food cans make great pencil/scissor holders. Larger food cans

can become tool holders. 

Cardboard box pieces are great for the background of collages, or can be cut out for

displays. Cardboard can be cut into smaller boxes as well. I use the bottom of

gift boxes I receive, to make desk organizers.

Fabric scraps aren’t just for quilts. Fabric scraps make wonderful pictures, and 

wall hangings. Or use fabric scraps to make trims which can be used to embellish 

boxes or furniture. Large fabric pieces are great for repurposing furniture: on dressers,

trunks, nightstand and toy chests. I'll show you how to do this technique in the

near future. Fabric scraps are also great for making one-of-a-kind lamp shades and

light fixtures.

Junk mail is great for making paper mache crafts. It doesn’t take long, to accumulate

enough paper to make a paper mache piñata.

Shoe boxes can be turned into treasure chests. Balloons are great for making yarn easter

eggs, or twine light shades. Twine is also good for making decorative home decor.

I hope I've inspired you to create crafts from things in your house.

Craft Supplies

I am always on the lookout for art and craft supplies. If
you're like me (always looking for bargains), then
I'm going to share some favorite places to find bargains
on craft supplies.


For repurposing furniture, my favorite "haunts" for
solid wood, good quality furniture pieces are: Goodwill,
Habitat Restores and Salvation Army. Habitat Restores
are also great places for finding striped wallpaper, sewing
patterns, craft supplies, and house paint. I've found
Heat n Bond rolls at the Habitat too!

Dollar Tree stores are a wonderful resource. They carry
popsicle sticks, glue sticks, foam board, poster board,
glue, scissors, sketch pads, construction paper, crayolas,
and more! All for $1 each. You can't beat that!

Hancock Fabrics have many craft supplies.
They carry my favorite leather glue: Fabri Tac Permanent
Adhesive leather glue. The clearance area in back
of the store has remnant fabric pieces for good
discounts. Hancock's, is a great place to buy Heat n
Bond fabric adhesive, (which I use often) for my
fabric craft projets. I like Heat n Bond because
it prevents the edges of fabrics from unraveling.

Michaels and Hobby Lobby are great sources for
supplies. I prefer Hobby Lobby for acrylic paints,
because they often have sales where the paints
are discounted.

I find bargains at estate sales, garage sales, and
upholstery supply stores. The cardboard tack
strips (which I use in many projects) can be
found at upholstery supply stores online
as well. (You get better prices when you
can buy a roll rather than the individual pieces).

Some local fabric stores have great deals
on fabrics, and upholstery supplies which are
often used in craft projects. Check you local
listings. I know of a store outside of
Charlotte where leather remnants sell for
a huge discount.

I hope these sources are helpful.

Fuego

Crafts

Enjoy a fun crafts book for kids, moms, dads, or anyone who likes crafting.
Discover Easy Crafts on a Budget for Kids 4 to 104, on Amazon.

Do you like creating paper crafts, crafts with fabric,
popsicle stick crafts, and paper mache? Then Easy Crafts on
a Budget for Kids 4 to 104, is for you! Easy craft projects in
the book, are made with recycled shoe boxes, food cans,
cardboard boxes, newspaper and fabric scraps.

Creating craft projects with my grandson is fun. We enjoy crafting
with items found in our home. Enjoy family and summer crafts,
with Easy Crafts on a Budget, for Kids 4 to 104.

For cubism collage, one of the easiest projects in the book,
you will need a pencil, construction paper,drawing paper,
and a glue stick, or make a "kitty bank" with paper mache.

I'll be posting where to buy (bargain priced) craft supplies, in the coming
days.

Fuego

It's the first day of November and the cooler weather is here. The leaves are beautiful
shades of yellow, orange, red, and burgandy. It's time to bring out the sweaters.

The opportunities fall brings for changing colors in the home, are abundant.
Add a furry throw over your favorite chair.  Make some pillow covers with
new colors to brighten up a room, or change the curtains.  Add brightly
colored pillows to your bed. Add a simple wreath to the front door. Put
some colored votive candles on your kitchen table and light them every night!
Make your own pine cone wreath with the kids. Recreate an old furniture piece
with paint.

Enjoy each day!