The Apple Street Cottage

This post may contain affiliate links. We got a foot of snow the other day.... The snowbanks are impressive ... And Spring is only 4 days away! So, I guess we should get started on some Spring crafting! But, before we get into it, let me welcome you to the  Creative Craft Hop  hosted by Sara from  Birdz of a Feather .   If you just came from Donna @ Modern on Monticello ,   welcome to the Cottage!  At the bottom of this post I'll direct you to the next stop on this hop, but be sure to visit all of the other stops too for some amazing inspiration. They will all be listed.....o n to today's project: Here's what you'll need: * Paint sticks * Chipboard - or bunny wood cutouts * Felt *Burlap * Craft paint * Glue * Faux greenery * Pom Pom/ Pom Maker *Ribbon *Jute Twine * Hot glue gun Start by making your fence with 8 paint sticks and some glue .  I trimmed 2 of them as the cross pieces.  After the glue dries, paint the fence white with your craft ...

We are starting off a week-long heat wave around here, so it will be a quiet week - too hot to tackle any major projects, but let me share this little owl I made for my daughter. As usual, he started off with me drawing and cutting some patterns: The overall size is approximately 8" high x 7" wide.   After cutting and sanding the pieces of pallet wood, I dry-brushed some white paint on them.  When the paint was dry, I rubbed them with walnut stain to give them a weathered look.   The body was glued together with wood glue and strapped with two pieces of paint stirrers.  They were attached with Liquid Nails.   I also added hanging hardware. I painted the feet and then I ran into a problem... I couldn't decide how to do the eyes.  First, I tried scrapbook paper and didn't like it.  I cut pallet wood in two circles, but that was too thick.  Finally, I found a piece of thin luan and cut the circles with my jigsa...

...is happy to see the snow melting!  We've had some warmer weather (40's) which is giving us a bit of a thaw.  I'm trying not to get too excited though since we still have to get through March! You may (or may not) know that I collect pigs and you will find them throughout my home.  I'm not one of those crazy collectors with thousands of pigs lined up everywhere.  I have some and each one has a story and is special to me.  Someday, I'll write a post devoted to this collection; I did write about Chalk Pig and if you'd like to meet him, you can click HERE . In the meantime, let me introduce you to the newest member of the family, Pallet Pig: With all that pallet wood, there had to be at least one pig, so I drew myself a pattern and started tracing: I fit two on the wood I grabbed.  Here's a close-up since  I used pencil for tracing : Out came the jigsaw and the pigs were cut-out in minutes.  A little sanding, dry-brushed white paint,...

About a week ago, I took a trip to the local hardware store to buy some screws.  When using pallet wood, you tend to use those little buggers quickly.  As I walked through the door, an associate, named Gina asked what she could help me find.  Since I brought one of the screws I'd been using, I held it up and she said, "Follow me.". She asked me what they were for and I explained what I did with pallet wood and showed her a few pictures.  She was quite enthusiastic and asked how many screws I needed.  We decided a box of 100 should last me for a bit.   As we walked down the aisle, Gina asked me more about how I attached the pieces together and I told her how I used wood glue and strips of wood (aka paint stirrers) on the back with the screws going through them.  "Well", she said, "we have TONS of those. Let me get you some!" She went over to the paint department and grabbed me a handful of paint stirrers.   I thanked her profusely, and before...

Halloween will be here in a couple of days and if you need a quick craft - I've got you covered! This was another of my "Spur Of The Moment" ideas.  I was working on a Christmas craft (that I'll share soon) using paint stirrers. This part of the paint stirrer was actually 'scrap' from the other project, but I hated to waste it, so, I grabbed some paint and got to work.  This shade of green wasn't my first choice, but, since this project was 'spur of the moment', and I wasn't running to the store, I couldn't be picky.   After the green paint dried, I painted some black hair and glued on two eyes.  With a sharpie, a nose, mouth, and some scars were added.  On the 'Bride' some red lips and white streaks completed her look.   So what do you do with them?  Add a magnet to the back and you have a new refrigerator magnet, or, glue a pin on the back and wear it on your jacket.   This would also be a great project to do ...