by Susan | Feb 22, 2021 | Projects
I don’t know what it is about February, but it often involves some variety of home project. Last year it was painting our built in book shelves – all 15 feet of them. The year before it was painting the living, dining, and kitchen space. Before that, it...
by Susan | Feb 1, 2021 | Odds and Ends, Projects
We have a history of modifying board games. Nine years ago Hannah and I created our Harry Potter Monopoly game. Over Christmas break, Hannah decided that it was time up upgrade our Madagascar-themed Sorry! board game. Her nerdiness in full-swing, Hannah redesigned the...
by Susan | Dec 10, 2020 | Odds and Ends, Projects
My tiny office is home to two desks (mine and Hannah’s), a couple of file cabinets, a chest of drawers, my work table, and other miscellany that gets dumped. Still, I have piles and bins stacked everywhere. I’ve been browsing the interweb searching for a...
by Susan | Jun 30, 2020 | Projects
Mom taught me how to sew when I was young. I even had an inexpensive sewing machine that I used to sew doll clothes. As an adult, I’ve not made clothes, but it’s been handy to have the power to make curtains, blinds, pillow covers, and now masks of all...
by Susan | Jun 11, 2020 | Odds and Ends, Projects
I’ve had many questions about my rain barrels since sharing this picture of the completed project on social media. Here’s a look at the details of the project. Given our steel roof, no basement, and a foundation drainage system, we never bothered with...
by Susan | May 31, 2020 | Odds and Ends, Projects
A porch is to a house as a smile is to a person. When planning our house, I was adamant that I have a porch big enough to sit on and enjoy being outdoors. I’m a winner, and we have a fantastic 8′ x 33′ porch that runs along part of the front of the...
by Susan | May 16, 2020 | Odds and Ends, Projects
For the past couple of summers, Hannah and I have been raising Monarch butterflies. I’ve used little net houses and plastic totes to raise them. Inside, they’ve escaped, and I’ve found the caterpillars crawling up the walls. Outside, the wind has...
by Susan | Apr 21, 2020 | Collage, Odds and Ends, Projects
This weekend I designed a felt square called Puffins on Rocks. I liked the Puffins so much that I started thinking about other ways I could use this design. I decided to try a collage greeting card with the Puffin scene. Somewhere in my stash, I used to have some...
by Susan | Mar 25, 2020 | Odds and Ends, Projects
Since last summer, I’ve had a lot of fun with decoupage and nautical charts. It started with the Navigating Maine table for the WHRL’s auction, Hannah’s pencil holder makeover, and my Christmas Tree Festival ornaments. Somewhere in there I decoupaged...
by Susan | Feb 29, 2020 | Family, On My Mind, Projects
My grandmother’s silver bangle bracelet is one of my favorite possessions. It’s perfect for me with the embossed bird design. I like to think it’s a loon, but who knows. I wear it almost daily and have this nasty habit of unconsciously removing it when...
by Susan | Feb 10, 2020 | Odds and Ends, Projects
I’m sure some of you already know about this cool tool, but if you don’t, you’re in for some fun. I’ve been pondering colors for my Re-modeled Discount Coffee Table. I like color, but admit that I’m sometimes heavy-handed with it....
by Susan | Feb 8, 2020 | Projects
Before the holidays, I purchased this ginormous square ottoman to help extend the sofa. When Hannah’s home it allows us to both stretch out comfortably for movies or The Great British Bakeoff marathons. The challenge then became what to do with the coffee table....
by Susan | Sep 3, 2019 | Projects
This weekend I crafted a Joyful Wreath Owl out of a tan and brown felt for an Autumn Joyful Owl Wreath. I used a few of the stems from a Hobby Lobby autumn bouquet ($5) on a 12″ grape vine wreath ($5). I snipped the wire stems on the flowers, leaves, and pumpkin...
by Susan | Aug 9, 2019 | Odds and Ends, Projects
It’s been more than a year since I began creating and selling my felt pattern kits. During much of this time I monopolized the dining room table before moving a folding table into my office as a work space. Neither were ideal as I like to stand while I work and...
by Susan | Jul 19, 2019 | Odds and Ends, Projects
Each year the Women’s Health Resource Library has an auction during Milbridge Days. As part of this event, local artisans paint or decorate items that will be offered in a silent auction. This year, the silent auction theme is “Paint Outside the...
by Susan | Dec 7, 2018 | Odds and Ends, Projects
While I’ve been designing trees and wreaths for our Christmas Tree Festival, it occurred to me that I’ve never made a wreath for myself – I always seem to give my completed pieces away. I love my Joyful Wreath Owl but wanted to make a wreath that...
by Susan | Dec 4, 2018 | Projects
Paul is my resident engineer, maker and fabricator. He’s a handy guy to have around. As a result, he was roped into more than one of my Christmas Tree Festival projects. After spying a little sleigh with trees on Pinterest, I challenged him to make one for me...
by Susan | Dec 1, 2018 | Odds and Ends, Projects
I always enjoy our Christmas Tree Festival and Auction here in town. Community members and businesses adopt Charlie Brown style live table top trees or wreaths and decorate them for auction. You’ve likely seen some of my submissions in the past. Rather than a...
by Susan | Nov 12, 2018 | Projects
Have you tried cutting out those tiny pattern pieces, like eyes? My circles usually look like ovals and get smaller and smaller as I keep trimming, trying to get them just right. I tested a technique that calls for fusing freezer paper to your felt. It’s like...
by Susan | Oct 26, 2018 | Odds and Ends, Projects
Last weekend was the grand opening of Milbridge Commons – a wellness park and garden I’ve been working on with a group of others for more than three years. In anticipation of this event, I asked Paul to make a cornhole game. Before building the boards, he carved the...
