802, 978, 508, 207? Wrong! It's the 603!

Finished state

In the previous post I created a wall hanging of New Hampshire using bottle caps that I had collected. Since I had deviated from the original plan of 'how to apply the caps' it took longer than expected for the adhesive to dry. In the mean time I had a million ideas of what I was going to add to this craft (I might be a little manic with my thinking). I wanted to somehow add an ode to Vermont along the border (originally I was going to use all Long Trail caps on that edge) but then I would have to do something for Maine and Massachusetts (I felt bad that they would be left out). What could I add to the board for all three states? Area Codes?(VT only has 802 and Maine is 207 but MA has like 10 different ones, lame!) So that idea was rejected.

603 Stencil placement 

With the other states forgotten from the plan the focus was back on the Granite State. So what to add now? I can not just leave it with the caps in the shape of a state? Can I? NO, I CAN NOT! The project was not complete, it needed more(it was probably fine but I had to continue!). I then messed around with the idea of stenciling 'New Hampshire' down the Maine side but it looked off balance. So maybe '603' in Vermont territory and 'New Hampshire' in Maine. Now it was too much. Woe is me.

Finished project!

So after some discussions with my dog Beau on whether or not to add anything to the sign (He didn't really have much to say) I decided on just adding '603'. (It's hard to believe that I could have this much to say over one simple addition to the sign, but there is more!) The color now had to be decided. After a very small discussion with Jason (one text) the color was decided on as BLACK. And just like that the sign was complete. You are welcome. :-)

Eat, Craft, and Be from the 603!

Do you collect Bottle Caps?

When the weather is yucky out, I do not feel the least bit guilty about sitting inside all day and doing crafts! So yesterday, that is what I did...alllll dayyyy. Typically my craft projects are rather quick little adventures that I can complete in a few hours (max) with the wood burned signs taking the most time. Well scratch that concept. This craft that I am about to share with you is a LONG and tedious endevour that you should not undertake unless you have a large amount of time to 'waste' (preferably on a rainy day would be best).

Wooden backing

To begin this project you have to either be someone who enjoys bottled beverages or someone who knows a lot of people that enjoy bottled beverages (clearly I was able to collect my own caps!). Now depending on how big you want to make your final project or which state or shape you are using will change the amount of caps you need (I think this project took just under 200 caps).  I should also add that a variety of caps is best. Once I decided to commence this project I was shocked at how many of certain caps there were (particularly Sam Adams Octoberfest, and Longtrails). Luckily there was enough variety in the other caps so as to not make the project look too repetitive (plus my friend Jason was nice enough to share some of his exotic caps with me).

Laying out bottle caps 

With the cap situation discussed, I suppose it is time to share what the project is. Awhile ago I got the idea for this on Pinterest (For the probably easier instructions go here!) but of course already had my own twists in mind. I was going to make a wall hanging of the state of New Hampshire using bottle caps! Ta-Da!  So Jason helped me to create the backing which was 5 planks of wood simply held together by a couple of cross bars on the back(Note: I should not have been allowed to help hammer ANY nails) and I then acquired a state map which I cut out and used for the outline. Now this is when it becomes a time sucking craft of death.

Map cut out and glued down

Organize your caps into the shape you have chosen while making sure to create enough variety for a visually appealing final project (I completely arranged the caps onto the board twice, total time sucking). Now once you have played around with the caps and got them into the exact locations that you want you have to find a way to make them stick to the board. Not such an easy task. The website that the idea came from suggested using an epoxy but with the warning label using the word cancer, I became rather hesitant. Thank goodness Jason was around to provide a solution.

Syringing on Mod Podge

I decided to use Mod Podge, my new favorite substance ever! But how do you apply this white gooey glue of amazingness? Duh! Be a nurse who has random medical supplies in your house and use a 3ml syringe! Simply an awesome use of resources. Now let dry for DAYS and you are almost complete. Mine was just created yesterday so it is still drying. Now you can just create the map but I have further plans for this craft! Final project: TO BE CONTINUED.... So suspenseful :-)

Eat, Craft, and wait for the final project to be revealed!

The birds and the BEES and the flowers and the trees

Suiting up!

                         buzzz                                                         buzz
Phrase of the day: BEEEEE- careful! Alright today is not per say a crafting post but it is pretty awesome and therefore beelongs on the blog! Today I tangoed with a several thousand (end of the summer there can bee up to 10,000!) swarming, angry, honey bees. And yes, I did so voluntarily :-)

Space Aliens 

My step-dad Lou likes to juggle a bunch of different hobbies (horticulture, geology, dentistry, travel, learning different languages, pretty much anything that is interesting, and of course bee keeping).  So when my mother asked if I would help Lou open the hives for the season and rotate them, I thought, "What an exciting opportunity to blog about...I'll do it! It's safe, right?". The answer was "Huh? safe? Yeah of course...I did get stung 10 times one time though." (Awesome motivation Lou!) So needless to say, I did it anyways.                                  
                                                                        buzz

Open hive after smoke

So we suited up (in 80 degree heat mind you), ducked taped off our ankles and wrists and the bee-tastic adventure beegan! Now apparently we were a little too eager to open up the hives and somehow FORGOT to smoke em! Bees get frantic when they are smoked beecause they assume it is a forest fire. Now I thought the smoke made them docile because it asphyxiated them( silly me!)  but instead they begin to eat thinking that the fire will destroy the hive.(Little bit of bee knowledge for you!). So after the initial swarm we realized they needed to be smoked and we continued on our way with little to no real mishaps.

Bees forming a chain across a gap in the hive

Basically we just opened up the hives to check on
the health of the colony. We pulled out each rack to see if the bees had sufficient stores of honey and also to check the brood amounts(baby bees). If the bees were overflowing there hive we added a new level for them to inhabit or simple rotated the bottom hive to the top since bees move upward, not down (another smackeral of info for you!).
                                 buzz

Bear proofing: tacked boards and electric fence

Once they were all rotated and sufficiantly angry with us (we had 6 hives of bees swarming us by the last hive!) we were able to reset the Pooh Bear (bears just love honey in there tummy!) deterent fence and bee on our way.

Note: This was definitely something that you need to have some patience for. Moving slow and trying not to freak out when there are bees crawling all over your face mask is something that took more than a few minutes to get used to. The constant 'BUZZING' was just a tad unnerving. The real panic came when the hive began to literally growl at us. Lou had never heard the hive make that loud of a noise and was actually in disbelief that it was the bees making that fear inspiring noise. Fun fun fun :-) or buzz buzz buzz.

                                             buzzz

Eat honey, craft some candles, 

and Beeeeee careful!

buzzz

Do you believe in angels?

My helper, Coonie :-)

Alright, I understand that I have been posting a lot about wood burning and signs but that is what I have been making...so either I don't post at all or I post about a similar craft? Clearly I choose the latter. YIPPY!

So last night as I was sipping some delicious vino I thought it a perfect time to bust out my new wood burner and completely fill my house with the scent of fire (not always the best idea...but most of the time it is!). Minus a small immediate blister I got from touching the scorching hot metal to my fragile human skin and a fire alarm mishap, I think the night was pretty successful.

Sign before the feather

I had decided on the phrase "Believe in angels" since I was recently reminded of just how fragile life is. The phrase wasn't enough though. The sign looked incomplete to me so I went through a few scenarios of how to enhance it (paint? no. stain? maybe. wood burned graphic? YES!).

Sketched graphics

Next phase of this craft began. How do I wood burn something other than letters? Hmmm...lets just give it a go! So I designed two different graphics on plain white paper that were possibilities for the sign, some wings or a feather. I then loosely cut out the shapes and placed them on the sign in various places to decide which one worked better and where I would ultimately place it. The feather won this battle but I still had the trouble of figuring out how to make it look soft like a feather while using a tool that specializes in making hard straight lines...?

Feather complete

Instead of wasting time trying to change the tip on the wood burner (which probably would have been a lot easier) I decided to just go for it  (probably the wine talking) and see what happened! I ended up using the side of the wood burner tip to create a shading effect instead of the harsh lines. It came out just fine (I think) and I am really happy with the final result. I hope you believe in angels too!

Eat, Craft, and Believe :-)

Stencils, paint and...a hammer?

Once an idea is planted in your head it is impossible to get it out of there ( Inception anyone?). This is how I feel about summer coming. I am just so ready for the cold to be over that my crafts have all taken on a summer theme (and they are all on wood). To the beach we go!

Original piece of wood

I love working with wood but lately just using my wood burner has bored me, so I have got into using simple paints for accent (also I broke my wood burner on the last project so...).  As always I found the piece of wood first and then decided on the craft that would be put on it. Now being a typical girl, I also change my mind several times before the final project is done. Sometimes I begin a craft and can simply erase it and start over, or flip the wood over, Ta-Da! This craft was originally going to say "Make today count" for a kid with a clock and number theme but I changed my mind and found a better piece of wood for that craft. Last night that seemed too ambitious though so a simple "Beach" sign was created.

Stained wood with stencil ideas

The wood was very light that I was using so I wanted to darken it up but staining is such a process that I decided to cheat(just a little!). In all of my crafts there is a hint of impatience and this was a perfect example. I want my crafts to be quick and easy, no long time waiting for things to dry (BORING). So I found some brown craft paint, watered it down a little and simply wiped it onto the wood. Easiest way to stain ever! It came out fabulous and it achieved just what I wanted for the color. Then the stencils came out. (Note: I almost never use stencils, like NEVER.  I love creating fonts and designs by hand but apparently I was feeling very worn out...and lazy). So the word was chosen and then white paint applied.

My sweet hammer

Now to give the wood a rustic and used feel I simply brushed on some white and brown paint for some dimension. I also wanted to beat it up a bit...enter my pink Breast Cancer hammer! Beating it up was a simple process of banging in the edges a little and then using the 'claw' (the pointy nail remover side) of the hammer to add some character divots. That's it!

Eat, Craft, and get beachy!

This sign was made for indoor use but it could definitely be an outdoor sign with a layer of finish on it!