Bonnie Bruns

*Project Life~365*

Hello everyone:

Floyd and I have been so busy cleaning up everything after we had a Basketball Fundraiser BBQ for CSCS.  It takes a few days to clean up the bbq, all the pans, and put everything away. I am proud to say that we raised $1000 for Nicholas' basketball team!!! It is a ton of work, and totally worth the effort, but it just put me a little behind. Bummer is that I did not take any photos!  We worked so hard, and were so tired by the time we started serving food, that I forgot.  It would have been perfect to put in my new album.  Someone will have photos.... I have been playing catch up, and then starting a new project on top of everything else! I have been working on a new scrapbook called PROJECT LIFE, and putting together some cards for my friend Karen Burniston for her upcoming class at CHA. She has some new dies out and you are going to love, love, love them!

I was inspired by my friend Jamie to create a scrapbook called PROJECT LIFE.  I am late because I should have started week 1 & 2 AND should be ending week 3. I need to journal.  For some reason, I always save my journalig for last, and I have a hard time writing. I know that PROJECT LIFE will help me get better. As you will see below, Nicholas' albums are caught up, but I did not Journal. What good are photos, if you don't write down the details.... I want to challenge myself to get better and better.

I purchased a new red linen We R Memorykeepers 12x12 scrapbook, page protectors in different sizes, and some pretty paper packs by Simple Stories. I want to share my families story and preserve memories for them.  All I had to do is trim the pre-designed element pieces, add my photos, create some handmade journal cards, and insert them into the page protectors. It is a quick & easy way of scrapbooking.  I have been using this method on my son's scrapbooks, and I will share some photos of them after I show you the start of my new PROJECT LIFE Scrapbook. Here is the cover:

I have just barely started, but I will share with you as I work on each week how fun and easy this will be. Everyone seems to be working on the PROJECT LIFE.    

I am using these papers and stickers from Simple Stories Generations:

 

Here is a start:

I need to decide on "my word".  It will come to me.  The important thing is that I got started, and will catch up this next week.  I love to scrapbook, and I am excited to show you my first pages.

Here are some pictures of Nicholas' Basketball albums.  I am updating Tyler's, so I will post some photos of his later. Here is his front cover.  I used his Letter, medals, and will add his #, and name...This will be his SENIOR book.  I have made him a Fresh, Soph, and Junior book already.

Here are a few of the pages from his Junior year Album:

I will post more next week.  I have to finish Karen's cards, and then I will post some of my pages next week.  Thanks for letting me share PROJECT LIFE.

 

 

Bon Appe'tite~more handmade flowers

Bon Appe'tite! These flowers look so pretty on my silver platter!

I have been working on MORE FLOWERS! Just last week I had 6 orders!

These flowers are selling like hot cakes, so I will continue to make more!

Here are some of the projects I have been making with these fun flowers:

Headbands and pins:

Here is a different version using eyelet strips.  These are so easy to make.  And sold right away:

Cut strips of eyelet fabric like this:

Grab a needle and thread and simply sew a strait line & curl around like this:

Sew into a flower shape and add some pearl buttons to make these cute headbands:

Here are some purses I made:

A few more hats like this:

Flower vases:

A Duffle bag with a pretty flower:

Hangars:

Pretty blouses:

Here is a closeup of my Jewelry cabinet with the pretty shabby flowers inside:

Rene' made these awesome doily pendant garlands and they have been selling like crazy! This is the second set she made for my booth.  They are so cute!

Another vendor rented the wall space right across from my booth and hung some doily's from the wall grid.  It matches so well.  I should take this as a compliment that someone wanted to put some shabby chic items by my booth.

I am in the process on making some Valentine's day items for my booth, and waiting on a very special project from my friend Karen. I am really excited & can't wait to show you what we are working on!  

 

 

 

 

Happy New Year!~Jewelry Pendant & more

I have the best husband! For Christmas he gave me a new torch, a soldering iron, accessories, a beginning to solder pendant class, and a torch class! Amazing! This was the perfect gift for me because I have been wanting to take my jewelry making to the next level and start making my own pieces. Thank you! Here we are on new years eve:

In the class we were able to make two pieces.  I decided to make two different sizes.  We had a ton of people in the class, several of us had to share soldering irons, and we were so crouded! Some of them had to stand up! I was trying to hurry to pass the iron on to the next person. These two pendants look so rough, and rushed, but I know as I make each piece I will get better. Everyone else used paper, but I wanted something different.  I brought a piece of lace to use on mine. Here are the two pendants I made:

And since I made the two different sizes I decided to hang them both together and make this:

Here are some projects I made & I am in process of making for my booth.

Pretty shabby chic tool belt apron~

 

 

Spools to put photos and memo's inside of:

My neighbor was throwing this jewelry box away and all I could see was wrong was a broken drawer. I did not like that ugly green felt inside it, so I ripped it out and Floyd fixed he drawer for me. I have the other large one I got for $20 so I am going to paint them both and shabby chic them white and distress them.  I will keep the large one, and put the small one in my booth, so stay tuned for the finished photos.  Speaking of photos, I will be taking an official class to make sure I am blogging better and clearer photos soon.  So soon there will be no more Iphone photos.  

These are little gift bags I sewed handmade flowers to.

And remember my Shabby Chandalier that I made out of a lamp shade? I was trying to buy a new one to hang as I love love love crystals, but everyone was out maybe because of the holidays, so I decided to make my own. I finished it and it is hanging in my booth. I have been adding my handmade flowers to lampshades and they have been selling like hotcakes.  LOL>

This one I kept for my bedroom.

Rene' made these adorable flowers out of bounce sheets.  I just had to blog them cause they are so cute!

I will be making new jewelry, finishing my jewelry boxes, small and LARGE, and I will be making some new samples for my friend Karen Burniston, so stay tuned !!!

 

 

*~CHRISTMAS 2011~* & Ice Resin SUCCESS~*

Christmas flew by for me this year.  I took some time off to help my son with college issues, and to just plain be with the family.  Here are some photos of what the Bruns' household looked like this MERRY SEASON:

My friend Tara has given me these two "BB"'s and I wanted to display them on something so I chose this wreath.  I love them hanging on there.....~ BB for Bonnie Bruns....Love u Tara!

This "JOY" was sent to me by my dear friend Rene' from Texas.  She covered the letters with fun wrapping paper, burlap, a little teeny birdy, and glitter (love that Bling Rene'! Thank you!)

Christmas makes me think of family.  My mom made these two beautiful quilts for Nicholas and Tyler a few years ago.  She hand appliqued each and every little heart, and every design.  I love these quilts and keep them out all year round. Thanks mom!

IsaBella's daily naps.  Ty had to add a tiny stocking with a vintage earring on it to her cage where she takes a nap.

This bulletin board was for sale by Rene' in my booth, but I snatched it and will pay her for it.  I distressed it and added some brooches, and single earrings I had been just hanging on to.  I use them as tacks to hold the photos in place.  I love receiving these photo cards each year.  This year I got one from my Brother & family, My friends Gina, Cheryl, Karen, and Holle.  Love & miss you guys:-)

Kitchen window seal...

I love to have that extra little special display.  I made this one on Christmas day.  I did not get any photos, but we made an awesome prime rib.  We are so blessed!

This one is hard for me.  I used to purchase a Hal-mark tractor each year for my dad.  My mom bought the little Barn and a house to go with it for him.  When he passed away my mom made sure I got them back, and each year I display them to remind me of my father Dave.  I miss you dad!

Oh Christmas Tree, hO Christmas Tree.....

My dear Friend Karen made this for me.  I love how she cut each piece of paper and glued it to the pine cone.  It is one of my favorite things.   

Merry Belated Christmas and a happy new year.

Now I will show you why I took that time off.  Here is my Ice Resin Take II story!

Success! So happy with how these turned out.

This is the Ice Resin product I used.  Love it now.  I used a 40% off coupon from Hobby Lobby.

And now the Ice Resin charms, etc....

Rings I made:

Marie A necklace for sale in my booth:-)

Candle stick I made for sale.

And for my new friend Jamie:

I made this for her yesterday with an Ice Resin Charm:

If anyone needs help I will share some short cuts, and tricks I learned.  Just email me at:

BonnieBruns@msn.com

One last congrats to Tyler for his Rebels team winning the MAYB tourney right b4 Christmas!

Thanks for stopping by.  Happy New Year everyone, and stay tuned for Monday when I will post a blog with new jewelry projects, and new items for sale in my booth. Tah Tah!!!

 

 

{b4 & aFteR} Mannequin named LizzieBell

Today I want to show you my new mannequin.  I have named her Lizzie after my grandmother.

I wanted a mannequin for my booth to show case Jewelry and some other items I am making.

My friend Tara was over learing how to make my handmade fowers (see her blog for more flowers we made at TaraNoel.typepad.com) when the door bell rang and she arrived. Tyler could see I was excited and asked if he could assemble her for me. He did such a great job and here she is b4:

I just had to stop making flowers and play with her for a few minutes.  I plan on painting her and shabby chic'ing her for my booth, and I may get brave and tea die her, but for now I just had to show you LizzieBell with all the pretty jewelry and handmade sash on her. I will post her once more after I paint and distress her.  In 15 mintures this is what I did to her.

I handmade these really pretty flowers of lace, polysatin, and beads.  I know she will be so much better in a day or so when I get her ready!

I am also working on jewelry, including the Ice Resin, and a new shabby chic chandalier for my booth so here is a sneak peak of what I am working on in addition to the Ice Resin, so stay posted!

Here is LizzieBell for now:

Sorry! I am having problems with my camera and I have my settings all messed up now since I was taking photos in a basketball gym! Yikes! I will post better photos as soon as I can.

Here is the b4 photo of my Shabby Chic Chandalier:

I purchased these cream/white shades at Arc last Saturday knowing I was going to try to make them shabby chic.  I may tea stain them also, add some lace and crystals. Here is the chain Floyd put on one of them for me before I get ready to Shabby it up.

Here are some crowns I ordered off etsy to make new jewelry with.  I plan to combine them with the Ice Resin Pieces I am working on.....

 

{Ice Resin Mistakes- Take 1 !}

Ok, so you can't hit a home run every time, right?!

I TOTALLY BOMBED my first attempt using the Ice Resin!

After a week, I realized that the Ice Resin was not hardening! I thought maybe it was the altitude, or something wierd. What a MESS! Here is the photo after I removed all the old resin & photos:

I still have the bobby pins soaking...

TAKE 1 !!!

 

I have to start over! Here are some very important tips!

TIP 1.) Don't drink a ton of cough medicine before attemping something you have never done b4!

TIP 2.) Make sure you take the extra time to watch a few utube videos b4 you try something new!

TIP 3.) The first time you use Ice Resin only try it on 1 piece of jewelry-NOT 100!

TIP 4.) Read your labels twice! I did not mix it properly!

TIP 5.) Seal your photos! The package said nothing about sealing paper b4 you add the resin. You are supposed to coat your photo with several coats of sealer or Modgepodge so your pictures  won't bleed!

TIP 6.) Don't throw that jewelry away! If you do mess up there is still hope! You can soak your jewelry in Acetone overnight, and the runny resin will come off.  It took me a few hours to get the old resin off, and the photos.

  I am headed to get more Ice Resin. Wish me luck & Stay Tuned!! 

 

{b4 & aFteR} BonneNoel Jewelry

Hi!  I was able to create some beautiful projects over the Holiday.  I worked on my jewelry and decided I would try a few new techniques.  I made what I call these beautiful BonneNoel frame necklaces.

 

 

These are pretty charms using my Sizzix Oval Die:

Here are some jars I made:

Mini baskets:

Stick Pins:

My Little Helpers: Bella and Sunny:

Napkin Holder with a charm:

I also tried this new product called Ice Resin. I love it but it is STILL drying! I am not sure when it will be done.  I wanted to have the necklaces-bobby pins-charm bracelets-stick pins-rings, and charms in my booth for black friday, but even today they are not dry, so I will have to patiently wait.  I can tell it is drying, but man is it taking FOREVER!

I purchased these bobby pins, pendants, rings, and charms at Hobby Lobby.  I also used some pieces I have collected from the thrift stores, etc and went to town.    

Here are the rings before I added the Ice Resin:

I will post the after photos once they dry~

 

I made 23 more flowers and added them to headbands and I have to show you how pretty they are!

I made them in Turquoise, Pink, green, and Purple.  I kept some for me!

Thank you so much for stopping by! 

{Twenty Two}

My husband and I have been married 22 years. He planned a special surprise get~a~way for us which included a room at the Inverness Hotel, and a romantic dinner at the amazing Aquarium in Denver. That was sooooo fun! Thank you Floyd!

 

{b4 & aFteR} Plastic Boxes

Good morning everyone!

Today I want to show you these old plastic boxes I have been making.  I love to make speical boxes when I give a gift.  I made these for my friends, and I will put a special Christmas gift inside. And of course, I get them from thrift stores. They are so fun to transform into pretty boxes, and you can store anything inside them. You can also purchase a plastic box like this at a comic book shop.  They have them there to put baseball cards inside, but I use them for gift boxes. I am going there to buy some more to make for my booth.  Everyone loves them.

Here is a b4 photo.  As you can see the box was realy scratched up.  

Here is how I modgepodge them:

1.) Wash and dry the boxes first.

2. ) Measure the boxes for the paper you will use.

3.) Cut the paper to fit inside, and on the lid of the boxes. You could use any kind of paper.  I purchased this old Complete Works of Shakespear book that was falling apart from a thrift store. I love how they spoke in that day and time.  It is so fun and different~  

4.) Modgepodge my paper right onto the top of the box. I go over my box 4 times to make sure I put a good amount of the glue over my image.  

5.) Add some fun glitter glue. 

Here they are after I finished them:

Here is the inside of the box while the modgepodge is still wet:

 I will leave you with this sneak peak of my latest creations. There are over a hundred pieces! Stop back by soon to see the finished products~They are soooo pretty! Bon Appe'tit!

 

 

{b4 & aFteR} Shabby Chic Furniture

Happy Monday!

Today I want to share with you a refinished table and chairs, and some furniture pieces that I have been working on.

My friend Lane asked me if I would refinish a table and 5 chairs for her.  This is the 6th table and chairs I have refinished for my booth, myself, and now friends and vendors are asking me to refinish they're furniture! 

I have to skip right to the after photo because I want to show you how nice it turned out. The photo is dark, but it turned out really nice.

(*Lane has a beautiful booth @ American Classics Marketplace~Check it out when your there!)

And now here is the b4 photo:

The table also had a leaf which I had to paint.  It took several hours.  Here are the steps that I take when I refinish a piece of furniture:

1.) Sand~Thouroughly sand your piece.  I use a combination of my mini electric sander, and I also manually sand when it comes to getting into all those little grooves, between spindles, and any small areas. *(If you are refinishing a dresser, or something with knobs, or hardware remove that before you sand).

2.) Clean~Clean your piece thouroghly.  I use a product called TSP.  I clean after I sand so I can get all of the dust and whatever is left when I am done sanding.   

3.) Paint~Paint your piece.  I use several different paints when I am refinishing.  I use a roller and almond colored paint. Just ask the counter for help when you purchase your paint to make sure the clerk knows you are repainting furniture so they help you get the right kind of paint.  Sometimes I use spray paint, for the chairs and when its hard to get into little grooves, and areas.  

4.) Distress~Now for me this was the tricky part.  I have heard so many different ways to distress after painting. And I watched several utube video's.  I have some faux glaze by Ralph Lauren, and I manually sand a piece.  It depends on what kind of look you want.  There is even a tecchnique where you paint a piece either green, or blak, or brown, or any color that you want to show thru when you sand it.  But the technique I like the best is just sanding the piece.  And depending on how distressed you want it, just sand it how you like.

Tip: My advise if you want to try it just purchase a frame or something small and try something small at first.  I was really nervous about it.  But I made myself do it.  And I loved the result! 

I like to paint the chairs first and then the tops and this is how I stack them to start:

b4: (*This was a photo I snapped from my friends magazine.  I Collect white milk glass and wanted to achieve this kind of look on a shelf that I already had.  It is not exactly the same, but I like how "my version" turned out.)

Now here is my piece:

After:

I did'nt build my shelves like the magazine article did, but I used what I had, and I was able to achieve the same kind of look. Here is a table I refinished a few months ago. I liked the bottom of this table, and I thought it was already kind of Shabby, so I just painted the chairs and only the top of the table.

After:

I also recovered the chair pads with a really pretty eyelet type of fabric.  For some reason I can't find the photo of the chairs finished, and this is b4 it was distressed, sorry!

*Tip:Here is a childs chair b4:

Check out your local hardware store for these wooden decals.  I purchased these small ones at Hobby Lobby and just glued it to the chair.  It really helps "dress up & Shabby chic your pieces"~

after:

Green folding childs chair b4:

*Tip:  You can also recover small chairs, and stools. Just turn it over and look for some screws that hold it together.  After all, someone had to put it together right? I removed the top and bottom pieces and recovered them. I just used my staple gun to use this old skirt that I had purchased at the thrift store.  I did have to sew on the top part of the chair, but it was easy, I just held it as I went and sewed it right to the green ugly vinyl that was already on the chair.

I love how shabby it turned out.  Someone will love this for they're little girls tea party:

after:

Stay tuned.  I purchased this jewelry box at GoodWill.

 I plan to Shabby Chic it, and it is mine!  I have been looking for one like this one for 6 months now. There are some beautiful ones on the internet, but I am on a budget now, and can't get the $500 versoion right now,  so I purchased this one. It was $20.  I plan on doing something really special with it like putting crystal knobs on it for sure, and painting it. I am working on some small jewelry boxes too. Don't be nervous or scared you will mess something up!  That is why you purchase these items at the thrift store!  Just jump in and start something! Have fun & stop back by to see what I am working on next!