Can't You Feel Its Pain....?

Before I get to Fern Gully and my sympathies, an announcement.

Have you seen the retiring stamp list for Stampin' Up! yet?  Um, WOW.  The list has never ever been this extensive.  It's very likely that some of your favorites may be retiring, and some of these sets are only as supplies last, so you'll want to snatch them up!  Last chance to order is May 31st.  You can click on over to my website to order online, or shoot me an email at diykindagirl@hotmail.com and I'd be happy to help you figure out your order.

Okay, so now let's talk about Fern Gully.

So last spring, our very first spring as homeowners, we attacked our front yard.  'Cause it was awful.

This photo doesn't even begin to show the disaster state it was in (the owners moved out in August, we closed in February...months of neglect), not to mention the terrible landscaping.  I mean, who plants a tree RIGHT in front of the door?!  And all the shrubs and trees were situated in "mounds," as we call them.  Oh, and let's not forget the heart shaped strawberry patch in the middle of the yard.  Awesome.

Anyway, we tore out tons of shrubs, and one tree (which I tried to replant in another place...totally didn't work) and leveled the "mounds."  Except around the trees.  We couldn't, or the trees would be no more.  And I love trees.  I REALLY love trees.

However, the trauma of it all evidently took a toll on the smallest of the three remaining trees...and about a third of it died.  Plus the mound was especially terrible around that tree, and it was hard for my husband to mow.  So....after much difficult deliberation, I decided that my husband could cut it down, which he's been aching to do ever since we starting ripping our yard apart the first time.

I informed him of this as we were driving up to spend the day at his folks' house on Saturday.  Before we left that evening, he borrowed a saw, and when we pulled into our driveway, he got out of the car, opened the back, grabbed the saw and walked straight over to the tree and started sawing.

Just to shed some light on things, it was 7:30 PM, we had two small tired hungry children that needed to be taken care of, and the next day was Sunday, which for us means the Sabbath, a day of worship, rest and definitely no yard work.

His only defense: I had to cut it down before you changed your mind.

I guess he had a point.

Maybe it was Chrysta's influence at a young age (either that, or Anne's influence), but watching anyone cut down a tree leaves me with a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.  It was no different this time.  I'm a tree killer.

On the bright side. our yard is going to look much better....you know, once we get around to digging the stump out of the ground, leveling the "mound" and planting grass.....

Another quick and easy wedding gift

We've been in our house for just over a year now, and we've gotten a few wedding announcements from people in the neighborhood.  They have been so kind to include us, but since we didn't actually know their children (the bride or groom), we just felt like it would be awkward to show up.  So we haven't gone.  Until last night.  Our backyard neighbor's daughter got married, and since they are our neighbors and my husband has had some interaction with her as he's been serving with the youth in our ward (she was in Young Womens - ages 12 to 18 - just last year), we wanted to go.  (HOWEVER, my daughter spent the day having a series of meltdowns, and by evening I was exhausted and she was still sobbing like the world was ending, so my husband and son went without us!)

That meant coming up with another fabulous personal wedding gift.

I love making wedding gifts.

I was a bit short on time and brain power, so I turned to the Web for inspiration.  And found this darling print on Etsy (this seller has a ton of cute prints if you don't have the skills to make them yourself).

Now, to personalize it more.  I went to their registry, as I always do, to find out what colors they are planning to use in their home.  Then I took a closer look at their invitation, discovered neither one of them go by their full names, and that they had quoted a line from a song on the inside flap.  Bingo!  Perfect text for the background.  So based on all that information, this is what I came up with:

(I used Photoshop Elements to create the image.
Fonts - background: Traveling Typewriter Monogram: Century Names/Date: New Cicle)

Then I painted another garage sale frame with Krylon Indoor/Outdoor spray paint in Peekaboo Blue, and put it together.

Quick tip: to avoid having any dust sandwiched in your frame, after you clean the glass and it has dried, use some dust remover (basically pressurized air in a can) to blow away any dust particles, then quickly put everything together.

Final product:

I hope they love it.  I do!  Think I might have to make one for myself....

Linking up here:

{M} Twigg Studios-Ask Anna-Skip to My Lou-The DIY Showoff-Mad in Crafts-Marvelously Messy-Pinkopotamus-The Girl Creative-Sumo's Sweet Stuff-Making the World Cuter-Sew Can Do- C.R.A.F.T.- Keeping It Simple-Creating My Way to Success-All Things Fee-Etcetorize -Craft-o-Maniac-My Junk Drawer-Homemaker in Heels-Singing Three Little Birds-The House in the Roses-Boogieboard Cottage-Be Colorful-Between Naps on the Porch-I Should Be Mopping the Floor-Embellishing Life {T} Today's Creative Blog-Tip Junkie-Cherished Bliss-A Diamond in the Stuff-Sugar Bee Crafts-Vintage Wanna Bee-Reasons to Skip the Housework-The Kurtz Corner-Me and My Boys-Funky Polkadot Giraffe-Hope Studios-Creative Itch-Not Just a Housewife-Rook No. 17-At Home with K-My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia-Home Stories A2Z-Type A Decorating-DIY by Design-Primitive and Proper {furniture only}-Elizabeth & Co.-Project Queen-Coastal Charm-Ladybug Blessings-Homework-Topsy Turvy-New Nostalgia-Measured by the Heart {W} Tea Rose Home-Someday Crafts-Lil' Luna-Creations by Kara-Sew Woodsy -Goodbye City Hello Suburbs-Blue Cricket Design-Sew Much Ado-My Girlish Whims-Very Merry Vintage Style-Savvy Southern Style-Seven Thirty Three-Night Owl Crafting-Sugar and Dots-The Trendy Treehouse-Southern Lovely -Polkadots on Parade-Restore Interiors-Chatty Chicks-Ginger Snap Crafts-The Sasse Life-Fireflies and Jellybeans-Organize and Decorate Everything-Rae Gun Ramblings {Th} The Shabby Creek Cottage-House of Hepworths-The Brambleberry Cottage-The 36th Avenue-Yesterday on Tuesday-Saved by Love Creations-Momnivore's Dilemma-Beyond the Picket Fence-Somewhat Simple-Gluesticks-A Glimpse Inside-Domestically Speaking {paint only}-A Creative Princess-Christina's Adventures {$20}-What Allie's Making Now-Tales from Bloggeritaville-A Little Knick Knack-Crafty, Scrappy, Happy-Two Yellow Birds Decor-These Peas Taste Funny {F} Thirty Handmade Days-Just a Girl-Romantic Home-Remodelaholic-Shabby Nest-Lovely Crafty Home-WhipperBerry-At the Picket Fence-Finding Fabulous-delicate CONSTRUCTION-My Repurposed Life-Naptime Crafters-Chic on a Shoestring Budget Decorating-Fingerprints on the Fridge-504 Main-Cookie Nut Creations-Making Lemonade-French Country Cottage-See Vanessa Craft-Sassy Sites-Kojo Designs-It's a Hodgepodge Life-Tidy Mom-Truly Lovely-Simply Designing-Bubbly Nature Creations-Home is Where My Story Begins-Miss Mustard Seed {furniture only}-Simply Sweet Home-Creation Corner-Joyful Stamper-Craftionary-Release Me Create-Simple Home Life-Family Ever After-Addicted to Decorating-One Artsy Mama {S} Funky Junk Interior-Ladybird Lane-Tatertots and Jello-Craft Envy

$2 IKEA clock redo

It's been awhile, hasn't it.  One thing after another has caused this blog to lie dormant.  First, I tackled an enormous project on a tight deadline.  Then I was pregnant.  And exhausted.  And just all around not feeling my best.  And then I had a miscarriage.

I'm still trying to heal emotionally, still trying to regain...myself.  I'm taking steps in the right direction, but it's often slow going.  But I will say that doing this little project today made me feel rejuvenated.  And hopeful.  Guess I need to get back to DIYing, then!

Without further ado, my $2 clock makeover!

I HATE that I can't see a clock from my bathroom.  How am I supposed to pace myself while getting ready, I ask you!!!  So I decided I needed a clock for the bathroom.  BUT, as most DIYers, I'm cheap.

Found this ugly little wonder for a buck ninety-nine at IKEA last week.

And I knew I could make it something beautiful!

First things first, take off the plastic cover.  Next, remove the background.  Then spray paint the red second hand (cover the other two) with a little Krylon Brushed Metallic in Oil Rubbed Bronze.  Then uncover the other two hands, and give all three a light coat of the same.

Then cover up the hands (cover well, spray paint can sneak in tiny crevices!), and paint the whole she-bang with Krylon Brushed Metallic in Sparkling Canyon.

Once the spray paint is dried, I used some acrylic paint, Americana in Bittersweet Chocolate (same paint I used for my latest wedding gift) to age it a bit.  Since the walls in my bathroom are a sage green, I didn't want to use a copper patina (as I did on my lamp redo last year) since that is an aqua color, so grunging it up with brown acrylic paint was the best option.  I used one soft cloth to rub it on, and another to wipe it off.  Do this in small areas, and work quickly, otherwise it won't wipe off very well.

 Now time for the new center!  I used an old clock face found in the digital scrapbooking kit Old Garden, by Etc. by Danyale.  I did have to enlarge the image, which typically affects the quality, but in this case it was fine.  In Photoshop, increase the image size to about 7.25 inches in diameter, then use the clone stamp to remove the hands.  Once you're satisfied, print!

I trimmed off almost all the brown around the edge to make it fit perfectly.  But keep testing and trimming until you get it right.

Then poke a hole in the dead center, and carefully slide the hands through.  I did end up tearing it a little to get the other side of the second hand through, but it fit in with the whole look and once glued down, it was hardly noticeable.

Make sure the 12 is on top (line it up with the hanging hole in the back), then carefully lift a few edges and use some Elmer's to tack it into place.

If you want to be done at this point, you can.  In fact, it might be better!  But since mine was going in the bathroom, and I was worried about the moisture going directly onto the paper, I opted to put the plastic cover back on.  As I feared, it scraped a bunch of the paint off on the insides.  But it's not very noticeable, and to take it off and repair it would mean a whole lot of work, only to most likely have it happen again.  So I'm just dealing with it!  No one goes in this bathroom except me and my husband, and I'll be lucky if he even notices we have a clock in there now!

And voila!  A cheap clock turned work of art!

Linking up here:

{M} Twigg Studios-Ask Anna-Skip to My Lou-The DIY Showoff-Mad in Crafts-Marvelously Messy-Pinkopotamus-The Girl Creative-Sumo's Sweet Stuff-Making the World Cuter-Sew Can Do- C.R.A.F.T.- Keeping It Simple-Creating My Way to Success-All Things Fee-Etcetorize -Craft-o-Maniac-My Junk Drawer-Homemaker in Heels-Singing Three Little Birds-The House in the Roses-Boogieboard Cottage-Be Colorful-Between Naps on the Porch-I Should Be Mopping the Floor-Embellishing Life {T} Today's Creative Blog-Tip Junkie-Cherished Bliss-A Diamond in the Stuff-Sugar Bee Crafts-Vintage Wanna Bee-Reasons to Skip the Housework-The Kurtz Corner-Me and My Boys-Funky Polkadot Giraffe-Hope Studios-Creative Itch-Not Just a Housewife-Rook No. 17-At Home with K-My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia-Home Stories A2Z-Type A Decorating-DIY by Design-Primitive and Proper {furniture only}-Elizabeth & Co.-Project Queen-Coastal Charm-Ladybug Blessings-Homework-Topsy Turvy-New Nostalgia-Measured by the Heart {W} Tea Rose Home-Someday Crafts-Lil' Luna-Creations by Kara-Sew Woodsy -Goodbye City Hello Suburbs-Blue Cricket Design-Sew Much Ado-My Girlish Whims-Very Merry Vintage Style-Savvy Southern Style-Seven Thirty Three-Night Owl Crafting-Sugar and Dots-The Trendy Treehouse-Southern Lovely -Polkadots on Parade-Restore Interiors-Chatty Chicks-Ginger Snap Crafts-The Sasse Life-Fireflies and Jellybeans-Organize and Decorate Everything-Rae Gun Ramblings {Th} The Shabby Creek Cottage-House of Hepworths-The Brambleberry Cottage-The 36th Avenue-Yesterday on Tuesday-Saved by Love Creations-Momnivore's Dilemma-Beyond the Picket Fence-Somewhat Simple-Gluesticks-A Glimpse Inside-Domestically Speaking {paint only}-A Creative Princess-Christina's Adventures {$20}-What Allie's Making Now-Tales from Bloggeritaville-A Little Knick Knack-Crafty, Scrappy, Happy-Two Yellow Birds Decor-These Peas Taste Funny {F} Thirty Handmade Days-Just a Girl-Romantic Home-Remodelaholic-Shabby Nest-Lovely Crafty Home-WhipperBerry-At the Picket Fence-Finding Fabulous-delicate CONSTRUCTION-My Repurposed Life-Naptime Crafters-Chic on a Shoestring Budget Decorating-Fingerprints on the Fridge-504 Main-Cookie Nut Creations-Making Lemonade-French Country Cottage-See Vanessa Craft-Sassy Sites-Kojo Designs-It's a Hodgepodge Life-Tidy Mom-Truly Lovely-Simply Designing-Bubbly Nature Creations-Home is Where My Story Begins-Miss Mustard Seed {furniture only}-Simply Sweet Home-Creation Corner-Joyful Stamper-Craftionary-Release Me Create-Simple Home Life-Family Ever After-Addicted to Decorating-One Artsy Mama {S} Funky Junk Interior-Ladybird Lane-Tatertots and Jello-Craft Envy