Sneak Peek---New Crafts coming SOON!!!

Hey Everyone! I know it's been a little while, and you're all just DYING to know what we're up to! (Okay, maybe not DYING per say, more like vaguely interested.)

I'm not QUITE finished with any new crafts yet, unfortunately...I've been working a lot and my sister, my mom, and myself are participating in a local choir for the Stadium of Fire! BUT, I have been collecting items I need for my next crafts! So, here's a SNEAK PEEK!!

Be Nice!

I just wanted to share this little 8X8 sign I made for my desk at work. I'm the only BYU fan on my team at work so I made this sign for my neighbor who sits in the cubicle next to me to remind him to "Be Nice".

Cabinet door to shabby chic chalkboard.

Hey! This is my very first post to this crafty blog of ours. My first project is a chalkboard I made out of a kitchen cabinet door. Here is the "before" picture of the door that I'll be turning into the chalkboard.

I got this cabinet door from my good friend Nancy who has a son remodeling his kitchen. I paid her $5 for the door. I left the hinges on for added character.

I forgot to get a picture with just the chalk board paint on it. I taped off the the trim and spray painted the chalkboard paint. I'm not much of a spray painter so after a couple coats of the spray I added a couple layers of actual chalboard paint. After that dried I did the opposite. I covered the chalboard paint and spray painted the white trim. I'm not a fan of the spray paint so I think I'll bush on paint the next time. You do whatever you like. The spray pain cost me about $5.99 and the chalkboard paint was $3.99 both at Hobby Lobby. Go online and get a 40% off coupon from Hobby Lobby or download their app on your phone.

If you know me, you know I like things "antiqued" so of course I had to rough the edges a bit and Voila, You now have a new chalkboard! I added a knob down at the bottom in the center but I forgot to get a picture of that too. I'm new at this blog thing... Hopefully I'll get a little better. Enjoy!

From Drab to Fab--Refashion an Old Frame into a Cork Board!

Hey guys! I'm back!

Today I'd love to show you my newest creation--I made a cork board from an old picture frame! I literally just finished this one before logging on to my computer to download the pictures and put up a new post. I'm so excited for you guys to see this one!

HOW TO MAKE AN OLD FRAME INTO A NEW CORK BOARD

Here we go!

STEP 1:  Find an ugly, old frame. I found this one at our local DI. (That's the local thrift store for those of you who aren't from/don't live in Utah/Idaho) It cost me a grand total of 75 cents. I knew it had potential when I first bought it, but I didn't know what I wanted to do with it. After sitting in a pile of other old frames at our house (my mom collects old frames she can ModPodge for quick gifts) for over a year, I finally came up with the idea of making a cork board!

What a gem of a portrait!

STEP 2:  Remove the glass and backing on the frame. I couldn't wait to do this part. The flowers are lovely I guess, but they're just not my thing. Plus it's water stained and like 35 years old.

It already looks better!

STEP 3: Spray paint! A good coat of paint can change the world...or at least make it a color you like. My Aunt Shauna left my mom some old spray paint when her family moved to Washington, and she had this really awesome shade of gray that I LOVE. 

STEP 4: Get some cork board. I bought a roll at Hobby Lobby for $4.99 and used the backing of the frame and the glass to trace two oval shapes into the cork board. Then, I cut out the cork with a razorblade, but if it's thin enough cork, you could probably get away with a pair of scissors. The reason I used two pieces of cork is because it is really thin and I wanted there to be enough cork to stick a thumbtack into it if I wanted.

I guess there is a use for that 300 bucks after all!

My cork board was curling up on itself, so I spritzed some water on the pieces, layered them between the backing and the glass, and put some of my old text books on top of them to flatten them out. 

After a couple days, they were all flat and ready to go!

STEP 5: (OPTIONAL) Paint a pattern on the cork board. I used an awesome Martha Stewart stencil that has a bunch of cute patterns on it. I tested it out onto the smaller piece to make sure I liked it before painting the piece of cork that will face outward. 

STEP 6: Put the cork into the frame, along with the frame backing. Easy peasy! 

STEP 7: Put it up in your house an enjoy!

TA DA!!

It's really pretty easy, and I love it! If you guys make your own versions, I would love to see them! Post a link in the comments if you do, and have a great day you guys!!

First Craft-Make a jewelry holder from a wooden picture frame!

Hello everyone! Welcome back!

For my first official craft project, I thought I would start out with one of my favorite and most useful creations: a jewelry hanger! So, here goes!

HOW TO MAKE A JEWELRY HOLDER FROM A PICTURE FRAME

The first thing you'll need is a wooden picture frame. I got the one pictured above from a little store called The Wood Connection. I couldn't find the frames on their website, but here's a link for you guys anyways: The Wood Connection. This frame opening is an 8x10 I believe, but since I'm not using it for pictures, I don't really know for sure. At the store, the frame obviously doesn't come with holes drilled into it. I had my dad drill them for me once I got home. They might be able to do it at the store, but they would probably charge you. The frame itself cost me $12.

The second thing you'll need is drawer knobs. I got mine from Lowe's, but they also have some really cute ones at Hobby Lobby.  I was going for an eclectic look, so I mismatched the knobs but made sure they all had the same finish to them. (Except for the glass one, obviously.) In total, they cost me about $10. I could have saved some money on this step, but I was in a big rush to make this one.

Once we got home, I painted my frame an antique white. Here's a picture of the back: 

On the front, I sanded down the edges and then took a small brown ink pad and "antiqued" the edges and used my finger to smudge it up a little. Here's another picture from the front. My mom held it up for me, but we didn't realize until later she held it upside down.

The next thing I did is cut out chicken wire (my mom had a roll of it for another project) to fit in my frame opening and used a heavy duty stapler to keep it in place. This was the trickiest step for me. Make sure you don't staple too close to the edge of the frame, or the wood might split. Here's what it looked like at this step, with a piece of paper behind it to make it easier to see (thanks for holding it right side up this time, mom!):

Here's a close-up of some of the staples in the back plus the next step: I used some upholstery nails to put picture hangers in the top corners.

Next, it's time to put the drawer knobs on the front! I played around for a while with the arrangement I wanted, but in the end, I was happiest with this:

After tying some ribbon around the picture hangers, it was time to put this baby on a wall!

And here it is! All ready to go!

I made this jewelry hanger last summer, and it's still in working order! I use the chicken wire to hang my dangle earrings on, plus my clip-in hair accessories. I use the knobs to hang up all my necklaces.  The only problem is, I now have too many necklaces to fit on this hanger! I guess I'll have to add another jewelry organizer  to my wall... :) Stay tuned for that project!

Welcome to the Baird Crafting Jamboree!

Hello there everyone, and welcome to the Baird Crafting Jamboree!

If the first thing you thought of when you saw the title of this blog is, "Is that a reference to the Bear Country Jamboree that used to be featured at Disneyland?" The answer to that question would be, "Sort of. I never actually saw that show." If that's not the first thing you thought of, you can just ignore all that and think "Wow, that's a lame title for a blog." And you're right. It is. I'll probably change it once I get some input from my sister and my mom.

This post is just here to introduce you all to the women of the Baird Family and what this blog is all about. Let's get started!

I'm Kendra Baird. 22 years young. Left-handed. BYU student. Full-time nerd and internet enthusiast and part-time employee at a craft store. Extremely picky eater. Life enjoyer. Amateur crafter. Professional smart-aleck. Easily amused.  I'll be the main author of this blog, with guest posts from my mom and sister when I can wrangle them into it. :)

I like making crafts that are useful for me. I enjoy transforming old things into something new. My plan is to make the world a more beautiful place to be and if I can do that by making something worn out into something useful again, I'd be very happy.

This is my sister, Katie Baird. She's experienced 18 years of life so far, and many more to go. We're a lot alike so we don't always get along, but when we do, it's awesome. Also left handed. UVU/SLCC student. Life of the party. Sometimes most times she's funny. Perfectionist. Penny-pincher. Earring enthusiast. Amateur Crafter. She might post once in a while.

Katie LOVES making colorful containers. Seriously. She has a container for everything. She organizes when she gets bored. She's the best seamstress in the house. She also likes to create new things out of old things.

These are our parents, but to be more specific, this is our mom, Lori. She's currently re-celebrating her 27th birthday (congrats, mom!) and her 25th wedding anniversary with my dad is coming up this year. Rick's College alumni. The only Righty in the household. In our house, she's the professional crafter. She worked for Stampin' Up! for nearly ten years before finding a new job at SelectHealth. I might be able to get her to post once in a while.

Mom's got a passion for ModPodge and cute scrapbook paper. (Seriously. She once had a dream about all the things in the house she could ModPodge. It made her so excited.) Mom has been scrapbooking and crafting since before I was born, so from the time I was a wee child, we've been crafting. I'd say that most everything I've learned about crafting, I've learned from her.



So at this point, you may be wondering: What is this blog going to be about? Well, mostly, I'd love to share some of the projects the three of us have made over the years. If you'd like to make some of this stuff for yourselves, I'll also be including some instructions on the crafts where I've had the forethought to take step-by-step photos.

If this sounds like something you'd love to see, stick around! I'll have my first project posted by the end of the week. I hope you enjoy your stay here!