A Thrift Store Find: C9 Christmas Lights - Thank You Best Friends!

Yes I know I have been really slacking on the blog posts but I hope to remedy that soon with some new exciting posts. To start with today I got a wonderful bargain on a box of C9 colored Christmas lights from Best Friend's thrift store in Potsdam. Those of you that don't know about this store, it is to benefit the Potsdam Animal Shelter. they do get some really interesting stuff too! Be sure to visit and like their Facebook page to receive updates on sales, free items and interesting new items. Anyways back to my bargain, without knowing how many were in the box or even if they worked I paid $3.00 for them all.

Upon going through the box initially expecting a huge mess of knotted up lights, I was pleasantly surprised. There were 14 strands varying length and all but 1 set worked. Now don't worry safety people I'm going to do a thorough check of all the strands before l use them for any projects. The one not working set may only need a new fuse. I really only wanted the lights for the stringers as a new c9 stringer runs anywhere from $12 - $15. Quite a few of the bulbs were out on some strands, but plan to replace the bulbs with clear c9 bulbs, possibly round ones and make something like this:

I found this wonderful tutorial on the Ruffled Wedding Blog for Vintage Marquee Lights! It seems easy enough and a could be a total upcycled project. Watch for my upcycled version of this tutorial using cardboard and cereal boxes!

I also got another great deal on 6 sets of plain white regular Christmas mini lights for a dollar and all of those sets worked. The BF even said I got a good deal! The c9 lights updated with clear bulbs and the mini lights will be gorgeous for a wedding and all for $4!

DIY Wood Mounted Stamp Tutorial

I have been trying to figure out how to make my own stamps for a long time.  There have been several trial and error versions.  I have done several of the carving type, similar to block printing which work well but are way to time consuming for me to make.  I created this "Wicked" Banner with stamps I created and mounted myself. Check it out:

Here are my stamps!  They look so professional :)

Large rubber stamps are hard to find and also expensive, so to be able to make your own is incredible. 

And here is the tutorial: 

Supplies: 
1. A print off on regular paper of the letters (or shapes) you would like to make into stamps.
2. Stencil (Sign) Tape (it is about an 1/8 inch thick rubbery material, mine was given to me for free, but I think I found it on dickblick.com)
3.  Wood blocks bigger than the stencil.  The BF cut mine up for me out of a planed pine board and they are a perfect weight.
4.  Glue Stick
5.  Scissors
6.  Exacto Knife (Optional)
7.  Cutting Matt (Optional)
9.  Ink Pads & A dog that won't leave you alone when you are playng with permanent ink!  I swear he almost ended up with orange paws (optional). P.S. I like StazOn ink pads they are pricey but work the best.

Instructions: 
Step 1 -
Here is my print out.  My letters are about 2.5 inches tall, printed on regular paper.

A close up of the stencil tape.  It has like a thin white paper backing that has adhesive to stick to the  actual stencil material.  You are going to want to have the paper side up, the stencil material down.

Cut out each of your letters.  I just squared them up as close to the edges as I could and using a little glue from the glue stick attach them to the stencil tape backing (the white paper side). 

 Step 2 -
Cut out each letter with scissors or if necessary the exacto knife and cutting pad.  For my letters I only needed the scissors but for more intricate stuff you may need the knife.  It should look something like this!

Step 3 -
Carefully peel off the paper backing leaving the adhesive backed stencil tape letter.  Stick it to the center of your wooden block. Adjust it wear necessary b/c the material is a little stretchy.  (All of mine have held fine, but down the road may need some glue).  Don't throw out the paper backing with the letter print out b/c you can use this to label your stamp :)

Sorry I was so excited to stamp I didn't take a photo before I did!

Step 4 -
Stamp Away!

I cut out pennants from an old book and stamped my letters on it.  I didn't press down too hard so that my letters have a distressed look.  Punch some holes and string it on ribbon or string and you have a easy banner!

Recycled Rustic Wall Vase

I took yesterday off from blogging b/c the BF and I were working on getting stuff together for the garage and starting on the floor for the attic.  I am very excited b/c yesterday I learned how to use a miter saw which turns out to be very very easy.  I helped him cut the boards to the lengths he needed and he nailed them upstairs.  As a result of the garage project, there is tons of scrap pieces of wood around, so I cut this one myself to size.  I then attached an old hose clamp I got when we were cleaning out my grandparents house before it sold with 2 nails and tighten it to hold one of my blue Bertolli jars.  The best part of this is what I used to hang it on the wall, scroll down to find out!

 

Thanks to Pinterest, I found this super neat idea of using tabs off of a soda can, which I already have tons of them saved for something :).  One nail through the hole in the center and it works great!

♥ “Wherever you go, go with all your heart.” - Confucius ♥

It turns out this may be a little bit of heart week.  For some reason I have been inspired to create heart or love items and will continue on with this by showing what I did with my heart origami.  The uses for these are endless; little love notes, decoration in a bowl, you could attach them to wire and make a bouquet, and the list goes on and on.

I put mine in my vintage soda crates.  I created 2 bigger ones for the larger openings in my soda crates.  (To do this just keep the paper ratio the same)

What will you use your origami hearts for? 

P.S.  A shout of to the BF for buying me a new Nikon Coolpix camera for Christmas :) muah!

My Vintage Mercury Glass Christmas

I love Mercury Glass.  It has a rustic but elegant quality.  This is the second year I have decorated our tree with vintage ornaments and beads. Some actually from both of my grandmothers as well as some I have purchased myself on Etsy.

Our Tree

My Favorite Bulb - not really sure why?

 Christmas themed soda boxes with chalkboard message blocks as well as mercury glass bulbs:

 My non-vintage mercury glass candle holder centerpiece:

Rustic Candy Cane

After creating this A Peppermint & Mercury Glass Christmas Treasury List, I was really inspired by all the candy cane items I found so last night I sat down on my living room floor with my pile of bed springs and created:

I then had to paint each spring separately and put it back together but I think it turned out super cute.  It is available for sale in my Etsy Shop

♥ Vintage Soda Box Love ♥

I love vintage soda boxes, coke, pepsi whatever brand.   The hardest part in purchasing one is what to do with it.  I know they are great for organization, but I don't really need anything like that.  So I decided to try them out as wall decorations. 


So once I got them up on the wall, yes I actually hung them up myself and didn't get hurt :) (I'm a little accident prone)  It was time to figure out what to fill them with.  The sections are rather small, so small trinkets would be needed and since I am not a big knick knack person I didn't really have anything.  Vintage letterpress blocks would have been awesome but they are so expensive.   So I had a chunk of balsa wood hanging around and had just recently bought a thing of chalkboard paint.  I cut the balsa wood into small blocks, then sanded them down and painted them.  Chalkboard paint is one of those crazy awesome things, that once you get you aren't sure how you crafted without it before, the uses are endless.  So now I have small chalkboard blocks to put messages in my vintage soda box wall decoration.