Idea for Squares

Kudos to all of you who have already started, or finished, decorating for the holidays. Me, I'm still in the thinking, planning (and cleaning!) stage. I've got lots of ideas but nothing really concrete yet. I'm still looking through the scrap pile to see what kind of "goodies" I can find. Idea-wise, I'm hitting pay dirt. Thought I would share one with you. It's a neat use for those 6-inch square tiles left over from kitchen or bath projects. Check this out!




I used them as a decorative base to set candles on. They are perfect for votive and tea light candles, serving also to protect furniture from possible heat damage. To prevent the rough underside of the tiles from scratching the table, I used self-adhesive felt dots on each corner. As you can see in the next photo, I inset the dots roughly one-fourth of an inch so that the felt wouldn't show when I turned the tile over.


You can also use these squares as trivets to set hot food on. And they make cool coasters. Use them all year long for decorating, entertaining, or everyday enjoyment. I know I'm going to get a lot of use out of mine.

I have a some other projects I'm working on, too. Really staying busy, which is good. Until next time...have a Happy Thanksgiving! Stay Creative!

Note: Like this idea, but don't have any tiles? Check out the tile section at your local home store. You'll find a wonderful selection of stone and ceramic tiles. These small tiles are often used as samples by interior decorators, and are generally sold by the piece. I purchased these for a little less than a dollar each. Not bad for a basic square.

Got Scrap?...Get Creative!

Making beautiful, functional, and/or fun things for your home yields a great deal of joy and satisfaction. It also yields a bunch of left over material--scrap, if you will--much of which is just too good to throw away. So you keep it, just in case. At least I do. And so the pile grows, along with the premise that someday we'd find a use for it. Who are we kidding? We're really just pack-rats, right? Well, maybe you're not, but recovering pack-rat that I am, I still struggle with wanting to keep even the smallest sliver of wood or snippet of yarn--you guessed it--just in case.

Instead of beating myself up over that ever-growing heap of scrap in the storage room, I decided to take a more pro-active approach: designing things that can be made specifically with items from the scrap pile. In this way I can reduce the pile and create more cool things for my home. Don't you just love those win-win situations? I sure do.

To keep myself on track, I'm going to document each item created in a series of blog posts titled Got Scrap?... I'm really excited about this, and already have several ideas jotted down. The first item I'm creating will be perfect for holiday decorating and useful all year long. It's extremely simple to make and very Zen, so keep an eye on this blog for updates.

Gotta run now! The holidays are upon us...Get Creative!

A Table, or Two

After many months of designing and debating which design to use for the coffee table, I now have a solid structure on which to place a cup of coffee. It is still in the 'raw' stage, but when it gets sanded and a nice finish put on, I think it will be awesome. And such a simple thing. Check out the photo below:

And that isn't all I've accomplished in the last couple of weekends.

Work in Progress:
I've also started on the Breakfast Bar for the kitchen that will house my keyboard. The first photo shows how messy and cluttered that corner was. In the second photo, you can get an idea of how neat it's going to be once the bar is finished. Right now only the frame is secure and the front of the keyboard is visible. This will be covered completely when all is finished. A portion of the top will be hinged and can be flipped up whenever I want to play the keyboard, and down for use as a breakfast bar or buffet. Another cool thing (in my eyes) is that if I ever decide to remove the keyboard, I'll gain storage space in the unit. It's a win-win situation.



In another weekend or two, I think both of these units will be completely finished and ready for the holidays. And then on to the next project! What do you say we build a new entertainment center for the living room? Yeah, I like that idea! Until then, have a great weekend! Get creative!