Fall wreaths are in stock!

Hello people I have not blogged to in.... lets just say weeks!

Ok so what I have been working on, besides my personal life.. ha ok TMI, but seriously. What I have been working on are wreaths! I love love love making fall wreaths due to, you cannot mess them up.. literally. Well at my craft fair a lady sold me a whole boxes of straw wreaths (heheheeee) I obviously bought them because I have a slight obsession with fall décor. :)

Anyway so I went to dollar tree, because they have cheap flowers that I can make look good, and I decorated them all up pretty like. I was impressed with them, I used stuff from the dollar tree and left over fall décor that I used last year in the home I was living in with my childrens father who apparently decided I cheated on him with a high school boyfriend I had for 12 months... (I'm obviously having a hard week sorry). So old stuff, new stuff, made these wreaths shine. In addition I had to use the bag full of pine cones that got thrown into the deal (because what doesn't go better together than pine cones and fall) (Except maybe pine cones and Christmas....). Whatever I hate pine cones and I used them so I felt accomplished! yay gold star for me.

So after my crummy week a pounded out 11 wreaths and gave one to my loving grandma because I know she loves crafts and that's where I inherited my talent, (and she is good for business ;) ) I felt pretty good after being told all week I was a cheating..... something something. Look, break from the wreaths, if you have two kids with a person and had a not so ideal childhood (divorced parents, two or more step parents, moved a few times, money was tight etc. ) You (or at least I) have a decent if not great vision in your head on how you want you childrens lives to go. Being there for your spouse and working out issues is the right of way ESPECIALLY after having a vision in your head all your life that you couldn't wait to grow up and achieve! End of the day I feel emotionally drained from trying to be a strong mom and trying to realize that I did the right thing by trying to prove my innocents. Its just hard when you care about someone so much it makes you physically sick and they refuse to give you the time of day. That you have put so much into making the relationship great and trusting them like you never have trusted anyone. And they ditch you like your moldy piece of bread.

Sorry rant over.

Crafting makes it all go away, sometimes, and defiantly lets me feel better. No kids, music, and concentration on nothing but creating awesome pieces of work. I hope everyone likes the wreaths and gets some inspiration on redoing some old décor in your home or maybe even finding some good treasures at the goodwill or garage sale and revamping it into something awesome this fall. :)

Pallet Project

Yes, I did it... I followed the cliché upcycling hottest trend right now. Pallets. For those who are wondering, pallets are just wood flat stands that a lot of bulk food, furniture, machines, anything extremely heavy, comes on so its easier to lift via fork lift. I love all of the crafty ideas Pintresters come up with, they are so fun and easy to do. Some people choose to break them down and re- attach them together and make a whole new frame. I however, took the easy route and just cut mine in half and sanded it down. Ha. Anywho I had an old pallet laying around and since I love my wine bottle crafts I thought it would be very appropriate to do a wine bottle holder of my own variation. I took a mini blow torch to one of them to give it a more worn look and to the other I used the torch but more as a way to high light the marks and cracks in the wood to accent it more. They both are different and unique, I think they will be a big hit on my next craft fair! I'm hoping to get custom orders because I think they will be very desirable!

When working with wood, especially common wood that you are fine with experimenting on, look up different ways to manipulate it and turn it into something completely different. It might turn out good and it might not give it a chance. Vinegar is good for making a "old, worn" look to wood, again a small torch would help darken it ( use on scrap wood first to get a good feel of what it will look like), sanding and even using salt with your paint will add texture to a finished product. Just explore with what you have the possibilities are endless!

I hope you all enjoy my project and think as highly of it as I do!

Remember Emails are always welcome at UpcyclingProfessionals@gmail.com

or like us on Facebook at Facebook.com/Upcyclingprofessionals

Free craft materials?!

Hey people who come across my blog and are now interested in what I have to say :) I have a great little paragraph that is about some tips and tricks that helped me get inspired to do what I do. I Made all of the pictures below for FREE. YES! it is not tough at all! These are my favorite crafts to do, because I am a total cheapo and do everything for as little as possible! Ok so all of the jars I got from canned goods, or jars that food I got in the store from. The jar with the sticks had a candle in it, the Mason jars had fruit in them, and the little jar with the twine (that my grandma had laying around) I got from pesto I bought. I just took some sticks from my family farm and put them in the freezer over night so the bugs could die or at least know they were not welcome! I hot glued the sticks on, hot glued the twin around the little jar, and added some fall flowers my grandma also had and was going to throw away. Simple, pretty and clean. They are also so easy to strip the fall décor from and turn into Christmas or any other holiday!

My last picture is of a door hanger I made last fall, and I was super impressed with myself. I honestly did not thing it would turn out this pretty! I used a old 8x10 picture frame (no glass obv.) and twisted some twine around the hay and hot glued it to the back of the frame so no one would see the structural part of my creation. Added some pine cones I found at the park and some other fall like objects I had from my grandmas leftovers and ta-da! Everyone who saw it loved it and was super impressed I made it from nothing! F.Y.I even though I was lucky that my grandma had flowers she didn't want, I have spend 4-5$ at the dollar tree to buy flowers for other project and you get a decent amount of flowers for that 4-5 $. But I suggest looking at what you can use outside or on old floral arrangements that might be in the attic. If your dangerous enough you might even think about adding some more vibrant color to them with acrylic paint. ;)

That's all I have for now for fall. I know its still summer but get your butts going on your home fall décor so its ready to rock and look awesome! Remember look me up on Facebook @ Upcycling Professionals, Email is UpcyclingProfessionals@gmail.com and I signed up for Twitter @ UpcyclingPro!

My weekend update!

So I'm excited for this post because I had a really difficult start to my weekend and then it did turn around! I attended my first craft fair as a vendor this weekend and unfortunately no one even cared about my treasures. Being honest, I was upset. I feel like I put a lot of hard work into the things I do and I wanted others to be as excited as I was for my products. As much as people will disagree, upcycling things helps the world by taking things people would throw away and turning them into usable, beautiful things. My weekend did get better! I obviously LOVE looking on Pintrest and as I was searching one of my usual searches, "Upcycled Wine Bottles", I spotted not one, but two of my home made crafts right at the top of the page. I know it doesn't take a lot to be on Pintrest because my photos only have two pins, but it was just exciting to actually see something I made on there for a change. :)

On to other news I got a lot of fun things wrapped up and finished for my craft show that I was very pleased with! I just have some short tips for everyone and some sample pictures to add.

Several of my projects were plain boards. This is essentially a blank canvas, you can paint, stain, burn, and other experiments you want to try on it. Any stain or paint you add will be heavy and bold so definitely remember that. I added some stain to my project and it did not turn out the way it was intended but I just had to work with it and it turned out great. I added great hardware and it looks awesome! Another project I worked on had silver hardware that was a bit shinier than anticipated but since I made the stain so dark it adds a special contrasting look to it and the best part is, I didn't spend an arm and a leg on the hardware and I still made it look great!

Most of my project are inspired by Pintrest I just use what I have and make it work. It turns out great! so don't be afraid to try something on Pintrest, I know its talked up a lot, but it isn't impossible to achieve something that looks great. I will say I don't have a modern, expensive looking backround to amp up my product but hopefully that will let it shine a little more. ;) Remember you can always email me at UpcyclingProfessionals@gmail.com and like us on Facebook at Facebook.com/UpcyclingProfessionals

Board?

I've been busy getting my products ready for my craft fair and searching for last minute items that could be a hit!!

Any who, I have a few things I'd like to share in regards to quick home décor for the holidays, its still summer but its never to early to plan décor, especially if you're making it. You don't want to be in fall and be making your fall décor because then you only get half the use out of it.

One of the things I love doing are simple, decorative boards. They are quick, simple, and kinda fun to do. They will bring a lot of cheer into your home but wont be complicated to make. You could get friends together and have a party or do them in your spare time (especially if you have kids like me).

You really cant mess this up! I promise! First things First you have to map out what you are going to do, for example I made pumpkins. I went to the hardware store and bought a wide, thin board. This could be a 1x8 or a 1x6 or whatever is in the value center just make sure its wide enough to put your design on. I also bought 1x2 ( we'll talk about it in a minute). The board I bought was a 1x8 and it was 10ft long, I asked the hardware store to cut it and mine did, or if you can do it and home and get the wood home more power to you! I had them cut the boards all different sizes, I guessed at mine but you could very well mathematically graph it out (especially if you have a little OCD like me about some stuff).  The 1x2 I had them cut them about 4-5 inches each they are all the same size. you will also need support boards to go on the back of the wood like a kick stand so it will stand up ( I used a 2x4 and cut it into small chunks and nailed them on the back, you could wood glue them too.

Ok so we are making progress the rest is the easy part, just paint whatever you want on it, in my case I painted pumpkins so I just painted orange with some dark crease marks. I painted my 1x2's green for stems (I hot glued these on) and added my own little touch around the top to jazz it up. I hot glued the stems so I could remove them when I wanted to easily.  I arranged them in my hallway in a corner and they looked great, with two kids, no one ever ran into them or bothered them ( but not everyone's kids are mindful). The best part of these is that you can paint over them for any holiday whenever you feel like it!   Ill post some pictures of my pumpkins and my newly repainted pumpkins and you can see how awesome these are! I hope you got some inspiration to try something yourself. you could also make a mini version to put on the table or counter top if you don't have room in the house.

BEFORE

AFTER

I hope you all make sure you're looking to see what you can reuse in a creative way and make into something awesome! Enjoy the weekend!

P.s If you have any questions you can always email me at UpcyclingProfessionals@gmail.com OR I am on Facebook now so look me up! Facebook.com/UpcyclingProfessionals

Tea Cup Time!

Everyone ready to hear the rise and fall of my candle from last night?? .... Literally my candle sunk in in the middle of the night. After doing some reading I remelted it the oven and poked some holes in the top by the wick and it looks a lot better!

On to real business :)

Tea pots and tea cups always have a special place in my heart. I love the uniqueness of each cup and saucer I find along with the different styles and designs on teapots. They remind me of days when people would actually show off their tea sets and sit together and have tea. I suppose some people still do, but in my family it would be very unheard of. So I always love the whimsical, delicate look of tea sets. Naturally I found TONS of stuff to do with them that I haven't even made a dent in. I will however share one of my favorite and simple things to do that I think is over looked sometimes as too challenging.

So I picked up some tea cups and saucers at the goodwill ( this should be no surprise at this point) and I got a simple drill bit from my family farm and with a drill press (I have also used a hand drill) I drilled holes in the bottom of the tea cup and the plate. One important thing to remember is that the plate/ cup will get hot while drilling, use some water in a spray bottle to wet and cool the plate/cup. Second important thing, go slow while drilling because going too fast will make the plate hotter than you think and it will break ( learned that the hard way ). I then went on amazon to find the hardware, it was like three bucks, and I assembled this little beauty :) I am so excited to do several plate/ plate, or cup/ plate. designs.

You could always make the plate upside down on the top and the cup right side up on the bottom and make a bird feeder or just a cute jewelry holder with a shade. I have see people drill bigger holes to accompany curtains as curtain holders, or put candles inside the cups. I have a few of those broken plates that I will probably smash and make some mosaic patterns out of. Try to throw out as little as possible you will be surprised at what you can reuse and upcycle!

Until next time !

Candle fun!

Ok! So I know I haven't been the best at posting so this one won't be long, I also said I would post about teacups this time too but I'll just be a short message here and touch on cups tomorrow (PROMISE). After cutting some glass wine bottles I have decided to turn them into candles! Not all of them but some I am test running right as I am writing! Laptop outside in the great summer weather with my electric grill and goodwill bought pot. I am doing the obvious melting a candle (I bought at the goodwill but dollar tree would be a good second option) in the pot so I can pour it into my "Jar". Now while trying this we have to remember some high school science classes. Really hot wax + cool temp jar = broken glass. Make sure to be smart about it let the wax cool a bit while still being runny enough to pour in the jar. I'm being smarty pants and just using the wick out of the candle I'm melting but hobby lobby does carry a bunch of candle making products.

I am super excited to try this out I think these will be an absolute hit! I mean, how many people love wine?! and candles?! and put them both together = awesome! I picked out some fall-ish scents to put in the wax to customize it and make sure it was in season. I also left the labels on some, especially the local wines that I know people around here love! You could also go the extra mile and put leaves, or chunks of cinnamon stick in the wax to make it more decorative but I didn't. I did pick a white candle because I felt it was the sleekest way to go, otherwise I would have to worry about matching the candle color with the scent and the glass.

So, I heated the candle so it was all the way melted (Its ok if it has penny sized chunks It wont matter once its poured) and let it cool while I got my things ready. I made sure I had a stick or a pencil to twirl my wick around so it wouldn't droop while cooling, I got some common kitchen tools to test out (I found ladle works best, even the plastic ones) and turned off my grill. The wax is now frosty looking but still liquid and I tried to pour it straight from the pot... not recommended due to the excessive amount of wax that did not make it in the jar. A normal, hard plastic, kitchen ladle worked best. My wine bottles have a dip in the bottom, so unfortunately my wick will not make it all the way to the bottom, but I poured wax till there was enough for my wick to go in and then just fill the rest up leaving about an inch at the top. The candle is pretty hot right now, so I will let it cool over night and when I post about teacups tomorrow I will do a brief overview and add some pictures!

This post is obviously not short but hopefully, helpful and enjoyable to all. Always feel free to email me with questions or I would love to have you order some candles too! UpcyclingProfessionals@gmail.com. Have a good day/ night to everyone who reads!

Something new

Hi everyone!
Even though I don't have a lot of posts ill be sure to make this one interesting! My brain food for this post is goodwill = best place on earth! haha. But really I go there all the time to buy dishes that are cool, or old crystal that no one wants. I once found two crystal candle holders, I was going to use for crafts but I decided to keep them. I once went to visit my aunt and her, along with all of her neighbors have these wonderful gardens. I asked her, "what is that cool glass thing you have out there?" She told me she goes to goodwill, or garage sales and finds old glass and vases and glues them together. They were beautiful! The sun catches them, they shine, they can be as big or as little as you want. I have found so many things to make out of crystal and glass dishes. I will add a few examples at the bottom. I also found (via Pinterest) that I could make cake/ cookie plates, jewelry holders, and as many bird feeders as I could think of. This made me expand into china dishes and tea cup (which I'll touch on next post). I LOVE gluing dished together, you just can't go wrong with anything unless it doesn't fit to glue. It saves me a lot of money and hopefully make some money as well. My mother just had a friend come back from Wyoming and showed my mom a picture of a bird feeder that was equivalent to what I do for 100$! It was two dished, a mason jar, and a metal dispenser off of a store bought bird feeder. I wouldn't dream of ever selling a 100$ bird feeder but I would enjoy making them and selling them for 10$ or 15$.

I have a hard time with people who do what I do and rack up the prices. Honestly the cheaper I can get it the cheaper I can sell it. I'm extremely blessed to have a family who has a huge barn full of wood and a family who loves wine :) So even though I can get my materials for free or cheap I want lots of people to have my products, not a few people to have my products and have more money than I would. Eventually I would love to start redoing dressers and tables to sell for a couple hundred dollars, but until I have the money and the space I will be sticking to what I have going on now!

One thing to always remember is that you don't have to be gullible to be nice and not greedy. One person of every successful family had to sacrifice everything to get where they were. So maybe some of us weren't born into wealth or success, but we can all have it. Be stern and be humble. It will take us all far in this world. I am at the start of my business and I have knowledge that it will be awesome in the future and it is a start of me having that success and living a comfortable life. Maybe not now, but soon enough. I can sacrifice everything right now to have a good business and a great life for my children. :) Have a good few couple of days everyone. I will be less busy after next weekend and hopefully can be more involved with Blogger :) Enjoy my pictures.

As you can see they are simple goodwill finds turned into something awesome. :)

First post! yay!

Welcome to my blog! I am so excited to be in this part of my life that I can start something I really love. I wanted to write this blog so I can show the curious people who come upon my blog that I do awesome stuff! I take broken, unwanted junk and turn them into something fantastic! I want to show off some projects I do and maybe even some tips for you to try if you're into projects as well. I use all kinds of junk to turn into something awesome. Some examples are, wine bottles, old chairs, barn wood, shipping crates, plates I find at the goodwill, and anything else I find interesting. Anything on Pinterest I'm challenged to try! I'm stuck with the small stuff right now but I have dreams to get a bigger space to start on dressers and tables. But for now I'm having a good time showing off my small stuff. I'm getting ready to do my first small craft show and I am extremely excited! If all goes well I am seriously considering filing for a small business license. So exciting things are around the corner for my family and I. I do make multiples of certain items but they are not always exactly the same (just part of the game), so if anything sparks your fancy don't be shy shoot me an email at UpcyclingProfessionals@gmail.com I would be so happy to hear from you!

The only tip I have for today since this is only blog #1 is if making trash to treasure or "shabby chic" then before you throw something out make sure you take a second look at it. Can you turn that salsa jar into a tooth brush holder? Can your chair with a broken leg be turned into a swing? Don't be shy around garage sales and goodwill those places always have simple, one of a kind (sometimes multiple) items. Old plates or trays can be used in wonderful ways. I always get my ideas from Pinterest, but I don't always do them exactly how Pinterest did it. I use my creativity to think of what I can use to replace something or make it easier. Just some food for the brain. Have a good rest of the week everyone! I will post a project next time to make things a bit more interesting!