I stumbled onto this site the other day and have fallen in love with the idea.  I think they are just beautiful!  I thought I'd pass it on, just in case some of you are interested in doing this.  I plan to create a lot of these to create pathways through my garden and yard.

http://www.magma.ca/~robicho/rhubarb.htm

Does anyone have ideas for other leaves you can use?  I was wondering if squash leaves would work.  They get pretty large.

My brother's band just got their first real concert...they've been playing small venues, but this concert will be for 2000-2500 HS kids.  He'd like to set up a merchandise table and I've agreed to do whatever I can to help out.  I don't mind making things to sell or organizing this and I'll probably be the one running the table for them.  Any suggestions on what to sell and how much stock to have?  We know someone with a screenprinting business that we think might give us a good deal, but we don't know exactly how many shirts to have made or how many designs to have.  One of the other band member's sisters is a fantastic artist and is working on some artwork for them.  The only other thing I can think of are the little buttons.  I know...I'm just not a very cool big sis, but I'm trying to help them out as much as I can.  I believe in supporting his dreams, I'm just not sure the best way to do it!  I wasn't even cool when I was a teenager...I'm certainly not now!  (That's what I get for having an "old soul"!)

Thanks so much...I know my brother and the guys in the band will appreciate any help you can provide. 

Okay, I've been reading through these posts and nothing really stands out.  Can you all help me?  I need to give to the following people this year and have run out of ideas:

1) 17yo brother- Lead singer/guitarist in a rock band

2) 13yo brother- typical 13yo boy...likes computers and gaming on his XBox

3) Mom- Last year I created a denim throw, but this year I've run dry with the ideas.  I'd prefer it to be something she can use.  She likes to cook/bake, if that helps.

4) BIL- College student, lives on campus, computer nerd, don't know him that well

I can sew, stencil, decoupage, etc.  I cannot knit, but I can embroider and I'm willing to attempt just about anything.  Even if you have ideas for store-bought gifts, that's fine too...I just want to make sure they get something that fits them.  Since I don't know anything about guitar, computers or gaming, I'm pretty much stuck!

Thanks!

I've searched here and gotten instructions/much inspiration for using resin on furniture.  My idea is to create a top for an island I'm building out of an old chest of drawers.  I would use decorative trim to form a lip and the resin would go within that frame.  I would like to put some of my most commonly used recipes under the resin for quick access...does anyone know if this would work?  How would I need to print them so they wouldn't smudge?  Any other suggestions for things to put in the resin?  This island is going in my red and white 1940s cottage kitchen.  The chest will be painted black and will have shelving off the back side.

Thanks!

One of my close friends is having a baby and I want to host a shower for her.  I've already discussed it with her and she is really excited!  She wants to have it early February when she'll be about 6-7 months along...she won't be too uncomfortable at that point (I hope) and will be able to really enjoy all the attention.  She does NOT want any games played and would prefer something a little more sophisticated than baby poo type games, etc.  My mind immediately went to "afternoon tea" type shower.  I was thinking of doing a cupcake tree instead of a regular cake; I can do all sorts of flavors that way.  Any ideas for a color scheme? She's having a girl, but doesn't want traditional streamers/balloons/etc. that's usually done around here...sophisticate d is the key word.  Also, how would you decorate for a baby shower like this?  I've hosted several afternoon teas and have all the serving pieces, tablecloths, etc. that I need for a tea, but I'm not sure how to decorate so people know it's a baby shower without it being goofy.  And what about favors?   I know, lots of questions, but I want this to be perfect...she has waited SO long for baby Chloe to come along!

I posted this here instead of Recon. projects because it's not really reconstructed, just repurposed.  My style is more cottagy than most of the things I see on here, but I thought it might inspire you to see potential in unsightly furniture.

DH and I happened upon a yard sale Saturday where I picked up this bedroom dresser.  It was really ugly, with stickers all over it and someone's idea of art.     I nabbed it for $15.  First I cleaned it up really well, then used sandpaper to rough up the surface.  I primed it with some cheap white primer I had on hand.  After two coats of primer, I used 2-3 coats of white semi-gloss paint leftover from the trim in my kitchen.  For the drawers, I used leftover primer and paint from the kitchen walls.  Once everything was thoroughly dry, I put it together and applied the toile fabric to the back of the shelves (the easiest part of all!)  The only thing I have left to do is add glass knobs to the drawers.

Okay, this is my first time posting pics directly to a post, so if it doesn't work, please bare with me! EDIT: I did something wrong, so you'll just have to go directly to the links.  Sorry!

BEFORE:
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/chonlahan/detail?.dir=/b70d&.dnm=bdcc.jpg&.src=ph

BEFORE:
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/chonlahan/detail?.dir=/b70d&.dnm=1787.jpg&.src=ph

AFTER:
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/chonlahan/detail?.dir=/b70d&.dnm=e048.jpg&.src=ph

AFTER:
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/chonlahan/detail?.dir=/b70d&.dnm=5781.jpg&.src=ph

Please ignore the junk in the room to the left.  I didn't realize it had shown up in the pics until after I had them in my yahoo account.  It's acting as our temporary maintenance/construction storage area.  Let me know what you think of my new hutch!

I have 4 yards of decorator's fabric that I bought at Hobby Lobby on sale.  It's a white cotton material with a pretty tight weave.  I wanted to use it for curtains, but my sofa has sort of an off-white background and the white is just way too brilliant.  I still want the fabric to be white, but not BRIGHT white.  Any ideas on toning it down?  I thought about tea dying, but I'm not sure exactly how to do this so that it will be permanent.  Any ideas? 

Thanks in advance!

Okay, I'm sure you all can help me since you are all so smart and crafty!!!

My brother drinks Sobe like there's no tomorrow and has tons of the glass bottles with the neat designs all over them.  He wants to make a chandalier out of them to hang in "the shack" (an outbuilding where his band practices and hangs out).  I have an idea for how to do this, but thought I should ask the experts before attempting it.

My idea would be to get 3 metal rings in graduated sizes.  They would need to be flat and 2-3" wide.  I would drill holes around the rings for as many bottles as we would use.   We would drill out the bottom of the bottles (the wide part).  We would insert a light (not sure what kind) through the bottom and string the cord up through the mouth.  The mouth is threaded, so we would wrap a heavy duty wire around the mouth (securing with glue if necessary) and string the wire and the light cord through the hole in the metal ring.  This would be repeated for each bottle until they were all attached to the rings.  The rings would then be attached to each other to form a chandalier.  It would be hung with heavy-duty chain or something. 

Any better ideas?  I don't think I explained it very well, but I tried!

DH and I just bought a new home (yea!!!) and want to host an open house in October for our extended families and friends to come tour it.  It will be a come-and-go type event from 2 to 4 in the afternoon and I'll have a buffet of finger foods and desserts set up.  I'll have hot cider mulling which will fill the house with wonderful aroma! 

I need ideas for invitations and wording.  I want it to be bird themed...saying something about our "nest" or something.  I thought it would be cute to have a picture of a birdhouse or two birds in a nest, etc.  Maybe the wording could say something about us being busy feathering our nest and we are inviting the flock to for a tour...

See?  I need help!  I just can't seem to get a focused idea or come up with good wording for it.  Thanks for any help you can provide!!!

Sunday one of my new, but close friends told me she and her husband are expecting their first.  Obviously, DH and I are very excited for them!  Monday I had a voicemail from my best friend that said her test came back positive and she and her husband are expecting their first!      Again, I was VERY excited because they've been trying for a few years with no luck.

I really want to do something special for each of them.  They are only about 6-7 weeks along so we don't know what the babies will be yet, we just know they'll be loved (okay, probably spoiled!)     Any ideas on something I can do to honor this momentous occasion? 

One of the husbands is calling it their little jelly bean, so I am making a card with a picture of jelly beans on the front.  Inside it says "Congrats on your little jelly bean!"  I plan on getting them a package of Jelly Bellies to go along. 

I'm not sure about the other one, though.  Candy would not go over well (very health conscious).  Her nursery fabric (bought 2 years ago...if that tells you how long we've been waiting for this!!!) has bright colors and animals.  I think I'm going to do a monkey pic on the front of the card (a cute cartoon monkey) and get something for the nursery maybe.  Any ideas on that?

I'd also like to have lunch with them or something, but don't have any real ideas.  I would rather have them to my home, but we close on our new house Monday and I don't know how long it will be before I'm prepared to have someone over.

Thanks in advance for all the ideas.  I love this board and now I actually have a reason to visit!  Yay!!!!