Nobody knows the crafting I've done

Well, I don't want to let this here blog fall by the way side, even if it has been a little neglected since September and I did promise to show you how to make baby leg warmers out of socks. So here are the crafts I have been up to recently!

1. I painted my house! Before, it was some really ugly tanish-orange ish faux paint, and a pink color in the entry way.  It really was ugly, the pictures don't do it justice.  So I consulted with two ladies from my home ward who are interior designers and paint for the tour of homes and such.  We ended up going with wine stain for the accent walls with a charcoal glaze, and a nice olive green everywhere else.  Doug, Anne, my mom, and Grandma and Grandpa Hronek came out to help.  I LOVE my family. They are true champs.  After two days, it was completely finished. If we had done it ourselves, it would have been a month.  Easy.  Here are the pics.

Before

After!

Wine stain and glaze

2. I made leg warmers! Ok, I got adult socks that were cute and long at Target.  I think I would buy the thigh-high socks next time, and they are usually on sale for two dollars.  Then I cut the sock apart.

The next part I did in a really dumb way.  So these are THE RIGHT instructions.  See the part that goes around the arch of your foot? Roll it inside itself so the raw edges are together and you have one folded edge and it's still in a tube.  I don't have a picture of the right way, but here is how I did it.

I put the right sides together with the long part inside the arch part and sewed across the top.  To do this the easier way, fold up the other side of the arch part (closest to the bottom on this picture) so all three raw edges are together, and then sew. That way, your seam is hidden and you only have to sew one line.  

See how I had to hem up the bottom? No need when you do it the right way.  Also, you have to stretch the sock as you sew so that the thread will have a little give over your youngsters chubby little legs ;).  But I ran into a problem with this when I realized my thread was going to show.  Because when you stretch, it bubbles.

 

SO. Bottom line, just do it the folding way.  Then you can stretch it more and it won't show at all. Cute cute cute. Here they are on my little niece, Daphne aka Daffs.  

3. I made tile coasters! There were a ton of three by three tiles in our basement when we moved in.  I have been using them all up for crafts.  After I used a substantial amount, I realized we probably had enough to tile the basement bathroom if I didn't use them.  Oops.  Too late! Anyways, for these ones I just got Stayz-on ink pad from Michael's, picked out my favorite set of stamps, got ink remover just in case I messed up, then stamped away! I cut a piece of felt for the back, and these puppies were done.  They made great neighbor gifts at Christmas time!

4. I also made a sheet music wreath.  Are you getting tired of these projects yet? I think Eric might be. Anyway, I got a big pack of antique sheet music from, what do you know, an antique store. For ten dollars. I have been seeing these things all over blog land, and I really liked 'em. Pretty easy, just rolled them into a cone and glued them all together with craft glue.  Then I cut a piece of cardboard into a doughnut shape to give it support on the back, and that was it. Love it! and I love my cool globe my mom gave me for Christmas.  Thanks Ma! 

This picture is HUGE. I don't know why. 

Ok, this is the last craft one, and then I have some Husband gems to share, just to prove what we already know...that Eric is truly great. 

5. I got a white picket fence on ksl for five dollars.  And then I convinced Eric to put it up on the wall. He really actually cares about the decor in our house, so I always let him have a say, and he didn't really want this, but I REALLY wanted this.  And he let me.  And now I feel bad because I have no idea where I want to go with this thing.  So, and HELP or ADVICE or SUGGESTIONS would be appreciated.  Here it is: 

Its pretty cute.  My first idea to spice it up a bit was to hang old bottles from it.  Then, I decided I wanted to hang old, rusty skeleton keys from it.  So I got some from Tai Pan Trading.  I really like them.  But I'm not sure if I like them on the fence.

 

Looks weird, right? So now I'm stuck. Just three keys looks silly.  But what else looks good on a fence? I found one other person on the Internet who put a fence on her wall, and she hung porcelain pots from it. I didn't like it.  So now I'm thinking: Picture frames?? Cool knobs? iron coat hanging hooks? I DON'T KNOW!! So, tell me what you think.  Should I just take the fence down all together? Leave it plain? What do you think it needs??

Alright, on to the husband.  Back in the fall, one of our rosebushes decided to bloom.  And every once in a while, Eric would cut a few for me to cheer me up.  They were beautiful.

This is more of a funny story.  We like slack lining.  Eric likes it so much, he wants to do it in our back yard instead of driving two minutes to a local park.  So, while I was at work one Saturday, he installed this giant pole.  Smack dab in the middle of our back yard.  With cement. He was so excited to show me, I couldn't get mad.  So I just stared at him. And then he realized what he just did, and we both laughed really hard about it. 

 

This thing is really really ugly.  It's still out in our back yard.  He cut it in half to try and get me to like it a little better.  I think I will ask him to take it out for my birthday or our anniversary or something. But for now, I love this boy.  And I know he put this pole in our backyard because he honestly thought I would LOVE IT. 

Well, that's it for now! Sorry, this is so long.  Can't wait to hear from you on here soon! 

And, if you want to check out my other bog, I posted the link on the side ------>