Tricks of the Trade: Dustless Sanding

Did you know there is a way to patch holes in your wall and sand them without getting dust everywhere?  Happy day!  I hate all that dust and I think it's pretty toxic, so good riddance.

That's sandpaper in the X-ed out area (in case you couldn't tell)

What you'll need:

Spackle or joint compound

Wet rag or paper towel

Spackle knife (aka putty knife)
Old credit card

Yes, I really said credit card!  Plastic cards (like credit cards or gift cards) are the perfect tool to have on hand when you're painting.  They are flexible, they have a straight edge, and the best part is they fit into the spackle tub better than most spackle knives.  They can't handle big cracks or holes, but they're great for small imperfections in the wall and holes from where nails were.

In case you're wondering, this is my new favorite stuff for repairing walls.

Yes, it's really called "Crack Shot".  Awesome, right?  This stuff rocks though, especially for larger holes and cracks.  For smaller dents and holes, I love this stuff that starts out pink, then dries white

It's lightweight, easy to use and you know when it's ready... perfect for the DIYer.  So you have your choice ladies, the pretty purpley-pink stuff, or Crack Shot.  It's up to you.

If there are any raised areas, use your metal spackle knife to scrape them down.  Sometimes when there is a nail or a hook in the wall, it creates a little area around the hole that bows out... you just want to get it back to flat.

Dip your knife or plastic card into the spackle and smush a generous amount into the area to be filled.

Go back with the knife or the longer end of the card and smooth the spackle out.  Try to get it as flat to the wall as you can by scraping the wall as you even it out.

Let it dry.

Take your wet paper towel or rag and gently, in a circular motion, rub away any raised areas.  Voila!  You're done and ready to paint.  If it looks like you rubbed too much away or if the area is still a little concave, you can reapply some spackle and try again.  Sometimes it takes two applications to get it even with the wall; no big deal :)

I like to take my paint brush and paint just the spackled area after it's dry (but before you roll the entire wall). this keeps it from "flashing" or showing up when you apply your paint.

*I wouldn't recommend this technique for really big wall repairs... good old-fashioned fine grit sandpaper is still the best for large jobs*

What do you think?  Do you believe me that this will work?  When I tell clients I can fix their walls with a minimal amount of dust they get so excited!  Go ahead, give it a try.

Blessings,
Jamie
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What Goes with a Tutu? A Princess Wand!

I've been giving tutus as birthday gifts to preschool-aged girls lately, but it just didn't seem like enough.  A few weeks ago it hit me:  a princessy scepter wand thingy!  Girls don't care what it's called, but they love it.

My daughter is the model for this one.  She is a tiny 1 1/2 year old and the recipient was a 3 year old so it's a little big on her.  And yes, that's a bathing suit shirt.  We were going to a pool party.

We'll start with the wand.

Remember the ribbon holder?  We'll be using some of the dowels from that project.

Get a roll of tulle to wrap around the dowel.  Start with a dab of hot glue to hold it in place

then start wrapping

put a few dabs of glue along the way as you're wrapping, just to be sure it stays in place.  Wrap all the way to the end.

When you get to the end, tie the tulle in a knot and glue it well.  Leave a train of tulle whatever length you desire.

Tie and glue a few more pieces of tulle and/or ribbon to the end.

My daughter ripped a little decorative fabric crown off one of her dress up outfits that day... it was perfect for this!

I glued it on to cover up where the ribbons were tied

I'm pretty sure you don't have a shimmery fabric crown lying around.  Get creative!  You can use beads, an applique, whatever you want.

Here's how I did the tutu if you're curious.  I'll keep it quick in case you're bored already

Sew a loop of elastic the size of the girl's waist (or you can use a stretchy headband).

Cut equal lengths of tulle (you'll need about 2-3 rolls, depending on how long and full you'd like your tutu) about 3 feet long.  I cut both rolls at once to make it go faster

Take each of these and fold it in half

Start tying them to the elastic by sending the ends through the loop like this

Pull tight.

You can tie the tulle pieces in a a regular knot, but doing it this way helps them lay better.  Keep tying them and pushing the tied pieces of tulle close together so the tutu ends up nice and full.  You're going to use more tulle than you think!  I can't give you an exact amount of tulle pieces because every tutu I've made has been different.  I also tied some pieces of ribbon into the tutu to add a little more color.

I heard the girl who received this tutu wouldn't take it off and wanted to wear it to bed.  Now that's a successful gift!  Here's one more pic of my girlie wearing it

This is such a great solution for an inexpensive girl gift.  Now, if I could just find something as easy to make for boys...

Let me know if you have any favorite go-to gifts!
Blessings,
Jamie
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5 Minute Garland Wreath

I made this today specifically for The Nester's wreath link party.  She's the one that really inspired my blogging journey so I felt all kinds of urgings to join this party.

I kept waiting for a brilliant idea to hit me, but it never did.  At least I came up with something simple and easy (at the last minute).

The Ragamuffin Garland Wreath!

This ragamuffin garland (which I learned to make from The Nester) was hanging in my kitchen at the top of the blackboard wall

Will someone please explain to me why I had Halloween-colored decor hanging in my house year round?  Why did no one (friends or family) bring this to my attention?  And none of you in the blogging community?  I actually mentioned this thing in a post!  I thought it was awesome when I first put it up.  Shows what I know.

Anyway, it's making a perfect wreath for this season.  Of course the five minutes don't include making the garland itself... you really could take any kind of ready-made garland and make a wreath in 2 or 3 minutes if you wanted to.  Mine took 5 because I was too stubborn and cheap to buy a wreath form.

I used wire hangers instead

pop this thing out of the ends of the cardboard tube

untwist the top part of your hangers

and then twist two hangers into a ring

Then I had this brilliant idea to use safety pins to attach the garland to the ring.  Wait, what?!?!  This thing is begging to be tied to the hanger ring thing.  Much easier.  I tied it to the form in about 6 places.

And then you have this

Ta-da!!!  5 minutes.  Even including the safety pin fiasco.

I really wanted to submit the post about the paper plate/coffee bean/felt sunflower wreath, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't count as a wreath

Oh well.  At least I have something new on my door for fall!  Thanks so much for stopping by.  And be sure to check out that wreath party!

Blessings,
Jamie

Sweet Girl, You Are So Much More Than Your Work

This is for you.  Chances are, you need to be reading this right now.

If you have read The Creative Imperative before, you'll know I'm not a writer.  I post lots of pictures to keep your interest and hope you won't notice that I can't write worth a lick.  I'll warn you now:  This is a wordy post with no distractions.  Except that heart above... I had to have one pretty thing for you to look at.

I feel a little like I've been in no man's land ever since I started having kids.  Then it got even worse when I stopped working.  It was an identity crisis of sorts and it has driven me to make things (or think about making things) almost constantly.

I am a "doer" and a "maker".  If I'm not producing I am worthless.  This is what I tell myself over and over until I believe it.  It is a lie.

While I'm at it, here is a bigger lie:  You are only as good as your last piece of work.  I learned this one in art school and it became a sort of black cloud mantra that has followed me around.  What a terrible sentiment, to feel the pressure of needing to be better than you were the day before every day of your life!  Don't get me wrong, growth as a human being is something to strive for.  But we're all going to have bad days; heck, I've even had bad years.  And no one needs that kind of pressure.

When I am still and quiet enough to let the dust settle and hear the Truth being whispered in my ear, this is what becomes clear:  I am a child of God.  I am His.  He delights in my existence and in my worship of Him.  Nothing more.  There is nothing I can do to make Him love me more and I need to be OK with that.

The crazy thing is that this concept could be yelled at me and I still wouldn't hear it... I get that spun up, busy, and out of control when I am in a stage of doing and creating.

I'm making all this noise and nonsense and for what?  It's more than wanting to create beautiful things.  It's so I can get the approval of others.  There, I said it.  Now you know my shadow mission:  It's to make you like me.  I'm worrying that you don't right now and I'll still be worrying about it when I go to sleep tonight.  I might not even know you, but that doesn't make a difference to me.  I just need you to like me and I'm hoping the stuff I do or make will get you to approve of me.

When I see a friend going through their own crisis of purpose, I feel so badly I could cry.  I just want to peel the scales off their eyes so they can see how beautiful they are.  So why can't I believe it for myself?

From what I've seen, this problem runs rampant through the blogging community.  I keep hearing about (and sometimes feeling) this pressure to make, document, keep up, compete.  The more I look for it, the more I find it in everyday life too.  Here is a great post on creativity and competition from a blog also called The Creative Imperative.  You're just going to beat yourself up when you start comparing and very little good can come from that.

Let's make a pact to encourage one another.  Not just for the pretty things we make or the things we do, but for who we are.  As women.  As daughters.  As sisters.

Here is an incredible post on "doing vs. being" from a beautiful woman in every sense of the word.  You've never seen a heart like hers.  Or heard a voice like hers.  Or received a hug like the ones she gives.  Read it here and be inspired.

Are you still with me (even without the pictures or corny sense of humor)?  Let's do this.  Love yourself for who you are.  Other people do and most importantly, God does.  All of my dear friends are people I just like to be near.  I don't hang out with them for what they do or what they make.  And now I need to believe they love me for the same reason.

Blessings,

Jamie

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