La Bella Vita

5-minute project

2011-05-03T17:09:00.000-07:00

I finally put together a ribbon holder about 6 years later than when I could have used it..It was hard to find matching barrettes around the house...hum mm..What could I use to keep the barrettes together?! Voila..Now onto an earing holder..

Newest necklace

2011-03-19T10:05:00.000-07:00

I haven't felt very motivated lately but last night I was in the mood..the necklace mood.... and threw this together..Next..cards..

Young Women's theme

2011-02-19T12:57:00.000-08:00

I took the photo from the last blog and made two canvases with modge podge.(my favorite thing) for my nieces Raquel, Teresa, and Jessica that are either going into Young Women's or already are in the program..It has this year's theme..The 13th article of faith..

The portland photos I couldn't find

2011-01-22T21:09:00.000-08:00

When we switched to the new computer I couldn't find where these photos were stored...I wanted to show what they looked like in full size..

Shawn..Do you think your girls would like a canvas with this photo on it?

circle of love

2011-01-20T10:11:00.000-08:00

I think I'm on a pom pom trip..I love these things and have found them to be quicker to assemble as I do each project..I saw this idea of a wreath somewhere but I can't remember which blog..too many to keep track of I guess..In two hours I was done with all the cutting and hot glueing..fun fun fun..

Fabric Necklace

2011-01-09T17:18:00.000-08:00

I saw this necklace on a blog Little Miss Momma and had to make it..I followed all her instructions but I wish I had used black felt underneath instead of cream..It's so easy to make..Just go to her website and follow her simple instructions.

Shawn's Gift

2010-12-25T11:14:00.000-08:00

I wish I still had the original photos but they were erased when we changed computers..The small ones were taken from my Costco account...My sister Shawn wanted photos of the Portland temple where she was married..It is a beautiful temple and fun to photograph..Hopefully this is what she had in mind...

Christmas Wreath

2010-12-12T10:40:00.000-08:00

I saw this great idea on a blog off of Sugardoodle on printing onto burlap..This site Domestically Speaking and fell in love with it..I used the site Wordle to form the sporadic words..Christmas themed of course..

Once I've discovered how easy it is to print onto

burlap there is no stopping me now..

2010-12-08T18:26:00.000-08:00

I've wanted to attempt to make felt flowers for awhile..It ends up being really easy..I found this website for flowers...

Had a great model too...

Not the same

2010-09-20T18:10:00.000-07:00

Remember this project I posted last year that I really wanted to do..Did it..Why does mine look so psycho?!!!....Scary...

old photos

2010-06-23T15:21:00.000-07:00

My parents finally turned their film slides into photos...and I turned a couple of them into art..I decoupaged the 8x10 photos to canvas and voila..

This is my oldest sister Kristi in Venice..

This is my brother in the rubble in Germany..Couldn't have posed any better than this..

One of my parent's wedding photo...There were none in the house growing up..I think cause they just never thought about it..Till now..

headbands

2010-06-04T16:44:00.000-07:00

Ok...I'm finally trying to learn how to do headbands..Since these are my first I think I'm allowed a little slack on perfection....I have great models which help the look alot..

Our friend Lauren was sweet to model for me..Thanks Lauren..

Touch up

2010-05-29T16:37:00.000-07:00

Remember this window frame..I thought it was too boring so distressed it a little more, threw on some bling and rehung it..With a vinyl saying above it that says it all..Much better..

Failed project..Win for Anna-Mara

2010-04-29T14:11:00.000-07:00

I saw this great idea of making a t-shirt into a cute tunic..Anna-Maria had a shirt that was stained on the bottom and I thought wow.."Let's do it." Well since I don't sew very often and am just learning, it didn't go well..But Anna-Maria has a great new apron..... I will attempt the shirt another day after another trip to the fabric store..At least I learned how to do ruffles..

last window out...

2010-04-16T13:40:00.000-07:00

Ok..last window to refurbish.. It went from loving green to a Robin Egg's blue white wash...Now where to put it is the question..

Another fine window..

2010-04-09T15:24:00.000-07:00

I decided to leave this window as au naturale as possible..Just a little clean up and it is ready to go...Beautiful...

Family window view

2010-04-09T13:49:00.000-07:00

I love this project..Mom and Dad had old windows from the house they tore down and I begged them to keep them intact..After hauling all three up to Issaquah I got to work..This is the first one...I took pictures of the Salt Lake Temple doorknobs and enlarged it for this window..

I was so excited about posting this that I took the pictures with the paint was still wet..Next week I will have finished the next window project..

Let's hang

2010-03-09T15:49:00.000-08:00

I saw this craft on Ucreate and just had to try it...The creater uses it to hang photo albums but I thought what a great use in the kitchen with recipes..My friend Sherri had given me a recipe album and the letters and I put them to good use..Love it.

I was going to use this block but it just didn't have enough flavor for me. So I went with the photo block sold at Michaels..This was the block the creater used.

a little polyurethane..a lot of shine...

On the back side I slipped in a scrap paper of a butterfly to change it up a bit..The whole bottom is on a little lazy-susan

Around and Around it goes...

Spring Wreath

2010-02-27T19:23:00.001-08:00

I saw this idea on Tatertots and Jello.. Here ....
I fell in love with the wreath and had to do it of course..Working with burlap I am finding is very dirty..There is lint everywhere. It is very easy to make. Just buy a round foam form and wrap burlap around it. This is to cover the areas that might show between your flowers. I cut lots of burlap circle shapes and used some leftover fabric for the rest.. Love it...

Books Galore

2010-02-08T11:00:00.001-08:00

My friend Sherri sent me this link http://www.livingwithlindsay.com/2009/11/librarians-please-avert-your-eyes.html and I knew I had to do it...It just took about two books and about a 100 straight pins and hot glue..but it looks fantastic now...The whole project cost me $4...I knew books were good for something...

2010-02-02T21:37:00.001-08:00

Rub-a-dub-dub

2010-01-29T19:27:00.000-08:00

The store I work at is clearing everything out..So of course I'm scrounging for all the freebies to be had..We use this tub for display. It's perfect with a little bit of chalkboard paint and white painted letters..Bathroom here I come...

i heart you...

2010-01-28T19:19:00.000-08:00

I've never worked with burlap before but when I saw this craft on Craftaholics Anonymous and fell in love with it I knew I had to go for it...I first tried with the felt I already had at home but the wire wasn't thick enough so the whole thing just sagged..I bought extra burlap at Joann's today cause I can think of a few future projects for them...

Final Results

2010-01-16T22:30:00.000-08:00

It was a fun night with some great friends..As you can see the black and white napkin was the most popular one to use..They came out great...I actually love the floral printed one the best...They were easy to make...waiting between each varnish was the longest part of all...
Here is how to make them..

list of items needed...

napkins..Tuesday Morning has the best selection

tiles..I use the cheap 16 cent ones

modge podge

polyurethane

brushes

felt for bottom

1. decide the pattern of the napkin for the tile...

2. Spread modge podge on the top of the tile.

3. Place the napkin on the tile.

4. Smooth out the wrinkles on the napkin, tile.

5. Let dry for about 5 minutes

6. Tear the rest of the napkin off so that only the top of the tile has the pattern. If you don't like how it turned out, this is the point where you can wash of the napkin and start over.

7. once the napkin is dry on the tile, spread polyurethane over the top...do this three times so that it is well coated.

8. Place felt underneath..I put little self adhesive felt circles underneath from Lowes.

Done...

Tile Coasters

2010-01-10T18:56:00.000-08:00

I got this idea for the Napkin Tile coasters from UCreate...She posted a
link done by DIY Maven on how to make coasters using napkins, ceramic tiles, and modge podge..I love it....This is my trial one and then this Tuesday my church group will get together and try it..I will post pictures of their creations.

Gift Cans

2009-12-15T22:20:00.000-08:00

We had our Back to Basic's Night at my house tonight..The project was gift cans...I saw the idea on a few other blogs and loved it..They are so easy to make..Just use a saftey can opener and open the bottom of the can...fill it with goodies and then hot glue the bottom back on...No one the wiser...The gals did an awesome job of decorating their cans..Love them.....

Holiday Cane

2009-12-02T17:28:00.000-08:00

I had bought a cane for Peter for his Halloween costume and didn't want it to go to waste....Just a little paint, some ornaments, and hot glue..and voila..a Fabulous Holiday Cane..just don't try and use it to walk anywhere soon..

Homemade "the best" Caramel

2009-11-30T17:14:00.000-08:00

Harshma posts on Allrecipes.com the exact recipe that my family has used for years...the only difference is that I add chopped walnuts at the end....I put mine in the freezer after till ready to give out..or more likely snack on...

Ingredients:
1 cup butter or margarine
1 pound light brown sugar
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed
milk
1 cup light corn syrup
1 pinch salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Directions:
1.
In a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter, brown sugar, sweetened condensed milk, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Heat to between 234 and 240 degrees F (112 to 116 degrees C), or until a small amount of syrup dropped into cold water forms a soft ball that flattens when removed from the water and placed on a flat surface. Cook for 2 minutes at that temperature. Remove from the heat and stir in vanilla.
2.
Meanwhile, butter a 9x13 inch baking pan. When the caramel is ready, pour into the buttered pan. Allow to cool completely at room temperature. Remove from the pan and cut into squares using scissors. Wrap individual pieces in waxed paper or cellophane.

Wreath of history

2009-11-30T14:31:00.001-08:00

What do you do with old ornaments that you don't want to hang on the tree but you can't throw away for sentimental reasons....Glue them to a wreath and everyone is happy...

years in the making

2009-11-30T14:28:00.000-08:00

A great way of remembering the years around Christmas.. Just a long ribbon, photos of each year and some stars to shine...

snowman

2009-11-30T14:25:00.000-08:00

A project that was finished a few years ago but a great and fun idea...Just three hat boxes of different sizes, some black and white paint, and ribbon...Voila..a Snowman that will never melt...

Christmas Countdown

2009-11-18T19:27:00.000-08:00

At our Fab Friday a frien displayed her Christmas Countdown using a cookie sheet..I know it's not an origanl idea but I inspired me to do one too...I found a cookie sheet at a Goodwill and painted it white, then sprayed it with glitter...I took awhile to figure out what color scheme to use.

It doesn't show well against the white wall but it came out great I think..I used vintage pictures for each day..Since there are magnets on the back of the pictures I can store them on the back side of the cookie sheet for each day...I just ran out of red Numbers so I need to go back to Michaels to finish the days....

oh Christmas Tree, oh Christmas Tree

2009-11-12T20:28:00.000-08:00

I'm having way too much fun getting ready for the holidays. A friend of mine..Nanalee displayed this craft at our Fab Friday and I had to make my own...it is so fun and so easy...

Corky

2009-11-11T17:45:00.001-08:00

I love free stuff..I won this cork board at our Fab. Friday event recently...and I couldn't just leave it plain...with a little ribbon and some cute scrap paper voila...A fashionable Cork Board..

Love It..

2009-10-23T15:53:00.000-07:00

It's too late now but next year this is on my list of to dos..So cute..I found it here .

Halloween Party Decorations...Part 1

2009-10-22T15:33:00.000-07:00

I am in charge of the Ward Halloween Party this year..I wanted to do pumpkins and bats for decorations..Not scary and goes with the Scripture Themed Party...of course there are lots of skeletons in the bible...but I'll just stick to the simple way....I found the idea for the pumpkins here and for the lanterns here. I'll be making the bats next...

I'm a witch...

2009-10-15T16:02:00.000-07:00

I love the vintage pictures found at Graphics Fairy . This was fun and so me....

Hanging with the Season

2009-10-07T15:14:00.000-07:00

I had fun with this one..I spray painted the branch and (half my hand) black..Then took the seasonal branches sold at Michaels..tore them apart and used their wires to hang the ornaments individually...It came out great...and was quick..Which is what I need these days..

Halloween Garland

2009-10-01T15:06:00.000-07:00

I saw this idea on Serendipity and loved it...I put mine in the window because there is no more room on the mantel..The vintage cards are fantastic..I'm getting all kinds of ideas for them...

Fall Leaves

2009-09-25T17:53:00.000-07:00

I made this last year..just took a couple of leaf templates found on the internet and some scrap paper and voila..a fall garland....

Fall Out

2009-09-19T21:33:00.001-07:00

This blog inspired me PrettyPartridge ...I saw bats hanging and thought I can do something with my hanging lamep..Love the idea of adding a border to the lamp shade..I will remember this for Christmas too...I love decorating the house for Fall and Halloween and even if next week's weather will seem more like summer..I'm ready for Fall...

Babies everywhere...

2009-09-15T09:43:00.001-07:00

I did something I haven't done for awhile..Sewn...I have a triple babyshower tonight and wanted to give something homemade..Just me this is as homemade as it gets..It doesn't help that I'm still learning how to use the sewing machine..They turned out cute..a little burping cloth with a bib to match and a binky clip to go..Now onto my new niece's set...

photos taken of Salt Lake Temple

2009-09-03T09:01:00.000-07:00

New Cards

2009-09-03T08:50:00.000-07:00

Some of the scrapbook paper I found in Utah...I also realized that I'm not missing anything....There are great crafts stores here in the Northwest..I just had to go to Utah to realize that....

lunch boxes

2009-09-02T09:10:00.000-07:00

I had a pre-photo but we erased it by accident...This is the after..not much but I wanted to Embellish them a little..They each have the same initals but you can definetely tell who's is who's...

Pasta con Ricotta Salata

2009-08-13T20:16:00.001-07:00

This is the easiest pasta salad to throw together....

5 roma tomatoes

1box of pasta

handfull of basil

8 ounces of Ricotta Salata.....it's a semi-hard cheese found in the import deli section

olive oil

cook pasta according to package..We love Barilla in this house.. drain the pasta and mix in a little bit of olive oil...put in frig to cool down..in the mean time grate the cheese and cut up the tomatoes and basil..When the pasta has cooled down, toss everything together adding more olive oil to your taste....Finito!

Spaghetti alla tonno....

2009-08-13T18:01:00.000-07:00

Tuna Spaghetti

Since serving my mission in Italy I have loved cooking Italian..Thank goodness the family loves eating it....

2 tbl of olive oil

one small onion..diced

1 can of tuna in olive oil ( makes it moister)

1 28 ounce can of pureed tomatoes..( I do whole tomatos and pure them in the food processor)

1 teaspoon of salt

2 tbls of dried italian herbs

1 package of spaghetti...

boil salted water for the pasta..in the mean time heat up the oil in a sauce pan...When oil is hot throw in the diced onion.. saute till golden brown..then add the pureed tomatoes ,the can of tuna, the salt, and the herbs..let simmer for 15minutes...With the pasta follow the directions on the box..I don't put olive oil in the pot for the spaghetti..Once ready, drain, and mix with tomato sauce...Add grated Parmesan cheese and you are ready...Buena!

hint..I take a couple of onions, peel off their skin and throw toss them in the food processor..I then freeze them in individual ice cube trays..once frozen I place them in a freezer bag and just grab one cube when needed.

re-do re-do

2009-08-13T16:20:00.000-07:00

I reupholstered the ottoman then hated it and reupholstered it again after painting it white..much better...

I was going to make a card with this paper but when I put it down I saw Christmas..I know..it's too early to be doing crafts for Christmas but I just couldn't help the imspiration flow....

photos..

2009-08-10T13:46:00.001-07:00

I love taking pictures of old style homes..especially doors..Europe is a perfect palate for my love..

paper flowers

2009-08-10T13:27:00.000-07:00

I fell in love with these paper flowers when they were featured on Ucreate..here!...So I just had to make my own..These two were done for Baby showers.. and now I have some scattered around the house...

Runner Curtain

2009-08-10T13:17:00.000-07:00

This is something I did a couple of years ago and still use in my laundry room window..I fell in love with this table runner at April Cornell and knew right away how great it would look as a curtain..Just glued some ribbon and buttons on top and down... How easy.....

Re-do...

2009-08-07T17:39:00.000-07:00

I was sick of the ottoman's fabric..The kids had put a hole in it and the skirt was always falling down...I'm not a pro yet on my sewing skills...The above photo is the ottoman before and the ones below are the after..It was hard doing the corners since the legs don't come off...It's a rich golden yellow with red accents..goes great with the couch...and it only cost me $10..Jo-Ann's was having a 60% off sale...

Belgian Waffles

2009-07-30T16:45:00.000-07:00

I spent 4 and 1/2 years in Belguim with my family and without..I love Belgian waffles..they are warm and syrupy.....yummm. This recipe is really close to the real thing...

3 1/2 cups of flour

1 packet of dry yeast

3/4 cup lukewarm milk

8 oz softened butter(2 sticks)

2 eggs

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1 box of Belgian Pearl sugar (it's important to have large pieces of sugar)

My sister makes these for Christmas..I make them for any night of the week...It makes about 8 waffles..they are filling because of the sugar...

Clothes pins makeover

2009-07-27T12:01:00.001-07:00

I saw this on another blog..which I can't remember which one...I like the idea of spicing up the clothes pins I use...I put chalkboard paint on one and the others are just scrap paper. I'll use them on top of gifts to hold the card or on the string to hold my projects. I could put a magnetic on it to place on the frig for all of Anna-Maria's artwork...

Fun with words

2009-07-24T17:54:00.000-07:00

Some of you might have seen this before but I thought I would share it again on my site...I called my husband and one day and said..."I hope you don't mind me drawing on the table"..He probably thought I wouldn't dare..I did...The quote is in french...."The success of the meal depends as much upon the company as the chef"...I used a paint pen with a varnish on top..

Chalk it Up..

2009-07-24T17:53:00.000-07:00

I saw this on another blog and thought "why not"..I bought the plate for $4 at Marshalls and had the chalkboard paint ready for a project like this....I just taped off the square and painted away..It takes about 4 coats......How fun...

Baby Dresses

2009-07-17T15:14:00.000-07:00

I saw this in a magazine years ago right when I had my baby girl..So I kept her favorite baby outfits plus the blessing gown and did a tension rod of dresses in her window..She is now 6 and still loving it..The colors go well in her pink themed room..

Different kind of Headboard

2009-07-17T15:10:00.001-07:00

I don't have a headboard for our master bed..so I hung some beautiful curtains behind with a curtain rod..It adds height to the room and there is a coziness about it...
In the bathroom I wanted just a little more privacy so up went some left over fabric with bowties using a tension rod...It's easy to change out and I don't worry about more holes in the walls...

Canisters

2009-07-17T15:06:00.001-07:00

I always wanted french canisters for the kitchen but never liked either the price tag or the fact that coffee and tea are always included in the package..So with some vinyl lettering and just plain white canisters I have just what I want..I can even customize what is in each..such as brown sugar......

Random Cards

2009-07-15T09:18:00.000-07:00

Just random cards I made last night..Always looking for card ideas...

Change around

2009-07-14T20:18:00.000-07:00

I like changing out my art in the frames so this idea was perfect..just get a glass frame..one that has two pieces of glass..I put in different sayings depending on the time of year..Easy art....

Cheap Art

2009-07-13T20:21:00.000-07:00

I love to collect post cards from our trip to Europe...the best way to display them is to throw some card stock behind them instead of mattes...I like to see them pop.. The pink goes perfectly in Anna-Maria's room and some of these are ones that either Peter collected on his mission or Mom had from when we lived in Europe years ago...

Living Price Tag

2009-07-12T20:30:00.000-07:00

I've seen other blogs that prices their living rooms and I was curious on how I would fair so here is my take on it...

1...Curtains were a gift from Mom..so free for me not for her....

2... Print from Coldwater Creek...since I work there it cost me $24 instead of $150...

3...Ikea lamp..$30...

4... Basket from Coldwater Creek...$13..

5...Rug from Ikea...$40

6....Ultra Suede couch from Costco..$400..

7....Arm chair..free from my sister Kristi..thanks..came with an ottoman which we use in another room...

8...Entertainment Center..Ikea..$150...

So from all this I figured we spent about $650..not bad but you can really tell we love Ikea.... My next project is to find a coffee table at a dicount store or garage sale and spruce it up...I'm waiting on my free quart of paint on it's way...