VALERA GRACE

 

 

Find us on Etsy.com.  Just click on our name above

and it will take you right to our shop.

UPCYCLED - BIRD FEEDER

Well, look at us go!  We're off for a few days during the holiday season and it has been a great time to work on a few projects!  Remember last year during the city-wide cleanup?  Well, we have repurposed an old chandelier into an adorable bird feeder.  The great thing about this project, is we have plenty of extra pieces for some other ideas we are cooking up!

Today, Brooke tore into one of the two chandeliers we found.  After disassembling it, she reassembled it into a new creation.  We found an additional piece for the large seed holder and also added a chain for hanging.  Look at it now!

She literally spent $0 on this project.  The Hubby had some extra paint from an old project and he always has nuts and bolts for us to pilfer through!  We are just in love with it and actually would like to keep it for ourselves. 

Hope you like it!  It's a great motivation to get started on some new projects for the new year!

You can find our store, Valera Grace, on Etsy.com.

 

RESOLUTIONS

Oh my goodness!!!  We are nearing 2017! 

I'm so thankful for all the blessings we received in 2016.  However, it was a little depressing to see the passing of so many celebrities as well as friends and family.  With the changing of the year, I'm hopeful for good things to come.

Each year, I try to review what the year brought.  Let's take a look.

• Remodeled the rent house for my Mother
• Regulated Mom's meds
• Reinvigorated my blogs
• Completed many crafts
• Held on to my part-time job
• Completed surveys, focus groups, transcriptions and coding for work
• Attended (or sent my husband to) many auctions
• Sold many items on the local auction site
• My son (Nicholas who lives in Maryland) came home for a wonderful visit
• Saw my son (Jaydin) marry the love of his life
• Watched sons and daughter-in-law (Jaymin, Jaydin and Miranda) graduate from college
• Enjoyed my grandson (Mattox) during the week days
• Met my daughter's future husband (he doesn't know it yet)
• Oldest son (James) landed a job within the state, so now he's close enough to come home quickly
• Drove my dear friend to western Oklahoma
• Hosted music sessions for my husband and his musician friends

So, it was a good year after all!  I'm just so happy that I'm here on earth and able to see the family growing and, at the same time able to enjoy the simple things in life that I have longed for.

 

But, I'm a dreamer... I dream about my future life at my home out in the country.  I dream about gardening and enjoying the sunshine.  I dream about creating and making things with my hands.  I dream about selling my beautiful creations online because I have too many pretty things.  I dream about my children coming home with their children to enjoy a long weekend together.  I dream about the future grandchildren and the music they make when they laugh.

 

I'm ready to welcome 2017!

TRASH TO TREASURE

Every year, my town has a clean-up day.  Each homeowner can haul all their unusually big trash to the curb for the city to pick up.  These are items that they otherwise would not be able to place in the regular trash cans during the year.  Each year, this is my family's adventure!  We cruise the town (population 2,500) to find items we think we can upcycle.  This year, my daughter and I went together.  We giggled so much as we found several items to redo.  There's just something about digging through other people's trash that gives you the giggles.  Maybe it's a twinge of fear that someone will catch us!  ...or maybe it's the thrill of finding something we think still has value.  ...or maybe it's the fact that there's no price tag on the items on public display.  At any rate, this year we had an absolute blast!

Being the procrastinator I am, I'm just now getting started on the hard part of one of my projects.  Here's what we found in June.  Isn't this loveseat and chair just lovely.  When we saw it, we immediately saw good bones.  Once we got them home, we realized the seat was in great shape too!  


The first task we completed was taking off all the dried-up plastic/wicker from the arms and the back.  Easy-peasy! 

Next, we needed to locate something to replace the backs of the chairs.  Well....it just so happened, the hubby just attended a local auction and purchased two huge wooden speakers for $1.  He purchased them for the wood.  He buys wooden objects cheap and then takes them apart to make bee hive boxes.  Well, these speakers had a strong mesh that worked perfectly for our chair backs.  With an electric drill, the hubby quickly applied the mesh by wrapping and screwing them into the metal frames.

We walked one block to the local Dollar General to buy a few cans of black paint....and a few hours later...walla!  We immediately liked the result of the black paint!  Even the mesh took the paint well! 

For a few weeks, we studied the arms and realized we needed something that looked similar to the plastic wicker.  ...but we didn't want plastic.  We wanted something strong that would hopefully last a little longer.  We looked high and low.  Pinterest didn't even have any real ideas of what we wanted to do on the arms.  However, Pinterest did have a few chairs with woven seats out of nylon rope. So, after much deliberation, we decided to buy some nylon rope.  We went with an 4mm craft cord made by Bonnie.  Since the chairs were black, we went with a black and white cord, hoping that would give us some flexibility with color for the cushions

Fast forward to November....  Okay, so a lot happened between July and November!  I fit it in when I can...don't judge me!

Anyway, on a lazy Saturday, I pulled my cord out of the closet and thought I would try out weaving the arms.  I had no idea what I was doing, but I thought long and hard about it every night before falling to sleep, so I kinda came up with what I wanted to do, but didn't really know if it would work.  It would definitely be a "test." 
What do you think?  I first applied long lines of cord parallel to the metal frame.  I looped them around the breaks provided about every two feet.  Then I took the rest of the cord and wove it through the original cords.  I couldn't fit the whole ball of cord through the spaces, so I had to cut shorter lengths to pull through.  Each time I added more cord, I just tied a triple knot and made sure it fell on the underside of the arm.
 
I'm still not finished with the project...for one thing, I ran out of cord.  Again, I had no idea how much cord I would need!  So, we'll be ordering more soon.  And then there was the matter of the cushions.  I priced cushions at JoAnn's and Hobby Lobby, but, since this was an upcycle, I thought they were too expensive.  For a nice 4" cushion, it would have cost me about $80.  So, I went to Facebook and asked my friends if they knew of a couch with removable cushions that anyone was trying to get rid of.  I knew I could cut them down and recover.  Low and behold, there was someone giving a couch and chair away!!!  I couldn't believe it and certainly didn't expect it!  ...and the awesome thing is the cushions fit the chair perfectly!  Now all I have to do is find some free fabric and we'll be good.  In the mean time, this works for me!

 
This project has been so much fun!  I still have to weave the loveseat and cover the cushions, but I just couldn't wait to share this project with you!  Maybe by Spring I'll have an update on the completed project!

Quick Five! Christmas

Well, it's only October, but Christmas is coming on fast!  I went to the store today and caught the bug because of all the Christmas items that are out already!  Well, the funds are slim this year, so...I found a few cute things on Pinterest today that I want to try.  So simple and a great way to use what I have!

Don't you just love this modern twist on a door wreath?  With a quick splash of spray paint and a few decorated ornaments and ribbon, you can turn a discarded frame into a fabulous Christmas display.  I love this and it will be a great project to work on with my Mom.

Since we are living in a smaller house, how about a smaller tree - a skinny tree!  There's a slight possibility I won't have to move anything out of the living room for a tree like this.  The featured tree was made by the owner, so...no tree purchase!  I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.... 

I love these cute ornaments!  Do you have some canning lids and an unused  flannel shirt that can work for this one?  Plaid is in, so this project is a perfect one for this year

I also love these beautiful heart ornaments too!  Well, let's just say I love all kinds of ornaments!  But these might be some of my recent favorites.  They are so sweet and dainty.  utilize those old broaches in your costume jewelry box and spruce up your tree with these treasures.

Now let's not forget the grandchildren in all this celebration!  I have Mattox, my two-year old bundle of unlimited energy with me most days and I think this would make the perfect gift for his parents.  He loves doing things for others and he will be so proud of this one for Christmas.  It's never too early to teach the kids how to give.



Well, I hope you enjoyed my quick five for today!  Now all I want to do is get started making some Christmas cheer!

EXPECTATIONS

And so....my expectations have been low.  I love creating, blogging, and posting items to Etsy, but didn't expect anything until I work it at all levels.  I just made an online sale last week but didn't expect to sell anything else for a long time.  Then "BAM," sold a wood sign today!  It gives me hope that Etsy actually works!  Thank you, if you read my blog and/or ordered my product.  It's much more than a sale to us, its a hope for the future!

Downside of Being New to Etsy.com

Good Morning!

Being relatively new to Etsy.com is not easy!  We've actually been on for over a year...just haven't gotten much action.  The downside to Etsy is its really hard to get some momentum going!

By reading the Etsy Blog, I've learned that I must post something every day!  I've been working on this blog, Facebook and Pinterest, so everything is in place.  I think God is telling me to get more active on Etsy, because we sold a bracelet yesterday!  Whoohoo! 

Time to get moving!  Post, post, post!

Quick Five! Jewelry

Time for a break with a Quick Five!  I've been working on a lovely quilt I can't wait to finish, but wanted to touch base with the blog before time gets away from me again!

Today, I'm admiring upcycled jewelry!  My sister recently designed her very own beer cap necklace for a beer fest in Texas!  I loved the idea and she received many comments about the inspiring piece!  Maybe I'll get a picture of it some day to post here! 

I wanted to start off with this cute belt buckle necklace.  Adorable with the little charm in the middle, don't you think! You can find this and much more at  braceletsfor-all.blogspot.com.

A simple, but lovely idea, is using worn items found on the shore.  I love how the artist placed the jewels with coordinating colors next to this lovely blue piece of worn sea glass.  It's simple and classy.

You can find this and many more sea glass creations on Etsy.com.  The selection is enormous!





Can you believe someone saved old watches and harvested the faces?  Well, someone did and they are so cool on this layered necklace.  This one was found on Pinterest and was posted by Anthillantiques.com.  Try the website out to see some fantastic designs!




Another amazing artist can be found at KayAdams.com.  This necklace is a "one-of-a-kind" work of art with layers of vintage jewels!  The amount of time to collect all those bits and pieces must have been extensive.  Kay Adams' collection is extensive and a must see for vintage upcycled jewelry.


And finally, we arrive at an original Valera Grace design.  Just wanted to prove a point that we can design a piece of jewelry with just about any type of material we have or find. 

This one is by Brooke - simple, yet charming.  We are only limited by our imaginations!  Hope you have a fun day crafting!  Can't wait to see more creations online!

In the Beginning

I started crafting when I was about four years old.  At that time in history, I was in awe of my big sister's affinity for Barbie and followed her to see what the next project, party or style for Barbie was going to be.  I was a plump and smiling four-year old and she was a skinny preteen.  We shared the infamous dimple on the right side of our cheeks and, unlike the "middle sister," we were enthralled with all things Barbie.

During the school year, the big kids - there were five (three brothers and two sisters) - would head off to school every day while I was left behind with my Mother.  Of the memories I have, they were long boring days as my Mom cleaned house.  At first, it was fun to have the toy room all to myself, but eventually, it became old.  At age five, I began the pitiful pleas to begin school, so they let me start first grade a little early. 

In contrast with the school year, the summer was full of fun and excitement.  We spent very little time in the house....I think that was the rule my Mother made!  She cleaned so hard she didn't want anyone, especially kids, to mess it up.  After all, my Dad was in the military, so cleaning was the number one priority for inspections.  Anyway, for the kids, summertime fun was outside in the blistering heat of the mid-Texas town of San Angelo.

My first recollection of doing anything "handy" was when I caught my big sister, Toni, admiring some fabric; probably from old clothing, or maybe a dime-store find.  I was only four, so my memory is sketchy (but it's my story, so I'm sticking to it!!) Anyway, she was admiring the blue fabric with white flowers and sewing it into a Barbie blanket.  I think she already had a sewing box, some pins, needles, a pin cushion and thread.  After bothering her enough, she finally "caved in" to sharing the mystery of her craft.

She set me up on the shady side of the house.  We sat with our backs against the wall of our small house and she showed me how to line up two pieces of fabric (right sides together) and pin them.  She demonstrated how to thread the needle and insert it with thread through the fabric, carefully explaining the distance from the edge.  Once finished, we turned the fabric right side out and stitched the opening shut.  Finally, we stitched on top of the piece to quilt it.  I remember how she stressed the importance of "perfect" stitches.  She made me take out my mistakes each time I messed up!  At one time, she ran into the house to get something (maybe it was the seam ripper) and I remember poking my finger with the needle while she was gone and looking at the blood - that's probably why I still remember this day!

Once finished, we had the perfect little blanket for our Barbie house.  Of course, she actually had the perfect blanket and I had a blanket.  Most importantly though, she planted a seed within me.  It was a curiosity of how to make things and yearning to do something with my hands.  It was the beginning of the development of patience and an appreciation for something pretty, new and different.

I like to read stories of the beginning of a crafting life because it reminds me of my own story.  My crafting start took place in the blistering heat in a Texas town with the small comfort of our house shade.  It was about the small prick of a needle that made my finger bleed and the repeated steps of sewing and then taking out the crooked stitches.  I messed up, but got unlimited chances to try again.  It was about the beginning of many demonstrations from my sister and then my own (sometimes failed) attempts to repeat the steps. This is the beginning of my lifetime of crafting fun.