Thread Art - School's Out For The Summer - Craft Party!

There isn't a better way to begin Summer vacation than to complete a triathlon (for Slackers! - Really, it's called "Life's A Beach Triathlon") and then crafting with a whole bunch of wonderful ladies - and man!  Today, our featured craft was thread art.

After I sprinkled baby powder like a mad woman (best, and fastest, way to remove sand), I got myself together and headed down the street to help set up for our party.

So, the last two parties, I think I have been extremely hungry and have forgotten to take pictures of our delicious meal!  Tonight, we enjoyed a taco bar, complete with fresh pico de gallo, guacamole, delicious - but not so healthy - queso cheese dip....hmmm.  My mouth is watering just thinking about our dinner!  

After dinner, we gathered our supplies and began to brainstorm and print out templates for our creations that we nailed into reclaimed barn wood.  The wood had so much character.  You could actually see the saw marks and some pieces even had a silver shimmer.  Pretty cool!

 After the design was nailed into the wood, the paper template was torn away (or not), and we used thread to outline the nail design and fill the positive or negative space with thread.

Although this craft required concentration, stamina, very intricate work, the end results were well worth it!    Impressive! 

Alexis and Patty

Loie 

Awesome neighbors - Brian and Tiffany

Kathy

Becky

Christen

Kristen

Shannon

Thank you for coming and crafting with us.  As always, we had a wonderful time eating, crafting, laughing, and mingling with you all!  We hope to craft with you again soon!

By the way - Brian checked GOOD!  You were a good sport, and did a really great job on your pig!

Twine Wrapped Letter Craft Party

Just when you think you can't go any more, there's a little hope that gets you to the end of the tunnel.  The Twine Wrapped Letter Craft Party was my "little hope" to get me to the end of the tunnel! I have been looking forward to this party since Kristi and I set it up!

Kristi contacted us after Kim's "Hello" wreath party and wanted to throw a craft party at her house.  She hadn't pinpointed the exact craft she wanted to complete, but she had some ideas.  We communicated back and forth and decided that we would make some cute twine wrapped letters/wine bottles and embellish them. 

Thursday was the night! After school, Krysten and I packed the car, handed the kids over to Super Dad, and we were on our way.  Krysten was my navigator.  After our last turn she spouted off the address and we searched the house numbers.  Low and behold, a "Hello" wreath stared back at us - that was delightful to see!  It looked so pretty - but I forgot to take a picture - boo-hiss.

Kristi finished things up in the kitchen and moved furniture around as we unpacked our stuff and set up. 

Krysten and I chose for this meal to be our cheat meal (we are trying to adopt a Gluten Free diet and adhere to it pretty well during the week), but we were ecstatic to see that Kristi, her mom, Cyndi, and Ann, had prepared some delicious, colorful, and healthy dishes for everyone!  We feasted on chicken, meatballs, sauteed squash and zucchini, cowboy caviar (my favorite!) and baked tortilla chips, tortellini salad, fresh berries, and, well...brownie squares (thanks Kim!).  Again, I think my mouth was watering so much that I, again, forgot to take a picture! 

After everyone got a bite to eat, we started crafting.  Well...we prepared to craft first!  Krysten introduced everyone to her "Custom Sweat Bands!"  She even demonstrated that sweat wouldn't drip into your eyes even when doing burpees (Gary at Coastal Strength and Fitness would be proud!). 

 Now that some were outfitted to take on this craft, we got to work.  These letters looked simple to make, but I learned on my practice run that this project took patience, attention to detail, and caution (hot glue involved - ouch!). 

Krysten and I had a great time eating, laughing (LOTS of laughing), mingling, and crafting with all of you!  Your letters turned out beautifully!  (Megan, Cyndi, Jill and Amber - when you get a chance, take a picture and send it to us at sotsscrafts@gmail.com so we can include your finished projects, thanks!)

Kim

Ann

Kristyn

KristYn and KrYsten unite!

Rachel

Lauren and Raven

The group (minus - Jill, Raven, Lauren, Cyndi, Megan, and Mama Michele)

 

 A special thanks to Kristi for welcoming us into her home, preparing the delicious food, and introducing us to some amazing women!  We hope to craft with you all again soon!

 

The "Workshop"

Has it already been half a month since my last post?  Trust me, it isn't because of lack of excitement or projects. That's probably more of the reason for the delay.  Remember last post I wrote about the yard sale steals???  Well, this beauty is complete - Check it out!  

Annie Sloan's "Louis" on the outside and "English Yellow" on the inside.

 The large table has turned into my work space and the round table is holding wreaths!  In due time, they will find themselves slathered with rich, buttery color that just screams- "Buy Me!"  Haha!

Next project - Well, my sweet, imaginative, creative, intelligent son, Owen, is turning 6 next Friday and he wanted a Pirate themed birthday.  So, I rummaged though several dumpsters (like any good mother does, right?)...just kidding! Thanks, Rommel, for your vanity box!  Two rolls of duck tape and approximately 4 or 5 large boxes later, we are ready to sail:

And, finally, Owen had to create a rooftop garden for his Kindergarten project.  We picked up a birdhouse and 1 inch wood pieces from Hobby Lobby last time we were there.  We glued the edges to the rooftop, then Owen painted all of the sides.  Next, we planted the grass seed on top.  That dang grass seed failed us....failed us!  We waited and watched those dang seeds for at least two weeks and NOTHING happened!  With only a week left, we did what any desperate parents would do - I sent Albert outside at 11pm to dig up two patches of grass to place on top of the roof.  I know when Owen woke up and saw the miracle grass, he was amazed and confused.  How did his grass grow faster than any infomercial Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia pet?  Oh, honey, miracles do happen *wink!*  

 

Albert said that our pathetic bird feeder/rooftop garden looks like it has a dang toupee laying on top of it!  Needless to say, Albert and I laughed until we cried!  The funniest part was when he said he shook out all of the bugs before he laid it down and NAILED it in place - HAHAHA!  

I know you are thinking that you wish you could be a fly on our wall.  We do have some funny stories to tell - making memories!  

Yard Sale Emergency!

Last weekend, I woke up and found a message from my Assistant Principal stating, "COURTNEY!!! They are having a yard sale in my neighborhood today and I see TABLES!"  I text Krysten, "GET DRESSED! Coming to get you in 5 minutes!"  Bed head disguised by a baseball hat, mismatched socks (that's normal), sweat pants, and t-shirt were thrown on and out the door I ran.  Krysten told Rob, "I have to go.  There's a yard sale emergency!"

We drove around window shopping the yard sales until...we reached the pot of gold - two large tables, six chairs, a cabinet, a foyer table, two couches, camping equipment, and antique cookie cutters (Krysten HAD to have)!  Krysten and I scanned the tables and did the wobble test.  Check and check - we decided on one large table, the foyer table, and the beautiful cabinet (we also scored a heavy-as-lead mirror from another yard sale). The owners loaded and secured our treasures for us!  As they were loading everything, we entertained them with a story about our lovely neighbors, Jay, Cathy, and their little dog Ollie too!  That poor dog has chewed them out of the house at home - 3 couches...Three couches that dog has chewed through.  One little peak down the road at their curbside and we know that Ollie has done it again!  We jokingly told the yard sale people that we were going to snatch our neighbors and bring them back to purchase their fluffy couches.  Haha!

As we drove cautiously home, as if we were parading our finds around the neighborhood, guess who was outside- Jay and Cathy!  We told them about their prospective couches, and they were on-board (literally, after we unloaded our treasures into our workshop "aka garage").  We couldn't send them on their own, because we weren't quite sure where to tell them where to go - that neighborhood was too confusing!  Krysten + Courtney + Jay + Cathy = TROUBLE.  We picked up the floral couch - Ollie's favorite - then got distracted by a sign reading "Estate Sale" when driving home.  An hour later, and with empty pockets - no great finds at the estate sale, we were unloading Ollie's present.  Just kidding - Jay swore that he would start crating Ollie....we'll see how long his precious Ollie has to spend her days in the crate. I mean, we will be able to tell when he gives in - just look on the curb for evidence :)

Fast forward a week or two and Krysten and I were finally ready to show our cabinet a little love.  At first, Krysten wanted to keep the cabinet and paint it herself, but then she decided that I could take over the duties of painting it - so nice!  So, last night, I painted it and gave it a rustic finish...

First Coat - Duck Egg

Second Coat - Graphite

Third step - sanding and waxing

I finally finished it (the picture doesn't do it justice - much nicer in person).  Long story short - Krysten and I agreed that this piece would need a special person to love it, because with this finish, we thought it looked more like a piece from the Addams' family than the look I was going for.  Krysten said that it wanted to be happy and needed fresher colors.  She visited Sisters Unique today and decided on "Louise" for the exterior with a punch of English Yellow on the inside.

It's not quite finished - Dancing With The Stars was on - so it will have to wait for another night, but I would agree that this piece is looking happier.  What do y'all think?

Stay tuned - this beauty will be finished shortly!
Until then - Happy Crafting!

"Hello"

I get so excited on craft party days!  Most of the day is spent going down my mental list and checking off things I have already packed and things still needing to be packed.  After school today, I rushed home to grab those last minute things, kiss my kids, pick up Krysten and Mama Michele, and off we went to the Schultz's to make "Hello" wreaths.

We set everything up, our guests arrived, we painted our "Hellos" and then it was time to wait for our paint to dry.  

The best way to wait for paint to dry is to pass the time by eating Kim's delicious baked ziti (Gary - I ate more salad than I did pasta!),  Mama Michele's fresh breadsticks (just one small nugget of a breadstick - honest!), and Kristi's moist brownies (just a nibble...grin)!

Great inspirational napkins that Ann bought just for Craft Night - a special touch!

Back to work - Everyone picked out their fabrics, ribbons, and embellishments and began crafting their wreaths.  You know, now that I think about it, our craft parties should count as a workout - I think my abs got a workout from all of the laughing! It is so refreshing to relax, craft, laugh, and just chit chat with old and new friends! We talked about...well, I can't tell you because what is said at Craft Night stays at Craft Night!  Haha!  

Ladies, your finished products are so unique and fabulous!  Take a look!

 Stephanie

 JoAnne

Ann

Kim

Kristi

Rachel 

Thank you Ann and Kim for having us over to craft with you all, and thank you JoAnne, Stephanie, Rachel, and Kristi for spending your evening with us!  Mr. Schultz - thanks for saving the night by allowing us to use your fishing line!  We had a great time!

If you are interested in hosting a craft party, contact us via our blog, facebook (www.facebook.com/sotss) or email (sotsscrafts@gmail.com).